Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He could hear the blasters all the way back in the chamber that held the escape pods. He knew that he only had minutes, maybe even seconds, to upload the message into R2 and hope that the little droid made it somewhere safe. The sounds of blasters being fired and the harsh clang of stormtrooper armor hitting the floor drew closer and closer.

“R2-D2, where are you?” A panicked, robotic voice asked.

Luke glanced down the aisle of escape pods to see a golden protocol droid making his way toward the old, blue R2 unit. He double checked that the message had been securely uploaded into the droid and then ducked behind the wall that divided the room. The less people, or droids, that knew he was here, the better.

“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! What are we going to do, they’ll be here any moment!” The panicked droid exclaimed.

The R2 unit answered with a few indignant beeps, and Luke looked around the wall long enough to see the droid heading in the direction of the prepared escape pod, the golden protocol droid now in tow.

“Wait a second, where are you going?”

Luke let out a momentary breath of relief and removed the hood that’d covered most of his face. The sounds of blasters firing had faded and was replaced with the rhythmic pounding of the stormtroopers. Eventually, a harsh, robotic voice drifted down the hallway, but Luke couldn’t make out what it was saying. He stayed behind the wall, hoping that the stormtroopers would believe that they truly were on a diplomatic mission and that they would leave the ship without searching it.

But that was the hope of a naïve boy.

The sound of the troopers drew closer and closer until he heard the sound of their armor hitting the metal grates of the escape pod enclosure. He gripped the blaster in his hand a little tighter before carefully looking out from behind his hiding spot. It was too late though, one of the troopers had spotted him.

“There’s one, set for stun. Lord Vader wants the passengers alive.”

Luke aimed and fired at the closest trooper and was glad to see that his shot hit home. He tried to run for it, but the other two troopers had quickly recovered, and one of them stunned him. It seemed like seconds had passed but it had to have been a little longer than that, because when he finally was able to open his eyes, the stormtroopers had bound his hands and were hauling him to his feet.

“Lord Vader will want to speak with him.” one of them said. The others nodded, and marched Luke down the hall as a prisoner, a prisoner on his own ship.

As promised, Lord Vader himself was waiting for them. Luke had only ever heard stories of the infamous Lord Vader, the Emperor's terrifying right-hand man, but the stories did not do Vader's appearance justice. He was a tall, hulking figure, made only more imposing by the black armor and cape he wore. The mask unnerved Luke, he found it frightening that he could not see the man behind it, the man behind endless atrocities committed in the name of the Empire.

“Darth Vader, only you could be so bold. The Imperial Senate will not ignore this.” Luke said evenly. His father had coached him in politics, but his mother had always encouraged him to choose his tone and facial expressions wisely.

“Don’t act so surprised your highness, you weren’t on any mercy mission this time. Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you,” Vader said in his cold, robotic voice. Despite his hulking figure and the unnerving mask, Luke found himself most disturbed by Vader's harsh breathing. Something about it made the hairs on his arms stand up.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I’m a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan,” Luke insisted.

Vader pointed at him accusingly, “You are part of the rebel alliance and a traitor, take him away!”

One of the stormtroopers shoved him in the back and marched him forward towards the exit of the ship. From that moment forward, he knew that he was a prisoner of the Empire and most likely would be for the remainder of his short life.

~

The Jawas were making their routine rounds to the farms in the outer territories, and Uncle Owen had insisted that Leia go with him to purchase the new droids that they so desperately needed. They emerged from the garage and were immediately greeted by an eager Jawa. Uncle Owen waved his hand dismissively, “Alright, yes let’s go.”

Leia began to follow them when she heard her aunt calling from below. “Leia! Leia!” She ran to the edge of their homestead and saw Aunt Beru standing in their doorway. “Leia, be sure to tell your uncle that if he gets a translator, make sure it speaks Bocce!”

She glanced back at the moving fortress of the Jawas and the slim selection of droids that they’d brought. “Alright, it doesn’t look like we have much of a choice, but I’ll remind him!” She jogged back over to Uncle Owen, to see that he was already haggling with the Jawas about their prices. “Aunt Beru said to make sure you get a translator that speaks Bocce.”

Uncle Owen nodded, “Yes, yes of course.” He turned to the golden protocol droid that he’d been arguing with the Jawa’s about. “So, I suppose you’re programmed for etiquette and protocol,” Owen started. Leia shook her head at her Uncle’s abrasive tone and bent down to inspect the red R5 unit he’d already picked out. The thing looked dinky enough to begin with and was smeared with dust and dirt. But then again, most things on Tatooine were smeared with dust and dirt.

The Jawas were muttering something incomprehensible in her ear, and Leia fought the urge to smack them away. She’d always hated the Jawas, they were tricky and mischievous, and their beady yellow eyes unnerved her. Too often she'd stumbled into the garage late at night to see them looting through the loose parts that Leia often left scattered about.

"I have no need for a protocol droid, what I really need is a droid that understands the binary language of moisture vaporators." Uncle Owen said to the golden droid.

"Why sir! My first job was programming binary load lifters, very similar to your moisture vaporators in most respects."

"Can you speak Bocce?"

"Of course I can sir! I am fluent in over-"

"Alright, shut up. We'll take him." Leia stood up from her crouched position in front of the R5 droid and surveyed the protocol droid. He seemed harmless enough, although his personality was interesting for a protocol droid. He was far more conversational than any of the other protocol droids Leia had ever met. But then again, there wasn't much need for etiquette and protocol droids on Tatooine. “Leia.” Uncle Owen said suddenly, “Take these two over to the garage and get ‘em cleaned up before dinner.”

“But I was gonna go to Tosche station and pick up some extra power converters!” Leia protested. She hated when Uncle Owen did this. He always let her make plans with her friends and then forced her to cancel later.

“You can waste your time with your friends after your chores are finished. Come on, get to it.” Uncle Owen instructed.

Leia huffed but knew that there was no use in arguing with him. He was stubborn as a Bantha on his good days. “Alright, come on.” She nodded her head towards the garage in an indication for the golden droid and the R5 unit to follow her. The Jawas had just finished removing the restraining bolt from the red unit, and it slowly began to hobble after them. The little blue R2 unit that’d been among the poor selection of candidates started beeping wildly and making an awful racket. Leia figured it must’ve been a glitch in his wiring.

About halfway to the garage, Leia heard a popping sound followed by the stressed exclamations of a droid. The red unit had blown its motivator and smoke was currently pouring out of the top of it.

“Uncle Owen!” Leia shouted. “This R2 unit has a bad motivator! Look!”

Owen rounded on the Jawas immediately, “Hey! What’re you trying to pull on us?”

“If I may, miss, that R2 unit is in perfect condition, a real bargain I’m sure,” the golden droid explained.

“What about that blue one?” Leia suggested, motioning to the excited droid.

Owen nodded, “Yeah, that’ll work.” He handed the credits over to the Jawa, but not without haggling some more about the price of the droid while the others removed the restraining bolt on the R2 unit. It finally sped along after them to the garage, and Leia led them into the workshop. The first thing she did was set up an oil bath for the protocol droid. He hadn’t complained yet, but Leia could tell that his joints were freezing up from the heat and the sand.

“Oh, thank the maker,” he said dreamily, “This is going to feel so good.”

Leia hardly paid the droid any attention. She was too focused on her uncle and how he tried to micromanage every aspect of her life. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her Uncle Owen, she loved him in her own way, and she knew that he and Aunt Beru loved her very much. They had taken her in when she was a baby, after her parents had died. They had never told her how they died though, and every time she asked, she was shut down with a cold stare from Uncle Owen.

“It just isn’t fair," Leia lamented. “I’m never gonna get off this rock.”

“Is there anything I can do to help miss?”

Leia laughed, “No, not unless you can speed up the harvest and alter time.”

She grabbed a rag and a cleaning tool from one of the many desks in the garage and decided to start working on the R2 unit.

“I’m afraid not, miss.”

“You can call me Leia,” she said.

“I see, miss Leia.”

She laughed a little at that, “No, no just Leia.” She turned back to the R2 unit and continued scraping the dust and dirt out of the many divots and crevices in the droid’s panels.

“Oh.” the droid said. “Well, I am C-3P0 human-cyborg relations, and this is my counter part R2-D2.”

“Hello,” Leia said lamely. R2 gave a few excited beeps, but she was more focused on the fact that the droid had entirely too much carbon scoring on it for it to just be a junk piece found abandoned in the dune seas. “Wow, you’ve got a lot of carbon scoring here, it looks like you two have seen a lot of action.”

“Well I would suppose so, what with the Rebellion and all.”

“You know of the rebellion against the Empire?” Leia asked excitedly. She’d heard tales of the brave rebels and spies who were out there fighting amongst the stars to bring down the tyrannical reign of the Empire. She often daydreamed about being a pilot for the Rebellion. She’d be the best pilot they’d ever had.

“That’s how we came to be in your service, if you catch my meaning miss,” Threepio explained.

“Have you been in many battles?” Leia asked eagerly.

“Several, I think. But actually, there’s not much to tell. I’m more of an interpreter than anything and am not much good at telling stories.”

Leia tried not to let her disappointment seem too apparent, but she couldn’t help the sad sigh that escaped her. She was hoping for something, some reason, some cause for her to get involved with the Rebellion. Leia turned back to the droid and kept scraping. “Well my little friend, you’ve got something jammed in here real good, what were you on a Starcruiser or something-?” She must’ve hit a wire because suddenly Artoo shocked her and beeped loudly, then there was a hologram coming from the droid.

“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope,” the boy said. He looked young, probably her age and was dressed in elaborate white robes with the tell-tale hood of an Alderaanean noble. She recognized it from her lessons in school. The message played back again and again, seemingly stuck on some sort of loop.

“What’s this?” Leia asked in confusion.

Artoo beeped indignantly and Threepio smacked him on his domed head. “What is what? She asked you a question, what is that?”

“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

Artoo gave a series of beeps and Threepio finally spoke up, “He said it’s nothing miss, merely old data.”

“Who is he?”

“I’m not entirely sure miss, I think he was on our last voyage. I believe he was of some importance.”

“Is there any more to this message?” Leia asked.

“It’s alright Artoo, she’s our new master you can trust her,” Threepio said to the excited droid. He turned back to Leia and seemed to sigh, as much as a droid could sigh anyway. “He says he’s the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and that this is a secret message that is meant only for him.”

“Obi-Wan? I’ve never heard of him… but maybe he’s a relative of old Ben Kenobi,” Leia said thoughtfully.

“Quite frankly miss, I have no idea what he’s talking about. Our last master was Captain Antilles,” Threepio explained earnestly.

“Well, like I said I’ve never heard of an Obi-Wan but old Ben lives out beyond the dune sea. He’s kind of a strange old hermit,” Leia explained. She put away the tools she’d used to clean Artoo and finally turned back to the still playing message of the boy in distress.

“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

“It sounds like he’s in trouble, I should play back the whole message,” Leia said quickly. She wanted to know who this Obi-Wan was and what he had to do with the resistance. And there was something about this boy, she felt as if she’d seen him before. She knew it was impossible, the boy was clearly Alderaanean nobility, and Leia had never even left Tatooine before. Yet, she still felt an odd sense of familiarity, a feeling of I should know you. Leia rushed to Artoo but before she could lay her hands on the droid he was beeping and screeching indignantly.

“He says that the restraining bolt has short-circuited his recording system,” Threepio explained.

Leia regarded the little blue droid carefully. “Well, I guess you’re too small to run away on me,” she finally said. She worked the bolt off of the droid but instead of playing back the entire message, it disappeared entirely.

“Hey! What’d you do, bring him back! Play back the whole message!” Leia protested.

Artoo gave a series of excited beeps and whistles.

“What message?” Threepio asked angrily, “The message you were just playing! The one you’re carrying around inside your rusty innards!” He thumped Artoo on the head again and the little R2 unit beeped angrily.

“Leia! Dinner’s ready!” Aunt Beru called, interrupting the argument between the two droids.

“Be right there Aunt Beru!” Leia called. She turned back to Threepio and sighed, “Try to convince him to play me the entire message, will you?”

“I’ll do my best, miss.”

Chapter Text

That night at dinner, right after Beru had set the table, Leia decided to ask Uncle Owen about Ben and if he had owned the droids before.

“You know, I think that the R2 unit we bought might’ve been stolen,” she started carefully.

Owen eyed her suspiciously, “What do you mean?”

“He keeps saying that he belongs to an Obi-Wan Kenobi, but I’ve never heard such a name. I thought he might’ve meant Ben Kenobi,” she explained.

Owen and Beru shared a strange look before her uncle sighed and looked down at his dinner. “Tomorrow I want you to take those droids to Anchor Head and have their memories wiped. They belong to us now.”

Leia looked at her uncle in confusion, “But, could he have been a relative of Ben’s?”

Her uncle’s face turned dark, “That man’s just a crazy old hermit, forget it."

“But what if this Obi-Wan comes looking for his droids?” Leia pressed.

Aunt Beru shot Owen a sharp look that he pointedly ignored. “He won’t. I don’t even think he exists anymore. He died about the same time as your father.”

Leia’s ears perked at that, “He knew my father?”

“I told you to forget it,” Owen said, in the same sharp tone he used whenever Leia dared to ask about her father.

She knew her uncle well enough to know that she should just go ahead and quit while she was ahead. They continued their dinner in tense silence until she finally decided to pick the conversation back up. “You know, if these new droids work out, I want to go ahead and submit my application to the academy this year."

Owen only shook his head, just like every other time she’d asked. “Right before the harvest? That’s when I need you the most! Look, stay on for at least another season and we should make enough to hire some new hands, and then you can transfer your application.”

Leia slammed her hands onto the table. “But that’s an entire year! You can’t keep me on this rock forever you know!” she said heatedly. She pushed her seat out from under the table and stormed off in frustration.

Right after she stormed off, Owen sighed. He knew he was fighting a losing battle with Leia. He would have to let her go sometime, or she would just leave on her own. With no idea of who she was or what that could mean if the Empire found out.

“She’s right Owen, she can’t stay here forever,” Beru started. She hesitated before continuing, “She’s got too much of her father in her.”

Owen finally gave up on trying to eat and met his wife’s concerned stare. “I know. That’s what worries me.”

~

Leia was watching the twin suns slowly set behind the horizon when she finally decided to continue working on the droids. For a while she’d considered not finishing them at all in protest, but then she decided that that wouldn’t be fair to the droids. After all, it wasn't their fault Owen wants to keep her captive on the farm.

She made her way into the garage, but immediately noticed that the droids were nowhere to be found. She activated the restraining bolt on the protocol droid, and he immediately jumped up from behind the oil vat.

“What are you doing hiding behind there?” She asked.

“Oh! Don’t be angry miss, please, I begged him not to go!” the droid pleaded. It took a second before Leia realized he was talking about the R2 unit… that she’d foolishly removed the restraining bolt from. She cursed under her breath and ran back outside to see if there was anyway that Artoo hadn’t gotten too far yet.

No luck.

“How could I be so stupid?” Leia muttered under her breath. “Owen’s gonna kill me.”

“I begged him not to go miss, he kept babbling on about his mission. These astro-droids are getting thoroughly out of hand if you ask me,” the harried golden droid said from beside her.

“Blast it, no sign of him.”

“Pardon me miss, but shouldn’t we go after him?”

Leia shook her head, “It’s too dangerous with all the sand people, we’ll have to wait until the morning.” Leia took one last look at the vast landscape and sighed, Tatooine was a large planet made up of mostly desert. That damned droid could be anywhere. The one positive was that since Tatooine was a desert planet, the environment was not exactly hospitable for droids. She figured Artoo could make it several miles before the heat and stand started to slow down his joints and hardware.

“Leia! I’m shutting the power down!” Uncle Owen called from inside their house.

“Alright! Be right there!” She called back, she turned back to Threepio and handed him the night vision binoculars. “Take these back to the garage, we’ll start looking for him early in the morning before the midday heat hits.”

“Of course, miss.”

Early the next morning, Leia made sure to rise before her Aunt and Uncle did and loaded Threepio into her landspeeder. The morning was a cool one, as most desert mornings were, but soon the heat would become nearly intolerable. They’d been searching for about an hour, with Threepio talking most of the way and Leia occasionally giving a distracted response. She wasn’t really listening to anything he said, she was too concerned with finding the R2 unit before Uncle Owen had her head.

Suddenly, the Landspeeder’s old scanner lit up and Leia sighed with relief. “Look! A droid popped up on the scanner, I bet it’s our R2 unit.”

They followed the scanner to the Canyons, and finally caught up with the little blue R2 unit hobbling his way through the desert. She hopped out of the speeder, Threepio in tow, and immediately started yelling at the droid.

“Woah, hey! What do you think you’re doing?” She asked, frustration straining her voice.

The droid answered with a series of beeps and whirrs that sounded vaguely like a scolding.

“Mistress Leia is your rightful owner now!” Threepio exclaimed, “We’ll have no more of this Obi-Wan Kenobi nonsense.” The R2 unit beeped again. “Don’t talk to me of your mission either! You’re lucky she doesn’t blast you to bits right here.”

As angry as she was, Leia thought that was taking things a bit far, “No, it’s alright. We’d just better get going.” Suddenly, R2 started whirring and beeping like crazy, shifting from one leg to the next. “What’s wrong now?” she asked.

“It seems that there are several creatures approaching from the South,” Threepio translated.

Realization dawned on Leia, “It’s probably Sand People, look we should probably jus-" her words were cut off when a Tusken dropped from the ridge, holding his staff high above his head as if it were an offering. Only, Leia knew that it was a threat. She ducked but ended up losing her balance and falling onto her back. The Tusken struck with his staff several times before finally hitting her in the temple with the butt of the staff. Everything went dark after that.

When she came to, Old Ben was standing over her, Artoo beside of him.

“Ben?” Leia asked. Her voice sounded scratchy.

“Rest easy child, it seems you’ve had a very busy day. You’re fortunate to be all in one piece,” the old man said kindly.

Leia sighed in relief, “I’m really glad to see you.”

“The Jundland Wastes are not to be travelled lightly,” Ben replied. He extended his hand and helped Leia to her feet. “Tell me, young Leia, what brings you out his far?”

Leia sat down on one of the larger boulders lining the canyon and gestured towards the R2 unit. “This little droid keeps causing trouble. Says he needs to find his master. It’s strange though, I’ve never seen such devotion in a droid before.” Ben regarded the droid carefully, as if he knew something that Leia did not about the troublesome R2 unit. “He says his master was an Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Leia continued, “I thought he might be related to you, but Owen said he died.”

Ben sat back, a stunned look on his face, “Obi-Wan Kenobi?” He looked out into the desert with unseeing eyes and when he spoke again, it was as if he were talking to himself, “Obi-Wan… Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

Leia’s ears perked up. “Did you know him before he died?” She asked excitedly.

“I can assure you,” Ben answered, “he’s not dead. Not yet, anyway.”

“So, you do know him?”

Ben chuckled before answering, “Well of course I know him. He’s me.” R2 beeped excitedly at that. “I haven’t gone by the name Obi-Wan since oh, before you were even born.”

Leia knit her brow in confusion, “So then, the droid does belong to you.”

Ben shook his head, “I don’t ever recall owning a droid.” Before Leia could respond, the sound of Banthas echoed through the canyon. Ben noticed it and immediately stood from his place on the rock, “We’d better get inside, the Sand People may frighten easy, but they will return and in greater numbers.”

Ben helped her load the droids into her landspeeder and gave her directions to his home right outside the canyons. It was a quaint little farmhouse, like most of the dwellings on Tatooine. They sat in the living space, and Leia went to work on Threepio’s arm. He’d taken a bad fall after the encounter with the sand people, and his entire left arm had been torn off. Luckily, Ben had the few tools she needed in order to fix it before she had to return back home.

She had just started reconnecting the wires from Threepio’s empty shoulder socket to the arm when Ben started talking.

“I knew your father you know. Good man, good fighter too. We fought in the clone wars together,” Ben said casually.

Leia scoffed at that. “No, my father was a spice trader. He never fought in the wars.”

Ben’s expression turned dark. “That’s what your uncle told you. He didn’t agree with your father, he thought he should’ve stayed here and worked on the farm.”

Leia stopped working on Threepio’s arm momentarily and looked at Ben in surprise, she'd been so surprised by the mention of her father that she hadn't realized what Ben had said. “You fought in the clone wars?”

Ben regarded Leia carefully before he answered. “I was once a Jedi Knight, like your father.”

The term Jedi sounded completely foreign to Leia. She thought briefly that she might’ve heard it mentioned as some sort of religion in school, she vaguely remembered a lesson from years ago about a potential coup that the Jedi of the Old Republic attempted. She turned back to Threepio’s arm, but a sudden weight had settled on her chest. All the talk about her father had started to make her wonder, as she often did, what he was like. What he would’ve been like had he lived.

“I wish I’d known him,” Leia said softly.

A fond expression took over Ben's face. “He was the best pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I hear that you’re not such a bad pilot yourself.”

Leia smiled proudly, “I try, I want to join the rebellion one day.”

Ben’s expression clouded over at the mention of the rebellion and Leia wondered if it was a sore spot for him. She didn’t know much about Ben’s past. Hell, she didn’t even know that he knew her father until yesterday. But there was something in his expression that made Leia not want to push the discussion of the rebellion.

Finally, Ben sat back and stared wistfully at the ground, “Your father was a good friend.” Leia had reattached Threepio’s arm and was finishing securing it back into place when Ben stood and crossed the room. “Ah, that reminds me, I have something for you. Your father would have wanted you to have this, when you were old enough.” He stopped in front of an old wooden chest and undid the latches that kept it sealed shut. He opened the lid and reached into the box, and when he withdrew his hand, he was holding a long silver tube, with buttons and grooves set into the sides of it. “But your uncle wouldn’t allow it. He was afraid that you’d follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade, like your father did.”

Leia finished tightening the joints on Threepio’s arm, and as she stood to investigate whatever it was that her father had left her, he said, “Miss, if you’ll not be needing me, I’ll be shutting down.”

“Yeah, that’s alright,” Leia said distractedly.

“This,” Ben started, presenting it to Leia, “Was your father’s lightsaber.” He handed it over to Leia, and she stared at it in shock. It was heavy in her hand, but also, somehow, it felt as if it belonged there. As if it’d been made for her.

“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight,” Ben explained. Leia turned it over in her hands before finding the long rectangular button on what she assumed was the front of the saber. She pushed it, and suddenly she was holding a much longer saber made entirely of blue light. “It’s not as clumsy or random as a blaster,” Ben continued, “it’s an elegant, but very dangerous weapon.”
Ben sat back down in his seat, while Leia continued investigating the lightsaber. “For over a thousand generations the Jedi were the protectors of peace and balance in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire.”

Leia pressed the button again, and the saber retracted. She sat back down in her seat beside of Threepio and looked at Ben carefully. There was something curious in his tone, something strange about the heaviness that seemed to surround him whenever he spoke of the rebellion and the Jedi... and her father.

“How did my father die?”

Ben looked at Leia for a moment, an expression she could not name flickering across his face. Finally, he took a deep breath and started, “A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned evil, betrayed and murdered your father. He helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi. Now, there are very few left, you and I among them.” Ben took a pause before continuing his story, “Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force.”

“What’s the Force?” Leia asked.

“Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi their power. It’s-it’s an energy field created by living things. It surrounds us, it binds the very galaxy together.”

Leia nodded, too confused and stunned to think of anything to say. Thankfully, Artoo filled the silence with a series of excited beeps. Ben stood and walked over to the little blue droid. He patted it on it’s dome and smiled, “Now, let’s see if we can’t figure out what you are, my little friend.”

Leia had turned back to Threepio just to make sure his arm was completely fixed, when she heard the familiar static of a hologram message.

“There’s seems to be a message here,” Ben said.

Leia turned to see the boy from before, only this time, it seemed that the message was playing from the beginning.

“General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now, he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father’s request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I’m afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit, my father will know how to retrieve it. This is our most desperate hour. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

When the message ended, Ben leaned back against the wall looking pensive. After a moment of silence he finally looked at Leia expectantly, “You too must learn to ways of the Force, if you are to come with me to Alderran.”

Chapter Text

Tarkin was arrogant, and his arrogance made him blind. However, it was not Vader’s position to point this out. His Master had sent word that he had finally dissolved the Imperial Senate, and Tarkin was nearly gleeful over it. As soon as the Emperor’s transmission ended, Tarkin had taken off towards the latest officer’s meeting, Vader in tow.

“…will continue to gain support in the Imperial Senate—” one of the commanders was exclaiming as they entered the room.

“The Imperial Senate is no longer of any concern to us, I have just received word that the Emperor has officially dissolved the last of the council,” Tarkin explained loftily. Vader did not appreciate Tarkin’s tone, his belief in his own superiority. Yet, he knew that this would be Tarkin’s undoing. All he had to do was simply wait. “The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.”

Many years ago, a statement like that would’ve caused an uproar of anger and confusion within him. Now, he simply felt nothing but steely anger, a furious resolve. This was his destiny. He would see his master succeed, he had to.

“That’s impossible? How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?” Another commander asked.

“The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.” Tarkin explained as he took his seat. Vader remained standing. Always standing a step behind, always lurking.

“And what of the rebellion? If the rebels have obtained a complete technical readout of this battle station, it is possible, though unlikely, that they could find a weakness.” The first commander explained.

Vader appreciated the commander’s attention to detail. He appreciated a leader who knew to cover every base, every outcome.

“The plans you refer to will soon be back in our hands.” Vader said simply. He knew it was true. They had located the jettisoned escape pod on Tatooine, and very soon, Vader expected a transmission confirming the discovery of the droids carrying the stolen plans. There’d been an extra anger, an extra insult at knowing that the plans for the Death Star had ended up on Tatooine.

One of the higher-ranking officials, a general, spoke up. “Any attempt to attack this battle station would be a useless and futile gesture from the rebels, no matter what data they’ve obtained. We are now the ultimate power in the universe, I suggest we use it.”

Arrogance. So much arrogance. The Imperial officers truly believed that they were the ultimate power within this wide, vast galaxy. This small, pathetic man in front of him truly believed in his own superiority. Anger flared within Vader.

“Do not be so proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” Vader said.

The general scoffed and rolled his eyes, “Don’t try to frighten us with your sorcerer’s ways Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion hasn’t help you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to—”

Vader stepped towards the general, tired of his useless chattering. He had no idea who he was, what he was capable of. He had no idea who he was speaking to. Vader reached out into the Force and reached for the general’s neck, pushing more and more pressure on his windpipe.

The other officers watched as the general grasped uselessly at his neck and collar, desperate for a breath of air.

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Tarkin sighed loudly. “Enough of this, Vader release him!”

Anger flared again within Vader, however he let the general go. Tarkin ordered him around like a pet on a leash. But he will be his own undoing, Vader reminded himself. He will be his own undoing.

“As you wish.” Vader made his way back over to Tarkin. He knew if he did not comply, Tarkin would complain to the Emperor and the Emperor would remind Vader of his place in the Empire. His place, his role, was to instill fear in the hearts of those who would dissent against the Empire. To be a swift and violent executioner, whenever and wherever the Emperor pleased. His role was not in planning or politics, he was a butcher.

A mindless, furious butcher.

~

Excitement and fear jumped into Leia’s throat. Alderaan. Alderaan! Ben was offering to take her with him to Alderaan, far, far away from here. Away from Tatooine and the farm and Uncle Owen’s micro-managing and insistence that Leia remain a farmer instead of becoming a pilot.

But Leia thought of how much of a burden the harvests were on Owen and Beru. How it was hard enough to find affordable parts to keep the vaporators running, much less affordable labor. Guilt quickly replaced her excitement. She wanted to go; she wanted to more than anything. But she couldn’t ignore what Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had done for her. They were the only family she had ever known, they had raised her since she was an orphaned baby.

Leia had never outright asked, but she got the feeling that Owen and her father were not the closest. According to Beru, the few times Leia could ask her alone, Owen had only met her father a handful of times before she was delivered to their doorstep after his and her mother’s untimely deaths. She knew it probably hadn’t been easy for Owen to take her in, but he’d done it all the same. She owed him at least one more harvest. Then she would leave, with or without Owen’s permission.

“I can’t go with you to Alderaan.” Leia finally said sadly. “I… I’ve got to get home, it’s very late. Uncle Owen wanted help in the fields today.”

Ben surveyed Leia carefully. She’d gotten the feeling that Ben was trying to sense something in her, was trying to read her in a way. She didn’t understand why, she had no idea what about her could interest Ben so much. She wondered sadly if she looked like her father. After all, they had been friends, hadn’t they? Maybe that was why he kept looking at her so strangely.

“I need your help Leia; he needs your help. I’m getting too old for this sort of business.” Ben said, looking desperate.

Leia hesitated, she thought about what it would be like, to be out there in the stars on an adventure. To feel as if she had purpose beyond fixing vaporators and faulty droids for extra credits.

“I… it’s so far away.” She said weakly.

Ben looked as if he were resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “That’s your uncle talking.”

Leia huffed in frustration; Ben was a surprisingly stubborn old man. “Look, I can take you as far as Anchor Head and help you secure a transport. But I can’t go to Alderaan. Not right now.”

Ben sat back against the wall, looking disappointed. “You must do what you feel is right of course.”

After that, Leia powered Threepio back up and she and Ben helped maneuver him into her speeder. Ben exited his home wearing the same robes he’d found her in, with nothing extra save for a belt with a saber that looked similar to the one she now carried clipped to the belt.

“Don’t you need more supplies for your journey?” Leia asked as she fiddled the controls of her speeder.

Ben smiled serenely, “No, no I don’t think I will.”

Leia simply shrugged, too distracted to attempt to decipher Ben’s meaning. Once they were in the speeder, she took off towards Anchor Head, ready to get the trip over with. It wasn’t that Ben had bothered Leia; it was more about the way that he looked at her. As if he weren’t seeing her, but someone else. Again, Leia wondered how close he’d been with her father. Had he known her mother too?

“Did you know my mother?” Leia asked suddenly, unable to contain the sudden thought.

Ben’s eyes turned incredibly sad, and Leia regretted asking. “Yes, I did know your mother.”

Leia felt strangely emotional at Ben’s reaction. He’d known both of her parents. No wonder he kept looking at her so oddly. She would’ve asked more, but suddenly she saw one of the Jawa’s moving fortresses, with the bodies of Jawas scattered all around it. Leia slowed the speeder down and hopped out, curious as to what could have happened.

“I’ve never seen such a violent attack from the Tuskens before,” Leia said, looking down at the small bodies of the Jawas. The fortress was in a state of disarray, and spart parts and were scattered in the sand around them.

“I’m not so sure it was the Tuskens,” Ben said gravely.

“But there are Bantha tracks and footprints, who else would it have been?”

Ben looked at the footprints still in the sand and then to the scorch marks on the fortress. “These are blast marks, too precise to be random. And the Tuskens move in single file, not side by side, so they can hide their numbers. This is the work of Imperial Troopers.”

Suddenly, Leia noticed a discarded, charred red and white dome in the sand. It was from the R5 unit that Owen had almost bought. These were the Jawas that sold them Threepio and Artoo.

“Wait a minute, these are the Jawas that sold us Artoo and Threepio.” Leia then remembered what the boy had said in his hologram. That Artoo held the plans for a battle station the Empire was building. Fear gripped her, and she ran back to her speeder. “If they tracked the droids here, then they could’ve learned who they sold them to! I have to go!”

“Wait Leia! It’s too dangerous!” Ben shouted. But it was too late, Leia was already gone.

~

Her home was still smoking when she arrived. Black smoke rose in thick plumes from the entrance to her home, and she could see overturned barrels and crates. Worst of all, she could see skeletons. Remains. They’d killed Owen and Beru. They killed her family.

Leia stared, dumbstruck at the level of destruction the Empire had brought to her front door. Her aunt and uncle had been innocent, they hadn’t done anything wrong. All they’d done was buy the wrong droids from the wrong Jawas. Now they were dead. Their remains smoking before her eyes.

She felt anger in her chest, intensive and violent. But more than that, she felt resolve. She knew now what she had to do. She would go with Ben to Alderaan. She would learn the ways of the Force. She would put an end to the Empire. Even if it killed her.

It took nearly an hour to clean up the wreckage and properly bury her aunt and uncle. She buried them out in the farmlands, next to the other two graves there. She knew one was Owen’s father, and that the other was her grandmother. Owen hadn’t told her anything else though, even when she’d begged and pleaded to know even her name. Owen had seemed so sad every time she’d asked, and he’d always tried to gently steer her to another topic.

After she laid her aunt and uncle to rest, Leia threw the rest of her meager belongings into her speeder and took off towards the ruins of the moving fortress. Ben and the droids were still there waiting for her, and she knew that Ben knew what had happened. They’d begun burning the bodies of the Jawas, and she watched as Threepio added another body to the smoking pile.

Leia hopped out of the speeder and walked over to Ben, a new sense of purpose in her step.

“There’s nothing you could have done, Leia. Even if you had been there, they simply would have killed you too and the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire.” Ben said bluntly but not unkindly.

“I’m going to come with you to Alderaan. There’s nothing left for me here. I want you to teach me the ways of the Force, I want to become a Jedi. Like my father.”

Ben said nothing to this declaration. Something flashed in his eyes when she said like my father, but she wasn’t sure what it meant. Ben seemed sad but resigned, almost as if he couldn’t decide if he were happy or sad about Leia’s declaration. Ben simply put his hand on Leia’s shoulder and nodded slowly, as if accepting her choice and their now intwined futures.

~

Vader did not like using the mind probes. The truth serum they injected was often fickle, and did not yield reliable results. However, the Empire continued to use them. And Vader was the fist of the Empire, which meant he used them too.

The Emperor had instructed him to find the location of the hidden rebel base at any cost. He had made it abundantly clear that he did not care what happened to the Alderaanean boy in the process.

Vader raised the door of the boy’s cell and stepped inside, the mind probe following him.

“Now then, your highness,” Vader said, looking at the boy in front of him. He seemed young, so young. “We will discuss the location of your hidden rebel base.”

The boy set his jaw and raise his chin in a way that felt vaguely familiar. However, Vader had become accustomed to shoving away these kinds of thoughts. So, he ignored the flicker of conflict within him and began his interrogation of Luke Organa.

Chapter Text

“How are we going to find a transport to Alderaan?” Leia asked. They’d left behind the ruins of the moving fortress and were headed towards one of the more populated areas of Tatooine.

Ben looked pensive, almost troubled. Leia couldn’t help the rising anxiety within her, because he’d been making that face ever since she declared that she wanted to learn the ways of the Force, like her father.

“We’ll go to Mos Eisley. We’ll have to be very cautious though, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” He finally answered.

Leia hummed in response. “Do you have a plan?”

He smiled. “I have the beginnings of one.”

That was not a reassuring answer, Leia decided. However, given her recent promotion from farmhand to orphan, she figured she shouldn’t be too picky. “How far away is Mos Eisley? Uncle Owen never let me go that far into town with him.”

“We’re getting closer, I’ll tell you when to slow down.” They rode in silence for several minutes, and Leia used the time to contemplate the recent changes in her life. Yesterday, she woke up, helped her uncle check the vaporators and went with him to pick out Threepio and Artoo. Yesterday, she yelled at her uncle because he refused to let her be her own person and leave the farm. Yesterday, she had an aunt and uncle who loved her as best they could.

Now, they were dead, the farm along with them. Not only were her aunt and uncle dead, but she’d also found out that what she’d been told about her parents, about her father, her entire life had been a lie. Her father hadn’t been a flighty spice trader like Owen wanted her to believe, he’d been a Jedi Knight. The longer she thought about it, the more her early lessons from school came back to her. There had been a Jedi Order, years ago in the Old Republic. But they had plotted, or so it was said, to overthrow the chancellor, and in response the Jedi had been hunted down and killed. As she grew older, her lessons about the Jedi grew fewer and farther between. Eventually, she had learned that the Jedi were a religion of sorts, that they utilized the light side of the Force to maintain peace and balance.

Leia thought of her aunt and uncle’s burning bodies. The Jedi had done a bang-up job of protecting peace and balance in the galaxy, she thought bitterly.

Ben’s voice interrupted her darkening thoughts. “We’re getting closer. I would keep an eye out for Imperial presence.” They were, in fact, getting closer to the port, the run-down shops and sand-blasted buildings were slowly coming into view. But the buildings and shady occupants of Mos Eisley weren’t the only things Leia could see, in the distance she saw a cluster of shiny white armor and groaned aloud. She decided to exercise her very colorful Huttese vocabulary that she had never been able to use in front of Uncle Owen or Aunt Beru without reproach. She wondered briefly if Ben would be offended at her choice of words, but to her surprise he was looking at her with thinly veiled amusement.

“Who taught you to swear in Huttese?” He asked, looking far more delighted than Leia expected.

She shrugged. “Some of my friends. I’m pretty handy with droids and mechanics, sometimes people would come out to the farm to see if I could fix their droids or speeders. You pick things up.”

Ben shook his head lightly, as if shaking off an unwanted thought, or perhaps an unwanted memory. “I’m not surprised.”

Leia saw an opening and took advantage of it. “Why not?” She wanted to pry further, but something told her the more she asked the less Ben would tell her.

“You’d better slow down, I believe they’ve set up a checkpoint.” Ben said, swiftly dodging Leia’s curiosity. She felt a little annoyed, but as soon as she saw the orange shoulder plate of the commanding trooper, her annoyance vanished. “Just relax.” Leia wanted to snap that she was relaxed, but the troopers were already on them.

“Stop there.” The trooper’s disembodied voice said. “How long have you had these droids?”

Leia looked back at Threepio and Artoo. “About three or four seasons. We’re heading to a parts shop, the astro-mech is having some internal issues.” Artoo offered a high-pitched squealing beep in support.

“They’re not for sale, if you want them.” Ben said obliviously.

“I need to see some identification.” The trooper demanded.

Leia’s heart stopped. She had nothing on her except for the few things she’d grabbed from the ruins of the farmhouse. Anything she could’ve used as identification had either been destroyed or taken, and she had no idea how to bluff her way out of the interrogation that would surely follow.

“You don’t need to see her identification,” Ben said suddenly, waving his hand in a strange sort of wave.

“We don’t need to see her identification.” The trooper repeated back. Leia was shocked.

“She can go about her business. Move along.”

“You can go about your business,” the trooper told her. He waved her through the checkpoint, “Move along, move along.”

Leia wasted no time and sped through the rest of the troopers quickly. “How did you do that?” Leia demanded.

“An old Jedi mind trick. They work only on the weak-minded,” Ben said simply.

Leia felt exhilarated and unnerved at the same time. “What now?”

Ben hopped out of the speeder with shocking agility for his age and appearance and turned to her. “I know of a cantina a few paces from here, we’ll find a pilot there.”

Leia nodded and unloaded Threepio and Artoo out of the speeder. She motioned for Ben to move ahead and followed him through the crowded streets of Mos Eisley to the cantina. It was as run-down as Leia expected it to be. It was exactly the sort of place that Uncle Owen would’ve warned her against, and that thought made her oddly sad. They made it all of three steps inside the dusty cantina before the bartender called out to them.

“We don’t serve their kind here!”

Leia felt shocked; did he mean her? “What?”

“Your droids! They’ll have to wait outside.” The bartender exclaimed. Realization dawned on Leia, and she felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. There were plenty of establishments on Tatooine, probably throughout the galaxy, that denied any sort of patronage or service to droids. Leia had asked her aunt once why people seemed to have such a grudge against them, and she’d just sighed and told her that there were people in the galaxy who never moved on from the wars.

“Why don’t you guys wait outside? We’ll be right out. Stay out of trouble!” Leia commanded, but that last part was directed more at Artoo than Threepio. Artoo gave an indignant beep, and then the droids were leaving the cantina.

Ben disappeared, likely trying to find a pilot for their journey to Alderaan, and Leia felt awkward and out of place. She stood at the bar and braced her forearms against the edge of the bar. Somehow, she was wide awake but completely exhausted all at the same time. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder and came face to face with two non-human creatures that looked nothing like any creature Leia had ever seen before.

“My friend has taken a liking to you,” the smaller, more human-looking man said. The alien beside of him made an odd clicking noise that she guessed was his language.

“Okay.” Leia said bluntly. She didn’t have the time or the energy for this. She was used to being talked to like this, a couple of times there’d been some presumptuous boys who’d asked her to fix their droids or datapads, but Leia had always shut them down. Sometimes in more violent ways than others.

“I’ve taken a liking to you as well,” the man continued.

Leia rolled her eyes and ignored them. She stood on her tiptoes and craned her neck to see if she could spot Ben anywhere. But the cantina was packed with so many humans and non-humans alike that Leia could hardly make sense of anything. Suddenly there was a rough tug on her arm and she was face to face with the humanoid looking creature.

“You should be very careful, we’re wanted men. I have the death penalty in thirteen different systems.” He said, as if it were something he was proud of. Leia wrenched her arm out of his grip and stepped up into his space. Somehow, the fact that she was craning her head to look up at him (she often cursed her parents for making her so short) completely escaped her. She was angry, and he had no right to talk to her that way.

“Maybe you should try for fourteen, I’m sure I can make an arrangement with one of the Hutts,” Leia said, a little too confidently. The man laughed in her face, and Leia shrugged. “Suit yourself, I’m in with one of the younger Hutts you know. I fixed his datapad a while ago, he brought his droid back to me recently. We can pay them a visit, if you like.”

The man and his alien companion were fuming now. “You insolent—!”

Suddenly, Ben materialized next to her. “Now, this is all just a misunderstanding. Leave the girl alone, she meant no harm.”

The man moved forward and suddenly Leia was pushed out of the way and she heard the woosh of a lightsaber activating. By the time she got her bearings, the man was on his needs clutching the stump where his arm used to be. Ben returned his lightsaber to his belt and looked around, as if daring anyone to say anything. There was a beat, and then the lively music started up again and everyone went on with their business.

“Come now, I’ve met with Chewbacca here,” Ben said, motioning to the wookie standing behind him. “He’s the first mate on a ship called the Millenium Falcon; we’re going to speak with the captain.” Leia felt too stunned to speak, so she simply followed Ben and the wookie, Chewbacca, in silence. They went to a table in the far back corner of the cantina, where a human man was lounging easily, as if he owned the place.

Leia was immediately annoyed.

The wookie growled something in the roaring language of the wookies and the man raised an eyebrow. He turned to address Leia and Ben, “I’m Han Solo, captain of the Millenium Falcon. Chewie here says that you’re looking for passage to Alderaan.”

“Yes, we are.” Ben said, taking a seat. Leia followed suit but kept a careful eye on the captain, Han. She didn’t trust him.

“What’s the cargo?” Solo asked.

“The girl here, myself, two droids and no questions asked.” Ben said lowly.

Solo smiled like a Loth-cat with a mouse. “Ahh, you in some kinda trouble?” He spared a glance at Leia. “Escaping an ex-boyfriend maybe?”

Leia growled, “That is the most ridiculous—”

“Let’s just say,” Ben cut in, interrupting Leia’s heated retort, “that we’re looking to avoid any Imperial entanglements.”

Solo’s Loth-cat grin widened. “Well, that’s the real trick, isn’t it? And it’ll cost you extra.”

“Ben, c’mon we don’t have to listen to this—this pirate,” Leia spat.

Ben ignored her. “How much?”

“Ten thousand. All in advance.” Solo said, entirely too confidently for Leia’s liking.

“Ten thousand!” Leia turned to Ben, “We could almost buy our own ship for that much!”

Solo leaned back, locking his hands behind his head. “Yeah, but then who’s gonna fly it? You, princess?”

Leia stood so fast her seat toppled over. “You bet I could, I’m probably twice the pilot you are! I don’t have to sit here and—”

Solo sat up a little straighter and interrupted her. “Oh, is that right?”

“What, you think I’m bluffing?”

“I’d never accuse you of bluffing, princess.”

“You are—are the most unpleasant, ridiculous—”

Ben sighed deeply. “Leia please. Captain Solo here is offering us discreet passage to Alderaan. I suggest we take it.”

Leia took a deep breath through her nostrils and tried to ignore how hot her face felt. She picked up her stool and sat back down as gracefully as she could. She would not let this scoundrel accuse her of pouting.

“Alright, alright.” She choked out. To his credit, Solo had lost his blasé amusement and was looking at Leia curiously.

“We can give you two thousand now, plus fifteen once we safely reach Alderaan.” Ben said, smoothing over Leia’s heated outburst.

Solo leaned forward, “Seventeen?”

Ben nodded.

Solo grinned. “Well alright, you got yourselves a ship. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. Docking bay ninety-four.”

“Ninety-four,” Ben repeated.

Suddenly, Solo’s eyes locked on something just over Leia’s shoulder. “Looks like someone’s beginning to take an interest in your handy work.”

“We’ll meet you at the bay soon.” Leia said shortly, quickly moving from the table to avoid the oncoming stormtroopers.

She and Ben wove their way through the cantina and made it outside. “We’ll have to sell your speeder. Quickly.” Leia followed Ben’s lead and grabbed her remaining belongings out of the speeder.

Artoo and Threepio were tucked into a corner on the side of the cantina. Leia walked over to them and patted Artoo’s dome.

“We’ve got to go sell the speeder. Meet us at docking bay ninety-four and lay-low.” She instructed.

“Very good mistress Leia, we will meet you at docking bay ninety-four.” Threepio said.

Leia nodded at him and turned to Ben. “I know of a junker a few shops down, he’ll buy the speeder off of me, minimal questions.”

“Let’s get going then.”

~

“His resistance to the mind-probe is quite considerable. It will be some time before we can extract any information from him.” Vader reported to Tarkin. The boy’s resistance to the mind probe and Vader’s own interrogation stirred the anger deep in his chest. This was growing tedious.

“I told you he would never consciously betray the rebellion.” Tarkin said, rubbing his chin in thought. “Perhaps it is time we demonstrate the capabilities of this battle station.” Tarkin spared a glance at Vader before turning to the captain. “Set a course for Alderaan. If he refused to give up the location of the rebel base, then we will show the prince just what lengths the Empire will go to silence the scum of the galaxy.”

The captain nodded stiffly and turned on his heel.

“He will not give up the base.” Vader said simply.

“If the fate of his planet hangs in the balance, I believe he will.”

~

“I can’t believe it! Eight thousand measly credits, that’s nothing.” Leia lamented, looking at the pathetic pile of credits in her hand. “Ever since the new models came out, the old ones just don’t go for as much.”

Ben’s step had taken on an urgency that she hadn’t previously seen. “It will be alright. I’ll take care of it.” He swung his head from side to side as they ducked through the alleyways of Mos Eisley to get to the hangar.

“Ninety-four will be at the end of the hangar. Are you sure the droids made it on their own?” Ben asked.

Leia nodded. “Threepio will keep Artoo out of too much trouble, hopefully. I’m sure they made it alright.” They made it to the hangar and started tearing through the docking bays, searching for ninety-four. “Ben, do you think the troopers are on to us?”

“Yes. We must move quickly,” Ben answered bluntly.

Leia quickened her pace and tried to keep an even step with Ben. “How?”

“I shouldn’t have attacked that man with my lightsaber. I’m sure someone in the cantina reported it.” Ben said, not really answering her question.

“Why not?”

Ben continued swinging his head from side to side but sighed at her question. “The Jedi are nearly extinct, but that is not because of the Jedi. The Empire have hunted down and killed any remaining Jedi since the end of the war and the beginning of the Empire. They will stop at nothing to ensure every Jedi in the galaxy is dead.”

Leia felt a weight settle in her gut. She didn’t ask any further questions, and Ben didn’t seem to notice. Finally, they made it to bay ninety-four and tore across the open field towards their ship. Leia immediately wanted to die.

“That!? That is what we paid seventeen thousand for!?” Leia exclaimed. The ship was an older Corellian model and looked as if it was one hyper-space jump away from falling apart. “I told you that Solo is a pirate, he swindled us! I’ll bet this isn’t even his ship.”

As if on cue, the galaxy’s most annoying captain appeared from behind the landing gear of the ship.

“She doesn’t look like much, princess. But she’s fast. She’ll get you where you need to go. Now if you’ll just hurry aboard—”

“Wait. Where’s Threepio and Artoo?” Leia demanded.

“Here! We are here mistress Leia!” Threepio’s voice exclaimed. He and Artoo were crossing the bay and heading towards them.

“Get into the ship, we need to leave.” Leia instructed. The droids followed her commands, and soon enough they were loaded into the ship. Leia turned to follow when she heard the sudden rhythmic stomping of stormtroopers. She swore again in Huttese.

“That’s awfully rude, princess.” Solo commented.

Leia whipped around and glared. “Stop calling me that!”

“That’s awfully rude, Leia.”

This was not any better. However, Leia didn’t have time to adequately berate the arrogant captain, because suddenly the troopers were in the hangar and Ben was shoving her into the ship. Solo took out his blaster and started shooting at the troopers as he backed up into the ship.

“Chewie get us out of here!” Solo yelled, running back towards the cockpit. The ramp was already half-closed, and Leia was ushered into the round booth in the middle of the ship. She made sure Threepio and Artoo were secured and then tightened her own safety-belt. She could feel the rumble of the ship’s engines under her feet, suddenly they were in the air.

“Oh, I’d forgotten how much I hate space travel.” Threepio lamented.

~

Luke had been unceremoniously pulled from his cell by Lord Vader and was now being ushered through the battle station as if he were a wild Nerf. He couldn’t help the sudden spike of anxiety that he felt as he followed the black clad officers in front of him. Although he was several steps behind him, Luke was eerily aware of Vader’s presence. He could sense him in a strange way, although Luke figured that was probably because Vader had been relentlessly interrogating him for the last few days.

Suddenly, they were in a control room with a wide window and Luke watched as one of the captains whispered something to Governor Tarkin. Luke rolled his eyes, he should’ve known that pompous, over-dressed pile of Bantha fodder would be in charge of this.

“Governor Tarkin, I should’ve expected to find you holding Vader’s leash. I recognized your miserable presence when I was brought on board.” Luke said dryly.

Tarkin’s face didn’t even twitch. “Charming, to the last Prince Luke. It was truly difficult to sign the warrant for your death.”

“I’m surprised you had the ability to take responsibility for it in the first place,” Luke said, trying to keep an even tone.

“Prince Luke,” Tarkin started, stepping forward. “I would like you to be a guest of honor at a little ceremony that will mark this battle station as fully operational. No star system will dare defy the Emperor now.”

Luke shook his head, “Governor the hard you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers. This is not the way to unify the galaxy.”

Tarkin sighed. “Spoken like a true pacifist. However, you have secured the first star system that will be destroyed. Since you are so reluctant to reveal the location of the hidden rebel base, I have chosen to destroy your home planet of Alderaan.”

Luke’s composure left him. “What!?” He demanded. He was panicking now, thinking of his family and friends that he’d left behind. “You can’t do that, Alderaan is peaceful! We have no—no weapons, no defense—”

“Oh? You would rather name another target? A military target? Then name the system!” Tarkin demanded, stepping up to Luke.

Luke’s heart squeezed in his chest. He couldn’t give the rebellion away. He would never give the rebellion away. His father, his friends, his family… they had worked too hard and lost too much to be stopped now. They were so close, if Obi-Wan could just deliver the Death Star plans to his father, they would have a shot at ending the Empire. Luke tried to think of a system that would seem unassuming enough to have a hidden base but wouldn’t be populated enough to result in mass causalities should the Empire target it.

“I grow tired of asking, your highness,” Tarkin spat, closing in on Luke. Luke unconsciously stepped backwards but was quickly stopped when he backed into Vader’s chest plate. The vile creature put his hand on Luke’s shoulder, keeping him in place.

“Dantooine,” Luke finally said. “The base is on Dantooine.”

Tarkin smiled. “See? That wasn’t so hard.” He moved over to the switchboard and pressed the comm. “You may fire when ready.”

Luke tried to move forward, but Vader’s grip was like iron. “What!?”

“You’re far too trusting young prince. We will deal with your friends on Dantooine, but first we are going to make an example of Alderaan.”

Luke’s chest felt as if it were caving in. His mother and father were down there. His friends, his teachers, his mentors. Nearly everyone he’d ever loved was on Alderaan, save for the few members of the rebellion that were off world. He closed his eyes and silently hoped that his father was off-world, and that Obi-Wan had been able to find him.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a terrible sound, like a blaster firing only much, much louder. For a second, there was nothing. Then Alderaan, his home, exploded before his eyes.

He felt a strange sense of pain, pain that he’d never felt before. He grieved his family. He grieved his home.

Vader’s grip tightened on his shoulder.