Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Don't sue me.
Special thanks to dolphinsplash12, my fabulous beta reader!
Misguided Light
Chapter 6
Imperial cells, Leia decided, were horribly dull. They were just slabs of metal. No cracks, not bolts. Nothing to count, nothing to look at-and no way to get out.
It was impossible to tell how long Leia had been left alone after her interrogation. She shivered just thinking about, but gave herself a small pat on the back for not using the Force in Vader's presence. She hated that man. He stood for everything that Leia fought against, everything her mother fought against.
Obi-Wan and her mother had insisted on Leia learning to mask her presence; hoping to keep her hidden from the Empire. She had only a small grasp of the Force, but she knew how to make herself disappear. Now she wished she hadn't insisted on dropping the Jedi lessons to make time for Senate meetings. Especially now that the Senate had been dissolved.
She rolled her shoulders back and stretched out her arms. She hoped someone would come for her soon. Padmé had probably been informed and had contacted Aunt Ahsoka or Obi-Wan for assistance. Hopefully, the Alliance had received the Death Star plans. That would make everything she went through worth it.
Suddenly, Leia felt an unspeakably cold presence near her cell. Darth Vader. Leia straightened herself and brushed stray hairs out of her face. She placed both of her feet solidly on the floor and prepared to face the Sith Lord.
"Your presence is requested in the control room," Vader snapped. Leia cocked her head in confusion.
"And why am I wanted there?" The Princess asked, folding her arms.
"Because I said so," Vader snapped, sounding a lot like a father dealing with his teenaged daughter. He motioned for two stormtroopers to cuff Leia and drag her out of the cell. The group headed for the lifts.
Leia tried to keep herself straight and tall. She kept her chin up, trying to communicate to the Imperials that she would not let them walk over her. She was confident, brave, and would not be overlooked; but for some reason, it was hard to be all that around Vader.
Leia glanced over at said Sith. He was a good foot taller than her, and well built. His entire wardrobe seemed to consist of black battle garments, and his hair was a dark blond, and rather short, shorter than Obi-Wan's. Unlike Obi-Wan, however, his face seemed to be in a permanent scowl.
And, of course, he had his lightsaber hanging from his belt.
Leia tightened her mental shields as they exited the lift. The control room for the Death Star was similar to most other control rooms. Men in Imperial uniforms walked around or sat at holoscreens or control panels. Standing near the window of the room, was Governor Tarkin. What was even more worrying was the planet just outside the window. It was Alderaan.
Leia's eyes flashed to the man in front of her, "Governor Tarkin, I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board."
"Charming to the last," Tarkin replied, smiling, "You don't know how hard I found it signing the order to terminate your life."
"I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself!" Was Vader smirking because he found that funny?
"Princess Leia, before your execution I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now." What was he talking about?
"The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers," Leia said triumphantly.
"Not after we demonstrate the power of this station. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that'll be destroyed first," Leia stared at him, a numbness spreading through her body. "Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power... on your home planet of Alderaan."
"No!" Leia cried, "Alderaan is peaceful! We have no weapons! You can't possibly..." Her brown eyes were wide with fear as she launched herself towards Tarkin.
"You would prefer another target? A military target? Then name the system!" Tarkin urged.
Leia glanced towards Vader, Help me, she mentally begged, even though she knew it was in vain. He probably took pleasure in this. His gloved hand held her in place, but he wasn't looking at her, he was glaring at Tarkin.
"This is the last time I ask," Tarkin declared, "Where is the Rebel base?!"
"Dantooine," Leia answered softly, lowering her head, "They're on Dantooine."
"See Lord Vader," Tarkin said turning from the princess, "I told you she can be reasonable," he then turned to another officer, "Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready."
Leia's head snapped up, "WHAT?!"
"You're far too trusting. Dantooine is too remote to make an effective demonstration. But don't worry," He had the nerve to smile at this, "We will deal with your Rebel friends soon enough."
"No!" Leia cried, trying to fight out of Vader's grip. "You can't! Please!" She desperately started trying to get to Tarkin.
"Commence primary ignition," ordered Tarkin. Time seemed to slow for Leia.
Suddenly, she was a little girl again, standing next to Obi-Wan after a training lesson.
"A true Jedi will always do anything he can to help who ever he can. The poor, the weak, the lost, and the innocent."
"Even bad guys?" Leia asked.
"Even bad guys."
Leia forgot about everything else as she threw out her hands towards Tarkin. The next thing she knew, Tarkin was on the ground and several Imperials had been knocked out of their seats. She was pulled against Vader's chest, his red lightsaber was at her neck.
She had just Force-pushed an Imperial Governor in front of Darth Vader.
Tarkin pushed himself off the ground and sent her a hate filled glare as he pulls down a lever. Green lasers shot out of the space station and joined to form a much larger one. Leia cried out in horror as her beautiful childhood home exploded into millions of particles. All those innocent people... All of those beautiful places...Her eyes fluttered shut to keep in the tears that threatened to spill.
"I don't know how you managed to hide your little Force abilities," Vader hissed in her ear, "but I promise you, I will find out!"
"Lord Vader," cried Tarkin, "I insist you execute her immediately!"
"This no longer concerns you, Governor," the Sith growled, "You have your system. Now worry about destroying the Rebels."
"Vader, I insist that you destroy her immediately. She is a threat and I won't stand for it!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Tarkin found himself gasping for breath. The room was silent, as everyone watched the two men face off.
"I insist that you remember who is in charge here," Vader replied, "I am second in command of the Empire. You are a governor," Tarkin's hands swatted at his throat, trying to open his airway once more, "The Emperor has ordered that I take care of any unwanted Force users. I suggest that you remember that in the future."
And with that, Vader released his hold on Tarkin. The man went crashing to the ground, gasping for breath. Leia still stood frozen, half leaning on Vader's chest. He extinguished his lightsaber and put it back on his belt. His hold on Leia's arm was cutting off her circulation.
"I want a med droid in her cell by the time I get down there or the consequences will be deadly," Vader instructed a young Imperial.
"Yes, Lord Vader," the man bowed low, then remembered that wasn't what he was supposed to do so he sprang up and saluted, before walking away. He was probably just thankful that he wasn't dead.
Leia should be thankful that she wasn't dead...
oOoOo
"I feel a disturbance in the Force," Obi-Wan muttered.
"Yeah, you could call it that," Luke replied, shivering slightly. It was like he just felt millions of people die at once.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes and focused on Luke again, "Why don't we try some Jedi training?"
"Like what? My skills with a lightsaber almost match my father's."
That may be, but the way of the Jedi includes more than just angrily throwing around a blade," Obi-Wan informed, "To shake off the influence of the Dark Side, you must retrain your very thought process."
"What makes you think I wanna be a Jedi?" Luke demanded, eyes flashing.
"Why do you like flying, Luke?"
"Because I'm completely free when I'm in space," Luke replied without hesitation.
"The Dark Side does not permit one to be free," Obi-Wan explained, "When you are under its influence, then your are a slave. You lose the ability to choose for yourself. Your destiny becomes predetermined, first by a master, then by your choices. Do you understand?"
"I guess," Luke mumbled, clearly not convinced.
Luke was not fond of the Dark Side. It made people irrational and unpredictable. But the Jedi were no better. The Jedi were weak. They were so obsessed with leaving behind the material world that they would sit back and watch people die just to save their souls. They didn't want people to feel any strong emotions. Luke couldn't see himself living like that.
"Well, you can forget your troubles with those Imperial slugs. I told you I'd outrun 'em," Han announced, smugly as he walked in the room.
Luke glanced up at him with his arms crossed, Obi-Wan continued to watch Luke closely.
"Don't everyone thank me at once," Han muttered.
"Don't call them slugs," Luke demanded. Han raised an eyebrow.
"Why not?"
"Because they aren't slugs. In order to work in the Empire, you have to go through lots of training. Especially pilots. They work hard and shouldn't be underestimated."
"Trust me, kid, I know Imps better than anyone. And all I've gotta say about them is that their 'training' won't stop anyone."
"Then how did they end up in control of the galaxy? If they are as terrible as you say they are, then why is it so great when people like you out fly them for two minutes?!"
"What are you, some kinda Imperial fanatic?" Han demanded.
"What time did you say we would arrive at Alderaan?" Obi-Wan interrupted.
"Oh two hundred hours," Han replied, still glaring at Luke.
"Thank you, Captain Solo," the Jedi said. There was an awkward silence after that until Han walked over to where Chewbacca and the droids were playing some board game.
"Now be careful Artoo," Threepio warned. Artoo gave a whistle as he moved one of his pieces forwards. Chewie frowned and started growling.
"He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help," Threepio informed the Wookie.
"Let him have it," Han interrupted, "It's not wise to upset a Wookie."
"But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid!"
"That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their socket when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that," Han informed.
"I see your point, sir," Threepio then turned to Artoo, "I suggest a new strategy, Artoo. Let the Wookie win."
Luke threw his head back and laughed at this. A smiling Obi-Wan meet Han's eyes. The two men seemed to meet a silent understanding. Luke was young, even though he presented himself as someone who has seen many things, and Luke's innocence needed to be protected. That's why Obi-Wan was here.
The rest of the trip passed without any conflict. Obi-Wan had begun meditating and Luke had joined him. Threepio powered down and a comfortable silence fell over the occupants of the room. The peace in the room was disrupted by a flashing light.
"Looks like we're arriving at Alderaan," Han said. The two Force users opened their eyes and stood up. The group walked into the cockpit and Han took the pilot's seat.
"Stand by Chewie, here we go. Cut in the sunlight engines," The pilot instructed, "What the...? Aw, we've come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts," Han seemed completely flabbergasted.
"What's going on?" Luke demanded.
"Our position is correct, except... No Alderaan!" Han seemed to be getting more flustered.
"What do you mean? Where is it?" Luke was just as confused.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you, kid. It ain't there. It's been totally blown away!" Luke paled at this and glanced at Obi-Wan.
"The Empire... They must have destroyed it," Obi-Wan said.
"The entire starfleet couldn't destroy the whole planet. It'd take a thousand ships with more firepower than I've..." Han paused as an alarm sounded. "There's another ship coming in."
"Maybe they know what's happened," Obi-Wan added, tying to be positive.
While Han and Obi-Wan tried to figure out what was going on, Luke was standing in the back of the cockpit. He was pale, and his eyes were wide. He raked a hand through his hair and slowly, cautiously reached out with the Force. He snapped back to reality the second he felt Vader's cold presence.
"It's an Imperial fighter," Obi-Wan observed.
"It followed us!" Han cried.
"No," Luke finally spoke, "It's a short range fighter."
"There aren't any bases around here. Where did it come from?"
"A fighter that size couldn't get this deep into space on its own," Obi-Wan reasoned, once again watching Luke.
"Maybe it got lost?" Luke suggested, half heartedly.
"Well, he ain't going to be around long enough to tell anyone about us," said Han.
"He appears to be heading towards that small moon," Obi-Wan thoughtfully stated.
"I think I can get him before he gets there. He's almost in range." Han was completely focused on the small fighter.
The small moon loomed closer and closer to the Millennium Falcon. It slowly lost the moon-like appearance and began to take the shape of a monstrous spaceship.
"It's not a moon," Luke informed, almost mournfully, "It's the Empire's latest weapon."
Author's Note: You guys are so wonderful! I love every reader, follower, and reviewer! You guys encourage me to keep writing! This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I decided to cut it here. If you want more information on me or my fanfictions, then please go check out my newly updated profile!
This is a reply to the guest reviewer, Azunte Starr (feel free to skip if you aren't Azunte Starr): Hi! I'm really glad you reviewed and that you like the story, but I wanted to clarify a few things. I do have a plan for this story, but I'm toying with several ideas for the possible sequel. That's why I wanted to hear from my readers about characters and planets. I'm really curious to see what people want out of a Star Wars story!
I loved your review, and it's nice to be questioned! I am here to become a better writer and part of that involves planning and figuring out what people want out of a story. I hope this doesn't come off as rude, because it's just designed to clarify some things and to thank you. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
