Mos Eisely Spaceport had never appeared so crowded in Luke's life, but considering the circumstances he guessed that was a good thing. It gave him and Ben and the droids more cover to hide from stormtroopers.
The sand crunched under Luke's feet as he walked over to the cantina with Ben and the droids, and already he had a bad feeling about the place, more so than normal. As soon as he'd walked in the bartender had ordered that the droids leave, and although Luke didn't like Artoo, who held the Death Star plans, and Threepio out by themselves he presumed it'd be better if both he and Ben stayed in the cantina to look for a pilot.
The droids were out now, and Luke looked around and wrinkled his nose at the place. Ben was right, it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy. He ordered a drink and sat down next to the old man, eyeing a few strange characters next to him. One had a disfigured face, while the other was a species he hadn't seen before.
Luke noticed that the alien was staring at him as well and he looked down into his drink, not wanting any trouble. He'd had enough trouble today to last a lifetime.
Swallowing hard as the memories of the previous events bombarded him, Luke felt tears starting to prick his eyes. He had lost his entire family today, Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen and Leia. He had only seen two skeletons, but he knew without a doubt that all three were dead or worse. Now, he was on his way to Alderaan with an old Jedi and two droids carrying vital information crucial to the downfall of the Empire.
Luke felt a hard knot form in his chest. The Empire deserved to fall after what it had done to not only his family but to all other families that had ever perished under the Emperor and Darth Vader's rule.
A snarl that sounded next to Luke would have normally made him jump out of his skin, but at the moment he was either too tired or too numb or both to have much of a reaction. Instead he lifted his head and looked up to find the alien from earlier staring at him again, while the deformed man translated.
"He doesn't like you." He stated, glaring at Luke. Luke would normally feel threatened and scared by this man but at the moment he was a bit emotionally compromised. Instead, he got angry.
"I'm sorry." He snapped.
"We're dangerous men, wanted in many places." The man threatened, and Luke was getting more exasperated by the second.
"I'll be careful." He retorted sarcastically, and immediately regretted it as the man's eyes glinted dangerously.
"You'll be dead!" He yelled, and in a flash Luke found himself stumbling backwards into a table and looked up from the ground to see Ben... Cut an arm off.
The alien yelled, and Ben looked around threateningly before deactivating his lightsaber and helping Luke up. Luke was still in awe at the arm on the ground, but diverted his gaze as he saw blood starting to ooze from the wound.
"I've talked to Chewbacca here-" Ben gestured to the Wookie behind him "-and he says that he and his counterpart can make us an offer."
Together the three walked to the back of the cantina and slid onto a booth, where a scowling man eyed Luke and Ben with harsh hazel eyes. His legs were crossed, and his arms hang along the upper sides of the booth.
"Chewie here says you need a lift." He stated blandly, situating himself into more of a professional position. Now his body acted intrigued, but Luke could tell by his face that he thought it was simply another smuggling job. Boy, are you wrong.
Luke was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard the man's offer. "Ten thousand?! We could almost buy our own ship for that!" He exclaimed, outraged at such a high price.
"And who's gonna pilot it kid? You?" The man, Han Solo, smirked, and Luke wanted to smack the cocky grin off of the smuggler's face.
"You bet I would, I'm not such a bad pilot myself!" Luke snapped, remembering his racing skills and his T-hopper. "Ben, we don't have to listen to this-"
Ben gave him a patient look, and Luke resignedly sat down, glaring at Solo. That man had a lot of nerve, asking them for that much money.
After a few more exchanges, including a settling price at seventeen thousand much to Luke's indignation, Ben and Luke were on their way to the ship, the famous Millennium Falcon. Luke wanted to snort at such a stupid name, but refrained himself. This smuggler could be their only ticket off this dustheap.
In a few minutes they picked up the droids and headed for docking bay 94, all the while Luke consciously pushed his traumatic memories away and drove numbly. He could tell that Ben noticed his silence, but was glad when he didn't ask.
They arrived, and Luke walked in the hangar and looked in dismay at the ship. "What a piece of junk!"
Solo emerged from the ramp, wiping off his hands and glaring at Luke. "Kid, this piece of junk made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."
Luke was about to retort, but couldn't think of anything to say. That was actually quite impressive. Muttering to himself, he entered the ship and looked around at the trash heap. There were scattered parts everywhere, and even the cockpit looked like a mess. Nevertheless, Luke, Threepio, and Ben sat themselves and waited for Han and Chewbacca to enter.
Suddenly a loud noise that sounded like barrage of blaster fire reached the cockpit, and Luke jumped out of his chair and looked down through the window to see multiple stormtroopers enter the hangar.
"Uh oh." He muttered, fear clenching his stomach. But at the same time, he was angry. Those troopers had put his home planet under Imperial rule, and they had been a part of searching for the droids, which meant that they were a part of his family's murder.
"Luke." Ben said quietly, and Luke turned around. The look in his eyes said it all; not to be angry for something in the past, and not to hold grudges against those simply following orders. Luke bit his lip and was about to speak, but at that moment Han and Chewbacca barged into the cockpit.
Han shoved Luke back into his chair violently, and Luke resisted the urge to cry out as his sensitive bruises from being rammed into a table his the chair. But soon after the bruises were forgotten, with Luke leaping up out of his chair and looking out of the cockpit in anticipation.
Surprisingly the bucket of bolts of a ship started, and the group was off into space in search of Alderaan. Hopefully, Luke thought, they'd get there before the Empire.
:-:-:-:
The cold, hard durasteel floor seeped into Leia's body, making her shiver. She'd never been in space before, but based on the cold of her cell she guessed most of space was just as freezing.
She had no concept of time and therefore had no idea how long she'd been in this cell, but she figured it had been at least a day due to her growling stomach. Every time she'd try to stand up she'd be hit with a wave of dizziness, which meant dehydration as well. Luckily she'd experienced worse due to living on a desert planet where resources were thinly stretched, so she was used to such conditions.
Except the cold. The cold was new.
Leia had never experienced this amount of freezing air in her entire life, the type of air where her toes and fingers went numb and her cheeks became flushed. Out of boredom and the desire to stay warm she had paced for awhile until she had become dizzy, then sat on the floor with her eyes closed and against the freezing wall as her body found its equilibrium again.
This had been a cycle, with Leia growing increasingly bored and anxious as time passed. She wondered where the troopers were taking her, and if she was going to die once she got there. However, if she was simply going to die immediately as soon as she arrived wherever they were going why had they gone through the effort to bring her there in the first place? No, something different was going on.
Just when she thought she was either going to turn into ice or melt into the floor the door slid open, practically scaring her out of her wits. She had come up with a plan to attack the trooper whenever they walked in, however at the moment she knew that it would be useless.
"Leia Skywalker?"
She nodded, and the trooper came in and put binders over her hands. She was too weak to protest. "You're coming with me. I have someone who wants to speak with you."
Leia followed the trooper, blinking rapidly as the world spun around her. Wherever she was, it was vast, with multiple black hallways and illuminated walls and several Imperial workers and troopers passing through it. She vaguely wondered if this was the Imperial Academy and she had somehow strangely been accepted, but immediately shook the ridiculous thought away.
I must be going insane. Which, with the recent events, probably wouldn't be too much of a stretch. She thought resentfully, being shoved into another cell and her binders being removed. At least this one had a place for her to lie down off of the ground, and it was a bit warmer.
Sighing, Leia walked over and sat on the extension of the floor, undoing her braid and fingering her hair absentmindedly. Why in blazes did the Empire want her, of all people? A simple orphan farmgirl. As a matter of fact, why did the Empire come to Tatooine to begin with? Luke had commed her earlier to say that the droids were wanted by the Empire, but before she could ask anymore questions the troopers had arrived at her door and subsequently burned the entire home down.
The only reason she could think of is that perhaps they thought she knew where the droids were, but frankly she had no idea and was glad of it. That way, if she were ever tortured, then she couldn't give away their location if she tried.
Look at you being all strategic, you should be an Imperial general. She thought grimly. That is, if the academy would even accept you after this mishap.
"Why did you bring her here?" A voice boomed outside of Leia's cell, and she furrowed her brows and listened intently.
"My Lord, she belonged to the family that housed the two droids we are searching for. We believed she may know the location while her parents did not."
"What is the girl's name?"
"Leia Skywalker, Sir."
A deadening silence followed, leaving Leia more confused than before. Why did her name provoke such a reaction?
A few moments later the door slid open, and Leia looked up. What she saw made her heart freeze in her chest, and she swore that the room became as freezing as her prior cell as soon as he walked in.
She couldn't find any words to string together to make a coherent sentence so she didn't, deciding just to sit there dumbfounded and try to put on a brave face. Lord Vader strode into the room and stopped right after the door, letting it slide shut and lock behind them.
His apparatus echoed through the room, making Leia shiver in awe and respect and a bit of fear. Lord Vader was a profound figure in the Imperial military, and frankly she was deciding between being awestruck or being afraid that he'd decided to visit her personally.
"Leia... Skywalker." He greeted her, and Leia swallowed hard and tried her best not to tremble. It could be her imagination, but it seemed as if he said her last name with menace.
"Lord Vader." She stated, eyeing him carefully. No one ever had any idea what his emotions were, and he could either be angry with her or simply nonchalant. Either way, she had to tread carefully.
"It has come to my attention that you housed the two droids carrying vital information to the Empire." He stated matter-of-factly, and suddenly Leia knew exactly why she was sent here.
This was an interrogation, and Lord Vader was known for his famous horrible temper towards those who didn't cooperate.
Leia blinked nervously, finding it harder to stay still as her nerves jumped around inside her body. Everything was telling her to shrink away from Vader, but she knew she couldn't do that. It would be a complete sign of submission.
Instead, Leia took a leap of courage and scooted closer, a small wavering smile on her face. "Not on purpose, My Lord. The droids were sold to us and we needed new ones so we bought them, completely unaware of their intentions."
Vader was silent, and Leia felt something subtly squeeze her mind. She winced and looked up at him with wide eyes, completely shocked by the strange sensation. Automatically she pushed back, and she heard a gasp from Vader as she mentally fought the disturbing squeeze. Vaguely wondering how he could do that, Leia audibly gasped as his mental fingers faded, leaving her blinking rapidly at the bizarre circumstance that just took place.
"Very well." Vader boomed.
Leia brightened. "Does this mean that I'm free?"
"Not quite." Vader replied slowly, as if unsure himself. "We may need to hold you a bit longer as a formality. And..."
Leia felt her throat starting to squeeze, and she blinked rapidly and massaged it to ease the pain. But it only got worse, and she looked up to Vader for help only to see his arm stretched out in an invisible chokehold.
Her eyes widened. Was he somehow doing this?
"If you have lied to me, I will know." He threatened, releasing Leia. Leia fell down onto her knees, unaware that she was lifted up in the first place, and coughed.
The door slid shut, and Vader exited the room and ordered Leia's constant supervision. He needed to make sure she didn't get any ideas.
He strode away angrily, almost stomping. Leia was the daughter of Anakin Skywalker, that much he knew. But what else did he not know? She was being raised by Owen and Beru on Tatooine, a sneaky hiding place. Vader had never wanted to go back to that stinking dust hole and for good reason. They were smart for hiding her there.
Leia. Anakin remembered picking the name, and looking down at Padmé's stomach and sensing to identify the gender of the baby. Padmé had picked Luke for a boy name, however it appeared that her last wish didn't get fulfilled, which was to have a son.
Leia appeared to be Force sensitive, because he could sense her nervous energy much more easily than most. She had raw power, and together perhaps they could defeat the Emperor and rule the galaxy together.
Vader entered into his chambers and let the door slide shut. The room soon read that it was safe for helmet removal, and that was what he did. The helmet slid off of his pale, scarred face, and he blinked several times to get readjusted to the lack of red around him.
Now he knew what the disturbance in the Force was. It was Anakin's own flesh and blood combined with Padmé's. Anakin's daughter. Leia.
Vader sat in silence, and unexpected and unwanted memories broke his wall down enough to leak through the cracks. Leia shared Padmé's brown curls, and her thoughtful brown eyes. It seemed as if she hadn't inherited any of Anakin's features except for his stubbornness and extreme Force sensitivity.
Vader could feel Leia's Force signature hang in the air like a stench, and if he were to train her then he'd have to warn her that the Emperor could detect it. Anakin's daughter was strong, and could be a valuable asset.
He sat back, closing his eyes. Perhaps she could be his apprentice. Yes, he liked that idea. She wouldn't let him leave until she agreed, and by that point he would have already tainted her to the point of complete absorption into the Dark Side. Leia would turn, and he would help her.
Sighing, Vader allowed his helmet to be reassembled onto his head, and strode out of his chamber. He needed to have a talk with Miss Skywalker.