Chapter 11
Vader watched as the soldiers approached him, feeling their terror at the thought of arresting the infamous Sith Lord. Kenobi was not sure what would happen next; either Vader would lose his temper and kill them all where they stood, or he would submit. I suppose it depends upon who is winning the struggle within him, Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader, he mused.
"Darth Vader, you will surrender your weapon and come with us," the leader of the group announced, a man not much older than Vader's own children.
"On whose authority are you making this arrest, Captain?" Obi-Wan asked.
"General Dodonna's, sir," the young man replied. "Lord Vader is wanted on a number of charges, I have the order right here with the details."
Vader was unsure what his course of action ought to be. Part of him wanted to take his lightsaber and kill every last one of them; but he was out numbered at least ten to one, and no doubt they would merely open fire on him if he so much as reached for his weapon. Secondly, he did not know where Kenobi's loyalties lie. He could very well join the rebels, adding his own weapon to theirs. And then there are my children…
"Drop your weapon," the man ordered again, motioning for the rest of his group to surround the Dark Lord. They did so, their weapons trained upon him tightly.
"Go along with them," Kenobi advised. "I will tell Leia what has happened, and this will all be cleared up, I'm certain of it."
Vader wasn't so convinced. He had no intention of remaining a prisoner, but the rebels had taken him by surprise, and he needed time to formulate a plan. Finally he unclasped his lightsaber and handed it to the young man, who almost collapsed with relief.
"Let's go," he said with a little more bravado now that Vader was unarmed. "This way."
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"I knew you'd come back, I just knew it!" Luke cried as Han Solo joined Luke and Leia in the docking bay.
"Well I wasn't gonna let you take all the credit and get all the reward," Han quipped as he tousled Luke's hair affectionately.
"I knew there was more to you than money!" Leia told Han, smiling up at him brilliantly.
Just then Artoo Detoo was lowered from Luke's vessel. He was charred and seemingly out of commission. See Threepio was beside himself upon seeing his stout little companion in such rough shape.
"Oh my!" he cried. "Artoo! Say something! You can repair, him can't you?" he asked a nearby technician who was removing the clamp from Artoo. "You must repair him! Sir if any of my circuits or gears will help I'll gladly donate them!" he told Luke bravely.
Luke had to keep from laughing at the protocol droid's dramatics. "He'll be alright," he told Threepio.
The three left the droids and began to make their way back to the command center.
They were met half way there by Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Congratulations, Luke," the old Jedi said with a smile.
Luke smiled. "Thanks Ben," he said. "I couldn't have done it without Han here, though," he said, looking at the pilot.
Kenobi nodded. "Yes, I understand you arrived right in the nick of time, Captain Solo," he said.
Han shrugged. "I guess so," he said. "I'm just glad I'm here for the party," he added with a smile.
"Indeed," Obi-Wan replied. "Leia, a situation has arisen that requires your attention I'm afraid."
"Right now?" she said. "What's the problem?"
"General Dodonna has ordered the arrest of your father," Kenobi replied. "They just took him into custody."
"What?" Leia cried. "Where did they take him?"
"I'm not certain," Obi-Wan replied. "I don't need to tell you what could happen if your father is provoked," he added.
"No, you don't," Leia replied quietly. She looked up at Luke. "We have to do something," she said, not entirely expecting her brother to agree with her.
Luke merely nodded. "What can be done?" he said. "He's an enemy of the Rebellion, after all."
"He is, but he also helped us all escape, saved Alderaan, and showed us how to destroy the Death Star," Leia countered. "Those things should count for something."
"I didn't say I don't agree with you, Leia," Luke replied calmly. "I'm just not sure there is much we can do."
Leia thought for a moment. "Where is General Dodonna?" she asked Obi-Wan.
"In the command center, as far as I know," he replied. "What do you hope to gain by talking to him?"
"I'm not sure," Leia said. "But I at least have to try. I'm not going to let my father go through this on his own, not after all he's done for me."
Kenobi nodded, reflecting just how very much Leia was like her mother at this moment. "I'll come with you," he said.
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Vader found himself in a most unusual position, that of prisoner, for the first time in more years than he could remember. Granted, he could have easily repelled the rebels' attempt to apprehend him by killing the lot of them with a single thought; but somehow that didn't seem right to him anymore. Somehow the knowledge that his children were part of this Rebel Alliance prevented him from lashing out at the group of soldiers, and this surprised even him. Not that he planned on remaining a prisoner; no, that would not do. He simply needed a moment to plan an escape, and then…and then what? he reflected. Where do I go? The emperor will surely kill me when he learns of what I have done; and knowing that serpent Tarkin, Sidious received a full report on my recent activities.
"In here, your lordship," one of the men said, opening a door and pushing Vader inside the small cell. Vader bit back the anger that filled him at the young man's sarcastic tone. "It's not terribly comfy in here," the man continued as he and three of his companions stepped into the room. "But I'm sure it's a lot more so than the cell my brother rotted away in on board your vessel, Vader."
Vader turned and looked at the man. "I have no memory of your brother," he said simply, stating a fact. "I have many prisoners on board my vessel at any given time."
"Yeah, I'm sure you do," the man retorted angrily. "And you treat them all the same way, right? Like so much human garbage."
"This is war," Vader replied. "What do you expect? I don't imagine the Rebel Alliance treats its prisoners with any greater degree of clemency."
This angered the young man even more, even though it was not Vader's intention to provoke him. "What do you say we show Lord Vader how the Rebel Alliance treats its prisoners?" he asked his comrades.
"Sounds good to me," one of the other men said, brandishing his weapon. Vader realized what was afoot, and looked around at the four men as they surrounded him.
"Surely you're not foolish enough to actually try to harm me," he warned them. "For that would be a grave mistake."
"Harm you?" one of the men said. "Now why would we want to do that?" he said, punctuating his sentence with the butt end of his blaster to Vader's ribcage.
Vader felt the pain rocket through him and tried to focus his energy on anticipating the next assault, but the pain made if difficult to do so. In a moment he felt something connect with the small of his back. He grew furious as the pain rushed through him, and with one swipe of his arm Force pushed the assailants against the wall. The other two stood their ground, at least until he turned to them.
"I did warn you," he growled as he reached out his hands, choking each of them with the Force. The men grabbed at their throats, their faces turning blue, eventually falling to their knees. Vader watched them as they struggled for air, the anger in him fuelling his strength and his power.
"Fools," he said contemptuously as the men slumped to the floor, dead. He looked around at the other two men who lay unconscious, or perhaps dead, (he didn't know and didn't really care at this point). Reaching a hand out, he removed his light saber from the grasp of one of the men. The weapon flew to his hand, and he caught it easily. Now what? He pondered as he stared at the force field protected door that stood between him and freedom. He folded his arms over his chest and pondered his next move, knowing that he did not have a lot of time to make his move.
"General Dodonna, a word with you please," Leia said as she met up with the general in the command center.
Dodonna looked up to see Princess Leia standing before him along with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"What can I do for you, Princess?" he asked.
"I think you know what," she replied. "Why have you arrested Darth Vader?"
Dodonna lowered his brows. "Why?" he asked. "Do you really need to ask me why? He's a mass murdered, Leia; a monster! Surely you haven't been fooled into thinking otherwise."
"You seem to forget what Lord Vader has done recently," Leia retorted. "He saved Alderaan from certain destruction; he saved my life more than once, and helped me escape from the Death Star. And you know very well, General, that it would have taken you hours to find the weakness in the Death Star if he hadn't pointed it out to us first."
"I can't deny any of that, Princess," Dodonna replied evenly. "But stacked against his acts of murder and tyranny…."
"Darth Vader was once a great Jedi; did you know that, General?" Obi-Wan cut in. "Does the name Anakin Skywalker sound familiar to you?"
"You're trying to tell me that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker?" Dodonna replied in disbelief.
"Yes, I most certainly am," Kenobi replied. "And judging by your reaction to his name, you are familiar with his exploits."
"Anakin Skywalker was one of the greatest heroes the galaxy has ever known," Dodonna replied. "He was a great pilot, a brilliant warrior; of course I'm familiar with them."
"So consider the number of times he sacrificed his life for the galaxy," Kenobi said, surprising himself with the vehemence with which he was defending Vader. "The number of times he turned certain defeat into victory, the number of lives he saved. If we use your …unusual brand of logic, and stack these deeds against the misdeeds of Darth Vader, which do you think would come out on top?"
"That is hardly a valid comparison," Dodonna protested hotly.
"Why not?" Leia countered. "That's exactly what you're doing, isn't it?"
Dodonna grew angry at being trapped so easily in their logic. "Perhaps it is," he said at last. "But that doesn't mean Vader deserves to be shown mercy. He is a dangerous man, Princess, and you'd be wise not to let this…strange infatuation you have with him blind you to that fact."
Leia grew furious. "Infatuation?" she cried. "Is that what you think I feel toward him?"
"Well what else would you call it?" Dodonna cut in.
"Darth Vader is …"Leia began, but Obi-Wan cut her off.
"Darth Vader is a changed man," he said, thinking that it would be unwise for Leia to reveal her true relationship with the Dark Lord. "And Princess Leia has seen the change in him first hand. Surely he deserves some degree of clemency, General; after all, the Alliance is not the same ruthless body of dictators that the Empire is, is it?"
"I don't think I like your tone, General Kenobi," Dodonna retorted. "Or what you are implying. Darth Vader will remain a prisoner of the Alliance, and if either of you have a problem with that, you are welcome to end your association with this alliance."
"General, I hardly think that…" Kenobi began, ever the diplomat.
"You have a lot of nerve saying that to me," Leia replied angrily. "After everything that Alderaan has done for the Alliance, after the way I risked my life to get these plans to you!"
"Leia, come along," Obi-Wan said. "Obviously we will need to speak to the general when cooler heads have prevailed."
Leia looked at the Jedi, and then back at Dodonna, and, reluctantly, let Obi-Wan escort her from the room.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
"Because your father needs your help," he said. "Let's go."