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Post by therealthing on May 20, 2007 21:42:51 GMT -5
Chapter 50 “Are you sure this is such a good idea?” Padmé asked Anakin as they followed Luke and Yoda outside. “He’s just a padawan learner, and you’re an expert. That hardly seems fair.”
“What better way for him to learn?” Anakin asked. “Besides, there aren’t a lot of other opponents for him to spar with. It’s an important part of his training, Padmé.”
“I don’t like the idea,” she replied sullenly. “It just doesn’t seem right.”
Anakin smiled at her over-protectiveness. “I won’t hurt the boy, Padmé,” he assured her. “I promise. I won’t even try.”
“This looks like a good spot,” Luke said as he removed his jacket. “Ready?”
Anakin nodded as he removed his outer tunic. “Ready.”
Luke removed his lightsaber from his belt and held it out in front of him. Anakin stared at it, the sight of his old lightsaber stopping him cold. “I haven’t seen that in many years,” he said, as memories of Mustafar jumped to his mind.
“Obi-Wan gave it to me,” Luke replied. “He told me you’d want me to have it.”
Anakin nodded, only half listening. You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to bring balance to the Force, not leave it in Darkness!! “Dad? You okay?”
Anakin tore his eyes from the lightsaber and looked at his son. “Yes,” he replied. “Just…remembering. Come on then,” he said, taking his own weapon into his hands. “Let’s begin.”
Luke activated his weapon and held it out in front of him with both hands.
Anakin followed suit, hating the sight of the red Sith blade he held. I will need to make a new saber at the first opportunity, he vowed.
Both Skywalkers circled, watching the other warily. Luke knew that he was well out of his league, that his father could easily best him with one hand tied behind his back. Still, he relished the chance to cross sabers with someone as legendary as his father, the Chosen One.
“Hold your weapon higher, son,” Anakin instructed. “I have a big height advantage; you need to compensate for it.”
Luke nodded, and lifted his weapon higher. Anakin smiled, enjoying the chance to tutor his son, something he had missed out on for Luke’s entire life. Tentatively Luke attempted a thrust, stepping towards his father and bringing his blade to his. Anakin met Luke’s feint with any easy maneuver, side stepping and pushing Luke back with one hand.
Padmé watched anxiously as father and son sparred, their blades crashing against one another. It was obvious that Anakin was holding back, and Padmé appreciated his consideration for Luke’s well being. There was something else that was obvious to Padmé; that Anakin was thoroughly enjoying himself. It was clear to Padmé that Anakin adored his son, and that Luke returned his father’s affection. It warmed her heart to hear the encouraging words and advice Anakin gave to Luke as their mock battle raged on.
Eventually both combatants removed their inner tunics, as each of them had a fine sheen of sweat upon their torsos. Padmé tried not to look at Anakin, tried not to let her mind wander back to the night of passion they had shared recently. He is so beautiful, she thought, watching him move.
Anakin turned to look at his wife for a second, sensing the direction of her thoughts. He smiled when he caught her eye and then returned his attention to Luke. Anakin was impressed by his son’s skills, but could tell that Luke had reached his limits. “Had enough?” he asked him over their crossed sabers.
Luke looked up at his father, not wanting to admit defeat yet. “Have you?”
Anakin laughed. “Not a chance,” he said, repelling Luke’s blade and leaping over him easily. Luke spun around, surprised by his father’s move and held his blade up just in time to repel Anakin’s attack.
Padmé gasped as the intensity of the battle increased. Yoda could see that she was upset, and decided it was time to put a stop to the lesson.
“That is enough practice for today,” he said. “Fought well, you both have.”
Anakin and Luke looked at one another, and then took a step backwards. They turned off their sabers and stood for a moment trying to catch their breath.
“Very good,” Anakin told his son. “You have learned a lot in a short time.”
Luke smiled, buoyed by his father’s praise. “Thanks,” he said. “And thanks for going easy on me, I know you did.”
Anakin didn’t deny it, and merely smiled in response. He turned and looked at Padmé, who was watching him intently. “What do you think of our young man, Padmé?” he asked her. “Pretty impressive, isn’t he?”
Padmé nodded, turning her eyes to Luke. “Yes, very much so,” she replied, smiling at him. “Rather like his father,” she added, looking back at Anakin.
Her words surprised Anakin, and he was unsure how to respond. He had sensed that she was starting to soften ever slightly. “Thank you,” he said at last, doing his best to keep his hopes in check. He walked over to Luke and put an arm around his shoulders. “I’m very proud of you, son,” he told Luke. “Very impressed.”
“Thanks Dad,” Luke replied, looking up at his father with hero worship in his eyes. “That means a lot coming from you.”
Anakin was about to reply when he stopped. He sensed that something was amiss. It’s Leia, he thought, a cold feeling of dread filling him. She’s afraid…
“Dad? What is it?” Luke asked, sensing his father’s sudden change in demeanor.
“I’m not sure,” Anakin replied. “Leia is afraid…I’m not sure why, but I can feel it clearly.”
Luke concentrated for a moment, and he too was able to feel his sister’s fear. “I can too,” he said.
“What is it?” Padmé asked, becoming alarmed. “What’s wrong??”
“I don’t know,” Anakin replied. “Maybe we ought to try and contact her,” he suggested. “Just to make sure she’s okay.”
Padmé nodded. “We can use the comm. on my ship,” she said. “Follow me.” Star Destroyer Executor
“Admiral Piett, the freighter has changed its course,” Captain Reyal reported. He looked up at the admiral. “They are heading straight for the asteroid field.”
“Are you certain?” Piett asked, coming over to the screen to have a look for himself.
“Not a doubt, sir,” Reyal replied. “They probably think they can evade us in there, sir,” he added. “Knowing we won’t follow them in there.”
Piett nodded, an uneasy feeling growing within him. They had no choice but to follow them in, however; Ferreus’ orders were quite explicit and left no room for interpretation. He wanted that freighter at any cost.
“Move to match their course,” Piett replied at last. “We’re going in.”
Reyal looked at his comrade and commander with wide eyes. “Sir?”
“You heard me,” Piett replied tersely. “Lord Ferreus left very clear orders that the freighter was to be captured. That means we go where they go. Contact the other destroyers and relay that order as well, Reyal. We’ll force them out somehow.”
“Yes, sir,” Reyal replied, turning to follow his orders.
Millennium Falcon
“I’m gonna shut down everything except the emergency power systems,” Han announced as he entered the cockpit. He commenced shutting off circuits, casting the cockpit into dimness.
“I’m almost afraid to ask, Sir,” Threepio said fretfully. “But does that include shutting me down as well?”
“No,” Han replied. “I need you to talk to the Falcon, find out what’s wrong with the hyperdive.”
Just then the asteroid beneath the ship gave a lurch, and all the passengers on board had to fight to maintain their balance. Once it had stopped, Threepio announced, “Sir, it’s quite possible that this asteroid is not entirely stable!”
Han looked at the droid incredulously. “Not entirely stable?” he repeated. “I’m glad you’re here to tell us these things! Chewie take the professor in back and plug him into the hyperdive!”
Threepio commenced bemoaning how irrational humans were as Chewbacca escorted him out of the cockpit. The ship gave another lurch, this one more violent than the last, and Leia was sent flying backwards onto Han’s lap.
Leia’s immediate reaction confused her. The proximity of his body both excited and frightened her. “Let go,” she said at once.
“Shhh,” he replied, as though trying to determine what was causing the shifting beneath them.
“Let go, please!” Leia implored, growing more anxious.
“Don’t get excited!” Han replied irritably.
Leia felt her face grow warm with anger and indignation “Captain, being held by you isn’t quite enough to get me excited,” she informed him tersely.
“Sorry sweetheart,” he replied, lifting her off of him easily as he stood up. “I haven’t got time for anything else,” he said with a grin. He could tell by the look on her face that his remark had achieved its desired effect, and so he left the cockpit, the smile still on his face.
Leia was too shocked at first to reply, and simply turned away from him to hide the redness of her face. Damn you, Han, she thought, punching the panel beside her in frustration. Damn you and your cockiness! She decided to put him out of her mind and left the cockpit to find something to do.
Han made his way back to the hold, trying to forget the scent of Leia’s hair, or the way it felt having her body so close to his. It bothered him that a woman was able to get to him this way, particularly since she wasn’t even trying. “Sir, I don’t know where your ship learned to communicate,” Threepio told Han haughtily. “But it has a most peculiar dialect.”
“Just cut to the chase, Goldenrod,” Han grumbled.
“I beg your pardon, sir,” the droid replied. “What chase?”
Han shook his head in disbelief at the droid’s obtuseness. “Just get to the point!” he said. “If you can.”
“Oh,” Threepio replied. “One might have said that in the first place,” he stated petulantly.
“Do you know what is wrong with the Falcon?” Han asked, becoming exasperated.
“Oh yes,” Threepio replied. “The coupling on the hyperdrive motivator has been polarized. I’m afraid you’ll have to replace it.”
Great, Han thought. “Well of course I’ll have to replace it!” he replied irritably. He walked away to an open hatchway where Chewbacca was working. “Here,” he called up, handing his copilot a coil of cable.
“And Chewie, I think we’d better replace the negative power coupling.”
Han smirked as he noted the way Threepio was looking at him, almost as though in indignation. He left the hold and found Leia doing some welding in small enclave off the main corridor. Han watched her for a moment as she finished her task and then hung up her goggles. She started closing the valves, but one of them was giving her trouble. She tried and tried, putting all one hundred pounds of her weight behind her attempt, but to no avail. Han could see that she was getting frustrated and reached over her shoulders to help her.
Leia had been so busy focusing on what she was doing that she was startled by his sudden touch and pushed back against him angrily.
“Hey, your worship, I’m only trying to help!” he told her.
“Would you please stop calling me that?” she replied, still trying to finish her task.
“Sure Leia,” he replied affably.
She shook her head at his cocky attitude. “You make it so difficult sometimes,” she grumbled.
“I do, I really do,” he admitted. “But you could be a little nicer. Come on admit it, sometimes you think I’m alright.”
Leia finally gave up as her hand bore the brunt of her efforts. “Occasionally, maybe,” she conceded, shaking her hand. “When you aren’t acting like a scoundrel.”
“Scoundrel?” Han repeated, smiling as he took her injured hand in his hands.
Leia nodded, her feelings becoming confused again.
“Scoundrel? I like the sound of that,” he said, rubbing her hand gently.
“Stop that,” Leia protested, becoming alarmed by the way he was looking at her.
“Stop what?” he asked innocently.
“Stop that, my hands are dirty,” she replied lamely.
“My hands are dirty too, what are you afraid of?” Han replied, moving closer to her.
“Afraid?” she asked, trying to sound haughty but not quite managing. The closeness of him was confusing her and making her feel giddy, weak and terrified all at once.
“You like me because I’m a scoundrel,” he told her softly, his face mere centimeters from hers. “There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.”
Leia managed to shake her head, her eyes locked on his. “I happen to like nice men,” she said, her voice barely audible.
“I’m nice men,” he assured her.
“No you’re not, you’re…” The rest of her sentence was lost as Han brought his mouth to hers. Leia had never felt like anything like this in her life, and she didn’t want it to stop. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving in at last to the feeling she had been trying to deny for so long.
Leia pulled back and looked up at him, her fingers laced together behind his neck. “My father will kick your cocky Corellian butt when he finds out about this,” she told him with a smile.
“So don’t tell him,” Han replied, kissing her again.
“Sir! Sir! I’ve isolated the reverse power flux coupling!” Threepio announced excitedly as he barged in on them.
Han reluctantly pulled away from Leia and turned slowly to the oblivious droid. “Thank you,” he said slowly. “Thank you very much!”
“Oh you’re perfectly welcome, sir,” Threepio replied amiably.
Han looked back at Leia, rolling his eyes in annoyance.
“Come on,” she said, taking his arm. “We have a lot of work to do.”
Dagobah
Anakin sat down beside his wife as she activated the comm. screen. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he waited for them to make contact.
“I can’t raise anyone,” Padmé said at last after several attempts.
Anakin frowned, his anxiety increasing. “Looks like communications are offline,” he commented.
“Maybe it’s the weather,” Padmé suggested turning to him.
Anakin wasn’t convinced. “Maybe,” he said. “But I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something going on.”
Padmé could see how upset Anakin was. Clearly he loved Leia tremendously.
“What about the Falcon?” suggested Luke. “Its communications may be operational.”
“I’ll try,” Padmé said. She turned back to the screen and tried to raise the Falcon next. Again she was unable to raise anyone.
“It has to be the weather,” Luke said at last. “The storms there can be really brutal. It would not be the first time that communications have been disrupted by one.”
“We’ll try again in a few hours,” Padmé suggested. “Hopefully it will have passed by then.”
Anakin nodded. “I just hope that’s all it is,” he said.
“What else could explain both the base and the Falcon being unable to receive outside contact?” Luke reasoned as he stood up. “Try not to worry, Dad,” he added. “Obi-Wan won’t let anything happen to her.”
“He’d better not,” Anakin grumbled.
“Master Yoda is expecting me,” Luke said to his parents. “I’d better go.”
“See you later, Luke,” Padmé said as he kissed her cheek.
Anakin sat in silence as Luke made his way off the ship. Padmé watched her husband. “What are you thinking?” she asked him. “What do you think has happened?”
Anakin looked at her. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe nothing. Maybe I’m just an over-protective slightly paranoid father.”
Padmé smiled. “You? Over-protective? Never.”
Anakin wasn’t amused by her attempt at humor, and she regretted her comment immediately.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was rather insensitive of me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, standing up and turning to leave. “I need to go find a place to get cleaned up.”
“You’re welcome to use the fresher in here,” she told him.
Anakin stopped and turned to her. “I don’t want to trouble you,” he said.
Padmé stood up to face him. “It’s no trouble,” she assured him.
“Then I thank you,” he replied turning again to leave.
“Why did you do it?” she asked him.
Anakin stopped once again, but did not look at her. “I told you why, Padmé,” he replied tiredly. “To save you.”
“No, I’m not asking about why you turned to the Dark Side,” she replied, walking over to him. “Why did you convince me to stop taking those meds? You knew that by stopping them I would eventfully remember everything; why did you take that risk? Surely you knew how I would react.”
He turned to her at last. “How can you ask me that?” he replied. “I would rather have you remember everything and be the woman I love even if it means losing you than have you remain in that hell Palo created for you. You probably don’t believe me, but that’s the truth.”
Padmé was too taken aback by his words to reply, and could only stand and watch him walk away.
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Post by therealthing on May 23, 2007 14:39:07 GMT -5
Chapter 51 Star Destroyer Executor Engineers, Piett thought irritably as he made his way back to the bridge. Don’t they realize I have more important matters to deal with right now? He resented having been pulled from the bridge at such a critical time, but as commander of the vessel, he had to investigate any and all problems that arose, no matter how inconsequential they seemed to him. He knew that Ferreus would have simply killed the three men who were involved in the incident and moved on; that was why Piett had decided to deal with the situation himself. Ferreus was clearly a madman, and had no business being in command. He’s on my bridge, Piett noted as he entered the bridge. At once he knew that something was wrong. The men looked up at him as he walked onto the bridge, their faces clearly showing their horror. “Is there something I can…?” Piett stopped as he saw the dead body of his first officer and good friend, Captain Reyal, lying on the floor of the bridge, his face distorted and blue from lack of oxygen. It took all of Piett’s years of training and personal fortitude not to lose his composure.
“You can have this body removed,” Ferreus said. “Such incompetence will not be tolerated.”
“Incompetence, my lord?” Piett asked numbly as two crewmen lifted the body of Reyal from the floor.
“The Corellian freighter,” Ferreus said. “Your dear captain here informed me that it had disappeared. You’ll be happy to know that I have hired some professionals to help with the search, Piett, since clearly you aren’t up to the task.”
“What professionals do you mean, my lord?”
“Bounty hunters,” Ferreus replied, taking credit for the idea that had actually been his master’s. “They will find our little princess, make no mistake about that. I expect them to arrive within the hour. Be sure they are given a proper welcome when they do.”
Piett merely nodded as Ferreus left the bridge once again.
“Sir, Captain Reyal did nothing wrong,” one of the junior officers told Piett once the mad Sith lord was out of earshot. “And yet he…”
Piett nodded. “I know,” he said, the anger and grief filling him. “He’s gone too far this time, Jonas. We cannot simply stand by and allow him to kill everyone on this ship whenever he has a temper tantrum.”
“What are you suggesting, sir?” Jonas asked.
Piett looked at the young officer. “I think you know, Captain.”
Jonas nodded, the very thought of what Piett was suggesting making his palms sweat: mutiny.
Millennium Falcon Leia was growing tired of waiting. They had been sitting inside the cave for more than ten hours now as Han and Chewbacca tried desperately to fix the temperamental hyperdrive. Her mind kept wandering back to the stolen moment she and Han had shared. She couldn’t help but wonder what, if anything would develop from this. Had he kissed her simply on impulse, due to their close quarters and the direness of their situation? Or did he have true feelings for her? Han was not an easy man to read, for Leia had tried to do so. He shielded his feelings very well, only letting people know what he wanted them to know.
Leia’s thoughts were interrupted by something outside the ship, a fluttering of wings and she stood up to get a better look. Suddenly a huge mouth attached itself to the view screen, causing Leia to scream and jump back. She ran back to the hold where Han was.
“There’s something out there!” she told him frantically.
Han stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, lifting his goggles from his eyes. “Where?”
“Outside in the cave,” she said. Just then the sound of something attacking the hull of the ship was heard.
“There it is!” Threepio cried. “Listen, listen!”
“I’m going out there,” Han said, standing up at once.
“Are you crazy?” Leia replied.
“I just got this bucket back together,” Han reminded her. “I’m not gonna let something tear it apart!” he added, grabbing an oxygen mask.
“Well then I’m going with you!” Leia declared, following Han, oxygen mask in hand.
The air was thick with moisture when Han, Leia and Chewbacca stepped off of the landing ramp. Not only that, there was a peculiar smell in the air, an organic smell, which was strange considering they were standing on solid rock. Or were they?
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Leia said as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
They soon found the source of the disturbance: mynocks.
Han took aim and blasted it, killing the large winged creature instantly. “Just what I thought,” he said. “Mynocks. Chewie check the rest of the ship and make sure there’s no more attached; they’re chewing on the power cables.”
“Mynocks,” Leia muttered in horror.
“Go on inside,” Han told her, “we’ll clean ‘em off if there are any more.”
Leia started on her way back, only too happy to do so when a flock of mynocks swooped down among them, squawking angrily at their intrusion.
Han took out his blaster to scare them off. As he fired at the flying beasts, the asteroid started to shake violently.
“Wait a minute,” he said as he began to realize what was going on. Taking his blaster, he pointed it directly at the floor of the asteroid. He fired, and immediately the asteroid started to quake fiercely, threatening to send Han, Leia and Chewbacca off their feet as they struggled to board the freighter.
“Fire up Chewie, let’s get out of here!” Han shouted as they made their way to the cockpit.
“Maybe next time you’ll listen to me when I have a bad feeling!” Leia told him as they took off. Ahead of them through the view screen they could see two rows of enormous teeth closing rapidly.
“The cave is collapsing!” Threepio cried in terror.
“This is no cave,” Han replied as they burst out of the mouth of an enormous space slug and right back into the Imperial fleet.
“Didn’t we just leave this party?” Han muttered.
“All the coordinates are set,” Leia informed him after checking the navicomputer. “It’s now or never.”
“Punch it!” Han told Chewie, expecting the stars to coalesce and blur into one enormous stream of white light. But they did not. In fact, nothing happened.
“That’s not fair!” Han cried. “The transfer circuits are all working, it’s not my fault!”
“No lightspeed?” Leia asked, already knowing the answer.
He turned and looked at her, his face clearly showing how baffled he was. “It’s not my fault!”
“Sir, we just lost the main rear deflector shield,” Threepio informed Han. “One more direct hit on the back quarter and we're done for!”
Han acknowledged this dire announcement with a nod of his head, as he formulated a plan. “Turn her around,” he said at last. Chewbacca roared in protest, insinuating quite strongly that Han had lost his mind. “I said turn her around!” Han repeated, getting up. “I’m gonna throw all power in the front shield!”
“You’re going to attack them?” Leia asked incredulously.
“Sir, the odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer...” Threepio began to say but he was cut off by Leia.
“Shut up!” she merely said, knowing that is exactly what Han would say if he had the time to say it.
The Falcon banked, and made a steep twisting turn so that it was heading directly towards the Star Destroyer Avenger.
On the bridge of the Avenger, the officers and men were incredulous at the seemingly suicidal move.
“They’re moving to attack position!” Captain Needa said in astonishment. “Shields up!”
Just then the Falcon flew right above the ship, close enough to cause the officers to duck involuntarily.
“Track them,” Needa commanded. “They may come around for another pass.”
“Captain Needa,” one of the junior officers addressed him, “the ship no longer appears on any of our scopes.”
Needa frowned. “They can’t have disappeared!” he stated emphatically. “No ship that small has a cloaking device!”
“Well there’s no trace of them sir!”
“Sir, Lord Ferreus is hailing us,” the communications officer announced. “He demands an update on the pursuit of the freighter.”
Needa’s face blanched as he turned to his second in command. “Get a shuttle ready,” he said grimly. “I shall assume full responsibility and apologize to Lord Ferreus. Meanwhile, continue to scan the area.”
“Yes, Captain Needa.”
Dagobah Anakin spent the day observing his son’s training and doing his best to avoid his wife. Each time he looked at her he was reminded of their night together, and it only served to augment the frustration he already felt. The situation was not made any better by the fact that it was nearly impossible to avoid her, for there were not a lot of places to go.
He half wondered if his explanation for why he had taken her from the institution had affected her at all. He had not given her a chance to reply, as he had left to go to take a shower, and when he had come out, she was gone. If she won’t believe me then there isn’t much I can do, he reasoned. She knows how I feel; now it is up to her to decide how she feels. Padmé had spent the day considering what Anakin had told her. His candor had not surprised her, for he had always been most forthright with her. No, it was his words that had surprised her. I would rather have you remember everything and be the woman I love even if it means losing you than have you remain in that hell Palo created for you. You probably don’t believe me, but that’s the truth… How could she reconcile the man who had attacked her, the man who had terrorized the galaxy for twenty years with such selflessness? The possibility that she had been too harsh in her judgment of him started to creep into her mind. The fact that both Luke and Leia accepted and loved their father despite knowing all about his nefarious past was powerful evidence that Anakin had changed, that he was worthy of forgiveness and a second chance. So why am I so afraid to give him one? Night had fallen, and after a long day of vigorous and physically demanding training, Luke was already sleeping soundly in his tent. Anakin was sitting by the fire, deep in thought when Padmé found him.
“Luke has gone to bed?” she asked him.
Anakin looked up at her and nodded.
“Yoda too?”
“I think so,” he replied.
Padmé couldn’t help but notice how guarded he was with her. Not that I can blame him, she thought. I haven’t exactly been congenial with him lately.
“May I join you?” she asked.
Anakin looked up at her again, surprised by her question. “Of course,” he said.
Padmé sat down beside him, trying to formulate the words she needed to say.
“I have been thinking all day about what you said earlier,” she told him.
“Oh?” he asked, knowing very well what it was she was referring to.
Padmé nodded. “Yes,” she replied. “I have to admit that I was rather surprised by what you said.”
Anakin turned and looked at her. “Why? If you know me at all you’d realize that is exactly what I would do. I’d die for you, Padmé; if you remember me as you say you do, then you’d know that.”
Padmé did not know how to reply, and stared into the fire for a moment. “I know you would,” she said at last, not looking at him. “I know that you sacrificed everything for me. And I know that were it not for you that I would have spent the rest of my life in that horrible place.”
Anakin turned to her. “Would you have preferred never knowing the truth?” he asked her pointedly. “Would it be easier not knowing what happened? What I did and what I became?”
“That’s hardly a fair question,” she said, becoming uncomfortable.
“Why?” he replied, sensing her uneasiness but deciding to lay it all on the line anyways. “Life is uncomfortable sometimes, Padmé, it gets messy sometimes. I think my question is a valid one. Knowing what you know now, would you rather have stayed under the care of that bastard Palo and never remember your past, including the painful parts of it?”
The mention of Palo brought a knot to Padmé’s stomach as her anger for what he did to her filled her. “I will never forgive him for what he did to me,” she said quietly. “Never.”
“And what about me, Padmé?” he asked pointedly. “Are he and I equal in your eyes? Will you ever forgive me for what I did to you? Or am I to be damned for the rest of my life by the sins of my past? ”
“You are not equal with Palo, Anakin,” she replied at once. “Surely you know that!”
“I don’t know anything anymore, Padmé,” he told her, looking back into the fire. “Not a bloody thing.”
Padmé remained silent for a moment. He had built his defenses well, and she knew that it would take more than a little coaxing to get him to lower them. But Padmé Skywalker was a determined woman. When she set her mind to do something, she usually got results.
“You know everything about me, Anakin,” she reminded him. “You know me better than I know myself.”
“I thought I did,” he said, picking up a small piece of twig and tossing it into the fire. “But now I’m not so sure.”
“Anakin, stop it,” she said at last, growing frustrated with his stubbornness. “Please just stop this.”
“What am I doing now that you object to?” he asked, not looking at her.
“You’ve built this wall around yourself and you won’t let me in,” she told him. “How can we ever resolve this if you won’t let me in?”
“What is there to resolve?” he asked. “You’ve already decided I am unworthy of forgiveness, you’ve made that pretty clear.”
“I’m angry, and I’m hurt,” she retorted. “Surely you can see why I’d feel that way!” “Yes, I know why you feel that way,” he replied. “And you have every right to feel that way. What I did was horrible, unconscionable. I have lived with the consequences of what I did every day since Mustafar. If I must spent the rest of my life paying for that day, then so be it. I can only take your rejection so many times, Padmé. They may call me the Chosen One, but I’m only human.”
A constriction in her throat prevented Padmé from replying. She had been so concerned with her own anger, her own pain that she had not considered his. What happened on Mustafar had been a moment of madness, a terrible mistake; she knew that now. No, it did not excuse what he did, nothing could do that. But hadn’t he suffered as much as she had because of that day? The physical torment alone he suffered as a result of his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi had been unimaginable; the emotional suffering at least ten times as agonizing. They may call me the Chosen One, but I’m only human. Somehow this very simple fact had been forgotten in all the upheaval. Anakin Skywalker may be the greatest Jedi who ever lived, the Chosen One, the Hero with No fear; but he was also a man; a man who had suffered more pain than anyone she knew, whose soul had been wounded by fear and by loss, by betrayal and suffering. He was her Ani.
“Ani,” she said at last, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Anakin was surprised by the change in her tone, and turned to her. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he felt a small part of his defenses fall away. Her emotions were confusing him; they were too intense, too jumbled to read.
“I’m sorry, Padmé,” he said one more time. “I don’t know what else I can say.”
Padmé nodded. “I know,” she said as the tears spilled out of her eyes. “I know you are, Ani.” Tentatively she reached a hand out to him and gently stroked his hair. He watched her, not saying a word, not daring to hope that the look in her eyes meant what he thought it did.
“I love you, Anakin,” she said at last. “I have always loved you, and always will. I want things to be the way they were between us, before the war and Palpatine destroyed us. Do you think we could try again?”
For a moment, Anakin thought he was dreaming. How many times in the past few days had he dreamed of her saying these words to him? But this was no dream, this was real. His angel loved him, she wanted him, and she forgave him.
“My angel,” he simply said in reply as he smiled at her, and then pulled her into his arms. “My angel.”
Padmé wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. “I’ve missed you so much!” she told him tearfully.
Anakin closed his eyes, reveling in the sensation of her hair against his face. “I’ve been lost without you, Padmé,” he told her.
Padmé turned her head and kissed his cheek, again and again, as though to make up for the many lost years they had been apart. Anakin pulled back to face her, and then captured her mouth in a kiss.
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Post by therealthing on May 24, 2007 20:01:45 GMT -5
Chapter 52 Admiral Piett watched as the body of Captain Needa was carried off of the bridge, the latest victim of Darth Ferreus.
“Where are they, Piett?” Ferreus asked petulantly as he approached the admiral. “How could they just …disappear?”
“Perhaps they were able to repair their hyperdrive,” Piett suggested.
Ferreus nodded. “I suppose so,” he frowned.
“If so, they could be on the other side of the galaxy by now,” Piett told him. “Finding them will be like finding a needle in a haystack, sir.”
Ferreus did not understand the analogy, having never seen neither a haystack nor a needle. But he understood enough to get the gist of what Piett was telling him.
“My lord, the bounty hunters have arrived,” Captain Jonas informed Ferreus. “They are being shown to the bridge right now.”
“Perfect timing,” Ferreus said. He turned back to Piett. “They won’t fail me,” he said. “Money is very motivating.”
“Indeed it is,” Piett replied, inwardly disgusted at the thought of bounty hunters. We don’t need that scum, he reflected angrily. But if it keeps him out of my hair, so much the better. Piett and Ferreus turned to watch as a motley group of creatures walked on to the bridge, some droids, some human, and some alien. Ferreus approached the group as they lined up around the perimeter of the bridge, looking at the crew of the Executor with undisguised hostility.
“Your job is a simple one,” Ferreus told the group. “Find the Millennium Falcon,” he said. “I want the Princess; I don’t care about the rest. Kill them if you want, all I want is the girl. Your reward will be better than anything you’ve ever earned in your pathetic lives,” he continued, unable to resist the opportunity to demean them.
Piett watched the exchange, unable to deny a growing feeing of dread. This is getting out of hand…I have to stop him; someone has to stop him… Millennium Falcon “Captain Solo, this time you have gone too far!”
Chewbacca growled irately.
“No, I will not be quiet, Chewbacca,” Threepio whined. “Why doesn't anyone listen to me?”
“The fleet is beginning to break up,” Han told Chewbacca. “Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw.”
Chewie barked and then climbed out of his seat. He headed to the back of the Falcon as Threepio continued to voice his disapproval.
“I really don't see how that is going to help!” Threepio wailed. “Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances. The Empire may be gracious enough...”
Han looked back and gave Threepio a withering look. Leia took the hint and reached over and shut the droid off mid-sentence.
“Thank you,” Han sighed.
“What did you have in mind for your next move?” Leia asked him.
“Well, if they follow standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump their garbage before they go to light-speed, then we just float away,” Han said.
“With the rest of the garbage,” Leia quipped. “Then what?”
“Then we've got to find a safe port somewhere around here. Got any ideas?” Han asked her.
“No. Where are we?” Leia asked.
“The Anoat system,” Han said, looking at the navi-computer.
“Anoat system….there's not much there,” Leia said thoughtfully.
“No,” Han said, only half listening. “Well, wait. This is interesting. Lando.”
“Lando system?” Leia asked, getting out of her seat to look at the map.
Han looked up at her briefly. “Lando’s not a system, he’s a man,” he explained. “Lando Calrissian. He’s this….card player, gambler, scoundrel…you’d like him.”
Leia chuckled. “Thanks,” she said.
“Bespin, it’s pretty far but I think we can make it,” Han said.
“A mining colony?” Leia asked.
“Yeah, a tibanna gas mine,” Han told her. “Lando conned somebody out of it. We go way back, Lando and me.”
“Can you trust him?” Leia asked him pointedly.
“No,” Han replied immediately. “He’s got no love for the Empire, I can tell you that,” he said.
Chewbacca barked over the intercom, informing Han of the deployment of the fleet.
“Stand by Chewie,” Han told his copilot. “Detach.”
Leia smiled and looked at Han. “You have your moments,” she told him. “Not many of them, but you do have them.” She bent over and gave him a kiss.
Han simply smiled as the Falcon drifted free of the hull of the Avenger along with the refuse the star destroyer had just jettisoned. The Falcon's engines ignited and it raced off into the distance. Amidst the slowly drifting junk, a ship appeared and moved after the Falcon.
Dagobah The air was thick with moisture, or perhaps it was fog. It was everywhere, nebulous and multi-colored as the sun penetrated its translucence.
A figure in black appeared, tall and cloaked, a Sith…he wore an expression of lewd mockery…just then from the shadows he pulled a small figure, a young woman clad in white…the woman was crying, her clothes were torn, she was terrified, and the monstrous thing who held her tightly by her slender wrist laughed, jerking her roughly by the arm again, making the girl cry out in pain…the black clad monster took his other hand and struck her across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor….the girl tried to get away only to have the monster reach out with the Force and pin her to the floor…she screamed as he advanced upon her menacingly…
Padmé woke up as her husband thrashed about in the small bed beside her. She turned to him, the look on his face telling her that he was in the throes of a nightmare. Padmé reached her hand out to him and shook his shoulder gently.
“Anakin, wake up,” she said. “Wake up.”
Anakin opened his eyes and looked over at his wife. He was disoriented for a moment, not expecting to wake up in his wife’s bed.
“Padmé?” he said.
“You were having a nightmare,” she told him, stroking his face gently. “Are you okay?”
Anakin sat up in the bed, his heart still pounding from the terrifying apparitions of his dream. “Leia…”he said simply. “Leia’s in trouble.”
Padmé frowned. “You dreamed about Leia?”
Anakin nodded. “But it wasn’t just a dream, Padmé,” he said, turning to her. “It was a vision – I was seeing the future, I’m certain of it.”
Padmé felt a chill run down her spine. “Ani,” she said softly. “Where is she? What is going to happen to her?”
“Nothing will happen to her, I promise you,” he said, getting out of bed. “I will make sure of it.”
“But where is she? How will you know where to go?” she asked, getting out of the bed too.
“A city surrounded by clouds,” he said, remembering his dream.
Padmé thought for a moment. “Bespin?” she suggested.
“Yes, that is it,” he said. “I have to go to her, Padmé. I have to help her!”
Padmé nodded. “I’m coming with you.”
“Padmé, no,” Anakin told her, starting to get dressed. “This will be dangerous, I’m certain of it. I won’t put you in that position.”
“Ani, I haven’t seen Leia since she was a baby,” Padmé told him. “I need to go with you; I need to ensure that she’s okay.”
Anakin considered her words. “I don’t like this,” he grumbled as he sat down on the bed and pulled on his boots.
“Too bad,” she told him as she buttoned her tunic. “I’m coming.”
Anakin and Padmé found Luke and Yoda sitting near the camp site. Luke looked up when he saw his parents approaching. It was clear from his face that he was upset.
“You saw it too, didn’t you?” Anakin asked his son, knowing the reason that Luke was so distraught.
Luke nodded. “I saw a city in the clouds,” he told his parents. “Leia and Han were there… they were in pain.”
“I had a similar vision,” Anakin told his son. “We need to get to her before this vision comes true, Luke. We must go to Bespin.”
Yoda listened quietly to the conversation, keeping his opinion to himself. He had been having visions of a new Sith apprentice for weeks now, and was beginning to wonder if it was more than mere old age making him paranoid. Was there a connection between this vision and the one shared by Anakin and his son?
“There’s something else,” Anakin said, turning to Yoda as though he knew what the old Jedi master had been pondering. “I saw a Sith, Master Yoda. I believe Sidious has found a new apprentice.”
Yoda nodded. “Correct you are, Anakin, in your interpretation of this vision,” he said. “Foreseen this new apprentice I have. Confront him you must, destroy him you will.”
If he lays a finger on my daughter he’s as good as dead already, Anakin thought angrily. “It will be done,” he said. “This Sith monster will rue the day he was born if he dares to harm my child, I swear it.”
Cloud City The air was thick with moisture, or perhaps it was fog. It was everywhere, nebulous and multi-colored as the sun penetrated its translucence. Surrounded by spectacular shades of pink, red and orange, the Millennium Falcon made its final approach to Cloud City.
Twin-pod cloud cars drew up alongside the Falcon, making the occupants in the cockpit more than a little nervous, particularly when one of them opened fire on the Falcon, its flak rocking the small ship.
“No, I don't have a landing permit,” Han did his best to explain into the comm.. “I'm trying to reach Lando Calrissian.”
The immediate reply to his explanation was more flak bursts outside the cockpit window.
“Whoa! Wait a minute! Let me explain!” Han exclaimed.
“You will not deviate from your present course,” the voice on the comm. ordered.
“Rather touchy, aren't they?” Threepio declared.
Leia began to grow concerned, that same nagging feeling coming back. “I thought you knew this person?” she said to Han.
Leia’s question heralded a long series of barks and growls from Chewbacca, making Leia even more uneasy.
“Well, that was a long time ago,” Han replied to his copilot. “I'm sure he's forgotten about that.”
“Forgotten about what??” Leia demanded. But Han did not have a chance to reply before the voice returned on the comm..
“Permission granted to land on Platform Three-two-seven.”
“Thank you,” Han replied, an edge of sarcasm in his voice. Han snapped off the intercom. He then turned back to Leia, whose face betrayed her worry. “There's nothing to worry about,” he assured her. “We go way back, Lando and me.”
“Who’s worried?” Leia asked, the fear blooming within her.
The clouds parted to reveal a full view of the city. With the cloud cars still guarding it, the Falcon approached the gleaming metropolis and then landed on one of the Cloud City's platforms.
Having lowering the ramp, Han and Leia made their way to the platform, blasters at the ready. Chewbacca followed, equally warily.
“Oh. No one to meet us,” Threepio observed.
Leia shook her head, unable to shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. “I don’t like this,” she said at last, stopping in her tracks. “This is a mistake, Han.”
“We don’t have a choice, sweetheart,” Han replied. “No hyperdrive means our options are limited. And if the Empire is after us, we won’t get far with a lame ship. They let us land, after all,” he pointed out.
Leia was not consoled by his words. “Yes, they did,” she conceded. “I just can’t shake the feeling that…”
She stopped as an assorted group of men and aliens approached them on the landing platform. The leader of the group, a suave looking man in his thirties, bore a grim expression on his face as he headed towards them.
Han looked back at Leia. “Nothing to worry about, Sweetheart,” he told her. “Here comes my friend right now.”
Leia simply nodded, not taking her eyes from the approaching band.
“Keep your eyes open,” Han said quietly to Chewie, who heartily agreed with Han’s precaution.
Lando stopped two meters from Han, hands on his hips, eying Han carefully. Lando shook his head. “Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler! You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled.”
Great, Leia thought. With friend like this…
Han was stunned, and could only point to himself innocently, mouthing, "Me?"
Lando moved threateningly toward Han, who prepared himself for the worst. Suddenly, Lando threw his arms around Han and embraced him, laughing heartily.
“How you doing, you old pirate?” Lando exclaimed all smiles all of a sudden. “So good to see you! I never thought I'd catch up with you again. Where you been?”
Leia watched as the two old friends embraced, laughing and chuckling. Despite his outward appearance of affability, Leia still did not trust the suave administrator, and folded her arms over her chest as she did her best to get a read on him.
“What are you doin’ here?” Lando asked.
“Ah, repairs,” Han said, jerking a thumb in the direction of the Falcon. “Thought you could help me out.”
“What have you done to my ship?” Lando asked in mock horror.
“Your ship?” Han replied. “Hey, remember; you lost her to me fair and square.”
Lando merely chuckled in response and turned to Chewbacca. “And how are you doing, Chewbacca? Still hanging around with this loser?” He then caught sight of Leia, and the suave smile returned to his face. “Hello, what have we here?” he purred, pushing past Chewbacca. “I’m Lando Calrissian, the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?”
“Leia,” she replied simply, not impressed by Lando’s efforts to be charming.
“Welcome Leia,” Lando said, taking her hand and kissing it gallantly.
“Alright, alright,” Han said, taking Leia’s hand from him. “You old smoothie.”
Leia couldn’t help but laugh at Han’s obvious jealousy, and allowed him to lead her toward the entrance of the city.
“What’s wrong with the Falcon?” Lando asked as they walked along.
“What else? Hyperdrive,” Han replied.
“I’ll get my people to work on it,” Lando offered. He turned to Leia. “You know that ship has saved my life quite a few times,” he told her, “it’s the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy!”
Leia merely nodded, doing her best to appear cordial, while inside her mistrust only grew. You’re hiding something, Lando, she thought to herself. What is it? She felt certain that soon enough they would find out for themselves.
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Post by therealthing on May 26, 2007 8:01:39 GMT -5
Chapter 53 Obi-Wan Kenobi stood staring out the large viewscreen, arms folded over his chest. He was deep in mediation, his mind focused on his padawan. He still had not forgiven himself, or her, for the easy manner in which she had ditched him back on Hoth. I must be getting old, he thought to himself. Still, she is her father’s child.
He could sense that Leia was in danger, but that help was on the way in the form of her father and brother. Still, he felt that he, as her master and guardian, needed to do what he could to help too. But what could he do on the other side of the galaxy from the planet Bespin?
“Still no word from the Princess,” General Reikan informed Obi-Wan as he joined him. “It’s been almost four days.”
Obi-Wan nodded. “She’s alive,” he told Reikan. “But she’s in danger.”
Reikan frowned. “With the Empire out there, all of us are,” he commented.
Obi-Wan turned to look at the man. “No, I mean personal, serious danger,” he said. “And not just because she’s a Rebel, because she’s a Jedi. The Emperor wants her, General, and will stop at nothing to find her and take her as his apprentice, or destroy her in the process.”
Reikan knew little of such matters, but trusted Kenobi enough to know he was telling the truth. “But what can we do to help her?” he asked.
“I must go to her,” Obi-Wan said. “As her Jedi Master my place is at her side.”
“How will you know how to find….never mind,” Reikan said, reasoning the Jedi had abilities far beyond his understanding. “I suppose you’ll need a ship then.”
Kenobi nodded. “Yes,” he said. “As soon as possible.”
Bespin-Cloud City
“Ship’s almost finished,” Han announced as he entered the small suite where he and Leia had been residing. “Two or three more things and we’re in great shape.”
“The sooner the better,” Leia replied with relief. “I know I’ve said this before, and I know he’s your friend, but I don’t trust this Lando character. He’s hiding something Han, I’m sure of it.”
Han sighed as he sat down, watching Leia as she pace about in the small room. “Like what?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I know he is. He’s setting us up, Han, I just know it.”
“Why would he do that?” Han asked. “He hates the Empire as much as we do, remember?”
Leia shrugged. “That may be,” she conceded. “But sometimes people do things for selfish reasons. Lando Calrissian doesn’t exactly strike me as the type of person to put himself out on a limb for anyone.”
“You’re right about that,” Han agreed. “But that doesn’t mean that…”
His sentence was interrupted by the entrance of Lando Calrissian into the room.
“I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” he asked smoothly.
“Not really,” Leia replied coolly, stepping closer to Han.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” Lando said with a smile. “You truly belong here with us among the clouds.”
Han rolled his eyes and covered his mouth to hide a smirk at his friend’s attempt to be charming.
“Thank you,” Leia replied, unimpressed by Lando’s compliment.
“Would you care to join me for some refreshment?” Lando asked, extending a hand to Leia. “I’m sure you all must be hungry by now.”
Leia looked back at Han and then reluctantly took Lando’s hand as Han stood up to join them. “Yeah, we are, aren’t we sweetheart?” Han said, holding out his arm to Leia.
Leia nodded as she took Han’s arm. Chewbacca was already at the door, obviously as hungry as ever, barking with enthusiasm. Leia was hungry too, but that wasn’t the most prevailing feeling she was experiencing. This is it, she thought, preparing herself for what she was certain was about to happen.
Han and Lando engaged in meaningless small talk about the gas mine as they walked through the pristine, white hallways of Cloud City. Leia only half listened, for her senses were attuned to the impending danger that she felt was approaching.
“So aren’t you afraid the Empire’s gonna find out about this little operation and shut you down?” Han asked Lando.
“That’s always been a danger that’s loomed like a shadow over everything we’ve built here,” Lando replied. “But things have developed that will ensure security,” he continued. He stopped in front of a doorway, his expression becoming serious all of a sudden. “I’ve just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever.”
From down the corridor a group of Imperial officers approached, as a squadron of clones surrounded them. Han’s blaster was taken away from him before he had a chance to fire.
“I had no choice,” Lando explained lamely. “They arrived right before you did. I’m sorry.”
Han shook his head. “You bastard,” he spat as he and Chewbacca were bound by their wrists. He looked at Leia. “I should have listened to you,” he said, his eyes full of anguish. “I’m sorry, Leia…”
Leia could only stand and watch as he and Chewbacca were lead away, leaving her and Threepio alone with their captors.
“Where are you taking them?” Leia asked, turning her attention back to the imperial officer in charge.
“No need to concern yourself with them, Princess Leia. You shall see them soon enough.”
Leia turned to see another figure emerge from the group of clones and officers. He was dressed all in black, and looked at Leia with an expression of undisguised lewdness. Leia suddenly remembered where she had seen him: the hangar bay on Hoth. This is Palpatine’s new apprentice…
“Come with me, your highness,” Ferreus said as he took Leia by the arm and escorted her away. “We have much to discuss.” Nubian Cruiser-en route to Bespin Anakin was lost in thought, his mind in turmoil as he focused on his daughter, knowing for certain that at that very moment she was in grave danger. Where are you Kenobi? he thought angrily. And why aren’t you there to protect my daughter like you swore to?
“ETA to Bespin is two point two hours,” Luke told his father after checking the navi-computer. “Push it harder,” Anakin told his son. “That’s too long.”
Padmé stood up behind her husband and put her hands on his shoulders. She could feel the tension in his muscles and massaged them to try to alleviate his tension. “Leia has to be alright,” Padmé said. “She just has to be.”
Anakin did not wish to disclose all that his vision had shown him to his wife; but she knew her husband well enough to realize that when he was this worried, it was for good reason.
“I will make sure of it, Padmé,” Anakin told her, squeezing her hand lightly. “I promise you.”
Padmé nodded, knowing that Anakin meant what he said, but also knowing that at present Leia’s circumstances were beyond even his control.
“I don’t understand why Leia is separate from the rest of the Alliance,” Padmé said.
“No, neither do I,” Luke said. “Even if the Alliance had been forced to evacuate Hoth, which may have been what happened, they would do so en masse.”
“Obviously something has happened to separate her from the rest,” Anakin pointed out. “As well as from Obi-Wan, for I know she would not be in this danger now if he were with her.” He shook his head in frustration. “Can you get any more out of those engines, Luke?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah, R2’s managed a little more Dad,” he told him. “We should arrive there in a little under an hour now.”
Anakin sighed, the frown not leaving his face. “I just hope that’s enough time,” he said softly.
Cloud City-Bespin
Leia could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as she was lead away by the terrifying Sith. She could sense his evil intentions towards her, and they repulsed her. More than that, they frightened her; for while she had some training as a Jedi, she was certainly no match for a Sith, not yet. And I don’t even have a light saber, she reflected grimly.
“Please, sit down,” Ferreus said as they entered a small room. Leia did as she was bade, her eyes never leaving her adversary.
“So, you are the daughter of the famous Anakin Skywalker,” he began, sitting down and regarding her appraisingly.
“Who will cut you into bite sized pieces for this outrage,” she replied evenly.
Ferreus merely laughed. “I’m not afraid of him,” he said smoothly, pushing his cloak over his shoulder and leaning forward to look at her closely. “He’s an old crippled man. I, however, am in the prime of my life. He’s no match for me.”
Leia shook her head, a smile of derision forming on her face. “You really have no clue what you’re talking about,” she told him. “But I have a feeling that you will find out soon enough.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Ferreus replied, getting annoyed at Leia’s refusal to tremble in fear of him.
“You’re a Sith, aren’t you?” she replied, folding her arms over her chest. “Aren’t you supposed to be able to foresee the future? And you replaced my father? Please!”
Ferreus lost his temper and struck her hard across the face. “Enough,” he said, standing up and grabbing her roughly by the arm. “You want proof of my power? I’ll give you the proof you need, Princess.”
With Leia in tow, Ferreus headed down the corridor pulling her along brusquely. They entered a room, and Leia could not help but gasp in horror when she saw what was going on within.
Han had been restrained to a platform at a 45 degree angle away from the floor. Ferreus nodded to the trooper at his side who lowered him to a rather insidious rack of torture devices.
“No don’t!” Leia cried, trying to run to Han. Ferreus grabbed her again and held her against the front of his body.
“Just so you won’t have any further doubt about me, Princess,” he said into her ear, making Leia’s blood run cold.
Even as he was being lowered, electric jolts hit Han’s body, causing excruciating pain. Though stoic at first, as the intensity of the jolts increase, Han could no longer keep from screaming in agony.
“Please stop!” Leia cried, doing her best to wrench away from her captor. “Please!”
“Carry on,” Ferreus said, pulling Leia from the room. Now I have you where I want you, little Princess, he thought with perverse satisfaction. Now we understand one another.
“Perhaps you will no longer question my authority, Princess,” Ferreus said as Leia sobbed against the bulkhead. She forced herself to regain her composure, and looked up at Ferreus with utter hatred in her eyes.
“What do you want from me?” she asked at last.
Ferreus merely smiled in response.
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Post by therealthing on May 27, 2007 19:18:13 GMT -5
Chapter 54 "Now, your highness," Ferreus said smugly as he shoved her back into the small room where they had sat earlier. "About our discussion."
Leia sat with arms folded, legs crossed, doing her best to master the trembling she felt throughout her. The image of Han in agony would not leave her mind, his screams still echoed in her ears. What good was all the Jedi training she'd received now when she was helpless to stop him from suffering so?
"We have nothing to discuss," she finally said, her voice full of anger and pain.
Ferreus smiled. "Oh but we do," he replied, leaning back in his chair easily. "We do. My master seems to think that you are of vital importance, you and your twin brother."
Leia did her best not to react to the mention of Luke. Luckily Ferreus' ability to read the thoughts and emotions of others was rather unimpressive, and she managed to appear unaffected by his statement.
"In fact," Ferreus went on, doing his best to get to her, "he has promised me a great reward when I bring your brother to him. And that reward is you, my pretty little princess."
Ferreus' thoughts were easily read, and they repulsed Leia. "It is a shame you shall never live to collect your reward," she said at this point, using the Force to calm herself. "For should you ever cross paths with my brother, he will remove that smug look from your face permanently."
To her surprise, Ferreus merely laughed and stood up. "You know, I do have to say, Princess Leia," he said as he walked around to behind her chair. "That I admire a woman with spirit." He bent down so that he was right behind her. Leia felt his breath upon her neck, and did her best not to shudder visibly by his close proximity. When he reached his hands up to place them on her shoulders, it was all she could do not to jump out of her seat. "You know, Princess," he said, running a finger down one side of her neck slowly. "I don't believe I've ever had a member of a royal household before," he said lecherously. "I'm looking forward to it a great deal."
Leia closed her eyes and focused on the living Force in an effort to calm herself. The man's intentions were clear; but Leia was not totally defenseless. Having had an opportunity to study her opponent now, she had a feeling that her Force abilities, even at their early stage, were at least a match for Ferreus'. She decided it was time to test her theory. She lifted a hand and summoned the Force, sending Ferreus back against the wall. Leia sprang to her feet and made it to the doorway. Ferreus, stunned momentarily by her surprising attack, lunged after her angrily. Leia screamed as she felt him grab her by the arm, ripping the fabric of her sleeve.
"You little b*tch!" Ferreus roared as he pushed her against the floor with the Force. "You'll regret that!"
Leia tried to free herself, but Ferreus' anger was great, and so the Dark side held her firm to the floor as he advanced upon her menacingly. "You'll pay for your foolishness, little princess," he said as he bent down to her, grasping the fabric of her jacket with one hand. Passersby in the corridor looked with shock for a moment as they saw the commotion, but the feral look on Ferreus' face was enough to stop them from interfering as he dragged her back into the room. He'd almost succeeded when a voice was heard that stopped him.
"Release her!"
"Obi-Wan!" Leia cried as she saw her master standing before them, lightsaber in hand.
"Run, Leia," he commanded her, his voice strong with authority and the Force. Leia took advantage of Ferreus' momentary distraction to escape his grasp and scramble to her feet. She raced to Obi-Wan and embraced him tightly, the fear she was filled with spilling out of her.
"You're safe now, Leia," Obi-Wan told her, not taking his eyes off of Ferreus' for a moment. "Take this," he said, handing her a blaster. "I will deal with this monster, go and find help."
Leia hated to leave him alone, but reasoned that he was more capable of handling Ferreus than she was. Brushing the tears from her face, she pulled the ripped fabric of her jacket together and took off down the corridor, leaving her master to fight the vile Sith.
Anakin, Padmé and Luke entered Cloud City, armed and on high alert. They had spotted the Imperial star destroyers in orbit and it had taken Anakin's Force abilities and knowledge of Imperial procedures in order to bypass them undetected.
"I sense Obi-Wan," Anakin said, standing and focusing on Kenobi's presence. He frowned as he sensed a great disturbance, as he sensed the great waves of terror and pain emanating from his daughter. He turned and looked at Luke, his blue eyes narrowed. "You two find Leia," he said. "I have someone to deal with."
"Anakin wait!" Padmé cried, but he ran off down the corridor without a second look back.
"Come on, Mom," Luke said, taking Padmé's hand. "Dad can take care of himself. We need to get to Leia." As Leia had made her way back to the detention block, she came across Threepio wandering aimlessly about, not really knowing where to go. When he saw her he was relieved beyond relief.
"Mistress Leia!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been?"
"Find out where they're holding Chewie," she told him. "And come help me!"
"But! But!" Threepio sputtered. "Oh!" he said peevishly, not understanding the completely irrational behavior of humans.
When she reached the area where Han was being held captive, she saw Boba Fett and Lando Calrissian standing outside the room in conversation. When Fett saw her approaching, he raised his blaster to fire, only to have Lando give his arm a shove, forcing him to misfire and causing his blaster to fall to the floor. Leia, though surprised by Lando's move, took advantage of it and fired at Fett, hitting him squarely in the chest. The blast merely deflected off of the armor, and so Leia fired again, and again, the impact sending Fett back against the wall, but not injuring him. He raised one arm to shoot at Leia with the rocket blaster situated on his forearm. He got off a couple of shots, which Leia managed to dodge.
“The neck, Leia!” Lando shouted. “Aim for the neck!”
Not giving Fett a chance to shoot with the other arm, Leia aimed squarely for his throat, causing him to splutter and gurgle horrifically as his own blood strangled him. "See you in hell, scum," Lando spat as the body of the nefarious Fett tumbled to the floor.
"This way," Lando told Leia, as she stared at the bloody body on the floor.
It had all happened so quickly that Leia had no choice but to accept Lando's help, and merely nodded as he took her hand and headed down the corridor. Clones were on guard outside Han's cell, and were quickly dispatched by Leia and Lando.
Leia burst into the room, ready to kill anyone who stood between her and Han, only to find him alone, lying on a hard bench.
"Han!" she cried as she rushed to him while Lando covered the door.
Han opened his eyes, and when he saw Leia he tried to smile. "I feel terrible," he said weakly.
Leia stroked his hair gently, the tears streaming down her face. "I was so scared," she whispered, the feelings she had been trying to deny for so long bubbling to the surface. She pressed her face to his. "I was so scared I'd lose you."
Han smiled wanly. "I'm not goin' anywhere, sweetheart," he assured her. "Just need a little rest, that's all." The faint smile he wore faded when he saw the bruises on her face and her torn clothing. Frowning, he struggled to get up on one elbow. "Who did this to you?" he demanded angrily. "Who?"
Leia shook her head. "Never mind me," she said, pushing him back down gently. "I'm fine. Obi-Wan has arrived, he'll help us get out of here."
Han rested back on the bench, the frown not leaving his face. "I should have listened to you," he told her, reaching up and lightly touching her battered face. "Next time I don't, I give you permission to kick me square in the cocky Corellian butt."
Leia couldn't help but laugh at him, and a rush of emotion filled her. She bent down and kissed him softly. "I love you, Han," she told him, stroking her hair. "I know that sounds crazy, but I do."
Han smiled. "Doesn't sound so crazy to me," he replied, closing his eyes. "I'm a pretty loveable guy."
"Princess, we have visitors."
Leia looked over at the door to where Lando stood just in time to see her brother and mother enter the room.
"Leia!" Padmé exclaimed, seeing her daughter for the first time.
"Mother!" Leia cried, running to her mother. They embraced tightly, Leia crying with relief and pent up emotion.
"You okay?" Luke said to Han who had managed to sit up by this point with Luke's assistance.
Han nodded. "Yeah, I think so," he said. "How did you know to find us here? No, let me guess. The Force."
Luke smiled. "Where's Chewie? He okay?"
"I …I don't know," Han said, still disoriented. "Your dad here too?"
"He's gone after someone," Luke said. "I don't know who."
"Ferreus," Lando told them. "The bastard who set all this up," he went on. He looked at Leia. "The one who attacked you, Princess."
Leia nodded her understanding, a grim smile of satisfaction on her face. "Well he has no idea what he's in for," she said. "He doesn't know that Anakin Skywalker is alive and well."
Padmé looked at Lando. "Who is this Ferreus?" she asked suspiciously.
"Palpatine's new apprentice," Leia told her mother. "A Sith, or a Sith pretender," she said. "He won't last five minutes with Dad, assuming Obi-Wan hasn't killed him already."
"Ben is here?" Luke asked.
Leia nodded. "He saved me," she told her brother. "If it hadn't been for him…" she stopped as she realized how close she had come to being raped by the villainous Ferreus. "He came just in time."
"Maybe I should go and help him," Luke said, standing up. "You stay here with Leia," he told his mother.
"I'm afraid no one is going anywhere," an officer at the doorway said as he appeared with a phalanx of storm troopers. "At least, not at the moment."
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Post by therealthing on May 29, 2007 20:34:13 GMT -5
Chapter 55 Ferreus stood in the doorway sizing up his opponent. He’d heard the princess call him Obi-Wan; could this be Obi-Wan Kenobi? The great hero of the Clone Wars? Surely he was dead by now, killed in the purges along with all the other traitors.
“You’ll be sorry you interfered, old man,” Ferreus warned as he took his own weapon from his belt.
Obi-Wan was not intimidated by the younger man’s attempts to bully him. “I was about to say the same thing,” he replied at last. “How curious.”
Ferreus frowned and ignited his saber. “You Jedi think you’re so superior,” he sneered, approaching Kenobi slowly. “So self-righteous, so noble. So why is it there are none of you left, save a pathetic few like you?”
“I think you know very well why,” Obi-Wan countered. “We were betrayed by that thing you call your master. The time of the Sith is about to end, though. You and your master will be destroyed, bringing an end to the Sith’s reign of terror forever.”
Ferreus laughed and lunged hard at Obi-Wan. “I don’t think so, old man,” he said over their crossed blades.
Obi-Wan had not been involved in a duel in many years; age and lack of practice had taken their toll on him. He did his utmost to fend off the crude moves of the Sith, using his superior Force abilities to make up for Ferreus’ superior physical strength. However, it wasn’t long before he began to tire under the younger man’s unrelenting attack. Ferreus saw this, and pushed harder, sensing that victory was near.
“The Sith shall never die, you old fool,” Ferreus gloated. “Today will mark the end of the Jedi, not the Sith. You and your pathetic Skywalker twins will all be destroyed, and the Sith shall rule forever!”
“You’re gravely mistaken, Sith.”
Ferreus and Obi-Wan turned to see Anakin Skywalker standing before them, lightsaber held out in front of him.
“Anakin!” Obi-Wan exclaimed, seeing him.
“Looks like I’m saving your skin again, doesn’t it?” Anakin said, not taking his eyes from Ferreus.
“Well isn’t this charming,” Ferreus said, trying to hide his alarm at seeing a very healthy and strong Anakin Skywalker rather than his predecessor, Darth Vader. “A reunion of old friends,” he sneered. “So sorry to have to end it so soon,” he added, taking Obi-Wan’s moment of distraction and thrusting him against the far wall. Kenobi hit the wall hard, and landed unconscious.
Anakin sensed that Obi-Wan was alive, but the sight of his old master injured only added to his fury, which he was doing his best to keep in check. He looked over at Ferreus, his blue eyes cold as Hoth. He could sense the man’s shock and fear at seeing him, and it almost made him smile. “You were expecting someone else,” he said simply, startling Ferreus with the ease with which he read his thoughts. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Ferreus snorted derisively. “Disappointed? Quite the contrary, Skywalker,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to telling you how much I enjoyed your daughter.”
For a moment Anakin went utterly still, his mind bombarded with images too horrible to speak of. “You’re lying,” he said at last, his voice low and full of anger. “You’re lying!”
It was Ferreus’ turn to smile. “Do you know I don’t believe I’ve ever bedded a princess before,” he goaded. “Not that there was a bed involved, actually…”
With a shout of blind fury, Anakin attacked, lunging furiously at Ferreus who had no choice but to back pedal. Anakin forced Ferreus down the corridor, striking his blade furiously, with more aggression than Ferreus could have imagined him possible of. Anakin’s strength and mastery of the Force both astounded and terrified Ferreus, who was beginning to think that he was in over his head. This was no crippled old man he was fighting; Skywalker was still young, incredibly strong and perfectly healthy. More than that, he was lethal.
Anakin could see the terror in Ferreus’ eyes, who was too untrained to hide it, and he pressed him harder. “You are a liar,” he spat. “I can see it in your mind, you pathetic fool!”
Ferreus tried to respond, but Anakin leapt over his head, confusing and disorienting him momentarily. But it was enough to give Anakin the second he needed to disarm his vastly inferior foe, who could only stand and look in shock at his opponent who now stood poised to kill him.
“Don’t kill me,” Ferreus implored, losing all shred of pride in the face of his own demise. “Please! I’ll do anything you want! I’m begging you!”
Flashes from the past, to a duel on a separatist ship with Count Dooku came to Anakin’s mind. He had Dooku’s life in his hands, but what had he done? Had he done the right thing? Or had he taken the first step on the path that eventually led him to utter darkness? But he deserves to die! A voice inside of him protested. For even daring to think of doing such a thing to Leia! Surely that alone is worthy of death!
Ferreus could see the indecision in Anakin’s eyes, and it confused him. But more than that, it gave him an opportunity. Pulling his sleeve back, he withdrew a lethal set of lightclaws hidden in the folds of his cloak. Moving faster than Anakin would have given him credit for, he lunged at Anakin, the deadly short blades packing just as much lethal power as a lightsaber.
As is often the case, however, Ferreus vastly underestimated his opponent, who saw the move coming in his mind seconds before Ferreus’ executed it. With one blade, Anakin sliced through the wrist that held the claws, the other he held to Ferreus’ throat.
“Foolish mistake,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t you realize it is the destiny of the Chosen One to destroy the Sith?”
“Go to Hell, Skywalker,” Ferreus snarled.
“I’ll leave that to you,” Anakin replied. “But you can go to Hell with the knowledge that your master will soon be joining you.”
“No!” Ferreus screamed, but his cry was cut short by his own blade slicing his throat open. He fell to the floor.
Anakin turned off both sabers at once, and then tossed Ferreus’ to the floor beside his dead body. He then turned and left the bloodied spectacle and went to find Obi-Wan.
“Step inside if you please,” the officer said, indicating the open door from whence Luke had just stepped. Surrounded by clones with their weapons trained on him, he had no choice but to comply.
“Now what!” Leia asked as she saw Luke return with an armed escort.
“Don’t be alarmed, Princess Leia,” the officer said to her. “I assure you I’m here to help you.” He turned to the clones. “Stand down,” he instructed them, and at once they lowered their weapons and stood at ease. He turned back to Padmé and her children. “My name is Firmus Piett, I am commander of the Imperial Star Destroyer Executor,” he explained. “And for the past several weeks I have had the decided misfortune to serve under the vile, despicable creature known as Darth Ferreus.”
“You have my sympathies,” Leia said wryly at this point.
Piett looked at her, taking note of the bruises on her face. “I trust he did not harm you too greatly, Princess?”
“He would have if Obi-Wan Kenobi hadn’t shown up when he did,” Leia told him. “He was about to rape me, I’m certain of it.”
Padmé looked at her daughter in horror. “Oh, Leia,” she said with a frown, taking Leia’s hand. “I had no idea! What a monster!” She turned to Piett. “You served this man and you expect us to trust you?”
Piett smiled. “I can certainly understand your reluctance, milady,” he said. “But I assure you that I am finished serving him. In fact, the entire crew of the Executor is finished, and we have decided to mutiny.”
Everyone in the room was too shocked to reply. Finally it was Han who spoke up. “Mutiny? An Imperial Star Destroyer? Who do you take us for, idiots?”
“I am the greatest earnest, I assure you,” Piett replied, looking at them each in turn. “When I found out what the emperor’s plan was, to get revenge on Darth Vader by destroying his children, I was appalled. I know the Empire is corrupt; you don’t serve in an intuition as long as I have without learning a few things. But that crossed the line. Darth Vader may have been ruthless in his time, but the fact that he gave up that life to save you, Princess, speaks volumes of the quality of man he is.”
“No truer words ever spoken,” Padmé said.
“I found it reprehensible that Palpatine would punish such decency, and would use such a disgusting character to see it done,” Piett continued. “I think the final straw was the blatant disregard Ferreus showed for the crew of the ship under his command. He abused his power, killing on a whim, parading whores through the vessel like it was his own personal brothel. When he killed my life time friend for something that he could not be faulted for, I decided that I’d had enough. It didn’t take much to convince them to join me, for many of them had felt the wrath of Ferreus upon them.”
“Your words are very moving, Admiral,” Padmé said at last. “But I’m afraid I don’t understand what you are proposing. If you wish to mutiny, that is certainly understandable; but why involve my family in your insurrection?”
“Because you are the family of Anakin Skywalker,” Piett replied. “The greatest Jedi who ever lived. And you,” he added, addressing Luke and Leia, “are heroes of the Rebel Alliance. Who better to join forces with?”
“Let me get this straight,” Luke said at this point. “Are you suggesting that you want to join the rebellion against the Empire?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I am suggesting,” Piett replied.
“The alliance with the help of an Imperial Star Destroyer would be…” Leia began.
“A force to be reckoned with.”
Everyone turned to the door to see Anakin standing there, an arm around a rather woozy looking Obi-Wan.
“Dad!” Leia cried, running to her father at once. Anakin took Leia into his free arm and held her tightly. Piett watched the exchange between father and daughter, smiling to himself as he realized that he had made the right choice.
“Thank the Maker you’re alright,” Anakin told his daughter as he kissed the top of her head. “I’ve been so worried.”
Leia only nodded, knowing that if she responded the tears that she was fighting so hard to control would be back at once.
“Come and have a seat, Ben,” Luke said as he helped Obi-Wan to the same hard bench where Han had rested earlier. “You okay?” he asked as Obi-Wan sat down.
“I think so,” Obi-Wan replied as he rubbed the back of his head gingerly.
“Leia told us what you did for her,” Luke said. “I can’t thank you enough, none of us can.”
Obi-Wan smiled. “What sort of a master would I be if I let harm come to my padawan?” he asked, looking over at Leia who was still hugging her father tightly.
“Anakin Skywalker, I presume?” Piett said, approaching Anakin with a smile and an extended hand.
Anakin nodded at him.
“I’m Firmus Piett, renegade,” he replied with a smile.
Anakin laughed and shook his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Firmus Piett, renegade. I understand we are to be allies.”
“That remains to be seen,” Piett replied, looking back at the rest of the assemblage.
“What do you think of the admiral’s proposal, Anakin?” Padmé asked.
Anakin looked at Piett, studying the man thoroughly. He sensed no deception in his mind, no malice; only honesty, integrity, and a strong sense of honor. This was a man that they could trust and depend upon.
“I say we go for it,” Anakin said at last.
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Post by therealthing on May 31, 2007 6:25:57 GMT -5
Chapter 56 “There’s one thing you should know, Piett,” Anakin said. “Ferreus is dead. I hope that won’t dampen the enthusiasm of your men to mount an insurrection against the Empire.”
“No, quite the contrary, I’m sure,” Piett replied. “And I think I can speak for them when I say how glad I am to hear it.”
“Not much of an opponent, was he?” Obi-Wan said. “I imagine you dispatched him quite easily, Anakin.”
Anakin walked over to his old friend and nodded. “You tired him out though,” he said with a smile. “Made my job easier.”
Obi-Wan chuckled. “Well I don’t know about that, but thanks for saying so.”
“Thank you for saving my daughter,” Anakin replied, all joking gone from his tone. “If you hadn’t come when you had…I hate to think of what he’d have done to her.”
“I am her master, Anakin,” he said. “That is part of my commitment to her. Although I do need to have a chat with her about the expectations of a padawan. She is a little too strong willed, sort of reminds me of someone else.”
Anakin laughed. There was so much he wanted to say to Obi-Wan, so much that needed to be said, but he hardly knew where to begin. Besides, it hardly seemed the time or the place for such a discussion. There were plans to be made, and it had already been a very long day. The fatigue of many sleepless nights was beginning to take its toll on him.
“Perhaps we should reconvene in the morning,” Piett suggested. “You have all had a rather eventful and trying day, I dare say,” he added.
“A splendid idea,” Padmé said. “I’m sure we would all benefit from a good meal and some rest.”
“My troops have everything under control,” Piett assured them, “so rest easy tonight. I shall return in the morning.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Anakin said. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s hungry enough to eat a bantha, right Luke?” he asked his son with a smile.
Luke laughed. “You got that right,” he assured his father.
“Well allow me to find you some accommodations for the night,” Lando spoke up. “And if I may suggest a little place I know for dinner, I’m sure they can arrange a private room for you. This is, after all, a rather special occasion.”
“The first time the four of us have all been together, I’d call that rather special,” Leia said, looking at her parents with a smile.
Padmé nodded, returning her daughter’s smile. “Yes,” she said. “That is true. Perhaps we can take an opportunity to get freshened up before we have dinner,” she said, realizing that Leia would probably dearly love a chance to get changed.
“We have some very exclusive boutiques, ladies,” Lando told Padmé and Leia. “If you are interested.”
“Here we go,” Anakin said.
Padmé turned to him. “Excuse me?” she asked, trying not to smile.
“Nothing, my love,” he said. “Nothing at all. You two go on ahead while we get settled in.”
“Sounds like a splendid idea,” Padmé said, walking over and kissing Anakin on the cheek. “We’ll meet up with you later.” Opera house-Imperial City
Palpatine stifled a yawn as he sat through yet another over dramatic aria. He did not particularly like opera, but he realized that he at least had to pretend to. It would be all over the holonet if the emperor was seen dozing off at the galactic premier of My Mon Calamari Lover. As if their ballet wasn’t atrocious enough, he thought irritably as he shifted in his seat.
Finally the curtain fell to end the second act, and Palpatine breathed a sigh of relief that another segment was over. He turned to listen to the comment his aide was making when was suddenly struck by a tremor in the Force. He focused his mind on the Dark Side, bringing his mind into oneness with its dark power. Ferreus is dead, he thought with certainty. That idiot has failed me yet again.
The fact that Ferreus was dead did not concern Palpatine so much in itself, but rather that it meant he needed to find another apprentice. That was annoying. Good help was so hard to find these days, he thought sourly as the lights dimmed once again to announce the commencement of the third act.
Cloud City
Anakin and his family, along with Han, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan and Lando sat together enjoying a sumptuous meal in one of Cloud City’s most elegant eating establishments. Lando had arranged for them to have a private room; both Anakin and Padmé were rather famous personalities in the galaxy, neither of whom was quite ready to reenter the general population as yet.
“That’s a great outfit, sweetheart,” Han told Leia, reaching out to take her hand on the table. “You look fantastic.”
“Thanks,” she said, feeling her father’s eyes upon her as Han held her hand.
“What’s the matter, Ani?” Padmé asked her husband. “You’ve hardly touched your dessert. That isn’t like you.”
Anakin looked at his wife, not able to shake the uneasy feeling he was beginning to get from his daughter. She likes him, he thought in utter shock. She loves him! He’s a smuggler! Pirate! Mercenary! And he’s at least ten years older than her! What does she… “Ani?” Padmé asked, seeing that he was light years away.
“Yes?”
Padmé frowned, looking over at Han and Leia and then back at Anakin, realizing why he was so distracted. “You seem rather upset about something.”
“No, just tired is all,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s been a long day.”
Padmé nodded, not believing him for a moment, but not wanting to get into it in their present surroundings.
“I think we could all use some rest,” Padmé said. “Perhaps it’s time we retired for the night. It’s been a long day.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Obi-Wan said, stifling a yawn. “Some of us aren’t as young as we used to be,” he added, looking straight at Anakin.
Anakin stood up and pulled Padmé’s chair out for her. “Speak for yourself, old timer,” he said. “I’m still in my prime.”
Luke and Leia laughed at their father’s comment, enjoying the banter between him and Obi-Wan.
“Do you see the blatant disrespect I have to put up with?” Obi-Wan asked Luke and Leia with a rueful shake of his head.
“Was that disrespect when I saved your skin today?” Anakin asked him as they walked out the door.
“Well, not exactly,” Obi-Wan conceded.
Anakin merely nodded with a smile. “I’ve missed you, Obi-Wan,” he said, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.
Obi-Wan was surprised by Anakin’s admission, and it touched him. “It is good to have you back, old friend.”
Lando had tactfully arranged to have Leia stay in an enormous suite with her parents, while Luke, Han, Chewbacca and Obi-Wan bunked down together in much less luxurious accommodations down the corridor.
Anakin and Padmé bade goodnight to their son, Obi-Wan and the others and started heading up to their own suite. Anakin, however, noticed that Leia was hanging back, and he felt certain that he knew why. He watched at a discreet distance as she and Han shared a tender embrace, feeling every muscle in his body tense up as he did so. Get your hands off of her you pirate, he thought angrily to himself. It was all he could do not to reach out with the Force and push Han away from her, and send him falling ass over tea kettle into the corridor. I’d enjoy seeing that, he thought with dark amusement. Maybe that would take the arrogant look from his face… “Anakin, are you coming?”
He turned to see Padmé standing there. Judging by the look on her face, she knew why he was lingering behind. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she could read my mind, he thought as he let her take him by the hand and down the corridor.
“Nice place,” Anakin said as he and Padmé entered the suite. “Yes, very nice,” she agreed looking around. “Almost as big as our home on Coruscant.”
“Yeah,” he said, sitting down on one of the sofas, folding his arms over his chest.
“Coming to bed?” she asked.
“I’ll be there in a moment,” he said. “I just want to have a chat with our daughter.”
“Anakin, do you really think that’s such a good idea?” she asked.
Anakin’s response was prevented by the entrance of Leia into the suite. She sensed immediately that her parents had been talking about her, and looked from one to the other.
“Something going on I should know about?” she asked.
“I just wanted to have a talk with you, Leia,” Anakin said. “Come and have a seat.”
“We wanted to have a talk,” Padmé corrected him, realizing that her daughter’s best chance of withstanding Anakin’s interrogation was with her acting as a buffer.
Anakin waited until both his wife and his daughter took their seats before he spoke. Being a man of legendary bluntness, he came straight to the point. “Just what exactly is going on between you and Han Solo?”
Leia had to stop herself from letting her jaw drop open at the directness of her father. “Excuse me?” she managed to ask after a moment.
“I think you heard me,” he replied, watching her closely. “What were you doing kissing him? Holding hands with him? What is going on, Leia?”
Leia frowned. “I should think that was fairly obvious,” she said, starting to get annoyed with her father’s attitude. “He and I have feelings for one another.”
“Are you mad?” Anakin asked with a frown. “He is a smuggler! A pirate! A mercenary! He’s not even close to being worthy of you! He..”
“I love him, and it’s my choice,” Leia interrupted, doing her best to keep her temper in check.
“Yes, of course it’s your choice who you love, isn’t it, Anakin?” Padmé put in, doing her best to mediate.
“I’m not so sure it should be,” Anakin replied tersely, folding his arms over his chest. “If this is an example of the sort of choice she makes.”
That was all it took to make Leia lose her cool. “You have no right to judge the decisions I make!” she cried.
“You’re too young to know what’s best for you!” Anakin countered.
“You were my age when you married my mother!” Leia returned.
“What does that have to do with anything!?”
“Don’t you think that makes you something of a hypocrite for judging me based on my age?”
“So now I’m a hypocrite!?”
“If the shoe fits,” Leia said, matching his stare with uncanny composure.
Padmé could only sit and watch the two sparring, unable to get a word in edgewise. They are so much alike it’s scary, she thought.
Anakin took a moment to calm himself, taking a deep breath and counting to ten silently. “Leia, you are not even twenty years old,” he said. “Do you know how old your Corellian pilot is?” Leia shrugged, and Anakin could tell by her gesture that she knew very well.
“He’s a lot older,” Anakin continued. “A lot. It’s just not right for someone his age to be involved with someone not even out of her teenage years. Surely you can see that.”
“All I can see is that you are too narrow minded to consider that there is more to Han than you have seen,” Leia replied. “Besides, just because you are my father doesn’t give you the right to tell me who I can or cannot get involved with! I’m not a child anymore, Dad. Stop treating me like one!”
“Fine,” Anakin said, standing up suddenly. “You do what you want; it’s obvious that my opinion means nothing to you. Just don’t come crying to me when he breaks your heart, Leia; because mark my words, that’s what he’ll do if you give him the opportunity.”
“Anakin, you don’t mean that,” Padmé said to him, but he didn’t stop and headed back to the bedroom. Padmé turned to Leia.
“Your father is ….very over protective,” she said. “But I’m sure you’ve noticed that about him by now.”
Leia nodded. “No kidding,” she said. “I’m not going to let him bully me into pushing Han away, Mother,” she averred.
Padmé smiled. “I don’t think he could even if he wanted to,” she said, taking Leia’s hand. “I can see how much Han means to you. And for what it’s worth, I think he’s a charming young man.”
Leia smiled. “It’s worth a lot,” she said, “thanks Mom. Do you know how nice it is to call you Mom?” she added.
Padmé nodded. “It’s very nice hearing it too,” she replied. “Don’t think too harshly of your father, Leia,” she added, lifting her hand to brush an errant wisp of hair from Leia’s face. “He hasn’t really been a father for too long now, remember? He’s bound to make a few mistakes along the way. But his heart is in the right place. You know how very much he adores you and Luke.”
Leia nodded. “I know,” she said softly. “I just hope he learns to accept this.”
“He will,” Padmé assured her. “Give him time.”
“Okay,” Leia replied. “I love you, Mom,” she said, leaning over and hugging Padmé.
Padmé closed her eyes and hugged Leia back. “I love you too, Leia,” she replied. “Sleep well.”
Padmé found Anakin brooding in the bedroom, sitting on the bed, back against the headboard, his arms folded over his chest. He reminded her very much of the way he looked when he was a boy if something did not go his way; but she decided it would be unwise to remark upon that at this particular moment.
“She’s so bloody stubborn,” he grumbled as Padmé sat down at the dressing table and commenced unfastening the chignon at the nape of her neck. She glanced in the mirror at his reflection, trying not to smile.
“She is,” she agreed as she pulled the pins out of her hair. “Sort of reminds me of you.”
Anakin only snorted in reply. “He’s too old for her,” he said. “And he’s a smuggler Padmé, a smuggler!”
“Was, Anakin, he was a smuggler,” she corrected him. “According to Leia he abandoned all that to join the Alliance. Doesn’t that tell you something?”
“Business was slow?” Anakin suggested acerbically. Padmé shook her head. “You are something else, you know that? You of all people,” she said, picking up her brush as she shook the curls loose.
Anakin frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
Padmé turned to face him. “Anakin, how do you suppose my father would have felt if he’d known that I’d married you?”
“Your father liked me as I recall,” Anakin replied.
“Yes, as my Jedi protector,” Padmé responded. “But had he known that we were secretly married, don’t you think he’d have had some objections?”
“Such as?” he asked.
“Anakin, you were a slave,” she reminded him gently. “And committed to an institution that forbade marriage. I can assure you, he would have been less than happy had he known.”
“Why should the fact that I was a slave make any difference?” he asked defensively. “Was your father an elitist or something?”
Padmé couldn’t help but laugh at his comment, at the irony of it. “Anakin, do you hear yourself? You are angry with my poor dead father for something he never did, while you yourself are doing that very thing to Han Solo!”
“I…” Anakin began, and then stopped as he realized he’d been trapped, yet again, in his wife’s impeccable logic. “Is that what I’m doing?”
Padmé stood up and walked over to the bed. “Yes, my love,” she said. “You are.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “You have to let go a little, Anakin. Give Leia credit for knowing how to judge a person. She’s a Jedi padawan, remember? If Han was a lecherous deviant don’t you think she’d know it?”
“I never called him that!” Anakin protested feebly.
“No, but you were thinking it,” she said with a smile, standing up.
He looked up her, narrowing his eyes. “Are you sure you’re not Force sensitive?” he asked, unnerved yet again by her ability to read his thoughts.
Padmé laughed. “Yes, quite sure,” she replied. “I just know and understand my husband very, very well,” she told him, bending to kiss his cheek. “I’m going to get ready for bed.”
“Okay,” he said. “I guess you’re right,” he conceded at last, the words sticking in his throat. “Again.”
She smiled on her way to the fresher. “Aren’t I always?”
“No,” he replied at once. “Only…ninety nine point nine percent of the time,” he added.
Padmé laughed all the way to the fresher.
Anakin got off the bed and got changed for bed, his mind full of his wife’s words as he did so. It would be ironic indeed if he were judging another based on their past, given his own nefarious past. And yet, wasn’t that what he was doing? No, there’s more to it than just the smuggling…he’s TOO DAMN OLD…and nothing Padmé says can make me change my mind about that.
Climbing under the covers, he closed his eyes, feeling tired all of a sudden from the day’s taxing events. He wondered if Palpatine had sensed the death of Ferreus yet, if indeed the death of such pathetic excuse for a Sith was enough to…
“Ani? You asleep? Still sulking?”
“I’m not sleeping, and I was not sulking,” he replied not opening his eyes.
“I bought this today, I thought you might like it,” she said.
Anakin opened his eyes, and then widened them when he saw Padmé dressed in a sheer pink nightie very much like the one she wore on their wedding night.
“Do you like it?” she asked, walking over to the bed.
“You take my breath away,” he said softly, reaching a hand out to her.
Padmé smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said, putting her hand in his.
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Post by therealthing on Jun 1, 2007 16:46:03 GMT -5
Chapter 57 Lord Vader…can you hear me?
I am not Lord Vader anymore; I have renounced the Dark Side. You may think you have, but I know you better than that. I know your lust for power is too strong for you to ignore it for long.
You don’t know me at all, you never did.
I want you to come home, Lord Vader, back where you belong. You don’t belong among those pathetic rebels – your strength is wasted there. Come back here and all will be forgotten.
Never.
You can have whatever you wish- if it’s power you want, I will give it to you. I can give you anything you want- can the rebels you have taken up with say the same?
I have something now that you would never give me- acceptance, freedom, and love.
Love? Since when does a Sith need love? If it’s your wife you want, then fine, you can have her with you if you wish. I will even help you search for a way to repair your injuries so you can be whole again.
I am whole again, you twisted monster. More whole than you could ever be in a thousand life times.
I see…well then bring your wife with you, share your life with her here, return to my right hand, my friend, and I will reward you handsomely for your loyalty.
I would rather go through the fires of Mustafar a thousand times than join you again, Sidious! The time will come when I will come back to you, but it will not be to join you, it will be to destroy you.
You cannot destroy your own kind, Vader…and we are the same, you and I, don’t try to deny it.
No! I am redeemed! I will never turn to the Dark Side again, do you hear me? Never!
Who are you trying to convince, Vader? Me or yourself?
Anakin woke with a start, his heart thumping hard in his chest. He sat up in the bed, astonished to find himself bathed in sweat. What the hell was that? he wondered anxiously. A dream or a conversation? Running his hands through his sweaty hair, he summoned the Force to calm his rattled nerves and slow the hammering of his heart.
“Ani?” Padmé asked sleepily, turning to him. “You okay?”
“Yes,” he lied, bending down and kissing her bare shoulder. “Go back to sleep.”
“Okay,” she murmured and was soon sound asleep again. Anakin moved over to the other side of the bed and got off. Picking up his sleep pants from where they had been tossed the previous night, he pulled them on and left room, closing the door silently behind him.
Anakin walked over to the vast picture window in the large central living area. Folding his arms, he stood staring outside as the lights of passing vehicles flickered across the ebony sky.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked as he sensed his daughter approaching him.
“No, you?” she asked as she came over to stand beside him.
“Well I was asleep,” he told her.
“So what happened?” she asked. “Bad dream?”
“I don’t know,” he told her truthfully. He turned and looked at her. “I think the emperor contacted me, Leia. He’s trying to get me to rejoin the Dark Side.”
Leia stood perfectly still as she felt a cold wave of anxiety filling her. “Dad, no,” she finally said. “Please tell me you told him where to go and how to get there.”
Anakin was mildly shocked by her colorful choice of words. No doubt the influence of that pirate again, he thought bitterly. “Well yes, in so many words,” he replied. “Don’t worry, Leia,” he assured her. “I have no intention of returning to the Dark Side. Clearly Palpatine is desperate now that his brilliant protégé is dead,” he added wryly.
Leia smiled. “No doubt,” she agreed.
“At any rate,” Anakin said as he walked across the room. “I let him know in no uncertain terms that I had renounced the Dark Side, and that the only circumstances under which I would return to him was to destroy him.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t too pleased about that,” Leia commented, joining her father on the sofa.
“No, I’m sure he wasn’t,” Anakin replied. He looked at his daughter, hating the tension that had suddenly sprung up between them. “I hate this, Leia,” he said.
She frowned, knowing exactly what he meant. “I do too,” she said. “I’m sorry I called you a hypocrite.”
“And I’m sorry I treated you like a child,” he countered.
“I’m sorry I called you a stubborn, overbearing nerf herder,” Leia said.
Anakin frowned. “You didn’t,” he said.
“No, but I was thinking it,” she said with a grin.
Anakin was shocked, but then had to laugh.
“I suppose I will have to learn some modicum of tolerance,” he admitted with a dramatic sigh. “And keep my opinions to myself.”
“All I’m asking is that you give him a chance,” Leia said. “I know you two got off to a rough start,” she added, wincing at the understatement, “but as hard as this may be to believe, you actually have a lot in common.”
Anakin snorted in response. “You’re right, that is hard to believe.”
“Dad,” Leia said. “Come on.”
“Okay, okay,” Anakin relented. “I’m sorry. I will try to see beyond the smuggler to the man you so obviously believe is underneath his arrogant, cocky, sarcastic...”
“Dad!”
“Façade. Okay? Is that good enough?”
Leia sighed. “I suppose so,” she said.
“Good. I’m just glad you’re alright,” he said, his more tone serious. “Good old Obi-Wan,” he added with a smile. “As reliable as ever.”
Leia observed her father for a moment. “He’s really missed you, Dad,” she told him. “I know he feels largely responsible for what happened to you.”
“He shouldn’t,” he replied. “I was not exactly an easy padawan to deal with. Which reminds me,” he said, turning and looking at her. “He’s not pleased with you for the way you ditched him back on Hoth,” he told her.
“No, I’m sure he isn’t,” she said.
“And neither am I, to be honest,” he added. “He is your master, Leia; you need to respect him and do as his bids.” Did I just say that?? he thought incredulously.
“Yes, Dad,” she said, properly contrite.
“Off the record though,” Anakin continued. “I’m very impressed that you were able to ditch him. Not happy, but impressed.”
Leia looked up at him with a small grin.
“How did you manage it?” he asked.
“Um, well…” Leia began, a little embarrassedly, “we were on our way to the transport, which I had no real intention of boarding, when I told him I had to go back to my quarters, that I’d forgotten something important.”
Anakin frowned. “I can’t imagine how he fell for that,” he said. “A pretty flimsy excuse and he bought it?”
“Well, I didn’t tell you what I told him I forgot,” Leia said. “I told him that I forgot my…female necessities. He didn’t question me at all.”
Anakin burst into laughter, the thought of how embarrassed Obi-Wan must have been at that moment making him laugh even harder.
“Force that is funny,” he said after a few moments. “He always was a squeamish one when it came to anything female. Did his face go all red and did he stroke his beard like mad?”
Leia nodded, giggling madly. “Yes, that’s it exactly! You know him so well!”
“Well, you don’t spend that much time with someone without getting to know everything about them,” he said. “I used to love to tease him, poor Obi-Wan. He never knew what to expect from me next. I guess I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a model pupil.”
“He told me you saved his life more times than he can remember,” she said. “That matters more than following the rules all the time.”
Anakin nodded. “True,” he said. A smile spread across his face as a memory unfolded in his mind.
“What?” Leia asked, seeing that he was amused by something.
“No, I shouldn’t tell you,” he said. “It would embarrass him.”
“Oh come on,” she said. “I told you what I said to him. It’s your turn now.”
Anakin laughed. “I’m definitely a bad influence on you,” he decided. “But okay. During the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan and I had many adventures as you can imagine. But there was one that will always stand out in my mind as being perhaps the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Leia’s eyes went as wide as saucers at this point. “Oh, tell me, tell me!”
Anakin chuckled at her enthusiasm. “We were on the planet Cato Nemoidia, deep inside the caverns. I won’t go into all the details of the mission, suffice it to say we had been warned about some spores that tended to have an unusual affect on humans. As Jedi we always carried rebreathers with us in case we had to enter an area with conditions not suitable to humans, but something must have happened to his, because he was exposed to these spores. Leia, he looked like he’d downed three bottles of Kittani’s Finest. When I got there he was just standing in place, but he was swaying and tottering and reeling, all the while evading and even parrying a steady stream of laser blast! And if that wasn’t ridiculous enough, sometimes he’d even stop to congratulate himself on what a fine job he was doing!”
Leia laughed until she had tears streaming down her face as her father described the antics of the normally dignified Jedi Master, intoxicated and giddy from the effects of free flying spores deep within the caverns of Cato Nemoidia.
Padmé watched from the doorway as the two of them laughed together and smiled. That’s more like it; she thought to herself and then returned to bed.
At breakfast the next morning Anakin braced himself for the arrival of Han Solo, determined not to let his obvious dislike and mistrust of the man be quite so obvious. But the moment Han walked in the door, or rather swaggered through the door in Anakin’s eyes, he immediately began to have visions of him slipping and falling with his legs shooting up in the air, and he had to try hard not to laugh out loud at the image. He looked away in order to regain his air of quiet dignity lest Leia see that he was smirking and guess the reason why.
“Morning, uh, sir,” Han said as Leia held onto his arm, no doubt directing him to her father.
“Solo,” Anakin replied simply.
Leia looked from one to the other, realizing that it was going to be a hard sell to both to get them to accept the other. She nudged Han in the ribs, earning her a sharp look from him.
“Look, I ...uh, know we kind of got off to a bit of a rough start,” Han began nervously.
“You invited me to jump out of your ship while it was airborne,” Anakin remembered, enjoying the moment immensely. “And then you said my act of benevolence, which I believe meant saving my daughter’s life, meant jack squat to you,” he continued. “And then I think you called me a liar when I told Luke I was his father. So if that constitutes a rough start, then yes, I’d have to agree with you.”
Han was unnerved by Anakin’s cool, composed manner, by the icy stare of his cerulean eyes, but most of all by the manner in which he had succinctly summed up their first encounter. He swallowed, realizing that this was not going to be easy. Anakin Skywalker may be Leia’s father, but he was also more intimidating than anyone Han had ever encountered. And that was saying a lot.
“Yeah, well,” Han began. “About that. I suppose maybe I was a little …judgmental,” he said, forcing the words out. “Wouldn’t be the first time,” he added, trying to lighten the mood. Anakin merely watched him squirm, doing his best not to show his enjoyment openly.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is, can we start over, you and me?” Han asked. “Let bygones be bygones sorta thing?”
Anakin moved his eyes slowly from Han to his daughter, who was looking up at him with the same big brown eyes that her mother had used to her advantage on many occasions. I did promise to try, didn’t I? he reflected glumly. He looked back at Han.
“I suppose that is acceptable,” he said, choosing his words deliberately. “But mark my words, Captain,” he added, not about to let the chance to take Han down a peg or two slip away. “I will be watching.”
Han swallowed again, trying to appear unfazed, but failing miserably. He merely nodded and then turned away. Leia looked up at her father with a smile. “Was that so hard?” she asked.
“Do you really want me to answer that?” Anakin replied.
“No,” Leia replied and then left to join Han and Luke.
Padmé, who had been watching the exchange, came over to Anakin and kissed him on the cheek.
“What did I do to deserve that?” he asked.
“You’re a good father,” she told him.
Anakin couldn’t help but smile at her comment. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “Let’s find a place to sit before Luke eats everything on the table.”
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Post by therealthing on Jun 2, 2007 13:22:38 GMT -5
Chapter 58 Emperor Palpatine sat in his throne as the courtiers made their way through the room, paying their usual obsequious compliments to him. Palpatine only half listened, however, for his mind was elsewhere.
It seems that my greatest apprentice is not quite as certain of himself as he would like me to believe, he reflected smugly. He was pleased that his effort to communicate with Vader the earlier had been successful. Obviously the psychic link between master and apprentice still existed, despite Vader’s claims that he had deserted the Dark Side. I know you very well, my friend, he thought smugly. I know that power is what you truly love, and that you will not be able to resist it for long.
The fact that Amidala was still alive had troubled Palpatine at first, but now he realized that she could actually help him. Vader had always had a weakness where she was concerned, his physical need of her too great for him to ignore. If she were with him to see to his carnal needs, then Vader would be free to focus his energies on more important things. It’s perfect, he thought with a smile. Once again, Amidala, you will prove useful in my plans. And once I have your children in my grasp, the Rebel Alliance will be crushed once and for all.
Cloud City
“So have you formulated a plan of action, sir?” Admiral Piett asked as he joined Anakin and his family at breakfast.
“I believe so,” Anakin replied. “Although it is rather radical,” he added.
Padmé looked at him at once. “What do you mean by radical?” she asked.
Anakin looked at her and took her hand. “Don’t worry, Padmé,” he assured her. “It will be okay.” He looked at his son and then at Obi-Wan. “The emperor contacted me last night,” he said.
His words sent a ripple of shock around the table.
“What do you mean, he contacted you?” Padmé asked her alarm evident in her face. “How? When?”
Anakin turned to her. “Through the Force, Padmé,” he explained. “There has always been a psychic link between he and I, and I suppose it still exists.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Luke said with a frown. “Why did he contact you? What does he want? Why are you still connected to him if you have renounced him and the Dark Side?”
“After twenty years, the connection is bound to be a very strong one,” Obi-Wan observed. “And the emperor is very strong, Luke. That he is able to connect with your father is not so surprising.” He looked at Anakin. “The really issue is why, although I have a feeling I know why. He is trying to lure you back, isn’t he?”
Anakin nodded. “Yes, he is,” he said. “Obviously he has sensed the death of his apprentice, and is desperate to acquire a new one. Judging by the caliber of that Sith creature I destroyed, it is not easy to find a good apprentice.”
Piett smiled. “Lord Ferreus was not what you would call an effective leader,” he told Anakin. “Arrogant, ignorant, mad even; but not effective. The fact that the emperor is making the effort to draw you in again makes me think that he is quite desperate.”
“Yes, my thinking exactly,” Anakin replied. “And that will work to our advantage.”
“How?” Luke asked, not liking the direction his father’s thinking was taking.
“If Palpatine thinks that I am on the fence, so to speak,” Anakin explained. “If he believes that I am still Darth Vader, and not Anakin Skywalker, then it will enable me to get close to him, to regain his trust.”
“To what end?” Padmé asked. “I have to tell you that the thought of you having anything to do with that monster again makes me very uneasy, Anakin. He manipulated you in the past, for twenty years you have been his right hand. How can you be so sure that you will not be tempted to resume that position?”
“I have renounced the Dark Side, Padmé,” Anakin assured her. “Surely you see that it has no sway over me now. If I can get close to the emperor again, it will put me in the perfect position to destroy him. That is the entire purpose of this ruse, to destroy the Sith once and for all.”
“There is something you must consider, Anakin,” Obi-Wan spoke up. “Perhaps he is setting you up, just as you plan to do to him. Perhaps he is planning to use you to get to Luke and Leia.”
“I intend on bringing Luke and Leia to him,” Anakin replied. “As well as you.”
“You can’t be serious!” Padmé cried. “All these years Luke and Leia were apart in order to keep them from the emperor, and now you are going to hand them over to him? Why would you even consider such a thing?”
“Because we will help him destroy Palpatine,” Leia said, starting to see her father’s plan. “It’s an ambush, a trap. It’s brilliant,” she concluded, looking at her father with pride.
“If it works,” Han grumbled. “If he knows you’re setting him up, he will have a whole squadron of storm troopers standing by ready to wipe out the lot of you.”
Anakin had to force himself to refrain from answering Han’s comment in the manner which he wished. You did promise to try to accept him, he reminded himself, glancing at Leia. Judging by the look on her face she was hoping that he would remember his promise as well.
“That is true,” Anakin conceded at last. “But I know him well, Captain Solo. He may think that he can read my mind, but what he doesn’t know is that I have been effectively shielding my mind from him for years. I can read him better than he can read me. I will know if he is planning something. So you see, the advantage is mine.”
“I don’t like this,” Padmé said, still not convinced that Anakin could resist the temptation such a situation would create for him.
“There is no other way,” Anakin said at last. “I wish I could count on the support of my family, but it is beginning to look doubtful. If I have to do this on my own, then so be it. I will destroy Palpatine; it is my destiny to do so. I suppose it is up to all of you to decide whether or not you will support me in this.” He looked up at Piett. “I need you to brief me on the Executor,” he said. “If I am to assume command, even in appearance, I have to know my crew and my ship.”
Piett nodded. “Of course, sir. We can take a tour right now if you wish.”
Anakin stood up. “I do wish it,” he said. “Let’s get to it.”
Padmé knew that Anakin was upset, that he was disappointed. But she could not pretend to be happy about a situation that frightened her to death. She watched him leave with Piett and then turned to Luke and Leia.
“I hope he knows what he’s doing,” Luke said quietly.
Leia nodded. “He does,” she said. “But he needs our support to make this work. I for one am going to give him mine,” she averred. “I have every confidence in him.”
“So do I,” Padmé, agreed, standing up. “I think he needs to know it, though.” With that she left the room and entered the corridor.
“Anakin! Wait!” she called as she ran down the hallway after Anakin and Piett.
Anakin heard his wife calling him, and turned around to see her running towards him.
“I’ll catch up to you,” he told Piett.
“Very good sir,” Piett replied. “I’ll wait for you on docking bay three two four.”
Anakin nodded his understanding as he watched Padmé approach him. Piett continued on his way, leaving the two of them alone.
“Anakin, don’t walk away angry,” she said when she reached him. “We need to talk about this.”
“I’m not angry,” he replied, folding his arms over his chest.
Padmé met his eyes, not convinced for a moment that he was being honest with her.
“Yes you are,” she challenged him. “I can see it in your eyes, in the set of your jaw, the way you are...”
“Alright, alright,” he conceded. “So I’m angry. Can you blame me? I thought you trusted me, Padmé. Apparently I was wrong.”
“What makes you think I don’t trust you?” she demanded, hands on her hips.
“It’s obvious that you don’t,” Anakin retorted. “Why else would you have such doubts about this plan? You think I’m going back to the Dark Side, don’t you?”
“Anakin!” she cried. “I think no such thing! I can’t believe you’d even think that for a moment! I have total faith in you!”
Anakin looked at her for a moment, his anger giving way to confusion.
“Then why won’t you support me in this?” he asked her.
Padmé could see the change in his demeanor and stepped closer to him. “I’m afraid, Ani,” she told him, taking his face in her hands. “I despise Palpatine for what he did to you, to us. The thought of you getting involved with him again terrifies me. I couldn’t bear to have something happen to you, Ani. I couldn’t stand to lose you again.”
Anakin drew her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Nothing is going to happen, Padmé. The darkness is gone, I know it. Palpatine will have no power over me, I swear to you. I know him well, better than he realizes. I’ve been watching him for twenty years, and I know exactly what to do in order to regain his trust. Once I’ve done that, I will destroy him. The Empire won’t stand a chance against the Alliance, especially with the flagship of the Imperial fleet on its side.” He stopped for a moment and took her face in his hands. “You won’t lose me, Padmé,” he told her softly. “Never again. I promise you.”
Padmé smiled, his words reassuring her. “I believe you, Anakin,” she told him, stroking his face gently. “I believe in you.”
“That’s all I ask,” he replied. “Because without you, my existence is an empty one, Padmé.”
Padmé was moved by his words, and brought his face down to hers to kiss him. Anakin wrapped his arms around her and held her close, returning her kiss, not caring who saw them.
“Don’t you two ever stop?”
Anakin and Padmé broke their kiss and looked up to see their children standing in the corridor. That couldn’t help but laugh at their son’s comment.
“Well if we did, you two certainly wouldn’t be around,” Anakin replied with a grin.
“Dad!” Leia cried. “Way too much information!”
“Such impudent children,” Padmé said with a smile and a shake of her head.
“Indeed,” Anakin agreed, folding his arms over his chest. “Pity they’re too old for a good old-fashioned spanking.”
Luke and Leia looked at one another in shock as their parents laughed again.
“Come on,” Anakin said at last. “Piett is waiting for us.”
“For us?” Luke asked. “You mean all four of us?”
Anakin nodded. “Of course,” he replied. “This family has spent far too long apart. It’s time we stuck together, don’t you think?”
Leia smiled. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said. “Lead the way, Dad.”
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Post by therealthing on Jun 3, 2007 10:49:30 GMT -5
Chapter 59 “Something on your mind? Or do you always just stare at people that way?”
Obi-Wan smiled at the young pilot’s obvious attempts to hide his uneasiness. “I was wondering the same thing about you, Captain Solo,” he replied. “You seem rather troubled for some reason.”
“Me?” Han retorted with a smirk. “Nothing troubling me, old man.”
Obi-Wan nodded. “I see,” he said, not believing Han for a moment. “I couldn’t help but notice that you and Princess Leia’s father are rather ….adversarial.”
Han shrugged; hating the fact that Obi-Wan was able to see right through his attempts to be indifferent. “So?” he said. “He’s not exactly an easy guy to get along with.”
“No, he isn’t,” Obi-Wan agreed. “I know that better than anyone. I suppose, though, the fact that he is rather intimidating makes things somewhat more problematic for someone wishing to court his daughter.”
Han lowered his brows, staring at the old Jedi. “Do you ever just get to the point, Kenobi? Or are you always so long winded?”
Obi-Wan chuckled. “Some might call it tactfulness,” he commented. “But if you wish me to be blunt, I shall be happy to do so. It’s obvious that you have feelings for Leia Skywalker, and the fact that you and her father can’t get along is a problem.”
“And?” Han said, not trying to deny a word Kenobi had said.
“And, I was wondering if you needed some advice from someone who knows Anakin Skywalker better than most,” Kenobi replied. “That is, if you wish to put an end to the enmity between you and him.”
Han continued to scowl at Obi-Wan, not wanting to admit that he could definitely use some advice. He had never needed anything from anybody, and had prided himself on being completely independent for most of his life. But then, he had never been in love before. That had changed everything.
Obi-Wan had seen within moments of meeting him that Han Solo was not an easy man to read; and yet, he knew that he’d captured Han’s interest. It was obvious that Solo was crazy about Leia Skywalker; and it was equally obvious that he was clueless how to make such a relationship work. The fact that Leia’s father was the Chosen One, the Hero with no Fear, the greatest Jedi of them all…well that just presented a complication Han didn’t need. Anakin Skywalker was extremely protective of his daughter, and was not a man to be trifled with. Han Solo was an incredibly stubborn man, who hated to rely on anyone for anything. Secretly Obi-Wan found the entire situation rather amusing; but he liked the young pilot, and knew that he was the only one who could give Han the advice he needed. If only he weren’t too proud to take it, he reflected.
“Suppose I do,” Han replied at last. “It’s pretty clear that he thinks that I’m not good enough for his little girl. I doubt any man would be,” he grumbled.
“You’re right about that,” Kenobi replied. “But you have to remember that Leia is very strong willed, she is very much like her father in that respect.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Han snorted. “What’s your point?”
“My point is if Leia reciprocates your feelings, she will not let her father interfere,” Kenobi replied. “She will do everything she can to make the two of you get along, as impossible as that seems right now.”
“So what are you suggesting?” Han asked. “How do I get him to back off?”
Obi-Wan smiled. You don’t, he reflected. “Well, the way I see it, Anakin won’t back off, not where his daughter is concerned. So it’s up to you to make him like you.”
“Yeah, right,” Han replied. “Like that’ll ever happen in a thousand years.”
Obi-Wan laughed. “He’s not as bad as you think, Han. In fact, you and he have a lot in common, believe it or not.”
“I don’t believe it,” Han replied.
“No, I didn’t think you would,” Obi-Wan returned. “But you do. You’re both incredibly stubborn, proud to a fault, independent, cocky…”
“Hey,” Han protested.
“Are you going to let me finish?” Kenobi asked patiently.
Han sighed loudly. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“Thank you,” Obi-Wan said. “You may not be aware of it, but Anakin Skywalker was known as the greatest pilot in the galaxy at one time. And if I were a betting man, I’d wager he still is. He is a genius of engineering, can build or fix anything…sound like someone you know?”
Han rubbed his chin thoughtfully, hating to admit that the old man was right. “Yeah, I suppose it does,” He admitted. “So what? What difference does any of that make if he thinks I’m not good enough for Leia?”
Obi-Wan sighed. “I’m afraid you’ll have to figure that out for yourself, Han. You’re a resourceful young man, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
Han frowned as the old Jedi walked away. Damn you Kenobi, he thought to himself. Why do you always have to be right? Star Destroyer Executor
Upon arriving at the enormous docking bay of the Executor, Anakin, Padmé and their children accompanied Admiral Piett to a large conference room where many of the senior officers of the mighty vessel were assembled. All eyes turned and watched as they entered the room, all talking stopped as they took a seat at the head of the large conference table.
“Gentlemen, please sit down,” Piett said to his fellow officers. The men sat down at once, as murmurs of curiosity went around the room as one by one they began to realize who it was sitting in their midst. Piett waited until the room was quiet again before he spoke again.
“Judging by the look on the faces of many of you, I don’t need to introduce at least one of our guests,” he began. “If you are old enough to remember the Clone Wars, which I daresay all of you are, you will no doubt remember the Hero with No Fear, the great Anakin Skywalker.”
“How is this possible?” one captain spoke up. “I thought you were killed in the purges along with the rest of the Jedi.”
Anakin looked at his wife and then back at the man asking the question. “No, I was not,” he replied, the difficulty of what he needed to say suddenly hitting him. “Anakin Skywalker ceased to exist, but not in the manner you think. Twenty years ago he was transformed into the monster you all knew as Darth Vader.”
Expressions of shock and disbelief were heard from all quarters as the men did their best to comprehend what they had just been told. Padmé could see how difficult this was for Anakin, and reached over and took his hand. He looked at her with a smile, grateful for her support.
“You mean to tell us that you are Darth Vader?” another officer asked. “How is that possible? Darth Vader was a cyborg, not a man.”
“Darth Vader was the result of a number of tragic, horrific circumstances,” Leia spoke up. “Physically, psychologically, spiritually- he was the wreckage of a once good man that had been corrupted by the emperor, used and destroyed in order for Palpatine to create this Empire.” She looked at her father. “That man has returned, and is seated here with you today. He is Anakin Skywalker once again, in every possible way.”
“Aren’t you Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan?” one of the men asked. “Why are you involved in all of this?”
“Vader saved her from the Death Star, remember?” another responded.
“That’s right,” a third spoke up, looking at Leia. “He committed treason to get you off of that space station and helped the Rebel Alliance in its destruction.”
Leia nodded. “Yes, that’s right,” she said. She turned to Luke. “My brother Luke here is the one who destroyed it thanks to the information that Darth Vader provided us with.”
“I’m afraid I’m very confused by all this,” one officer spoke up. “Darth Vader defected? Why? What was your motivation?”
“My family was my motivation,” Anakin said at last. He turned and looked at his children who were seated beside him. “Princess Leia Organa is my daughter, and Luke Skywalker is my son.”
The reaction was immediate to this disclosure. Now it makes sense, they all thought. Now it all fits together.
“And you, milady, are Senator Amidala, one time queen of Naboo, are you not?” one officer asked.
Padmé nodded. “Yes,” she replied. “I am Anakin’s wife, the mother of his children.”
Piett watched as the expression on the faces of his men changed from confusion, to wonder, to astonishment all in short order. Clearly they respected Anakin Skywalker and his family; but would that be enough to garner their support in Anakin’s plan?
“Gentlemen,” Piett spoke up to gain their attention once again. “No doubt you are all wondering what the reason is behind the arrival of our most remarkable guests. It is a simple one.” He turned to look at Anakin. “Anakin Skywalker has freed us from the tyranny of the monstrous Ferreus. The Dark Lord we all grew to despise is dead.”
The response of the officers was quite startling in its enthusiasm at this news. Obviously Ferreus had been truly hated by his men, his death cause for celebration.
Piett held up his hand to get the room quiet once again. “There is more, my friends. The Skywalker family has allied itself to us in our cause to fight the Empire. With their help, we can form a coalition with the Rebel Alliance, join our strength to theirs.”
“How do you expect the Alliance to accept us as allies?” one officer spoke up. “This is the flag ship of the fleet, Piett. The rebels won’t trust us.”
Other officers agreed, and voiced this sentiment.
“I am one of the leaders of the Alliance,” Leia spoke up. “I will speak to the other leaders; help them to see how this coalition would be the perfect way to end the conflict that has ripped the galaxy apart for the past twenty years.”
“Our father has already demonstrated his trustworthiness when he helped the Alliance destroy the Death Star,” Luke spoke up at this point. “When he prevented the destruction of Alderaan and saved my sister from certain execution at the hands of Tarkin. Our mother was instrumental in the very creation of the Rebel Alliance, back when the Republic was in its last days. The Alliance would be foolish not to accept your help in their fight against the Empire; not with my father commanding this ship.”
“Is that what the big plan is?” one officer spoke up. “To have you command this ship?” he asked Anakin.
Anakin nodded. “The emperor needs a new apprentice,” he replied. “He has already contacted me and asked me to return to his service. I will do so, or so I will lead him to believe.”
“The emperor does not know that this ship has mutinied,” Piett reminded his officers. “So if Darth Vader takes command of it, he will not suspect that anything is amiss. Only it won’t be Darth Vader in command, it will be Anakin Skywalker.”
“I’m afraid you’ve lost me,” an officer said. “Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker are the same person, isn’t that what you just told us?”
“They are and they aren’t,” Anakin replied. “Think of it as opposite sides of a coin; Darth Vader is the dark manifestation of Anakin Skywalker. It was Darth Vader who helped Palpatine form the Empire, who committed countless unspeakable acts of cruelty over the past twenty years. He was the servant of the emperor and he is the one the emperor desperately needs at his side again.”
“So let me see if I understand this,” the same officer replied. “You will ….pretend to be Vader? Is that what you are saying?”
Anakin nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I am. Palpatine needs Vader, he needs him so desperately that he is swallowing his pride and almost begging him to come back. I will use this desperation to my advantage, to regain his trust, all the while planning to destroy him and the Empire.”
“With this ship and the support of the Rebel Alliance, the plan cannot fail,” Piett spoke up. “Add to that the fact that we will have the only remaining Jedi in the galaxy on our side, and our victory becomes a veritable certainty, gentlemen.”
The officers looked at one another, discussing all that they had just heard among themselves. Anakin watched them, trying to get a sense of what was in their hearts and in their minds. They were excited, that much was clear. But were they convinced? He wasn’t so sure.
“Perhaps we need to let you discuss this among yourselves,” Padmé suggested. “If Anakin is to lead you, there can be no room for doubt in your minds.”
“We would appreciate that opportunity, milady,” one officer replied. “This is all quite startling and unexpected.”
“I’m sure it is,” Padmé responded. “But you men are committed to mutiny; surely you can see that such a radical move call for some rather activist measures.”
“A point well made, milady,” Piett said. “And I can assure you that everyone in this room is one hundred percent in favor of this course of action.”
“Then we shall leave the decision to you,” Anakin said, standing up. “I think you men need me as much as I need you,” he added. He turned to his family. “Let’s go,” he said.
Piett watched them leave, and then returned his attention back to the other officers. “Well then,” he said. “Let’s get down to it.”
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Post by therealthing on Jun 4, 2007 16:43:44 GMT -5
Chapter 60 Super Star Destroyer Executor
“Well,” Piett said as the chatter finally wound down amidst the officers. “Obviously this is quite an unprecedented series of events. But I believe that things happen for a reason. Anakin Skywalker’s path has crossed ours at this particular point in time for a reason; he is the leader we need in order to turn the tide in our favor.”
“But what of the Rebellion?” Captain Riley asked. “If they find out that Skywalker was Darth Vader not so long ago, they will want nothing to do with any of this. I don’t need to remind anyone of the ruthless manner in which Vader pursued the Rebellion over the past twenty years. I don’t think we can simply assume that the name of Skywalker will be enough to gain their support, no matter who he was twenty years ago.”
“I agree,” Captain Stronick spoke up. “The Rebellion would not have survived this long without strong, intelligent leaders. They are very cautious, very shrewd.”
“But you are forgetting about the influence of Skywalker’s family,” Lieutenant Vandergraff spoke up. “Padmé Amidala has been held in high esteem for many years, and was a staunch supporter of the Republic and a founder of the Rebellion. Their children have both been heroes in the Rebellion. That cannot be ignored.”
“No, it cannot,” Piett spoke up. “The bottom line is, the Alliance will not defeat the Empire so long as they continue the sort of guerilla warfare they have been waging for the past two decades, the Empire is simply too strong. If they can see that, if they are willing to admit that they need our help, then perhaps they will accept it. I think Anakin Skywalker is the key, my friends. He was called the Hero with No Fear during the Clone Wars, and is a man of singular abilities. He alone has the power to turn the tide of this conflict. We need him, gentlemen. That is the bottom line.”
Murmurs went around the table, as each of the men considered Piett’s words. None could deny the potential that an alliance with the Skywalker family represented. None could deny that Anakin Skywalker’s vision and brilliance were unparalleled in the galaxy.
“Assuming that we are willing to go along with Skywalker’s plan,” Stronick spoke up. “What happens if the Alliance wants nothing to do with us? With him? What then, Admiral?”
Piett could see that he was making headway with the men, and if gave him hope. “I think we ought to cross that bridge when we get to it, Captain,” he replied. “And allow Leia Skywalker to speak to her comrades in the Alliance. She is a gifted young woman, and if anyone can make the Alliance see reason, it is her.”
The officers looked at one another, satisfied for the moment. “Very well,” Riley spoke up. “We will allow her to try. I don’t think any of us can deny the impact that Anakin Skywalker can have on the future of all of us sitting here.”
“Does that mean that you are willing to follow him?” Piett asked. “And accept him as the commander of this ship?”
“Yes,” Riley replied. “No one here would be fool enough to deny Skywalker’s abilities. And if you are convinced of his trustworthiness, then that is good enough for me.”
“And me,” spoke up several others. It soon became obvious that the men unanimously accepted Anakin as their leader. Their only fears lie in the decisions of the Rebel Alliance.
“It’s settled then,” Piett said, pleased that the men were wise enough to realize that Skywalker was the logical choice to lead their crusade. “I shall contact Skywalker and let him know what we’ve decided.”
Anakin had been quiet and contemplative as they headed back to Bespin. Being on board a star destroyer again had been more unnerving than he had anticipated. The fact that he had helped design the enormous vessel, and that it very likely would have been his to command made it more so. That was another life time, he reflected. I can hardly fathom living that way now, he realized, thinking of his family. He could scarcely imagine how he had existed so long without them in his life. Leia had noted her father’s pensive mood, and waited for an opportune moment to approach him. That opportunity came when they were back in their suite in the cloud city. She found Anakin standing at the large picture window, watching twilight’s descent upon the city.
“Where’s Mother?”
Anakin turned and looked at his daughter. “She’s talking to your grandmother,” he told her. “She should be back soon. Something I can help you with?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Leia replied with a smile. “You okay, Dad?”
Anakin smiled and touched her face gently. “Yes,” he said. “I’m just thinking about how much my life has changed in the past few months. Being on a star destroyer again was rather….surreal.”
Leia nodded. “I’m sure,” she replied.
“If I had continued to live as Darth Vader, that ship would have been mine,” he told her. “Rather ironic, isn’t it?”
“Yes, very much so,” she replied. “But it’s perfect, though, don’t you think?”
“Well, it certainly will strengthen our cause,” he agreed. He smiled. “Part of me would very much like to surprise those rebel leaders by just showing up on their doorstep in the Executor. Can you imagine the look on Dodonna’s face if it just appeared out of hyperspace?”
Leia laughed. “I don’t think his heart could take that,” she replied.
“Perhaps not,” Anakin replied. “What do you plan on telling them?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” she admitted. “I was hoping you’d have an idea.”
“I’m not the diplomat of the family, Leia,” he reminded her. “That’s your mother’s area of expertise, not mine.”
Leia nodded. “That’s true,” she replied. “Perhaps she and I can formulate a plan together that the rebel leaders will accept.”
“Perhaps it would be a good idea to bring one of Piett’s men with you,” Anakin suggested. “As a gesture of goodwill.”
“That’s a great idea,” Leia responded with a smile. “And you said you weren’t a diplomat.”
Anakin chuckled. “I’m not,” he said. “But I’ve been around long enough to have a good idea once in a while.”
“Please,” Leia replied. “You’re a brilliant man, Dad, the most amazing man I know.”
Anakin was taken aback by his daughter’s words, her praise leaving him speechless for a moment. “I don’t know what to say to something like that,” he admitted. “Thank you, Leia. You know how much your opinion means to me.”
Leia nodded. “I do,” she replied. “That’s why I wish you would learn to like Han.”
Anakin groaned inwardly. “Leia, do we have to go there right now?” he asked.
“No, we don’t have to,” she replied. “But you know I’m every bit as stubborn as you are, Daddy.”
Anakin laughed. “Yes, so I’ve noticed,” he said. “It scares me.”
Leia laughed. “Just promise me you won’t scare Han when you see him again.”
Anakin raised his eyebrows. “I scare him?” he asked innocently. “Aren’t you exaggerating just a little?”
“You know very well what I’m talking about,” she replied. “I witnessed that little exchange you had at breakfast, remember? What was it you said to him? Mark my words, Captain…I will be watching. Don’t you think that’s maybe just a little bit…intimidating?”
Anakin merely smiled. “You think so?”
Leia rolled her eyes. “Uh, yeah, I do,” she replied. “Just try not to scare him, okay? Please? For me?”
That is so unfair, he thought as she looked up at him with her big brown eyes. How am I supposed to refuse her when she looks at me like that?
“I suppose so,” he said at last. “But it’s not my fault if he’s faint of heart.”
Leia was about to reply but she saw the twinkle in her father’s eyes, and realized that he was teasing her. “You’re terrible,” she said, shaking her head.
Anakin laughed. “Yes, I know,” he said. He put an arm around her shoulders. “You’re mother’s been telling me that for years.”
“Telling you what?” Padmé asked as she entered the room.
Leia and Anakin turned to her. “Dad was just teasing me,” Leia told her mother. “Does he ever do that to you?”
Padmé’s eyes widened and she looked at Anakin. “Does he ever tease me?” she asked, trying to control her laughter. “You might say so, yes.”
Anakin laughed. “I only do so as a sign of deepest affection,” he told them both.
Leia and Padmé looked at one another. “Oh, is that it,” Leia quipped rolling her eyes.
Padmé laughed. “Any word from Piett?” she asked Anakin.
Anakin shook his head. “No, not yet,” he said. “I don’t have a good feeling about this,” he added. “The longer we wait, the smaller the likelihood that this plan of mine will work.”
“It will work, Ani,” Padmé said, taking his hand. “They are not fools. They will realize that you are their only hope of making this insurrection go anywhere.”
“I agree,” Leia said. “But I think we need to start thinking about what we’re going to say to Mon Mothma and the others,” she added. “They will be the really difficult ones to convince.”
“Yes, no doubt of that,” Anakin said. “I will let the two diplomats of the family deal with them,” he said. “I’m going to take a walk to clear my mind.”
“You’re going to contact Piett, aren’t you?” Padmé asked as he walked away from them.
“Yes,” he said without turning back.
Padmé smiled. “We’ll be here,” she called to him.
Leia smiled too, loving the closeness her parents so obviously shared.
“Well now,” Padmé said, turning back to Leia. “Looks like we have some work to do, don’t we?”
Leia nodded. “Yes, we sure do. Let’s get started.”
As Anakin was walking through the corridors of Cloud City, he happened upon Han Solo, who was engaged in a rather animated conversation with Lando Calrissian. Realizing that Han had not yet noticed his presence, Anakin hung back in order to listen to the conversation undetected.
“Han, I just don’t have that kind of money,” Calrissian was saying. “Most of my assets are tied up in property, or stocks. Putting together an amount that big would be next to impossible in the short time you’re asking.”
“Lando, you owe me,” Han retorted angrily. “You sold me and Leia out to those imperial bastards,” he reminded his friend. “You stood by while they tortured me, and forced Leia to watch!”
“Do you think I had a choice?” Lando returned hotly. “You don’t just say no to a squadron of stormtroopers and a Sith Lord! They arrived before you, they knew you were coming! What was I supposed to do? If I’d refused to cooperate they would have just killed me and done what they wanted anyway. I know you’re mad, Han, but you must be able to see that.”
Han could see it, but that didn’t make his friend’s betrayal any easier. Not only that, Jabba the Hutt had an enormous bounty on his head, a fact that Han could not ignore. Jabba was not someone who tolerated betrayal; his ruthlessness was legendary, particularly when it came to matters of a monetary nature.
“Yeah, I see it,” Han replied at last. “You’re too busy looking after your own ass to give a crap about saving a friend’s. That’s okay, Lando. I’m sure Jabba will understand when I tell him I don’t have the money I owe him. You know how forgiving and compassionate the Hutts are.” With that Han strode away from his friend, muttering a number of curses under his breath.
Anakin was startled by the mention of the notorious Hutts. So Solo owes Jabba money, he thought, his opinion of the young pilot dropping several more notches. A smuggler and a fool, very impressive. But then the image of his daughter’s face came to his mind as she implored him to give Han a fair chance, to try to accept him for her sake. Despite what his own opinion of Solo was, Anakin knew that Leia cared very deeply for the man. The thought of Leia being afraid for the man she loved was too much for Anakin to bear. So this is what it’s like to be a father, he reflected as he followed Han, wrapped around my daughter’s little finger.
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Post by therealthing on Jun 6, 2007 15:34:09 GMT -5
Chapter 61 “Solo!” Han stopped in his tracks at the sound of Anakin’s voice. Oh crap…he thought. Did he just hear that??
Han turned to face Anakin, doing his utmost to hide his trepidation.
“You wanted to talk to me?” he asked.
Anakin nodded, focusing on his daughter to fight the mistrust he felt for this man. “I do,” he replied.
“What about?” Han asked. “Or do I need to ask?”
Anakin scowled his dislike for the young pilot impossible to hide. “You really are something, Solo,” he said. “Is there ever a time when you are not rude or arrogant? For the life of me I can’t see what my daughter sees in you.”
“Yeah, well I feel the same way about you,” Han retorted before his mind had a chance to filter his mouth.
Anakin’s anger rose and he took a step closer to Han. “You have some nerve,” he growled. “Speaking to me this way and expecting that I will ever accept you as a suitor for my daughter. I have half a mind to…”
“Go ahead,” Han urged him, “I dare you. See if Leia ever speaks to you again if you do.”
“What is going on between you two!?”
Both men turned to see none other than Leia standing before them. Judging by the anger in her eyes, she had heard most of the heated exchange.
“Why don’t you ask your father,” Han suggested angrily. “He’s the one who started it.”
“You lying bastard,” Anakin replied hotly. “All I said was I wanted to talk to him,” he told Leia. “He is the one who started making accusations.”
“So calling me arrogant and rude were ways of making friends? Is that it?” Han countered.
“Both adjectives were completely justified,” Anakin retorted. “In fact, there are few more I could use, would you like to hear them?”
“Stop it!” Leia cried, stepping between the two of them before they came to blows. “Please, just stop it!” She turned to her father. “Admiral Piett is here looking for you,” she said. “So I’m afraid this little tête-à-tête will have to be postponed until later.”
Anakin nodded his understanding, not taking his eyes off of Han for a moment.
“Are you coming?” he asked Leia.
“I’ll be right there,” she said, turning to Han.
Anakin looked back up at Han, his eyes like daggers. “This isn’t over, Solo,” he said.
Han did not reply, the look in Anakin’s eyes completely unnerving him. He managed to appear unaffected, however, and watched as Anakin walked away.
“Now,” Leia said, hands on her hips. “Tell me what really happened.”
Han’s eyes widened in surprise. “What do you mean by that?” he demanded.
“I mean I know you well enough to see when you are lying,” she replied coolly. “You obviously did something to set my father off.”
“Not hard to do, you know,” he countered. “Especially for me.”
“He is trying to accept you, Han,” she replied. “But you are not making it easy if you act this way. Tell me what happened. All of it.”
Han exhaled loudly, folding his arms over his chest.
“He was following me,” Han began. “And I think he was listening in on a conversation I had with Lando.”
“What about?” Leia asked.
“Does that matter?” Han replied.
Leia looked at him closely. “Yes, I think it does,” she said. “Just tell me.”
“I don’t think I like this …interrogation, sweetheart,” Han replied angrily. “You’re starting to sound like your old man.”
Leia did not reply, for Han’s comment, or rather the intent of it, cut her deeply. “Fine,” she said at last. “If you don’t want to tell me what happened, I guess we have nothing to discuss.”
“I guess so,” Han replied, not giving in to her manipulation.
She looked up at him. “I thought there was something between us, Han,” she said, genuinely saddened. “I guess I was wrong.” She turned and walked away, leaving Han feeling frustrated and ashamed.
Leia walked quickly in order to catch up to her father, forcing herself not to think about Han, not to let the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes do so. Dad was right, she thought bitterly. Han is nothing but an arrogant scoundrel. I was a fool to think he cared about me.
Leia reached the suite where she had left Admiral Piett with her mother, noticing that her father and brother were now present as well. Anakin looked up at her and knew at once that she was upset. Damn you, Solo, he thought angrily. You’ll pay for this.
“Admiral Piett has some good news,” Anakin told her as she took a seat beside Padmé.
Leia looked at Admiral Piett expectantly. “They’ve agreed to follow my father?” she asked.
Piett nodded. “Yes they have,” he told her.
“How did you manage to convince them?” Luke asked.
“It wasn’t that difficult, actually,” Piett replied. “The name of Anakin Skywalker is well known and synonymous with honour and glory. Their real reservations arise from the reaction the Rebel Alliance will have to all of this.”
“That is natural,” Padmé replied. “It is never easy to accept that an enemy can become an ally.”
“Did you have any luck talking to them?” Anakin asked her.
Padmé turned to him. “Leia spoke to General Dodonna,” she replied. “We thought perhaps revealing that I am alive was too much to reveal at this point.”
“Probably a wise precaution,” Anakin replied. “So what did you tell them?” he asked his daughter next. “How did it go?”
“I told them that we had captured an enemy vessel,” Leia replied with a smile. “That’s not entirely untrue.”
Anakin grinned. “No, not entirely. And a brilliant move as well. No doubt they were pleased to hear it.”
Leia nodded. “Yes, very pleased,” she replied. “Of course, I didn’t tell them that the ship was a super star destroyer,” she added with a smile.
“I’d give a thousand credits to see General Dodonna’s face when the Executor appears,” Luke said with a grin.
“He may think it’s a trap,” Piett pointed out. “Have you considered that?”
“Yes, we have,” Padmé said. “That is why the first face they will see will be a friendly one, one that they trust.” He turned and looked at Luke. “And who better than the hero of the Battle of Yavin?” she asked, smiling at her son.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Anakin said, looking at Luke proudly. “Seeing you will put to rest any fears that they have been tricked.”
Piett nodded. “I agree,” he said. “In fact, I…” he stopped as the door chime was heard. “Perfect timing,” he said with a smile as he stood up and headed for the door. “Come in, Lieutenant.”
The Skywalkers watched as Piett returned to the sitting room with a young officer.
“May I present Lieutenant Danison Keller,” Piett said as the young man bowed politely. “Keller, this is Anakin Skywalker, Senator Padmé Amidala Skywalker.” Anakin and Padmé stood up to shake hands with the young man.
“It is an honour to meet you both,” Keller told them. “My father used to tell me stories about the Clone Wars when I was a boy, sir,” he said, addressing Anakin. “You were always something of a hero of mine.”
Anakin smiled, liking the young man immediately. “Thank you,” he replied. “These are our children,” he said, turning to Luke and Leia. “My son, Luke, my daughter, Leia.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” Keller said, shaking hands with Luke first and then Leia. “Excuse me, but aren’t you Princess Leia Organa? Of Alderaan?”
Leia nodded. “Yes, but I’m first and foremost the daughter of Anakin and Padmé Skywalker.”
“I meant no disrespect, milady,” he said at once. “It’s just that Alderaan is my home world,” he explained with a smile.
Anakin couldn’t help but smile at this revelation, as well as the reaction it garnered from his daughter. The fact that the young man was tall and broad had blond wavy hair and green eyes didn’t hurt either. You’re all but forgotten, Solo, he thought with satisfaction. Now that someone more worthy has entered the picture.
“I took the liberty of selecting Keller here to act as a liaison between the Executor and the rebel leaders,” Piett explained as they all took their seats again. “I thought it might help prove our trustworthiness to them.”
“An excellent idea,” Anakin said approvingly.
“The rebel leaders will be expecting us to rendezvous with them within the next forty-eight hours,” Leia went on to explain. “Is that enough time for you to ready your men, Admiral?”
“My men are ready now, Princess,” Piett assured her. “And anxious for this to get underway. We can leave whenever you wish.”
Anakin nodded. “We’re all anxious, Piett,” he said. “The sooner we get negotiations with the Alliance started, the better as far as I’m concerned.”
“Then why don’t we plan to leave first thing in the morning?” suggested Padmé.
“I have the coordinates of the rebel fleet,” Leia told the Imperial officers, looking at Keller. “They’re not that far away, actually.”
“Splendid,” Piett replied. “Then we shall leave first thing,” he added, standing up. Keller joined him.
“Why don’t the two of you join us for dinner?” Anakin suggested. “We still have a lot to talk about.”
Piett looked at Keller. “I thank you sir,” he said. “We’d be delighted.”
Anakin smiled. He had noticed the way Leia was looking at the handsome young officer, and was more than anxious to give the two of them an opportunity to spend more time together. Han Solo will be nothing but a bad memory, he thought, his smile increasing. Leia will not even remember his name in a few weeks if this goes the way I hope.
Padmé watched her husband, knowing him well enough to know that the wheels were turning inside his mind. And she was certain she knew exactly what it was that he was plotting. Stay out of this, Ani, she warned him silently. Don’t you start messing things up for Leia! Anakin turned to his wife and looked at her innocently, and merely smiled. “Shall we go to dinner?” he said, standing up and holding his hand out to her.
Padmé stood up and looked at him. “Be careful,” she said simply and walked ahead of him.
Anakin only smiled in response.
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Post by therealthing on Jun 8, 2007 6:34:10 GMT -5
Chapter 62 Luke made his way through the crowded corridors of Cloud City with a sense of urgency. It was no secret that his father had little use for Han Solo. Now, however, Anakin seemed to be planning on replacing the young pilot as Leia’s suitor, and that didn’t sit well with Luke. Yes, Han Solo was arrogant, and pig headed, and cocky; but he was also brave, and good hearted, and loved Leia more than he was willing to admit. And Leia loves him too, Luke reflected, and that was the true reason he felt compelled to seek out the Corellian pilot before it was too late. True to form, Luke found Han in one of the many pubs of Cloud City.
“Hey kid,” Han said upon seeing Luke. “Come and join me.” Luke took a seat beside Han, seeing at once that he’d had more than a few.
“Something happened between you and Leia earlier didn’t it?” Luke asked.
Han frowned. “What makes you think that? No, wait, I know; dear old Dad told you, right?”
“My father told me nothing,” Luke replied. “I just know when my sister is upset, and usually why. What happened?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Han grumbled, taking a swig of his ale.
Luke looked at him and shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you Han?”
“What?”
“You may not want to admit it, even to yourself, but I know you’re nuts about Leia,” Luke replied. Han was about to retort, but Luke cut him off. “What’s more, I also know that you and my father can’t stand one another.”
“Not gonna argue with that,” Han remarked sourly. “So what?”
“So what?” Luke repeated, starting to get annoyed with Han’s attitude. “If you really want to be with Leia, you need a serious attitude adjustment.”
Han scowled. “I don’t need this crap,” he snapped. “You’re just like your father, Luke. The whole lot of you are all alike. And here I thought you and me were friends,” he grumbled, raising his glass to take another swig of his ale, only to have it snatched from him by an invisible hand.
“Will you just shut up?” Luke asked in exasperation. “Just for once? And listen for a change? I’m trying to help you, whether or not you believe it. Do you want to be with my sister, yes or no? ‘Cause if the answer is no, I’ll leave you alone right now and stop wasting my time.”
Luke stood up, as Han watched him warily, seeing if the young man was bluffing. When Luke turned to walk away, Han realized that he wasn’t, and called him back.
“crap Luke,” Han grumbled. “When did you get all confrontational?”
Luke turned back and smiled. “You sort of bring it out when you’re acting like a jackass.”
“Oh, nice,” Han muttered. “Sit down.”
“So am I to assume that you care about my sister?” Luke asked before he sat down.
“You know damn well that I do,” Han grumbled. “You and your Jedi powers.”
Luke’s smile grew as he took his seat. “It doesn’t take a Jedi to see the way you look at one another, Han. But if you don’t do something to fix the mess you made, you’re going to lose her.”
“Leia loves me, kid,” Han replied confidently. “She told me so herself. She’s not going anywhere.”
“Would you listen to yourself?” Luke replied. “It’s that cocky arrogant attitude that will cause you to lose her if you’re not careful. I suggest you join my family for supper tonight if you don’t believe me.”
Han frowned, not liking what he was hearing. “What do you mean by that?” he asked.
“You’ll have to come and see for yourself,” Luke replied, standing up again. “We’re having dinner in one hour. Be there Han; if you care at all about Leia, you need to be there.”
A cold sense of fear was worming its way through Han’s alcoholic haze. He did love Leia, even if he wasn’t ready to admit it to even himself. The thought that she may walk out of his life was not one that he wanted to entertain, no matter how unlikely he considered that possibility to be.
Anakin had made arrangements for dinner in one of the private dining rooms in one of the most exclusive restaurants in Cloud City. It was his sincere hope that something would grow from the initial attraction he sensed between his daughter and the young imperial lieutenant. Keller was everything Han Solo was not, Anakin reasoned. And that is why he is perfect for Leia, he thought as he buttoned up his tunic.
“Don’t think I don’t know what is going through that mind of yours, Ani,” Padmé said as she entered the bedroom. She sat down at the dressing table to touch up her make up.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Anakin replied, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
“Please,” she said, shaking her head. “You forget how well I know you, Anakin Skywalker,” she told him. “I saw the way you looked at that young lieutenant. You are hoping he’ll catch Leia’s eye.”
“I think he already has,” Anakin replied, smiling at his own reflection.
She looked up at him. “Leia loves Han Solo,” she reminded him, “even if she finds this young man attractive, for he certainly is that.”
Anakin raised his eyebrows and looked at his wife. “Oh?? You think so, do you?”
Padmé smiled. “Well, I may be married but I’m not blind,” she teased him.
Anakin did not know what to say to such a statement, and his masculine ego was more than a little threatened by it. “Well, I suppose if you like that pretty boy look,” he said, turning away.
“Oh come on now,” she said. “Don’t sulk. You know exactly the sort of man that I am attracted to.”
“Well, I thought I did,” he replied in an excessively injured tone. “But maybe I was wrong.”
Padmé stood up and walked over to him. “You are such a baby sometimes,” she said, reaching up and kissing his cheek.
Anakin couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t get away with anything around you, can I?”
“Not a chance,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Besides, I think I made it quite clear the depth of my attraction to you last night, didn’t I?”
Anakin grinned. “Several times in fact,” he added.
Padmé laughed. “Yes, that’s true. Come on,” she said, releasing him and taking his hand. “Let’s get going. Promise me you’ll behave yourself tonight.”
“You mean at dinner, or later?” he asked her with a grin.
“At dinner of course,” she replied. “Once we’re alone you can be as naughty as you like,” she told him with a smile.
“Don’t say things like that to me as we’re going out the door,” he told her. “Now I’m all distracted.”
“Good,” she said. “Then my strategy worked.”
Anakin shook his head. “Politicians,” he muttered as he and his wife left their quarters. Padmé only laughed.
Leia met her parents in the dining room, having taken the time to change into a simple outfit of a white skirt and tunic with matching boots. She had done her best to put Han Solo out of her mind, and was determined to enjoy the evening. The fact that a handsome young man from her home world would be present this evening made the prospect of doing so even greater. I only wish Han would be there to witness this, she thought. He had hurt her deeply with his callous attitude, and she wanted to hurt him back. Given the opportunity to make him jealous, she would gladly do so. Too bad he won’t be there to see the way I flirt with Lieutenant Keller, she thought. That would serve him right.
“Good evening, Princess.”
Leia looked over to see none other than Lieutenant Keller in the door way, looking even more dashing than she had remembered. She smiled. “Hello Lieutenant,” she replied. “It was nice that you were able to join us. Where is Admiral Piett?”
“He’ll be along shortly,” Keller replied. “Shall we sit down? I see your parents are already here.”
Leia nodded. “Yes, let’s join them, shall we?”
Anakin greeted the young man warmly, shaking hands with him. He noted how Keller pulled out Leia’s chair for her, and how he knew just what to say to both the ladies present. Class, that’s something Solo has none of, class, Anakin reflected, pleased that his plans were going so well.
Piett soon joined them, Obi-Wan and Luke shortly thereafter. The atmosphere was pleasant, cordial and relaxed as all present enjoyed the ambiance and the fine appetizers served with the utmost of taste. And then Han Solo walked in the door. “Hey everybody,” he said as he sat down in the eighth and only empty chair at the table. Luke smiled to himself, happy that Han had taken his advice to heart. Anakin, however, was less than pleased to see the young man, and did not even try to hide it.
“Solo,” he said, staring daggers at Han. “I don’t recall inviting you tonight,” Anakin said, keeping his voice low so as not to alarm his wife.
“Luke here did,” Han said, jerking a thumb in Luke’s direction. “Good thing too, ‘cause I’m hungry enough to eat a gundark!”
Luke knew that his father was staring at him, that he was furious with him, and he carefully avoided eye contact with him. Instead he looked at Leia, whose face was a mixture of emotions. She looked back at him, questioningly.
Was this a mistake? He asked her silently.
No, she replied. I’m glad he’s here. This is perfect. She smiled, and Luke began to think that there was more to his sister’s calm demeanor that met the eye.
“I hope that’s okay,” Luke said at last. “Of course it is,” Padmé spoke up, not giving Anakin a chance to voice his most decided opinion on the subject. “Han is always welcome at our table.”
Anakin turned and looked at his wife, and then at his daughter, and then finally at his son. I am not happy about this, he told Luke silently.
Luke smiled. “I thought so,” he told his mother. “Looks great,” he said, helping himself to the plate of appetizers in front of him. Han relaxed a little, but only a very little. He could feel Anakin’s eyes upon him, and it took all of his considerable self-confidence to remain undaunted. He finally looked at Leia, smiling at her. She, however, was not looking at him. No, her attention was focused completely on the young man seated beside her, a very handsome young man wearing an imperial uniform. Leia seemed to be completely enchanted by him, for she had seemingly not even noticed Han’s presence.
“You look great, Leia,” Han said, trying to steer her attention in his direction. “Is that a new outfit?” he asked lamely.
Leia turned to him, her dark eyes devoid of emotion. “Yes,” she replied, and turned her attention back to Keller.
Han felt embarrassed by her slight, and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Anakin noticed the exchange, and relaxed. Leia knows exactly what she’s doing, he realized. Solo has no idea what he’s in for. He looked at Padmé and took her hand.
“Of course,” he said to her. “Solo is most welcome here tonight,” he said.
Padmé narrowed her eyes, knowing her Ani well enough to see that there was more to his words than he said. Poor Han, she thought, looking over at him as he tried to get comfortable. He won’t know what hit him.
“Lieutenant Keller was just telling me about his experiences at the Academy,” Leia said. “Quite a remarkable student from the sound of it. I’m very impressed.”
Keller, who was quite unaware of the role he had inadvertently stumbled into, merely smiled, his cheeks coloring slightly under her praise. “Well, your highness, the Imperial navy does have rather high standards,” he said simply.
“Don’t be so modest, Keller,” Piett spoke up. “He was the youngest ever to make lieutenant, isn’t that right, Danison?”
“Is that right?” Leia asked, her enthusiasm positively gushing forth. “I was the youngest ever to be named senator! Imagine that!”
Anakin had to cover his mouth to hide his smirk, and coughed in order to cover his chuckle. Leia was certainly having fun with this situation. Serves you right, you slimy bastard, he thought, enjoying the look on Han’s face. You don’t play with my daughter’s emotions and get away with it.
As for Luke, a sinking feeling had started to grow within him, a feeling that he had made a terrible mistake in inviting Han to this dinner party. He had truly believed that he was acting in Han’s best interest; being young and naïve in the ways of the heart, he had no idea that Leia was using the opportunity to make him jealous. And she’s doing an excellent job, Luke reflected as he glanced at his friend.
“So tomorrow is the big day,” Piett said. “We will rendezvous with the Rebel fleet at the coordinates provided by Princess Leia,” he said, looking at Leia. “And you, Luke, will be the first person they see,” he added, turning to Luke. “I think that is the best plan, considering they are bound to be rather shocked to see an Imperial ship in their midst.” “Not just any Imperial ship,” Anakin pointed out. “The flagship of the fleet. I’d give anything to see the looks on their faces,” he added with a smile.
The rest of the meal carried on in much the same vein as they ironed out the plans for the merger with the Rebel Fleet the next day. Han, try as he may, was not able to divert Leia’s attention from the dashing young officer; and as the evening progressed, his mood became more and more sullen. The fact that he had imbibed rather heavily earlier did nothing to keep his spirits aloft.
Leia knew that he was hurting and upset with her. She didn’t need to be Force sensitive to see it; it was obvious to all. Part of her felt badly for putting him through the wringer this way, but another part of her felt perfectly justified in doing so. He’s had it way too easy, she realized. I’ve been like a silly school girl when it comes to him. Well no more; if he wants me, then he’s going to have to work a lot harder than he has been up until now. The evening ended early, as all realized that the next morning held a great deal in store for all. Luke followed Han out of them room, anxious to have a word with him in private.
“Han, wait,” Luke said as Han started walking away.
Han turned and looked at Luke, the anger plain in his eyes. “Thanks a lot, Luke,” he said bitterly. “I hope you and your family enjoyed that.”
“Han, I had no idea what was going on,” Luke replied. “I swear it! I had no idea that Leia was going to do that to you.”
Han scowled, knowing Luke was just naïve enough to be sincere in his ignorance. “So who is this …this Keller chump, anyway?” he grumbled.
“He’s the Imperial liaison who’s going to be working with us,” Luke explained.
“Oh, great,” Han replied with a shake of his head. “Leia will get to spend all kinds of time with him then. Just perfect.”
Luke couldn’t help but smile. “You really do love her, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” Han retorted hotly. “You think I’d put up with all this bullshit if I didn’t?”
Luke’s smile only grew.
“I’m goin’ to bed,” Han grumbled as he turned away.
“You know what you have to do now, don’t you?” Luke called after him.
Han stopped in his tracks. “What?” he asked without turning around.
“You have to fight for her,” Luke replied. “You need to show her that you love her, Han. She’s not going to sit around and wait for you if you don’t, no matter how she feels about you.”
Han considered Luke’s words. For a farm boy he’s pretty smart, he reflected. “Yeah, I know,” he admitted at last. “I just hope this pretty boy hasn’t caught her attention.”
Luke smiled. “She is crazy about you, Han,” Luke told him. “Trust me on that. She just wants you to appreciate her, that’s all.”
“How’d you get so smart all of a sudden?” Han asked.
Luke laughed. “Guess I’m growing up,” he said. “Come on, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
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Post by therealthing on Jun 12, 2007 20:30:46 GMT -5
Chapter 63 “I think that went rather well,” Anakin said as he and Padmé entered their suite, “in spite of the rather poor display of manners by Captain Solo.”
“I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him,” Padmé said as she sat down on one of the large sofas in the sitting area. “Leia certainly did do her best to make him feel jealous. I wonder why that is? Do you have any idea?”
“I’m not sure, but I think they had a disagreement earlier today,” he told her as he joined her on the sofa. “She sort of interceded when he and I were having words, and I had the impression that there was considerable tension between the two of them when I left.”
The door chime opened at this point, and Luke entered the room. “Hi,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind me showing up so late like this.”
“Of course not,” Padmé said, smiling at her son. “Come and join us. Your father was just telling me about a conversation he had earlier with Han.”
“I had one earlier with him too,” Luke told his parents as he sat down. “I’m sorry I brought him along tonight,” he added, looking at his father. “I really had the best intentions in mind.”
“We know that, Luke,” Padmé said. “Don’t we Anakin?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Anakin replied. “I don’t think things turned out exactly the way Solo had hoped for, though.”
“No, they didn’t,” Luke replied. “He was pretty sore at me, thinking I’d set him up. What was with Leia? Any idea what went on with them earlier?”
“I was just explaining that to your mother,” Anakin said. “She interrupted Solo and I when we were having words earlier and...”
Padmé interrupted him. “I thought you promised Leia that you were going to try and get along better with Han?” she said.
“I did,” Anakin replied. “You can’t blame me if he is rude and arrogant. I over heard him talking to Lando Calrissian about some debts he owes to Jabba the Hutt, Padmé. Jabba the Hutt! That tells you a lot about the sort of man he is.”
“And was that the reason for your argument with him?” she asked.
“I don’t even know how it started,” he replied. “Believe it or not, I was going to offer him some help with Jabba, but I didn’t even get the chance. He just got all defensive with me and before I knew it we were shouting at one another. If Leia hadn’t shown up when she did, I don’t’ know what would have happened.”
“Han is a proud guy, Dad,” Luke said. “He’s pretty embarrassed by his past associations with Jabba.”
“That doesn’t excuse him, Luke,” Anakin replied. “He has no respect, no manners. I don’t like him, Luke. He’s arrogant and has no consideration for anyone or anything, including Leia.”
“You may be right about that, Dad,” Luke said. “He said something to me earlier that really upset me.”
Anakin frowned. “What did he say?” he asked.
“Yes Luke, what did he say?”
The three turned to see Leia entering the room. She looked at her parents, and then back to her brother. “Tell me what he said, Luke.”
Luke glanced at his parents, feeling uncomfortable under his sister’s scrutiny.
“I need to know, Luke,” Leia said. “My eyes are beginning to open where Han is concerned.”
Luke took a deep breath. “Well,” he began. “I wanted to talk to Han, to tell him about…well; about this young officer that…uh… that Dad was trying to set you up with.”
Anakin opened his mouth to object to his son’s accusation, but, seeing Padmé looking at him out of the corner of his eye, decided not to. Luke was right, after all.
“And what did he say?” Leia asked.
“Well I didn’t actually tell him about Lieutenant Keller,” Luke continued. “Just that if he cared about you he ought to come to dinner. I guess the fact that he came means that he does. In fact, he told me just a little while ago that…”
“What did he say, Luke?” Leia asked, fixing her eyes on her brothers in the same unnerving manner that their father had.
“Yes, you said it upset you, Luke,” Padmé said. “Leia ought to know if that is the case.”
“He said that you told him you love him, Leia,” Luke said at last. “And that you’re not going anywhere.”
Anakin uttered a Huttese curse under his breath and took a deep breath to master his anger.
“Do you see what I mean now by arrogant?” he said at last, looking at Padmé. “Now do you understand why I dislike this man so much?”
“Dad, please,” Leia said, trying to hide how shaken she was by Luke’s disclosure. “I know that sounds awful, but you don’t know him like I do. There’s more to him than just the arrogance you’ve seen. He’s more than just a scoundrel, Daddy,” Leia told him. “I’ve seen more, a lot more. That’s why I don’t understand any of this. I really thought he loved me….he does love me, I know it! So why is he acting this way? Why is he doing his best to push me away?”
“What happened earlier Leia?” Padmé asked gently. “Your father seems to think you and Han had a disagreement.”
Leia sighed. “I asked him what happened between Dad and him,” she replied. “And he said that you were eavesdropping on him when he was talking to Lando,” she added, looking at Anakin. “Is that true?”
“Well, it wasn’t intentional,” Anakin replied. “I just happened to arrive when they were in the midst of a heated discussion, and I guess I heard enough to know what they were talking about.”
“Well then you know more than me,” Leia told him. “When I asked Han what the conversation had been about, he accused me of interrogating him. And when I told him that I thought that I was mistaken in believing that there was something between the two of us, he didn’t deny it! He’s been just playing with me! Just leading me along, and like some stupid school girl I’ve let him!”
Anakin felt torn between his paternal instincts: one was telling him to comfort his child and the other was telling him to find Han Solo and tear him limb from limb. Fortunately for Han, the gentler of the two won out, and he came over and put a comforting arm around Leia’s shoulders.
“He’s not good enough for you, Leia,” he told her gently as he stroked her hair. “Do you see that now? He’s offensive, and arrogant, and has a shady past that makes him completely untrustworthy. Do you want to know what he was talking to Lando about?”
Leia looked up at him and nodded.
“He was asking him for money so he could pay off his debts to Jabba the Hutt,” Anakin told her. “Leia, the man is a mercenary, a smuggler, a criminal! Anyone who would willingly associate with the Hutts is the lowest scum there is!”
Leia could not argue with her father’s assessment of Han’s past; but she had seen more to him than Anakin had. She had seen the gentle side, the side that would protect her from anything if he needed to. Leia knew that Han loved her, even if he was too stubborn and pig-headed to admit it. But is that enough? If he cannot even tell me how he feels about me, what hope is there that there could possibly be a future between us? “Ani, you can’t judge the man that way,” Padmé chided. “Everyone is entitled to a second chance. Everyone is capable of changing for the better. You’re living proof of that.”
“Our circumstances are completely different,” Anakin retorted. “Han Solo is completely complacent in his own little self-serving existence. You heard what he said to Luke; he figures he’s got Leia right where he wants her, and doesn’t feel that he needs to give anything back in return. Does that sound like a man who would change for anything or anybody?”
“Well he did tell me earlier that he loved Leia,” Luke said, trying to stick up for his friend. “He couldn’t deny that.”
“He may very well love her, but he will never commit to her, Luke,” Anakin replied. “Men like him don’t make commitments, they just use women and then…”
“Stop it!” Leia cried, jumping to her feet. “Would you please all just stop?” She sighed and took a moment to regain her composure. “Look, I love all of you, and know you are all trying to do what is best for me. But this is my problem, my mess. I am old enough to know what I want and what I need, so please just let me make my own decisions in this, alright? Please?”
Anakin nodded. “Very well,” he said, standing up. “Just know that I won’t stand by and allow him to use you, Leia. I won’t stand for that.”
“None of us will,” Luke put in.
Leia nodded, feeling deeply loved by her family. “I know,” she said, “and I appreciate that you want to protect me, truly I do.”
“Perhaps we all should think about sleep,” Padmé suggested. “Tomorrow is a big day for all of us.”
“You’re right,” Anakin said, standing up. Luke stood up as well. He wrapped his arms around Leia and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Get some sleep,” he said.
“I will,” she said, “goodnight, Daddy.”
Anakin turned to Luke. “And you,” he said with a smile. “Have a major role in our little drama tomorrow.”
Luke smiled. “Yeah, don’t remind me,” he muttered.
“You’re not nervous, are you Luke?” Padmé asked.
“Well, no,” Luke replied. “Well, maybe a little.”
Anakin smiled and put his hands on Luke’s shoulders. “You’ll do great, Luke, I just know it.”
Luke smiled, appreciating his father’s vote of confidence. “I’ll do my best,” he replied. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You coming, Angel?” Anakin asked as he started to walk towards the bedroom.
“Yes, in a moment,” she said, standing up. “Just saying good night to the children.”
Anakin left his family alone and headed for the bedroom, as Padmé kissed Luke goodnight.
As Luke walked out the door, Padmé turned to Leia. “Sit down,” she said. “I think you and I need to have a chat.”
Leia sat down, secretly pleased at her mother’s suggestion. Surely she of all people would understand how Leia felt.
“Now, tell me about you and Han,” Padmé began.
Leia shrugged. “I’m not sure there’s much to tell, really,” she said, fussing with the fold in her skirt. “I thought there was more between us, but now I’m beginning to have my doubts.”
Padmé listened, sensing how disappointed her daughter was. “Do you love him? Or are you in love with him?”
Leia looked up at her mother. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
Padmé smiled. “No, I don’t believe so,” she replied. “You can love someone, care deeply for them but not be in love with them.”
“How do you know then?” Leia asked. “How did you know?”
Padmé thought back to that day so long ago on Geonosis. She and Anakin were about to be lead out into a coliseum full of aliens who were anxious to watch their execution. She remembered feeling so afraid, but not of death; of not being able to tell Anakin how she felt before she died. And so she had. After months, perhaps years of denial, she finally admitted to herself and to him that she loved him. But it was more than love; it was as though he were a very part of her. More than twenty years later she still felt that same way.
“Mom?”
Padmé shook herself from her reverie. “I was just thinking about the day I told you father I loved him for the first time,” she told Leia. “He and I had known one another for years, since we were both children. Your father has never been one to hide his feelings, and he had told me how he felt. I felt the same way, but because of our circumstances, I couldn’t tell him. It seemed impossible that we could ever be together, and I didn’t want to give in to something I figured could never work. But I couldn’t deny how I felt for long. You see Leia, I felt as though your father was a part of me; the thought of being apart from him was painful. Those years when we were apart so much, during the Clone Wars, it was like a part of me was missing.” She stopped, trying to put into words the depth of the love she shared with Anakin. “Your father and I share something very unique, Leia – it’s like we are a part of one another. But it’s not just love, it’s companionship too. He is my best friend in the galaxy, and there is no one I’d rather be with than him. He may drive me crazy sometimes,” she added with a smile, “but that’s all part of the package.”
“Well Han certainly drives me crazy,” Leia said with a laugh. Her mother’s words had moved her, and had made her question how she truly felt about Han. Granted, the depth of love that existed between her parents was unique, just as they themselves were.
“You obviously have feelings for him,” Padmé said, seeing that her daughter was struggling. “But are they serious? Can you see yourself making a future with him? Having a family with him? Growing old with him?”
Leia frowned. “No,” she admitted softly. “I can’t. I can’t even imagine him wanting children, or ever settling down. Dad is probably right about him; he’s not the sort who will ever commit to woman.” She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. “I’ve been acting like a silly school girl,” she told her mother. “I feel like such an idiot!”
Padmé reached over and took Leia’s hand. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Leia,” she told her gently. “You’re very young, and if I may say so rather inexperienced when it comes to men. If this is meant to be, then things will work out. If not, then think of it as a learning experience. It’s not like you’ve been involved with him in a physical nature….is it?” she asked hopefully.
Leia shook her head. “No,” she said, wiping a tear from her cheek. “We’ve kissed, but that’s it.”
Thank the Maker for that, Padmé thought with relief. “You know, perhaps the little performance you put on tonight will be the kick in the pants he needs,” she said with a smile.
Leia couldn’t help but laugh. “You think so?” she asked. “I was starting to feel a little guilty after a while.” “Don’t,” Padmé replied. “From what I’ve heard, he could stand to be taken down a peg or two. You were masterful, by the way,” she added with a smile. “The consummate actress.”
Leia smiled. “I just wonder if it will end up pushing him further away,” she said.
“If he cares about you at all, it definitely will not,” Padmé averred. “Trust me.”
Leia raised her eyebrows. “Oh?” she said. “Sounds like you have some experience in this, Mom.”
Padmé laughed. “Well, let’s just say it doesn’t take much to make your father jealous,” she said. “I remember one occasion when he was off at the war, and my sister and her husband came to Coruscant for a visit. Your father saw me with my brother-in-law on the holonet, I was on it sometimes since I was in the public eye, and it made him insane with jealousy. He didn’t know who your uncle was, and jumped to all sorts of conclusions.”
“What?!” Leia exclaimed. “He didn’t trust you?”
“Well it wasn’t that,” Padmé replied. “I suppose the fact that he and I were forced to keep our marriage a secret was getting to him, and when he saw a man he didn’t recognize kissing me in public, it made him crazy. He ended up finding a way to come home, and just showed up at the apartment, where, of course, Sola and Darred here. I thought your father was going to kill Darred when he saw him in our home.”
Leia laughed, being able to picture her father in such situation quite easily. “Dad adores you,” Leia said with a smile. “You know when he was still Darth Vader, before I knew that he was my father, he told me that you were the reason he was helping me.”
“Did he?” Padmé asked, surprised by Leia’s disclosure.
Leia nodded. “Yes,” she said. “Even as Darth Vader he loved you,” she said. “It was so difficult for him to talk about you and what he believed had happened to you.” She smiled. “It must be wonderful to be loved that much.”
Padmé nodded. “Yes, it is,” she said. “Well, it’s getting late,” she said. “Time for both of us to get to bed.”
Leia nodded as they both stood up. “Thanks Mom,” She said, hugging Padmé. “It felt good to talk to someone who understands.”
Padmé smiled. “That’s what moms are for, Leia.” She kissed her on the cheek. “Good night, love. Sleep well.”
“You too, Mom.”
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Post by therealthing on Jun 14, 2007 21:17:04 GMT -5
Chapter 64 None of the Skywalkers slept much that night. Although the Rebel Alliance had been informed that they would be arriving the next day, it was still bound to be a shock for them when the massive super star destroyer appeared in their midst.
Leia was on her way to join her family for one final meal together before they left when she was met in the corridor by Han Solo. She did her best not to appear happy to see him, though secretly she was. Despite everything, she could not deny the feelings she had for him.
“Morning Princess,” Han said, feeling uncharacteristically nervous around the young woman. “Big day I guess, eh?”
Leia nodded. “Yes it is,” she said. “What are your plans, Han?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean if we’d remained on Hoth you would have gone to pay off Jabba by now,” Leia told him. “I just assumed you’d be anxious to get on your way.”
Han could see that Leia was still hurt by what had transpired between them the previous day, and it made him feel even more ashamed than he already did. “Look, Leia,” he began, “about yesterday. I acted like a real jerk, and I just wanted to…”
“Yes, you certainly did,” she replied, folding her arms over her chest.
“I’m trying to apologize,” Han retorted hotly. “If you’d just give me a chance.”
“I’m listening,” Leia replied.
Han wiped his hands, which had become rather sweaty, on his pants as he tried to put together the right words to say. He wasn’t a man who often admitted to being wrong, much less apologizing. But he knew that if he did not at least make an attempt, Leia would be lost to him forever. And that was not something he cared to contemplate.
“I suppose you just caught me at a bad moment,” he began lamely, “and I was kinda short with you, and I’m sorry.”
Leia nodded. “Thank you for apologizing,” she replied. “I know that isn’t something you do easily.”
“No, it isn’t,” he replied. “But, well, I figured I owed you after the way I acted.”
“I see,” Leia responded, watching him closely. “Is that the only reason?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” he asked warily.
“Never mind,” she muttered, trying to walk past him. She had given him the perfect opportunity to tell her how he felt about her, and yet he had not.
“So are we cool then?” he asked, stepping in front of her.
She looked up at him, doing her best to hide her disappointment. “Cool?” she replied. “Yes, that’s a very good word for what we are, Han,” she told him as she tried again to get past him. “Will you please let me pass?” she asked in exasperation.
Han frowned. “What’s going on?” he demanded. And then a thought struck him. “You… you like that pretty boy officer don’t you?” he asked. “That’s why you’re giving me the cold shoulder, isn’t it?”
Leia shook her head. “Do I have to spell everything out for you, Han?” she asked him.
“Yeah, I think maybe you do,” he replied.
She looked at him, trying to decide how much longer she ought to let him twist in the wind. “What difference would it make to you if I did?”
Han had played cards since he was a boy, and had become very good at it. He knew when it was time to call someone’s bluff; he knew when it was time to fold, and when it was time to put all your cards on the table. At this moment, he felt sure that if he did not show Leia his hand, she would leave his life for good.
“Yeah, it would,” he told her at last. “A hell of a big difference, and I think you know it, Leia.”
Leia had to fight to hide her smile at his reply. “Why is that?” she pressed, forcing him to say the words.
“You know why,” he grumbled.
“No, I don’t think I do,” Leia replied. “You told my brother how sure you were that I wasn’t going anywhere, is that how you put it?” she told him, a spark of anger in her dark eyes.
“That kid has a big mouth,” Han muttered. “That was a stupid thing to say, I admit it.”
“Yes it was,” Leia replied. “It makes me wonder if I made a mistake telling you how I feel.”
Han frowned. “Why would you say that?” he asked
Leia sighed, frustrated by his stubborn refusal to be open with her.
“Just forget it,” she said at last. “I need to go, Han. Thank you for the apology. I know how painful it must have been for you.”
Han was unable to respond, as Leia swept past him and walked away. Damn it, he thought in frustration. Maybe I’m just fooling myself. Leia continued on her way, determined not to let the uncomfortable encounter with Han ruin the excitement of the day. She found her parents in the dining room, speaking to one another, the closeness between them obvious. It was uncanny how the two of them could tune out the rest of the room, the rest of the galaxy even, when they were together. I want that, she thought wistfully. He adores my mother, she means everything to him. Han is incapable of such devotion…he’s too wrapped up in himself to love someone that completely.
“Good morning,” she said, smiling at her parents.
Anakin and Padmé looked up to greet their daughter, and immediately Anakin could see that she was doing her best to hide how upset she was. Solo, Anakin thought angrily as Leia took a seat beside him.
“Did you sleep well?” Padmé asked her daughter. “Not really,” Leia replied. “Too much going on I guess.”
Anakin nodded. “It’s a big day,” he agreed. “I wonder where Luke is,” he said.
“He’ll be along soon I’m sure,” Leia said, helping herself to some juice. “You know him and food.”
Padmé laughed. “Sounds like his father,” she said, giving Anakin a smile.
“Well, I’m a big man, Padmé,” he said in self defense as he helped himself to another helping of eggs. “I’d starve to death if I ate what you eat.”
Padmé and Leia both laughed. “We wouldn’t want that, now would we Mom?” Leia said, leaning over and kissing her father’s cheek.
“Not a chance,” Padmé replied. She looked up as Luke entered the room. “There he is,” she said. “There’s still some food left Luke,” she told her son. “I’ve managed to hold off your father.”
Luke smiled as he sat beside his mother. “You are the best,” he told her, kissing her cheek.
It had been determined at an earlier date that Han and Chewbacca would return to the Rebel Fleet in the Falcon, while the Skywalker family and Obi-Wan would travel on board the Executor. Leia was disappointed when the decision had been made that Han would not be traveling with them; but now she was glad. She wanted to put some distance between them, hoping that one of two things would happen: either he would come to realize how much she meant to him and change his tune, or she would get over him. The mood in the shuttle on the trip over to the Executor was one of nervous excitement. The fate of the galaxy was in their hands, and everyone present was keenly aware of this. While Anakin was looking forward to shocking the Rebel leaders, Leia and Luke were a little nervous about how they would react. Perhaps it was best that they had not told them that it was the Executor, for no doubt the conservative leaders would have refused to trust Piett and his crew. Once the Executor was in their midst, the matter would be a moot point.
“Quite an historical day this is, wouldn’t you say?” Obi-Wan asked Anakin and Padmé as they neared the enormous ship.
“Let us hope so,” Padmé replied. “Let’s hope that the Alliance sees it that way.”
“Do they know who I am?” Anakin asked Obi-Wan. “Or who I was?”
“They don’t know that you were Darth Vader until recently, no,” Obi-Wan replied. “I was thinking about that, and whether we ought to tell them.”
“I’m not sure how it will be avoidable,” Anakin said. “They will no doubt want to know where I have been for the past twenty years. If they are to trust me, they must know the whole truth.”
“Yes, I think you’re right,” Obi-Wan said. “Let’s just hope that they can put aside their animosity for Darth Vader in order to embrace this new alliance.”
“If they truly want peace, they will,” Padmé said. “The Executor and its crew will tip the scales in the favor of the Alliance, not to mention the addition of the Chosen One to their ranks,” she added, looking at Anakin with a smile.
“If they accept me,” Anakin reminded her. “Knowing that I have been Darth Vader for the past twenty years may make that impossible for them. All we can do is wait and see, and hope that they realize that what we propose is the only chance to end the conflict in the galaxy.”
“Dad, Mom, we’re about to dock,” Luke said as he entered the hold.
“Very well,” Padmé said. “We’re ready, aren’t we gentlemen?”
Obi-Wan and Anakin looked at one another. “Another adventure for Kenobi and Skywalker,” Obi-Wan said with a smile.
Anakin nodded. “Let’s hope we haven’t lost our touch in our old age,” he remarked with a smile.
Obi-Wan chuckled.
“Well here we are,” Lieutenant Keller announced as he entered the hold.
“Let us be off,” Anakin said, standing up. He held out a hand to his wife and together with their children they made their way towards the exit.
Nothing could have prepared anyone for the reception that awaited them when they descended the ramp. The hangar bay was full of troops, officers and crewmen, all waiting in anticipation for the arrival of their new allies. Upon seeing Anakin, the crowds erupted into loud cheers.
Anakin stood amidst the sea of cheering with his wife at his side, completely at a loss for words. Admiral Piett approached them with a smile. “As you can see,” he said above the cheering crowd, “they are rather pleased to see you.”
Anakin nodded, taken aback by the awesome reception and the overwhelming display of support. He turned to Padmé, who seemed as affected as he was.
“I guess we have no doubts about their cooperation,” Leia put in, delighted to see the great show of support for her father.
“Perhaps you ought to say something to them,” Padmé suggested.
Anakin looked at her, feeling rather unnerved at the prospect of addressing such a huge gathering. “I wasn’t expecting this,” he said. “I’m not prepared.”
“Come now, Anakin,” Obi-Wan urged. “Since when have you ever been at a loss for words?”
Luke and Leia had to laugh at his comment, as well as the expression on their father’s face.
“Very well,” he said, looking around, wondering how he would make himself heard amidst such an enormous throng.
“I’m afraid there is no platform here to stand on,” Piett told him, realizing what Anakin was looking for. “Only that balcony for the security alcove, but you have to go out into the corridor and down a ways to reach it.”
Anakin looked up at the alcove, trying to decide if he could make the jump up to it. He looked at Obi-Wan. “What do you think, Obi-Wan?” he asked. “Think I can make it?”
Obi-Wan looked up at the balcony thoughtfully. “It’s rather high,” he said. “And you’re not as young as you used to be, Anakin,” he couldn’t resist adding.
Anakin raised his eyebrows. “Still younger than you, old man,” he countered and then walked towards the balcony.
Obi-Wan merely smiled as Anakin nimbly leapt up to the balcony, to the astonishment of all assembled.
Anakin, who was secretly pleased that he’d managed the jump, smiled at his family, and then turned to the crowds surrounding them. He held up a hand to quiet them, and soon the enormous hanger was silent.
“My friends, today we stand upon the threshold of a new era,” he began. “When you decided to stand against the tyranny of the Empire, you set into motion a series of events that will change the destiny of the galaxy forever.”
The men assembled below erupted into cheers again. Anakin looked down at Padmé. He could see the tears in her eyes as she smiled back up at him.
Once the room became quiet again, Anakin continued his oration. “For twenty years the Rebel Alliance has been waging war against this tyranny. With our combined strength, we shall prevail against it!”
More cheers erupted from the room, and then a few of the men started chanting: Skywalker! Skywalker! Skywalker! It soon caught on and before long the whole room was chanting it. Anakin was too overwhelmed to say anymore, and turned to look at his family. They were no longer where they had been moments earlier, and he looked around for them, a moment of panic seizing him. But then they entered the alcove and joined him.
“Dad, this is unbelievable!” Luke said with a smile.
Anakin nodded. “This isn’t all for me, Luke,” he replied. “They realize that they are free of the servitude to an evil tyrant, they are finally free.”
Leia felt a lump in her throat, realizing that her father spoke as much of himself as he did the men before them. She took Anakin’s hand wordlessly.
“Now it’s time to free the rest of the galaxy,” Padmé said, linking her arms through Anakin’s.
Anakin nodded. “Yes it is,” he said. “It’s time we were on our way. Our allies are expecting us.”
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