Alderaan:
Luke stared out of the viewport of the Millennium Falcon as they entered the atmosphere of Alderaan. He looked towards the capital city where he noticed smoke rising from several sections of the city. He could feel death and despair from the people of Alderaan. Suffering and pain were rampant throughout the city. He let loose a shiver as he spoke, "So is the palace under siege?"
"Yes," Han replied.
Luke noticed C-3PO standing up as he spoke, "I would advise against entering the Palace Master Luke. If your mother was here she would as well."
"We have no choice 3PO. You remain with the ship. We have to get the Princess and R2."
Han felt his comlink buzzing. He answered it as he spoke, "This is Solo."
The voice of Viceroy Organa spoke, "Commander, we cannot hold them much longer. They have taken the courtyards and the first level of the Palace. We have the doors sealed but Moff Jade's vessels have entered the system. He is already on the planet with the advance force of reinforcements. That brings the number of stormtroopers in the city close to a thousand. He is burning the city and killing anyone that is in sight."
Han looked at Luke as he spoke, "We are on our way."
Luke, Han, Chewie and Leia exited the Falcon from their discrete location outside of the capital city of Alderaan.
Han noticed the waiting airspeeder as he spoke, "The Alderaanian resistance provided us with this. Lets get to the palace."
The team immediately climbed into the speeder as they drove towards the burning city and palace. Luke and Leia mentally readied themselves for the next battle with unease.
A middle aged man in an Imperial uniform with flaming red hair sat in his landspeeder as he surveyed the burning buildings. The speeder took him closer and closer to the royal palace as he smiled to himself. If all went according to planned he would have the Death Star Plans that Lord Vader was supposed to have. How Moff Jade would look in the eyes of the Emperor and even in the eyes of his friend, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. His emerald eyes examined the destruction as he fingered his blaster pistol. He noticed a woman running in front of his speeder with a baby in her arms in panic. He pulled out his blaster and shot the woman in the head. He smiled to himself as his speeder cruised over her body and the sounds of her crying baby, "So us the price that you must pay when your leaders oppose the Galactic Empire."
The twisted man drove towards the Royal Palace as he noticed the burning buildings that were outside of the palace. He stood up as the doors were opened. A young officer approached him as he spoke, "Sir, we have them routing. We are almost to Organa's throne room where he is with his daughter. Their guards are trying to protect them but we almost have them."
"Good, give them to me alive," Jade stated. Jade turned his head towards a large crowd of panicking civilians. He started to fire his blaster into the crowd at random. He smirked to himself as he spoke, "Make sure the boys know to have their fun as they wish. The battle is pretty much over down here. The city is ours."
"Yes sir!"
Bail Prestor Organa looked at his adopted daughter as he handed her a blaster.
She smiled a sad smile at him as he spoke, "I am sorry Winter. I never intended for you to end up wrapped up in this."
Winter smiled at her father as she moved forward and kissed his cheek, "We all knew what we were asking for when we signed up for this daddy. Even Mom knew. Thank the Force that she didn't live to see how things ended."
Bail nodded as he turned towards the sound of screams. R2-D2 retreated into a small corner of the Throne Room. "Daddy?"
"Yes, daughter," Bail replied.
"I'm scared."
"I'm scared too," Bail replied.
Bail looked towards the door as he knew it would explode soon. He pointed towards the tipped over durasteel banquet table.
The two took cover as the doors of the throne room bursted open. The two fired their blasters into the relentless onslaught of stormtroopers. Blue blaster shots were fired against Bail and Winter's lethal red bolts. Stormtroopers and officers alike screamed as they were dropped to the ground by the defensive shots of the father and daughter.
Moff Jade found himself standing in front of the throne room as he let out a sneer. He turned to the stormtroopers in anger as he spoke ,"Don't just stand here, charge into the room! Less of you will die that way. Someone has to die. Just subdue them now!"
The squad of stormtroopers reluctantly obeyed their self serving and self centered commander as they knew the consequences of not obeying him.
Jade holstered his own blaster as he suddenly realized that the blasterfire had ceased. He entered the room to see Organa and his daughter both on their knees. He looked at Organa with a smile, "So where are the plans Viceroy?"
"Like I will tell you anything Jade!" Bail defiantly spat.
Jade drew his blaster and fired a shot at Organa in anger. Organa fell to the ground as he motioned for the stormtroopers to pull him up, "He's not going to be dead yet."
Bail was still alive although he was in immense pain.
Jade smirked, "That wound is not far from your heart. It hit one of your valves you have a few minutes to talk."
Jade approached Winter with a smile as he placed a hand on her cheek. Winter shivered as she was forced to stand by the two stormtroopers who were holding her. He stroked Winter's white hair. "Force you are one lovely specimen of an Alderaanian native Princess," Jade stated.
Moff Jade's carnal desires were no secret to the public. Winter was shivering from the horror of Jade's touch. "Take your hands off of her," Bail screamed.
Jade turned towards the dying Viceroy with a smile, "If you love your daughter you will talk. Otherwise me and her are going to have one hell of a time while you watch."
He stroked her cheek as he forced his lips against hers. Winter bit his lip in defiance as she brought her knee into his groin.
"I always enjoy a little bit of a fight Princess. It shows me that you have spirit. Women with the spirit are always the most satisfying."
"Those are the same kind of women who can kill you," stated a sinister voice as a blue lightsaber sputtered to life.
Jade turned his head to see a young boy with a blue lightsaber blade and blonde hair. A young brunette with a matching lightsaber color was at his side along with a man and a wookiee. The man spoke, "Your commander dies or you stand down."
Jade stepped back a few feet as he put some distance between himself and the Jedi.
"Do not listen to him. These two Jedi are mere padawans. I have been fighting since before they were born."
Jade reached behind his back for his second blaster that was concealed beneath his tunic. He slowly drew the second blaster as the boy spoke, "Do not test me. Drop your blasters and you live," the boy said.
Jade responded by hastily drawing the second blaster and starting to fire at the Jedi.
Luke deflected the blasts from both blasters as he stormed towards Moff Jade.
He could hear Leia's lightsaber vibrating as she cut down the stormtroopers that Jade commanded. She could hear Han and Chewie firing their blasters in concert.
He had no time to be merciful.
Luke was forcing Jade towards a large balcony that overlooked the burning city. Luke could see the banister that was directly behind Jade. He was running out of room. Skywalker closed the space between them. He raised his hand as he released a hard Force shove that hurled Jade off of the Balcony.
Luke turned his back as Jade let loose a scream as he struggled to grip the edge of the balcony.
"How is Winter?" Luke asked.
"She's fine but rather shaken up from the way Moff Jade was towards her. Where is the pig anyways?"
Luke gestured towards Jade who was struggling to maintain his grip on the banister of the balcony.
Han smiled, "Just kill him."
Luke grinned as he walked past his friend. He turned back as he spoke, "Leave it to the force to decide. I would love to kill him but I cannot kill him."
"The old Man would not approve I am guessing," Han said.
Luke sighed as he spoke, "But I don't have to save him." As Luke continued to walk he heard a horrified scream as Jade lost his grip and fell.
Devastator:
Vader awoke with Padme resting in his arms. He noticed that her eyes were already open. She looked up at him as she spoke, "I don't think I've slept this well since the night before Order Sixty-Six."
Vader took in a deep breath. He remembered that night. He remembered the night that he had betrayed Mace Windu. He remembered regretting his decision for each and every day. He remembered wondering how different things would be had he done things differently. He looked down at his wife and stroked her cheek as he captured her lips.
He had to admit that he had not slept so well since that horrible night. Padme's presence was a presence that he needed.
He sat up and reached for his clothing as he heard his comlink buzzing.
He activated the com as he spoke, "What is it?"
"Lord Vader I have news for you on Moff Jade's pursuit of the stolen plans."
"Oh?" Vader asked.
"Jade successfully subdued the rebelling populace of Alderaan. He had the Viceroy and the Princess in his grasp when he was ambushed by two Jedi. From what we know one of the Jedi Knights almost killed him. The Jedi escaped the planet and the blockading fleet in a modified Corellian Freighter. Moff Jade fell off of the balcony at the top of the palace. He is under intensive medical care for his injuries. It his very likely that he will be dead by tomorrow. It is unfortunate that his blaster was ineffective against the Jedi Knight's laser sword."
"It is called a lightsaber you idiot," Vader resentfully said.
Vader smiled as he knew the face of the man was turning red in fear. It was no secret that being degraded by Darth Vader when you were under his command was usually followed by finding oneself in the morgue.
"Good, thank you for the update. The fool acted and underestimated the Jedi. He failed to obtain the plans and they are now safely in the hands of the Rebels. I am grateful that Governor Tarkin has such competent friends to trust."
Vader severed the connection as he turned back to his wife. He noticed the horrified look on her face as he smiled, "I wish my son would have just killed the parasite."
Padme shivered, "Jade is evil but I would have been disappointed in our son if he had killed him when he was vulnerable."
"Of course you would have," he replied.
Padme smiled, she was proud of Luke. Luke had disdain for injustice. Moff Jade was about as evil as Grand Moff Tarkin. Had he been killed he would have deserved to die but her son had obviously chosen to leave his fate to the force. She was of her son for not finishing the man.
Millennium Falcon
Bail Organa's chest heaved as he realized that he was dying. Han Solo knelt over his body as Bail spoke, "I need you to listen to me Commander."
Han nodded as Bail continued, "There is only one other besides me that can lead the Alliance as it is. The relationship between Iblis and Mothma is very fragile. I worry about what will happen without a peacemaker to lead them. Padme and I have been those peace makers. Neither Garm nor Mon can lead if Padme isn't rescued. She has been the leader with me for the last decade. They cannot do it without one of us. Both are good people but one will alienate the other from the Alliance. Only Padme can lead and keep the unity. She is a capable military commander. She is also a capable politician, one of the best I have seen in my life. Neither can command the army like she can."
His breath slowed down as he spoke, "You must rescue her from Vader no matter what. If you have to go against the Council and the wishes of Master Kenobi still leave and conduct a rescue mission. Wherever Vader is she will be. You must rescue her. Only she can win this war. That is my final order to you Commander as your leader. I am giving you a direct order. You must rescue General Skywalker. It may take time. Act as though you know not what I know."
"I will obey your final order sir. Serving you has been my honor," Han replied.
"May the Force be..."
Han turned around to see Luke and Leia watching him. He stood up as he took Luke's Jedi cloak from the nearby table. He draped it over Organa's face as he spoke, "Don't mention any of that to anyone."
Leia breathed in deeply as he stood up, "Your mom has been rather good to me. Better than my own whom I never even knew. I was planning to go back for her after I had this mission completed. But Viceroy Organa just gave me extra justification to do it. We will make our plan and go with it," Han stated.
Han walked away from the scene as he spoke, "No one informs Master Kenobi of those final orders."
"Mom and Obi-Wan don't get along that well anymore anyways," Luke said.
"Because Obi-Wan wanted to train you sooner than she allowed," Han said as he walked towards the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
"He won't allow us to rescue her," Luke said.
"The old man might be swayed if we try. Don't give up hope," Han said.
Devastator: Three days Later:
Vader stood on the Devastator as the vessel dropped out of lightspeed. They were staring at the Death Star. He looked at the massive battle station as he contemplated the issues at stake. His Tie Advanced X1 was already onboard the station in the event of a battle. His Angel was in his quarters on the Devastator although he would have to move her over to the Death Star. He just feared the dangers of having her onboard the battle station when he knew that the Alliance had the plans and was most likely already planning an attack.
He turned and walked towards the turbolift as he headed back to their quarters.
Padme pulled on the white bodysuit that Vader had provided her with. She had done her hair in a simple single braid and she had her prized jappor snippet in place after having a morning shower. She looked at the visible hickey that was below her jawline as the door of their room opened. She would be lying if she said that the last three nights had been unpleasant. To be reunited with Anakin after fourteen years was a dream come true. The problem was that reality was reality they were still enemies. Unless Anakin would abandon the Empire there would be no possible reconciliation between the two.
As his arms encompassed her she shivered. She looked down at her stomach. She had been three days with Vader. Three days of his company. There had been no access to precautions. She was forty-one years old but she also knew that she was still not quite past child bearing age. She may be old in her mind but she also realized that the possibility of an additional Skywalker was very alive with their time together. If they had a child in the middle of the war she cringed to think of how much of a bigger target she would become. She already knew that after she escaped that Vader would have a price on her head the size of Bespin. But if another child was in the picture the danger would be even greater for her family.
Vader handed her a cloak as he spoke, "You will wear this and your hands will be bound until we get to the suites that I use onboard the Death Star. I cannot trust Tarkin with the knowledge that you are alive."
"That is just common sense," Padme muttered.
Deep in space:
A dark figure sat inside of a dark room with his back turned as the doors of the room hissed open. A dignified man with reddish blonde hair who was in his thirties strolled into the room. The doors hissed shut as a dark deep voice spoke, "This is not right. Skywalker is not on Tatooine. In fact the moisture farmers had no idea who he was. It was as though they were oblivious. Even the Princess is missing."
"Are you sure?"
"The holonet has no mention of a Leia Organa only of a Winter Organa. The Viceroy is dead. He was killed in a skirmish on Alderaan just days ago," The hooded man replied with his back turned to the man.
"What will you do after you kill them?"
"Time will tell. I also visited the cantina in Mos Eisley. None of the smuggler scum seemed to have known who Han Solo was. He is not currently working for Jabba the Hutt. All of this is wrong. How do we find them?" the man screamed.
"My guess is when that first Star system exploded prior to us coming out of the singularity that the flow of time was altered just by that event. That star is supposed to be intact according to their star charts and it was definitely intact in our time," The man replied in a calm manner.
"There is no way for us to get back so what will we do at this point?" The red headed man replied
"Prevent the fall and take over," he replied.
"The Emperor."
"I can sway Vader to my side I know that I can," the man replied
"And you will eliminate Palpatine?"
"And I will join with Vader I can get him to agree with us. Once he knows who I am he will have to. I can save his life."
This is the latest chapter with a little more of the full picture being displayed. We will see Emperor Palpatine soon.
-Fallen Jedi 79