Lightsabre Training and the Death Star

Thanks to northernlion196 for favouring and following this story

As the Millennium Falcon flew through hyperspace towards Alderaan, it's occupants settled down for the flight. Chewbacca, Artoo and Threepio were playing a game of Derjarik, while Luke was practicing with his father's lightsabre under Obi-Wan's tuition. Malia sat in a corner watching her cousin. Now that the adrenaline of the escape from Tatooine had worn off, she suddenly felt very cold and lonely. Obi-Wan seemed to notice the young woman's discomfort and he approached her. "Are you alright, Malia?" he asked her

"Yeah." Malia replied quietly, "It's just... we've left it all behind. My home, everything I ever knew, it's all gone now."

"Your parents will always be with you, Malia." Obi-Wan told her kindly, "As long as you remember them, they will always be a part of you." He then gave her his cloak to keep warm and they both turned back to watch Luke practice.

Suddenly, Luke saw Obi-Wan stiffen and lean against the bulkhead for support. Luke switched his lightsabre off and approached him. "Are you alright? What's wrong?" he asked

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force." Obi-Wan replied sadly, "As if millions of voices cried out in terror... and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."

"Is it the Empire? Have they done something?" Malia asked

"Maybe..." Obi-Wan murmured, then he suddenly shook himself out of his daze. "You'd better get on with your exercises." he told Luke

Just then, Han joined them. "Well, you can forget ya troubles with those Imperial slugs." he said smugly, "I told ya I'd outrun 'em." Nobody paid him much attention, for Luke was busy using his lightsabre to block shots from a training remote and Malia and Obi-Wan were both busy watching him. "Don't everybody thank me at once." Han grunted as he sat down, "Anyway, we should be at Alderaan about 0200 hours."

Chewbacca and the droids meanwhile were engrossed in their game. Chewbacca made a move, then it was Artoo's turn. "Now be careful, Artoo." Threepio advised his counterpart.

Artoo made his move, which overpowered Chewbacca's, causing the Wookie to howl in annoyance.

"He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help you." Threepio told Chewbacca

"Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a Wookie." Han told the Protocol droid

"But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid." Threepio said

"That's cos' a droid don't pull people's arms outta their sockets when they loose." Han retorted, "Wookies are known to do that."

"Huh, talk about being a sore loser." Malia remarked, having overheard that.

"I see your point, sir." Threepio said to Han, then he turned to Artoo. "I suggest a new strategy, Artoo. Let the Wookie win."

Chewbacca gave a smug-sounding growl at this, while Han turned to Malia. "So, what's an Angel like you doin' hanging around with these two?" he asked her

"I'm no Angel." Malia rolled her eyes

"That doesn't answer my question." Han said simply

"Alright, Luke there is my cousin." Malia replied, "And Ben there is taking us to Alderaan. Ya happy?"

Luke meanwhile was still practicing with his lightsabre. "Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him." Obi-Wan coaxed him

"You mean it controls ya actions?" Luke asked

"Partially, but it also obeys your commands." Obi-Wan replied

Suddenly, the training remote fired a shot too quick for Luke to deflect and it caught him in his thigh, stinging greatly. Malia winced at this, while Han thought it funny. "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." he chortled

Luke shut his lightsabre off and turned to Han. "You don't believe in the Force, do you?" he asked dryly

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful force controlling everything." Han replied coolly, "There's no mystical energy field controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense." He turned to Malia. "What about you, Angel? What'd you believe in?"

"Not in you, that's for sure." Malia retorted, annoyed at Han's flirting.

Obi-Wan meanwhile had been listening to Han's dismissals with a smirk. "I suggest you try it again, Luke." he said as he stood up and picked up a helmet with a blast shield then walked over to Luke. "But this time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct." he advised as he placed the helmet on Luke's head, the blast shield covering the young man's eyes.

"Oh, come on. How is that fair?" Malia pointed out

Luke agreed with her. "With the blast shield down, I can't even see." he complained, "How am I supposed to fight?"

"Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them." Obi-Wan replied simply

Luke begrudgingly activated his lightsabre and tried to fight blind, once again getting stunned by the remote. "See? This is ridiculous." Malia remarked. She'd decided that she wasn't going to follow Luke's example and become a Jedi. She was perfectly happy to just join the Rebellion and stay the way she was.

"Stretch out with your feelings." Obi-Wan instructed Luke. The remote fired again, only this time Luke managed to deflect the shots. "You see? You can do it." Obi-Wan said proudly.

"Well done, Luke." Malia praised her cousin as he deactivated his lightsabre and removed the helmet.

"I call it luck." Han remarked, spoiling the mood.

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." Obi-Wan countered lightly

"Look, good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living? It's something else." Han retorted, then the console he was sat by started bleeping. "Looks like we're coming up on Alderaan." Han said as he stood up and walked back to the cockpit, Chewbacca following him.

"You know, I did feel something." Luke said to Obi-Wan, "I could almost see the remote."

"That's good." Obi-Wan smiled, "You've taken your first step into a larger world."

~8~

"Stand by, Chewie. Here we go, cut in the sublight engines." Han said as he flipped a switch and the Falcon dropped out of hyperspace. Immediately, the ship was pelted by rocks and debris. "What the?" Han muttered as he sat down and checked his instruments.

Chewbacca gave a growl, asking Han where they were.

"Uh, we came out of hyperspace into a meteor shower." Han told him, "Some kinda asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts."

Luke, Malia and Obi-Wan entered the cockpit at that moment. "What's going on?" Luke asked

"Our position's correct, except... no Alderaan." Han told him

"What d'ya mean? Where is it?" Malia asked

"That's what I'm tryin' to tell ya, Angel. It ain't there, it's been totally blown away." Han replied

"What?! How?" Luke stared

"It was destroyed... by the Empire." Obi-Wan said grimly

"They destroyed an entire planet?!" Malia stared, feeling sick at the thought.

"The entire starfleet couldn't destroy the entire planet." Han disagreed, "It'd take a thousand ships with more firepower than I've..." He was cut off by a beeping from the flight console. "There's another ship coming in."

"Maybe they know what happened." Luke suggested

"It's an Imperial fighter." Obi-Wan said grimly, and sure enough, an Imperial TIE Fighter flew overheard, it's engines producing a bloodcurdling scream.

"That thing's followed us!" Malia burst out

"No, it's a short-range fighter." Obi-Wan told her

"There aren't any bases round here. Where'd it come from?" Han wandered

"It sure is leaving in a big hurry. If they identify us, we're in big trouble." Luke said

"Not if I can help it." Han countered, "Chewie, jam it's transmissions."

Chewbacca complied, pressing a button to scramble the TIE Fighter's radio transmissions. "Feels well to let it go. It's too far out of range." Obi-Wan said

"Not for long." Han countered, steering the Falcon on a pursuit course after the TIE Fighter.

"A fighter that size couldn't get this deep into space on it's own." Obi-Wan frowned as the Falcon began to close the distance.

"He must've gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something." Luke suggested

"Well, he ain't gonna be around long enough to tell anyone about us." Han said

Luke then noticed a spherical shape in the distance. "Look at him, he's heading for that small moon." he said, realising that the TIE Fighter was probably based on that moon.

"I think I can get him before he gets there." Han said, "He's almost in range."

As they continued to close the distance, Obi-Wan realised something. "That's no moon. It's a space station." he said gravely

"It's too big to be a space station." Han disagreed, but as the sphere got closer and closer, he saw that it had a grey metallic look to it, clearly not a moon.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Luke murmured uneasily

"Me too." Malia agreed

"Turn the ship around." Obi-Wan ordered Han

"Yeah, I think you're right." Han said quietly, starting to have a bad feeling himself, "Full reverse. Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power." Chewbacca did so, but nothing happened. "Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power." Han repeated

Chewbacca growled, telling Han that he had, and the engines were indeed at full reverse yet the ship was still moving forward. "Why're we still moving towards it?!" Luke hollered

"We're caught in a tractor beam, it's pulling us in!" Han realised

"What?! Can't ya do something?!" Malia asked him

"There's nothing I can do about it, Angel. I'm at full power." Han told her, "I'm gonna have to shut everything down. They're not gonna get me without a fight."

The space station continued to loom closer and closer. "You can't win, but there are alternatives to fighting." Obi-Wan mumured to Han.

~8~

The Millennium Falcon continued to be tractored towards the massive Imperial space station. This was the Death Star, the Empire's new ultimate weapon, boasting a superlaser powerful enough to vaporise an entire planet and Alderaan had fallen victim to this power as a show of the station's power. The Falcon was brought into hanger bay 327 on the Death Star's equator line. Stormtroopers clad in white armour were soon boarding the captured freighter to search for it's occupants, but found no one.

Presently, a figure clad from head to toe in a black life-support suit arrived in the hangar. This was none other than Darth Vader, the former Jedi who had turned to the Dark Side and became the Emperor's right-hand man. An officer came out of the Falcon and approached Vader. "There's no one on board, sir." the officer reported, "According to the log, the crew abandoned ship right after take-off. It must be a decoy, sir. Several of the escape pods have been jettisoned."

"Did you find any droids?" Vader questioned in the deep voice that his helmet's voice unit gave him.

"No, sir. If there were any on board, they must also have jettisoned." the officer replied

"Send a scanning crew aboard. I want every part of this ship checked." Vader ordered

"Yes, sir." the officer acknowledged

"I sense something." Vader murmured to himself, "A presence I've not felt since..." He turned on his heel and walked away.

"Get me a scanning crew here on the double." the officer ordered his men, "I want every part of this ship checked."

~8~

The two Stormtroopers aboard the Falcon finished their search of the ship and met up at the hatchway. "There's no one here." one reported and they both exited the ship.

As soon as the troopers were gone, a floor panel near the hatch was pushed open to reveal Han, Chewbacca and Luke hiding underneath, while another one nearby was pushed open to reveal Malia, Obi-Wan and the droids. "Boy, it's lucky you had these compartments." Luke remarked as they all climbed out of their hiding places.

"I use 'em for smuggling. I never thought I'd be smuggling myself in 'em." Han grumbled, "This is ridiculous. Even if I could take off, I'd never get past that tractor beam.

"Leave that to me." Obi-Wan told him

"Damn fool, I knew that you were gonna say that." Han huffed

"Who's the more foolish: the fool or the fool or follows him?" Obi-Wan countered

Malia laughed at that. "Good one, Ben." she smirked, glad that Obi-Wan could counter anything Han had to say.

~8~

A scanning crew arrived in the hangar with a heavy box full of scanning equipment. "The ship's all yours." the Stormtrooper captain told them, "If the scanners pick up anything, report it immediately. Alright, let's go." he ordered his troops and all but two of the Stormtroopers left the hanger, the two remaining troopers guarding the Falcon's boarding ramp.

The two-man scanning crew heaved the heavy box up the ramp and into the ship. Moments later, the two Stormtroopers on guard heard a crash. "Hey, down there." a voice called, "Could ya give us a hand with this?"

The two troopers, suspecting nothing, entered the ship. Moments later, blaster shots sounded but no one heard them.

~8~

In a command office overlooking hanger 327, the on-duty officer noticed that the two Stormtroopers guarding the captured Falcon had left their posts. "TK-421, why aren't you at your post?" he said into his radio, "TK-421, do you copy?" Receiving no answer, he went to the observation window and saw Stormtrooper TK-421 emerge from the Falcon and tap the side of his helmet, indicating comlink problems. The officer gave an acknowledging hand signal and turned to his aide. "Take over. We've got a bad transmitter. I'll see what I can do." He went to the door and it slid open to reveal Chewbacca and a Stormtrooper standing there.

Before the officer had a chance to say or do anything, Chewbacca promptly tossed him across the room like a rag doll, causing him to slam into the wall and break his neck, killing him instantly. The aide rushed to apprehend the intruder but the Stormtrooper promptly shot him dead. Chewbacca and the Stormtrooper moved into the office to reveal Obi-Wan, Malia, Artoo and Threepio standing behind them. As they all entered the office, the Stormtrooper removed his helmet to reveal Han. Stormtrooper TK-421 came hurrying in after them, closed the door behind him and removed his helmet to reveal Luke. "Ya know, between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here." he told Han dryly

"Bring 'em on. I prefer a straight fight to all this sneakin' around." Han retorted

Artoo meanwhile had moved to the computer terminal and beeped something to Threepio. "We've found the computer outlet, sir." Threepio informed Obi-Wan.

"Plug in. He should be able to interpret the entire Imperial network." Obi-Wan acknowledged.

Artoo extended a datalink into the computer and began sifting through the data. After a moment, he beeped something to Threepio.

"He says he's found the main controls to the power beam that's holding the ship here." Threepio told the others, "He'll try to make the precise location appear on the monitor." Artoo worked fast and soon had a diagram of the station up on the monitor. "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations." Threepio explained, "A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave."

Obi-Wan studied the diagram closely for a moment then turned to the others. "I don't think you three can help. I must go alone." he said and began to walk away.

"Whatever you say." Han said, slouching down in a chair, "I've done more than I bargained for on this trip already."

"You can't just go snooping about on ya own, Ben." Malia said to Obi-Wan

"Yeah, I wanna go with you." Luke added

"Be patient, Luke. Stay and watch over the droids." Obi-Wan told the young man, "They must be delivered safely or other star systems will suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Your destiny lies along a different path from mine." He opened the door and checked to see if the coast was clear, then he turned back to Luke. "The Force will be with you. Always." he told Luke sincerely, then he set off on his mission to disable the tractor beam.

Once Obi-Wan was gone, Chewbacca growled something, apparently making a remark about the old Jedi. "You said it, Chewie." Han remarked, then turned to the two cousins. "Where did ya dig up that old fossil?" he asked snarkily

"Hey, shut up, Fly Boy!" Malia snapped

"Ben is a great man." Luke added, angrily storming up to Han.

"Yeah, great at gettin' us into trouble." Han smart-mouthed

"I didn't hear you give any ideas." Luke shot back

"Well, anything's better than just hangin' around waiting for 'em to pick us up." Han retorted

"Who d'you think that..." Luke began, but was cut off by Artoo whistling and beeping urgently.

"What's up?" Malia asked

"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, ma'am." Threepio replied, "He says 'I've found her' and keeps repeating 'She's here.'"

"Well, who? Who has he found?" Luke asked

"Princess Leia." Threepio replied

"The princess? She's here?!" Luke stared

"Princess?" Han furrowed a brow in confusion

"Where is she?" Malia asked the droids

"Princess? What's goin' on?" Han demanded

Artoo searched the Imperial records and beeped something to Threepio.

"Level five, detention block AA23." Threepio told the cousins

Artoo beeped something else.

"I'm afraid she's scheduled to be terminated." Threepio translated

Both cousins went wide-eyed in horror at this news. "Oh, no." Luke breathed, "We've gotta do something!"

"What're ya talkin' about?" Han demanded

"These droids belong to her, she's the one who set us up on this mission." Malia told him quickly, "We've gotta go and help her!"

"Now look, don't get any funny ideas." Han said, "The old man wants us to wait right here."

"He didn't know she was here." Luke countered, then he turned back to the droids. "Just find a way back into that detention block." he ordered them

"I'm not goin' anywhere." Han said stubbornly

"They're gonna execute her!" Luke told him, "Look, a few minutes ago, you said ya didn't wanna just wait here to be captured. Now all ya wanna do is stay?!"

"Marching into the detention area's not what I had in mind." Han retorted

"But they're gonna kill her!" Malia implored him

"Better her than me." Han said indifferently and turned his chair away from them.

Malia balled her fists in fury at the smuggler's selfishness. "Why you smug, self-centered..." she began, but Luke put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"She's rich." Luke said to Han, deciding to appeal to Han's love of money.

"Rich?" Han questioned, turning back to the young farmers

"She is a princess, Fly Boy." Malia said, realising what Luke was up to.

"Rich, powerful." Luke continued, "Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be..."

"What?" Han asked curiously

"Well, more wealth than you can imagine!" Luke told him

"I dunno, I can imagine quite a bit."

"You'll get it."

"I'd better."

"You will."

"Alright, kid." Han conceded, "You'd better be right about this. What's ya plan?"

"He has a point, Luke." Malia said, "We can't just go walking into that detention area like we own the place."

Luke thought quickly, then his eyes fell on two pairs of wrist binders lying on the desk. "Uh, Threepio, hand me those binders there will ya?" he asked, and the Protocol droid handed him the binders. "Ok." Luke nodded, "Now, we're gonna put these on you..." he began as he tried to put one pair on Chewbacca's wrists, but the Wookie gave a roar of protest. "Ok. Han, you... you put those on." Luke said, tossing the binders to Han.

"Don't worry, Chewie, I think I know what he has in mind." Han said to Chewbacca as he began to put the binders around the Wookie's wrists.

Luke meanwhile approached his cousin with the other pair of binders. "'Lia, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to..." he began

"Put those on me?" Malia finished, "Alright. If it helps rescue the Princess, then do it." She held her wrists out and Luke put the binders on them.

"Uh, Master Luke, sir." Threepio spoke up, "Pardon me for asking, but what should Artoo and I do if we're discovered here?"

"Lock the door." Luke replied

"And hope they don't have blasters." Han added

"That ISN'T very reassuring." Threepio grumbled

"You'll be alright." Malia assured him, "You're droids. Just act like ya belong here and they won't think twice about you two." Then she and the others set off on their mission to rescue the Princess.

Author's notes: And here's another chapter in the bag. Due to work, I was unable to get any more done this week, but better late than never eh? Note that we get our introduction to Darth Vader in this chapter. Malia probably won't meet Vader face-to-face until the Empire Strikes Back. Note that Han tries the moves with Malia here. Don't worry, Han will still be with Leia. As for Malia's romantic involvement, I haven't really thought about it, though pairing her with Wedge sounds tempting, but we'll see. So, hope you like this chapter and see ya next time for the rescue of Princess Leia.