Luke Vader Part 13

Part 13: Luke Skywalker
By SJ 03-03-00/12-12-00 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
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Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702

Naturally, everything coming straight from the movie, words or situations,
belong even more than the rest to George Lucas. It is still only for fun,
nothing else.

Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of your
precious time, my friend :)

__________________

Their short walk into the station and up to the detention block went without any
mishap, except for an unlucky mouse robot that got a sensory overload due to the
Wookiee's threatening growl.

But now they had reached their destination: detention block AA-23, maximum
security wing.

At first, the officers didn't seem sure as to how to treat their arrival. Since
Luke had to make sure that the princess' escape wouldn't look too easy to the
smugglers' eyes, he mentally prodded the imperial officers to doubt whatever
they said about their clearance.

Playing his role to perfection, the Wookiee broke loose the moment that two
guards walked forward to cover them; the ensuing firefight caught the soldiers
Unprepared. Given the number of blaster shots in the small space of the
dispatch center, nobody paid attention to Luke's perfect aim; whenever he fired,
he hit his target, be it a surveillance screen or a guard. Solo and the Wookiee
took care of the remaining targets, then they were alone.

However, the firefight hadn't gone unnoticed by the surveillance team; they were
already trying to contact them, Luke understood as he finally heard the
insisting beeping that was coming from the command console. Considering that
nobody but his father knew about his own mission, he suspected that real trouble
would soon come up their way.

Solo also seemed to understand this; he told him in which cell the princess was,
then answered the call. Luke heard his first fumbling answer, cursed as he
realized that troops were already on their way toward them, then focused on his
mission.

He was about to make contact with his target; he had to make it past her rebel
wariness.

He found the cell and unlocked it. Inside, the young woman was sleeping
peacefully; her beauty stumped him once again. Ever since he had first seen
her on her father's lap, he dimly reflected, he had felt fascinated by her...
And it had eventually caused him trouble with his master. Combined with the
fact that his girlfriend was also jealous of the young woman, he should, by any
right, have stopped being intrigued by her, he conceded, yet he still couldn't
help but be interested by her.

She finally woke up; he remained silent.

"Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" she asked him in light sarcasm.

For a moment, Luke didn't know what she was talking about, then he realized that
he had really been acting like a fool this time. He decided to go on wtih his
act.

"Oh, the uniform!" he exclaimed as he removed his helmet, then he took on his
best earnest expression; his trainer would be proud of him, he thought dimly.
"I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you."

"You're who?" she frowned.

Darn, the woman was suspicious, he understood. He tried another angle.

"I'm here to rescue you, I've got your droids," he added quickly.

The young woman didn't show an inkling to follow him.

"I'm here with Ben Kenobi," he added as he remembered her beseeching message to
the cursed Jedi.

"Ben Kenobi! Where is he?" she asked, rising to a sitting position.

Jackpot! Luke thought in satisfaction. "Come on!" he urged her eagerly, then
followed her out of the cell. As he joined her in the deserted corridor, he
reflected that his father's erasing of her memory of him had worked wonderfully.
Before he could consider another thought however, they ran straight into the
smuggler and his alien.

"Can't get out that way!" the pilot uselessly warned them.

Before Luke could play his role of a naive, green fighter, however, the Princess
Retaliated vehemently.

"Looks like you've cut off our only escape route," she snapped.

Upon hearing this, Luke decided to let the two outlaws play this one between
themselves while he monitored the already gathering troopers at the end of the
corridor.

"Perhaps you'd like it back in your cell, your Highness," the Corellian sneered
in disrespect.

The princess might have answered something to this, but a fraction of a second
before a bolt caught the Princess in the chest, Luke pulled her down and toward
the opposite wall. She might be a rebel, and she might have to die or become a
prisoner again, he reflected as he opened fire on his master's troops, but
for the moment, and until his mission was completed, he had to protect her.
He covered her with his body while he called his droid; he estimated that this
would be what a green-horned kid would try if he didn't know what to do. The
droid answered him.

While he listened to his detailed report, he was careful to not be too accurate
with his blaster while keeping the remaining troops from taking advantage on
them.

"There isn't any other way out!" he yelled to the others.

As if they already didn't know that, he thought sardonically. What he wouldn't
say to play his role to perfection, he sighed inwardly as he fell one of the
best trooper. While he kept his eyes on their enemies, his two other human
companions continued to argue despite the deadly bolts that were coming their
way.

Two seconds later, Luke felt about ready to tell them that now was not the
moment to find who's fault it was--- when the princess grabbed his blaster and
fired at the grid that was just beside Solo's legs.

"What the hell are you doing?" the smuggler exclaimed.

Luke, who could only gape at the girl, dimly admitted that he wanted to ask just
about the same thing.

The woman glared at both of them. "Somebody has to save our skins."

She crossed the chasm, wielding the blaster as well as any trooper he had
ever seen. Well, he reflected in renewed interest, that was unexpected--- she
tossed him back his gun, pulling him out of his temporary daze.

"Into the garbage chute flyboy." She ordered them, then jumped in feet first.

After some arguing with the pilot, the Wookiee followed her down, leaving the
two men in the corridor.

"Wonderful girl," Solo commented caustically. "Either I'm gonna kill her or I'm
beginning to like her."

Luke could only agree with him; he hadn't expected her to possess any skills
with weapons, yet it was obvious that she had had some training of some kind.

He was the next one to jump down the smelly hole; Solo was hot on his heels.

Huh, he choked on his thought as he hit the gaseous limit of the stench of the
garbage masher. It reeked! In all his life, he had been in many strange,
disgusting places, but nothing had ever even come close to the garbage chute of
a base, not even that muddy planet where he had failed his first test. He
landed on a pile of detritus and immediately spotted the door; he recovered his
balance and fired at it.

He barely had time to duck before the ricochet caught him. The princess also
had the good sense to hide under the nearest pile of detritus. When the blast
wore itself out, she threw a glare at him; Luke answered her with a sheepish
expression.

Neither Luke Skywalker nor Luke Vader had known about the shield anyway, he
thought to himself.

Solo came down right after that and instantly began a complain about the place.
The princess glared at him in answer while Luke tried to think of a way to get
them out of this predicament without blowing his cover.

This, he conceded, wasn't something he had been prepared for.

While he considered his options, Solo spotted the door and also fired at it.

"Don't!" he warned even as he ducked once again to save his life.

Everybody else dove for cover as the bolt ricocheted around the small enclosing.

"Will you forget it, the door's magnetically sealed," Luke snapped irritatingly
once the danger was over.

This time, his attitude hadn't been an act, he realized dimly; he really wanted
to jump down the trigger-happy, smuggler's throat.

The princess beat him to it.

"Put that thing away; you're gonna get us all killed," she yelled angrily.

Even as the two of them went at it once again, and that the Wookiee uselessly
tried to open the door, Luke suddenly felt a warning of danger and looked around
himself. There was something wrong in---- then he understood as a low groan
resounded throughout the damp room.

Something was waiting for its next prey in here.

He warned the others even as he slowly backed away from whatever it was; he saw
what looked like a tentacle, heard a plopping sound, but when it came to
pinpointing it, he strangely couldn't do so. --- It grabbed hold of his right
shin and pulled him under the shallow waters.

Abandoning his naive role, Luke fought hard against--- a dianoga, he finally
identified as he felt a second tentacle wrap around his chest to keep him under
the water. He did his best to sit up and break for air while trying to find the
beast and fire at him. When he finally felt its focused presence, he
discovered that his blaster was jammed. Great, he cursed.

Over him, he could see the others who were looking for him, but the waters were
too murky; they couldn't see him... and he was slowly running out of air.
Suddenly gathering his focus, he strained against the tentacles and managed to
break the surface, gasping for air.

"Blast it!" he instantly yelled at the pilot.

"Where?"

"Anywhere!"

The stupid Corellian shot anywhere but at the creature. Meanwhile, Luke
continued to strain against the tentacle that was still firmly wrapped around
him and tried to get to his feet--- only to be pulled under in the next
second.

Even as his head hit the bottom of the steel room, he decided that this was it.
Since he couldn't count on anyone to help him, he wouldn't let that creature
drown him. Using his left hand, he reached under his chest plate and called his
hidden lightsaber to his hand.

*Enough playing with you,* he thought darkly, then willingly swam closer to the
location of the voracious creature. He felt that the beast felt his danger a
nanosecond before his lightsaber cut through the tentacle that was holding him,
then skewered its now nearby head. He then kicked away from it to return to his
previous location.

While he was still underwater and hiding his weapon, a heavy rumbling noise came
out of nowhere--- then he himself broke the surface again and gasped for air.

"What happened?" the princess inquired.

Luke wanted to glare at her. What did she think had just happened?, he thought
in annoyance. That he had been playing with the creature?

While the pilot helped him to his feet he answered something crazy to the
Princess.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Solo muttered, warily watching the walls
around them.

About what? Luke wondered. The moment he thought about that though, the walls
began to move toward one another. Oh boy, this wasn't good!, he instantly
surmised. He mimicked his friends and took a position near the walls.
While he strained against them though, he reached out and warned his father that
he would need his assistance to get out of this one.

*What do you need?* his father asked him.

*Be ready to shut down the compactor when I will give you the signal, then
you'll have to open the door.*

*I'll be waiting for your signal,* he reassured him even as he felt him head for
a computer station.

Luke set his plan in motion; he tried to contact the droids. At first, they
were absent. Terrific, he growled inwardly; now he really had it. If they
weren't there, then he would blow his cover if the compactor stopped by itself.

The walls relentlessly moved closer, with the princess and Solo trying to block
them with some metal rods. It was useless, Luke knew; the compactors were
designed to crush 'anything'.

The walls were perhaps a meter away from one another when the droids finally
came back on line. Given their current situation, he knew that the droid
wouldn't be fast enough. Hence, his father took care to maintain the illusion
of efficiency.

When the walls finally stopped, Luke ribs had begun to complain under the
pressure. Thus, while the others celebrated, he wished that he could take a
deep breath of relief, no matter how bad it smelled around him, but he was
solidly wedged between the walls. Hence, he instead told the droids to open the
maintenance hatch; his father once again doubled for the astromech.

Ten minutes later, they were outside the compactor and preparing to rejoin the
pirate's ship. Luke took a moment to catch his breath while ditching his
shameful trooper armor, then he resumed his naive role. One thing he knew now,
he reflected seriously, was to not let the Princess take the lead.

For once, Solo seemed to share his opinion, but the haughty woman was far from
swallowing the pill. However, before she could answer, the big Wookiee ran apst
them as if scared. Solo turned around at this--- and shot at the dianoga's
showing tentacle.

"No wait, they'll hear!", the princess warned him for Luke, to no avail.

Both him and the princess rolled their eyes in exasperation before refocusing on
the Corellian. As the other turned around to scold his alien, Luke reflected
that if he hadn't learnt self-control, he would truly be at the man's throat now
for being a stupid, happy-trigger bum who didn't think further than the tip of
his nose. However, he knew better than to argue in the temporarily deserted
corridors of an 'enemy' base... something that the Princess didn't seem to
realize, he thought in annoyance as she and Solo got into a new verbal match.

Kreth, he cursed inwardly, it was neither the time nor the place to have an
argument. He could still pull the rescue off, but with those two bickering
all the time, it would be a miracle if they reached the ship unscathed. The
girl finally had the good sense to shut up and took the lead, but this
time, Luke was ready.

He discreetly nudged her in the right direction while the Corellian commented
that no reward was worth her defiant attitude.

******

They finally reached the hangar bay, or at least, the level above it. Were he
alone, Luke reflected seriously, he would just jump down the ledge and hide into
the shadows of the crates under it, but with three non-Jedis in tow, and he
himself supposed to be a green-horned farmboy without any field training of any
kind, he conceded that it wouldn't be a good idea. Hence, he mentally pursed
his lips at the waste of time and followed the others for a detour around the
landing bay.

Despite his and his father's work of keeping the troops away from them, they
eventually met with some. Before he could react or dispatch them, Solo and the
Wookiee tore off after them, surprising him with their brazenness. The Princess
equally commented on this unexpected move.

Surprised once again, this time at her sudden change of attitude, he sternly
reminded her that he was their mean of transportation out of there, then took
her hand and urged her on her way.

Now that he was alone with her, he decided, he wasn't going to take any chances
and directly reach the hangar bay; he would get her away from the base, he
resolved.

They were both running as fast as they could, or at least as much as he was
supposed to since the princess wouldn't have kept up with his fastest speed,
when they met up again with troops. This time, they were the ones to turn
tails.

Luke followed his instincts and led the princess toward the main chasm. Behind
them a trooper gained too fast to his liking. He swiftly turned and caught him
square in the chest. The princess ran ahead of him, having missed this
extremely accurate shot.

They ran up a slope--- and barely managed to stop before running into emptiness.

Kreth, Luke swore inwardly, the bridge was retracted. Behind them, the troops
caught up with them. Luke whirled around and fired, swiftly killing two other
troopers by the time the princess had closed the door.

"There's no lock!" she frantically told him.

Luke fired at the lock; now, it was locked, he thought briefly while he studied
this new situation. The Force had guided him here, he reminded himself.
Surely, it couldn't be to lead him into a dead end.

"We have to get across. Find the controls that extend the bridge!" the Princess
told him demandingly.

Luke felt the intense desire to tell her to stop ordering him around, but
instead, he answered something about having just blasted it; she was desperate
now and shut up as she frantically looked around themselves. Meanwhile, Luke
spied the tubes around the chasm, then he remembered that standard equipment on
a trooper's belt was a loop of sturdy rope and grappling hook, in case it proved
useful to capture a prisoner. He had barely begun to pull it free from its
pouch when fireblaster exploded around him and his charge.

He immediately fired and nailed the trooper, then hid against the wall; the
princess was right behind him. He deliberately fouled his aim a few times,
until he fell another man, then he gave her the blaster and decided that he
'had' to get them out before the others had figured how to open a locked door.

If he were the hunter, he reflected seriously, he would already be through it.
He uncoiled the rope, then threw it and nudged the hook toward and around the
tubes. To the princess, it looked like a very lucky throw. Luke hurried to
wrap the rope around himself so that he wouldn't loose his grip, then told the
princess to grab hold of him. She kissed his cheek; he threw her a questioning
look.

"For luck!" she said seriously, then hung onto him.

Luke gathered his strength and they were off the platform. He lightly shielded
them while they were airborn, then they were safe on the other side. The
Princess continued to fire at the troopers, who had finally opened the door,
while he himself got rid of his rope and told his father that he could take care
of Kenobi. They were less than five minutes away from the ship now.

And five minutes alter, they indeed reached the main hangar bay without any
other incidents. Solo and his alien were also there, waiting at the entrance
of the hangar. While Solo studied the situation to find a hole in the efficient
trooper net around his ship, Luke felt that they would soon get all the
distraction they needed to make their escape believable.

******

After having received his son's all clear signal, Vader had made his way to the
corridor near the main hangar bay, guided to this specific one by the Force. He
'knew' that Kenobi would soon show up, returning from his self-assigned mission
in the controls of the tractor beam. In a way, he conceded, it was a good thing
for his son that the old Jedi had been there to do so; otherwise, it would have
been very tricky for Luke to both rescue the princess and turn off the tractor
beam although, he conceded, he could have convinced his droid that it could be
turned off by him, then he himself would have temporarily shut it down.

Still, Kenobi's involvement made it even more plausible, he conceded, and, he
added with a mean smirk, they hadn't risked his untimely demise at the 'hand' of
a dianoga instead of his own hand.

Ever since his son had been brought aboard, he had monitored his progress, ready
to intervene at a moment's notice. Unlike his son's regular missions, this one
was a joint enterprise, hence, their master didn't mind his helping him. Luke's
role was to infiltrate the rebels via the rescue of Princess Leia; his own role,
for the moment, was to make sure that the uninformed imperial elements didn't
ruin it for him. Hence, he had followed the developments, and had barely
restrained himself from going to Luke's help when he had felt his predicament
with the hungry, deadly creature, but just like Luke had survived countless
attacks, he survived that one too.

And now, he thought more grimly, he was waiting for him to distract the troops
and set up their 'grand' escape. Well, he wouldn't have to wait for much
longer, he smiled as he felt the approaching presence of his arch enemy.

At first, Kenobi didn't seem to notice his presence, then he slowed down his
pace; Vader advanced toward him until he was at dueling distance. His
lightsaber, which had been turned on for a while now, was more than ready for
this most awaited fight. Now, he would avenge both himself and his son, he
thought with all his desire for revenge.
"I have been waiting for you, Obi-Wan." he commented in dark satisfaction. "The
circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the
master and it is time to pay for your crimes."

He viciously attacked the old man who had, by then, also ignited his weapon.

"The only crime I committed is trying to save you, Anakin," the other
countered seriously, then their weapons clashed together.

"Your most cruel crime was hiding my son from me," Vader answered angrily,
shifting his stance to take another vicious slash at the aging man. "Because of
you," he continued vehemently, "he's been through abandonment and slavery. I
never thought that you'd be cruel enough to wish this to anybody after what we
shared together," he snarled in disgust.

Another vicious slash followed; the Jedi barely managed to block it while
backing away and toward the nearby docking bay.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Darth," the old man defended himself.
"What son?"

Angered beyond belief at the fact that the Jedi would still try to hide the
truth from him, Vader growled lowly and pounced once again on the Jedi, cutting
right and left, and following with a deep slashed that challenged the aging man
with the strength of his strikes; he felt the other's arms begin to quiver under
the repeated impacts. He used his weakened state and secretly probed his mind
for the location of the other remaining Jedi... Yoda.

Despite his shield however, the Jedi felt him, even gave him the answer he
wanted, then commented: "You cannot defeat the Light, Vader. There will always
be a last hope," he added in his maddening calm voice.

Vader attacked again, this time in frustration; he continued to herd his enemy
toward the hangar. "Perhaps you are referring to the boy you brought here with
you? My son...," he offered tauntingly, darkly, then switched to Force talk as
they came into view of the hangar bay. *Oh yes, I know about his true identity,
Jedi,* he snarled at the shocked old man. *I have known it since I found him in
a slave market,* he finished with an hateful snarl, then used the faltering in
the Jedi's defense to finish it.

*Kill him, Father!* his son sent him, desperately wishing that he could be the
one wielding his lightsaber instead of being forced to watch their enemy's
death.

Vader didn't delay his actions anymore; even as the Jedi felt the boy's contact
with him, hence the truth about Luke Skywalker, his life came to an abrupt end.

At last, Vader sighed even as Luke's senses seemed to drain themselves of the
anger he had just felt---- then he felt him refocus on his play of innocent
farmboy.

"NOOOOOOOO!" he screamed as convincingly and heart-wrenchingly as he could
managed considering his still existing hatred for the Jedi.

When the troopers suddenly abandoned their posts, Solo motioned them to run for
the Falcon. Luke was the first one through, and the first one to spot the
duel.

*Kill him, Father.* he sent to his father while gaping in supposed horror.

Kenobi felt him this time, as he had meant him to; his father used his momentous
shock to strike him down.

Now, he thought even as he forced himself to not react to his and his father's
private, blissful victory, it was his ultimate scene to convince the princess of
his trustworthiness.

"NOOOO!!" he yelled in outrage, then fired, letting loose his talents and deadly
skills. He cut down trooper after trooper, ignoring the princess desperate
pleas for him to follow them, then, at Solo's unnecessary advice, managed to
shut the door down with another shot. He let loose another couple of bolts
after that, just for good measures, then followed them inside.

Part one of his mission was complete.

******

Once in the lounge, he dropped his blaster on a couch and sat down hard beside
it. That had been a tough day, he sighed wearily. While he had relished the
sweet moment of the Jedi's death, he wished that he could've killed him himself.

Every one of his touch, word or look had made him sick to the heart and longing
for nothing more than to torment the old man. He had deserved that much, he
reflected; after all, he himself had been through too much pain to consider
because of his secret identity, of his being raised in the disgusting Light at
first... because of him, he snarled in ange--- Gentle hands suddenly appeared on
his shoulders. He looked up in surprise; the princess smiled down at him as she
sat beside him.

At first, he wondered what it meant, then he almost laughed when he became aware
that he looked as if he were mourning the old man.

"I can't believe he's gone," he commented mock-sadly, but it was true, he
conceded to himself. He couldn't believe that the old wizard was finally dead
and dealt with.

"There wasn't anything you could've done," the girl tried to comfort him.

While he pretended to grieve some more, Luke wondered if she knew how right she
was since he couldn't have killed him without blowing his cover. Before he
could think further however, Solo came running down the corridor.

"We're not out of it yet," he informed them briefly, indicating the lateral
ladder.

Luke immediately understood that patrols were sent after them to make their
escape believable. He stood up, climbed down the ladder and sat down in the
quad gun. As he adjusted the controls, he tested the system to adapt his speed
to it.

If he were better than the experienced pilot, he reflected seriously, it would
look suspicious. Thus, instead of relaxing, he cramped his arms until it was
hard to follow the normally easy-to-track TIEs.

Hence, it took him much more time than usually to deal with two poor little
fighters. He left the two others to Solo. They destroyed the four of them,
then vainly celebrated their escape. As he exchanged a high-five with Solo,
young Vader reflected that the other didn't seem to realize that he could have
had to deal with the whole base's squadrons.

Now that would cut short his gloating, he slightly sneered in dark amusement.

******

After their celebration, he volunteered to check on some minor damage in the
left engine. He used that time alone to drop his role and rest for a short
while. It was the first time that he had had to maintain his naive front for
this long. Even on Tatooine, he hadn't had to keep it up for more than a few
hours at most since he had mostly been alone in the desert. He conceded, that a
full day was kind of hard on the system, as his trainer had told him. He also
admitted that it was especially demanding for him to constantly acting like a
naive fool.

*But it was worth it, Son,* his father told him seriously. *The Princess trusts
you now, and you haven't raised her normally suspicious alarms.*

*Yes, I know,* he agreed. *They will find the homing beacon so won't suspect
that I am leading you to them,* he then commented matter-of-factly.

*That they won't,* his father mentally nodded. *As soon as you can find out if
it's their only base, contact me. If it isn't, you'll have to take the Princess
off the planet. Tarkin has had the Emperor's permission to blast the rebel
planet into oblivion,* he finished with a barely hidden snarl of disgust.

*Again?.. And what if they are on a populated world?* he asked in unwilling
worry.

He knew all too well that he wasn't allowed to care about his victims, their
targets, and he was perfectly aware of what would happen if he continued on this
line of thought, but a whole planet... Millions of beings with the push of a
button...

*The Emperor assured me that it would be the last time,* his father reassured
him. *He isn't 'exactly' pleased with the useless demise of Alderaan but will
condone Tarkin's decision if he is successful this time.*

*I understand,* the youth answered, working double-time to rid himself of his
unwelcome care. He couldn't think about the consequences of such actions, he
reminded himself. He couldn't worry about the innocents. Only the completion
of his mission would save them, he then understood.

*I'll make sure he won't have to use it again, Father,* he assured his father.
*The Rebellion won't exist for much longer.*

*I know,* was his father's confident answer.

When Luke felt that he was about to leave, he called out to him once again:
*Father?*

*Yes?*

*Thanks for killing Kenobi,* he told him sincerely.

*I wish I could've make it last longer and make it more painful,* his father
commented in kind, *or even that I could have saved his life to let you kill
him, but the Emperor had told me to not dawdle with him,* his father finished
seriously.

*At least he's dead now,* the young dark Jedi sighed in relief. *Could you pull
the location of Yoda from him?* he then inquired grimly.

*Yes. I will also deal with him as soon as we're done with the Rebels.*

*This time, if I can, I'd like to be part of the mission,* Luke commented
darkly, aware that Yoda had also played a role in both his father's and his own
misery.

*I know you do,* his father nodded mentally. *We'll have to wait and see.*

*I understand. I have to go now,* he informed him as he felt a presence draw
closer. Fortunately, the other went away and back toward the cockpit.

*Be careful,* his father bid him farewell.

*Always,* he smiled mentally at the disappearing contact, then he reset his
shield, his naive attitude, and rejoined the others in the cockpit.

Behind him, the left engine purred like never before.

******

Luke came up in the cockpit area just in time to hear the Princess and Solo
bicker yet again. The Princess suddenly stood up from the pilot seat--- and
addressed him, surprising him.

"Your friend is quite a mercenary," she commented sarcastically. "I wonder if he
cares about anything, or anybody."

He watched her leave, briefly pondering how he should answer to this, then the
perfect answer came to him.

"I care," he told her mock-earnestly, although he also cursed himself for the
fact that it was partly true.

He 'did' care about the others... and it was his weakness, his one
characteristic that put him at cross wires with his master.

Back in his role, he shrugged at her lack of answer, then headed forth once
again toward the waiting pilot seat. With nothing else to do, he had decided to
watch the stars for a while; their sight always helped him to relax. He dropped
lightly in the seat, then turned toward the pilot.

"So, what do you think of her, Han?" he queried like a fool for lack of
anything else to cover his tiredness.

"I'm trying not to, Kid," the other slurred.

Luke smiled thinly. "Good."

Yes, very good indeed. If he could remain close to the rebel leader, without
having to worry about any unwanted attention from others, it would make his job
much easier.

"Still, she's got some spirit," the smuggler added playfully. "Hey, do you
think a princess and a guy like me?.."

"No," Luke replied very truthfully, once again dropping all pretense to answer
the irritating pilot.

Whatever Leia Organa was, he reflected seriously, she certainly fit the
description of the bratty royalty members who never stooped to anything lower
than their status... except in extraordinary circumstances, like perhaps a
Rebellion.

The smuggler chuckled at his supposedly jealous reaction. Luke leaned back in
the seat and fastened his gaze on the shifting pattern of hyperspace flight,
forgetting the nearby man. He had to give credits to the woman, he admitted:
she had spunk. He had followed her progress very closely for a long while, both
from the official and unofficial channels, and had resumed doing so with the
news, but he had never expected her to be the way she had acted aboard the Death
Star. However, he still knew her enough to know exactly how to behave to both
hook up with her and even get her attention.

Not that he wanted more than that though, he thought seriously. She was still a
rebel leader, merely a tool for him to serve his master; she certainly didn't
endanger his love for his girlfriend in any way. However, he decided that he
wouldn't keep her away if she chose to orbit around him. For one thing, he
thought more lightly, it would give him an opportunity to observe her from a
closer point of view, but not too close either, he instantly warned himself. No
matter what would happen while with the Rebs, the end would still be the same
for her and her allies: death..., and he didn't want to 'care' for her and anger
his master again---

He suddenly felt a wave of pain come through the Force. He blinked, carefully
scanned the ship and found the origin of the wave.

The Princess.

As if growing tired of the vista outside, he silently stood up, walked toward
the lounge and pretended to be shocked by the sight of the white-clad woman who
was trying to hide her pain despite her bent-over position.

"Princess!" he rushed to her side. "What's wrong?"

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked him, out of breath.

"You can trust me," he reassured her earnestly.

"Help me to a cabin, please."

Luke was already supporting her small frame toward the medquarters. He helped
her sit on the bunk, then locked the door. When he turned around, he noticed
that she was holding her arm.

"Let me take a look at this," he gently offered her.

"No," she shook her head even as she bit her lower lip. "First, you must give
me your word that you won't talk about this to anybody."

Luke cocked his head in surprise. The woman was strong, he decided, perhaps as
strong as Mara was.

"I give you my word," he promised.

She winced as she pulled up her left sleeve. Luke gaped as he saw what had been
hidden by her clothes. He instantly picked up the burns treatment from the kit
that had been laying on a nearby table, then gently applied it to her skin.

Was his father responsible for this?, he wondered in horror... Why hadn't he
told him? They hadn't been supposed to---- then he stopped his once again
caring reasoning.

Fool 'Skywalker', of course his father had had to have her questioned. He had
had to make it look as if he really meant serious business with the girl.
However, he conceded, he had never thought that they would use the physical
aspect of questioning on her. He had thought that the mental tools would have
done the job all the same---

She winced under his touch.

"Sorry." He gentled his touch some more. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

At first, the princess didn't want to tell him, but with a subtle prodding, she
relented and told him. He helped her out of her gown. Underneath, he
discovered that she was wearing a thick, white chest-brace and white trousers
that had disappeared under her flowing robes. He thus realized that the
princess was much more a fighter than he had thought.

As if he needed one more proof about this, the girl picked the pack of
painkillers that was in the kit and swallowed them dry. She then leaned harder
against the bunk as Luke treated her other marks. Even though he was a dark
Jedi, he admitted that there truly was one thing he couldn't stand, and it
was torture.

Except for his own torturer, who was dead now, he didn't want to see anybody go
through it; he knew all too well how awful it was.

In the princess' case, he promised himself that she wouldn't suffer anymore than
necessary now. If possible, he would also ask his father to spare her this
torment again.

"Did they take your clothes off to do that?.." he asked in a small, tight voice.

"No, ---ouch!" she winced.

"Sorry. I wish I had arrived sooner. Who knows, perhaps I would've even killed
your torturer," he told her mock-earnestly.

"That's nice, Luke, but Vader is hard to kill..." she sighed tiredly.

"Vader?" he gasped in shock. "He did that to you? How could he---"

His father had really done this to her? he pondered her words. True, he knew
that his father was a cool, efficient servant when he was in missions; he knew
that the consideration he showed to him didn't extend to 'anybody' else, except
perhaps innocents, but, he admitted to himself, he had never, ever really
imagined his father as leading the questioning sessions as 'the' torturer.
Somehow, he conceded to himself, he had 'naively' thought that he gave the
orders but left the work to other officers. However, he admitted glumly, he
himself should have known better than that----

The princess turned slightly around to meet his eyes; Luke hurried to cover his
thoughts even as he studied her in return. She was exhausted, he noticed.

"I don't think he bothers about such things," she almost whispered, referring to
her own torture, Luke reminded himself, not his.

That wasn't true, he wanted to tell her, but instead, he softened his eyes and
adopted a friendly expression.

"Well, I do. As long as I'll live, Princess, he won't hurt you again. I give
you my word," he promised her sincerely.

The princess seemed to notice that he really meant what he was saying.
She took his hand in hers. "Thank you, Luke. Thank you for being brave enough
to rescue a perfect stranger from the entrails of this life-sucking monster,"
she told him in gratitude.

Well not completely a stranger, he thought to himself, but instead, began to
tell her about his 'past' story.

"Oh, well, I had seen your holo back on Tatooine, so when we found you, I had to
do something," he mumbled as he conjured up a blush on his features. "I know I
screwed up but---"

The Princess's light hand touched his shoulder.

"I owe you my life, Luke. Thank you," she repeated in genuine kindness.

He smiled shyly. "You're welcome."

The princess gazed a little longer at him, then she turned back to her previous
position to let him finish his tending. While he did so, Luke dimly reflected
that he should think about picking up an actor career once he would be done with
this mission.

He had almost convinced even himself with this last play.

Once he had finished to tend the princess, he suggested to her to get some
Sleep, then stayed by her side until she was asleep. Once she was unaware, he
lightly healed her with the Force before taking away some of the memories of her
torment.

He knew that he would hear about it, but he couldn't help doing this for his
target, no matter how it would soon end. While she 'was' a rebel, it was 'his'
fault for dragging her into all this; otherwise, she would have continued her
quiet errands of mercy.

When he stepped out of the cabin, he found a quiet place to get some sleep
himself. He had to stop pretending for a while.

******

TBC in part 14: Freedom Fighter

Copyright 2000, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean or beside the point stuff won't
even be read.)