Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or anything related to it.

Misguided Light

Chapter 6

Anchorhead was always hot around midday, and today was no exception. It was crowded too, in comparison to the rest of the desert planet. Luke, having grown up in the bustling city-planet of Coruscant, wasn't too impressed with the sites that Anchorhead had to offer.

"Kriff, stormtroopers," Luke muttered.

"Please watch your language, you were raised better," Obi-Wan chastised, as he slowed the speeder.

Luke raised an eyebrow to that statement, "And just how exactly would you know?"

The older Jedi was spared from having to answer by the appearance of stormtroopers.

"How long have you had these droids?" questioned the leader.

"About three or four seasons," Luke answered smoothly, thankful that his father insisted on having him hidden from the public eye.

"They're for sale if you want them!" Obi-Wan added on.

Clearly, the stormtrooper wasn't buying it, "Let me see your identification."

Luke frowned at that, clearly annoyed. He raised his hand and said, "You don't need to see our identification."

"We don't have to see your identification."

"These aren't the droids you're looking for," Obi-Wan added.

"These aren't the droids we're looking for."

"Move along."

"Move along," mimicked the stormtrooper, waving the two Force users along. They continued on their way, Obi-Wan silently appraising Luke's skills. They sold the speeder and made their way into a dingy looking cantina. A group of musicians were on the stage and the grubby looking bar tender was wiping down glasses with a dirty looking cloth.

"Hey! We don't serve their kind here!" The man cried angrily, motioning to the two droids.

"Why don't you wait outside," Luke muttered to C-3PO.

"I couldn't agree more, Sir Luke." Threepio and Artoo moved out of the cantina, Artoo whistling and beeping, and Threepio responded shortly to his companions statements.

As much as Luke hated to admit it, he stuck close to Kenobi. It wasn't that he was afraid of these men; after all, he could take out any threat without facing bodily harm. The issue would be what would happen if he got noticed by Imperials. A young boy wielding a red light saber was bound to attract some attention.

This wasn't the first time Luke was avoiding Imperials, but this wasn't like sneaking out to visit a friend. If his father found out that he willingly left the Executor, and willingly traveled with a Jedi, then Luke would never see hyperspace again.

The blonde haired boy spaced out as Obi-Wan asked around for a pilot. Luke wished he could just fly to Alderaan himself and not have to worry about paying a man for an uncomfortable trip. Vader had always found it funny how picky Luke was when it came to pilots. Vader was extremely picky himself, but people had a tendency to try a little harder to be good when they knew Darth Vader was in the backseat.

Obi-Wan guided Luke over to a table in the corner of the room. A man older than Luke was sitting at the table with a drink in his hand. He had untidy brown hair, and his clothes looked like they could use a wash. The important thing was that the man had some concealed weapons and knew how to use them. Hopefully, he wouldn't be a joke.

His companion was a tall, brown, furry, wookie. Luke had nothing against Wookies. They were strong, hard working and noble creatures. Luke was just curious how one ended up joining a smuggler.

"Han Solo," the man introduced, "I'm captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system."

"That's right," Luke responded, surprising Solo with his sudden input, "but only if you and your ship are capable of avoiding Imperials." The look on Luke's face made it clear that he didn't expect much from the Corellian.

"Haven't you ever heard of the Millennium Falcon, kid?" Solo demanded, "It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs!"

"I bet I could've flown it in ten," Luke responded, eyes narrowed, clearly trying to get a rise out of the captain.

"I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind you. I'm talking about the big Corellian ships now," Solo cried out, "She's fast enough for you, kid. What's the cargo?"

Kenobi quickly answered before Luke had the chance, "Myself, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked."

Solo raised an eyebrow, "In some kinda local trouble?"

"What part of 'no questions asked' do you not understand?" Luke fired back. Obi-Wan glared at him, warning him to keep his mouth shut for the rest of the conversation.

"Let's just say we want to avoid any Imperial entanglements," Obi-Wan offered.

"Well that's the trick, isn't it?" Solo stretched out arms along the beige wall, "Ten thousand in advanced."

"We don't have that much now," Obi-Wan said, still nonverbally warning Luke to stay quiet, "but we could pay two thousand now and fifteen thousand later." Solo's eyes widened in shock.

"We have ourselves a deal," Solo grinned, "We leave whenever you're ready. Docking bay ninety-four."

oOoOo

The atmosphere on the Death Star was tense, Darth Vader was furious over the disappearance of his son as well as Princess Leia's refusal to cooperate.

"Her resistance to the mind is considerable. It will be sometime before we can extract any information from her," Vader says, answering Tarkin's unasked question. The two Imperials were standing in the control room on the Empire's greatest weapon.

Despite Vader's obvious dislike of Tarkin and his strategies, the Grand Moff was one of Palpatine's favorite officials, so Vader couldn't choke him. Thoughts of choking Tarkin brought up memories of a thirteen year old Luke being forced to attend a meeting with him. Luke failed to learn anything important about how to run an army, but he did start referring to Tarkin as a goat whenever the man was brought up in conversation.

"The final check-out is complete." An officer interrupted Vader's musings, "All systems are operational. What course shall we set?"

"Perhaps she would respond to an alternative form of persuasion," Tarkin said thoughtfully, turning to Vader.

"What do you mean?"

"I think it is time we demonstrate the full power of this station," Tarkin announced. He then turned to address the soldier, "Set your course for the princess' home planet of Alderaan."

"With pleasure," the man replied, before turning and leaving. Vader felt the tiniest twinge of annoyance go through him. Torturing a rebel leader was one thing. Destroying a planet was simply a stupid move. It would make people sympathize with the rebels. Fear would indeed keep systems in line, but blowing up a planet would make people question their loyalties, and would mean trouble inside the Empire.

But if the goat wanted to cause trouble, Vader wouldn't stop him.

oOoOo

The Empire didn't typically employ females. It's was something everyone knew. And if you were a female who wasn't a human, then you were out of luck, because they wouldn't let you have any government jobs. Overall, getting a job as a female was hard. What was harder was pretending to have a job while having two X chromosomes.

Sabé had just spent the past several hours attempting to sneaking onto the Death Star. It was surprisingly easy. A friend of hers had a brother who was working as a cook on the ship. Even though the weapon was supposed to be secret, they still had a lot of people who had to man it. Sabé had a history of cleaning up after important people, and if all went well she would be a "janitor" on the Death Star.

So now Sabé was standing in a boring, beige office, waiting with several other people to be checked over before entering a transport to travel to the Death Star.

She sighed and looked out the window. The wait to get through security was unbearable, but the view was magnificent. Alderaan had always seemed lovely to Sabé, but now, in the middle of a galactic civil war, Alderaan seemed especially lovely. The sky was a brilliant blue, and even in the city, the green splotches of life shined in the afternoon sun.

Sabé was always willing to help out her former queen. She had spent much of her free time serving as a bodyguard for the two Skywalkers. She had helped train Leia in etiquette and weaponry. She had been on her fair share of missions herself; fighting the Empire was not a part-time job! But this mission out did all her other ones. Saving Leia from an imprisonment on a space station that didn't even technically exist seemed impossible.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't try.

"Ms. Riencam," called out droid, "it is your turn. Please report to the first door on your left."

Sabé stood and walked out a door and into a dull, grey hallway. She had been using Sabé Riencam as a cover for the past several years. She had yet to be caught and her cover became more believable each time she used it.

The security check was quick. They scanned her for any weapons, tested her blood for any diseases or nano droids that might cause harm. They double checked her records and finally gave Sabé the okay to continue to the transport.

oOoOo

"You call this a ship?!" Luke cried out in shock, staring at the hunk of metal that was the Millenium Falcon.

"She'll make point five beyond the speed of light," Han defended. "She may like much, but she's got it counts, kid. I've added some special modifications myself."

Luke raised an eyebrow at that. He knew that a good pilot typically was also a good mechanic, at least when it came to said pilot's ship. Of course, no regular pilot in the Empire was allowed to modify the TIE fighters. Luke and Vader had altered and "improved" their fighters to the point where replacing the ship was no longer an option.

Luke swallowed thickly at the thought of his father. He would be angry, no, furious at what Luke had done. Luke and Vader had always been close, but their relationship had always consisted of Vader giving orders, Luke complaining, and Luke giving into his father's demands. Now, Luke had directly disobeyed Vader's wishes and was now running off to the Rebel Alliance.

"We're a little rushed, so if you'll hurry aboard we'll get out of here," Han ushered R2, 3PO, Obi-Wan and Luke onto the ship. Obi-Wan was trying to make eye contact with Luke, sensing the boy's sudden distress.

Han sat down in the pilot's seat and Chewbacca took the one next to him. The inside of the ship was almost as bad as the outside. It was dirty and if Luke had been just a few days younger, he would have refused to ride in it. But it wasn't that bad of a ship honestly. Maybe it was just Luke's way of reassuring himself, but it kinda reminded him of the ship he and Mara used while assisting a local government crack down on a rebel cell.

While Luke was reminiscing, Obi-Wan suddenly straightened more in his seat, "I sense some unwanted guests."

"Oh, you sense something, huh," Han said, obviously not believing that an old man could tell when someone was approaching.

Suddenly, blaster shots sounded from outside the ship.

"Chewie," cried Han, "get us out of here!" At this, everyone got strapped in.

"Oh, my. I'd forgotten how much I hate space travel," Threepio complained. More shots sounded outside, even as the group left the desert planet's atmosphere.

"It looks like an Imperial cruiser. Our passengers must be hotter than I thought," Han said to Chewie, "Try and hold them off. Angle the deflector shield while I make the calculations for the light speed."

Two more Imperial ships flew by, getting closer, and firing on the modified Corellian freighter.

"I thought you said this thing was fasted," Luke cried out, trying to mask his panic.

"Watch your mouth, kid, or you're going to find yourself floating home. We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace," Han sounded like he was trying to reassure himself, "Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We'll lose them!"

"Trust the Force, Luke," Obi-Wan urged. Luke bit back an angry retort. After all, Obi-Wan had promised to bring Luke to his mother.

More explosions and blaster fire rocked the ship.

"This is where the fun begins," Han muttered. Chewie gave a roar in response.

"How long before we can make the jump to light speed?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"It'll get a few moments for the coordinates to come out of the navicomputer."

"You're losing your rear deflectors," Luke informed Han as a red light began flashing in the cockpit.

"I know!" Snapped the smuggler, "Now strap yourselves in, I'm making the jump to light speed."

And with that, the Millennium Falcon disappeared into space.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait guys! I just had a lot going on for a while! I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for reading, commenting, favoriting, and following! I have 110 followers and I think that's amazing!

Now I have something to ask everyone. If you have characters you want to see in the future or planets you want the gang to visit, please tell me. I'm trying to plan episode V and it's going to be massively AU.

You guys can expect the next chapter in a week or two, if all goes well!