Chapter 7
Taking Leia by the hand, Luke led her back upstairs to the meditation chamber. Once inside he gestured for her to take her traditional seat in the center of the room as Luke assumed his position opposite her.
"I've never done this before, but I'm sure it can be done," he told her. "I want you to focus on my force presence and ignore everything else."
Leia nodded and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to dissociate from her body and venture out into the Force as she had done countless times before. This time, however, she concentrated exclusively on Luke's vivid force presence, relishing in its warmth and purity. As she drew closer to his presence, however, she noticed a coldness she had never felt from him before. Trusting Luke implicitly, she drew nearer to him, merging their concioussnesses. As she did so, shapes began to materialize in front of her. Suddenly, she heard the unmistakable sounds of a battle, but they were distant. For some reason she began to feel frustrated and helpless, but she couldn't explain why.
An evil sounding voice from behind her shook Leia from her ruminations. "Your fleet is lost, and your friends on the Endor moon will not survive." Turning around, Leia saw the decrepit emperor sitting on his throne, his loyal henchman Vader standing attentively at his side. The emperor continued: "There is no escape, my young apprentice." Looking up at Vader, she saw her biological father standing stoically, his mask revealing nothing, and yet she could feel something brewing within him. "The alliance will die, as will your friends."
A hot flash of rage coursed through her, incensed by the despicable man in front of her. "Good," the emperor whispered, seemingly aroused by her disgust of him. "I feel your anger. I am defenseless, take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred and your journey to the dark side will be complete!" Looking away, Leia looked out at the battle ensuing far away, desperately trying to keep her rage in check. It was at this moment that she understood what was happening: she was experiencing Luke's mental anguish. She felt Luke's desperation to save his friends, his remorse that he was unable to turn his father, but most of all she felt his rage towards the emperor.
Abruptly, she turned to the emperor and summoned the lightsaber, igniting it quickly. Slashing down at the emperor, she was rebuffed by Vader's equally quick reflexes, as their blades met in front of the cackling emperor.
Suddenly, the figures in front of her dissipated and rematerialized. She was hiding by a post underneath the floor where she had just been. She felt Luke desperately trying to compose himself and keep his anger at bay.
"You cannot hide forever Luke," she heard the mechanical voice of Vader somewhere nearby, chilling her to the bone.
"I will not fight you," Luke called out, causing Leia to panic. Shut up, Luke! she thought, knowing that she had no control over the situation. Vader turned around, trying to determine from where the voice had come.
"Give yourself to the dark side," Vader said. "It is the only way you can save your friends." Vader paused, sensing Luke's presence. "Yes. Your thoughts betray you, your feelings for them are strong. Especially for… sister." She felt a bolt of fear and rage course through Luke, which he desperately tried to stymie. "So, you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me, now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will."
Overwhelmed by the anger billowing inside him, Luke gave out a scream and ignited his green lightsaber, charging towards the unsuspecting Vader. She watched through Luke's eyes as he blindly swung his weapon at Vader, grace and tactics giving way to raw power. Pushing Vader back, she felt a surge in confidence as she noticed the cyborg falter under Luke's relentless assault. Falling down, Vader held his red blade in front of him, desperately trying to shield himself from Luke's heavy blows. With one last great heave, Luke sliced off Vader's mechanical hand and pointed his lightsaber at Vader's breastplate.
The wretched sound of the emperor cackling behind her ruined the moment of triumph. "Good," he called out, descending the stairs towards her. Turning around she saw the emperor watching her hungrily. "Your hatred has made you powerful. Now fulfill your destiny, take your father's place at my side!" Turning back to look down at the defeated Vader, she stared at her father's truncated arm. Flexing her right hand habitually, she experienced a heavy sense of dread as she realized what Luke had just done. Recoiling at the realization that Luke had just committed the same offense that Vader had done to him on Cloud City, she extinguished her weapon in defiance and turned back to the emperor.
"Never," Luke said, flinging his lightsaber away. "I'll never turn to the dark side." The emperor's face contorted at Luke's proclamation. "I am a Jedi," Luke continued defiantly. "Like my father before me."
Trembling with rage at Luke's obstinacy, the emperor growled "So be it, Jedi." Raising his arms slowly, the emperor continued. "If you will not turn, you will be destroyed." A brilliant flash of blue lightning was emitted from the emperor's hands, pushing Leia off her feet and engulfing her in an inferno of pain. In a haze, Leia noticed Vader get to his feet, his breathing apparatus clearly compromised.
"Young fool," the emperor said bitterly. "Only now at the end do you understand." Releasing another bolt of lightning, Leia recoiled in agony.
"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side." Shocking her again, Leia fell to the floor, certain that she wouldn't be able to withstand the onslaught much longer. "You will pay the price for your lack of vision."
"Father, please!" Luke called out to Vader in desperation to no avail. After what felt like an eternity, the emperor ceased shocking her.
"Now young Skywalker… you will die." The emperor paused briefly, relishing in Leia's agony before resuming the lightning. Leia screamed out, every part of her body feeling as if it were on fire.
"No," she heard Vader say. "No!" Grasping the diminutive emperor, Vader lifted the man into the air. Looking up in confusion, Leia saw bolts of lightning radiating in every direction out of the emperor's hands as Vader held him aloft above his head. Throwing him over the railing, the emperor's screams faded as he fell hundreds of feet down the reactor shaft. Exhausted by the effort, Vader collapsed to his knees. Running over to him, Leia pulled the dying man away from the railing. Gazing into the black eyes of Vader's mask, she felt her surroundings dissolve around her, fading into nothingness. The pitiful sound of Vader's labored breathing grew softer as well until it too disappeared.
Separating herself from Luke's consciousness, Leia tore her eyes open. Acclimating herself to her surroundings, she saw Luke open his eyes as well, a solemn expression on his face.
Eventually, Luke broke the silence. "Do you understand now that you have seen things through my eyes?" he asked.
Leia said nothing, her body trembling from the intimate experience.
"You felt my rage, did you not?" Leia nodded, remembering Luke's overwhelming anger. "I hated the emperor for threating my friends, for destroying the Alliance. But I also hated my father…" Luke said, trailing off.
"You wanted to protect me," Leia said in a whisper, touched by her brother's unequivocal love for her.
Luke nodded. "When he sensed you…" Luke said slowly. "When he learned about you, I thought I had no choice but to kill him. My own father." Luke shut his eyes tightly, disgusted with himself.
"But you didn't," Leia reminded him softly.
"No, I did not," Luke concurred. "When I saw what I had done, I realized that I had become what I sought to destroy. It was love, Leia," Luke told her passionately. "Love for the man I wanted my father to be stopped me from killing him. And in the end, it was that love which turned him back to the light." Luke paused, looking down at his gloved hand thoughtfully. "So now you see, the symbiosis between light and dark. I used my anger to defeat our father, but it was through love that I was able to turn him."
Leia shook her head, marveling at her brother's courage and wisdom.
"I don't expect you to forgive Vader right away," Luke continued. "But you must understand that hatred alone is ultimately powerless."
Leia closed her eyes, remembering the moment Vader turned on the emperor and saved Luke's life. Luke had told her what had happened on the Death Star, but having now experienced it through Luke's eyes she suddenly appreciated the magnitude of Vader's act.
"Maybe someday I will… come to terms with him," Leia admitted finally, choosing her words carefully. "But I will never love him like you do, Luke."
Luke merely bowed his head in response. "You don't have to," he said after a long silence. "But you will learn to love him in your own way, of this I am certain."
Not wanting to crush her brother's optimism, Leia remained silent.