Leia awakened to the sound of the brig door opening. She knit her brows in confusion. This was off schedule - no one came to her cell until breakfast.

She sat up and saw a tall, looming figure and her heart dropped - a part of her had hoped Vader had forgotten she was there, but, of course, that was just wishful thinking; but it was strange that he was coming to her at this time of night. Why not in the middle of the day?

Vader opened her cell door and stood there staring at her. She stared back, not wanting him to give him the satisfaction of intimidating her.

"Tell me what you know about Luke Skywalker," he demanded.

Her eyes widened - she had expected him to ask about the Darksaber map. How did he find out about Luke? It was a carefully guarded secret. Then she remembered what Biggs said... it had been Luke's home that was burned down. Vader most likely wanted to know whose home he was destroying.

Leia quickly fixed her expression to indifference before Vader could notice her shock. "I don't know who that is."

"Don't lie to me," he growled as he stepped into her cell.

"I'm not!"

She couldn't see him due to the darkness of her cell, but she knew he was glaring at her - it was like she could feel his anger radiating in the room.

"Your mother was close with his mother and your father was friends with Obi-Wan Kenobi, who, coincidentally, managed to secure a ship to escape in before we arrived - something he wouldn't have been able to do unless he had been warned; not to mention, your ship was in route to Tatooine. So, Princess-" he stepped closer to her "-spare me the lies."

Leia cast her eyes down. Vader was smart... too smart - he had managed to find out more about Luke Skywalker than she ever had, and managed to figure out her mission. No wonder the Emperor made him second-in-command.

Her silence was too long and Vader suddenly reached out and grabbed her arms, pulling her up and closer to him - she was ashamed of the little shriek that left her throat.

"Tell me about my son!"

Leia froze, her eyes widening. "Son?" Her voice shook.

As if realizing he slipped up, Vader pushed her back, making her stumble a little. He quickly turned and exited her cell, closing the door behind him before storming off.

Leia was in shock as she slowly say on her bed. Son?... Luke Skywalker is... Vader's son? But how could that be? Her father knew Anakin Skywalker, why had he never told her he became Vader?

Now that she was thinking about it... she realized she had never seen any pictures of Anakin Skywalker, only Padmé Skywalker. Vader must've erased all traces of his past self. But why? Why the name change? Why go through all the trouble?...


Luke had been finding it difficult to sleep lately - which was strange because he assumed being on the sea would actually help him sleep. He mostly lay awake in his bed and stared up at the overhead wooden boards as he listened to the sound of the ocean and the creaking of the ship. His thoughts always drifted to his parents as his fingers fiddled with his mother's necklace; he still hadn't gained new memories, just that one with the ship being attacked.

Ben had managed to convince Han to take a quicker course to Alderaan, not without an argument breaking out, of course. According to Han, the course Ben had maped out would make them go through dangerous waters - Cody had said it was because of sea monsters, to which Han denied.

"No sailor that has gone through there has ever come back!" Han had argued. "It'd be a death trap to sail the Falcon through there!"

"I've been sailing these seas since you were in diapers, Young Man," Ben had retorted. "I know what I'm doing."

Han eventually gave in, claiming that Ben was hard to argue with.

Finally tired of just laying there with his thoughts, Luke got up, slipped on his shirt and boots, and left the crew cabin to go up to the deck.

The night sky was like a sea of stars; Luke had never seen it look so beautiful - not even the sunsets at Tatooine Bay could compare. He approached the gunwale and was met with an even more beautiful sight: the moon reflecting off the water. He hadn't seen what the sea looked like at night yet - Lando had always insisted everyone go to bed at a certain time so the crew would be well rested - and he regretted taking so long to admire the beauty.

Suddenly, a terrifying sound filled the air and sent chills through his body.

"What was that?" He asked aloud.

"A lusca."

Luke jumped - he hadn't expected anyone to reply. He turned to see Ben approaching the gunwale. Ever since they started their journey, Ben had started looking more like a pirate, giving up his old hermit attire to wear something more suitable for sailing. Cody had told him that Ben had really missed being on the sea. "Pirates aren't meant to stay on land," he had said.

"Lusca? I think I've heard some sailors talk about that before," Luke said. "I thought it was just one of their tales."

"No, Luke, sea monsters are very much real."

Luke quickly stepped away from the gunwale. "Sea monsters!?"

Ben's mouth quirked a little, as if he was amused by Luke's reaction. "It's nothing to be worried about-"

"Nothing to be worried about!? I've heard horror stories about sea monsters!"

Ben placed a hand on Luke's shoulder and guided him back to the gunwale. "It's nothing for a pirate to worry about; we can communicate with sea creatures - a perk of our 'sea voodoo' as Captain Solo calls it."

Luke stared at the dark waters, still unsure.

"It was the job of pirates to mediate between humans and the creatures of the sea," Ben continued. "We provided safe passage through trade routes."

"But I thought pirates pillaged and plundered, you said they did."

"Only from the corrupt - there is honor among pirates. I also said we were the guardians of the sea."

Luke nodded and silence washed over them, the only sound was the water crashing against the ship. Then that horrifying sound split through the air again.

"Are you sure we're safe?" Luke asked nervously. "That doesn't sound good."

Ben frowned. "Hm. Luscas are known for being territorial - they're half-shark and half-octopus."

Luke frowned. "Sounds wonderful."

"You have nothing to worry about; I've been sailing these waters since I was a boy."

The sound came again, but more threatening than last the two times.

"I think it's going to attack."

"Then calm it."

Luke looked at Ben in shock, but saw that the old sailor was completely serious. "Calm it!? How?"

"The ocean is your birthright."

Luke threw his hands up in frustration. "You keep saying that, but I don't know what it means!"

"You're the-" Ben cut himself off suddenly. "You and the ocean are connected, including it's inhabitants. Focus on the bond between you and the sea."

"But how-"

"Just do it before it attacks!"

Luke took a deep breath - that was encouragement enough. He let it out as he closed his eyes. He felt the boat rocking and focused on it, picturing it in his mind, then drifted to the water that was causing it to rock, listening to it splash on the side.

He squeezed his eyes tighter as he reached into the sea with his mind, suddenly aware of all the fish below them. His eyebrows rose in shock as he actually saw what was under the sea, and not just his imagination.

Then, he saw it. It was unmistakable. A giant creature with the top half of a shark and the bottom half of an octopus.

He felt as if he could reach out and touch it with his hand, so he tried, but instead he touched it with his mind. The luscas jerked in shock at the contact.

Don't be afraid, he said, not sure how he knew he could speak to it. I'm not going to hurt you.

It's you, the creature replied. It slowed its swim, seemingly calming down. You have returned home.

Luke wasn't exactly sure what that meant. Please, don't attack us.

You will always have safe passage, Pirate King.

The luscas swam away, breaking the connection.

Luke opened his eyes with a gasp as he stumbled forward; Ben caught him so he wouldn't fall overboard.

"Easy, Luke. It's been a while since you've used sea magic."

Luke clutched his head as he felt it ache. "Wha-"

"You should rest. Go back to bed, I'll stay up and make sure no other dangerous creatures will come by."

He guided Luke back to the crew cabin. Luke went down without any complaints, suddenly feeling exhausted. He filed his many questions away for another time, and instantly fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


Leia woke up once again to the brig door opening, but this time she knew the reason: it was time for breakfast. She stood as Biggs came into view and approached the bars, and noticed he did not have a tray of food.

"We arrived at Alderaan sometime last night," he informed her quietly.

A look of determination crossed her face. She had no doubt Vader would be visiting her father after breakfast; she had to make it home before he did to warn her father - and demand answers.

Biggs reached into his pocket and produced a key. "I put something in the guard's food to make them sleep," he explained as he unlocked her cage. "Everyone else is eating or in town." He opened her cage and reached into his jacket, pulling out her pistol. "We need to hurry."

Leia nodded as she took her pistol and returned it to the hidden pocket in her dress.

Biggs produced a pair of wrist shackles. "Vader's already left the ship; I can say he ordered me to bring you to him."

Leia held out her hands and let him place the shackles on her wrists. He took her arm and gently pulled her along with him, right past the sleeping guards and onto the lower deck. The Devastator was a large vessel, but Biggs seemed to know his way around like second nature - made sense since he was given the mundane tasks that would require him to run throughout the ship.

She kept her head held up as they passed by various crew and servants who didn't even give them a second glance. But, of course, these were the people stuck on the lower decks, so they probably could care less about the going ons in the ship they're maintaining.

They made it onto the upper deck. Leia subtly glanced around at the Imperial soldiers still on deck as she walked with Biggs to the ramp.

"Hold it, Cadet!"

Biggs quietly muttered a word in a language that she guessed was Huttese, a common tongue in places like Tatooine Bay that was ran by the Hutts - a family of ogres that Leia had only heard stories about, and never the displeasure of seeing.

Leia and Biggs turned to see Captain Piett, one of the few people in the world Vader actually liked.

"Where are you taking the prisoner?"

"Lord Vader gave me orders to bring her to the governor's mansion," Biggs replied with a steady voice.

"For what reason?"

"I didn't ask. Lord Vader gave me an order, so I'm following through with it." Biggs straightened his posture. "And I don't want to explain to him why I'm late. He'll be very angry with the both of us."

A flicker of fear crossed over Piett's face. "R-right. Carry on, Cadet."

Biggs nodded and turned, pulling Leia along with him once again as he walked down the ramp.

"You handled yourself pretty well back there," Leia said once they were out of ear shot.

Biggs smirked. "I learned that little trick from Luke - he was always getting us into all kinds of trouble."

Leia quirked an eyebrow, interested in the story behind the trick. How lucky was she to have met the best friend of Luke Skywalker?

"I'll tell you about it later," Biggs said, noticing her interest.

They kept up their charade of Imperial soldier and prisoner until they got off the docks.

Biggs unlocked her cuffs. "Vader's on his way to your father's house," he said. "I'm not sure if you can beat him there."

"I will," Leia said. "There are tunnels under Alderaan; makes it easy for the Rebellion to move in and out." She paused for a moment. "Captain Kenobi is on his way here with Luke, they could be here already. Stay around the market place and see if you can find them. If you do, get Luke out of here. Vader can't get to him."

Biggs pursed his lips and nodded. He hadn't ever asked why his friend was so important to the Rebellion, probably filing it away for a better time.

The princess took a deep breath before turning and going in the direction she knew the closest entrance to the tunnels were. She had hoped she would be able to meet Luke Skywalker one day, but now, she didn't, because she couldn't face him knowing what she did about his father... something he probably didn't know himself.