Thanks for all the reviews so far. At least this chapter's a little longer. And honest, there's more action in this chapter, but first, a little look into Leia's POV...
Princess Leia sat trapped in the opulent suite that Prince Xizor had Guri first show her when she arrived at his palace. Leia had a bad feeling about Guri from the first time she'd met the blonde beauty; it turned out that Guri was not a human being at all, but a Human Replica Droid (or HRD for short). Very costly, she must have been. She was also exceptionally deadly. Her programming must have included loads of different martial arts styles, weapons training, maybe even combat training. All supposedly to protect her criminal master, but more likely to eliminate his enemies as well. Leia had no doubts that she was only being held in this opulent prison until Prince Xizor gets whatever he wants.
He'd invited her to take a bath with him earlier. As if! She thought with great amusement that there was at least one way to cool Xizor's ardor if she needed to. She could always tell him that she was Darth Vader's daughter!
Every time she thought of it, Leia recalled the manner in which she discovered the identity of her biological father. It was on the Death Star, while enduring a particularly harrowing interrogation. The Empire wanted to know the location of the Rebel Alliance's secret base. She was not as forthcoming as Darth Vader had hoped. And so, he brought in the interrogation device. The needle with the glitterstim spice went into her arm without delay. After all, Bail Organa, that beloved man who'd called her his own daughter for all her life, had taught her various means of evading the very kind of interrogations that Vader was employing before he'd resorted to the glitterstim. But with the expensive, powerful drug coursing through her system, her mind became more scrambled.
More open. More accepting...
It was during following round of questions that Vader, oddly enough, let it slip. His mind had been trying to link to hers for some time. She'd been resisting him as much as she could. But it was when he said (with a bit of a desperate tone), "Leia, you can tell me anything, I'm your father..." Her mind linked to his at that instant. Her mind readily accepted it. Yes, Darth Vader is my father, I can feel the truth of this. He must have been affected by her thoughts running along this direction, and he faltered for just an instant. Her mind plowed right into his. She could see, for the first and only time, his blue eyes, his dark blond hair, his slightly sinister, but handsome face. And then she had slurred, "I never knew you were a blond fellow..." Needless to say, that ended the interrogation.
What had followed afterwards confirmed it for her. When her homeworld, Alderaan, was destroyed by the Death Star, no one, except perhaps her, noticed Vader's reaction. She could feel the absolute agony in his hand on her shoulder. Had the glitterstim still been in her system? Maybe, but she knew she still had a mind-connection to him. And it was hellish for the next couple of hours. Until Luke Skywalker burst into her detention cell, and into her world.
That day was a very tough one for her. But having Luke nearby helped her so much. And not only because he'd gone along with the Rebel starfighters in the attack on the Death Star, but in hundreds of small, everyday ways. She absolutely could not imagine her life without Luke. The farmboy that the aged Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had brought with him from Tatooine, had grown by leaps and bounds right before her eyes. And that was why she was trapped here in the first place, because of Obi-Wan's apprentice.
Obi-Wan... She'd only gotten one last glance of him before he was killed, by her father. How odd that she would never have met Luke, or Han Solo for that matter, had it not been for him. She'd known him before, of course; she'd seen him a few times when she was a child. He was like a mysterious relative that would show up and turn the entire household upside down with his arrival. She'd even sat on his lap a few times. Her father was at his side constantly. That was probably why he hadn't tried to teach her any Jedi things. Unless it was because he'd known who her real father was, and didn't want to risk teaching the Dark Lord's daughter anything that would endanger others.
After giving it a great deal of thought while imprisoned in Xizor's lair, she found that she didn't take it personally. After all, old Ben had seemed reluctant to teach Luke either, had waited a long time to finally do so, and hadn't gotten very much done in the end. Why had he hesitated? Luke's father, the noble Anakin Skywalker, had met his end at her father's hands. It wasn't as if Luke had the kind of toxic background she had. Leia had figured out that Obi-Wan didn't hold it against her that Darth Vader was her father. It was that he must have been afraid of teaching anybody anything anymore.
Still, one thing was for sure; she made sure Luke had no idea about Darth Vader's link to her. And now, Luke could be walking into a terrible trap, and she had no real way of telling him. She just hoped that he had enough sense to see the pitfalls before he blundered forward.
Lando's voice came over the intercom, "Better get ready; we are coming out of lightspeed..." And two seconds later, Obi-Wan and Luke felt the ship slip into realspace. Luke shook his head; he'd gotten so used to the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive shudders that he barely felt the shift in this slick machine that Vader had given Obi-Wan for his mission. And despite this comfortable ride, Obi-Wan looked a bit ill. He wasn't kidding when he said he wasn't into space travel. It appeared he liked it about as much as Threepio did, which was to say, not much at all.
Lando had expertly merged into the traffic flow of Coruscant. "I hate the air traffic," Lando grumbled over the com. "It's the worst in the galaxy here; even worse than Corellia. I remember having to wait about three hours one time, almost needed a refuel just to land..."
Luke said to Obi-Wan, "Maybe I should go up to Lando now, so he can download the code Vader gave you to traffic control ."
"Yes, Lando will be quite surprised how much faster this landing is going to be," Obi-Wan commented. As Luke left, the Jedi Master's thoughts turned inwards. It had been many years since he'd been to Coruscant. No doubt it was just as crowded and dirty as it has always been. He'd often wondered whether the Jedi Order should have had their Temple on such a planet. But people like Mace Windu would have laughed him right out of the Order for even suggesting that the Temple be anywhere further from the Senate than where it was.
The Temple, he knew, was not standing any longer. The place was torn down, and the Imperial Palace was built in the space. But while the Temple might be no more, its massive archives remained. Obi-Wan knew that Vader was not stupid; there was no way he would have left the data of over ten thousand years of history of the Jedi order to be erased or destroyed. the Sith had them somewhere, and Obi-Wan was pretty certain he knew where. And he wanted them. Once he and his Padawan were finished rescuing Princess Leia, he wanted to take Luke over to where he suspected they were. If Luke was to resurrect the Jedi Order, having those files would be invaluable.
"You're looking better already, Master. I was getting worried about that slight green look you had earlier," Luke said as he came back down below decks to get his disguise ready.
As Obi-Wan picked up his own disguise, he smiled slightly and murmured, "It's getting a little easier every hour, my Padawan. Every hour..."
Leia was getting a terrible case of cabin fever. She had to get out of here soon; she could sense the growing danger. And she was starting to get terrified of Guri. She kept eyeing the Ubese bounty hunter's old suit. The helmet was nice and heavy. It was such a terrible plan, but it was all Leia had. If Guri were to come inside the room, she'd do it. Smash the helmet on Guri's head with all her might. For all Leia knew, it could work.
Lando found Chewbacca by the Southern Underground. Obi-Wan remembered the Wookiee he'd met in Mos Eisley over three years ago; he had been able to speak to the Wookiee with ease, since he was a Jedi. Many people had trouble speaking to Wookiees; their growls were actually very eloquent to those whose ears were trained to listen. Certainly he was an unlikely first mate to a space bum pirate, but he and Han Solo, according to Luke, had been inseparable until Han had been frozen in carbonite.
Luke rushed over to the Wookiee, who had a ridiculous disguise of badly chopped and partially colored fur. "Chewie! The Force was with us all when you managed to escape!" He listened to Chewbacca rumble wildly. "That disguise must be driving you crazy..." Luke answered in a low voice. Obi-Wan watched his Padawan speak with the Wookiee with no apparent trouble. Excellent.
"Let's all get moving," Obi-Wan suggested. "Chewbacca, can you show us where Leia is being kept?"
Chewie grunted. "It's okay, Chewie, he's with us," Luke explained, gesturing to Obi-Wan. "I'll explain it all to you later, I promise...
Obi-Wan looked up at the Wookiee. "The Force has many surprises in store for us, even those of us who have lived long like the trees, Chewbacca. And Luke is right; my identity will be explained fully later, when there is a time and place. Now, we must find the princess..." Luke noticed Lando's amazement at Chewbacca's sudden calmness. Someday, he'd be able to do these things as well, but he was very happy to do the things he already knew how to do.
"Master, I can contact Leia. I've done it before, on Bespin. She and I can communicate mentally, somehow," Luke told him.
Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm not surprised; you two are close to eachother. In time, through the bond that Masters and their Padawans develop, you and I will be able to communicate in that manner as well. In fact, I was able to sense your father's presence through that same bond for many years." He leaned down a bit more. "Luke, he's not onworld. So, if you wish to contact Leia that way, there's no risk of him sensing you do it."
Luke sat down on a bench, and Obi-Wan watched him align his consciousness with the task he was about to do. Eventually, with Obi-Wan's training, he would be able to do this without sitting down or meditating. But, at this point, Obi-Wan thought it was quite commendable that Luke knew how to do this at all. "Leia..." Luke whispered so softly that only a Jedi's ears sharpened with the Force could hear him. I'm here. I'm coming for you.
Leia stared out the transparisteel window of her unbearably beautiful room when she heard Luke's voice in her mind. It was just like when she'd found him at Cloud City. "Luke?" she whispered softly. "I hear you, Luke. I'm here..."
Chewie must have gotten Luke and Lando to Coruscant already. She was so glad that Luke called to her before he came here. He must be smart enough to see the trap. Maybe he knew that Black Sun was who was behind the death attempts against him.
Well, since they were here, there was no point in her hanging around here anymore. She dressed in the bounty hunter's suit, keeping the helmet off. She checked the chrono on the mantle of the hologrpahic fireplace and saw it was nearly lunchtime. Guri would be coming with her lunch, no doubt, unless she was coming to kill her instead. Either way, she was checking out of this crazy hotel.
The opportunity came, but later than she'd expected. Leia had climbed onto a chair that she had moved behind the door. Leia had her ears trained for any sound coming from the hallway. And while Guri was like most women when it came to not being a very heavy walker, nonetheless, Leia was able to hear her approach. Armed with the helmet, Leia waited to pounce until the exact moment...
Obi-Wan stopped suddenly, many stories below. "What is it, Master?" Luke asked.
"I felt a tremor in the Force, Luke. Someone just used the Force upstairs..." Obi-Wan reported.
"Who? I thought my... I thought Vader was off-world," Luke corrected himself for Lando's and Chewie's benefit.
"I have my suspicions, but be assured that it's not Vader. Just be extra cautious, Padawan. Maybe you should try to contact Leia again," Obi-Wan suggested.
"Yes, I think I will...wait, what's that?" Luke said sharply as a set of door opened into the hallway of the 14th floor of Xizor's palace. A batch of guards came pouring out of the doors, blasting away. Lando and Chewie let loose, shooting down whoever they could. Luke and Obi-Wan had their lightsabers out even before Lando and Chewie had the blasters out.
Over all the shooting, Luke yelled out, "Master, you don't think it was Prince Xizor, do you?"
"If it was, then we have no time to waste. We'd better separate now. We'll meet at the 50th floor launchpad like we'd planned. Keep contact, Luke!" Obi-Wan warned, then charged forward. Luke tried to watch him dodge each blaster bolt, but he couldn't; not only did he have plenty of his own to deal with, but Obi-Wan's lightsaber work was simply too fast to watch.
Leia scurried down one hallway after another, trying desperately to remember how she was led in here, so she could reverse it to get out. She instinctively knew to go down rather than up, but other than that, her progress was very slow. And she was getting more and more worried that Guri would find her. No doubt, she'd kill Leia if she had the opportunity.
Okay, you'd better get a grip on your nerves if you're going to get out of here alive, Leia warned herself. She felt a shiver creep up and down her spine, which added to her anxiety. At the same time, she felt a tingling in her fingertips; it was pleasant, almost reassuring. Quickly, as she wandered down yet another endless corridor, Leia analyzed the sensations. The shiver, that was Guri, and probably Xizor. The tingle, that might be Luke! Which one was closer? She froze in place, unable to be certain which sensation was stronger, only that they both were intensifying...
Suddenly, at one end of the hall, the elevator opened, and Xizor emerged with Guri. Leia gasped; they were both armed with blasters, Xizor's particularly deadly looking. And just as suddenly, another elevator opened, nearer to Leia's side, and from there emerged a man she'd never seen before. Surely, if she had seen him before, she would definitely have remembered him. You don't forget blue eyes like those, she thought. It was very strange how the moment of danger simply dissolved into a forgotten pool just after taking one look at him. She blinked, slack jawed, as he strode into the hallway. It made no difference that he was clothed in drab, coarse browns and tans; he had far more presence than the more opulent, more exotic Falleen holding the bright shiny quicksilver blaster. His presence was even more dramatic when he switched on a blue lightsaber.
"A Jedi? You're not Skywalker! I know you're not, even if those idiots who attacked you on Tatooine thought you might be." The man Leia couldn't stop staring at smiled slightly at Xizor. Otherwise, his only response was to hold his lightsaber at the ready. Xizor sighed. "What hope do you have against two people armed with blasters? Do you have your own?"
"I find them...uncivilized weapons," the man commented. He turned those eyes to Leia. "Princess, you'd better go find Luke; he's a few floors down yet. Have him get everyone to the ship, and I'll meet you all there as soon as I can," he told her.
"But...Guri! She's a droid!" Leia told him desperately.
"Oh? My, what they dream up nowadays," the man commented lightly. Leia got even more frightened for this man, and Xizor got more annoyed. He fired on them. "Princess Leia, go!" he ordered her, nearly shoving her into the elevator that he'd just left.
"No! Don't stay there!" Leia cried as the door shut. Her last sight of him was under a barrage of blasterfire.
Obi-Wan let the Force flow through him, let it guide his lightsaber, blocking every shot. Xizor frowned; Obi-Wan could sense his thoughts. This one, Prince Xizor, he liked to be in control, didn't he? Well, the Force, it turns out, was not one of the things that he controlled. So, the only logical conclusion he could dome to was that the one who had used the Force before had been the headstrong Princess Leia. Excellent...
"Your thoughts betray you, your highness. Your anger at losing Leia is clouding your judgement. Surely you must know that shooting endlessly at a Jedi is a waste of time and energy. Although I do need the exersize," Obi-Wan said idly.
Xizor lowered his blaster. "Indeed. You're quite right. We are wasting time by shooting at you. And, since you need the exersize so much, Jedi...Guri!" he said, gesturing toward Obi-Wan. The blonde female form of Guri leaped in the air. Obi-Wan cocked one brow as she sailed over his head. This might actually prove to be interesting.
Especially since, on her way down, she kicked the lightsaber out of Obi-Wan's hand. She landed beside him and drove right into attack. Obi-Wan blocked her sweeping hands, her flying kicks. One well placed uppercut sent Guri flying out of his orbit. But to his concern, Guri didn't seem to get damaged too easily; she leaped right back up again and pressed on.
Xizor was torn; he wanted to stay and watch this battle. It wasn't everyday that Guri got to fight a Jedi knight. But, he had to make sure that he killed Luke Skywalker while he had the chance. And besides, he could always see this later when he replayed the surveillance video. So Xizor took off, while Guri went to finish off Obi-Wan.
She never missed a beat, and Obi-Wan, while able to sense through the Force what she might do next, was having a difficult time with her robotic strength. He needed his lightsaber so he could finish this quickly. He spied it out of the corner of his eye, and in that split second of distraction, while he used the Force to bring the weapon to him, Guri struck his lower leg. His knee buckled, but he managed to keep himself upright as his lightsaber landed in his hands. Guri rushed him, he ignited the lightsaber. She fell onto the glowing blade, but this didn't deter her. She struck his leg in the same place again, surely computing it was a weak spot now. This time, the bones cracked audibly, and Obi-Wan toppled to the floor in agony.
Guri backed off; she had a hole burnt through her torso from the lightsaber, so she was definitely damaged. Her cold droid eyes assessed the damaged she'd done to Obi-Wan. She could see the calf-high boot the Jedi wore, the blood spilling over the top from where the broken bones had punctured the skin. Yet he still held the lightsaber, which put her at a new disadvantage. It would be impossible to finish him off right now. On the other hand, she decided he'd be no more threat to her master at the moment. She'd aid Xizor downstairs with Luke Skywalker, he was her master's more important quarry. She turned and dashed out of the twentieth floor hallway.
Obi-Wan tried to contain the pain and release it into the Force, but wasn't very successful. He'd be quite unable to walk out of the building in this condition. And he had a terrible new feeling, that he'd be needing to get out of there very fast. Why was that?
He didn't have to wait long to find out. His Padawan's voice crackled over his comlink. "Master! Are you alright? Where are you? Lando just tossed one of the the thermal detonators we had down the garbage chute! We need to evacuate the building, it's going to blow up in five minutes! Do you copy? Master? Do you copy?"
Obi-Wan couldn't bring himself to answer. He was, to put it succinctly, screwed...