Imogen kept her head down as she was led down the halls to her doom. She knew in a few hours she would be stepping down in Coruscant and facing that vile Emperor, the Rebellion would soon know of her failure and might even consider it treason. At least she wouldn't have to see the disappointment paint itself on Mon Mathma's face, to see her gentle and kind eyes turn down with anguish and fear. Imogen could never live with herself if she witnessed that herself. She felt the weight of Leia's life on her shoulder, she knew soon that her friend would be executed and that would be on her.
Like most of this was.
Her heart felt heavy with the weight of all this. She just hoped and prayed that the plans were somewhere far away, somewhere safe and just getting closer to the Rebellion.
"Almost a waste to kill off someone as pretty as her, huh, Mully?" The trooper to Imogen's left asked the other trooper next to him. They had been talking about Leia for a bit now and the more they continued the more irritation Imogen felt.
"She's a traitor to the Empire, Eddie. No matter how pretty she is, she's a traitor." Mully snapped back, sounding disgusted by his college's musings.
Eddie didn't seem to have any response seeing as he went silent. Imogen closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping that soon she would have these binders off and just be confined to a cell. She felt more isolation confined in these binders than she did inside a cell. Perhaps it was the ability to move on her own and to move her hands, or maybe it was just the fact that she could be angry and scream in her cell. It was as much of a mystery to her than it was to anyone else.
The group was stopped and Imogen paid little attention, that was until she heard the person's voice. "Lord Vader wants Senator Flores back in her cell, the transport has been ambushed."
Imogen looked up, squinting as if to catch the eyes under the Imperial cap. The officer that was in charge of transporting the senator huffed, the hands behind his back clenching. "I got no information like such, General Lars."
"That is unfortunate," This General Lars said, smirking. "Should've gone back."
In an instant, the hallway erupted into chaos. Imogen pressed herself against a wall as she watched a Wookiee come out of nowhere with a thunderous roar, picking up Eddie and slamming him against Mully. The officer that was talking to General Lars was grabbed by a taller man and knocked out. Imogen watched all of this with wide eyes, that was until a shorter trooper approached her.
The senator placed a kick against his chest and the blaster he was holding flew in the air, right into her hands. With binders still tightened around her wrists, she focused the blaster on the trooper and addressed the group.
"You have 10 seconds to tell me who you people are or shorty here gets it!" She barked sharply.
"Wait, wait!" The trooper she had in her sights started to shake, his hands going up.
"I thought you said she would be under a sedative." An officer asked General Lars, pointing their own blaster at Imogen.
"Well, obviously my information was wrong." The General snapped, smacking his blaster away. General Lars stepped forward, holding their hand out. "I know it's been awhile, Flores, but I didn't think it'd take you this long."
Imogen's heart dropped and she gaped at the person, suddenly dropping the blaster from the trooper's head. She gulped. "C-Commander Skywalker," she muttered quietly.
Rene Skywalker had been her teacher of sorts when Imogen had joined the Rebellion. They had first met on Crait when Imogen and Leia had so gracefully infiltrated the base when they were tracking down their parents' business dealings. Leia was speaking with Bail when her mother had brought in Rene, telling Imogen very simply that if she ever wished to be part of the Rebellion then she would follow Skywalker's footsteps and take notes to her command.
Years later and Imogen would still remember the lessons Skywalker taught her. Look out for your own but realize you can't save them all. Sometimes the ex-senator wondered how Skywalker could be so wise for someone only a few years older than herself but there was really no question about Skywalker. She didn't allow you to.
"Captain Flores," Rene pulled her cap off and nodded at her. She turned her attention to the shorter trooper on the floor, still holding their hands up. "Luke, get up from the ground."
The trooper-- or Luke scrambled off the ground, standing before Imogen. The dark haired woman gave him a look and placed the blaster back in his hands. He seemed frozen on his spot, Imogen could barely see his eyes behind the visors of the helmet. She wondered how he got wrapped up in all this business but a part of her didn't really care. He must be part of the Rebellion, must be used to this type of thing.
"I'm Luke Skywalker," Luke stuck out his hand.
Imogen nodded, turning her attention to Rene. "Commander Skywalker, It's Leia--"
"I know, Imogen. We've got a plan." Rene turned to Han and nodded to Chewbacca. "Got yourselves sorted out?"
Ami waved a hand. "Chewie still has some reservations."
Rene went over to explain that the Wookiee wouldn't be in any danger and that she would never leave him behind leaving Imogen alone with Luke.
The senator stared at the ground with worry, wondering if they had already done the worst to Leia while Luke could only stare at Imogen with wide eyes behind his helmet. She was unlike any girl--or woman on Tatooine he had met.
She was very beautiful but the fact that her voice was so soft and she was short gave off the facade that she was a damsel in distress while in reality she had thrown down Luke without so much as a blink of the eye.
"I came to save you." Luke continued, gazing at her.
Imogen looked up with irritation, her lips in a thin line. "I'm not thanking you."
Luke blinked, frowning. "Well, that's rather rude."
"If you haven't noticed, I haven't had the best of days."
"Okay," Rene turned her attention to everyone, pulling her cap back down over her head. "Imogen, we'll need your help."
The senator nodded once. "Anything. I need to do right."
Imogen walked the halls of the Death Star with a swagger in her step. She felt triumph, she felt as though she had outsmarted all these Imperials. She felt as though she had outsmarted Darth Vader himself.
She was currently being assisted by Rebels in extracting Leia from her cell and out of the system. The Rebel Alliance had tricked the Empire once again and managed to sneak instead one of their highly monitored stations.She couldn't show her satisfaction on her face but she was brimming with joy inside.
Imogen Flores would finally win.
She had lost her father, her mother, and so many people she loved in this war. She would never let Leia fall victim to the Empire, the dying would come to an end.
The group reached the elevators and Rene stepped up, swiping her card into the appropriate slot. She waited for the group to enter then stuffed herself in there, the group let out a collective sigh of relief once the doors slid shut. The weight of having every Imperial look at you, oblivious to the fact that you weren't an Imperial yourself obviously making everyone (who didn't have experience in this area) anxious.
Luke suddenly spoke up: "I can't see a thing." He moved the helmet to the side, trying to get a better look at his surroundings.
"I don't like this." Ami voiced her concern, hopping on her toes a bit.
"What do you like?" Rene shot back.
Ami gave her a flat look. "I like the warmth and safety of the Falcon but look where that got us!" She snapped back.
Imogen glanced around the group, a sudden uneasiness taking her. She looked around the group, watching as Luke adjusted his helmet, Han shifted back and forth, and Ami was tugging the cap more over her head while pouting. Her eyes snapped shut and she took a sharp breath in.
"None of you are part of the Rebellion, are you?"
There was a tense silence in which Rene took her chance to place a hand on Imogen's shoulder. "Flores, this is all I could gather."
"And-And I want to join the Rebellion!" Luke put in hopefully, eyes gleaming with excitement under the helmet. When Imogen shot him a look, he deflated, shuffling closer to Chewbacca who let out a snort.
"The Rebellion isn't somegame," Imogen clenched her hands. "I can't believe I'm going to die surrounded by the galaxy's biggest idiots.
"Hey!" Han suddenly spoke up, pointing a finger at the woman. "I will gladly stick you back in your cell,we'resticking our necks out foryou."
"Right." Imogen rolled her eyes. "I hope this plan isn't just us walking into there and grabbing Leia."
There was a silence and Imogen gaped at them, shaking her head. Of all the luck she could possibly get, she was stuck with the biggest idiots in the galaxy! Did they really believe they could simply walk into the detention block, grab the princess, and then leave? Or was this one of Rene Skywalker's big secret plans that would burst into one of those glorious plans?
Before Imogen could possibly start questioning the group on their actual plan, the elevator doors opened and Chewbacca and Imogen were pushed forward. Rene had a strong grip on her arm and she wondered if she would actually be handed over before they grabbed Leia. She, afterall, wasn't too important to the war effort.
There seemed to be a silence in the detention block as all eyes turned to the Wookiee.Of all the creatures we could've been stuck with, it had to be a Wookiee, thought Rene. She kept her expression calm and collected, she used the Force to nudge Luke's own presence in hopes that he would stop shuffling. It only made him stiffen.
"Where are you taking this...thing?" The officer asked, eyeing Chewbacca with disgust.
"Prisoner transfer from Block 1138." Luke answered, remembering the practiced lines his sister had fed him.
The officer seemed ready to accept such lies when his eyes rested on Imogen. A hint of suspicion flashed on his face as he raised his chin. "General, I believe this prisoner was supposed to be on a transport for Coruscant."
Rene didn't hesitate to give an explanation: "Lord Vader gave me an order, I'm simply carrying it out."
"I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear this."
Rene narrowed her eyes. "Are you questioning me, officer?"
The officer, however, didn't seem frightened of the General's warning. "If Lord Vader himself this order then there will be no problem confirming it,General."
The group watched. Tension was rising in the room and it was obvious the odds were slowly rising against them. Ami glanced toward Rene who seemed temporarily stumped. Giving a bitter mumble, Ami gave her Wookiee friend a kick and raised her blaster.
"He's loose!"
In an instant, the room erupted into chaos.
Chewbacca gave a furious roar and snatched the blaster from Luke who pushed Imogen back into the elevator that was stuck in place. The Solos and Rene shot back at the Imperials. They exchanged fire. And Rene let out an audible huff of irritation as she reached back, pulling her lightsaber from her waist band. The blade flew across the room and hit the officer, impaling him.
There was silence as his body fell and the lightsaber found its way back into Rene's hand. Everyone stared at the woman. There was strained movement to the air as she casually placed the lightsaber back in its hiding spot. Almost as if she didn't understand the spector she had offered, she blinked at the five pairs of eyes on her.
"What?"
Han started to nod slowly, a grin taking his lips. "Impressive."
Rene clenched her jaw. "Switch off." She moved to the comlink panel, she started to enter various inputs while Han joined her.
"We've got to find out which cell this princess of--"
"I'm not checking out the holonet." Rene snapped at him, shaking her head. "It takes a bit."
Meanwhile, Imogen pushed Luke from in front of her. "What the hell was the plan after accessing this level?" She asked sharply, looking from each person. "Please don't tell me you didn't think past this."
Luke blinked at her, his jaw shifting side-to-side and pinching his eyebrows. He glared at her. Luke felt as though the commander wasn't exactly grateful for their rescue attempt (even though it was a little botched) yet she was acting rather harsh. He wondered if it was due to the stress of escaping the Death Star or if she was normally like this.
Either way, she was rather pompous.
"Look," Ami drawled, placing a heavy hand on Imogen's shoulder. "We got this all figured out, Your Highness. Just follow our lead."
Imogen peered at her with disdain obviously not believing what the woman was trying to give in response.
Rene snapped her fingers, gaining the group's attention. "Cell 2187." She informed. "Luke, go get our damsel."
"Yes, ma'am." Luke muttered, rushing into the corridor.
"Leia is no damsel!" Imogen protested as she followed behind the boy closely.
Imogen felt as if this group didn't understand the severity of the situation. They treated it as some type of...game. She probably should've realized sooner that these people surely weren't Rebellion material; they didn't even seem to be here.
Of course, that begged the question ofwho did want to be here?
Luke was muttering the cell number under his breath, straining his eyes under the mask to read the other numbers. The words and numbers seemed to jumble together as he continued to grow further down the hall. He stopped outside one of the cells. He went to open it when Imogen's hand came out and pulled his arm.
"This is 2181!" Imogen scolded.
Down the hall, the comm on the main system for the cell block buzzed loudly. Rene was helping detangle the pieces of cuff from his hair when it happened. She waved at Han to grab it which he did hesitantly, staring down at the comm like it was about to jump out and strangle him. This smuggler sure had some personality.
"Hello," Han said shakily, blinking down at the machine in front of him.
Before Rene could snap at him to respond, Ami reached over and gave a reassuring squeeze on his arm. The smuggler took a deep breath in and then out.
"Everything is under control. Situation normal." Rene was impressed at how quickly he had slipped into some professional tone.
It wasn't long before the officer on the other end responded. "What happened?"
Han glanced around, shifting from foot-to-foot as he searched for a story he could make up. "Erm...had a slight weapons malfunction. But, uh, everything's perfectly alright now. We're fine-- We're all fine here, now, thank you." While everyone was cringing, obviously coming together in one thought that Han Solo was the last person who should've done this, he confirmed this. "How are you?"
Hearing himself, Han's face scrunched up in pain, turning away from it. He sure knew how to dig himself a hole.
The officer was obviously very alert to the behavior Han was giving off, because when he spoke next it was colder than it was the last time.
"We're sending a squad up."
Han's face paled, shaking his head even though the man on the other end couldn't see. "Uh, uh, negative," he looked towards his companions and started to wave them to where Luke and Imogen had gone. Trying to direct them to tell them to hurry it up. "We had a reactor leak here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak...very dangerous."
"Who is this?" Now they were just annoyed. "What's your operating number?"
Han huffed and stepped away from the comlink, blasting it and causing it to burst into a cloud of smoke. "Boring conversation anyway," he turned towards the hall where Luke was adjusting his helmet and trying to read the numbers while Imogen stopped outside one. "Children, if you will please get her highness!?"
Luke stumbled a bit, making a noise while Imogen reached and pulled him over. He couldn't ask her what she was doing seeing as she quickly reached into one of the pockets of his belt and pulled out a keycard. As if she had practiced this a million times, she swiped the card over the door's lock, it made a hissing noise. Imogen turned her attention to the cuffs on her hand, trying to turn the card on it while Luke stepped down into the room.
His eyes stuck on the princess who seemingly slept soundly, her face was oddly peaceful for being on a weapon of mass destruction. She seemed even more charming in person, her hair was swirled into big puffs of buns on either side of her head, her dress seemed to be the brightest white he's ever seen. Luke focused on her face because it felt oddly familiar, she almost looked like Rene. Which was an odd thing to think of someone you had just met, someone you knew nothing about. Yet he just couldn't ignore that.
He tensed up as the Princess blinked her eyes open, feeling as though he had violated every moral Aunt Beru had taught him about respecting women. She frowned, her thin eyebrows drawing together as she leaned up on her elbow. Her glare focused on him, eyeing him up and down and then she spoke:
"Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?"
Luke felt like turning back and letting the senator deal with the princess. His height seemed like the lowest hanging fruit for everyone to pick today and he was rather tired of it. Yet she had called him a--
"Oh, the uniform." He spoke more to himself than the princess who grew more confused the longer Luke dragged things out. He reached up and pulled the helmet off to reveal that-- unlike the rest of the stormtroopers-- he was human underneath. He stared at her with bright eyes. "I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you!"
Leia sat up more, eyebrows pulling together even more as she shook her head. "You'rewho?"
Luke hopped a little on his feet. "I'm here to rescue you! I've got your R2 unit. I'm here with Ben Kenobi."
That is what caught Leia's attention as she shot up from her spot, moving closer to Luke. "Ben Kenobi is here? Where?"
"Come on!" Luke grabbed her hand and tugged her forward.
Leia wasn't sure if it was because she liked to believe the best of people or maybe it was the fact that this Luke Skywalker had only a good aura around him. She let him bring her outside of her cell only for them to run into someone Leia thought she would possibly never see again: Imogen.
The princess and woman were frozen for a moment before Leia let out a loud crackle, almost of victory, and jumped into Imogen's arms. The friends held each other before Leia pulled back and placed her hands on Imogen's arms.
"You made it out, you're okay!" Leia's voice seemed to waver, on the verge of tears. She had lost so much today and she was so convinced that she would lose her last friend as well.
Imogen's face, for the first time Luke had met her, softened and she smiled. Her smile wasn't as bright and full of relief as Leia's was but it was still reassuring that maybe she was taking a moment to absorb what has happened in the past few days.
"Couldn't let you wallow in your grief alone, now could I?" She said softly, nudging her shoulder. Imogen glanced at Luke, waving a hand to him. "He's the one who saved me."
Leia looked to him with a softer smile, hardly there. "I guess we have you to thank this for."
Luke nodded shyly. He wasn't sure what to say, just saying "you're welcome" didn't seem like enough. So he, with all the elegance he could muster, said: "Any time."
Leia raised an eyebrow while Imogen just gave him a look in return, obviously not wanting to get into one of these situations again. Luke gave a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck obviously acknowledging what he had said.
There wasn't much time to question how he had ended up saving two royals from their demise because Han Solo and company came running down the hall, screaming and blasting in the direction they had come. Luke reached over and grabbed their wrists, bringing them against one side of the hall. Rene, Ami, Han, Chewbacca, and Q took the other side.
"Can't get out that way!" Han called over the blasting.
Leia frowned, glaring at the smuggler and others. "Looks like you managed to cut off our only escape route!" She snapped back.
When Han looked over to Leia, he obviously did a double take. His head tilted and his lips pulled down while his eyes squinted as if he were trying to gaze at something against the sun. He then shot a look over to Rene who had been rather quiet and focusing her mind on the troopers down the hall.
"You two related?" He questioned, pointing a finger between them.
Rene glanced over at Leia, it was hardly anything and she obviously didn't even give any of it a second thought, Leia doing the same before they both snapped: "No!"
Han glared at the older one of the two. "Well, excuse me for asking!"
"Maybe focus your asking to the troopers down the hall, Han!" Ami punched his arm and directed her attention between the fight and the princess. Her eyes widened, her mouth tilting up in a smile. "Your Highness."
Leia made a face while Luke brought the commlink up to his mouth. "Threepio? Threepio!" He called.
It wasn't a moment later that 3PO made contact. "Yes, sir?"
"We've been cut off!" Luke started, flinching back when a shot almost hit his head. "Are there any other ways out of the cell bay?"
There was a response from the droid but it was unable to be heard over the yelling and blasting from both ends of the hall.
"What was that? I didn't copy?"
This time, 3PO's voice came through louder. "I said, all systems have been alerted to your presence, sir. The main entrance seems to be the only way in or out; all other information on your level is restricted."
Rene huffed heavily through her nose. "Wonderful.."
"We could hold these off forever!" Han said sharply.
Leia glared at the smuggler across from her. "This is some rescue! When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"
"They're the brains, Your Highness!" Ami gestured to the two Skywalker siblings, one of which had the grace to give her a sheepish smile.
"Well, I didn't--"
Leia snatched the blaster out of Luke's hand and shot the small grate in the wall next to Ami, who jumped back into Rene, sending them both backwards.
"Will you watch it!?" Ami snapped at the princess, glaring as she scooted closer to the wall.
Leia jumped into the middle of the hall and blasted a few troopers before she stopped outside the grate and sent ami a look. "Somebody has to save our skins. Stop your gawking and hop into the garbage chute!" She then climbed into the chute and vanished into the darkness.
Imogen glanced around the flabbergasted group and then shrugged. Anything was better than dying in this cell block. She silently ducked over and then slipped inside, Chewbacca then started to hunch in only to spring back with a gag.
Han huffed. "Get in there you big furry oaf!" He snapped, Chewbacca gave a roar in return, waving his hand. Han clenched his jaw and kicked his rear. "I don't care what you smell! Get in there and don't worry about it."
Chewbacca snapped at him once more and then climbed inside the chute, following the Princess and her friend.
Rene glanced over to her brother and held out a hand. "This is your chance, big guy!"
Luke frowned, shaking his head. "No, no. I'm not going until you do!"
"Luke, this isn't up for debt. Into the garbage chute!"
Luke stared at her with hard eyes, knowing that it was useless to really argue with her at all. He finally let out an annoyed grunt before he dashed across the opening and jumped head first into the chute. Rene let what seemed to be a sign or relief and then jumped into the hole without even saying anything to the Solo siblings. Q let out an angry sound and then made a little trill as he jumped in, the sounds echoing before he went silent.
Ami nudged her brother. "That princess, right?" She asked.
Han gave her a flat look. "Get into the hole!" He snapped.
Rene let out a groan when she hit the garbage, a piece stabbing into her back as she shifted. She closed her eyes and just allowed herself to take a moment to absorb that they were currently in the clear of any troopers and a bigger danger. Her eyes cracked open as the hair on the back of her neck stood.
She didn't have much time nor room to move out of the way as Q came down, landing hard onto her stomach and making her gasp as all air left her. Her eyes widened and she pushed against his bottom.
"Get off me, you bucket of bolts!" She shouted.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO JUMPED INTO A GARBAGE CHUTE!" Q retorted.
"Rene!" Luke fumbled forward, lifting Q off her and helped her stand.
The woman took a look around and realized that Imogen and Leia were glaring directly at Luke. She crawled off of the pile she laid on, taking Q into her arms and nodding to Luke in thanks. She clutched her droid close while Q let out a shuddering noise.
Chewbacca let out a gruff. [Droid, there is an outlet.]
Rene grunted as she made her way over to the outlet so she could hold him there while he did his thing. Meanwhile, she heard the shuffle of the garbage as Imogen made her way over to Luke.
"If you're done trying to kill us," she said firmly.
Luke's lips pulled down and his cheeks flourished into a brilliant red. "I-It was an accident!"
Imogen gave him a look, snatching his blaster from his hands. "Let's hope you learn from said mistake."
Rene glanced between them with raised eyebrows, feeling as though they were already at a bad step. She went to question what was wrong when Ami fell onto the pile of garbage and then her brother so graciously fell on top of her, both of them starting to argue with one another as they pushed off each other. The others watched silently while they glared at one another.
Ami stood, shifting the jacket on her as she turned to the group. "Well, this was a great idea. What now?"
Han nodded, his glare resting on the princess sitting against a pile of garbage. "The garbage chute was a really wonderful idea," he started, moving forward with his hands on his hips. "What an incredible smell you've discovered!"
"I didn't hear you give any ideas, hotshot." Imogen snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Now really wasn't the time for a clashing of the heads but the senator really couldn't stand this smuggler, nor his companions.
"I didn't heareitherof you offer an alternative," Rene said from her spot next to Chewbacca who yipped in agreement. She shifted her hold on Q so she could look back at the smuggler and the senator who glared holes into her. "Now, if you would spare the rest of us from your quarrels and be patient."
The group went quiet and Rene almost thanked the Force for it. She turned her attention to Q's slow hack and huffed through her nose, it would certainly take a bit before they would truly get out of here. She just hoped that it would be long enough before stormtroopers come down and finish them off.
She took a moment to take a deep breath and just allowed herself to feel the almost happy beeps of her droid, the humming tingling from her fingertips and up her arms. Rene almost basked in it. That was until Han found everything too slow.
"Why are we waiting for your droid to finish this out? Move out of the way!"
"No! Wait!"
Rene turned just in time for Han's blaster to point at her, or more specifically, the door. Chewbacca let out a roar as he pushed himself and Rene away, bringing them down as the blast shot around the room as though it were a ping pong ball.
Once it stopped, Luke and Leia both shot up and took their chance to snap at him. "Will you forget it?" Luke moved away from Imogen who he had covered. "I already tried it! It's magnetically sealed!"
Leia wiped some garbage from herself and waved an angry hand at him. "Put that thing away! You're going to get us all killed!"
Han's jaw clenched and he sassily snapped the gun into the belt. "Absolutely, Your Worship. Look, I had everything under control until--"
"We most definitely did not." Ami spoke up sheepishly, feeling a little guilty for her brother taking out his stress on Leia. The princess gave her a small smile although she obviously seemed iffed by Han's words. She was pretty, there was no doubting that and she had to be smart too if she was not only a princess but a senator too. "I think we've just gotta realize that we're here right now and--"
Han waved a hand, not impressed with his sister's sudden vow of calm. "Nah, nah, we're not going to do that. You're free to do that but, personally, I am not jumping on that bandwagon."
"It could be much worse." Leia grumbled.
At that same moment, a terribly loud and screechy noise broke through the room. Imogen had to press her hands to her ears due to the pitch and intensity it came out, bouncing off the walls as if it were in the same room with them. A chill went down her spine and she couldn't help but press herself further into the pile. She was terribly sensitive to sounds like this and it made her physically recoil as though it was directly in her ear.
The group looked around with the same anxiousness they had before and then looked to each other.
"It's worse." Han finally said, hissing when Ami smacked his arm.
Luke wanted to snap at the man but he was slowly finding out that it was useless to do so. He flattened his lips as he saw Rene's attention go back to Q and his little mission to unlock the doors then over to the senator across from him. She grew more off by the moment, she seemed to care deeply for Leia but she wasn't exactly as sweet as he had thought she would be.
The only other girls (outside of his family) that he met were Camie and Jandji both of whom were involved with someone. Camie acted as though Luke was the worst thing that Tatooine has conjured up, her words usually sharp and teasing as he tried to create a bond between himself and the people he wanted to be friends with. Jandi, during her life, was rather kind and soft to Luke. They hadn't talked much as most of her time was spent with Biggs before she died.
Luke missed her dearly.
Imogen Flores didn't seem to fit in the category those two women had established. She was just...something else, she was not vile.
Luke still had a lot to learn about her.
His thoughts broke away when he felt something brush against his calf, making him jump back with a short yelp. "There's something alive in here!"
Sounding rather distracted and a little annoyed, Imogen spoke for the whole group. "It's just your imagination, calm your nerves."
For a moment, Luke believed her. He rubbed his hands together and allowed himself to calm down, looking down at the water. His eyes widened when he spotted the tentacle peek out. "Something just peeked out of the water, see?! Look!"
Imogen looked down at the water and only saw ripples, which had to be from him moving. "What are you going on--"
Luke let out a shout as he was pulled into the water, the group moved in a panicked flurry.
"Luke!" Rene cried out, Chewbacca taking the droid into his hands as she moved across the room to where her brother had vanished. Han joined her side, waving his hand through the water as if to hit him and pull him up out of the water. Her eyes widened as Luke popped back up, her neck wrapped up with a tentacle as he struggled to breathe. "Luke?"
She reached for the tentacle, struggling against it while Han tried to help him up. Ami and Leia worked together to hold out a long pipe his way. "Luke, grab onto this!"
Luke, however, had something else in mind. "Blast it, will you! M-My gun's gone!"
"Gun," Rene muttered, she snapped her eyes to Han. "Blast it you idiot!"
"Where?"
"Do you want a diagram!?Anywhere!"
The room rang with the sound of a blaster but it wasn't Han's. Imogen let out a breath as the alien's grip on Luke faltered and he could let out a little wheeze. Rene and Han helped him stand before he let out another sound and was pulled back down into the water.
"Luke? Luke!" Han called as he waved his hand around again.
The room grew oddly silent as it sunk in for the group that Luke was truly...gone. Q seemed to ask what was wrong while eyes turned to the silent sister that was standing still in the spot Luke had left her.
"Oh...Oh...Oh, no. This is. . .this is allmyfault. . ." Rene whispered to herself, her eyes burned with tears.
Everyone grew quiet as they watched the young woman. Imogen's face filled with sorrow, Ami looked towards Leia who both wore concern on their faces and then directed it towards the woman. Han seemed to have a little guilt in his expression as he pressed a hand to her shoulders. Chewbacca, having liked the bout, let out a howl in the corner. It's too quiet, deadly quiet.
Rene hunched over, closing her eyes. She had failed Luke, she hadn't ever told him just how grateful she was for everything he had done for him. All those days of sneaking out of the house to watch podracers from a roof, just allowing himself to be a kid while she enjoyed every moment.
Luke used to ask her what Anakin Skywalker was like, was he a good dad, did he love them? Simple questions like that. Rene always told him that he was a good man, kind and caring, determined, and that he would always loved them. She would always talk about how much Luke reminded her of their mother. The kindness he showed and the hope he had in people. She wondered if she was too much like their father, if she had led them to this moment and had caused him to be lost.
'I'm sorry, Luke.' She thought, hoping that he somehow knew.
His voice is a whisper in her mind but comfort rushed over her. 'I'm sorry too.'
Rene's eyes widened as she moved forward. "The Force." She whispered.
"Rene," Han said softly, knowing that it must be hard for her to understand. "I'm sorry."
Rene slowly looked up at Han, she opened her mouth to speak, to tell them that her brother was alive and that they had to act fast. Yet before she could there was a gasp and splash of water. Across the room there was Luke, gasping for breath as he struggled to pick himself up after the lack of oxygen to his body. He coughed up some water but other than that he seemed okay. Which made everyone in the room release a breath of relief. Rene's eyes widened and her heart lifted, he was alive! He was OK!
"Grab him!" Leia exclaimed, worried that the man was going to be snatched up again.
Rene took a deep breath, releasing herself from Han's hold and rushing to her brother. He looked up just in time for Rene to take him into her arms and hold him to her chest.
Leia glanced around before laying her eyes on Luke again. "What happened?"
Luke closed his eyes, just basking in the comfort that Rene offered. He took a moment to try and think about what did happen under the water; what that snake like creature was doing to him. The creature was about to eat him when it suddenly cried out and let go of him. Now that he thought about it. .
Luke opened his eyes to look at Leia. "I don't know, it just let go of me and disappeared." He answered honestly.
The room let out another ominous noise. The group stiffened and their eyes directed upwards
as the walls seemed to whirr.
"I've got a very bad feeling about this…" Han muttered.
There was another loud creak before the walls around them started to close in. This made the group burst into action, Leia and Ami picking up the pole again to try and brace it against the two walls slowly closing in on them. Imogen just seemed to freeze up, placing her back against the wall and hoping for the best while Chewbacca did the same, Q started to slowly sink into the garbage.
Luke stumbled over to help the others, putting himself next to Imogen who had given up with her struggle against the wall and focusing more on keeping herself above the garbage. Maybe this was the moment Luke died, he wasn't sure if he would rather take his chances against that creature somewhere within this room or be squashed like a bug.
Suddenly, Luke had a sense of panic from next to him and he heard Imogen let out a sharp breath. Looking over, he saw that her leg was trapped between the wall and the garbage. He reached forward and pulled upwards, helping her get out. She looked up at him with almost shock and then confusion, narrowing slightly as she nodded in thanks.
"Hey, kid!" Ami called to Luke. He frowned and looked towards her. "You have those two droids on speed dial, call em up!"
Luke's eyes widened, he had forgotten that 3PO and R2 were currently in the control deck. He reached into one of the little pockets on the belt and pulled out the commlink, bringing it up. "Threepio! Come in, Threepio!" He called, his voice sounding strained and pitchy.
Leia let out a noise, gaining Rene's attention. She seemed to be sinking more into the garbage and the poll that she had been holding was bent and broken. Ami was behind her, her hands on her waist and pushing her upwards.
"Get to the top!"
Leia met her gaze. "I can't."
Ami let out a huff and knelt so Leia could use some leverage to get on top. The princess placed her hand on her shoulder and used her knee to crawl up the pile and rested on top, giving the woman below her a flash of a grateful smile. Ami then moved so she placed herself between the princess and the wall across from them, a poor attempt at keeping her from falling off the pile.
Han pressed against Rene's side as she stumbled back into Chewbacca. He sent her a look that was on the verge of teasing but his fear for the situation was clear in his eyes. She looked back at him with annoyance, ready to hear whatever ill timed joke he had prepared.
"This is all part of your plan, right?" He asked, his eyebrows twitched upwards.
Rene wanted to snap back but a part of his question seemed genuine and it seemed that he did want some type of comfort that everything would be okay.
She swallowed thickly and nodded. "Yeah, of course."
Han looked doubtful but turned his attention away. "One thing's for sure," he smirked. "We're all going to be a lot thinner!"
"Han," Ami's voice came out sharp and on edge. Any other time she had satisfied him with a laugh, she would've maybe even participated. Yet all she could bring herself to do in this moment was dread the next thing that came from him.
Imogen closed her eyes, grumbling. "Just…" she wanted them all to be quiet and maybe they would all die in peace. She opened her eyes again and looked towards Luke again, her face softening. The sounds of the room seemed to drown out as she realized something, as Luke yelled into his comm in a desperate attempt to contact C-3PO. In her dreams, his voice would be there. It was absurd and she knew that but he was so oddly familiar. She used to have many dreams as a child of adventure and of things greater than life, sometimes she would even have dreams of her with people-- their faces she was unable to see-- but their voices seemed to hum in her mind. Luke Skywalker seemed to be one of those people.
Luke stopped mid call to look over at her too and his jaw clenched as his hand lowered. They both seemed to hold this contempt against each other yet as they stared at one another the fact that their fate was being sealed was washing over them. They didn't say a word to one another but they seemed to understand that they both accepted what was happening.
A loud buzzing broke through their gaze and Luke's eyes snapped wider and looked down at his comm link: "Threepio?!" He seemed shocked seeing as the droid had been rather silent to his calls.
There was a hesitancy from the other side but when the droid's voice came through, Imogen had felt a flush of relief for the first time hearing his voice:
"We've had some problems, sir--"
"Shut up and listen to me," Luke interrupted. "Shut down all garbage mashers on the detention level, will you? Do you copy?"
Imogen let out a hiss as a sharp piece pierced her leg, making her throw herself back into the wall in hopes that it would stop. The others were starting to yell as well and Leia got herself up so she was slightly suspended in the air. She closed her eyes, reached for the final squeeze when…
It didn't come. Imogen cracked one eye open, the walls came to a halt and screeched against the mechanisms. Everyone seemed to have absorbed the fact that they were alive and that R2 and 3PO were successful. When they did truly understand this, the room erupted into cheers and cries of joy. Han and Leia enveloped each other, Rene, Ami, and Chewbacca pulled each other into a hug. When Imogen pulled herself out of the garbage she was pulled into a big hug by Luke, the boy letting out a gleeful laugh and not even caring that the woman in his arms was staring at him oddly.
Although they were out of the clear of the garbage, they still had the Death Star to make it through.
Luke pulled away and talked to 3PO: "We're alright!" He watched as Imogen took Leia into her arms and they celebrated. "You did great!"
Luke made his way through the garbage, pushing his way through to join the group as a whole. "Hey...hey, open this pressure maintenance hatch on unit number...where are we?"
Han looked up at the number. "326827!"
Vader could no longer ignore the feelings that touched him. He knew that somewhere within this base, Obi-Wan Kenobi was lurking but that feeling that had returned that moment he connected with Lars over the holocall. The suspicion grew within the Dark Lord of the Sith, he knew something more was happening and the feelings only seemed to grow as more reports of disturbances were called throughout the Death Star. Ones that General Lars among others were helping the Captain and Princess escape.
He had told Tarkin that he felt Obi-Wan's presence, the man seemed to act as though it was some joke but Vader could never forget that feeling. ThatJedi. He had nightmares of meeting his old master again, to see his face and to stab his lightsaber through his heart in the same way the Jedi had him. Vader wanted nothing more than to watch the life die within his eyes.
This Lars problem was proving to bother him more by the moment. Not only did Vader feel Obi-Wan but he also felt Lars upon the Death Star and it made him fear knowing the truth. Yet a part of him seemed to already know, he knew that if he looked at her once more maybe he would just confirm his suspicion that he had been lied to that she bared Padme's features and that he would have to turn her.
As he walked down the halls, he could feel Obi-Wan nearing and as that happened his anger and hatred grew more and more. His hand inched toward his lightsaber and he knew that someone would meet their fate today.
Luke ran a hand through his hair as he adjusted his tunic neatly and held his blaster close. He felt gross and he probably smelt it too but he was just glad to be back in his own clothes and closer to getting out of here.
"Well, that was fun," Rene muttered bitterly, moving toward one of the halls as everyone looked over. "We ought to keep moving."
"Ah," Han placed his hands on his belt and stepped next to Rene with a grin making her freeze. "I think we should avoid female advice, we just might be able to get out of here."
All four women turned their glaring eyes towards Han. Rene rolled her eyes with a scoff while Luke shifted uncomfortable. "Well, let's get moving!" As he joined Rene's side, he gave her a look as if asking if she were alright which she responded with a simple nod. He was rather anxious to get off this weapon because of the terrible anger he felt. He couldn't describe it outside of that, there was a terrible darkness looming.
Before anyone could go anywhere, Q let out a beep and then revealed a taser, his little arm directed towards the chute while Chewbacca let out a fearful moan and moved behind crates down the hall. Ami frowned with concern at her Wookiee friend, turning towards the room.
"What's wrong, Chewie?" She asked, glancing back at him. "There's nothing there, pal!"
Q rolled back and bumped into her, seemingly warning her away.
Leia frowned at them, shaking her head. "We should stop wasting time and go."
"Just wait a moment, will you?" Ami held a hand out to her, frowning. She wanted to know what was bothering Chewbacca and it was something within that room.
Ami pulled out her blaster and leaned inside the room.
Imogen's eyes widened and she stumbled forward. "Wait, no!"
In that moment, the creature that had attacked Luke only minutes ago was now snapping its way to Ami who jumped back-- which would be useless. A flash of blue passed Ami and went through the creature and then snapped off and went back. No matter how many times she saw a lightsaber, she would never get used to it.
Imogen blinked at Rene who stood oddly calm, glancing around the group and then turned on her heel. Leia stumbled forward to join her. "You're a Jedi?" The young woman asked, looking up at her with awe.
Rene barely spared her a glance. "No."
"But you have--"
"Having a lightsaber doesn't make you a Jedi, Princess Organa."
The others moved forward while Imogen took her chance to stop Luke, the boy blinked down at her and stared at her with confusion. She hesitated but blurted: "Have you ever been to Onderon, Skywalker?"
Luke tilted his head as if he was a puppy lost, shaking his head. "No, where's that? Is that one of the core worlds?"
Imogen made a sound, shaking her head and then walking with the group. "Your eyes red."
"What?"
She gestured to her own eye. "You eye, it's red. I think you might've hurt something."
Luke looked to the ground and then shrugged. "There's more to worry about right now."
Confusion clouded her mind, how could he just disregard his own health like this? Yet Imogen couldn't disagree with him either. So she turned her attention towards the group in front of her.
"So where are we going?" Han asked, crossing his arms.
"We're going to go above the hangar and then we're going to split up." Rene said.
"What?" Han stopped, causing Luke to bump into his back and blink up at him with annoyance. The smuggler placed his hands on his hips once again and glared at the woman. "Split up? Are you mad?"
Rene stopped and an amused glint took her eyes. "I've been told that once or twice."
Han's eyebrows shot up. "You're cracking jokes now? Okay," he turned towards the others and clapped his hands together. "We're not going to be splitting up."
"Suddenly you give the orders?" Rene grumbled at him, eyes narrowed.
Han wasn't scared to face the woman, he even thought it amusing. He leaned forward to get in her face, pointing and unwavering finger at her. "Listen, sweetheart, every time I've followed you around here-- I end up near death! So, let's get one thing straight! I take orders from just one person!Me!"
Rene rolled her eyes, smacking his finger away. "I've been the one saving your ass this whole time, Solo. I think you need me!"
Han reeled back as if he were physically pushed. "Need you? I don't need you!"
"Then you won't have any problem splitting up." She said through her teeth and then continued on again.
Han glanced back at Luke who glared back. "No reward is worth this." He then followed after her.
Leia wrapped her arms around her middle and slipped next to Luke, feeling more comfortable with him outside of Imogen. She wondered how he managed to get in with this mess and what he expected to get out of it.
"Do they do this a lot?" She asked softly, looking at where Rene and Han grumbled passively at each other.
Luke blinked at her, glancing at Imogen who seemed to be lost within her own mind so that meant a princess was talking to him. He looked down at Leia and gave a small smile in return. "What?"
"Them, do they argue often?"
Luke looked to his sister and Han, tilting his head and then shaking it. "No, no. We just met them."
"Since they've met? Yes." Ami joined in on the conversation, staring at the back of her brother's head. She ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. "Great dynamic."
Leia stared up at her, nodding slowly. "Right," she glanced at the floor and then back up at Ami. "I'm Leia Organa."
"Amilie Solo, you can call me Ami." She said with a smirk.
Leia raised a brow. "Really?"
"Anything for royalty."
Leia's eyes turned down and her arms wrapped tightly around her once more. Leia didn't feel like royalty anymore, she didn't feel like much. She was just another woman that was victim to the Empire, she had no home, had no family left-- she was nothing except Leia. JustLeia.
No, no. She still meant something to the Rebellion...at least, she hoped she did..maybe they were expecting her to lead in the same fashion Bail and Breha had. She couldn't be them, she could never even live up to anything they had done.
She took a sharp inhale of breath and brought herself back to the present, looking towards Ami again. "How charming."
Ami grinned, not seeming to notice the off mood Leia was in. "I think so too."
"Did you get the same ignorant gene as your brother?" Imogen spoke up.
Ami frowned and looked to her, pointing a finger at her. "You're not a cheery person, are you?"
Imogen only gave her a look in return, clenching her jaw. "I am when I'm not being hunted down and killed." She shot back. "Which seems to follow you two around."
Ami blinked. "It wasn't like you were doing any better on your own."
Imogen waved a hand, closing her eyes as she brought her other hand to her forehead. "I had a plan."
"Oh, oh, I'm sure you did." Ami crossed her arms, shaking her head as a bitter look took her expression. Leia and Luke looked to each other with the same tired expression, two more people that didn't seem to get along. Ami placed her hand on her chin. "Please, tell me what this plan detailed?"
Imogen hesitated, turning slightly as her eyes narrowed. "I was going to escape and save Leia."
"Sure, pal," Ami huffed.
Imogen stopped and pointed a finger at her. "It doesn't sound any more detailed than that half witted plan that you formulated."
Ami shook her head, stepping back as she pointed to Luke. "That was his--"
"Yet you helped him carry it out." Imogen glanced at Luke who recoiled under her gaze.
"Will you two be quite?" Rene turned back, her expression daring them to speak against her. She turned and peeked around the corner, eyebrows twitching upwards as she noted that most of the officers seemed oddly calm for have being breached.
She waved the group forward and they shuffled across the hallway and to the bay window. She rolled her eyes as Han gave a delightful smile, he looked down at his ship with almost loving eyes. "There she is," he whispered.
"I pity the person who has to compete with that ship." Rene muttered, leaning against the wall with crossed arms.
Luke rushed forward and brought the comm to his mouth. "Threepio, do you copy?"
There was a crackle. "For the moment," his voice sounded on the verge of nervousness, nothing that really alarmed the group. "Uh, we're in the main hangar across from the ship."
Luke's eyes brightened. "We're right above you. Stand by."
"There's a lot of troopers around her.." Ami said softly, resting her cheek against her fist. She just wanted to return back to the safety of her home.
Leia leaned over and let out a small laugh. "You came in that thing?" Han and Ami looked towards her as she shook her head. "You're braver than I thought."
"Nice," Han muttered, grabbing her hand. "Come on!"
The moment that they turned the corner, they ran into stormtroopers. Almost comically, the two groups stared at each other for an extended period of time. Then Han gave the first shot, causing the group of troopers to run off in the opposite direction with Han following close behind.
"Get back to the ship!" He called over his shoulder as he, Chewbacca, and Ami ran off towards the troopers.
"What?" Rene blinked, running to the middle of the room. "Han, get back here!"The man was way too far to hear her and if he did, he obviously ignored her. The trio seemed to take all the troopers and place all the attention on them. She huffed. "So much for staying together, hm?"
"What now?" Luke asked, looking around.
"They certainly have courage." Leia observed quietly, looking to where the three had vanished.
Luke looked at her, his hands clenched. "What good will it do us if they gets killed?"
"Honor is quite the thing to die with," Imogen said, sending Luke a look.
"Okay," Rene broke in before another argument could possibly break through in the group. "Imogen, you're with me. Luke, you take the princess and loop around-- meet us and the others back at the Falcon, got it?"
Luke reached forward and grabbed her hand. "Wait, how am I supposed to know where I'm going?"
Rene looked at him oddly, glancing him up and down. "You'll know." She turned and her Imogen went down one hallway leaving Leia and Luke to figure out the rest.
Obi-Wan felt him before he had seen him.
It felt like a million years before Vader came from down the hall, his lightsaber (although inactivated) was tightly grasped in his hand. His cape seemed to flow behind his back and his grace was overshadowed by his menace, the darkness that came off of him was a heavy blanket thrown over a sun. Obi-Wan no longer saw the man that had been his friend inside of him, he was a mere machine.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan," Vader spoke, the deepness of his voice and the rasp of his breath causing Obi-Wan to stiffen. "We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete."
Obi-Wan said nothing in reply, moving into his defensive stance, his lightsaber raised and two fingers pointed out to the Sith. Vader followed suit in his own stance, heavy and mostly focused on his upper strength.
"When I left you, I was but a learner; now I am the master."
When the words left Obi-Wan's mouth, he knew that there was no room left for conversation: "Only a master of evil, Darth."
In a blink of an eye, Vader's lightsaber struck down upon Obi-Wan's.
Imogen followed close behind Rene quietly, feeling as though she were that girl new to the Rebellion being taught once again. There were times where Rene would run stealth drills, random ones where Imogen would be confined within a dim room and have to sneak from one end to the other, retrieve a "package" (usually a cookie) without Rene finding her. She was usually successful but there were times where Rene seemed unusually able to find her.
That lightsaber seemed to explain a lot now.
"Where are we going?" Imogen asked quietly, being sure to keep her step as light as Rene's.
Rene glanced back at her, then forward. "Looping around to the hangar."
"Hmph."
Imogen felt as though something bad was going to happen, something that would through this plan out the air lock. She felt as though this group seemed to conjure up one bad dream after another. She would probably be better off fighting this whole station alone because it even felt like that right now.
The hairs on the back of her neck tingled at the same moment the crisp Coruscanti accent broke the air: "General Lars,"
Rene seemed to freeze up (which was very unlike the Rene Imogen knew) and she turned back, facing a tall woman with tightly pulled back fire hair, and decked out in black uniform. Imogen could see that Rene's hand twitched toward her lightsaber behind her. Yet she kept a cool and collected expression on her face as she addressed the other person a few feet from them.
"Jade," Rene said just as stiffly.
Jade's front of naivety made Imogen's nerves rise on the ends. "Where are you taking her?"
Rene glanced at Imogen, pausing for a moment and then let out a growl: "Don't act stupid, Mara. It's not a good look on you."
Mara's red lightsaber burned in the hallway, she twirled it in her hand and then she went into a defensive stance. "You're a traitor." Rene didn't hesitate to turn on her own lightsaber which shocked Mara obviously by the twitch of her eyebrows upwards. "Jedi."
"You wish."
Imogen stumbled back as the two women's sword met. She pressed herself against the wall and just watched as they almost skillfully met one another multiple times. The clash was almost loud enough too break one's ears and Imogen's nerves continued to rise the louder they got. The red and blue shined against their faces as they glared at one another.
"The Empire treated you well!" Mara snapped, sounding almost like an animal.
Rene didn't falter. "You are blind to what they do!"
They pushed away from each other, Mara taking deep and panting breaths while Rene seemed almost unaffected.
"They are bringing peace, Lars, when will you see that?"
"They bring death and destruction, I will not stand by that." Rene ran towards her and raised her saber high above her head and brought it down upon Mara's, the fire haired woman was sent down. "And it's not Lars...my name is Rene Skywalker. And you are beaten."
She used the Force to push Mara back and into a wall.
Imogen held herself close to the wall while Rene came past, grabbing her hand: "Let's go find the others."
When Han, Chewbacca, and Ami reached the hangar. They were alone.
Han let out a huff and looked at his sister and friend with annoyance. "Didn't we just leave this party?"
Right on cue, Luke and Leia showed up with Rene and Imogen coming from the other side. Han and Amie shared a look as if asking one another how and why they managed to meet up at the same time, yet shrugged it off. The older smuggler looked back to the others with an amused look: "What kept you?"
"Ran into some old friends." Leia answered, hoping that Luke would agree with her.
Han shifted to Rene. "You?"
Imogen glanced to Rene who kept her gaze out. "A party." She answered for them.
"Well, while you all were having fun, we managed to get those troopers distracted." Ami said proudly, her chin raising.
"They must be distracted too," Rene said stiffly as she watched the troopers that were guarding the Falcon move to out of the area of sight. She rushed forward and motioned for the group to follow her which they didn't hesitate to do.
The hangar was silent and the opening was a clear shot to the Falcon. Everyone was making their way over until Luke stopped and spotted Obi-Wan engaged in a fight with Darth Vader, he frowned and jogged over to the middle and watched with confusion.
"Ben?" He asked himself quietly.
He felt almost hypnotized by the luminous blue and red that filled the hall and the way Vader and Obi-Wan exchanged in battle so fluently. The loud hum of the two sabers seemed to bring together to rub inside Luke's ear, he couldn't look away from the fight and he felt as though he needed to interfere. The battle is almost brilliant and, in its own way, it was beautiful.
Luke though realized something was off when he saw Vader get the upper hand, he pushed Obi-Wan and his saber almost seemed to fall from his hands.
Vader held the lightsaber to Obi-Wan's throat, staring into his eyes from behind the mask and his hand clenching the hilt of his saber. He took a deep and rasping breath before he asked the one question he needed to get answered the most, the one that he needed to know with his whole being.
"Does she live on, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan's eyes seemed to falter and then they flickered over to where Luke and Rene watched on, the older girl holding onto Luke's arm and demanding that they leaved before it was too late. He took a long time to respond and the more that the silence dragged on, the more Vader knew he dreaded the answer.
He met his eyes, cold blue meeting the black visor. "You know the truth."
Something within Vader snapped and he brought his saber down upon Obi-Wan with the sheer force of 20 men, the anger and the heartbreak of many generations. His lightsaber cut through the old man but he didn't get the satisfaction of seeing the life die within his eyes because the moment his saber met his shoulder, he had vanished. Unlike Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan had accepted his fate before he even knew Vader was going to kill him.
"No!"
Vader snapped his head over and saw a blonde boy being pulled by Rene as she too seemed to cry, shaking her head and pointed her blaster at the troopers and shot. He couldn't move from his spot, couldn't bring himself to lift his hand and use his powers to wrap an invisible hand around her neck because a part of himself...his old self seemed to spark alive. Vader clenched his hands and the anger blossomed into rage as he moved forward, ready to reclaim his daughter as his own family-- to save her from the fate the Rebellion had for her.
The boy took his shot and the doors slammed in his face, leaving him in the dark of the corridor.