9 BBY

LARS HOMESTEAD, TATOOINE

Beru reached for the blue milk, pouring herself another glass. Obi-Wan imagined that the expression on her face signified they were nearly out.

"And that was when your father came to my rescue, slamming his ship into the general's, saving my hide. Although, I never admitted that fact to him," Obi-Wan recounted, laughing at his old anecdotes.

Luke sat back in his chair, sighing now that the story was over. "I wish you'd told me the truth sooner, just so I could've heard these war stories."

"Well, then you wouldn't have been able to enjoy this story now," he chuckled. He'd been saving these for years. It felt liberating to no longer hide behind the story full of holes known as Ben. Although, the nickname itself had stuck.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's funny and all, but we've got a really busy day ahead of us. Let's finish eating breakfast so we can start setting up the new vaporators."

"Aww…" Luke whined. "But Ben and I were going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters."

"You can become a Jedi when your chores are finished," Owen chided, wiping his hands with a napkin. He raised an eyebrow, sighing in a manner reminiscent of a machine's reboot cycle. "Now let's get going."

"You have my apologies. I was not aware the moisture-" Obi-Wan dropped his cup, spilling milk over the table. He instinctively searched for his lightsaber's presence.

"What the?" Owen asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

His blue eyes turned icy as wartime instinct ran its course. "I've just felt a presence I haven't felt in a decade. Darth Vader is here."

Beru and Owen shot up, as prepared as he was to lay down their lives for the boy they'd taken responsibility for all those years ago. "Then we've got to do something!"

Obi-Wan stood tall, taking his lightsaber out of his tunic. "There's no time to run. Hide, while I lure him away."

"No way!" Luke shouted. "This is what I've been training for! I'll fight him with you."

Ben shook his head, slightly amused at the boy's eagerness. Internally he was kicking himself for failing the one job he had in the past decade. A looming dark presence edged ever closer. "You are not ready for this. If he finds you…"

Two Vaders running around sent a chill down his spine.

"He killed my father," Luke said slowly. "The least I can do is try to fight."

"No way in hell am I letting you anywhere near him!" Owen shouted, slamming his fist down on the table.

A man dressed in black armor jumped down the steps. If he didn't have their attention before, his red lightsaber roared to life. "Am I interrupting something?"

Obi-Wan activated his own lightsaber, holding it in a defensive position. "You have made a mistake coming here. An even bigger mistake calling your master."

Luke turned his on shortly after, holding it much more clumsily. He still hadn't found that comfortable level between too lightly and too tightly.

The Inquisitor grabbed it from him with the force, spinning it right through Owen's outstretched hand. The man collapsed to the ground in agony as the Inquisitor casually inspected the weapon. It was almost as if he hadn't maimed a man.

"This weapon is insanely well put together for someone like you…" he said, recognition in his voice.

Obi-Wan shot forward, taking their visitor by surprise. After a single offensive strike and three parries, he delivered the final blow, slicing through the Inquisitor's lightsaber and stomach. A deathly gasp came through the filtered helmet.

Luke's expression changed to that of one who had seen a ghost as Ben gave him back his lightsaber. "Do be careful of losing this weapon again," he told his young charge.

Beru helped Owen to his feet, who was currently cradling his stump and seething. "So, was that encounter ten years ago anything like this?!"

"Not exactly. I'm afraid we must abandon the farm, as we have discussed," Obi-Wan said, grabbing the medkit from one of the kitchen drawers.

"Blast," Owen said spitefully. "Beru, go get the deed. This homestead has been in my family for generations, and I'll be damned if I'll be the one to lose it!"

Beru did so quickly before returning, cupping Luke's cheek with her free hand. "Don't worry. This is a possibility we prepared for the day we took you in."

Luke defeatedly nodded before hugging his aunt.

"We should make haste. Vader is nearly here," he said, moving to the doorway. He stopped, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Should anything happen to the three of us, say nothing of your heritage to Vader."

The boy nodded once more as they departed to the family garage.

DARTH VADER'S TIE ADVANCED, TATOOINE

As soon as they came out of hyperspace above Tatooine, he was certain. "Obi-Wan Kenobi…"

"So it is true," Leia asked, fiddling with the lightsaber she had been lent for this mission.

Despite her training with a sword, he was seriously regretting giving her a loaner with how cavalier she was near the activator. He had promised to turn around if she used it unnecessarily, and that usually seemed to work with her.

He sensed no danger in this mission, and so decided to bring Leia along. If this lead was truly solid, then rubbing how uncorrupted Leia was in his face would bring immense satisfaction. Obi-Wan Kenobi's final mistake in a long list of many...

"I feel a presence down there I haven't felt since I was put in this suit," Vader murmured. "It must be Kenobi."

Leia was acutely aware that it was a duel with Kenobi on Mustafar that made her father who he was today.

He tried his best to spare no details with his daughter, no matter how painful or personal. Obi-Wan and the other Jedi had kept much from him during his career, and the resentment he felt was nothing he wanted Leia to experience even at his own expense.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

He froze for a moment.

"I do not know…" Vader answered truthfully. "Kill him, maybe. It all depends upon-"

The TIE Advanced rocked as something struck it. "Kenobi…" he muttered as the ship gravitated downward way too quickly for comfort. No doubt the result of the force. The ground was approaching fast, so Vader stood up, shielding his daughter with the force, but mainly his body. They were both knocked unconscious within moments.

LARS HOMESTEAD, TATOOINE

Obi-Wan shielded his charges with the force, regarding the crash site with displeasure. "I'm afraid that may not occupy him for long."

"You've got to be kidding me," Owen muttered bitterly.

"Let's get going!" Luke cried, sliding into the family's V-35 courier.

"To Anchorhead or…" Kenobi said, sitting idle at the wheel.

"Mos Eisley!" Owen decided. "Less questions. Just step on it!"

OxOxO

Leia awoke suddenly, rubbing her eyes free of blood, only to find it didn't belong to her. Her father was crouched over her, shrapnel poking through his armored shoulder, causing the steady drip. It was when his mechanically wheezing breath came to her attention that she looked up, staring into his blue eye through a missing shard in his helmet.

His unaugmented voice was somehow familiar. Obviously it was gentler, but also entirely different than the baritone she was familiar with. "Leia... are you alright?"

She briefly checked herself before shifting her focus. "I'm fine. It's you that isn't alright!"

"Yes…" he assessed. "The crash has rendered my limbs inactive."

Leia gingerly held his left hand, which was flattened and sparking, no doubt as a result of the strain of keeping them alive. "That's not all it's done."

"It is best not to dwell on me until your next task is finished. The communications array has been disabled, and unless we repair it or me, we are grounded, the distance between us and Kenobi ever growing," Vader explained. "I need you to head northeast from here, to a city called Mos Eisley. Rather than bartering for parts to repair our ship or me, obtain a ship or communicator. Go to or contact the fleet. Do not look back until you have fulfilled this mission."

Her response was immediate. "No, I can't just leave you here! You're not going to last."

"You underestimate the power of the Force, despite having it, Leia. I was raised on this planet, and I know we will not survive if you waste time dragging me behind you. Take the survival kit and funds," he said, gesturing with his head. "Make haste, but do not exert yourself. Although you are strong, my daughter, this planet is unforgiving."

Leia bit her lip, eying him up and down. "Okay, I understand."

"Good," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Change out of those dark clothes, or you will die of heatstroke. Keep your identity as an agent of the Empire a secret. There are not many sympathetic to our cause, not even the Hutts. They would use you as leverage- or worse."

"Yeah, I know, I understand how the Outer Rim works, father," she said, rooting through the closet. "I will not fail. I can't."

There was too much at stake. As soon as she had pulled on something more comfortable, and by extension a hooded tunic, she set out triumphantly into the scorching twin sunlight. In that instant, all of her bravado was extinguished like a lightsaber. Two steps into the sifting sand took way more effort than she thought it would. She felt a sweat breaking out on her forehead already, and she wished she could at least drag her father along if only for the ambient cold he exuded.

Luckily for her however, it seemed like Kenobi had left a speeder bike in the garage, and her journey would not be on foot.

"I hate sand…" she muttered, bypassing the security, hopping on, and following her compass to the north.

As she reached out with the force, it seemed the barren wastes housed more life forms than she initially believed. Organisms invisible to her wriggled and battled under the sand, and lizards crawled upon the canyon walls. Why, even the rock up ahead possessed some rather strong presences. The presences of...

A gaderffii stick came down on the tip of her speeder, sending Leia careening through the air. In her fall, she managed to right herself and somehow not eat dirt.

Three or so Sandpeople began to holler, raising their weapons and approaching her. She had been told about these savages by her father, and so she immediately activated her lightsaber. The canyon was bathed in red light.

They froze, fear somehow being expressed through their masks.

Leia suddenly became aware of the weight of her weapon, throwing her hand high. The raiders flinched before scurrying off into the desert shrieking.

"I really don't like this planet…" she said, picking up her sparking speeder. A few minutes of fiddling and it began to hover once more.

Hoping the converters would last, she sped off once more.

MOS EISLEY, TATOOINE

Mos Eisley smelled a lot worse than she had expected. It wasn't just the poverty, but also a Ronto's dung, as she nearly discovered with her new boots. She felt a little bit out of her comfort zone, as most everyone was some sort of alien or much taller than her, but that didn't stop her. After all, she was the daughter of one of the most powerful Sith Lords ever, and she had a lightsaber and a lot of money to her name. There was nothing to be afraid of.

That was, of course, until some Klatooinian started soliciting her from his stall, in a language she didn't know. She just shook her head, waving away the amphibian he was shoving in her face.

Leia walked away, trying to read the signs that were more often than not in a Huttese script. She severely doubted that anyone here had been loyal to anyone but the Hutts, even during the golden age of the Republic. She truly was on her own, and she didn't like that.

She walked her bike up to a familiar face. Not someone she knew, but a human. "Excuse me, might I have a moment of your time?"

"Depends if you've got a moment of cash, outworlder," he said, sizing the small girl up.

She steeled her gaze. "I've got better than that. This speeder for all my questions, if you can answer them."

The man looked around shifting. "Is she stolen?"

"No."

"Why else would you want to part with something like that for so low a price?"

She'd hit her stride. Bartering was exactly like diplomacy, she thought, getting a big head. "I can't exactly bring it with me. I want off this world."

"Your best bet for that is Chalmun's Cantina. Couple of kilometers that way," he motioned. "My speeder?"

Leia pulled it away from his grasp. "Wait a minute. I would prefer to get off this rock of my own volition but my ship is damaged. I've got quite the engineer, but no parts for him to work with. Where can I find a scrap shop?"

He guffawed in her face. "Nowhere. Jabba's put most of the scrappers out of business. The good ones anyway. Your only way offworld is through a Hutt-sanctioned transport. Whether that be a new ship itself or through one of their pilots is up to your wallet. Either of those options, your first stop should be that Cantina I mentioned."

Leia sighed, handing over the bike to the man. "Thank you very much for your help. Whether or not you realize it, you've done a great service to the Empire."

"Ugh, you're an Imperial dog? I almost don't want to take this from you," he said disgustedly. "But I will anyway. Pleasure."

The man took off on his shiny new bike, leaving Leia in the dust.

She looked to her left, down the crowded Mos Eisley street, sauntering off toward her first lead.

CHALMUN'S CANTINA, TATOOINE

As she entered the packed Cantina, the smooth and sad Slitherhorn hit her ears. The presence of the Jeebo Rodanda band almost distracted her from how rough the customers here were. She prided herself on recognizing their music, for having taste way beyond her years. Then she bumped into an Ithorian, and her facade crumbled. He angrily bellowed at her, and she could only back away and apologize.

"Girlie!" The bartender shouted over the music. Gruff as he was, she was glad for his beckoning call. "Look," he said as she sat down at the bar. "I don't know what someone as young as you is here for, but I promise you it probably ain't here."

"Information," she said, putting on her tough guy mask. "I need a ship."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, if it'll get you outta here sooner, I'll help you."

"Great!" she beamed.

He brandished a scowl. "But! You gotta buy something. There's no law against it, but I don't sell stiff drinks to younglings. What'll it be?"

She sighed too, slinking into her chair. "Fair enough. Do you have any tea?"

"No. I got water, milk, pallie juice, or maybe some cocktail mixer."

"Milk from what?"

He scoffed. "Bantha milk. Only milk around here that ain't from an Askajian."

"I'll take that then," she said, placing some hutt money on the bar. "Keep the change."

He pocketed it and turned around, placing a glass of blue milk in front of her. "Bottoms up."

She sipped it carefully, and the barkeep gave her an odd look. "So. A ship?"

"Those two are new to the scene. They could probably use a job," he said, motioning to a back table where, notably, a Wookiee sat across from a particularly roguish man. "They don't seem the type to turn away a kid in need. Introduce yourself and hope they accept, I suppose. Most pilots won't take a job on such short notice, but we get some desperate types here. Come right back here if they can't help you."

"Thanks," she said, chugging her milk and moving toward her destination.

The man gave her a lopsided smirk as she came to a stop in front of him. "Is this some kind of joke?"

The Wookiee growled something gently.

She scoffed at the scruffy-looking smuggler. "I don't think customer service entails insulting your clientele."

He feigned offense by throwing his hands up. "Didn't mean to hurt your feelings. My friend here wants you to know you've got blue on your lip."

Leia quickly wiped her mouth, cheeks reddening. That must have been there for a while. "Can't you just hear me out and let me pay you?"

"Look, it ain't exactly often a kid hires you to move cargo," he said. "No etiquette for this kind of thing."

"Well I'm guessing it's not often some kid has funds like this," she said venomously, slapping some credits on the table. "I can find some other laser brained jerk anywhere on this planet."

"Now, hold on a sec," he said. "What exactly do you need moved?"

These smuggler types were always motivated by money. At least, that's what the holos said.

"Two passengers. I just need to go pick up my father in the desert and then a ride to Imperial space," she explained, sitting across from the man, next to the wookiee.

He grimaced. "Imperial space? You some officer's kid?"

The Wookiee bellowed.

"Yeah, that'd explain the deep pockets."

She pursed her lips, leaning over the table. "Is that a problem?"

"A little bit. I didn't exactly leave the Empire on the best terms. Neither did Chewie here."

No one left the Empire on any terms, really. "I don't know what you did, but will a… pardon change your tune?"

The man and the wookiee exchanged glances. He growled. "Chewbacca doesn't want to be double-crossed. How certain is this?"

"Quite." she said. Her father was wrapped around her finger, after all. "I promise."

The smuggler raised a brow and looked her up and down. She tried her best to look truthful, but she didn't know what that looked like in the moment.

He drew a long sigh. "Yeah, you got yourself a deal, kid. Let's get going," he said, standing up and stretching. She noticed fully his Corellian garb.

Reaching for the credits, he quickly found himself denied. Leia slid a few to him. "I'm not as naive as you might think. You'll get the rest when we pick up my father."

The Wookiee laughed with a bray that almost shook the cantina.

"Oh, and I think I'll need to use your communicator. I have to contact the Empire."

"That ain't happening," he said when they entered the docking bay. 'Not until we've got that pardon. I've got a target on my back as it is."

There was a quick exchange between the smugglers. She almost felt left out, but resigned to let them deliberate. "Yeah, I can tell she's a youngling, Chewie! No comms until we're clean."

"That's fair. What-" she said, coming to a stop as the full situation of the ship hit her. It was a Corellian freighter that had obviously seen better days. Traces of blue paint had faded away, there was carbon scoring all across the hull, and the cargo clamps were empty. It was worse than the worst of her father's most 'vintage' ships. "Oh, mother of moons…"

'Chewie' snorted, saying something jovially.

"Yeah, yeah, but it's not exactly like you gotta look presentable in this business!"

"Did you stick this thing together with flimsi?" she said as they boarded. A finger was soon pointed in her direction.

"She's got it where it counts. Ever heard of the Millennium Falcon?" he asked, determined to get an answer before letting her pass.

She moved his finger out of her face with her own. "I can't say that I have, captain..?

"Han Solo. Did the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs," he bragged, a half-smirk gracing his face.

Kessel was an Imperial controlled world. She had a feeling that the 'run' he referred to was one relating to theft. That explained why the pardon worked. "So you stole coaxium, then?'

He scowled. "Something like that. Why don't you go make yourself at home? But don't get too comfortable."

Chewie barged past them, going to perform the pre-flight checks. Certainly, this freighter was a far cry from the shiny and new Imperial craft she was used to. However, she was pretty sure anything with a hyperdrive would be sufficient to get to her father and the fleet. Well, anything with a hyperdrive that wouldn't leave her as space dust as it got them where they needed to go.

"Lead the way, Captain," she said, following the wookiee.

"First mate! I'm the captain!" he called after her. "This had better be worth it…" he grumbled.

LARS HOMESTEAD, TATOOINE

"Father!" She cried, seeing that the wreckage was smoldering. She couldn't have left the ship sooner. It had no doubt exploded, and the moisture farm was burning.

Darth Vader clambered up the steps of the flaming homestead, clutching a leather helmet in his good hand. Raw, untamed sorrow and regret radiated around him like a swirling storm. "You're back."

Leia ran up to him, seeing that tears were running from his exposed eye. She grabbed the helmet from him, considering it closely. What exactly about it could have her father crying for the first time in her life? Inside she saw an inscription scrawled in sloppy letters. "Anakin Skywalker? The Clone Wars hero? Did he used to… Is that why Kenobi was hiding here?"

He faltered for a moment. "This is my step-brother's farm. My mother is buried here."

Leia was stricken by Vader's powerful grief almost as soon as the realization did. The helmet clattered to the ground. Vader's tears welled up in her eyes as the smoky desert air around them turned frigid. She didn't dare speak of the implications. Her breath caught as a result and she uttered a cough.

Vader was snapped out of his stupor, grabbing her by the back of her tunic. "We'd best move away, little one"

Leia drew her hood and stood next to her father, watching the farm smolder. "That Inquisitor killed them, didn't he? Our family."

"I am uncertaIn," he said.

"I got us a ride," she said after a pregnant pause.

Vader gently placed a leather bound flimsiplast journal in her hand. "Where are we being extracted?"

"Here."

OxOxO

Vader turned his head to see their presumable savior come down the loading ramp of a weathered and beat-up ship, gobsmacked. No doubt this pilot had accepted the job to afford repairs for the freighter. He was quite a young man. Perhaps an old teenager.

The human struggled with where to put his hands, before making a short bow that was half curtsy. The Dark Lord was on the verge of amusement. "Uh- It- It's an honor, your.. Lordship… fulness."

"We are in your debt," he replied. "Lord Vader will suffice."

"Sorry I couldn't find a better ship," she said, helping him to the ship. She glared at him. "Or a pilot."

He forced a smile, clearly refraining from a comeback. "Well, at least it flies. Welcome to the Millennium Falcon."

"That it does," Vader agreed, limping aboard. That seemed to match the name of a ship that had, in recent memory, gotten away with a massive load of Imperial Coaxium. "So this is the ship that incited the uprising on Kessel."

The pilot stopped dead in his tracks. "Uh- could be, maybe. Your uh- daughter said something about a pardon?"

Of course she hadn't lowballed them… "I will grant you a full record erasure. Are you the one who piloted?"

Solo leaned on the hall now that he considered himself to be out of hot water, pride oozing from his every pore. "Yep. Han Solo."

"I would like to extend another job to you. I am in need of a new wingman," he said, slumping down in the common room. He sensed genuine pride, an indication of a lack of deceit.

Leia raised her brow, spluttering. "But he's a criminal!"

"And a gifted pilot for a boy," he added. Anyone who had survived The Maw, let alone any gravity well, was competent enough to fly alongside him. The experience and skill required to perform such stunts outweighed any disciplinary issue that could be ironed out. Vader awaited the response patiently.

Solo struggled to maintain his usual smirk. "All due respect, I'm not sure I want to fly for the Empire again."

Vader nodded, crossing his arms. They didn't call TIE Pilots coffin jockeys because it was a safe profession. "A destination would be in order. Corellia, as fate would have it. I will give you clearance codes closer to the system."

Their pilot nodded, giving a small gesture of acknowledgement with his hand before going to the cockpit.

When they were alone, Vader collapsed onto the Dejarik table. "I haven't been bested like this since Mustafar."

"Everybody has to lose sometime," she said, propping him up with an embrace. "Even you."

He nodded, closing his eyes. The wheezing somewhat subsided.

THE DEVASTATOR, CORELLIA

When Solo delivered them to the fleet at Corellia, he ultimately declined the offer. Her father unflinchingly extended the offer to the future, instructing him to simply climb up the Imperial command chain to find him. Not many were foolish enough to throw around Darth Vader's name lightly, meaning it would be taken seriously, lest some low-level bureaucrat use their better judgment over fear.

Although the day had been rough, at the least, Leia had confirmation that she had inherited her eye color from her mother. She was staring at herself in her vanity, applying a salve to her sunburn. Her father had always insisted on proper skin care, leading to much speculation on her part. She wasn't complaining, but it seemed odd that a man who never took off his helmet would care so much about the health of skin. The sliver of pale and withered face she'd seen when his mask had broken cemented why exactly he was the practice's largest proponent. He entered shortly thereafter.

"There's a chime for a reason," she said, noticing his suit was already in perfect order. His usual, comforting breathing had returned to its white noise status.

He sat on her bed, an awkward attempt to ease the tension and move to her level. The Wroshyr wood frame creaked under his weight. "I am certain you have questions."

"Not as many as you'd think," she said, capping the lotion and turning to him. "How did you stand growing up on that dreadful planet?

"I had no choice. I was a slave," he said.

"Yeah, you were," she said, emphasizing the end with a wave of the flimsi notebook. "Now you're the galaxy's second in command. Look at you now!"

His presence darkened, and she paused as she determined what she had said that had upset him.

"Um."

Vader spoke. "Is that book sufficient in quelling your curiosity?"

She flipped through the pages rougher than he was probably comfortable with her doing. "When does the Hero With No Fear show up? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He averted his gaze. "If you only knew… It is my greatest shame."

She narrowed her eyes in confusion, not biting on that admission. He was acting weirder than normal. "I think I should get some sleep."

Vader stood up, dread filling his presence. "I shall leave you to it, then. Good evening."

Somehow, he had gotten the impression that she was offended. As if.

"I love you, dad," she said as he marched to the door.

He turned to her, giving a slight nod. "And I, you. More than you could ever know."

"I do know," she insisted.

Vader shook his head slightly before leaving. She thought she knew.