Sorry this is so late!! College struck with a vengeance. I've been leaving my dorm room before eight am and not getting back until eight or nine at night. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope to resume regular Friday updates this coming week, providing my professors cooperate! :D
Hope Denied
Chapter Four
Luke was beginning to think he was lost. In every direction, metal walls stretched in an unending pathway. Everything looked the same. He had no idea how the Imps managed to navigate their way around the Death Star. As it was, he wasn't even certain whether or not he had left the medical area. Had they placed him in the prison section, he probably would have been able to find his way back to the docking bays, but as it was he felt more like he was running around in circles. He halted in the middle of the deserted hallway, panting lightly. Sweat beaded his temple, threatening to slide into his eyes. He swiped it away with the back of his hand.
Suddenly, over the rush of his breathing, he heard the unmistakable, measured tread of stormtroopers. He froze, panicking. He wore faded tan fatigues that were too large for his small frame. It would definitely not pass as Imperial issue clothing. There were smooth corridors on either side—no place to hide.
'Think, Luke,' he urged himself.
He closed his eyes, blowing out a heavy breath. Back up the hallway and around the curve, there had been a door. He turned and retreated the way he had come. The steps of the stormtroopers followed him, but their steady pace showed that they had not seen him. Frantically, he slapped the manual release on the side of the door. Throwing himself into the room, he turned and closed the door behind him just as the Imps rounded the curve. A sigh of relief escaped his lips.
Luke turned to survey his safe haven, only to find the muzzle of a blaster pointed squarely at his torso. Slowly, he spread his arms out in a nonthreatening manner. The black-clothed Intelligence officer smirked at him.
"On your knees, Rebel scum," he ordered.
The young man started to lower himself to the floor. His eyes were fixed on the blaster, an expression of intense concentration wrinkling his brow. The officer's gaze widened as the blaster began trembling in his grasp. It suddenly shot toward the Rebel as though it had gained a mind of his own.
"Emperor's black bones!" he swore, moving toward Luke.
He was too late, for the Rebel had already flipped the blaster setting to 'stun.' A wreath of blue light enveloped the officer and he collapsed. Luke quickly restrained him with his own binders, at last taking the time to more fully study his surroundings. He was in an office of some sort. He dragged the Imp behind the desk and dumped him there. The officer would at least be out of sight if anyone happened to glance into the office. That done, he bent over the computer console. His fingers flew over the keypad, calling up a schematic of the Death Star. He scanned it, trying to imprint the way to the docking bays into his mind.
Luke started for the door, but stopped with his hand on the release. His head turned back to the desk that hid the Intelligence officer. After a moment of hesitation, he made his way back to the stunned man. He stripped the officer to his underclothes and dressed himself in the uniform. It was a bit large, but much better than his battered fatigues. He ran a hand through his disheveled blond hair in a vain attempt to straighten it before setting the hat on his head. One last tug at the shirt, then he boldly stepped back into the main corridor.
He barely restrained a guilty flinch when he turned the corner right into a squad of stormtroopers, remembering himself only when they all stepped aside to make way for him. A cold nod, a moment of holding his breath, then he was past them. More confidently, he continued on his way.
Half an hour later, he turned a corner and saw a docking bay in front of him. His steps quickened before he remembered himself. He adjusted his near-run to a confident stride. Just outside the blast door that led to the bay, he staggered as though he had been hit with a stun beam.
This was the place where Vader had killed Ben. He could feel the echoes of the old man's death through the Force. Unbidden tears surged to his eyes until he could barely make out the form of the shuttle sitting in the docking bay.
"Just a little further. Hold it together," he whispered.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Vader stood on the command deck, barely paying attention to the fearful whispers in the crew pit behind him. They had every right to fear for their lives, for the Dark Lord was seething. His Rebel had escaped more than an hour ago and the fools on this battle station had yet to find him. If someone didn't bring him the boy's location in five minutes, one of their number was going to die a slow death by asphyxiation.
Only seconds after Vader had made that decision, a trembling officer approached him.
"L-lord Vader! We have him. Docking bay 314," he said.
"On screen," the Sith rumbled.
An instant later, an image of the docking bay filled the screen in front of Vader. His gaze instantly found the slender figure clothed in a black Imperial uniform. Dirty blond hair poked out from underneath the standard issue cap. It was definitely his Rebel. The boy suddenly glanced over his shoulder and his stride lengthened to a run. Stormtroopers appeared at the corner of the screen, lifting blasters to aim at the fleeing man. Behind his mask, Vader's eyes narrowed to furious slits when the first trooper's shot was an angry red bolt. They were going to kill him!
Just as quickly, his eyes widened when the boy spun around, raising a hand as though to fend off the shot. It dissipated into his hand and, an instant later, the gun was pulled from the trooper's hands. The Rebel fired a few shots back at his pursuers before running for the shuttle. The door to the shuttle closed.
Vader's scarred lips twisted into a smile. There was no way he was letting the young Force user escape him now. It had taken the Dark Lord months to learn how to absorb energy and turn it to his own uses. It was a skill only a few could even master. That this boy seemed to do it on instinct was fascinating. He would love to do a midi-chlorian count on the Rebel.
Vader turned to the officer still standing at his side.
"I want him alive. If he is killed, then I will kill those involved for their incompetence," he growled.
"Y-yes, Lord Vader!" the officer squeaked.
Vader turned back to the screen as the engines on the shuttle lit and it lifted off the ground. The little Rebel had forgotten about the numerous tractor beams. His attempt at escape was futile. The shuttle had barely left the docking bay before one of the crew members let out a soft exclamation.
"Got 'im!" the Imperial said.
Vader stretched out his mind toward the Rebel.
'You will never be able to escape me,' he spoke to his mind.
'We'll see about that!' was the boy's cocky response.
Vader felt a twinge in the area where his heart had once been. In so many ways, this Rebel was reminding him of…
No, that life no longer held any meaning for him.
He was distracted from his thoughts when the door to the shuttle's cargo area opened and boxes came tumbling out. The man handling the tractor beam let out a curse as the beam tried to lock onto both the shuttle and the packages. It failed miserably, shorting out as a result. The shuttle drove for space, where it could accelerate into hyperspace. Just then, a matte black fighter appeared on the screen.
"Need any help, Vader?" a sardonic female voice came over the com.
The Dark Lord stiffened.
"Everything is under control, Jade," he growled.
On screen, the shuttle vanished into hyperspace. Dead silence fell over the bridge, everyone waiting for the Sith to erupt. Then…
"So you don't care that your prisoner just escaped?" Jade asked dryly.
Vader's teeth clenched. If he didn't respect the Emperor so much, his Hand would be gasping for breath right about now. As it was, he was forced to simply strangle the officer next to him in her place. The crew watched wide-eyed as the man collapsed in front of them.
"As you said, he is my prisoner. I will handle the situation," Vader said.
Within her fighter, Mara Jade smiled. At Vader's telling reaction. The Emperor's subordinate was quite possessive of what he considered 'his' property, and apparently this Rebel had become important to him. There was definitely more going on here than Vader had been willing to admit. She was determined to find out what exactly it was.
Anime-StarWars-fan-zach: I have been reading Dynasty and it is very good. However, I had to stop reading it when I started this, as I did not want to unconsciously steal anything from that story. n.n
Balance in the Dark: You will be learning about Vader's conversation with the Emperor later in the story, I think. It didn't suit my purposes to reveal it at this time though...I think. I've forgotten some of my schemes since it has been so long. ;;
Lord Revan: I hope so too. :D
Somebody: Yes, Leia is dead.
Thanks to o0x.ashley.x0o, Larisa, ILDV, phantom-jedi1, Treenahasthaal, AquaRose, Water-Soter, Bekki, spywarlordgurbabishgrady, and allison lightning for reviewing last chapter.
PLEASE leave a review if you liked, or even if you didn't like, this chapter. It can be as short or as long as you want!