Chapter Fourteen:

Han popped his head out and around the doorframe where Velius had stashed himself after loading the speeder full of parts the young man had returned with. Han didn't really care about the kid taking the speeder, but he didn't know what to think of the kid killing more of Zolar's men.

If the kid knew Han was there, he didn't give any indication, and this afforded the man a chance to observe the teenager in his natural element. No doubt this young man knew his droids and mechanics, Han noted after watching the deft manner in which Velius handled whatever he touched, cleaning and organizing it as he went.

Han and Chewie had finished repairs about ten minutes ago, and Chewie had mentioned to Han that once he'd finished with the housing unit he had let the kid go do whatever. But it wasn't until later that the Wookiee had mentioned the odd way Velius had reacted to Chewie's comments on death following him.

Han wasn't certain what it was that alerted the Kid, but abruptly Velius' head whipped about and Han was presented with intense eyes that relaxed moments later.

"Hi Kid. We're getting ready to take off, if you want to strap in," Han said as he approached.

Velius nodded almost to himself and began putting his things away. "Alright."

"So... why the build?" Han asked curiously.

Velius paused, looking to the smuggler. "What do you mean?"

Han lifted a pointed brow. "You're just going to randomly build a whole new droid from scratch simply because you can?"

Velius glanced to the surrounding clutter, and Han could see the cogs working in the other's mind. Clearly he hadn't been expecting to have to explain why he was doing this. Eventually the other sighed, and Han saw his shoulders slump some.

"Tinkering has always calmed me down... given me an escape from my troubles. And I miss it, and my... droid friend back home. But I also want to create something all by myself with things I didn't get from my f..." the other caught himself and swiftly changed his wording, "master."

Han frowned. "What was that?"

Velius began again to pick up his things, though his motions were more subdued than previous. "Let's just say I've not had much freedom of choice in my life. Everything has practically been handed to me in a sense. I need to do something completely on my own for once." Velius paused, a droid head in one hand that he looked at almost forlornly. "Even if it is just a droid."

He finished cleaning up and moved to exit the hold. "I'm ready to go now."

Han let the kid pass, gaze sliding between the teen and the pile of parts now sitting beside the speeder. And as he looked to the young man once more, he noticed the long black robe he wore again, almost as if by rote.

And that gave Han an idea, one he would act upon as soon as he had the chance. But first, they had to leave.

Han joined the others in the cockpit and started the ship up. "Let's leave this rock far behind."

Chewie bellowed his agreement and helped Han bring the ship to life. It worked beautifully under their guidance and Han smiled happily.

"We did it Chewie!" Han crowed.

[Yes, and it's holding together nicely.] Chewbacca replied.

Han and Chewie took the ship into the atmosphere, watching as blue faded to inky black and then the richer onyx velvet of deep space. Stars studded the void like diamonds, and Han smiled softly for a half second before he turned to Chewie.

"Put in the coordinates for the Tashtor System. We need to go see an old friend."

Chewie shifted somewhat nervously and Han grinned impishly. "Aw come on, she's not that bad, is she?"

Chewie glared at Han and the smuggler laughed while the Wookiee input the coordinates. Minutes later they were ready to go and Han pushed the levers forward, taking them into hyperspace.

00000

Darth Vader walked into the hangar bay Luke's ship was still inside, viewing the craft with a practiced eye. It had been shut down for some time, Vader could see as he drew near. The engines were cold and upon a closer inspection with one finger, there was even a layer of dust that showed it had been multiple days by now.

Vader's anger simmered deep within, but not enough to hamper his mission. He entered the vessel easily, motioning for his stormtrooper escort to remain outside. Vader saw nothing inside the ship to indicate Luke had turned coat. In fact, the thing was in pristine condition, nothing out of place, and in that at least, Vader felt a mite of pride. At least his son was tidy.

Vader wandered back outside after a time and felt the risen level of fear among the people in this city at the presence of the Empire, never mind it's Emperor. Even now the 501st was scouring the streets in search of any sign of Luke.

Vader had a different approach in mind, and he closed his eyes for a moment, opening himself to the Force. He searched for his son's presence, left behind like a trail, though by now it was faint with age.

Still, Vader knew his son, and though it took some time he located Luke's presence. With that solidified, Vader walked slowly along the same path Luke had taken, feeling his escort follow.

He found himself walking along the lesser-used streets in a route that took him to the side of a private hangar bay complex. There he discovered that a ladder leading upward had been unlocked and yet shut to avoid instant detection.

"Stay outside and search the perimeter while I go in," Vader commanded his soldiers.

"Yes, Your Highness." The captain saluted and he led his men onward, splitting them into pairs as he did so.

Vader ascended the ladder and ended at a roof access hatch. Opening it cautiously, Vader peered within and found himself inside the rafters of the building. Knowing he wouldn't fit as well as his smaller-built son, Vader nevertheless entered and followed his son's route to an office where he saw the main security console. Then the boy's sense doubled back some and went left.

After several minutes of climbing and jumping from beam to beam, the Emperor found himself in a cavernous bay that would fit a good-sized freighter.

Such as the Millennium Falcon.

Vader narrowed his eyes as he scanned the room from his perch high above. From here Luke could have observed his quarry for some time without detection, only going to the ground when he was ready for the kill.

Only, Vader knew that for some reason Luke hadn't performed the mission.

Vader sighed and dropped from his perch, landing with help from the Force and coming up in an ominous swirl of black robes. He stayed put, looking around and opening himself to the Force.

After a moment, snippets of things came to his mind on the eddies of the Force and the Emperor paid close attention.

...Luke remained silent as the man's emotions painted his face in different ways, from fear and shock to indignation and uncertainty.

"Who are you?" Han demanded sharply...

..."You're an inquisitor." The finality in the other's tone gave Luke slight pause. "Here to kill me for letting that Zabrak go."

Luke's hand lowered a hair, the blade deviating from its angled position across his body.

Han swore softly. "I knew that choice would come back to bite me in the rear, but it was the right thing to do."...

Vader made a sound of disgust as he observed his son's inner weakness showing forth. It would be just like the stupid boy to let something like that slow him down. Luke had stopped to question his role already, and it had only taken one sentence.

"What a waste," Vader muttered as he continued to receive snapshots.

... Han reached for his blaster again. Luke's lightsaber reignited in an instant as Han shot at him.

The smuggler's shots were redirected at him and the other shouted in alarm before ducking for cover behind the crates. Then Luke had to deal with the Wookiee, and he took a meaty fist to the ribs before he could catch it.

Luke's breath left him in a whoosh but he pushed through it and Force-shoved at the Wookiee...

... Han was too slow to spin around and so Luke swept the man's feet out from under him. Han went down with a cry and Luke disarmed him before placing his lightsaber's blade to the other's throat.

But all the movement had caused Luke's hood to slip, and so when Han finally got a look at his attacker, he froze, his eyes widening in shock.

"Stars... you're just a kid!" Han exclaimed.

Luke's lip curled: he was eighteen! "I am not a kid!"...

Vader lifted a brow. Why couldn't Luke let that spark of anger become a raging inferno that would flush him with such power that he was destined to wield? Why did he have to resist that?

...Chewbacca tried to advance a bit more as he noticed Luke's distracted state but Han, seeing the warring emotions in the young man's gaze, held up a hand, though his attention remained on the person before him.

"You won't do it," Han stated softly.

Luke was swift to respond. "I will!" Luke hissed vehemently, twitching his blade for effect.

But Han remained steadfast, calm. "No. You won't do it because you don't want to. I see it in your eyes."

Luke hesitated, but did not retract the weapon. "I must..."

Han lifted a brow. "Why do you have to do the job?"

Luke ground his teeth. "Because it's what I've been... trained to do. And if I don't then the retribution will be terrible." But his hand was trembling somewhat even as he continued to battle himself...

"For the love of the galaxy, Luke just do it!" Vader roared, even as he knew this was a past event.

... "You can break free, Kid," Han told the young man. "You don't have to do something you know is wrong. This is your chance to try something new. Just try it. Why not find out what it can be like outside of the Empire's watchful eye?"

Luke glanced around pointedly. "Become a smuggler?"

"No; become a free person," Han corrected...

... Luke gasped sharply. His hand shifted almost without his consent and shut off the lightsaber.

Luke moved away and dropped the weapon to the side. "Go... get out of here while you still can."

Han had risen, but upon seeing the state the young man was in, the smuggler hesitated a moment. Finally, tentatively, he knelt beside the other. "Hey, come with us."...

"Don't you dare..." Vader rumbled dangerously, a build-up of potent Dark Side energy amassing in him.

... Luke frowned up at the guy, but eventually gave in, hesitantly taking the smuggler's hand and letting himself be hoisted up...

Vader saw red and he released his anger in a wash of violent energy that flattened, twisted or broke everything in its path. The sound was like an explosion and it didn't take long for his men to barge their way inside, weapons raised and ready for a fight and to protect their leader.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?" the captain asked worriedly as he approaches, weapon also hefted while he looked about in some confusion.

"We are done here." Vader snapped. "Recall all the men, we leave in an hour. Anyone not onboard gets left behind. Our target is no longer here. And get me a droid to search out where the Millennium Falcon went: it was berthed here several days ago."

"Yes Your Majesty!" the man bowed and hustled off to relay orders.

Vader didn't bother to check the cameras himself: Luke had been taught well, and he would have sabotaged the security feed in this room.

Darth Vader strode with purpose back to his shuttle, taking off in it and allowing the others to find their own way back to the Executor.

As the shuttle flew, Vader considered his options, anger still potent. That insolent boy... how dare he willfully abandon his position as Vader's Shadow!

He had to find the boy; he had to get ahead of Luke somehow... but in what way?

The Sith Lord raked his mind, and continued to do so as he arrived on his flagship and disappeared into his quarters with orders to Admiral Piett to leave within the hour.

Once locked inside his personal chambers, Vader paced a rut into his thick black carpet. There had to be a way to get to Luke from a distance, to unsettle him and destabilize him. If Luke got comfortable, Vader wouldn't have an easy time extracting him.

But if Luke had a reason to return...

The Dark Lord happened to glance up as he passed his desk for the thousandth time, and as ocher eyes settled upon the tiny collection of holos there, he stopped walking. Gaze riveted upon the smaller holo beside that of himself and his wife, Vader turned more fully and approached.

Reaching out with a gloved hand to pick up the frame, Vader continued to look upon it, and slowly a brazen smile worked its way across his face. Yes... there was one person Luke would care more about than himself, especially with her still at home while he roamed the galaxy.

It was a perfect plan, and Vader knew just how to do it. Palpatine had done so with Anakin Skywalker before his rise to Darkness, and Vader had also learned the technique.

Luke would be brought home, no matter the cost.

With his idea set, Vader replaced the holo of his twin children and settled into his meditation chamber to plot further.

00000

Damielle had finished her preparations and was now searching out her mistress since the princess was late in coming. Leia had never been known to not come when she said she would. Perhaps she had been delayed.

But Damielle was suspicious of the princess' real reason for sending her off to cook at such an abrupt time. Leia hadn't been interested in food, but had clearly had her mind elsewhere during their earlier jaunt into the flora of the gardens.

Damielle pursed her lips as she entered the same grounds as before, walking along the path they had trod earlier. But though she walked slowly, Damielle did not see any sign of the princess.

Thinking now that perhaps she had missed the older girl on the way here, Damielle had to wonder if she wasn't being too tense since she was supposed to be working for the Empress.

So far the woman wasn't all that impressed with Damielle's reports, since she'd had little to report on. She had explained that Leia wasn't acting oddly, and thus Damielle did not have anything of value to give Lady Vader. But the Empress was certain that Leia would slip up soon, and Damielle had no choice but to defer to her wisdom.

A sound behind Damielle made her turn, and she jumped on instinct when a figure suddenly appeared. She let out a little shriek, a hand flying to her mouth. The figure opposite her startled also, though curiously she moved as though to draw a weapon.

The two teens recognized each other and simultaneously relaxed, though Damielle didn't have to fake the hand over her rapidly-beating heart.

"Oh, Milady, you frightened me!" Damielle all but gushed.

Princess Leia shifted into a straighter posture. "My apologies, I did not realize you were searching for me. Did you need something?"

Damielle opened her mouth, paused as something occurred to her, and instead frowned. "Forgive me, Milady, but where have you been?"

Leia allowed a light frown to crease her forehead. "I have been in the gardens, Damielle."

The redhead glanced behind the princess. "But... I looked for you, and did not see you. You were not there, Milady."

Leia placed a hand on one hip, tilting her head and giving Damielle a look that made her feel like a school girl misbehaving. "There are areas of the gardens that are not immediately visible. If you must know I was in a small clearing created by one of the gardeners by mine and my brother's request. It is a place we like to go to sit and either meditate or just have some peace and quiet."

Damielle didn't quite know if she should believe the other or not, but she knew when to fold her cards. The redhead dipped her head. "Forgive my boldness Princess Leia. I will try to be more respectful of your privacy from here on out."

Leia sighed. "That would be appreciated. And I thank you for preparing the meal like asked."

Damielle smiled politely and fell into step behind Leia. It was as they passed a side corridor that she caught a faint whiff of something. Damielle thought it almost smelled like smoke. But it was faint and was reminiscent of what one would find in a cantina.

Her eyes were drawn to the clothing the princess wore, and as they passed yet another corridor, the redhead confirmed her suspicions and knew she'd been correct before. Somehow, Leia had left the palace and gone out.

But why, and where?

Was it to meet someone, or was the princess just trying to get out of the house so to speak, and away from her oppressive mother?

Damielle recognized the trail of her thoughts and, a bit startled by them, she reined herself in.

But this would be something to report to the Empress that would make the other happy. Or so Damielle hoped.

00000

Padmé settled back into her seat once Damielle's end of the line was disconnected. So Leia had gone out of the palace... but for what purpose?

Padmé thought she knew, but she wasn't one hundred percent certain. Turning to the golden protocol droid that she had reprogrammed years ago, she motioned him closer.

"Come here See-Threepio."

"Yes, Mistress Vader?" Threepio's voice was still the same prissy tone, but his personality flaws had been... well, corrected.

"Search the cameras outside the gardens on the lower level, and tell me when you find any evidence of Leia." Padmé ordered. "She will probably be wearing hooded robe if I know my daughter."

"Yes, Mistress." Threepio had been upgraded with a data port arm that could extend from a hidden compartment embedded in his left arm, much like that found on an astromech droid.

While the droid worked, Padmé sat back once more, and was preparing to order a snack from Irmé when her communications console on the desk chimed with her husband's secure frequency.

With a smile Padmé answered. "Hello Handsome."

Vader gave her a small grin in return. "Angel, how have you been?"

"I am fine. Any luck on finding Luke?"

Vader let slip a frustrated grunt. "No. I do know for certain he is onboard the Millennium Falcon. However I am still waiting for the droid who gathered the data to sift through it for me."

Padmé nodded. "Alright. Though... perhaps your task would be simplified if you sent out a wanted ad for him. You don't have to put that he ran off, but maybe the galaxy could find him for you?"

Vader considered. "I don't know. He may go deeper underground if we do. And our family will appear weak."

"Not if we play our cards correctly. Don't say Luke ran off; tell the others that he was kidnapped by Solo and the Wookie, who are now looking to bargain Luke's life for their immunity."

Vader pursed his lips, and then slowly shook his head with a half-sloppy grin. "That's why I love you, Angel. Can you make that happen?"

"Consider it done." Padmé was tapped on the shoulder by Threepio as she spoke and he gave her a datapad with the information she needed. As Padmé watched, Leia was traced by three different cameras until she entered a cantina. Several minutes later another hooded figure entered, and Padmé waited impatiently for him to come back out.

But though the figure did so— after Leia— the face was not visible.

Padmé ground her teeth some, and then realized Vader was speaking. "Padmé, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What were you saying?"

Vader gave her an odd look. "I was commenting that with Luke on the loose, this could generate more attacks from the Rebel Alliance since I am busy and away from Coruscant."

Padmé eyed the frozen image of Leia in disguise on the datapad Threepio had given her. "Actually... I may have a way into the Rebellion, or to at least strike a terrible blow to them. Leave that to me: you focus on finding our son. I will have the notice sent out today."

"Thank you, Padmé. I trust you."

Vader reached out with a hand as if he wanted to stroke her cheek. "I love you, Angel."

"And I love you, Ani."

She was the only person alive who could call him that and not die for it. He gave her a tiny smile and signed off, leaving Padmé to her task. She sent out the request to have Luke's 'kidnapping' made public knowledge and then she decided to take a break.

She would come back to the Leia incident when she had a more concrete visual on whoever the young woman had contacted in that cantina.

Then she had a thought, sat back down and opened a new channel on her communications array, using it to contact her top spy.

"You summoned me, Milady?" the male Ansionian asked as he bowed.

"Yes." Padmé eyed his pale yellow skin and the short brush of dense fur that started at the man's forehead and ran up and over the head to the crown of his neck, ending in a ponytail. "I need you to go to the Lazy Lasat cantina and find out who the man in this image I am sending you is. Find out his name and bring it to me in person."

"File received, and I will obey," the man replied.

"Excellent."

Padmé signed off and finally ordered that snack.