"I'm sorry... I'm so stupid, I just wasted all my loops having fun and training a bit. You watched your planet be destroyed, you got tortured, you died so many times... Why are you comforting me and not the other way around?"

-Luke to Leia, Chapter 8

Chapter 5: The loop must go on

Day 103 - Centaxday

Days bled into weeks and weeks into months. Leia had given up on trying to convince Vader to save Alderaan for her. Even when she got so friendly with him he started to willingly tell her anecdotes from the Clone Wars (apparently he had a thing for unruly droids, who knew), he still wouldn't stand up to Tarkin for her.

On some days Leia still conversed with him. Sometimes to learn more about the Force, sometimes just because he was honestly becoming the only friendly voice she could talk to. Her questions became more specific and advanced and it took her almost two weeks to figure out a way to overcome his nearly instinctive hostile reaction when he started to suspect she'd had Jedi training. She found a trick that worked well: Leia would claim that as a child, she often heard stories about the heroes of the Clone Wars. She was very careful to only name Jedi Generals that had died before the Empire was declared. Jedi like Nahdar Vebb or Master Bolla Ropal, Master Tiplar or the famous hero with no fear, Master Skywalker. Those were all Jedi that the Empire still honoured today as war heroes that died in in the service of the Republic, which the Empire claimed to be the legal successor of. She claimed that those stories had inspired her to practise on her own. It was a lie and Vader knew it was a lie but if she was careful in her choice of words, he'd let it slide and answer her questions anyway.

"The Jedi of old were strong, but blinded by their own arrogance. They sat in their literal ivory tower and celebrated their own greatness, disregarding all those people they never bothered to grace with their aid", he'd say when she mentioned the old Jedi heroes. "They had goodness in their hearts but they were misguided, stagnant and ultimately not ready to see what really had to be done to save the galaxy. They were not ready for the Clone Wars."

When Leia didn't learn about the Force from Vader, she plotted her escape instead. It was the only thing she could think of. It started off with an accident: One time while fighting her guards for the rifle to kill herself with, she killed one of the troopers instead. When the other shot at her, she dodged to the side on pure instinct and shot him in the face.

Now with two dead troopers at her feet, Leia was suddenly... free.

She didn't think much about it. The Princess was so sick of her cell, she just started sprinting down the corridor.

Over the next couple of months, Leia explored the insides of the Death Star. After leaving her cell she had about ten minutes, if she avoided all cameras and patrols, until someone noticed she wasn't on her way to the bridge. If she stole some trooper armour, she could manage up to thirty before they were after her. With a rifle of her own and shooting skills that got progressively better, as well as a new form of mid-motion meditation Vader taught her that allowed her to predict the path of laser beams, Leia eventually managed to kill between 100 and 150 troopers before she was taken out. Her vague goal was to one day find the super laser and disable it so Tarkin wouldn't be able to use it on Alderaan, then fight her way through to the hangar. If she'd taken the time to 'befriend' Vader before her cell got opened, she could all in all spend about three hours exploring the station. If she did not, he would find and stop her within fifteen minutes, dragging her back to the bridge to witness Alderaan's destruction.

One time, she almost made it.

One time, she found a control center 15 floors center-wise where she could turn off a cooling unit for the reactor. She got captured and dragged before Tarkin in that loop, who told her that her little sabotage would take mere minutes to fix. So the next day, Leia made her way back to that same control center but made double and triple sure she was not seen or recorded doing so. She got captured in an entirely different sector and dragged before Tarkin. Tarkin ordered the Death Star to fire... and nothing happened.

Leia broke down sobbing in relief. This was the first real progress she'd made, the first time she really saw a change.

Tarkin became so angry he shot her but that hardly mattered to Leia.

She could safe Alderaan now.

XxX

Day 145 - Centaxday

For weeks, Leia did the same routine: 1) Befriend Vader. Only then would he refrain from joining in the manhunt for. 2) Kill her guards once they came to collect her, hide the bodies, dress up as a trooper. 3) Head to the control center as sneakily as possible and sabotage the super laser. 4) Head to the hangar to steal a ship.

It was 4) she had the most problems with. She had a great distance to cross and everyone was on high alert. Remaining undetected for so long proved to be nearly impossible. If she had years to memorize every patrol and every camera placement, maybe she could do it but she wasn't there yet.

The Princess did eventually get good enough that she could fight her way through the station and to the hangar. But then she would always get captured by Vader. It didn't matter which hangar she chose. He would always be waiting for her already.

This time she'd found a small, private hangar hidden away, managed to knock out all guards sneakily without raising an alarm, was already up the ramp to the shuttle - and found him standing in the cockpit. This was the 20th time in a row she'd successfully completed her run only to meet him at the end. He always found her when nobody else did and she had the strong suspicion it was because of the bond. Several times she'd tried to kill him. But blasters were useless against him once he drew his lightsaber. Grenades he'd just levitate out of the way. Once she'd fought him in front of a window and after breaking it, blasted him into space. He'd survived even that. Stupid life support suit. It was even more vexing because he never seemed to seriously try to kill her, he just played with her.

"Just let me go. Please, just let me go", she burst out, more frustrated and annoyed than anything else.

"You know I can't do that, Princess", he said because of course he did.

"Why not?!"she exclaimed. Leia was close to tears. "You get angry when Tarkin threatens me. You promise to protect me, to protect my people if I'll stay. I know you like me, you enjoy our conversations. Tarkin will destroy Alderaan if you drag me back to him and I know you don't like that. Even if you feed off suffering, you don't even get anything out of so many senseless, sudden deaths. It will matter nothing at all if you let me go now. I won't ever betray the Rebellion anyway and I won't join you so why not just let me go? Nobody would know if you did!"

Vader was silent for a moment, staring at her. Then he asked slowly:

"Have we... done this before?"

Have we...?

Wait a moment. Waaaaait a moment.

Leia's heart nearly stopped. She'd just been ranting at him, knowing it didn't matter because she'd die anyway and then he wouldn't remember. But he knew. Vader knew about the loop. He didn't realize there was one ongoing but he knew they were possible. How the fuck did Darth Vader know about her time loops?

Leia had never even considered telling him. She'd asked questions about the Force and its relation to time and he'd told her about visions and premonitions but nothing like this. Never anything like this. During the first loop she'd thought that he might be responsible, that it was another way of torturing her to get information. But there was no way he would've revealed so much about himself when Leia only ever exchanged a rotating set of the same information in return.

What were the chances of her loop having nothing to do with the Force though? If anyone on board this station would know what it meant, it would be him. It had been over half a year now and she was getting so sick of it. So long as she reset the day as usual, he wouldn't remember if she told him...

"For over seven months now", Leia whispered, "I wake up on the same day. I try to escape the Death Star. I try to save my planet. I fail. I die. Every. Single. Day. I can't break out of it."

Vader stiffened. Through their bond, now thick and sturdy like a young tree, she felt his incredulity, his wariness and finally, his pain.

"You've been dying every day for half a year?!"

Leia nodded mutely. Even though this was a loop where she'd taken the time to get closer to him in the morning, she was still surprised at the strong emotional response he had to her revelation. It almost sounded like he cared.

"Why?!"Vader asked, now sounding angry. "Your abilities are at the least on the level of a Padawan. There's nobody on this station who could kill you if I don't want you dead. And I don't want you dead."

Leia shrugged, exhausted. "Today, that might be the case. If I don't spend at least three hours amusing you while you're bored, floating in your tank, you end my escape plot way too early. It took me weeks to learn how to navigate all of your triggers and keep you from shutting me out. The first two months, it was always you who killed me. Then I manged to survive once. I got one day further and then... Then Alderaan happened. Since then, I tried to escape after sabotaging the laser. For a while, I died on the run. Once I figured out how to get past most of the patrols though... You always drag me back to the bridge. Tarkin always destroys Alderaan. So I kill myself to restart the loop."

"You do what?!"

For the first time since she entered the second loop, Vader grabbed her throat with the Force, choking her as he lifted her into the air.

"You kill yourself just to save those pathetic people?! You kill yourself, without knowing where the loop came from, what will break it or how many tries you get?! How stupid are you?!"

Leia started clawing at her throat. When that didn't help she pushed the pain of her bruised neck into the bond, which was flaring hot with Vader's anger.

With a hiss of disgust, he dropped her.

Leia coughed. She didn't bother standing up. If he wanted to kill her, that just meant another reset.

"How is what I'm doing stupid?" she challenged him. "I would risk my life any day, every day for my people. If I die a final time today, at least I've tried."

Vader threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Children!" he cursed her. "You're worse than your mother!"

That was a weird comment. "What does my mother have to do with this?" Leia asked.

"You don't have to die at all. Your planet doesn't have to be destroyed", Vader said, ignoring her question. "All you have to do is give up the location of the rebel base and-"

Leia's face hardened. "I will never do that. You always say that and I'm so sick of it! I just have to betray everything I believe in? Yeah right, like that's a real option!"

She stared him down, hands balled to fists. Leia was not shy to let him feel her anger but she was surprised to feel his helplessness in response. It was rare that he allowed her to see him vulnerable.

"I've tried this before, haven't I?" he asked quietly. "Made you countless offers. So long as you'll join me."

"And I always say no", she confirmed. "I always will."

"... Why?"

Leia gaped at him. "Are you serious?!"

"I'm not the only one who enjoyed our conversations", Vader said. "When I woke up today and this bond between us had grown over night from a thin strand to a solid teaching bond, I knew there was something special about you. It takes less time every day to convince me to teach you further, doesn't it? I may not remember all of your journey but it's still getting ever more easy to recognize that you're someone important to me."

Leia's eyes widened as it dawned on her what he meant to say. She'd thought bonding with Vader would eventually make him help her. Either because she got to know him well enough to trick him or because she managed to spark some sense of empathy in him. It was a far shot but since she had no way to get out of her cell before she was picked up by the troopers, she'd had nothing better to do. And yet even after it got relatively easy to convince him not to kill her, she'd never managed to convince him to let her go. He would always insist that she give him the location of the rebel base and that she had to join him.

"It's not about the Rebellion", she realized. "You're after me."

"We could've destroyed the Rebellion years ago, if we truly wanted", Vader confirmed. "But true darkness cannot exist without the light of hope. The Rebellion is a most convenient gathering of all of our enemies in one place. Whenever we're in doubt of someone's loyalty, we can just look for connections to the Rebellion and have definite proof. Your friends are making things easier for us. You're not fighting the system. You are already a part of it."

"But... The Death Star...", Leia made helplessly.

Vader gave a slow nod. "The Rebellion was necessary for a time, just as the senate was. Now, it's being disbanded. The Empire doesn't need to track traitors anymore once it has a weapon so fearsome nobody will even think of opposing it. That is what my Master, the Emperor thinks. It is one of the few subjects in which we disagree. I believe the Rebellion is much more useful in controlling the people than the Death Star ever could be. And if it is destroyed - as so many super weapons historically have been - it could turn the Rebellion into an actual problem."

"Then you don't believe the Death Star serves any purpose?" Leia asked.

Vader shook his head. "I don't care whether Tarkin can use the Death Star to destroy a rebel base or not. Even if he does, some beings somewhere will rise up against the Empire again. Eventually, this monstrosity will be destroyed and we'll either return to the status quo or to civil war. If it happens sooner rather than later, all it means for me are overhours." He raised a hand as if to draw her closer. Leia felt herself lifted upwards by invisible hands till she stood before him.

"But you, my child, you are truly special. With you at my side, we could prevent a galaxy wide war from breaking out again. You are so young. You know nothing of the horrors of the Clone Wars. Believe me, as flawed as the Empire might still be at some places, it is so much better than that. Forget about the Rebellion. It would've been easiest to integrate you into my forces if you gave them up but I can work around it if I have to. Join me. Stop trying to flee, stop gallivanting around this station like a Jedi and come with me! I'll make sure Tarkin tests his toy somewhere else. Just stay with me. That's all I'll ask."

Leia stared at him. She didn't fully understand why it was so important to him that she joined him. Was he truly that lonely? After seven months of having nobody but Vader to talk to, Leia's hatred of him had largely simmered to a strong dislike. Yes, she had on occasion thoroughly enjoyed their talks. But she'd never forgotten her goal. In complete isolation she would've gone insane so she'd just made use of the only connection she had.

Leia would never join him. She'd made an effort to befriend him so he'd help her save Alderaan. But this cost was too high. She'd have to find another way.

"What do you know about the time loop?" she asked him.

Vader radiated disappointment.

"You would truly rather die and try again?"

Leia met the gaze of his black lenses stonily.

"So far it looks like I have infinite tries. Why not work hard until I get everything I want without having to pay for it?"

"But you are dying. It must hurt you, you must have...I must have hurt you."

Leia laughed hollowly. "Oh yes. Many times."

"I'm good at hurting people. I don't know how you're even still sane."

"Who says I am? I commit suicide on a daily basis", Leia joked. "It's a small price to pay and temporary too. Unless you know something about my situation that I don't?"

Vader glowered at her.

"I will take you to the bridge now. There is no other choice. I can't let you go and you've drawn too much attention to yourself. I will do what I can to keep you alive. If I fail... If there is a next time... Don't bother trying to sabotage the station. There's nothing short of destroying the reactor that you can do that won't be repaired within a day. We'd just start this dance again tomorrow. Instead, contact me in the morning and tell me the following: If I don't want to repeat Empire Day, I have to run your blood sample through the Jedi database."

"And what exactly would you find there?" Leia asked suspicious.

"I don't know, I haven't done it yet", he replied annoyed. "If my suspicion is correct though, you won't have to spend hours 'navigating all my triggers' as you call it. You won't have to repeat this entire conversation to reach an understanding with me."

"What kind of understanding are you talking about?" Leia asked carefully.

She'd completely forgotten about Vader's strange order to have her blood tested. He'd ordered that before, a long time ago, shortly after Alderaan was first destroyed. Why was that so important?

"The details you will have to negotiate yourself. But if I know the destruction of Alderaan inevitably leads to your death, I won't let it happen", Vader said convinced.

Stunned, Leia could only nod. She'd always thought if Vader found out about the loop, he'd try to kill her for good or torture her for information about how she did it or something. Never would she have expected empathy for her many deaths from him.

Vader still put her in binders and started her on the walk back to the bridge. Yet unlike the other hundreds of times before, he was almost gentle in his handling of her.

"You know what's caused the loop, don't you?" she asked.

"Your death", he replied simply.

"That's what triggers the reset but it's not the reason."

Vader shook his head. "You are not ready to know. And I will not tell you when there's a large chance I won't remember it tomorrow."

"I'll find out anyway", Leia huffed, frustrated. "I always do. I just have to try a hundred different ways to ask you the same question. I got you to admit you were a Jedi several times."

Vader scoffed. "That's hardly a secret."

"It is to most of the galaxy", Leia disagreed. "I don't think you know just how many legends and rumours are flying around around you."

All too soon the corridors started to look familiar as they neared the bridge. Leia switched to telepathic communication effortlessly when more and more troopers started to appear.

"The laser won't fire. Tarkin will be so angry he'll kill me."

"Not this time around."

Just as Leia had predicted, her sabotage prevented the super laser from firing. After spending ten minutes mocking Leia for her useless escape attempt, that was quite the embarrassing results for the Grand Moff. His head looked red as a tomato. Once again he drew a blaster to shoot her. But this time, Vader reacted faster.

With one quick motion he pulled her behind him. One arm outstretched he faced the red laser beam, which fizzled out into nothing before it could hit him. Leia stared at him in shock at the casual display of power, as did everyone else on the bridge.

"Lord Vader! What is the meaning of this?" Tarkin asked aghast.

"I'm preventing you from making a costly mistake, Grand Moff", Vader replied calmly. "This rebel, who had access to the original plans of the Death Star, just spend over three hours freely walking around the station. You have no idea what she's done to sabotage it. For all we know, one wrong press of a button could blow up the whole station around you. She can't give us any more information if she's dead."

"You already failed to make her talk once", Tarkin reminded him coldly.

"Proper interrogation takes time. She will reveal all she knows eventually, I assure you", Vader said. "Focus on repairing the damage done. Take the station back to the construction side, or better yet a remote system where the rebels won't find it. Fix the flaw Galen Erso has build in. Then it won't matter where the plans are, they won't be of use to our enemies."

"You want me to retreat? Now, when I'm about to destroy the Rebellion?!" Tarkin asked angrily.

Vader motioned towards Leia, annoyed. "You were fooled by a teenager. If you don't stop now, your arrogance will be your downfall, just as it was Krennic's!"

Tarkin was furious. Vader's anger was cold and controlled. Leia would find it impressive, if Vader's plan to 'save' her hadn't relied on destroying all hope the Rebellion had to get rid of the Death Star.

"Fine!" Tarkin bit out eventually. "You take care of the Princess, make sure she doesn't cause any more trouble! I will carry this to the Emperor if you fail again."

"As you wish", Vader replied calmly, though Leia could clearly feel his derision through their bond.

"There you go. Your planet is safe, now stop your nonsense", Vader told her as he lead her back out and towards the prison block.

Leia didn't reply. It was true, Alderaan was safe and she was not facing immediate execution. This was exactly what she'd been working toward for the last few months. But if Tarkin now took the Death Star away and fixed whatever flaw Erso had build into it, the chances of destroying this monstrosity before it was used on another planet would plummet. Maybe it wouldn't be Alderaan that served as an example. But some planet would.

"Leia?" Vader asked when they were almost at her cell and she had yet to say a word. "Don't do anything reckless. You don't know how long the loop will keep going. Take what you have and leave it be."

That would be the smart thing to do, she supposed. Just like with Tarkin, arrogance could be her downfall. But she'd been fighting for months. To settle for something like this, a compromise she stumbled over by accident... It didn't sit right with her.

Her usual method of restarting the loop was blocked now though. Taking out a few troopers was one thing but she was not strong enough to take out Vader. She knew, she'd tried.

"Thank you, I suppose", she told Vader detached. "For saving my planet."

She could feel him relax, accepting her thanks. "You're welcome."

He didn't get it. He truly didn't understand a single thing. He'd won her a battle at the cost of the whole war and he honestly thought she ought to be grateful.

How could that man ever have been a Jedi?

Once alone in her cell, Leia started to mediate. She'd learned a lot from Vader over the last months. But there was still an awful lot she had yet to try.

How about that technique he'd used so much on her in the first loop, where he crushed her neck with nothing but a thought? It shouldn't be that different from ripping a blaster out of the hands of a trooper. She just needed to focus inwards.

XxX

Day 146 - Centaxday

Twelve scratch marks. Leia sighed in relief and sat up on her cot.

Today would be the day. Today she had a real chance of escaping. She just had to find the right words.

Calling Vader over the bond was second nature to her by now. It took her a mere second, she didn't even have to close her eyes to concentrate.

"Vader?" she called him, knocking at his shield. She knew it would take three knocks for him to answer. And sure enough, he started to open his end of the bond.

"Princess?" he asked, sounding wary. He was always on guard in the beginning.

"I'm supposed to tell you that if you don't want to repeat Empire Day, you need to check my blood sample against the Jedi database", she repeated the message he'd given her yesterday. She was really curious what he thought he'd find.

She expected him to question her, to maybe grow angry. Growing angry was his first reaction to a lot of things.

Instead, he abruptly served the connection, drawing out of the bond.

Leia waited. She tried contacting him again after half an hour but he ignored her. Eventually she turned her attention to her cell door. She'd spend many days trying to find a way to break out of it before the guards opened it for her with no luck. The door was magnetically sealed and needed to be unlocked via a terminal. Though Leia had gotten better at moving small objects with the Force, typing something on a terminal she couldn't see a few floors above her was too much even for her.

Disappointed and slowly growing bored, Leia settled in for a long wait. Without befriending Vader, hers would be a short escape. She'd still go through with it, at least until they were on the bridge. Then she'd kill herself before Tarkin could order the Death Star to fire. That's how much time she'd give Vader to-

Her door slid open.

Leia nearly fell from her cot in surprise because that had never happened before this early during the day.

In front of her stood Darth Vader, flanked by two Stormtroopers and a familiar, hovering black droid.

"Lord Vader", Leia said shakily. Her tongue felt like lead. "Back for round two?"

"I recommend you do not offer resistance", he said coldly, then motioned the droid forward. The troopers took positions outside as the door closed behind him.

Leia tugged lightly at the bond but Vader kept ignoring her.

This was just like in the first loop. Oh she would kill Vader for making her deliver that stupid message. She'd thought she was past that stage-

The droid stuck a needle in her arm. Leia held absolutely still, frozen in fear at the memory of the pain the drugs could inflict. But this time she was not injected with anything. The droid merely drew a sample of her blood. It gave a series of beeps and blinking lights before a holographic keyboard appeared at its backside. Vader started typing quickly. Leia counted the seconds that passed, shaking slightly. After half a minute, Vader suddenly stopped. For a moment all was quiet. Then everything started to tremble. Her cot, the flickering light above, the droid. With a terrible screeching sound, the droid folded in on itself and fell to the ground as a heap of crushed metal, occasionally letting sparks fly.

Leia waited for a few more moments, pressed against a corner of her cell, as far away from Vader as possible. Only when the lights started flickering and Vader started to gradually relax his hands from the tight fists he'd balled them into, did she speak up.

"What did you find?"

"You don't know?!" Vader asked her, a sharp spike of dark hatred flowing through the bond the likes she hadn't felt in a long time. "How often have we had this conversation?"

Leia's mouth opened slightly in surprise. She hadn't mentioned the loop. She hadn't even revealed who had told her to give him that message. Yet he'd already figured it out?

"This is the first time", she said quietly. "Yesterday, there wasn't enough time. You said things would go faster if I told you to run my blood sample first thing in the morning."

Vader just stared at her for a long moment.

"You died", he said at last.

Leia nodded. "Many times."

"Many times! Why didn't I save you!?" he exclaimed angrily.

"You mean, once you stopped killing me yourself?" Leia replied with a raised eyebrow. To her surprise, Vader actually flinched at that. He even took a step back from her.

"I killed you?" he asked weakly.

"A couple of dozen times, yes", she confirmed.

"Dozens!? How long have you been in this loop!?" Vader exclaimed.

Leia sighed. He was starting to repeat himself.

"Look, I have less than six hours till Tarkin blows up my home world. I have to sabotage the super laser and get off this station before that happens. Are you going to help me?"

Again there was this weird disappointment running through their bond. Vader was certainly way quicker to make use of it this time around than usual.

"You want me to help you escape the Death Star?"

"Do you always just repeat my words back at me? Yes, I want you to help me escape this place!" Leia exclaimed. She'd asked him for that so many times in past loops. He always said no but he'd never really given a satisfactory explanation as to why. She was sick of going through the same conversation tree over and over again. But she kept asking because maybe one day she'd find the right words to ask why not. Yesterday she'd learned that for some reason, which apparently had something to do with her blood, he really wanted her to join him. But why? And did he want it badly enough that he'd rather kill her than let her escape? Or was there a chance he'd let her go in hopes he could convince her later?

"No I won't join you, no I won't give you or Tarkin the location of the rebel base", she said both bored and annoyed before Vader had a chance to ask her any of that as he always did.

"I'm not interested in becoming Queen of Alderaan before my mother doesn't die a peaceful, natural death, preferable in a few decades. Your definition of galaxy peace is diametrically opposed to mine. So no, I won't help you destroy the Rebellion to prevent a civil war and I don't care that you think we're all just puppets dancing to the Emperor's tune either. Convincing Tarkin to spare Alderaan in favour of repairing the Death Star's flaw that is the one chance to destroy this station is not an acceptable compromise. I want off this station, today, and I want to leave this monstrosity behind with no capability to use it's super laser for at least a week", she presented her terms.

"You do know that's not how it works, don't you?" Vader asked incredulously. "It's not your wish that resets the loop."

"No, it's my death. And wouldn't you know, I recently figured out how to crush my own neck with the Force - thanks for the tip, by the way", she returned obnoxiously.

Vader raised a finger at her. "I could just stun you and leave you here till tomorrow, when your planet is nothing but dust!"

Cold fury rose in her and Leia glared at him. "If you do that, I swear I'll start a loop that lasts for however long it takes for me to kill you. Yesterday you said I was already at Padawan level, whatever that means. I'll train till I become a Jedi Master and then I will destroy you."

Vader met her gaze incredulously. It took him a few moments to answer. "You're blackmailing me. I've corrupted you. You're pure evil", he realized.

Leia laughed. "That's rich, coming from you."

"I'm serious. You do realize revenge is not the way of the Jedi. You'd make a fantastic Sith though with that kind of attitude."

"What the hell is a Sith?" she asked.

"I'm a Sith Lord", Vader said annoyed.

"...oh." Leia had no idea what to say to that. She was not at all comfortable with Vader comparing her more to himself than to the Jedi of old. Then again, Vader was pretty powerful. In the context of declaring her intention to become strong enough to defeat him, it almost sounded like a compliment. She decided she didn't really care one way or another so long as she got what she wanted.

"Well, is it working? Are you going to help me or not?" she challenged him.

"It looks like I have no choice!" Vader huffed.

Wait a moment. "Was that a yes?"

"I hate you. I really do", Vader said bitingly and Leia, for the first time, actually felt that he was lying. Huh, so that's how he always found out. It sort of boggled her mind that this meant he'd been honest this whole time. "Then again, I never really liked the Death Star either", the Sith Lord continued. "So yes, I'll help you. You can't spend any more time in this loop, it's obviously affecting you in a horrible way."

Leia was floored. "Really?"

"Don't look so surprised. I still think it's a terrible idea but you're not giving me much of a choice. Stars, you're worse than her..." The last bit was only muttered quietly as Vader folded his arms in front of him.

"Who? My mother?" Leia asked confused. He'd said something similar the other day.

Vader stiffened. "I thought you didn't know?"

"Didn't now what?" she made. "Why do you keep comparing me to my mother? I know you never met her, she would've mentioned you."

"She would've...? Ugh, forget it", Vader made, confusion giving way to annoyance once more. "I can sabotage the super laser but it will take time to do it thoroughly enough and in a way that can't be traced to me. Arranging for a believable escape will be even more complicated. I can do the former today but it'll be way too suspicious if you escape the same day."

Leia stared him down, probing the bond for any lies. But there was nothing.

"Tarkin will kill me once he drags me on the bridge and the laser doesn't fire", she warned him.

"We're not even at Alderaan yet, Leia", Vader informed her. "If the malfunction is found before he's announced his plan to anyone, he won't lose face if he sets another course. You're just going to spend the whole day in your cell, recovering from your latest interrogation. You'll literally just have one job, don't die. Can you do that?"

Leia prodded the bond some more, suspicious.

"I'll feel it if Alderaan is destroyed", she warned him. "It's very noticeable in the Force."

"I can imagine it would be", Vader said dryly.

Leia hesitated. She'd all but surrendered to the idea that she'd have to keep fighting her way to the hangar and spend years duelling Vader until she was finally strong enough to defeat him and escape the station. But it was also true that merely switching off one component wouldn't keep the Death Star quiet for long. Vader knew more both about the station and the nature of the loop than her. It could be restricted to the Death Star for all she knew. What if she escaped but then Alderaan was destroyed tomorrow and she couldn't loop anymore?

"Very well... I will trust you, Lord Vader", she decided reluctantly.

Through the bond she felt another spike of annoyance and... embarrassment? That was new.

"I'm not your Master, so...Just Vader is fine."

Did the surprises ever end? Sure, Leia had known the Sith Lord for many months now but for him it hadn't even been hours.

"Ah. Well, you already keep calling me Leia so I suppose that's fair", she allowed. "Since you actually are going to remember this conversation now, will you tell me what you found in my blood? And where the loops come from? You promised you would", Leia claimed.

"I did no such thing", Vader denied her, once again picking up on her lie. "It's safer if you don't know, at least for now. All I can say is that you'll stop looping as soon as you escape the Death Star. Your recklessness has to stop!"

That was the truth. Or at least Vader believed it to be the truth.

"If you go, I won't be able to protect you", Vader said quietly.

"I don't really need protection from anyone but you", Leia reminded him. "You're the only one who ever captured me. The rest of the Imps are far too incompetent."

"Now you're underestimating non-Force-sensitive. Are you sure you don't want to become my apprentice?" He made it sound like a serious question but the amusement she felt through the bond told her he was joking.

"Shut up. Go and save a planet", Leia returned without heat, sending a wave of her own amusement back to soften her words.

"Exactly like her", Vader muttered as he turned to go.

Once he was gone, Leia had nothing to stare at but the white wall. A white wall with twelve scratch marks.

She hesitated.

Then she added a thirteenth.

XxX

AN: Aaaaand we're done with Centaxday!

At least for Leia. Luke's up next!

Btw, has anyone else noticed the flood of bots/scammers sending out generic copy-paste comment praising a fanfic only to then come and offer to do "artwork" for it for a fee? I've added a warning for those people in the first chapter now because I absolutely hate it. These people haven't read a single word of my fanfic. I open my messages and I'm so happy to see a new review - and it's a bot again. Ugh. Of if it's not a bot, if it's a real person copy-pasting the same messages over and over again. that's almost worse. I'd take a simple "I loved it, lol, this interaction xy was super cool/funny" or something over a 4 paragraph chat gpt-generated scam message promoting their work on my story. So rude.

So yeah... please only review if you've actually read the story. I'd love a simple "Hi, I'm real and I liked it". So if you're real and you liked it... write me! :-)