The Power to Save Her
Chapter 20
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.
Important Note: I will not follow comics/legends characters or concepts closely, if at all. My knowledge is strictly on the that of the movies and a more mainstream knowledge of Star Wars. Though I may reference events and things outside of the movies, I do not claim to know the material on a deeper level.
The corridors were filled with all manner of scum and villainy. Most were there, feeding off the wealth that Jabba provided, while others were truly sadistic, whishing only to witness the Hutt to make examples of his prisoners. Only in the eyes of a few, did Leia see no such malice.
She was being roughly pulled up some stairs by palace guards, Boba Fett behind her. After successfully capturing Luke and putting him Force knows where, she'd been subdued and told that she was to be taken to Jabba himself. She was shoved roughly forward, and she stumbled before straightening herself in front of the slug in question. She could still feel the mask on her face, though she knew that it wouldn't be very long until they removed it. No doubt they'd recognize her as a Rebellion leader, and that's when the real trouble would begin.
Oola, the green skinned Twi'lek, was looking on her with horror, while all other eyes in the room were on her, mildly curious. Without ceremony, Fett roughly pulled the mask off her face, revealing her identity to Jabba. Instead of the outrage Leia expected, the slug's eyes watched her calculatingly.
"This is the one who set Solo free.", reported the bounty hunter to the Hutt. "But Skywalker has been caught."
Jabba spoke in a language unfamiliar to Leia.
"Yes, she's the one who set all the creatures free.", responded Fett, his voice flat. He pushed a blaster to her back, causing her to stiffen.
Then the Hutt narrowed his bulbous eyes at her. She stared back just as fiercely, trying to convey her disdain before something strange happened. The slug let out a low laugh, causing her to feel tense. The laugh reverberated through the room. Then Jabba spoke some words were again and waved her off. Leia didn't know what his words meant, but knew it was nothing good. Shortly thereafter, she was taken from the room, no doubt to be imprisoned or eaten by one of Jabba's pets. She didn't catch the forlorn expression on the Twi'lek girls' face or the mocking smiles of the Jabba's lackeys.
The shuttle landed on the outskirts of the dune sea, the suns in the position of mid-morning. Anakin waited on the ship, taking a deep breath in, having not been on this planet often after his mother died. Even after all these years, the countless things he'd done, the pain of what happened here was still ever-present. He hesitated on the ramp before stepping on the cursed planet, looking at the bastion of scum in the horizon.
His son needed him, and even what happened all those years ago wouldn't stop him from saving him.
He once more looked down at his bare hands and darker robes, still not quite used to the fact that he could live without the respirator. It was surreal to feel his limbs again, or anything at all, but he knew he could get used to it. At first, he didn't like the idea of going into this situation without the armor and guise that commanded respect and fear, but then realized that to prevent the Empire from linking this treasonous act to him, he'd need to remain a mystery. To keep the Emperor from attacking him openly, with the full might of the Empire, he'd need to act as someone else. This was the reason for which he'd left the Executor behind, much to Piett's uneasiness. His plan was to get his son free and let them go. Vader couldn't allow it, but someone unconnected to the Empire could.
The hot breeze came forward, rustling his hair, and he had to smile bitterly. There was some irony in the fact that this was the first planet he'd been on since being, in a word, reborn. Tatooine, the place where slavery still ran rampant and a crevice where the scum of the galaxy could hide, was also where the Hutts currently kept his son. His thoughts grew dark at the thoughts of the greedy beings that Hutts were known to be. His relationships with them had been horrible in the past, and no doubt Jabba picked up on that since Luke bore the same last name. Even now he could sense his son's presence on the planet.
Behind him, he heard Padmé's footsteps getting closer. He turned with a tired gaze and noticed a blaster attached to her hip. He sighed, not liking the idea of her coming along, but after explaining to her the vision he'd seen, after Piett had left, she'd insisted on doing just that. At first his fear of what happened on Bespin came to mind and he'd argued against this idea relentlessly. This only caused her to grow more adamant, and she maintained that she'd been in far more dangerous situations. He knew this of course, but it was something he'd never grown comfortable with in the past. Her final and most convincing argument was that she had the same right to save their son as he did. After she said those words, he couldn't deny the logic, though he hated conceding. A more selfish part of him, one that had roots in the persona of Darth Vader, would've kept her locked up for her own safety, but he knew he could no longer yield to it. Instead, he'd chosen to rise above it and quiet his fears. On their way to Tatooine, she never brought up his insecurities though he could sense her pride in him for letting them go. As of late, he'd sensed a lot of that emotion from her, and that was something he could at least console himself with.
In this moment, she was wearing a hood and facemask, much like he was. Though she was equipped with a blaster, he still insisted on supplying her with explosives. Though he could feel her amusement when he'd given her more than a few thermal detonators, she didn't say a word about it, for which he was grateful. He himself only had a lightsaber at his side, though he'd only use it as a last resort. There would be no point to the disguise if someone wielding a red saber was described to the Empire.
Without a word, they stepped into the morning light, the blazing heat already descending upon them. The sand underfoot was shifty and difficult to traverse, but Anakin was able to navigate them towards the palace. The ground became more solid as they got closer, and he noticed an Imperial shuttle by the palace entrance. He felt uneasy but knew that his master hadn't arrived yet. If that were so, he'd be able to sense him. He was thankful that the galaxy was so vast, for journey from Coruscant was much further from where the Executor had been, which was the only reason he'd been given a head start to save Luke. He knew that his master would be here soon and would use his son against him.
Jabba's Palace was before them now, and they approached the main entrance. Almost immediately, the gatekeeper droid popped out of its hatch. Knowing it would scan for their weapons, Anakin reached out and crushed the droid with the Force, before casting it into the hot desert sand, its wires sparking before it lost all power. After this he turned back to the metal surface and did some searching with his senses and he was able to find the locking mechanism of the gate. With both hands, he lifted it with the Force. The gate groaned under the foreign source of the push, but eventually rose away, allowing them to walk through. As they entered the darkness, he could sense a couple of lifeforms. Two Gamorrean guards were waiting on the other side and Anakin simply pushed them into the walls, knocking them unconscious. From there, Anakin continued walking forward, with Padmé following, a hand on her blaster. He could sense her uneasiness, but no disapproval for his methods.
Anakin could feel that there were stormtroopers gathered in a room off the side, as well as a bigger number of unfamiliar lifeforms. With mild concentration, he sharpened his senses, trying to better assess all potential enemies. Not surprisingly, Boba Fett was there, as was Jabba, as Anakin knew both from previous dealings with them. Then, there was one other presence, quite familiar, though he'd not been expecting to sense her here.
He felt cold.
"Leia.", he uttered and Padmé turned to him.
"What did you say?", she asked, and he could see her eyes grow worried.
"She's here too.", Anakin said, growing angrier with the Hutts. He motioned to a passage with one hand. "That way."
"What do we do?", she asked, torn between saving their son and daughter.
Anakin reached out with his senses again, searching for Luke, and immediately found him in the same room with the Imperials, Fett, and Jabba. He was still unconscious, which was why he'd not sensed him immediately. Anakin let out an uneasy breath.
"They're in the same place.", he informed her, eyes still closed. He felt the smugness of an officer at having finally caught the infamous Rebel. "Luke is being dealt off to the Imperials."
"We can bargain for their lives." she reasoned, though detested the idea of speaking with the slug.
"The Hutts are in this for the best interest of themselves.", he shook his head, brows furrowed. "Clearly this goes beyond something as common as money."
"Surely, you're not suggesting we just waltz in there?", she whispered furiously, and he could hear the anxiety in her tone.
"Luke is being taken now. We must act.", he argued, though he didn't know how it would happen without using his lightsaber.
"A full-frontal attack isn't a good plan.", she insisted, and he knew she was right. For a moment he pondered.
"We'll wait for them to transfer Luke."
"An ambush.", Padmé replied, but nodded. "That could work… but what about Leia?"
"I'll return for her while you get Luke to the shuttle.", he replied, a dark feeling settling over him. If she noticed the shift in his demeanor, she didn't say anything.
"Do you still plan on attacking head on?", she demanded, and Anakin nodded slowly.
"If she's still there by the time we get Luke, I have no choice but to go before Jabba."
There was a moment of tense silence before at last, Padmé nodded without argument. He grew surprised by her lack of disagreement before he noticed the steely determination in her eyes. Then he understood.
"Do what you must to save our daughter.", she said, voice firm.
After agreeing, Anakin went back over to the main gate. With one hand, he lowered it back into its regular position. While he was doing this, Padmé dragged the guards that had been ambushed earlier in one of the many offshoot hallways. After laying the trap, both he and Padmé waited in the alcove for the arrival of the Imperials and Luke. They knew the Imperial shuttle waited just on the other side of the gate, for which would cause the Imperials to inevitably fall into their trap.
For several minutes he and Padmé waited in the small space, and despite the current tenseness of the situation, he became increasingly aware of her proximity. Annoyed with himself, he forced his mind to focus on the situation at hand. With his senses, he was able to track the movements of his son's lifeforce.
Then there came the sound of footsteps.
Anakin peered around the corner, seeing about twelve troopers and a higher-ranking officer, who was probably the second in command of the star destroyer in orbit. Luke was between two of the troopers, being pulled by his upper arms, while his head was slumped. Anakin could see from here he'd been beat slightly, and it took everything in his power not to kill them where they stood. Instead, he concentrated on his breathing, waiting with careful precision for the situation to turn in their favor. He clenched his jaw and nodded to Padmé's questioning gaze. Then they both glanced around the corner and watched as the troopers went up to the gate, assuming that it would open for them. Anakin could sense their surprise when it didn't.
With their backs turned away, Anakin stepped out into the open corridor.
In one motion, he pulled all blasters from the hands of the troopers. The weapons came flying forward, some falling to the sandy ground, and he grabbed hold of a blaster that landed in his hand. Without hesitating, he pointed it at the group while Padmé did the same with her blaster. Quickly they dispatched of the two guards holding Luke, and the unconscious Jedi fell to the ground. Then they dealt with the other troopers decisively, leaving none who could do them harm. The rest of the stormtroopers fell quickly. Knowing that the blaster noises could be heard, Anakin lifted the gate again, to allow Padmé to pass through. She went for Luke who was still unconscious on the sandy ground and struggled under his dead weight. Thankfully, she managed better than she had with him after the Emperor attacked him, due to having more time to recover.
"Take their shuttle and fly it to ours.", he instructed, and she nodded, continuing out the gate. She gave him one last meaningful gaze, and he understood. "I'll come for you."
Behind him, Anakin heard the sound of more palace guards, and he quickly slammed the gate shut, protecting her and his son. He was tense but stood his ground, before turning around to face the new enemies. As he was standing over the dead troopers, he waited for Padmé to fly away. In minutes, he could sense her lift off the ground and leave this all behind, her presence growing further away. He assessed the new foes, noting that they were mostly Gamorrean guards, and that only a few other guards had blasters.
He quietly waited for one of them to make the first move.
"They'll have to leave at some point.", Sola assured once more, while they waited at a distance from the palace. Han was growing antsy, but he knew he couldn't just go back in after them without a solid plan. This was the best one they'd had so far.
"I know.", he uttered, clear anxiety in his tone.
They sat for some time, keeping their eyes were peeled on the horizon.
"Look, there it is!", Han cried out suddenly while in the cockpit of his ship. An Imperial shuttle, the same one that had arrived hours ago, was speeding away from the Palace.
"I see it!", uttered Sola, her gaze determined. "Let's go save Luke."
"And come back for Leia.", Han nodded, though looked at the palace mournfully.
"Yes, we'll go right back for her.", Sola assured and the Falcon rose into the air.
Strangely, the Imperial Shuttle didn't rise into the atmosphere, but they followed closely.
Anakin got finished throwing the last guard back with a powerful Force choke. Just when he had the urge to crack the guard's neck, he relented. The guard thumped into the sand, a cloud of dust rising around him. Quickly, Anakin moved for Jabba's throne room, where he sensed a great many guards waiting, and a few bounty hunters with their weapons specialties.
As he continued forward, the tunnel descended into stairs, which lead to an open room, an expanse of different creatures, all watching and waiting fearfully for his arrival. He came into view, a hooded figure, with an obscured face, and he could feel the questions as to his identity. The room was quiet as he crept forward, but no one fired on him, as Jabba was eyeing him carefully.
Anakin ignored them however, searching furtively for the person he'd come back for. In moments, his eyes found her, sitting next to another girl, a Twi'lek. To his shock and growing fury, she was scantily clad and kept in place with a collar and chain held by the greedy slug's hands. As if he owned her. Anakin felt his hands clench unconsciously and approached the Hutt with a wide stance. Something was boiling, festering underneath his skin, and he narrowed his eyes at Jabba who was watching him with his bulbous eyes.
Jabba spoke in Huttese, his voice booming.
"I've come for what doesn't belong to you.", he answered evenly, though his mind was anything but calm. Then, off to the side, he noticed a foreign lightsaber under the Hutt's hands. Anakin's eyes returned to the Hutt who continued speaking.
The Hutt questioned something.
"The one I seek is right in front of you.", he answered and sensed Leia's surprise. She was watching him closely now, her dark eyes trying to figure out who he was.
Jabba spoke again, and his tone was impatient. Anakin could feel the simmering rage only get closer to a boil, before deciding to answer.
"If you do not let her go, I will kill everyone here.", he answered, eyes flashing to Boba Fett in the corner.
The Hutt laughed, but Anakin only narrowed his eyes.
"Don't challenge me.", he warned, keeping his eyes on the Hutt, but his senses all around him. "I will do it, and you will be dead."
The Hutt lost all sense of humor before aggressively pulling some sort of lever. Suddenly the ground underneath him gave way, but with enough warning in the Force, he was able to grab the ledge of the trapdoor. The opening was quickly closing, and he only had seconds to act. Jabba let out a surprised sound at his agility and could only watch as he jumped upwards with the aid of the Force, and back into the safety of the main hall.
Immediately, all the blasters were on him and Anakin was breathing heavily from the adrenaline. Instead of continuing to feel fear, there came a cool detachment from the situation. Instead of using passion to guide his actions, he moved with a calmness of mind. At once, he could feel the presence of Obi-Wan, for whom he owed the clarity. Easily he reached out with his hand, yanking the foreign lightsaber from the slug's grasp. Jabba grew surprised at this, and immediately the guards started firing on him.
There were red streaks of energy heading right towards him, seemingly in slow motion for him.
Before they could land on their target, Anakin lit the green blade and deflected the bolts, most of them right back on the guards. Some of them fell to the ground dead, while others were only grazed. Suddenly realizing the formidableness of the stranger, more descended, and he was forced to cut through them. In a block that was only meant to protect his center, he struck an attacking guard. He arced the blade around himself, protecting his back, before kicking another who tried to attack while his front was exposed. There were still many foes closing in on him, and his eyes appraised each one, trying to decide who to prioritize.
Suddenly, the lights went out, and several people screamed.
Anakin felt some gratitude towards his daughter, as it seemed she had been the one to kill the lights. He sensed her go somewhere to hide, which only helped him to focus more heavily on his foes. With the rest of his senses, he was able to find lifeforms intending to do him harm.
He could feel great fear at the sight of him.
All his enemies could see was a green blade, blazing in the pitch darkness, and a hooded figure wielding it. They knew he was coming for them, and that his wrath was near. Some who were wiser, fled, but others attacked. While dispatching of the attackers, Anakin felt a sense of warning in the Force. On the edge of the room, he sensed Boba Fett, creeping forward, slowly raising his arm to shoot a cable at him.
With the Force, Anakin lifted up his arm, smashing Fett into the ceiling. The bounty hunter let out a surprised grunt at the impact and Anakin, wasting no time, sliced Fett's hand clean off. The bounty hunter cried out and Anakin released him. The injured man fell to the ground with a thud.
From the corner of the room, another bounty hunter fired on him, but he slammed him to the ground, yanking the blaster from his scrabbling hands. With several strides forward, this bounty hunter was dispatched quickly. While his back was turned, another tried to throw a thermal detonator at him, but the bomb was simply pushed right back at the attacker who took the full power of the explosion. Several more tried and failed to take him down. At last, he flourished the sword around him again, deflecting two blaster shots, and killed off the last attacker. Soon it was just the hum of a lightsaber, the groaning of some injured attackers that managed to stay alive, and the whimpers of those who were just bystanders.
All too easy.
With the saber as his only source of light, he approached the Hutt once more, feeling a sense of anger return to him. The green light cast heavy shadows around the room, but when he came for the Hutt, he was surprised to see eyes that were lifeless and his tongue sticking out. Around his thick neck were two chains, where the slug's dead hands seemed to have been fighting with. All anger drained from him and he was able to remove his mind from the battle that'd just transpired. Behind the Hutt, he could sense the lifeforce of two individuals. Quietly he approached with the lightsaber raised to cast a glow. There he found his daughter and the same Twi'lek who was still gripping her chain in shock.
Without a word, he sliced through the shackles, releasing both of them.
"Oola, come.", he heard Leia say to the shocked girl. The green skinned Twi'lek nodded and rose shakily to her feet. Leia turned on him. "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter.", he replied motioning to her to follow. "We must get you out of here before reinforcements arrive."
"What about the others?", came the voice of the Twi'lek, Oola. "There are slaves held here against their will."
"There's no time.", he insisted, feeling some annoyance.
"No.", Leia insisted, looking on the shaken girl. He could sense her righteous fury. "Their fate will be the same as ours."
He didn't know whether to be proud or frustrated.
"Fine.", he agreed before turning his attention to the other girl. "Where are they kept?"
"All throughout the palace.", she replied somberly. "The problem isn't that they're locked up. It's the—"
"Transmitter chips.", Anakin finished, knowing instantly what she was talking about. He himself had one as a boy before being taken to the Jedi Temple. "Yours is in your leg. All you need is the deactivator."
"Where is it?", she wondered aloud.
Instead of answering this question verbally, Anakin reached out a hand to a compartment at Jabba's side. A device flew up to his hand, and without a word he used it to deactivate the one in the Twi'lek. After this, he held the device out to Oola. She took it with some reverence, her eyes shining with respect for him. He felt unease at this and gestured in a random direction.
"Go, free the others, and meet us at the front gate as soon as you are able.", Anakin commanded, and she nodded enthusiastically. Before the Twi'lek left, she paused, turning to him.
"The Rebellion sent you?", Oola asked, while Leia remained quiet.
"Not exactly.", was all he said, before turning away. "Go. Free them."
The Twi'lek left the room with the device, her presence getting further away. He turned towards the entrance of the room, going in the direction of the front gate. Only at the foot of the stairs did he realize Leia wasn't following him. He turned to face her, and she has a suspicious look in her eyes.
"Come.", he stated softly and only then did she take a step forward.
They went up to the gates and he used the Force to lift it up for the last time. The bodies of the stormtroopers were still there, lying in the sand, as were their weapons. Anakin picked a blaster up to hand to his daughter, only to see Leia's eyes wincing at the morning sun. Her eyes had been kept in the darkness for so long. Slowly they readjusted to the light, though she hugged herself, and he sensed a feeling of uneasiness. Before handing her the blaster, Anakin shed his cloak and offered it to her, and she took it gratefully, without uttering a word. Behind them, was the sound of footsteps, and they turned, tensing at the sound, only to see Oola with several other former slaves.
Anakin likewise supplied several of the ex-slaves with the stormtroopers blasters in the event that reinforcements would come. As if on cue, several more guards poured into the entry way, their expressions angry. There was a tense silence before they started firing on the small group. Anakin jumped forward, helping with the use of the green saber, and defended them from most of the lethal shots. However, it was the ex-slaves who took care of most of the attackers. The firing soon died down, and their foes dwindled in numbers. As quickly as it began, it ended, with one last guard falling back with a thud.
"Let's go.", he said, startling them out of their reverie and at once they listened.
As one they moved out of the fortress, some seeing skies they hadn't been able to in years. The Twi'lek smiled at the sight, though Anakin could only wince when he spotted a sandstorm in the horizon. It wouldn't be long before this area was engulfed in it. They spotted speeders and skiffs nearby and he instructed a few on how to use them. After some adjustments and instruction, they sped away from the living nightmare that Jabba's Palace had been and never looked back. Only Oola and a few others remained, but Leia urged them to go. Shortly thereafter, the Twi'lek nodded to the two of them in thanks.
They got on their skiff and surged into the desert away from them. There was one speeder remaining for their escape. Once they were but a speck in the distance, Leia turned to him. Her gaze turned fully suspicious.
"Who are you really?"
Padmé flew the ship, while Luke was resting across the row of chairs in the passenger hold. The controls were easy enough, but with her mind so preoccupied with her husband and daughter caught in danger, she was finding it difficult to concentrate. Deciding it was better just to focus on the fact that her mission was to keep her son safe, she forced herself to think only in the moment.
Suddenly, the shuttle rattled when something flew close to it.
Padmé felt fear, believing that the Empire had discovered them already, only to see the Millennium Falcon pass over head. It circled back towards them, making it clear that they were trying to get the attention of her ship. Quickly, she opened up the communications channel.
"Captain Solo, or whoever is piloting your ship, disengage.", she stated, trying to be clear. "I'm not an Imperial."
There was a hiss of static and then a voice came through on the other line.
"Shuttle Crystilium, this is Captain Solo of the Millennium Falcon.", came the familiar voice of Solo and Padmé felt instant relief at the sound.
"Captain Solo, it's me, Padmé Amidala.", she reported continuing the ship forward. "I have Luke Skywalker aboard with me. Please meet with me at these coordinates."
Then she transferred some coordinates quickly.
"Amidala?", he asked and there was a pause as she heard conversation in the background. "Sure, we'll meet you there."
They flew forward, next to each other, for some time. Then on the horizon, the shuttle that she and her husband arrived in could be seen, as well as a sandcrawler. There were several Jawas surrounding the seemingly abandoned ship, most likely trying to scavenge it for parts, but they scattered quickly once she landed the shuttle nearby. The Millennium Falcon landed right next to both ships, and Padmé returned to the passenger hold. As if on cue, Luke began stirring and she placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to wake him up more, but he was slow to return to consciousness.
Next to her, the shuttle ramp opened automatically, and a figure appeared out of the corner of her eye. She heard a gasp and Padmé turned at the noise. Standing there at the bottom of the ramp, was her sister, Sola. Padmé looked on her frozen, before she let out a strangled laugh and rushed towards her sister. She quickly engulfed her in a hug, and both stood locked in each other's arms for quite some time.
"Padmé?", came the watery voice of Sola and Padmé hugged her fiercer. Some unspoken happiness rose in her as she held her sister close.
"It's me.", she replied, feeling something warm leaking out of her eyes.
For that moment, all was right.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the super delay, but I should be back more regular now. Wow! There are 15,000 total views to this story now! Thank you so much for reading!
I kind of feel bad that Luke wasn't able to lead the charge in this one, but he'll have his moment of glory soon. This was a fun one to write for me, as I truly enjoyed the interactions between most of the characters. Though action isn't my strong suit, something I'm sure most writers can relate to, I hope that the writing for it was easy to visualize and that you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it :)
Special shoutout to RyanSquad, tsunade senju, MMM73181, Jeda31, Reconzilla117, The God of Perverts, ichigo urahara Shihoin, and Blackberrywomp for reviewing the last chapter! A big thank you to those who favorited and followed my story! If you have any thoughts or opinions, let me know, as I always love hearing from you! Thank you all for continuing to read :)