Chapter III: Death of a Mentor
Luke wriggled uncomfortably in the stolen Trooper uniform; it was slightly too big for him and he didn't like how restricted his movements felt in it. He glanced over at Han who seemed more uncomfortable than he was, the tall man barely fitting into the smaller Troopers armour. Han shushed them and took aim, motioning to Chewbacca to get ready. Two Gantry officers were approaching the ship, looking for the missing Storm Trooper guards.
As soon as they were in striking distance, Chewbacca let out a mighty roar and swung his arm at one them, immediately incapacitating the man and leaving him sprawled on the floor. Han took aim and with one shot the other officer was down as well. Luke scowled as they high fived each other and stepped out into the hangar bay.
"You know, between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here!" he admonished hotly, tugging at the armour near his neck.
"You know what I say kid? Bring them on! I prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around." Han retorted, checking the coast was clear.
"We found the computer outlet, sir." Threepio called, waving his arms at Luke. The group moved quietly through the hangar bay until they reached the two droids. Ben began tapping on the computer, swearing quietly under his breath as he searched for something. Eventually he managed to find a map of the station and inspected the monitor closely. Artoo whistled excitedly and bumped Kenobi's legs.
"Plug in Artoo." the droid did as he was asked, his claw arm fitting neatly into the computer socket. "He should be able to interpret the entire Imperial computer network." Ben explained.
"Artoo says he's found the main computer to power the tractor beam that's holding the ship here. He'll try and make the precise location appear on the monitor." Threepio explained as he translated Artoo's whistles and beeps. "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave." Ben stared at the data that Artoo had pulled up on the screen.
"I don't think you boys can help. I must go alone." he finally announced.
Han shrugged, "Whatever you say pal. I've done more than I bargained for on the trip already." Chewbacca rumbled in agreement.
"I want to go with you." Luke said quietly, his eyes fierce.
"Be patient Luke," Ben placed a hand on his shoulder, "stay and watch over the droids. They must be delivered safely or other star systems will suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Your destiny lies along a different path than mine. The force will be with you always." Luke watched in silence, a peculiar feeling settling in his stomach. Why did he feel like that was their final goodbye? Surely it was just his nerves kicking in, Ben was an accomplished Jedi Knight once, he would be fine against a few Storm Troopers.
"Where did you dig up that old fossil?" Han asked, interrupting his thoughts.
"Ben is a great man." Luke replied, making himself comfortable on top of a crate.
"Yeah, great at getting us into trouble. Anything would be better than just hanging around waiting for him to pick us up..."
"He's done a far sight better than you have-" before an argument could erupt between the two, Artoo began to sing and whistle excitedly once again. Shooting Han a disproving frown, he asked Threepio what the little blue astromech droid was saying.
"He says he's found Princess Leia. The young lady in the holotape!" Threepio exclaimed in excitement. Luke's eyes widened in surprise.
"Princess? What Princess?" Han had immediately perked up, inching closer towards the screen to get a better look himself.
"She's in level five, detention block a-twenty-three. She's been scheduled to be...oh, terminated." Artoo beeped sadly, his dome spinning silently on his head.
"We have to do something!" Luke turned to Han, his voice passionate, "We have to save her, Ben didn't know she was here otherwise he would have gone to rescue her himself!"
"I don't know kid," Han drawled, sharing a look with Chewbacca, "marching into the detention centre isn't exactly what I had in mind. Better her than me sort of thing ya know?"
Luke glared at the older man, an insult on the tip on his tongue before he paused and took a good look at Han. Getting into a verbal sparring match wouldn't help matters, but he seemed to value money above all else...
"She's rich." he knew his plan had worked when Chewbacca growled and Han's eyes slid up from the floor to settle on his face.
"Rich?"
"The reward you'd receive would be unimaginably large! Think about it." Luke urged. Han looked at Chewbacca who blinked a few times, thinking over the idea. He let out a short grunt of agreement and Han shrugged before agreeing with Luke.
"What's the plan then?" He asked, adjusting the blaster on his hip. Luke looked around at the room for inspiration until he spotted a pair of binders lying on top of a crate. He picked them up and stared hard at Chewbacca.
"Han, can you put these on Chewbacca? We're dressed as Storm Troopers right? So we can pretend that Chewie is our prisoner, and that we're taking him to the detention centre. Brilliant, right?"
"Not bad kid." Han replied. "You two droids stay here with the ship. Lock the door, and if anyone finds you pray they don't have blasters." Han winked at Threepio's worried protests and wedged the helmet on his head. Luke did the same thing and they both nodded at each other before marching Chewbacca out in front of them. Luke took a deep breath as the doors slid open and revealed a long, dark corridor.
You wanted adventure, remember Skywalker? And now you've got it. It felt like they were walking into the belly of the beast. Trying their best to look as inconspicuous as possible in their ill-fitting armour, they marched through until they reached a vacuum elevator. They stood as still as possible waiting for it to arrive, praying that no one decided to talk them. Around them Troopers, bureaucrats and robots went about their daily business, most of them not sparing the Wookiee a second glance.
Stepping into the lift, Luke let out a shaky breath. "I can't see a thing in this helmet." he muttered irritably. "But so far so good." he added optimistically. The doors slid open and the trio exited the lift, entering the security station. Guards and laser gates littered the area, and the low hum of machines working in the background was the only noise to be heard. A tall, severe looking man started to approach them, his grey eyebrows crushed together in a stern frown.
"You just had to say that..." Han growled from behind his helmet.
"Where are you taking this thing?" he barked at them brusquely. Chewbacca growled menacingly, but a sharp nudge from Han stopped him.
"Prisoner transfer from block one-one-eight-three." the lie flowed smoothly from Han's mouth, and Luke was impressed with how quickly he came up with it.
"I'll have to clear it." the man gave them both a penetrating stare before retreating to the console behind him. Han was taking note of how many officers there were in the room in case they had to fight their way through. There was only three, plus the man who was in charge. They could easily take them on. Han gently nudged Luke behind Chewbacca's back as he uncuffed his friend.
Suddenly, Chewbacca let out an ear piercing howl and started towards the guards.
"Look out, he's loose!" Han hollered at the startled men. Before the guards could begin scrambling for their weapons, Luke and Han had pulled out their own blasters and started shooting wildly into the room, hitting the guards. With a skilful shot Han downed the officer in charge just before he reached the alarm system.
"Nice shot!" Luke shouted, following Han to the computer system.
"Your Princess if in cell twenty-one-eight-seven, go get her while I hold them off here." Luke nodded at him and raced down the hallway, his armoured feet squeaking against the floor. Heart pounding, Luke nearly missed the cell in his hurry to find the Princess. He jiggled the door before shooting at it with his blaster. Inside the cell, the young woman raised an eyebrow at the scene before her.
"Aren't you a little short to be a Storm Trooper?" Leia asked sarcastically, crossing her arms. Luke took a moment to admire how pretty she was, with large doe eyes and her hair neatly coiled into two buns atop her head. Her eyes were dark with anger as she looked at him however, and he hastened to remove his helmet and shake his hair out of his eyes.
"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here with some friends of mine including Obi-Wan Kenobi. We're here to rescue you!" Leia's eyes lit up in understanding and she shot up from the bench towards Luke.
"Kenobi is here? Where is he?" she demanded breathlessly.
"We haven't got time! Just follow me!"
Ben hurried through the corridors, his job complete. He had damaged two of the computers responsible for the tractor beam therefore causing a fault in the system, they would be able to escape now. His brisk jog slowed to halt as he reached the corner, a familiar yet alien presence filling the room. He withheld his gasp as Darth Vader stepped into the room.
He was a sight to behold – cloaked from head to toe in jet black armour and towering over Ben at six foot eight inches tall. There was silence in the corridor except for the mechanical breathing of Vader's life support suit. He took one step forwards and ignited his lightsaber, the red light casting a menacing glow over the room. Ben had only just managed to withhold his startled breath at the sight of his former Padawan, instead swallowing the lump in his throat and igniting his own saber.
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle in now complete." the baritone voice that thundered out of the vocoder was nothing like how Kenobi remembered. The old Jedi Knight knew in his heart that he would not be leaving the battle station with Luke and the others. This was to be his final act as a Jedi.
Slipping into a classical offensive position, Vader in turn took a defensive stance.
"When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the Master." Vader continued, the mechanical breaths filling in the silence.
Ben considered him for a moment; he missed his old friend terribly, but he had no time to mourn for the man he once was. He had to allow Luke time to escape.
"Only a master of evil." no one made a move for a few precious moments before Ben suddenly struck out, surprising the Sith with his boldness. The lightsabers met in a fierce clash of sparks, Ben could feel that power behind Vader's move, he could feel how the other man was holding back, that he hadn't even begun to tap into the dark side of the force for this battle. He knew that when he did, it would be a quick end for himself.
Going on the offensive, Vader struck out at Ben a few times, lazily – almost as if he was toying with him. He forced Kenobi to back up into the hangar bay, much to the older man's dismay. He did not want Vader to even know that Luke existed. Ben parried a particularly vicious blow and staggered back, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.
"Your powers are weak, old man." Vader taunting, closing in on Jedi.
"You can't win, Vader. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Ben warned, backing up a few paces to keep the distance between them. Perhaps he could make it to the ship after all...he was so close.
The fight continued, Vader growing stronger by the minute. Kenobi had bought the others as much time as he possibly could. He turned and saw Luke at the bottom of the ramp, staring at him with his mouth open. Ben tried to communicate to him with his eyes, to tell him that everything would be alright and that he should get as far away from this place as he possibly could. He turned to Vader and deactivated his Lightsaber, a serene look on his face.
Vader did not hesitate in bringing his saber down in order to cleave the man in two. To his surprise, and to the surprise of the few Troopers who were looking on in interest, Ben disappeared. All that was left was his tattered cloak and saber.
"No!" Luke shouted, all breath leaving his body. Not only had Darth Vader taken away his father, but now he had also taken away his mentor, his only link to his fathers past. Luke flew down the ramp and ignited his fathers old Lightsaber, shouting incoherently at the Sith Lord. Vader stared at him in apparent bemusement and sent him flying into the far wall, knocking him out on impact. The Lightsaber clattered to the floor rolled away a few paces.
Leia shouted out in alarm but Han dragged her up the ramp as Chewbacca steered the ship out of the hangar bay. The Troopers looked at each other uneasily as they retreated to Vader to ask what he wanted them to do next.
"Arrest the boy and have him questioned. I want to know about his affiliation with the Jedi." he barked out the order before he even had time to think. The Troopers nodded and dragged the youth away out of the hangar bay.
I did not think he was powerful enough to discorporate. Vader thought idly to himself, nudging the cloak that lay in a heap on the floor. He summoned Kenobi's Lightsaber and clipped to his belt before turning to saber the boy had tried to use. Summoning it to his hand, he paused at the familiar feel and examined it closer.
Recognition dawned on him that it was his from when he was a Jedi. Rage filled him, white hot and licking his insides, begging to be released. He clipped the saber to his belt. That fool Kenobi had dared to take on another apprentice? Flexing his hands, he strode from the hangar bay, his cape flapping impressively behind him.
Vader knew that he would win his fight against Kenobi, but he must admit that he was shocked to see the state the old man had fallen into. When he had first laid eyes on him, he feared that a strong breeze would knock him over, never mind a Lightsaber duel. The old man had tried his best though, although why he gave up so readily at the end puzzled Vader.
One thing hadn't changed however, and that was the fact that the man still spoke in riddles which served to infuriate the Sith Lord. He would find out what secrets the Jedi boy was harbouring and then he would kill him, and kill whoever else Kenobi trained.
Of that he would make sure.