Lando, joined by Leia, took Luke into the hold to tend to his arm while Lumina, Ben, and Leana headed back to the cockpit. Chewbacca barked a tense greeting as they entered.
"Where is Lucas?" Leana demanded, rounding on the other two. "What happened to him?"
Ben and Lumina hurriedly told the story, about how Lucas had stolen Vader's lightsaber back on Hoth and how that had led to the Sith Lord ordering him frozen in carbonite and taken to the Executor. "But that also could have been for his offense against protected music," Ben mused, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.
Leana just gave him a bewildered stare. "What?"
Lumina waved it off. "Lando contacted Lobot and found out that Lucas has indeed reached the Executor. I don't know how we're going to reach them...." She trailed off, her brow pinched in concentration. "Wait, that's it. That's it!" Spinning to face Leana and Ben, Lumina's expression was formed in an eager expression, her hands gesturing wildly. "We surrender. We surrender to the Empire."
"Uh, Lu?" Ben voiced. "Does that have to be our plan or is there, like, a Plan B or something?"
Lumina sighed in exasperation. "Don't you see? Surrendering is the only way we'll be able to get into the Executor's hangar bay. Vader wants Luke alive; therefore, he'll willingly take the Falcon unharmed. That was his plan in the movie, remember? They were going to take the Falcon, board, and use stun blasts to take prisoners. And that was by force. If we just surrender, we'll get brought into the hangar bay, or at the very least docked on the underside of the Executor. It's our only option to get Lucas back."
Leana and Ben exchanged a glance. It may be crazy, but Leana knew Lumina was right. It was the only way to get to Lucas.
"I'm in," she said.
"So am I," Ben nodded. "We just got have a really good plan, Lu, or this whole thing will end badly."
****
"Surrendering?" The Imperial on the comm channel repeated, sounding just as surprised as Lando, Leia, and Chewbacca had been to learn of Lumina's plan. "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" Lumina snapped into the comm, leaning over Lando in order to do so. "We're surrendering, dammit! You shouldn't care why!"
"Well," the officer said slowly. "It's just that you guys made such an effort to escape – why would you surrender after escaping Imperial custody?"
"Hold it," Lando said, frowning. "Do you not want us to surrender?"
"No, no, that's not it," the Imperial assured them. "I'm just confused. For all you know, you could go into hyperspace right now and be away from us."
"What does he mean, for all we know?" Leia repeated.
"The hyperdrive wasn't fixed," Leana told her briskly.
"Well, we've received new information," Lumina said to the controller. "We've decided to surrender!"
"Okay, okay," the Imperial said, sounding flustered. "Please hold."
The group exchanged glances, Lumina tapping her fingers quickly on the console. Leana could feel the tension emanating off every single one of them. They had gone over their plan, but there were so many things that could go wrong. So many things that probably would go wrong.
"Sending hangar coordinates to you now," the Imperial said finally, causing all of them to jump. "A TIE fighter squadron will escort you in, to ensure you don't try anything funny."
"Guess I'll just cancel my standup routine, then," Ben said. Despite herself, Leana covered her mouth with her hand to restrain a laugh. "You know, I've always wondered why Imperials wear grey uniforms. I mean, what's up with that? They all want to wear drab colors, as if to show how boring they are. It attracts all the boring people. It makes people think they don't have a sense of humor. I mean, it's so depressing."
"Shut up, Ben," Lumina said, rolling her eyes. "No one wants to hear you do a bad Seinfeld impression right now."
Lando and Chewbacca steered the Millennium Falcon toward the Executor, tensing as the TIE fighters surrounded them. They slowly flew into the hangar bay, Chewbacca setting the Falcon down on its landing treads.
"Go time," Lumina said, straightening and looking back. "You all know the drill."
"Right," Ben said. "I distract Vader while Leana finds Lucas, Chewie and R2-D2 fix the hyperdrive, and Lumina, Lando, and Leia keep everyone else busy. Luke stays in the hold, with C-3PO."
Leana and Lumina nodded. "It's go time," Leana whispered, and they bumped their fists together four times – one for each of them. Except it felt odd, without Lucas.
We'll get him back. We will. I swear it.
Leana and Ben headed toward the ramp, Lumina and Leia following behind them. Ben hit the controls, looked at Leana, and then strode down the ramp.
"Darth!" he bellowed. "Have I got a bone to pick with you!"
Leana took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she reached out to the Force. She needed to disguise her presence, lower Vader's ability to detect her. And she also needed to find Lucas through the Force, at the same time. Quite the task.
Okay. Here goes nothing.
"Don't "procedure" me!" Ben was snapping at the Imperial officer who had approached him, stormtroopers standing awkwardly behind him, looking like they weren't quite sure whether to aim their blasters at the redhead or not. "You think I care that prisoners typically are in custody? The answer, my friend, is no! Tell your Darth Vader that his master is very disappointed in him and recommends a time-out, of the standard duration."
Leana almost felt bad for the officer, who looked so confused, spreading his hands and shrugging hopelessly at Ben, and then thought of how they had Lucas in carbonite somewhere on this ship. After that, she had no spare pity for him.
Lucas, where are you?
Cautiously, she reached out to the Force, searching for Lucas. She had no idea if she would be able to sense him, with him hibernating in carbonite, but it was the only way they could find him.
....Or was it?
Leana crept out of the hangar, her steps silent on the metal flooring. Up ahead, she saw a technician standing behind a computer station, eyes intent on the screen. Moving closer to him, Leana lifted her hand, summoning the Force.
"You will tell me where Lucas Skylark is being held."
The technician blinked, lifting his gaze from the monitor. "I will tell you where Lucas Skylark is being held," he murmured, and began to tap some keys. "Uh, we don't have a Lucas Skylark on board."
Leana furrowed her brow. "Really? I could have sworn. Try searching under 'carbonite' or 'lightsaber thief.'"
"Okay." The tech searched again, and his face brightened. "It was under lightsaber thief. Right here." He indicated his screen.
Lucas was close to the hangar. It seemed he hadn't been brought to a permanent holding cell yet, thank the Force. Now Leana just needed to bring him out of hibernation and get him back on the Falcon.
Let's just hope Ben can hold Vader back long enough for Chewbacca to fix the hyperdrive and for Lumina to plot the jump.
Breaking into a run, Leana hurried toward Lucas' location. The rhythmic feel of her boots hitting the metal soothed her and she increased her speed. The familiarity of the running made the tension in her shoulders ease somewhat.
Then she saw Lucas.
The carbonite block was lying horizontal, held suspended by a repulsor sled. Leana's heart froze at the sight of Lucas, trapped in the material, suspended in time with his arm up to shield his face.
No!
Leana rushed over to the carbonite slab, her hands going to the control panel on the side of the slab. It took her several moments to find the control to melt the carbonite and she anxiously pressed it, watching as the drab grey material began to burn away.
A shuddering gasp left Lucas' lips as the material burned away from his face, and Leana grabbed him as he was suddenly released from the encasing carbonite. She yanked him away, his body crumpling in her arms as he was freed.
"Wha...." he tried, slurring the syllable as he leaned against her. "Le...."
Leana sagged to the ground, unable to support Lucas' weight at the awkward angle she was holding him. "I got you," she panted, sighing in relief. "I got you, Lucas."
****
Holy crap, what did I just get myself into?
Ben stood at the end of a corridor, the hangar bay a hundred feet behind him. His feet were planted squarely, his arms crossed defiantly, and he was currently engaged in staring down Darth Vader, who was at the other end of the corridor.
Not his smartest move.
Especially considering the Sith didn't blink – at least, not where Ben could see him.
I'm going to die, aren't I?
The idea of Ben distracting/delaying Vader had seemed like a pretty good one, considering they didn't have any other options, from the safety of the Millennium Falcon. But now? Now that he was standing in front of Vader again, after he had escaped him? Yeah, not so good.
The sound of Vader's breathing filled the corridor, reverberating in Ben's ears and suffocating him. Pretending to be Obi-Wan Kenobi had never been so hard, for this would be most like the scene in the fourth movie where he died. And no matter what Obi-Wan said about coming back ten times stronger, Ben knew there was no way he could actually come back from death, physically, anyway, and he didn't feel like going about his life as a Force ghost.
Can you imagine going horseback riding as a ghost? Or walking Topper? He'd just run away from me, for I wouldn't be able to hold the leash. Unless I was a Force ghost from the Disney trilogy, but Qui-Gon said those were alternate realities.
Okay. Just...start small. Get into character.
Only one thing came to mind, so Ben just said it. "Hello there."
"Obi-Wan," Vader boomed. "What brings you back this time?"
"Luke Skywalker," Ben said, holding his voice steady. "You know you just traumatized that young man? Cutting his hand off, telling him you're his father...did I mention cutting his hand off?"
"He is my son," Vader insisted, beginning to walk slowly down the corridor. Ben felt his fear start to rise and tamped it down. He had to stay in character. The Sith hadn't shown an inclination to kill Obi-Wan before – he just had to hope his sentiments remained the same.
"No, he isn't," Ben said. "Your kid is...somebody else."
"Don't lie to me, Obi-Wan," Vader warned. "I can sense it. Luke Skywalker is my son."
"Well, it was worth a try," Ben muttered.
"You were wise to hide him from me," Vader added.
"Of course I was!" Ben exclaimed. "Yoda was like, oh, Luke's father should be in his life, but I was like hell no! And I was right, wasn't I? After all, you just chopped his hand off! His hand! No wonder he's traumatized. I would be, too, if my father cut my hand off."
"You never knew your father," Vader pointed out.
"True," Ben conceded. In that moment, he had been thinking of his own dad, Bob O'Connor, not of whoever Obi-Wan's father was. He loved his dad and couldn't even imagine him laying a hand on him, Josh, or Danielle – never mind chopping one of their hands off. "But I am certain it would still be traumatizing."
"How certain?" Vader challenged.
"Pretty sure," Ben replied. "I looked on Qui-Gon as a father and I would be pretty upset if he cut my hand off. If anyone cut my hand off, I would be upset. I mean, how did you feel when Dooku cut off your hand, Anakin? I'm sure it didn't bring on any rushes of gratitude or anything. You were a wreck after that! You proceeded to elope with Padmé Amidala almost immediately afterwards, didn't you?"
"How did you know about that?" Vader demanded.
Ben waved his hand dismissively. "You become very knowledgeable once you're dead, Annie. Speaking about the dead, you know what I heard from the grapevine the other day?"
"The grapevine?" Vader repeated, sounding confused.
"It's a dead grapevine," Ben admitted, his mind working furiously fast to keep up with the conversation. If he could keep Vader confused, if he could stall him by keeping him talking – or at least listening – then maybe Leana could get Lucas and they could all escape. "But you know what? Qui-Gon told me he wished he'd never found you on Tatooine. He would rather we had all died there, then that he had brought you back to the Jedi Temple."
Vader stopped, and for a moment Ben thought he might actually have hurt the Sith Lord's feelings. Does Vader even have feelings, at this point? I mean, eventually, yeah, because he saves Luke, but now? But then he spoke, and his voice betrayed no emotion. "That name no longer means anything to you."
"What about the name of Shmi Skywalker?" Ben asked quietly. "The name of your mother? Does that name have any meaning to you? She would hate this, Anakin. She'd be so disappointed in you. Like I am. Like Padmé is, too. Like we all are. You were...you were supposed to bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness. Not leave us in darkness."
"The Emperor is too strong," Vader pronounced. "You will only die again, in the end, and that will be fitting, my old master." The red blade snapped to life, filling the corridor with eerie crimson light, and the Sith advanced toward him.
Oh, crap.
Ben started to run, continually glancing back over his shoulder as Vader continued to stride down the corridor. He had no weapons, no ability to use the Force, and was now leading Vader straight back to the Falcon, for there was no other place to go.
Oh, crap, oh, crap.
Then Ben heard a thud from behind him and turned.
A piece of metal had struck Vader in the head, causing the Sith to stagger backwards. Ben glanced around, brow furrowed, and saw a narrow adjoining hallway a couple feet behind him. Leana stood there, with Lucas' arm draped around her shoulders and her arm cinched around his waist. He looked horrible, but he was alive, and was blinking dazedly as he leaned heavily against Leana.
Ben went to exclaim but then Leana, with a grimace, hurled another piece of metal, a broken pipe, at Vader. Spinning back to face the Sith, Ben lifted his hands, as if he was controlling the objects.
"You are blind to the Force," Vader snarled.
"Then how come I can do this!" Ben exclaimed, and thrust his arm forward.
Nothing happened.
"I'm waiting," Vader said after a beat of silence.
"I said, if I was blind to the Force, then how come I can do this!" Ben repeated, loudly, and mimed throwing a football.
A third object came flying through the air, directly at Vader. The Sith caught it via the Force, hurling it back at Ben. Ben flinched but Leana managed to deflect the object to the side. One look back at her showed that she couldn't sustain much more of this. She looked exhausted, and having to support Lucas wasn't helping.
"You cannot prevent me from turning my son to the dark side," Vader intoned, starting forward again.
"Ben!" Leana hissed, and tossed him something. Ben caught it, his eyes widening on seeing her lightsaber. Qui-Gon's lightsaber.
Got to make this count.
Igniting the green blade, Ben heard the snap-hiss of it coming to life and lifted it, hoping Leana would seize the opportunity and get Lucas down to the Falcon. He heard shuffling behind him and knew they were going, as he also saw Vader's helmet snap up at the sight of the two of them.
Determination and anger surged through Ben. I will not let you hurt my friends anymore! Taking the lightsaber, he hurled it at Vader with a very un-Obi-Wan-Kenobi-like scream and turned to run. He came up behind Leana and took one of Lucas' arms, looping it over his shoulder as Leana picked up her pace. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Vader duck, trying to avoid the whirling green blade. It hopefully would buy them some time.
Not much left to go. Not much left.
****
"Come on, come on," Lumina murmured, drumming her fingers against the console and making Lando glare at her resentfully. The jump was plotted and there was nothing left for her to do. She could do nothing, right now, but wait. She had done practically nothing for the entire movie but wait, wait and watch, and she was tired of it.
A triumphant roar sounded from Chewbacca, echoing through the ship, and Lando pumped his fist in the air as Leia came running back into the cockpit. "Yes!" Lando cheered. "We got the hyperdrive back!"
Leia pointed out the cockpit viewport. "And there's Leana and Ben with Lucas!"
Lumina took one look and her heart jumped into her throat. They were in trouble, she could see that. Vader was coming out of the corridor behind them, and there were Imperials who would be willing to impede their way to the ramp.
"Leia, make sure they get inside," Lumina snapped, striding out of the cockpit.
"Where are you going?" Leia called, hurrying after her.
"To end this," Lumina muttered, reaching the Falcon's guns and climbing down into the bottom turret. "We're getting off this ship one way or the other."
As she reached the bottom of the gun turret, Lumina took her seat and grabbed the controls, swiveling to aim the gun at the corridor her friends had just exited. They were running for the Falcon, but Lucas' weight was slowing them down and Vader was approaching from behind them.
Exhaling, Lumina aimed the gun at Vader and fired.
The red lasers spat across the hangar, hitting just in front of the Sith Lord and blowing him backwards, almost like this was a round of Battlefront. Adrenaline rushing through her bloodstream, Lumina swiveled the gun around and began to fire at the stormtroopers littering the hangar, giving them something to run from as Leana, Ben, and Lucas made it back to the Falcon's ramp.
Lumina stayed in the gun turret, firing at everything she could as Lando lifted the Falcon up and pivoted it to face the exit. Within seconds, they had blasted out of the hangar and were then shooting into hyperspace, away from the Executor and the Imperials.