Vader was irate. The boy was still gone, and Palpatine was punishing him for the boy's absence by giving him an abundance of ludicrously small missions. He had to find Sun, and he couldn't do it if Palpatine kept giving him these pointless assignments.
He gathered together the greatest Bounty Hunters he could find, though he hated resorting to such low measures. The Emperor would not let him search on his own, however, so he had to settle for using probe droids and Bounty Hunters. Hopefully, the skilled Boba Fett might be able to find the youth.
"If you kill the boy, then you will be fortunate if you're not dead within a day," he warned them. He made sure to fix Fett in particular with a warning gaze.
****
Eventually, Bail and Leia invited Lord Tion to Alderaan for a "diplomatic" dinner. The meal was not important, however; they simply wanted to find out more information concerning the Death Star.
They tried just to stroke Tion's ego at first. Leia complimented his new hairstyle, Bail extolled his taste in wines, and both remarked on his choice of clothing...Finally, however, they managed to encourage him to say a few things that actually mattered to them.
"Grand Moff Tarkin is truly a brilliant man. I trust you will keep this confidential, but he is working on a superweapon that will soon awe the galaxy..."
"Has he already built this superweapon?" Leia asked casually, exchanging a look with her father.
"Well, the plans are being moved to the Imperial vaults..." A smile spread across Tion's face. "I hope they use it to its full extent. There are several planets in great need of pacifying; Ralltiir is merely one of them."
Leia's nostrils began to flare out of anger, and Bail tried to send her a warning look.
"By pacify, you mean kill, don't you?" Leia was unable to keep the edge out of her voice.
"Of course," Tion said smoothly, though he seemed a bit surprised at Leia's harsh demeanor.
"You're willing to kill millions of innocents with your wretched Death Star just so your head of government will have fewer prob—"
But Tion's eyes had widened at the code name "Death Star." Realizing that she had inside information and was playing him as a fool, he grabbed her shoulders. "You are under arrest in the name of—"
But Leia wasn't going to be arrested without a fight, and she wrestled with Lord Tion. Bail uneasily watched the struggle for a few moments before he tried to step in, but Tion was pulling his gun, and he was forced to back away.
The blaster went off, and Bail fell to the floor in an effort to avoid the bolt. When he looked up, Leia was blinking down in confusion at a dead Tion. Amazingly enough, Tion had accidentally killed himself.
Leia finally gasped out, "Father, this is my first act of open Rebellion."
"It was self-defense, dear," Bail tried to reassure her, though his heart was racing. He had almost lost Leia, and—now what? What was to happen?
"I'm a true enemy of the Empire now," the young woman whispered.
"Leia," Bail said gently, "I have an idea."
****
Bail's servant Tarrik moved Lord Tion's body to an Alderaanian gaming preserve. A hunting accident was "arranged," and the true events of the dinner incident were hidden. Fortunately, an investigation into the incident failed to implicate the Organas, so they seemed to be in the clear.
A few weeks later, Bail said to his daughter, "Leia, I'm going to send you to Toprawa."
"For Operation Skyhook?" Leia guessed. Operation Skyhook was the mission to Toprawa to retrieve the Death Star plans. The wounded Rebel had given them a time frame as to when someone was needed at Toprawa, and Leia and her father intended to follow it.
"Correct...I am sending Obi-Wan with you."
Leia didn't know whether to be glad or upset. It would be nice to have the Jedi along, but was her father just sending him to protect her? She didn't need a Jedi bodyguard!
"I think it's for the best, Leia," Bail said softly.
At that moment, Obi-Wan began to walk into the room. Taking in a breath to cleanse herself of her frustration, Leia smiled at the Jedi in welcome and admitted, "I guess you're right, Father."
"I don't think we should take the Tantive IV," the Jedi said quietly as he moved toward them. "I think we need a faster ship which is unconnected to Alderaan and the Royal House."
Bail cleared his throat. "Obi-Wan has requested a smuggler for this job, Leia, and I have reluctantly complied. We have a few people on the look-out for a suitable one who has a fast ship and won't ask too many questions...You will receive a pair of droids unconnected to me that will serve you on your journey. The astromech can store the plans, while the protocol droid can act as an interpreter, should you need it. Raymus was kind enough to provide them both." Captain Raymus Antilles was Bail's brother-in-law.
Leia nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Father."
"No, Leia," Bail corrected, "thank you."
****
Han Solo was wiping his hands on a rag. He, Chewie, and Kid had been working on the Falcon, but he had an incoming message that he had to take. "Solo here," he grunted after slapping the console.
"Glad to see you're still alive, you pirate!"
Han grinned at the sound of his friend's voice. "No kidding, Lando. It's been, what, years?"
"I don't know if it's been that long, but I guess that's close enough."
"Uh huh. So, what's a space pirate like you wanting?"
"Hey!" Lando protested. "I'm respectable now."
"Uh huh," Han said disbelievingly.
"It's true!" Lando Calrissian insisted. "Anyway, I owe you a favor—"
"—or two," Han inserted.
"I'm returning your favor, Han," Lando said smoothly. "I'm too busy at Bespin to take a job that's being offered, and I was wanting to know if you're free?"
"Depends on the price, Lando," Han returned. "And you're not really returning the favor, are you? You're being paid to find someone for this job."
Lando chuckled. "I might be getting a few credits out of it...Your price is pretty handsome, though, Han. Don't ask any questions, and your debt to Jabba will be repaid, with some left over."
Han raised his eyebrow. "Avoiding Imperial entanglements, are they?"
"No questions allowed, Han."
"All right, all right. I'll take the job. But you still owe me."
Ignoring his last statement, Lando queried, "How's Chewbacca?"
"He's doing fine. He's back working on the Falcon right now."
"I'm surprised she hasn't been thrown in a scrap yard yet with the way you handle her."
"I've done a lot more with her than you ever did," Han retorted.
"I would've done more if you hadn't taken her off my lot."
"I won her fair and square!" Han protested.
"That's still debatable," Lando snorted. Casually, he ventured, "I hear that you're traveling around with a kid these days."
Han rolled his eyes. "Well, you heard right."
"Are the other rumors about him true as well?"
"Yes," Han grunted, sounding slightly annoyed. "I have a temperamental ship, a copilot no one understands but me, and a one-armed mechanic that's mute! Any more questions?"
Lando chuckled. "No more questions, Han—this channel isn't very secure. Tomorrow, at 1100 hours, a contact with information about your assignment will meet you at that place where we had those excellent nerf steaks."
"Where we cooked some nerfs is closer to it," Han muttered beneath his breath. Louder, he said into the communications unit, "All right. See you later, Lando."
"Chewie!" Han called out. "Get your furry behind in here."
****
A few days later, standing in a secluded part of Alderaan, Leia was staring at a landing ship. "I'm surprised it's not collapsing into a million pieces right now," she muttered.
Obi-Wan hid a smile. Various sources had testified that the Millennium Falcon looked like a hunk of junk but packed a lot of punch. Certainly no one would expect Alderaanian royalty to be riding aboard it.
When the ship had landed, the boarding ramp was lowered. A Wookiee and a smuggler with a cocky swagger came down to greet them. To decrease suspicion, Bail had decided not to see Leia and Obi-Wan off. The astromech droid they had borrowed from Raymus—Artoo-Detoo—beeped quietly, prompting a curious look from his golden protocol droid companion, See-Threepio.
"Why, hello, miss," the man said with a lop-sided grin, prompting a scowl from Leia. "I'm Han Solo, and this is my copilot Chewbacca. The beauty behind you is the Millennium Falcon."
"Beauty?" Leia snorted. "More like a flying trash can."
Glaring, Solo retorted, "Well, you don't look so hot yourself, sister." He gestured at his ship. "She may not look like the yachts you're used to flying in, but she's outrun a lot of Imperial ships in her day."
"As long as she's fast, appearances don't matter," Obi-Wan inserted, gazing calmly at Leia, who ducked her head.
"Well, she's fast, old man. Chewie and I have done some good tinkering with her, but the mechanic we have now is a mechanical wizard. You probably won't see him much, though. He's mute and doesn't take to strangers." The smuggler began walking into his ship. Leia, Obi-Wan, and the two droids followed.
****
Kid was tinkering with the food dispenser. Chewie had become impatient with it earlier, hitting it and tearing at a few wires. Now, it was only spitting out Gamorrean snack-crackers. Why the Falcon was even equipped with such food was beyond Kid's ability to comprehend, but they smelled rather nasty, and it was a problem he wanted to fix quickly.
He finished the task with a sense of satisfaction and then went to look at the hyperdrive, which had been the last item on his agenda for a while. For a few moments, he stared down at the mess that Han called a hyperdrive. Then he backed away. There were some things that not even a miracle worker could fix.
He lifted his head, hearing the noise of people coming on board the ship. Passengers.
Uneasily, he looked around before moving toward the back of the ship. He had a strange feeling in his stomach.
Trying to clear his head, he attempted to concentrate on tinkering more with the ship. Sometimes, he knew exactly what to do to fix things; other times, he had to use the Force to help him a little. But he was getting to where he had to rely on the Force less and less, though he still needed it for the two-handed jobs.
Before long, he felt the kick that signaled their entrance into hyperspace. A little while later, while he was in the refresher, he felt the Force tugging at him. He washed his left hand, using a towel to wipe off a little of the water he'd spilled on his gray jumpsuit. Then he left the 'fresher to take a quick look at the passengers.
He hadn't taken very many steps before his entire body stiffened. A white-haired human male was standing next to a brown-haired human female, but the humans weren't what caught his eye.
The female—she was holding a blue lightsaber.
A remote hovered around the girl, letting out low-powered beams that she blocked despite the blast shield obstructing her vision.
What was happening? Who were they?
****
Obi-Wan was instructing Leia on various dueling stances, but his attention was only half on the task. The Force had been trying to tell him something ever since he had entered the ship.
Finally, he took his eyes off Leia and the remote. Nearby, there stood a boy—perhaps Leia's age?—with sandy blond hair and vivid blue eyes...Obi-Wan felt a shiver crawl up his spine. Those eyes...He knew those eyes.
The orbs in question met his own for just a second before the boy bolted toward the back of the ship.
"Son, wait!" Obi-Wan called after the boy.
"Great," Han groaned, shaking his head. "You've spooked him. What'd you have to go and do that for, old man? Ah, kriff," he muttered, throwing Obi-Wan an evil look.
Obi-Wan watched Han disappear after the youth. His heart was pounding.
****
Kid trembled. He didn't know what to do, where to go. Those two knew how to use the Force. Were they going to take him to the dark man? He couldn't go back—he couldn't!
He jumped when he heard Han speak. "Kid."
Kid looked at the smuggler questioningly, unable to hide his timidity.
"You all right? That's just a harmless old man back there. He's not going to do any harm. He needs us to pilot the Falcon somewhere for him."
But Kid was still scared. He didn't want to go back to Vader and the Empire. There was so much death there. Han and Chewie, though they wouldn't admit it, killed only when they had to. They didn't take pleasure from death like Vader.
Kid knew that Han could sense that he wasn't going to be able to get through to him. The smuggler sighed, moved a hand through his hair, and left after saying, "Don't worry, Kid. Chewie and I won't let them hurt you."
****
"How is he?" Obi-Wan inquired.
Leia had shut off her lightsaber. When Obi-Wan had given it to her, he had told her that it belonged to her father, Anakin Skywalker. Every time she held it, she felt strange, as if she were touching a forbidden piece of the past.
"Well, the kid is scared of weird things. He should get over it eventually," Han shrugged.
"I'll go talk to him," Leia stated, leaving before the smuggler could protest.
She found the boy working on some machine or another. Interestingly, he stiffened as she came closer. His back was facing her—had he heard her approach? She had thought she was moving quietly.
"I don't know what frightened you back there, but I'm sorry if it was me," Leia started. When the youth didn't give any indication of a reply, she continued. "I'm Leia, and that was Obi-Wan." She hesitated for a moment. "He's a Jedi."
At her last statement, the youth turned around. He seemed to be searching her face for signs of truth.
Encouraged, Leia asked, "What's your name?"
The youth stood frozen for a moment before looking down at the floor.
An image of two suns flashed into her mind, and she gasped. "You can use the Force?"