Chapter Eight: All About Luke
I didn't have a chance to talk to Luke before we left Yavin, and he went on the freighter ship with the X-wings and other pilots while I took a more comfortable transport. However, it was hard to enjoy said comfort when I had such questions zipping around my mind, all demanding to be answered immediately.
"Leia!" Mon Mothma called out to me.
I looked up at her with a start. "I'm sorry; what?"
She smiled. "You must be thinking deeply – that was the fifth time I've called your name."
I felt my cheeks redden. "Sorry," I apologized again.
She brushed it away. "I just wanted to tell you that we're going to Arbra."
I nodded thoughtfully. "Good choice. Isolated, but rather nice climate."
She nodded back. "Exactly." She took a sip of her drink, then asked a question I had been dreading. "So, what thoughts had you so rivited you tuned the reast of the galaxy out?"
I smiled weakly. "Nothing really important." I wrinkled my brow and cast my eyes down. 'Just thinking about home."
It worked. Mon got up and came to sit by me, wrapping her arms around me. I felt horrible about using Alderaan's memory in such a way, but I couldn't come up with anything else.
If this deal was going to accomplish anything, I was going to have to learn how to lie. How ironic that after two years in the Senate, I still had not acquired that skill.
"It was a terrible act," Mon told my hair soothingly, "but it cannot be undone. Your father would want you to move on, Leia. He would want you to continue to fight, not in revenge for those who have died, but in hope for those you still live."
And that, I told myself, is why Mon makes such a great Senator.
I sniffed and gave her a small smile. "Thanks, Mon," I said. "I'll try not to dwell on it."
She sat back. "See that you do."
I sniffed again and got up. "Excuse me," I said. "I have to used the refresher."
With that, I moved to the back of the ship, locked myself in the refresher, slid down the wall, buried my head in my arms atop my knees, and tried not to cry. I had avoided thinking about Alderaan for so long . . .
Suddenly, my comlink rang. When I looked at it, no number was displayed. Immediately, I knew who it was. Very people in the galaxy could afford an untraceable comlink, and none of them were in the Alliance.
"What do you want now?" I hissed at Vader, terrified that Mon or somebody would overhear and still angry with him over our last discussion. I made sure the door was locked, then slid across the floor to the back of the refresher, hoping the extra meter or two would help muffle my voice to anyone listening from outside the door.
"I have questions," he informed me sternly. But then, he always sounded stern.
"About?" I shot back impatiently.
"Luke Skywalker."
I froze. "I'm not telling you anything about him."
"Just general questions, Princess. Nothing that would compromise his location."
I frowned at him. "You can ask, but I don't guarantee I'll answer," I said, already certain I would not be answering any of his inquiries.
"Which world is he from?"
I snorted. "Why, do you want to blow up his planet, too?"
"Your Highness –"
"I'm not going to tell you, Vader. So save your breath."
His helmet tilted forward. "What can I do or say, Princess, to convince you that I am not interested in harming the boy?"
My rely was immediate. "Drop the subject."
He was just as quick. "Not an option."
We stared at each other in silence for a few moments. Then, Vader spoke again. "You must place your trust in me sometime, Princess."
"You have given me no reason to trust you." I sighed.
"I have given you my word."
"The word of a Sith," I spat. "What is that worth?"
"Depends on the Sith," was his enigmatic reply.
I sighed again and bent my head back until it rested against the wall and I was looking at the ceiling. My thoughts were in turmoil. Every fibre of my being demanded that I cut Vader off, that I run as far from him as possible and hoard every shred of information I had from him. But we were supposed to be partners . . .
"What does this information have to do with our deal?" I demanded aggressively.
"Skywalker is Force-Sensitive," Vader replied. "He is also exceptionally powerfulwithin the Force.I have sensed him often since he came to my awareness at Yavin. It is only a matter of time before the Emperor begins to sense him as well. When that time comes, he will order Skywalker hunted down and destroyed."
"That's not helping," I informed him, wide-eyed. I should have known that Emperor would – "Wait. What do you mean, the Emperor will sense him?"
"The Emperor is a Sith," Vader told me simply.
My jaw sagged. A Sith? The Emperor? But . . . it made sense. All the little things, threads that hadn't quite fit before but were to small to be of much notice, now had a place . . .
"He is known as Darth Sidious," Vader added in what I assumed was supposed to be a helpful tone. Then, with a little more steel, "May I continue?"
I nodded.
"I believe Skywalker may be the key to destroying Sidious."
I looked directly into the mask, startled. "Because he's strong in the Force?"
A slight pause. "Yes."
"Are you lying to me?" I asked suspiciously.
Vader looked to the side. "There are a couple more reasons, but I am not sure about them yet, so I prefer not to voice them until they are more grounded."
I bit my lip, but nodded. I would have said the same thing. "Fair enough."
The mask swung back in my direction. "So you will answer my questions?"
"Just the little ones – you know, like past and things," I cautioned.
The helmet inclined in a regal nod, and he began. "Homeworld?"
"Tatooine," I replied promptly.
He seemed to get angry at that, but then he continued as if nothing was amiss. "Names of parents?"
I sat back with a frown. "I . . . don't know. He never mentioned any parents."
"Any relatives?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
He stared at me for a moment, probably trying to figure out if I was lying or not. Then he nodded again. "Very well. Birthday?"
My mouth opened, but I couldn't say anything. "I – I don't know," I managed to stammer. How could I call Luke my friend when I didn't know such simply information?
"Age?"
I shook my head in bewilderment.
"Occupation, before joining the Rebellion?"
I bit my lip. "I don't know."
Vader shook his head in frustration. "What do you know, Your Highness?"
I was ready to cry. "Obviously not very much."
A strange sound emitted from the mask; I assumed it was a sigh. He gave me his comm number (finally!) with orders not to call unless it was extremely important, and then only in the dead of the night, Coruscant time, and hung up on me.
I sat in the refresher a few minutes longer, dwelling on our conversation and resolving to talk to Luke at the earliest possible opportunity, not just about the little boy in my dream but about himself.
Suddenly, a question hit me that I should have asked Vader.
"How did he know Luke's name?"
