ALIVE

By Serena

A/N: Thanks for the reviews as always. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's pretty long for me.

Training. Officer. Imperial Navy.

Can you say Panic?

Oh, yes. I can scream Panic.

I could only stare at him in shock. "I… what?"

"You have many talents, Aisha," Vader said. "Talents that should not be overlooked. You could become a great addition to the Empire, a valuable asset. Not only could you become my apprentice, but you could rise through the ranks quicker than most officers and eventually become an admiral."

"But… I… I'm not sure that I can… do that," I stammered, rubbing the back of my neck. "I mean, I'm still recovering, and I don't know much about the Imperial Navy…"

"You will learn," he said. "And I will help you. You have great potential, Aisha. Now you just need to use it."

I bit my lip and looked away. "Could I think about it?"

"Yes." He turned towards the door. "You may have the rest of the day to think about it."

"The day!" I exclaimed. "I need more time than that."

His helmet swiveled to face me; and I felt annoyance and impatience radiating from him. "Time is short," he said. "Events are in motion – you need to decide soon." He paused. "Let me know when you have chosen."

"What's the other option?" I asked, hesitant.

He studied me, thinking about it for a moment. "There are other choices," he said. "You could become my private agent – working solely for me. Or you could be an assassin."

I didn't like that last one at all.

"You could be a pilot as well," he continued. For some reason, I sensed that he was inclined towards this one. "But then, that is in the Imperial Navy. So you have a choice, Aisha. Become an officer and work under the Empire. Become an agent and work for me."

I remained silent, weighing my choices. Either way, it didn't look like I would be getting away from Vader or this ship anytime soon. But I didn't mind Vader – he wasn't that bad – at least, towards me, anyway. And what else would I do? This galaxy was huge, and I knew no one, remembered nothing. My only connection was Vader.

"I'll think about it," I said finally.

"Good. Now come. I will show you around the ship. And then maybe you will get an idea of what you wish to do." He motioned for me to follow him, and we left the room together.

"According to the ship's trajectory, it must've crashed somewhere around here," Luke said into his comlink. Artoo beeped in confirmation of that fact.

On the Millennium Falcon, Han sighed and rubbed his chin. "Yeah, but that's just it, kid. I don't see anything at all. The ship's not here."

Artoo beeped again, and Threepio, also on the Falcon with Han and Chewie, said, "Artoo says that he's picking up traces of scrap metal a few hundred kilometers ahead. I'm afraid the metal matches that of the ship Princess Leia was on at the time."

Han felt a pang in his chest. "Is there any sign of what might've happened to them?" he asked the droid.

Luke said through the comlink, "I've picked up some trace blaster fire. I think… I think this was a battle, Han."

Han felt like swearing but refrained from doing so. Chewie moaned, and Han glared at him. "Hey, let's try to be optimistic, all right? We don't know if she's dead. They could've escaped in pods and gone to a nearby system. Right?" He glanced at Threepio.

"Oh, yes, Captain, that would be a reasonable explanation. But I must also add that if Princess Leia's ship had been destroyed, there would be much more debris. And yet, there isn't much here."

Han frowned. "Ya know, Goldenrod's right, Luke," he said to the younger man. "Let's say Leia was attacked – we would see parts of ship if it had been destroyed."

"Yeah, I agree. But what does this mean, then?" Luke asked. "I can't pick up any trail from the ship's ionic signature. They didn't go any farther than this point. Unless… wait a minute. I am picking up another ship's trail. And it's…" He paused. "Oh, no… oh, no…"

"What?" Han demanded. "What is it?"

"Han… the other ship was an Imperial vessel."

Han felt his stomach drop. "No. Please tell me you're joking."

"I wish I were, Han," Luke moaned.

"But that means…" Han didn't want to finish the sentence.

"It means she's been captured."

Han swallowed and glared at the window in front of him. Chewie snarled something, causing Han to nod in agreement. "Yeah, you said it, buddy. So what do we do now, kid? Go after the ship?"

Luke made a frustrated noise. "There's no way to track it, though. It went into hyperspace right here, so I have no idea where they went."

"Damn it!" Han swore, slamming a fist on the dashboard. Chewie whined and covered his face with a hairy paw. "Luke, I'm not letting her go! I won't let those –those sithspawns have her!"

"You know I feel the same way," Luke told him firmly. "We're going to find her, Han. I promise. We'll start by looking at nearby systems, see if we can find out anything. I would suggest we split up to cover more ground, but-"

"No," Han objected. "If we're going up against the Imps, we'd better stick together. We'll have a better chance of finding her if we pool our resources together, right?"

"Yeah, you make a good point." Luke's voice sobered. "Han. We will find her. I'm not giving up on her like the rest of the Alliance did."

Han's jaw clenched at the mention of the Alliance. "I thought I had them figured out, kid," he said, his voice hard. "I thought that they were the good guys. And then they had to go and pull somethin' like this."

"I know," Luke said in a grim tone. "They let us down. They let Leia down, more importantly. After all she did for them, they abandoned her. But we're not going to do that. So, let's look at the nearby systems and see what we can do."

"Right," Han replied, pulling up a star chart on the front computer. "Well, it's not like we're in the Core," he said. "We're in Outer Rim territory. This might take a while." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, staring out into space.

Luke said after a moment, "Han, wait. I've picked up another ion trail. It's not the Empire or Leia's ship – it came from somewhere else. And they didn't go into hyperspace. They left a trail."

Han frowned. "Let me get this straight. Three trails – one an Imp, one Leia's ship, and another unknown. There was a battle here – but who was fighting if there were three different ships?"

"I'm not sure. I think our best bet right now will be to follow the unknown ship, see if we can get some answers from them. There's a moon not far from here – populated mostly by smugglers and pirates, it looks like. You'll fit right in, Han." His voice adapted a wry tone.

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Han. "We'll head there."

"Oh, dear!" cried Threepio. "Pirates! Forgive me, Master Luke, but it sounds incredibly dangerous!"

"Yeah," snarled Han, wheeling on him, "And I'm one of those pirates, so that makes me even more dangerous right now. So shut up or shut down, got it?"

"Oh, dear!" Threepio exclaimed in horror.

Luke said in a calming voice, "Threepio, don't worry. You'll stay and protect the ship. The rest of us will go off-ship and look for answers. All right?"

"Yes, Master Luke. Good idea. I shall stay here." The droid sounded satisfied.

Han shook his head and plugged in the coordinates. "All right, jumping to hyperspace in three… two… one." And he and Luke's X-Wing jumped together into hyperspace. Rubbing his chin, Han remembered Luke's words.

We'll find her, Han. I promise.

"Yeah, I hope so, kid," Han muttered.

Oh, sweetheart… I hope you're all right.

For the first time in his life, Han Solo felt absolute despair.

The Imperial Star Destroyer Executor was impressive, I had to admit. Huge and powerful, it was definitely one of the grandest flagships I'd ever seen. Not that I remembered seeing any other ships except this one and the one Vader found me on, however.

Walking slowly beside Vader, I found that I sensed much hostility towards me from the other men on board. I didn't know why; and when I asked Vader, he merely replied that they did not care for newcomers, especially women.

"But you are in my charge now," he added. "They will not dare to speak to you in a disrespectful way."

I looked up at him. "I think they're afraid of you," I remarked quietly.

He didn't look at me, but I felt curiosity from him. "And why do you think that, Aisha? Are your senses attuned to their emotions?"

"At the moment," I said, "My senses are attuned towards everything. I can sense your feelings, and the feelings of every other man on this ship when they come near me."

Vader halted and looked at me. After a minute of scrutiny, which made me uncomfortable, he said, "You are indeed growing in your power, Aisha. Soon, you will be able to do many more things than sense other people's emotions."

"Like what?" I asked, curious, and yet afraid at the same time. I didn't really want to be feared in the same way that Vader was. Respected, yes. Feared, no.

"I will show you," he replied.

Swallowing back another wave of nervousness, I thought, But I don't want to feel that power. I don't want to feel the anger, the rage that you do. I shuddered involuntarily, and Vader glanced at me.

"Are you cold?"

"A little," I muttered, wrapping my arms around my too-thin form. I hadn't been eating well – most food didn't want to stay down. It went hand in hand with the nightmares I'd been having ever since I'd come onto the ship.

I saw, felt Vader's gloved hand reach out toward me, but he pulled away just before reaching my shoulder. "We will be reaching the storage center soon," he said in a detached, monotonous voice. "You may get a jacket from there."

"I don't know why I'm cold," I lied. "But I'll be fine."

Space is cold, Ani.

Blinking, I halted. What? I wondered. That voice… I'd heard that voice before. A female's voice. A kind, sweet voice that warmed me to my toes. A motherly voice.

"Aisha?" Vader had stopped and was studying me closely. "What is it?"

I shook my head and continued forward, confused. "I don't know. Another flashback, I think."

"Of what?"

I bit my lip and confessed, "I don't know. It's a woman's voice. I've heard it before."

His pace slowed, and I detected a hint of nervousness in his emotions. "What did she say?" he rumbled.

"Different things. Just now I heard her say something about space being cold." For some reason, I was hesitant to tell him about the mystery lady voice; but he seemed keen on knowing about it.

But now I felt a wave of pain, agony, and suffering from Vader, something that made me halt in my tracks. "What is it?" I asked. "Vader, what's the matter?"

"Nothing," he growled, and began to stride faster down the hall. I had to jog to catch up with his large step.

"It must be something," I insisted. "What did I say?"

"Nothing!" he barked. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" I demanded, confused. "Vader, what's going on?"

He swerved on me and hissed, "I said nothing. Return to your room."

"But-"

"Go!" He boomed, pointing in the opposite direction.

I scowled, feeling a warm lick of flaming anger rise up in me. "I didn't do anything wrong!" I snapped. "And I'm not some child that you can order around!"

"You are overstepping your bounds, Aisha," Vader snarled, advancing towards me.

"No, I'm not," I said, furious. "You can't order me around like this. It's not like I'm your daughter!"

He froze, much to my astonishment. Without another word, he suddenly turned and strode down the corridor, leaving me in much bewilderment and anger.

What was that about?

I turned away and started to walk back the way I had come. But I soon realized that I had no idea where I was at this point; and I wasn't about to run back to Vader for directions. Feeling helpless, I tried to talk to someone, but no one would answer me. The men either ignored me or shot me nasty looks and pushed past me. Inside, I was almost to the point of tears, but I wouldn't show my frustration. Instead, holding my head high, I walked down the corridor, decidedly ignoring the vicious glares I was receiving.

I felt like a hopeless case as I wandered around the ship. I was about to burst into tears, and I sank against the wall of a mostly emptied corridor, when I heard a familiar voice say my name.

Looking up, I saw Admiral Piett standing in front of me, eyeing me with concern and curiosity. "Miss Aisha, are you all right?"

"Oh, thank goodness!" I moaned, and instinctively fell forward and wrapped my arms around his neck in a tight hug. "I thought I'd never get any help!"

The Admiral froze. "Miss," he started hesitantly. "Miss Aisha..." He started to gently tug me away.

I pulled back, resisting the urge to sniffle. "I'm sorry, Admiral, but Vader deserted me for some strange reason, and I've been lost in these corridors ever since. I need to get back to my room - would you mind showing me the way back?"

He gave me a small smile. "Of course not, Miss Aisha. Come, this way." He patted my back in a comforting way and led me back to my room. On the way, he asked, hesitant, "If you don't mind me asking, Miss Aisha... why would Lord Vader desert you?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I think I might've said something to upset him. But we were fine, and then he started acting very strangely. I'll have to talk with him tomorrow." I rubbed my face. "I have to talk with him anyway... he's told me that he wants me to be an officer in the Imperial Navy."

Piett did a double take and stared at me, obviously astonished. "He... he did?" stammered the Admiral. "But why in the Emperor's name..." He trailed off and shook his head in disbelief. "I... well..." He started forward again. "What do you think about this?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "It's a big commitment - and so early, too. How can I be an officer, leading all of these men when I don't even know who I am? Or how to lead?"

"So you have no memory," Piett said carefully.

"No, not really. I have flashbacks - just voices, generally. But it's gone in a second." I looked down, feeling depressed. "I don't know if I'll ever get it back."

"I'm sure you will." But he didn't sound that sure at all. Still, I was grateful that was at least trying to make me feel better. We stopped at my door, much to my relief. "Well, here you are, Your - Miss Aisha." He reddened, embarrassed for some reason.

I nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you, Admiral." I reached out and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for everything. I hope we can talk more."

"Yes, well... have a good evening," he stuttered, giving me a small, careful smile.

"Thank you. You-" I halted.

Oh, sweetheart… I hope you're all right.

That voice... I'd heard that voice before. That same warm, deep voice that haunted my dreams and my thoughts.

"...too." I finished the sentence, not really looking at Piett, but focusing on that voice - the lost memory of the voice that had once again flashed into my brain. Who was this voice? This voice that made my blood sing with warm, unfamiliar feelings?

"Aisha?" Piett regarded me curiously. "Are you all right?"

I blinked and glanced up at him. "Another flashback. I just had another flashback. At least, I think it was." I frowned, biting my lip. "But now it's gone." I sighed again and smiled sadly. "Well, thanks again."

"You're welcome. And do get some rest, Miss Aisha. You look rather pale."

Nodding, I entered my room, and the door closed behind me. I leaned against the door, breathing deeply.

"Who are you?" I whispered to my empty room.

But I received no answer.

Reviews are always appreciated - let met know what you think!

- Serena