She laughed at him.
Scoffed, really, more than laughed but it was enough to shock the Dark Lord into momentary silence. He expected screaming, or tears, or recriminations against the imposters who kept her ignorant for so long. But not a laugh.
"That is the biggest load of nerf crap I have ever heard in my life," she finally said to him, wriggling out of Bail's protective embrace and facing Vader.
It was the first time he'd seen her close up in months, and her appearance shocked him. No longer a buttoned down and brushed up young lady, Leia wore a stained jumpsuit over her skin-and-bones figure. He tasted bile in his throat when he saw how raw the burn on her neck remained after all this time, wishing there was a way he could kill the late Grand Moff again. He knew the desire was ironic, having inflicted far worse on her himself. Gazing into her sickly eyes, he observed that she still had the fire that so intrigued and frightened him on the Death Star. A bit of proper care and a lot of proper training, and they would be unstoppable- especially once Luke was brought into the fold.
The room stayed silent, the two Organas hovering close to Leia but watching her carefully, as though she were a volcano about to erupt at any minute. Annoyed, Vader pointed at Bail.
"Tell her," he ordered.
"You're crazy," Leia snarled at Vader before Bail could respond. "Is this really what you've sunk to? What do you even want any more? You found our base all by yourself."
"Girl, this has nothing to do with your pathetic Rebellion," Vader told her, advancing towards them. "Organa, tell her. Tell her everything."
"They don't have any idea who my biological father is. No one does." Vader could see her confidence was beginning to falter as the conversation wore on without vehement denials from her adoptive parents. "Right?" She looked over to Bail, who held his head in his hands as Breha wept quietly. "Right?"
"Enough!" Frustrated, Vader reached out towards Leia. She leapt back, crashing into a small stool by the vanity as she avoided him. "You are my daughter whether these cowards will admit it to you or not. And you will come with me. Now."
"Why? So you can torture me again?" Her tone stopped Vader's pursuit for a moment as the queen gasped, a look of pure rage on her face. Without warning, Breha picked up a small, heavy side table and charged at Vader, slamming it into his chest. He staggered back briefly, so distracted by Leia that he failed to see the attack coming.
A second later both Breha and Bail were on their knees, hands at their throats as they gasped for air. Leia knelt by her adoptive father, shaking him. "What are you doing?" she shrieked at Vader. "Stop!" Silently, he continued to pinch his fingers together as the couple's faces quickly lost color.
"Monster!" Forgetting her terror, Leia barreled towards Vader as she reached into her cloak, pulling out the scorched lightsaber and aiming the blue beam straight for the Dark Lord's head. He ducked away in time to avoid her, releasing Bail and Breha as he focused on his daughter. With a roar, she swung back towards him again. Taking advantage of his relative size and her sloppy technique, Vader reached out, catching her by the wrist of her sword arm and squeezing tightly until he was able to wrest the lightsaber out of her hand.
"Where did you get this?" He shut off the blade and looked at the hilt. The control side was still relatively intact, but the grip was scorched and partly melted as though it had been through a raging fire. Impressive construction, still operational after all that, he thought. Then, under his mask, he frowned, turning back to the recovering queen and viceroy who huddled on the floor across the room.
"Kenobi." He spat out the word as if it were a curse. "I'd know this blade anywhere. So he was the one training her? Where is he?"
"Dead." Bail coughed, not wanting to give Vader something else to try to interrogate out of his family. "He's dead."
"Give that back to me," Leia protested, fighting against Vader's grip on her wrist. "It's mine!"
"You deserve a better weapon than this, Daughter." Vader tucked the saber into his belt. "Come with me and I'll show you the true power of the Force. That imbecile Kenobi knew nothing of real power."
"No!" With a bellow, Leia focused all the fear and terror and rage of the last few months into a single shove, sending Vader stumbling as she snatched the saber back. But the effort exhausted her, and no sooner had Vader recovered his footing and returned her blow through the Force, sending Leia sprawling unconscious on the floor. With another wave of his hand, he held Bail and Breha back, keeping them from running to the princess's side. He picked up the girl's limp body and walked out of the room, noticing that she still clutched the unlit saber in her fist.
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Solo let out a low whistle as the ship dropped from hyperspace, revealing the ring of defenses that the Empire had erected around Alderaan to imprison the planet's population. Double checking their flight plan, he activated the comm system, waving a hand to quiet the rest of the crew as the nearest Star Destroyer hailed them, demanding a clearance code. He transmitted the one provided by the shuttle's previous owner, holding his breath.
"Shuttle, you're cleared for entry. Be advised your course is changed. Landing now at sector 339."
"Copy that. What's goin' on?" Solo tried to keep his voice light.
"Disturbance near the spaceport in the capital. Riot. Should be under control soon but didn't want to put you in the middle of it."
"Thanks." He looked over his shoulder at the two Alderaani crewmembers, who, like Solo, were disguised in the drab uniforms of the shipping company. They both glared at the comm, knowing exactly what was likely to be done to put a riot under control. Solo shut off the comm.
"Changes our plan a little, but we should still be able to rendezvous with our contact. Do you know where it is they're sending us?"
Irrana leaned forward to look at the coordinates, which had been transposed onto a ground map. "Weird. Looks like they're dropping us at the private landing area at the royal palace."
"Guess that general down there wants to make sure he gets his fuel supplies without having to deal with the common folk," Solo responded tightly. "How does this affect our plan?"
"I think we'll still be okay, as long as they let us off the grounds," Irrana said.
"What about Chewie?"
"Hm." Irrana looked around the small shuttle. "As long as they don't try to board, you'll be fine. Otherwise…" he pulled open a door and found a closet, full of old paperwork and bits and pieces of tools. "I guess you could try to squeeze in here?"
"Not sure that it's the best plan," said Solo, "But I guess it's what we've got. Strap in- we're landing."
The landing area was just outside the inner wall of the palace garden, lined with glowing red LEDs to mark the perimeter. Two stormtroopers stood a few meters back, watching them as they glided into place on the ground. Solo waved Chewie back away from the cockpit and opened the door, trying to stay calm as he led Irrana and Tyman down the ramp.
"Thanks for deviating," one of the troopers said casually, approaching them as the engines shut off with a whine. "Been a crazy day here. First there was a riot just down the street and then Lord Vader took off without even telling the General he was leaving. Now he thinks he's in trouble."
"Lord Vader was here?" Solo tried to keep his face neutral, willing the bead of sweat that threatened to roll down his forehead back into the pore. "Didn't know that."
"Yeah, it was nuts for a week. I think everybody's happy he's gone. Anyways, whatcha got?"
Surprised by the trooper's nonchalance, Han led him around to the cargo area. "Fuel, some food. We can unload- where do you want it?"
"Bachston, bring a cart around," the trooper told his companion, and the other man trotted off to comply. "If you can get it off, that'd be great. We're due to be off duty- going to be a party in the barracks if you all want to drop by."
"We'll consider it," said Han, checking over his shoulder to make sure that the two Alderaanis will still there. Tyman was fidgeting, looking back over across the plains that extended below the sheer cliff face at the edge of the landing strip. The more experienced Irrana stood looking bored as the other trooper returned with the cart. "Thanks again."
The two troopers disappeared through a door back into the main palace grounds, and Solo moved to unload the fuel, not wanting to blow their cover in case they were being observed. "Hey, gimme a hand," he said to Irrana. As the man joined him, Solo leaned in close. "Let's get this off and I'll take it into the palace. You two head into town- I'll meet you."
Irrana nodded. "If you have any trouble getting out, just leave us. I think we'll stay anyways." A soft, far away burst of blaster fire caught his attention and he picked up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and pulling Tyman towards the exit. "Force be with you, captain." With a nod, Solo turned and marched the heavy cart into the palace grounds.
Solo had only seen the inside of the palace briefly before, but could tell that whomever was currently in charge did not have the same interest in keeping things up as the previous residents. The flower gardens were sickly from lack of water, and the lawns—which had been beautifully manicured, were tall and weedy. Bits of garbage were strewn about, blowing in the slight breeze. Solo noticed a handwritten sign that read: FREIGHT ENTRANCE and followed the arrow around towards a lower door. It was open, and manned by a bored looking uniformed soldier.
"The fuel?" he said, looking wistfully over his shoulder to where the sounds of laughter echoed down the hallway. Solo nodded. "Where do you want it?"
"Garage, I guess. I'll get some of our guys to take it."
"Can I come in for a minute? 'Fresher on the ship stopped working a couple hours out."
"Sure." The young man pointed down a long hallway. "Straight down there, can't miss it."
Han set off, marveling at how subdued the population must be for the Imperials to behave so casually on an occupied planet. Usually you had to show three forms of identification just to be allowed to breathe the local air. Then he remembered that Alderaan was famous for its lack of armaments. He'd probably be pretty relaxed too if all he had to worry about planetside was someone trying to egg the place.
Leia was going to be pissed when she saw how subjugated her beloved homeworld was, he thought, wondering if the princess had made it yet or if she was stranded in deep space trying to work the controls on Lando's ship. She was really going to owe him for coming after her this time.
He found the 'fresher room and stepped inside, taking advantage of the palatial fittings while he was there. Stepping out, he peeked back to see if he was visible to the guard at the door. The rounded walls blocked the line of sight, and he decided to take a moment to explore, figuring he could plead ignorance if discovered.
He followed the hall to a curvy stairway, tiptoeing up as he admired the art on the walls. Reaching the landing, he peered around to see a line of alcoves, each with doors closed to the hallway. He held his breath, but there was no sound indicating any guards or troops. He crept back in the direction of the gardens adjacent to the landing area, hoping to find a window to check on his ship and Chewbacca.
After a moment of fruitless searching, he tried one of the door handles. Locked. Moving on to the next one, he jiggled it gingerly, practicing his story if he accidentally burst in on some officer in the bathtub. This one was unlocked, and he gave it a push open to look inside.
"Captain Solo?" said an incredulous voice from across the room.
Slipping in, Solo silently shut the door behind him. "Long time no see, your highnesses."
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Watching Leia sigh quietly in her sleep, Vader pondered his next step. It was unclear whether or not the girl actually believed his claim of paternity, but she at least had some awareness of her own abilities in the Force. He could appeal to her hatred of the Emperor to begin her ascent to mastery of the Dark Side, and then she would help him find Luke.
She stirred, opening her eyes slightly with a groan and then leaping back on the bed, using the Force to shove him away as she scrambled to her feet.
"Peace, child." He held up a hand. "I am not going to harm you."
"You'll understand why I have a hard time believing that," she spat, backing further into the corner. He could see her trying to concentrate enough to aim another Force blow at him.
"You must learn more control if we are to destroy the Emperor," he chided, using the Force to press her further against the wall. Struggling, she flailed until he suddenly released her, dropping her to her knees in front of him. He held out a hand to help her up, but she brushed him away and pushed herself to her feet.
"You're going to destroy the Emperor?" she scoffed. "I thought you bowed to him and called him master. He's not going to like that."
"Daughter, do not mock me."
"Don't call me that." She straightened her shoulders, giving him a look of cold death. "I am not your daughter."
"It was a surprise to learn, I agree," Vader said, moving closer to tower over the diminutive princess. "Do you know how I found out?"
"You made it up." She was trying to steady herself, to bury her fear, and he was proud of her for that. Skywalkers did not show fear.
"Breha Organa told me. She thought you were dead and I imagine she thought it would hurt me to think I'd somehow been responsible for the death of my child." Leia gaped. "Yes, Leia- your own….mother, as you called her, sent you straight to me. Where you belong."
Leia looked around the room wildly, searching for an escape and finding no option. They were on a ship, alone—though Leia didn't know that. Vader couldn't risk his apprentice by bringing someone along who might betray his mission to the Emperor. He'd carried her out of the palace, taking back halls to avoid as many troops as possible, and commandeered a private shuttle, setting course for a system where his life had been ripped apart so many years ago. Now it would be the site of his family's rise from the ashes. Tatooine.