Luke, Mary and R2 moved carefully down a deserted corridor, they heard a group of people coming down a side hallway. R2 let out an excited series of beeps and whistles.
Luke and Mary glared at the tiny droid, who stopped in his tracks with a feeble squeak.
Boba Fett entered from a side hallway followed by two guards pushing the floating, encased body of Han Solo.
Two Stormtroopers, who followed, immediately spotted the duo and opened fire on them. They drew their weapons and blasted the two troopers before they could get off a second shot. The two guards whisked Han into another hallway as Fett lowered his arm and fired a deadly laser at the duo, which exploded to one side and teared up a huge chunk of wall.
They rushed to a side hallway, but by the time they reached it, Fett, Han, and the guards were gone. A think metal door blocked the passage. They turned to see Leia, Chewie, 3PO, and Lando being herded down a second hallway by several other Stormtroopers.
Leia turned just in time to see the duo.
"Luke! Mary, don't - it's a trap! It's a trap!" Leia shouted.
Before she could finish, she was pulled through a doorway and disappeared from sight.
They raced after the group, leaving little R2 trailing behind.
They ran into an anteroom and stopped to get their bearings. Leia and the others were nowhere to be seen. Behind Luke and Mary, R2 scooted down the corridor toward the anteroom when suddenly a giant metal door came slamming down, cutting off Luke and Mary's exit. Several more doors clanged shut, echoing through the chamber.
R2 stood with his nose pressed against the giant metal door. He whistled a long sigh of relief and, a little dazed, wandered off in the other direction.
Luke and Mary cautiously walked forward among hissing pipes and steam. Seeing an opening above them, they stopped to look up. As they did, the platform they stood on began to move. They rose into the chamber, borne by the platform. The room was deathly quiet.
Very little steam escaped the pipes and no one else seemed to be in the large room.
Warily, Luke and Mary walked toward the stairway.
Steam began to build up in the chamber. Looking up through the steam, they saw a dark figure standing on a walkway above them. Luke holstered his gun and they moved up the stairs to face Vader. He felt confident, eager to engage his enemy.
"The Force is with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet." Vader said.
"You're wrong, brother... he is." Mary replied.
Luke and Mary ignited their sabers. In an instant, Vader's own sword was lit.
Luke lunged but Vader repelled the blow and Mary attacked, and the swords of the three combatants clashed in battle.
Luke, Mary and Vader were locked in combat on the platform overlooking the chamber. Their swords clashed and the platform swayed. Luke aggressively drove Vader back, forcing Vader to use defensive tactics.
"You have learned much, young one." Vader affirmed.
"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Luke replied.
Vader made two quick moves, hooking Luke's sword out of his hand and sending it flying. Another lightning move at Luke's feet forced the youth to jump back to protect himself. Losing his balance, Luke rolled down the stairs to the circular carbon-freezing platform. There he sprawled on the floor, surprised and shaken.
Mary seeing her nephew in distress lashed out at Vader and the two attacked each other. Until Vader with the Force lifted Mary and threw her away.
"I'll deal with you later, sister." Vader said.
Mary slammed into a wall and passed out.
Just in time he looked up to see Vader, like a giant black bird, flying right at him, Luke rolled away as Vader landed. Crouching, Luke kept his gaze steadily on his enemy.
"Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker. Obi-Wan and Mary knew this to be true." Vader added.
"No!" Luke yelled.
Behind Luke the hydraulic elevator cover had opened noiselessly. All the while, Luke slowly, cautiously moved back, away from the Dark Lord.
Suddenly, Vader attacked so forcefully that Luke lost his balance and fell back into the opening. There was a rumble, and in an instant freezing steam rose to obscure Vader's vision. Vader turned aside and deactivated his sword.
"All too easy. Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought." Vader stated.
Through the steam behind Vader something blurred upward. Liquid metal began to pour into the pit. Vader turned around and then looked up. He saw Luke, who had leaped fifteen feet straight up and who now hanged from some hoses on the carbonite outlet.
"Impressive... most impressive."
Luke jumped down to the platform where he was separated from Vader by the steaming carbonite pit. He raised his hand. His sword, which had fallen on another part of the platform, swiftly jumped into his outstretched hand and was instantly ignited.
Vader immediately lighted his sword as well.
"Obi-Wan and Mary have taught you well. You have controlled your fear... now release your anger."
Luke was more cautious, controlling his anger. He began to retreat as Vader goaded him on. As Luke took a defensive position, he realized he had been foolhardy. A quick sword exchange and Luke forced Vader back. Another exchange and Vader retreated. Luke pressed forward.
"Only your hatred can destroy me."
Breathing hard, Luke jumped in the air, turning a somersault over Vader. He landed on the floor and slashed at Vader as the room continued to fill up with steam.
Vader retreated before Luke's skillful sword. Vader blocked the sword, but lost his balance and fell into the outer rim of pipes.
The energy Luke had used to stop Vader had brought him to the point of collapse.
Luke moved to the edge and looked down, but saw no sign of Vader.
He then deactivated his sword, hooked it on his belt, and lowered himself into the pit.
Moving through a tunnel like entrance, Luke cautiously approached the reactor room.
He ignited his sword and moved into the room and toward a large window as Vader entered.
Luke raised his sword and moved forward to attack.
Behind Luke a large piece of machinery detached itself from the wall and came smashing forward toward his back. Luke turned and cut it in half just as another machine came hurtling at him. Using the Force, Luke managed to deflect it and sent it flying as if it had hit an invisible shield.
A large pipe detached and came flying at Luke. He deflected it. Sparking wires pulled out of the wall and began to whip at the youth.
Small tools and equipment came flying at him. Bombardment from all sides, Luke did his best to deflect everything, but soon he was bloodied and bruised. Finally, one machine glanced off his and went flying out the large window. A fierce wind blowed into the room, unmoving, stood the dark, rocklike figure of Vader.
A piece of machinery hit Luke and he was knocked out of the window.
Luke fell onto the gantry, rolled, and hanged over the edge, holding his deactivated sword in hand. He put the sword on his belt and began to scramble up and moved along the railing and up to the control room.
Vader lunged at him and Luke immediately raised his lit sword to meet Vader's.
Sparks flew as they duel, Vader gradually forcing Luke backward toward the gantry.
☾☼
Mary was unconscious until that moment, she woke up, put a hand on her head and saw blood. The blow was quite strong. She rose slowly and with the Force pulled her lightsaber back into her grasp. She walked to the reactor room and found pieces of machinery on the floor and a broken window.
She passed through the window and saw her brother and her nephew.
"You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did." Vader said.
Luke answered by rolling sideways and thrusting his sword at Vader so viciously that he nicked Vader on the shoulder. The black armour sparked and smoked and Vader seemed to be hurt, but immediately recovered.
Luke backed off along the narrow end of the gantry as Vader came at him, slashing at the young Jedi with his sword. Luke made a quick move around the instrument complex attached to the end of the gantry.
Vader's sword came slashing down, cutting the complex loose; it began to fall, then was caught by the rising wind and blown upward.
Luke glanced at the instrument complex floating away. At that instant, Vader's sword came down across Luke's right forearm, cutting off his hand and sending his sword flying.
In great pain, Luke squeezed his forearm under his left armpit and moved back along the gantry to its extreme end.
Vader followed. The wind subsided. Luke held on. There was nowhere else to go.
"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. You do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy." Vader said.
"I'll never join you!" Luke yelled.
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan and Mary never told you what happened to your father."
"They told me enough! It was you who killed him." Luke replied.
"No. I am your father."
Mary and Luke were shocked, Luke looked at Vader in utter disbelief.
"No! What did you do?!" Mary yelled at her brother.
"No. No. That's not true! That's impossible!" Luke shouted in disbelief.
"Search your feelings. You know it to be true."
"No! No! No!" Luke kept on screaming.
"Luke. You can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Come with me. It is the only way." Vader added.
Vader put away his sword and held his hand out to Luke.
Mary ran towards them and yelled, "Luke... get out of here! Trust yourself and go. I'll hold him!"
"I can't leave you!" Luke yelled.
"Go, don't worry. I can handle it."
In the next instant he stepped off the gantry platform into space. The Dark Lord looked over the platform and saw Luke falling far below. The wind began to blow at Vader's cape and the torrent finally forced him back, away from the edge.
The wind soon faded and the wounded Jedi began to drop fast, unable to grab onto anything to break his fall. Suddenly Luke was sucked into an exhaust pipe in the side of the shaft.
☾☼
Mary sighed a little in relief, her nephew was safe for the moment.
Vader still incredulous and hurt by the scene he had just witnessed, he turned to his sister.
She felt his disappointment and sadness.
"I hope you're happy now. Your son knows the truth." Mary said.
"He had to know." Vader replied.
"You're right he had to know, but not like this. He has just discovered that his father is his worst enemy. How do you think a kid should feel? Definitely not well." Mary continued,
"So do I. Even worse. I lost everyone I cared about, including you. My brother, my twin, who hugged me to keep me warm and to comfort me when I cried. Who made me smile, who protected me from everyone and everything, who loved me. And now I have no one. Because of you, Vader."
Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke but she wiped them.
"I'll get Anakin back, whatever it takes. Not only for me, but for Padmé too. I promised her I'd get you back, and that's what I'm gonna do."
Mary concluded and turned to leave, but was stopped by Anakin. She turned to him and the latter hugged her. Mary was shocked, it was the first time in so many years that her brother hugged her. She hugged him back.
She missed her brother so much, but she knew, he wasn't him yet.
Mary broke away from the embrace and left. Vader stood there and watched as she left.
☾☼
Mary ran to the landing platform and saw the Falcon, sensed Luke and Leia inside it and used the Force to communicate with them.
"Luke! Leia! I'm at the landing platform. Open the access ramp."
The Falcon made a graceful banking turn back towards the landing platform and Leia did as Mary told her. She ran and jumped with the help of the Force and landed on the ramp.
Leia helped her up.
"I swear this is the first and last time I do this." Mary said.
Vader entered the landing platform and watched as the speck that was the Falcon disappeared. The wind blowed at his cape. He turned to two aides who were standing near the entrance to the landing platform.
"Bring my shuttle."
The Falcon, still followed by the three Tie fighters, raced away from the cloud-covered city.
Luke rested on a cot and his injured arm wrapped in a protective cuff. Mary gently wiped his face. The ship lurched again.
"I'm here, my nephew."
All over the ship muted alarm buzzers sound. Lando anxiously watched the flashing lights on the control panel and hurriedly adjusted some switches. Seated next to him, Chewie pointed out a new blip appearing on the panel. Leia, watching over their shoulders, recognized the shape.
"Star Destroyer."
"All right, Chewie. Ready for light-speed." Lando said.
"If your people fixed the hyperdrive." Leia added.
Another explosion rocked the ship. Leia noticed as a green light on the panel next to her flashed on.
"All the coordinates are set. It's now or never."
Chewie barked in agreement.
"Punch it!"
The Wookiee shrugged and pulled back on the light-speed throttle. The sound of the ion engine changes... it was winding up. Faces were tense, expectant. But nothing happened, and the engine went off. Chewie let out a frustrated howl. The flak still violently rocked the ship.
"They told me they fixed it. I trusted them to fix it. It's not my fault!"
Chewie got up from his chair and started out of the cockpit. He gave Lando and angry shove as he stormed past him.
In the distance the Tie fighters continued their chase, still shooting lasers. Vader's Star Destroyer moved behind them, determinedly following the Falcon.
Vader stood on the bridge, watching as the Millennium Falcon was chased by the Tie fighters. As his Destroyer drew nearer, Vader's breathing got slightly faster.
"Luke."
Luke and Mary realized that Vader's ship was very near. He felt resigned to his fate.
He sensed that he was beaten, more emotionally than physically.
"Father."
"Son, come with me."
"Ben, Mary why didn't you tell me?" Luke said, moaning.
"I'm so sorry. I couldn't." Mary replied.
Lando and Leia were at the controls of the Falcon. Meanwhile, in the ship's hold, Chewie continued to work frantically on the hyperdrive mechanism.
"Chewie!"
The Falcon raced through space followed very closely by the Tie fighters and the huge Imperial Star Destroyer.
Luke and Mary entered the cockpit and Luke looked out the window. He was almost unconscious with pain and depression.
"It's Vader."
"Luke... it is your destiny."
"Ben, Mary why didn't you tell me?"
R2 raced to a control panel and started working on a circuit board. Furious, 3PO stood on one leg, yelling. R2 moved a circuit on a control panel. Suddenly, the control panel lighted up.
Leia and Lando were thrown into their seats as the Millennium Falcon unexpectedly shot into hyperspace.
The ship tilted up and R2 toppled into the pit on top of Chewie.
"Oh, you did it!" 3PO exclaimed.
The Falcon soared into infinity and away from the huge Star Destroyer which seemed, by contrast, to stand still.
Admiral Piett and another captain glanced at Vader in terror. Vader turned slowly and walked off the bridge, his hands held behind his back in a contemplative gesture.
☾☼
The Millennium Falcon was attached to a huge Rebel cruiser by a docking tube. Rebel fighters moved about the giant cruiser, and a Rebel transport ship hovered near the fleet.
Lando sat in the pilot's seat as he talked into the comlink and Chewie busily threw a variety of switches in preparation for take-off.
"Luke, we're ready for take-off." Lando said.
"Good luck, Lando." Luke replied.
"When we find Jabba the Hut and that bounty hunter, we'll contact you."
Luke speaking into the comlink as a medical droid worked on his hand. Leia and Mary stood near him while 3PO and R2 looked out the window.
"I'll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine." Luke said.
"Princess, we'll find Han. I promise."
"Chewie, I'll be waiting for your signal." Luke said and Chewie's wail came over the comlink.
"Take care, you two. May the Force be with you." Mary said.
Luke looked down at his hand. A metalized type of bandage had been wrapped around his wrist. The medical droid made some adjustments in a tiny electronic unit, then pricked each one of Luke's fingers.
"Ow!"
Luke wriggled his fingers, made a fist, and relaxed it. His hand was completely functional.
He got up and walked over to Leia and Mary. There was a new bond between them, a new understanding.
Leia was thinking about Han; Luke was thinking about his uncertain and newly complicated future.
Together they stood at the large window of the medical center looking out on the Rebel Star Cruiser and a dense, luminous galaxy swirling in space. Luke put his arms around Leia and Mary.
The droids stood next to them, and 3PO moved closer to R2 putting his arm on him.
The group watched as the Millennium Falcon moved into view, made a turn, and zoomed away into space. While Luke, Mary, Leia, and the droids stood, looking out the window of the star cruiser, two escort fighters joined the large ship.
Slowly, the cruiser turned and moved away into space.
☾☼
Sometime later.
It was one night, Mary was sleeping and dreamt of Padmé Amidala, her best friend, who had been gone for years. They were on Naboo, on a terrace where you could see Theed.
"Padmé, what are we doing here?"
"Mary... come here and you'll see." she replied as she began to fade.
"What? Padmé... don't leave me... please... Pad-"
Mary woke up all sweaty with tears in her eyes.
"What does that mean?" she whispered, "I need to find out and... maybe... it's better if I go with a projection, I can't risk the Imperials knowing where we are."
Mary projected herself on Naboo, in the place where there was Padmé's mausoleum. As soon as she arrived, she was pervaded by a sense of sadness, lack and anguish.
She entered and she saw the sarcophagus decorated with the stylised emblem of Naboo, behind a soft-coloured stained-glass showing her image. On either side of the sarcophagus, a stone pot filled with red flowers stood on a column.
She approached the sarcophagus and put a hand on it.
"Padmé, I'm here... I wish I'd come sooner but so many things have happened that-"
Mary paused, trying to hold back the tears, failing miserably.
"I'm so sorry, I failed you. I promised you I would bring him back and I'm not succeeding. But it's so hard without you, I feel lost. I miss you all and if I could I would bring you all back, but I can't."
Mary knelt and laid her forehead on the sarcophagus and sighed.
Suddenly she felt a familiar presence, she turned and saw her brother approaching, he was looking at her and breathing heavily. She felt his remorse and grief, she wanted to embrace him to take some off him.
"Anakin..." she said with a broken voice.
"Mary..." he replied also with a broken voice.
"I'm sorry..." she only said.
He approached the sarcophagus and knelt next to his sister and both mourned Padmé, like they did with their mother all those years before.
She leaned her head on her brother's shoulder as tears continued to fall and he put his arm around his sister's shoulder, as they did when they were kids.
For a moment she saw a piece of Anakin coming out of Vader.
Suddenly they felt presences, Mary turned to them, worried, and saw that they were Rebels, she looked shocked at her companions, not expecting them to come here.
Vader left room for anger, she felt it and her worry increased.
Suddenly it got dark and a storm started with thunder and a downpour.
Vader got up and breathed nervously, the Rebels began to retreat terrified but it was too late, Vader lit his lightsaber, intent on eliminating them.
"Brother, please don't do this."
Vader didn't listen, he lifted two soldiers with the Force and broke their necks.
Mary looked shocked and put a hand on her mouth.
While the other began to shoot but Vader deflected each shot with his sword and approached him and lifted him by the neck.
Mary stood up and took a few steps toward the two and said, "Brother, don't do it. I beg you."
The Rebel surrendered to his fate and Vader pierced him with his sword.
Mary looked shocked at the lifeless bodies of her companions and looked up at her brother who turned to her and then left. She had a sense of emptiness and helplessness.
She looked at Padmé's tomb for the last time and her projection vanished.
She returned to her room still shocked by what had happened.
Padmé wanted to show her that Anakin was still in there and could still be saved... perhaps there was still a little hope.