Chapter 14

Luke emerged from the detention center to see a face he had not seen in months. Leia, dressed in a black cloak, blocked the turbolift doors. The rest of Luke's party crowded behind him as the two stared at each other.

"I'm sorry, Luke," Leia said. Her voice was filled with regret, giving Luke some shred of hope. "I can't let the prisoners escape."

"Spoiled brat!" Mara growled. "You and Vader are planning to betray my master!" She pushed past Luke and activated her violet lightsaber.

"Wait!" Luke screamed as he felt the dark side surge in Leia.

Leia held out her right hand and blue-white bolts of lightning burst from her fingertips. Mara was not prepared for Leia to harness such power. She crashed against the wall and fell to the floor with a groan.

"You see that I have become more powerful than you, Luke," Leia said coldly as she eyed the Jedi. "Back down."

Han drew his blaster, but Chewbacca wisely restrained the smuggler. He painfully said, "Leia, you aren't the woman I fell for. What happened to you?"

"My father gave me the power to save you, Han," Leia said to her lover. "Quit being selfish and show some gratitude. If it weren't for me, Jabba would have had his way with you."

"Leia, this is not the Jedi way," Luke pleaded. "You have let our father poison your mind when you should have been working to redeem him."

"Our father?" Leia asked Luke. Her gazed narrowed. "Is this some sort of trick?"

"Leia, I'm your brother," Luke said before taking a few steps closer to her. He felt no fear as he approached his sister. "Search your feelings."

Leia cast her gaze down towards the floor before clinching her fists. "Now Obi-Wan has kept you away from me too!" she growled. "He's taken everything away from us!"

"No," Luke said. "Don't give in to hate. That leads to the dark side."

"The ever cautious mantra of the Jedi," Leia commented. She looked up to her brother and said, "Luke, go. For old times sake, I will let you go. Take your friends with you, but Han stays. I can't let anyone take him from me again."

"Han doesn't want to serve the Empire, Leia," Luke said. "Please, come with us."

"Luke, what I do here is in the service of the Rebellion, not the Empire!" Leia snapped. "I am gaining Vader's trust! Soon, we will overthrow the Emperor and we can make things better!"

Luke sensed the anger shooting through her like a geyser. She was like a boiler ready to explode. But most disturbing was her delusions of grandeur. "We both know that an Empire under Vader would be no better than what the Empire is now," Luke said. "You may think you are serving the Rebellion, but you are just serving yourself. Turn away from the darkness before it is too late."

"Brother, you know nothing of the darkness!" Leia retorted. She shrugged off her cloak to reveal a black TIE pilot's uniform. "You grew up on some desert planet, thinking you knew what danger was! But I saw it every day. I saw the Emperor roll back what little freedoms we had. I saw the pestilence first hand while you were farming in some desert. You can't know what I know!"

Luke frowned before unclipping his lightsaber from his belt. Leia followed suit and the two began to pace in a circle.

"Maybe I don't know what it's like to be a Senator," Luke admitted. "Maybe I did grow up as a farmer, but the Empire took my family from me too. Don't you remember that?"

"That is nothing compared to what Obi-Wan took from us, what the Jedi did to us," Leia said firmly.

Luke said, "Obi-Wan wasn't responsible. Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side, not him! You can't blame the Jedi for his actions."

"Don't make me do this, Luke," Leia threatened.

Luke activated his lightsaber. With a snap-hiss, the green energy blade emerged from the hilt. "I will do my duty," he said sadly.

"So be it," Leia said before igniting her blood red sword. She leapt at Luke, bringing her lightsaber bearing down for the kill.

Luke's blade met hers and the energy blades roared as they collided. "Get to the Falcon!" Luke screamed as he busied himself with Leia.

Han rushed to Mara's aid, lifting her from the floor as Lando and Chewbacca rushed for the turbolift.

Leia drew her blade back before lunging for Luke's left side. Luke moved with superhuman speed, parrying with his green sword. He maintained a tight defense, moving his sword up and down, forwards and back, left and right as Leia's ferocious attacks drove Luke back.

And Luke let her lead the charge. He brought his blade up to deflect another attack before he drove for an opening in her defenses. But Leia was proving to be his equal. Her upward thrust knocked Luke's blade away. Only a swift movement to the side prevented her from cutting him down.

Luke gritted his teeth before slamming his blade down directly in front of him to protect himself against Leia's incoming slash and thus saving himself from a humiliating decapitation. The Jedi then took more steps backwards as he defended himself against another flurry of attacks. Leia relentlessly pushed Luke towards the balcony.

Luke decided that he would fight her there.

Yoda leapt over Vader's head and employed a powerful Force push to knock the Sith Lord off his feet. All the Jedi Master succeeded in doing was knocking his enemy off balance. Vader regained his footing and turned to face Yoda.

Yoda kept his confident composure as he tried to capitalize on Vader's temporary weakness. He leapt at his opponent, slashing his green saber at Vader's knees. The Sith Lord displayed his fast recovery time by knocking Yoda's attack away with his lightsaber. Then, the Sith Lord let the Jedi Master feel a Force push of his own.

The Jedi Master flew through the air, only stopping himself by grabbing a railing. He twirled upwards and released the railing. He landed before the bleachers with his feet on the tiny railing. He reactivated his lightsaber to prepare for Vader's next onslaught.

Without moving, Vader hurled broken battle droids at the Jedi Master. Yoda responded by leaping out of the way. He leapt backwards before hopping along the bleachers to avoid flying debris. When the volley ceased, Yoda stood unharmed.

"Learned a thing or two from your master, you have," Yoda said. Sadly, he added, "Much more to learn, you still have."

"I have learned all I need," Vader said before he locked his energy blade in the on position. He threw his lightsaber at Yoda, forcing the Jedi Master to dodge again.

Yoda hopped down the bleachers before leaping over the railing. He somersaulted in the air before landing in front of Vader just as the Sith Lord retrieved his lightsaber.

"Learned how not to lose your lightsaber, you have," Yoda said before Vader charged. He leapt out of the way of a downward slash just as a noise from above rattled the arena. Sunlight slowly poured into the arena as the roof began to open in quarters.

Yoda defended himself against another round of attacks, leaping and slashing at Vader. Not a single attack hit is mark. The constant clash of lightsabers drowned the sound of the opening roof.

"Hurry up, Goldenrod!" Han growled. He carried an unconscious Mara over his back as he ran out of the turbolift and into Vader's personal hangar. The Millenium Falcon seemed as if it was waiting for them.

"I'm trying, Captain Solo!" Threepio wailed. "Protocol droids are made for etiquette, not sprinting!"

"What about Luke?" Lando asked before he reached the ship.

Chewbacca opened the boarding ramp, allowing the droids to enter the ship. From Han, he took Mara in his arms and placed her over his large right shoulder.

"Get the Falcon prepped and ready to go," Han told Lando. "I didn't save those kids at Yavin to leave them here."

"You always took big risks, you old pirate," Lando said to his friend. "I'm sorry about what happened on Cloud City, Han. I really am."

"Consider us even," Han said, referring to the raid on Ylesia. He held out his right hand and Lando took it. The two shook hands before they embraced. "I'll see you."

Han looked to Chewbacca and said, "Make sure the Falcon is ready to go. I'll see you when I get back."

But my life debt! the Wookiee protested. It's too dangerous for you to go alone!

"Chewie, you can't follow me this time," Han said. He swallowed his pride and admitted, "I love Leia. Even though she betrayed me, I still love her. I have to do this alone."

Chewbacca sighed mournfully. If you don't come back, I'll never forgive myself, he said.

"Never say never," Han said before throwing his friend a confident grin. "Just get the Falcon prepped and ready to go."

Then, without saying another word, Han rushed back to the turbolift. The smuggler ran faster than he ever had in his life. He refused to let his pride get in the way this time. He was ready to die if it meant saving Leia. Of this, he was more certain than anything in his life.