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CHAPTER THREE
Blotches of white spotted the inside of his eyelids. Blood rushed through his ears, making him feel as though he were underwater. Drowning. His breaths sounded like thunderclaps. His pulse pounded in his throat. He was going to die. He was never going to know his father's love. He was never going to know peace.
...and neither would Leia.
Luke could feel coldness welling up inside of him at the thought that his sister would die too. She had done nothing. She was innocent. But she would die, like everyone else, because of him.
First, he felt the viroblade leave his throat. He felt no pain. It must have happened quickly, he thought, I must already be dead.
But then he felt a thick, warm, wet drop on his cheek.
What?
"Open your eyes, Luke."
Luke blinked in shock and the room came into focus. The first thing he saw was Xelar's face, six inches from his own, his mouth slack and blood running from his nose. Another drop hit Luke's cheek: it was Xelar's blood. He gasped and pulled himself back on his elbows, Xelar's hands were slack now and they fell onto the bed as Luke pulled out from under them.
Luke glanced at the figure standing over him and said the only thing that he could put into words at that moment: "It took you long enough!"
Vader seemed vaguely amused as he waved his hand and Xelar's corpse slumped to the floor unceremoniously. "Pardon me for the inconvenience."
Luke's jaw dropped. "He was going to kill me!"
Vader tilted his head. "Luke, do you honestly think I could have brought a Rebel Special Ops. Agent all the way from Endor and not have noticed?"
Luke frowned. "How did you...?"
"Besides the Force screaming out to me? I know all of my special assignment troopers' names and faces."
Luke wiped at the blood on his cheek with his sleeve. "But— but why did you allow him to come all this way with us? And why did you leave him in here alone with me!"
"A lesson."
Luke balled his fists and clenched his jaw. "You. Must. Be. Joking."
Vader continued speaking as if Luke had said nothing. "Two very important lessons: do not presume that your life is not in grave peril at any given moment—"
"Gee, that's optimistic..."
"And your Alliance has betrayed you."
Luke was silent for several moments, his face drawn tight. Finally he spoke. "They misunderstood my actions."
"Oh? Then how do you explain your sister's predicament?"
Luke's eyes widened. "Leia!"
Vader nodded gravely. "Now, my son, I suggest we show your old comrades what a real war is."
Luke followed Vader quickly, casting a glance back at the crumpled body on the floor. "Why do you care anyway?" he asked bitterly. "Don't you just care about ruling the galaxy?"
Vader suddenly stopped and spun on his son, holding a finger in his face. "She's my daughter. Do not forget that."
He turned away from Luke and continued to storm down the corridor. "This war we wage against the Alliance now, it is yours and mine. It is not the Empire's. This has nothing to do with politics..."
He didn't complete his sentence. He didn't have to.
oOo
Hanging on the outskirts of the radar scope of Home One, father and son sat in silence and contemplated.
The entire Rebel fleet was in orbit around the moon of Endor, and even if it weren't, they still had little chance of smuggling an Imperial shuttle onto the Rebel flagship unnoticed.
Luke was slouched in his seat with his feet propped up on the console. Gnawing on a fingernail, he stared out the viewport at what once would have been a comforting sight. The shuttle had exited hyperspace under two minutes before, but the two occupants had immediately fallen silent. Luke was feeling nostalgic. Who would have thought he could have the same adventures with his father as he had had with Han, Leia, and Chewie? Reckless, impromptu, and likely to get one killed.
Vader made a small sound and glanced at Luke.
Luke looked over at him. "What?"
"Why do you have your boots on my console in that manner?"
"I'm relaxing."
"It seems to me that you are ruining the polish."
Luke pulled his feet down with a snort. "Shouldn't we be thinking about getting into there, not my chosen footrest?"
"Sit up. That posture makes me cringe."
Luke twisted his face up. "I'm serious, Leia is in danger!"
"And I have hailed the Imperial Fleet which has been waiting just outside of system for orders since the last battle."
Luke frowned at Vader. "When did you do that?"
"Just when we arrived."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"You didn't ask."
"I've been sitting here trying to think of a way to get in there!"
Vader shrugged. "It is good practice for you."
Luke scowled and put his feet back on the console.
Vader glanced at him. Suddenly, Luke fell out of his chair.
"HEY!"
oOo
"Sir!"
Borsk Fey'lya turned from the circle of officers he was addressing and raised an eyebrow at the breathless captain. He said nothing to him; he simply glared at him for his interruption.
"The-e," he stuttered and paused, caught his breath and continued, "The Imperial fleet has appeared on our scopes!"
The corner of Fey'lya's lip lifted. "They've come back for more, have they?"
"Sir!" the voice of the communications officer echoed across the bridge. "We have an incoming communiqué from the Star Destroyer Vengeance!"
The Bothan's fur rippled. "Patch it through."
A flicker of light, then particles collided to form the image of pristinely polished metal set over fathomless eye sockets.
"My Lord Vader, how interesting to see you breathing," Fey'lya snapped haughtily.
Ignoring the comment, the Dark Lord drew an ominous breath and spoke. "The funeral fires of our dead soldiers still smolder; let us not sully their memory with further bloodshed. I come to you with a peaceful proposition."
The Bothan snorted. "You? A peaceful proposition? I shall believe it when I see it, Vader." He spat his name, title-less, like a curse.
Another rasping breath, almost like the sigh of a patient parent speaking to an insolent child. "I wish to negotiate for the life of Leia Organa."
There was a short pause in which mumbling could be heard from a source out of sight.
"And the life of," Vader seemed to pause again fractionally, "Han Solo."
Borsk Fey'lya had his arms crossed now. "They are to be tried as traitors. I cannot negotiate their releases."
"What act of treason have they committed?"
He leaned forward and sneered, he looked as though he would like to spit on the holo of the Sith. "Consorting with you."
"I have not spoken with Leia Organa since we encountered one another on Bespin, and even then our conversation was... limited."
"She is guilty by association."
"I do not understand your logic, Bothan."
"You wouldn't. You understand only pain and death."
"And yet it is I entreating you to spare these lives."
"They are traitors!" he repeated, his voice shaking with rage.
"You have yet to tell me what treason they committed."
The Bothan glowered at Vader, his patience finally breaking. "She is your Sith-Spawn!"
"That is no act of treason," Vader replied, betraying nothing at the biased accusation.
"It is to us," he snarled.
Vader seemed to sit back a fraction. "Is it really? I am most curious then of your liberated vision of the galaxy."
He opened his mouth, but Vader cut him off.
"You have no ground on which to hold Han Solo. Allow me onboard to discuss the conditions of his release."
For a moment, Borsk Fey'lya looked ready to tear Vader's throat out with his teeth, but the look vanished into a calm and collected visage. "Very well. We will receive you in our docking bay, Lord Vader."
The transmission winked out.
"Are you crazy?" General Madine charged forward. "He'll kill us all!"
Borsk Fey'lya smirked. "The Vengeance'srange is about twenty minutes. We have that much time to prepare for the assassination of Darth Vader."
oOo
"Are you crazy? He's only letting you onboard so he can kill you!"
"I am aware."
"What?"
Vader had already grabbed the controls and was pushing the shuttle towards Home One. "He's going to be expecting us in a little over a quarter of an hour."
Luke stared at him with his jaw slightly slack for several moments. "Is that why you patched the call through that Star Destroyer?"
"Yes."
Luke was quiet for another thoughtful moment. "You didn't really need me to come, did you?"
"I'm sure you will be invaluable once we are onboard the Rebel vessel."
Luke bit his bottom lip. "You know, I can tell when you're lying!"
oOo
Han stared up at the blank ceiling of the cell. His shoulder blades were pressed sharply into the floor, his hands rested under his head. Leia was sprawled out on the metal slab attached to the wall over his head, her hand dangled in the air over his face. He heard Leia inhale and sniffle, then struggle to breathe normally.
"Leia?"
"Yeah, Han?"
"I'm sorry."
"So am I. He's... Han, he's dead, they've killed him, and they're going to kill you too. It's all my fault, I should have done something."
Han pulled himself up and sat next to the slab, looking up over its edge at the distraught woman. "Sweetheart, this ain't your fault. As far as I can see, the only one that's at fault here is that flea-ridden rodent and his crazy ideas... and maybe your dad, he caused a bit of trouble himself. And speaking of him, I wouldn't worry too much about Luke; if what Fey'lya said was true, then the kid has some pretty solid backup."
"Yeah," Leia acknowledged with a bow of her head. "He went with him... and didn't even tell us that he was alive."
"Leia..."
"He lied to me, Han."
"We wouldn't have let him go if we had known."
"Exactly."
A click sounded, interrupting them; they both looked at the door as it opened. Leia got to her feet and held Han's hand tightly as the door slid fully open and a figure stepped into view.
"Lando?"
Han's old friend smirked at him with his best cavalier smile. "I have it on good authority that a Sith Lord is going to be docking in our landing bay momentarily."
Leia's eyes widened. "Vader's here? Is Luke with him?"
Lando shook his head and stepped back as they came out of the cell. "I'm assuming so, but..."
"You didn't actually see him," Leia finished for him.
He nodded.
Han pressed his hand onto Leia's shoulder. "I'm telling you, Sweetheart, don't give up on the kid yet."
The princess drew a deep breath and nodded, hurrying down the hall behind Lando and Han.
"Wait!" she stopped and turned back, running to the end of the detention block.
"Leia," Lando shouted after her. "Leia, what are you doing? We don't have time!"
Leia skidded to a stop in front of the last cell and slammed her palm into the release control. She stood before the door as it opened, panting. When the door was fully open, she stepped forward cautiously.
"Just kill me," a gruff voice said. "I don't know anything more."
Leia approached the figure huddled in the corner and knelt, "Xelar?"
The young man jerked in shock, then turned his eyes towards the woman before him, he squinted his blackened eyes. "You're the princess, aren't you?"
She nodded. "I'm here to rescue you."
"I'm being rescued by a princess?"
She held out her hand and helped him up. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
oOo
"How is this possible? Tell me how this is possible!"
"Sir, he must not have been on the Vengeance when the message was transmitted," a trembling lieutenant explained.
Borsk Fey'lya slammed his palm against the bulkhead; his claws scratched the metal, making everyone on the bridge cringe. "Just prepare, NOW! I want him dead the moment he steps foot on this ship."
oOo
Vader guided the shuttle onto the deck of Home One's landing bay effortlessly. He left the shuttle on standby and rose from his seat, Luke's hand stopped him mid-motion. He looked down at his son, whose blue eyes were watching him intensely.
"Father, I have an idea."
oOo
Han helped Xelar navigate the corridors as quickly as possible, while Leia and Lando scouted a few paces ahead, ensuring their clear passage.
"They must all be in the landing bay," Lando murmured.
"Well, if I knew that Vader was landing on my ship, I'd have everyone in the landing bay too," Han remarked, shifting his arm supporting Xelar.
The stormtrooper frowned at Han. "You must be mistaken. Lord Vader was killed in battle."
Han smirked at the young man. "Boy, do you have a surprise waiting for you."
Xelar's mouth gaped open and he began to ask further about the battle when Leia waved her arm at them to be quiet.
"We're at the landing bay... and Vader's here too."