Legacy of the Sith
Chapter 15: The Breaking Point
Luke searched high and low through the spaceport's parking lot, but he couldn't find his rented landspeeder anywhere! He couldn't believe it; of all the times to have it stolen! Master Obi-Wan would eventually start to wonder where he was, and then he'd never get a chance to confront his father! Maybe public transport would get him halfway there, if he could find any. It was so crowded that Luke doubted that he'd find a space to stand on public transport.
Hey wait, Luke thought suddenly. There was always Leia's rented speeder, and he was certain she wouldn't mind if he borrowed it for a little while! He began searching for her landspeeder, but couldn't find that either! Damn! He turned back around again, and saw Leia over by where his landspeeder would have been parked had it not been stolen. Puzzled, Luke rushed over to her.
"Are you looking for my landspeeder? It's been stolen, I think," Luke said unhappily. "Leia, isn't yours around here somewhere?"
"No, I left it over by Obi-Wan's house, remember? I took public transport to Mos Espa, then a swoop bike with Chewie to Jabba's Palace," Leia reminded him.
"Oh, that's right! Crap! I needed my landspeeder; I had to get somewhere," Luke explained vaguely.
"This couldn't have happened at a worse time; I needed to get somewhere too!" Leia huffed angrily. Suddenly, they both looked up in unison, as they both had sensed it. Obi-Wan was striding right towards them.
"What are you two doing here? Luke, I need to borrow your landspeeder; I have somewhere I must go," Obi-Wan explained crisply.
"Sorry Master, but even if my landspeeder hadn't just been stolen, I couldn't lend it to you anyway. I had to get somewhere," Luke responded.
"Stolen!" Obi-Wan exploded. "Damn those Jawas!"
Luke reached into his pants pocket and drew out a key on a small ring. "No, it couldn't have been Jawas, since I still have the key, and since they don't steal landspeeders without the keys to them."
"Of all the landspeeders to pick!" Leia grumbled. "Why yours? It's not like it was top of the line, like this one or that one! You'd think someone would have stolen one of them."
"Hey, Leia, I'm sure wherever you had to go, it wasn't as important as where I had to go," Luke finally snapped.
"Oh, really? I don't think so, Luke! I think where I had to go was a little more important than you reminiscing at some local junk shop," Leia spat.
Luke was about to blow into orbit over that comment, when Obi-Wan cut them both short with his own announcement, "Unless I'm very much mistaken, neither of you could be doing anything more important than what I was going to do!"
Luke finally found his voice. "Why do I suddenly get the feeling that we were all heading to the same place?" Obi-Wan and Leia glared at him, then, oddly enough, at eachother.
"Obi-Wan, no! I'm the only one who can handle him at all. If he sees you..." she gasped, not wanting to even give the words voice.
"If he sees me, I will be the last person he ever sees!" Obi-Wan declared vehemently.
Luke realized, to his horror, that Obi-Wan was talking about killing Vader! "Master, please, don't!" Luke stammered. "I wanted to talk to him, try to make him see reason! You can't go to him, not like this! I know you hate being under his thumb like this, Master! But he's my father!"
Then Leia chimed in, pulling Luke in her direction to face her. "Obi-Wan's not going to him, not because I don't want him to kill our dear old father, but because he'd be putting himself at terrible risk if he did! So I'm going, just as soon as I find a way to get there...WAIT! Obi-Wan, don't!" she screamed.
Turning back in his master's direction, Luke gaped as he watched his Jedi Master leap onto one of a row of swoop bikes that he'd somehow managed to get started. Without giving any thought to what he was doing, Luke rushed over to another one to try to catch up. Hell, he could hot-wire just about anything even faster than Obi-Wan, ever since Han had shown him the tricks of the trade over the course of time since he'd joined the Rebellion, so Luke was out of the spaceport lot in no time.
Obi-Wan blasted through the crowds and heavy traffic of Mos Espa, with his Padawan in hot pursuit. As Luke gave chase, he wondered what had gotten into Obi-Wan? Since he'd left the table at the cantina, something must have happened. Certainly must be his father's doing. Since when wasn't it?
Obi-Wan managed to stay ahead of Luke as they headed into the open desert. But Obi-Wan was not a pilot at heart like his Skywalker Padawans were, and Luke knew a few manuevers to keep Obi-Wan from proceeding full throttle. The Jedi Master slowed down, since his Padawan had started whizzing around him and in front of him. Finally, Obi-Wan was forced to stop, but his face was anger personified. His blue eyes were nearly glowing in the darkness as Luke climbed off his swoop bike and ran to confront him.
"Luke! You are not to interfere in this! I am going to finally free myself from your father's clutches!" Obi-Wan raged.
"No! You can't confront Darth Vader! Come to your senses! He'll kill you if you come after him now like this! I can handle him. I'm the only one who can!" Luke nearly gulped when he saw the shocked outrage on his master's face, but he stood his ground. "What is my father holding over you that's so horrible that it has Leia freaking out? Did something happen while I was talking to Han?" Luke asked.
Obi-Wan's eyes clouded over, and he sank to his knees in the sand. "I feel the Dark Side lurking very closely, my Padawan. Your father has a most terrible fate in store for me if I don't do exactly as he commands. I didn't want to tell you about it; I feared you would think it was this threat that was my only reason for training you. But now my path is set, a path that shall surely lead to Vader's displeasure. I cannot bear this!" Obi-Wan pounded his fists into the gritty sand, then let one desperate wail of anguish escape him before he bowed his head in utter defeat.
"Master, I know I can get through to my father. I know I can convince him that this plan of his is hurting, no, killing the people I love, and people he loves as well, though he'd rather die than admit it. Now, let me go to him and..." Luke began to say, but Obi-Wan's hand shot out so fast that Luke didn't see it, but rather felt it's iron grip around his own wrist.
"No! If I'm not going to see him, then certainly you will not! Your friend is now out of the carbonite, Luke, and it's high time that we left here and went to Dagobah. Understand?" Obi-Wan growled, eyeing Luke with the fire returning in his eyes.
"Yes, Master. We'll leave as soon as we get the Phoenix refueled and ready to go. You're absolutely right; we should be returning to Master Yoda as soon as possible," Luke answered, felt the grip on his wrist loosen. As Obi-Wan rose from the ground, Luke couldn't help thinking that his Jedi Master was keeping something very important from him. Since when was Obi-Wan afraid of death? Or was that even what Vader planned for Obi-Wan? If there was something worse than dying, then surely his father would have thought of it. He sincerely hoped that Master Yoda would be able to bring some sort of calm to Obi-Wan's mind. If anyone could, it was Yoda.
Meanwhile, back at the spaceport, Leia wandered around, trying to decide what to do. She saw the Millenium Falcon nearby, so she walked toward it. But she saw right away that Han didn't have the cargo hatch down, so obviously he wasn't there.
As she stood there fearfully waiting for her brother to come back with Obi-Wan, Leia thought that maybe she should call her wayward father. She paced back and forth a little longer, then decided to do it. Nervously, she searched her contacts list and got the code that Luke had given her. She initiated the call it, then waited.
She heard a prerecorded message: "No doubt, if you have this access code, and you've reached this message, then you are someone I want to speak to, so leave a message and I will return your call." No id of the voice, not that Leia needed it. It was a voice she heard in nightmares from time to time. She waited a few seconds, then began to speak: "It's me, and I'm telling you right now, if you've laid a finger on Obi-Wan, I will make it my life's mission to turn you into a pile of scrap metal, I don't give a damn how I do it! He's gone off to seek you out, and you'd better just hope like hell that Luke managed to stop him. You've gone too far, and I don't care if you are related to me, or what Luke says. I will stop you. And you might laugh that off now, but you and I both know I have my ways."
With that, Leia signed off, her hands shaking with rage. She glanced around her; she had gotten pretty loud, but she was also pretty sure nobody in the world would think she was speaking to Darth Vader, of all people!
Except for one man, who had gone back to his ship, who hadn't had a chance to re-emerge from the shadows before Leia started her comlink tirade. That man now leaned against the wall, still behind his ship, with his heart pounding. Vader hadn't lied to him at all! Luke and Leia are his children! But more importantly, Leia was really pissed about Vader threatening Obi-Wan! Secretly, Han didn't want Obi-Wan to face Vader any more than Leia did. But that was because he wanted to get his revenge on Obi-Wan himself, not have Vader slice and dice him first!
Where was Chewie? Han realized that he didn't even have an activated comlink back in service yet. He'd have to get back onto the Falcon and use it's com to get Chewie. And that was going to prove difficult. Not so much because Leia was stationed in front of his ship, but because he'd just caught sight of Boba Fett! He reached for his blaster, only to recall that Vader had sliced it in half quite efficiently earlier that evening. Now he really needed to get back onto the Falcon, since an extra back up blaster rifle, along with turbo lasers and theother secretguns all awaited him. But getting up there would be the problem; Fett was sure to have his eyes peeled.
Han wished suddenly, madly, that he knew some sort of Force trick to help him out... He could see Fett advancing; the bounty hunter had seen Leia! She had her blaster out, but would she be able to save herself?
Suddenly, two brown blurs appeared, blocking Fett from Leia. When they stopped, Han could see it was Luke and Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master and his Padawan had their lightsabers crossed before Leia, as if keeping her from doing anything. "I suggest you move on, bounty hunter. Surely whatever Jabba has promised to pay you is not worth your life, which I will promptly be taking if you make one more step towards this woman," Obi-Wan warned Fett.
"Jabba would like to see her back in his lap, but I'm really waiting for Solo. I have permission to disintegrate him this time..." Fett reported.
Luke responded, "You're going to have no more success trapping Han than you did attacking Leia, so I think you should do as my master suggested and move along!"
"You will regret interfering in my hunt, Jedi scum!" Fett blasted off.
Shaking with rage and humiliation, Han didn't dare approach them. He was too ashamed. Leia was in danger, and Obi-Wan came to her rescue! He was truly losing the woman he loved to that opportunistic bastard! And Boba Fett would never have been there had it not been for his quest to recapture Han! Obviously, Jabba was not through with him! Leia had almost been taken, because of him and his debt! Han felt like vomiting.
Vader was right about it all!
But could he be right about the remedy?
As Fett flew off, Obi-Wan's blue and Luke's green blades dissolved. Luke comforted Leia, who was shaking, despite the blaster still in her hand. "It's okay, Leia, shh..." Luke whispered.
"At least he didn't get Han..." Leia answered. "But where is he? I haven't seen him all night! I bet he didn't take your news too well, did he?" Leia accused Luke.
What was this? Did Leia still care about him after all he'd put her through? Han remained silent, stayed in the shadows, hating himself more every second he remained there. There was no doubt about what she meant. Luke was supposed to be the one to break it to their ol' buddy Han that they were the spawn of the Sith!
"Well, actually, I never managed to..tell him. About Vader," Luke admitted.
Obi-Wan became cross. "Oh? So I suppose instead you decided to slip off and visit your father?" he snapped.
"No it wasn't like that! I tried to tell him, but he got the wrong idea and I just..." Luke dropped his head in shame.
"Oh, great! Han's got the wrong idea? I can just imagine..." Leia snorted.
"I suggest, my Padawan, that you go track down Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca to aid you in finding your friend. Before more bounty hunters show up here," Obi-Wan ordered.
"Yes Master," Luke answered, then took off. Yeah, first good idea you've had all day, Kenobi. And get your damned hands off my woman, Han's mind seethed. It was time to make his grand entrance, Han decided. Play it cool, he told himself. Act innocent!
"Hey, Leia! What's going on? I just got back," Han reported, emerging from around the side of his ship. Leia's face brightened when she saw Han's lopsided grin. Han's eyes darted at Obi-Wan very quickly, and he did not miss the darkening of the Jedi's blue eyes.
"Han! Thank goodness you weren't here a few minutes ago!" Leia cried, running into his arms. Han clung to his princess, savoring her closeness.
"What do you mean?" Han asked, as if he had no idea.
"Boba Fett was lurking around here," Obi-Wan answered in a very terse tone.
Han looked alarmed. "Leia! I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
"Fortunately, Luke and I arrived in time to fend him off," Obi-Wan told him.
As much as it was killing Han to do it, he attempted to play nicely. "Then I'm grateful to you for saving the day. Where is Luke now?"
"I just sent him off to find your friend Calrissian and Chewbacca. Then, since you're back here, safe and sound, Luke and I are leaving Tatooine."
"Already?" Leia gasped, breaking away from Han and turning her full attention to Obi-Wan. Apparently, she wasn't too happy with that kind of news.
"I'm afraid so. But we won't stay away for too long," Obi-Wan answered, giving her a strange sort of smile that was making Han's blood boil. Keep it cool, Solo, he warned himself. At least he's going away from Leia. That will give me the time I need to do what I need to do...
What I must do...
Later, everyone was back at the spaceport. Lando and Chewie were telling Han all about what their old pal Jix had been up to, and Luke was taking his leave with Obi-Wan aboard the Phoenix. Han only half listened to Lando as he watched Leia wipe tears from her face. I know I'll be hurting you at first, but please Leia, please understand why I'm doing this... Because Han had his own plans to leave. He would not keep Luke and Leia in danger.
He would not keep being a liability to those around him. That included Chewie, who suffered just as much as everyone else because to Han's inability to get rid of the lingering threat of Jabba's wrath. Which was why, when Leia leaves Tatooine with Lando to return to the Rebel Fleet, Chewie was going to be with her. His Wookiee pal just didn't know it yet.
It was very late when Leia, Lando, Han and Chewie returned to the set of rented rooms. But Han was ready to set his plan in motion. When Lando and Chewie were finally asleep, Han slipped out and returned to the Falcon.
Once he finally managed to get aboard his ship once again, Han quickly pulled Leia's comlink out of his pocket. He looked for Vader's code and found it. After initiating it, Han got the same message Leia got. He left his own: "If you weren't jerking my chain before, then I'm interested in talking. I'll be aboard my ship, if you can get here ASAP." Han clicked off, feeling his heart quicken. This was a big step to take, but he couldn't keep this crap up forever. Either he or someone he loved was going to get killed. And there was Obi-Wan to deal with...
Down in the hold, Han sat at his small gaming table, too keyed up to do anything except wait. But he didn't have to wait long at all. Vader ventured up the opened cargo hatch and boarded the Falcon.
"I got your message, Captain Solo," Vader said, sweeping into Han's hold in a flurry of black capes.
"I was a bit worried that you'd already left Tatooine," Han admitted.
"I was not leaving Tatooine without my apprentice..." Vader clarified with a certainty that Han instantly envied.
"It must be nice to know in advance that everything is going to go your way," Han grumbled.
"With the Force as my ally, I have knowledge that no one save those who have already crossed into the netherworld could know. I can see the future outcomes of my plans, I can see the past with clarity, and I can see the present in a whole different way than others can. You have this power at your disposal, Solo. You only need to reach for it, and it will be there. I can teach you to reach for it, and what to do once you have the Force with you. I take it that you have reconsidered my offer. That could be the only reason you would have called me. Tell me, what happened to change your mind? What could have made you so angry, so desperate, that you called me, your enemy?" Vader asked.
Han didn't want to, but as Vader spoke, the events of the past few hours swirled in his mind again. The rage at seeing Obi-Wan, the humiliation of hiding from Boba Fett, the anger at seeing his precious Leia crying... "Tell me what I must do," Han finally said.
Vader felt the triumph in his heart, though he was careful not to let it be known. The Dark Side of the Force is truly the more powerful, the more useful side of the Force! "You must become my apprentice. Learn what I teach you about the Force and the powers you can gain from it. And when my master is one with the Force at last, you must become a Sith."
"I'll do whatever you say, just so long as I don't lose Leia. I can't bear the thought of losing her!" Han warned Vader.
"I understand, my apprentice," Vader nodded. "With Obi-Wan Kenobi destroyed, Leia will not be distracted from who she really loves--you. Now, what about the Wookiee?"
"For the time being I have that covered, but Chewie owes me a life debt," Han reminded Vader as they headed up to the cockpit.
"A Sith does not have to give up everything in his or her life in order to be a Sith," Vader told Han. "Not like the Jedi, whose Code forbade any permenant attachments. So when the time is right, once you have destroyed all your enemies, Chewbacca can return to you. Now, I take it we are leaving Tatooine?"
"As long as we don't have a fleet of Imperial ships waiting in orbit," Han responded.
"There won't be one, but perhaps we should leave in my shuttle rather than..."
"Oh no! Now you might be the Master around here, but when it comes to the Falcon, the rule is, once your inside her, you don't diss her. Got it?" Han snapped.
"As you wish..." Vader answered quietly, trusting in the Force that this bucket of bolts manages to get out of the spaceport in one piece.