The sense of relief that cascaded down on Lucas on knowing that Ben was alive made everything else seem insignificant. Even the fact that Vader was currently giving him the death glare couldn't ruin his mood.
At least, Lucas was ninety percent certain he was getting a death glare. It was hard to tell, what with the fact that Vader's mask didn't change expression.
"You," Vader snarled, and Lucas raised his certainty rating to one hundred percent sure.
"Annie," Lucas returned, shifting his stance. "Good to see you again."
"Be quiet," Vader demanded. "Return my lightsaber to me, you imbecile."
"What lightsaber?" Lucas asked, feigning innocence. He saw Lumina looking at him from the corner of his eye and got what she was trying to get across. But his head still hurt from heading C-3PO's head. It would be hard to escape effectively with the pain throbbing above his eyes. "You mean your Sith lightsaber? I mean, because Obi-Wan stole your blue lightsaber, so you can't be talking about that one."
Vader turned his glare to Ben for a moment. "Whatever did happen to my old lightsaber?"
"Yeah, about that," Ben said, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Funny story. I gave it away, when I was spring cleaning, a couple years back. But hey, it might turn up someday!" He glanced away. "Someday soon, would be my guess."
Vader just looked at him. "Why would you give away a lightsaber? One you made a point about stealing in the first place?"
"Hey!" Ben exclaimed. "I did not steal it! You were in no shape to be using that, and you were a danger to yourself, and to others. So I took it, to, um, protect you. Besides, can you blame me? I thought you were about to die. If I had known I'd be standing, talking to you today, I would have, you know...given you a little push back into that lava."
"What happened to all that 'You were my brother!' crap?" Vader demanded.
While Ben and Vader argued, Ben seemingly in the persona of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lucas' eyes fell on a bottle of aspirin, sitting on the tray of refreshments. He began to inch toward the table, his eyes on the bottle. If he could only take one, to ease the pain in his head...then, at least, whatever happened next, he would be ready.
"It was very hot on Mustafar!" Ben was yelling. "I said things I didn't mean. You once told me I was like a father to you – you clearly didn't mean that, huh? Did you, Annie?"
"Why did you get rid of my lightsaber?" Vader bellowed, changing the subject.
Lucas had reached the table and slowly, keeping his eyes on the Sith Lord and his best friend, stretched out his arm toward the bottle of aspirin. His fingers closed around the container and he drew it toward him, taking a glass of water from the tray. Vader was so engrossed in his argument that he didn't notice, and with the Imperials doing their best to imitate statues by standing so still they seemed dead, and Boba Fett rocking out to whatever was playing inside his helmet, there was no one to stop Lucas from obtaining headache relief.
"It was evidence in a massacre!" Ben hollered. "You murdered Tusken Raider men, women, and children with that lightsaber, Darth – it was incriminating evidence! The case had been revived and I was afraid of being questioned and found with it!"
"It's a lightsaber!" Vader shouted. "They can't trace it back to twenty year old murders!"
"Aha!" Ben shouted back, pointing at Vader. "So you admit that you did do it!"
Lucas glanced down at the aspirin bottle, twisting the top off. It took a little trial and error to figure out how safety caps operated in Star Wars, but finally he got it off. Hopefully space aspirin is the same dosage as earth aspirin, he reflected, popping a pill into his mouth and taking a mouthful of water to wash it down.
Please work, please work, please work.
"What are you, a space narc?" Vader demanded.
"Once a Jedi, always a Jedi," Ben said archly, crossing his arms. "Besides, there have been new developments in the lightsaber forensic field, Darth. I would have thought you'd have kept up with your readings, considering how pertinent they are to you and your crimes."
Han, Leia, Lando, and Chewbacca clearly looked confused by all of this. Lumina looked baffled, but they all kept quiet, their eyes flicking back and forth from Ben to Vader. Lucas placed the bottle of aspirin back on the table, wondering why Ben seemed to be leaning into the role of Obi-Wan. He also wondered why Vader seemed to be believing it.
He killed Obi-Wan, on the Death Star. Then how come he thinks Ben is Obi-Wan, if he knows he is dead?
Lucas rubbed at his head, silently willing the aspirin to kick in. He glanced at Lumina, who nodded slightly. They needed to act, while Vader was distracted.
In a quick movement, Lucas drew both his lightsaber and his blaster, tossing the pistol to Lumina. She caught it easily and pointed it at Boba Fett as Lucas thumbed the ignition, the red blade snapping to life.
Ben drew something from his pocket and launched himself at Vader, who stumbled back in surprise. Boba Fett seemed oblivious as the Imperials started, both drawing small blaster pistols.
Lucas turned to the door and jabbed his lightsaber through the white material, gritting his teeth in concentration as the blade cut through it. Lumina fired at the Imperials, the two men diving out of sight as the red lasers scorched the walls. Ben, after shoving Vader, had sprung out of reach, scrambling up onto a chair and then onto the table. "Don't try it, Darth," he said mockingly, spreading out his hands. "I have the high ground!"
Vader snarled, his breath whooshing harshly through his ventilator, and unclipped a lightsaber from his belt. "Shut up!"
"Only a Sith tells people to shut up!" Ben shouted, jumping backwards as Vader ignited his lightsaber with a snap-hiss, a green blade bursting to life. His foot caught on the refreshments tray and he toppled over backward, the cups, pitcher, and plates either crashing to the ground or skidding across the table.
Lucas continued to cut through the door, slowly and arduously drawing his lightsaber in the rough outline of a circle. It was much harder than it looked in the movies and took a lot more concentration than he had been expecting.
Lumina had stopped firing, mostly because Ben was now right in the middle of the fight, between the Rebels and the Imperials. He was dragging himself backward across the tabletop, the rest of the contents of the refreshments tray getting swept to the floor as he threw whatever his hands landed on at Vader and the two Imperials. Boba Fett had suddenly seemed to realize that something was going on and had raised his EE-3 blaster, but Vader moved in his way, his green lightsaber flashing as he tried to strike at Ben.
Almost there!
The lightsaber reached the place where it had started and Lucas powered it down, ramming his shoulder against the door. The rough circle fell out into the corridor and Lucas went with it, falling out of the hole.
He heard Lumina yelling, "Out!" as he glanced up at the company of stormtroopers standing in front of him, all holding blasters. He was just hoping they were all as bad shots as the jokes claimed when red lasers shot through the hole behind him. Lumina was stepping through, wildly firing at the stormtroopers and managing to scour hits on their shiny white armor.
Lucas shoved himself up onto his feet, igniting his lightsaber. Fortunately, the space aspirin seemed to have had some effect on his headache, as the throbbing pain had dissipated greatly, allowing him to think clearly. Red lasers began to whistle past him as he ran at the stormtroopers, swinging his lightsaber in a sweeping arc.
The sight of his red blade seemed to confuse the stormtroopers, which bought time for Chewbacca, Han, and Leia to escape through the circular hole. Then Ben crashed through the opening, gripping a jug in one hand and Han's blaster in the other. Somehow, he had gotten ahold of it.
"Give me that!" Han snapped, snatching the blaster and opening fire on the stormtroopers as he dove for what sparse cover there was in the hallway. Ben threw the jug at a stormtrooper, managing to nail him in the helmet and knock him over.
Chewbacca bowled into the stormtroopers, tearing limbs from torsos and throwing them at other troopers. With the Wookiee in their midst, the stormtroopers seemed hesitant to open fire on him. Leia wrested a blaster from a dead stormtrooper's grip and began to shoot at them. Red lasers flew both ways and Lucas felt something singe his arm, but he barely felt it.
Lando hadn't reappeared through the door and Lucas wondered how much time he had before Vader and Boba Fett reappeared. The doors began to open but Lumina whirled, sending a red laser right into the circuit panel and causing the doors to grind to a halt, only a couple inches of space in between them. Considering there was a giant hole in the center, though, she hadn't bought them much time.
Lumina and Han had taken cover by the walls beside the room, firing at the troopers near them. Chewbacca and Lucas were in the thick of it, Lucas hoping that he wouldn't get nailed by friendly fire. Leia and Ben had ducked into an alcove on the other side of the hallway, both with scrounged up blasters from dead troopers.
"Apprehend them," Lucas heard Vader command, and Boba Fett climbed through the hole in the doorway, blaster lifted. Lumina and Han dove away from him as Lucas turned toward the bounty hunter, fear battling with the sheer adrenaline in his bloodstream.
He lifted his red lightsaber as Boba fired, managing to deflect the laser through a stroke of sheer luck. Keeping his blade raised, Lucas ran at the Mandalorian, hoping that he could somehow knock him out of commission before he shot him. Wildly lashing out with his lightsaber, he sliced through the barrel of Boba's blaster.
"Dammit!" Boba cursed, stumbling backward as Vader ducked through the hole in the door. He knocked into the Sith and staggered to the side, lifting his hands apologetically before diving back into the conference room.
Lucas lowered his lightsaber slightly, his brow furrowed. Well. That was...anticlimactic.
"What are you doing?" Vader demanded, turning to glance back into the room, his hands spread questioningly. "Attack!"
"Nuh uh," Boba's voice came from inside. "It's too dangerous. Didn't you see that? I could have been killed! It's brutal out there!"
Vader shook his head, pinching his black-gloved cybernetic hand against his forehead as if he had a headache. Lucas would recommend space aspirin, if the Sith wasn't about to attack him. "Coward. I'll show you how to handle them."
Igniting his green lightsaber, Vader faced Lucas, who stepped into a defensive stance, eyes fixed on the Sith Lord.
"Give it back," Vader snarled.
"Never," Lucas declared. Then he reconsidered. Only a Sith deals in absolutes, after all. "I mean, most likely, in all probability, not." He steeled himself for a duel, but before Vader could move toward him, a grey piece of metal came flying through the air.
It bounced off the Sith's helmet, falling harmlessly to the ground. Lucas frowned down at it, trying to figure out what it was. It almost looked like a piece from a lightsaber hilt, but where had it come from?
Vader lifted his gaze, past Lucas, and even though his helmet didn't display emotion, Lucas could tell he was mighty miffed. "All right, you little scum, this is it!"
Lucas spun, his eyes landing on Ben, who stood poised for flight. "Have respect for your Master!" he yelled, and turning, the redhead took off running down the corridor. Vader headed after him, and Lucas had never seen the Sith move so fast.
"Run!" Ben yelled over his shoulder, and that jolted Lucas into action. He took off down the corridor in the other direction, yelling for the others to follow him. Behind them, one of the Imperials was snapping orders alternately at the stormtroopers and at Boba Fett as the Rebels streaked away from the conference room.
****
Ben kept running until he came to a dead end. He could hear Vader's breathing behind him as he skidded to a halt, jerking his hands up to save him from face-planting into the wall. He staggered back slightly on impact, looking up. The wall was solid and smooth, with only an access panel near the ceiling of the wall to one side. Fearfully, he glanced over his shoulder, seeing the dark figure of Vader block his only exit.
"Your end has come, my old Master," Vader intoned, halting about ten feet away from him. "Again."
"Really?" Ben asked, a slight pleading note in his voice. He didn't see a way out of this. "A little slack, please?"
"You have insulted me too much already," Vader pointed out. "There is no escape this time."
"Why do you care about insults?" Ben asked, saying whatever he could to stall Vader. "I always thought that you could just Force-choke anyone who insults you."
"Good idea," Vader said, lifting his hand.
"I really did it that time, didn't I?" Ben muttered, as Vader closed his fingers.
Ben coughed, trying to get enough oxygen into his lungs to prolong his life as much as possible. He fell to one knee, clutching at his throat. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He tried to take a deep breath and almost fell over when he realized that he could actually do so. "Wait," he said, still coughing a bit. He could still feel something slightly constricting his airways, but not enough to cut off his windpipe. "I'm not choking!"
"What?" Vader demanded. "What was all that pantomiming then?"
"Me being dramatic?" Ben guessed. "I guess I still have some imperviousness to your old tricks, Annie."
Vader ignited his lightsaber. "Killing you like I did the last time will work just as well, then. Hold still."
"Uh oh," Ben said, his elation vanishing.
"What, no strike me down speech this time?" Vader asked, then moved forward, lifting his lightsaber. "Run out of lives?"
Ben couldn't help it. He screamed and ran at the wall to his right. If he could just jump and grab on to the access panel handle overhead, he could maybe escape the Sith....
He got halfway up the wall, just through sheer adrenaline, before he fell backwards, right on top of Vader. A green blade slashed through the air so close to him as Vader toppled over backward, the lightsaber falling from his hand. Ben struggled to get up, practically running over the Sith as he staggered to his feet and took off down the corridor.
"Hey!" he heard Vader shout behind him. "Wait! No! Come back!"
****
Lumina's head was on a swivel as they ran. She knew the Falcon wasn't an option, not yet – not until they had R2-D2 to fix the still unfixed hyperdrive. So they were stuck here, for now – as long as they stayed away from Vader, she would be happy.
"There," she said, indicated a closed door. They skidded to a halt, Lucas hitting the control panel. The door slid open and they slipped inside, shutting the door behind them.
The room was little more than a large janitor's closet – in short, a dead end. Lumina, Lucas, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca all pressed themselves against the wall, Chewbacca having to duck to avoid knocking his head against the ceiling.
"Now what?" Leia panted, her voice quiet. "We need to find some way to get to the Falcon."
Lumina and Lucas were already shaking their heads. "The hyperdrive is still broken," Lucas told them grimly. "Vader knew we were coming before we even arrived – they beat us here. They wouldn't have allowed Lando's workers to repair the ship, just in case something went wrong and we managed to get to it." He sighed. "I hope Ben had better luck than us."
"Your friend's got a lot of guts," Han admitted. "He took on Vader. What was he even doing with them in the first place?"
Lucas and Lumina exchanged glances. "We don't know," Lumina said. "We thought he was dead. His speeder went down, on Hoth."
"Maybe Vader captured him," Lucas suggested. "From the wreck. He does seem to think that Ben is Obi-Wan Kenobi, for some reason."
"I was wondering about that," Han said. "I thought the old fool died on the Death Star."
Lumina shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you."
Chewbacca gave a low moan, looking at Han.
"He's right," Han said, looking at the others. "We can't just stay in here forever. We need to get out of here. Somehow."
But as to what they would do after leaving their current hiding place, nobody knew.
****
Ben had no idea where he was running to, only what he was running from.
He had a stitch in his side that made him want to double over and he was gasping like a fish out of water. The only weapons he had were the confiscated blaster and the other half of his broken lightsaber hilt. But they wouldn't take him that far if there was no way for him to get off of Cloud City.
Ben rounded a corner and skidded to a halt as Boba Fett appeared in front of him. "Got you, Jedi!" Boba crowed, lifting his arm and turning his fist down. A coil of wire shot out of the gauntlet at Ben, wrapping around him and immobilizing him, his arms now bound to his sides.
"Aw, man," Ben groaned. "Not again."
****
Lumina didn't know how long they waited, huddled in the large closet, before they heard the footsteps. Someone shouted for "All doors to be opened and searched! Find the Rebel scum at all costs!"
"They'll find us eventually," Lucas muttered. He glanced at her. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Lumina jerked her chin down. "Yeah. There're no other options left, anyway." She glanced at Han, Leia, and Chewbacca. "The element of surprise is all we have left."
Han lifted his blaster. "Then let's do it."
Just as Lucas hit the control panel, Lumina heard the whoosh of mechanical breathing that she knew so well, and it sent shivers down her spine. But the doors opened and she had no choice but to hurl herself out into the corridor to face down the stormtroopers.
Her blaster spit red lasers as Lucas' crimson blade cut through the nearest trooper. A glance to the left showed Vader, with his back to them. Before he could move, Chewbacca grabbed the Sith and shook him like a rag doll, roaring.
"Set for stun!" Lumina heard, and several shots of blue rings flew through the air and struck the Wookiee in the back. He slumped to the ground, maintaining his grip on Vader for a couple extra seconds before releasing him as the Sith spun around.
"Chewie!" Han yelled, aiming his blaster at Vader's face. But before he could shoot, Lumina saw movement behind the Sith Lord and Boba Fett came around the corner, marching Ben along beside him, his wrists secured with tightly wrapped wire. The bounty hunter held a stormtrooper blaster pressed to Ben's side.
"Choose your moves carefully," Vader instructed, his tone humming with anger. "The life of Master Kenobi hangs in the balance."
"Technically, it doesn't," Han muttered, but he lowered his blaster just the same. So did Leia and Lumina, and Lucas switched off his lightsaber. None of them wanted to take risks with Ben's life.
The Empire had them.