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applecameronby SV
reprinted by permission
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back/Phantom Menace time-travel AU.
Crossed Paths
Princess Leia, Senator Organa, and ex-leader of the Rebel Alliance paused for a moment to shoot a wicked grin at her master. She was covered in sweat, dressed in simple trousers, boots, and with a tight band wrapped around her breasts to strap them down. And, for the first time in what felt like forever, she was happy.
Yoda merely flicked an ear in her general direction. She had deposited the master on a stump and was currently standing on one hand, levitating several objects -- including R2D2. Even more than at the head of the Rebellion, this was where she belonged. And she knew Yoda was pleased, though he'd never say it. Now it was time to open herself even further.
Leia had come to Dagobah after Luke disappeared. There was no indication of him anywhere, and once she had the command of her senses in the Force, she had looked for him to no avail. Yoda had accepted her as an apprentice -- more truthfully, he'd conscripted her into apprenticeship. She had come to convince the being to join the Rebellion -- the Alliance could use all the Jedi Masters they could find -- and somehow one day had bled into the next. Before she knew it she was sending an encrypted communique to the Admiralty to instruct her second in command to take over. Yoda had convinced her of the necessity of training in the Force, although, in some quiet nights of reflection, it had taken less convincing than she would have expected.
There was no sign of Luke Skywalker, and she frequently cast out on Yoda's instructions, feeling for his presence, feeling into the future to find him, searching for him anyway she could. They were bound in some ineffable way, and she could not rest without knowing he was well.
It was in this state, then, searching for friends long gone, body at rest and mind in motion, that the vision came to her.
"Han! Chewie!" She fell and Artoo squealed.
Yoda 'hmmm'd at her. "Control. You must learn control."
"I'm trying, Master. I know, 'do," she pushed up off the ground, "or do not, there is no try.'"
The small green being just looked at her.
"I saw a city...a city in the clouds." Leia cradled her head in her hands and forcibly relaxed, thinking.
"Mmmmm. Friends you have there."
"They were in pain."
"It is the future you see."
She searched his eyes for a long moment. "Will they die?"
Yoda concentrated, and she could feel him somehow tugging on the Force. It made her want to tug as well, to understand what he did and how he did it and what it felt like and any number of other things, just as one other part of her cried out in anguish at Han's pain. Chewie was howling in rage and hurt, somewhere in the future. Would they live? Where was Luke?
"DIfficult to see. Always in motion is the future."
The next day she was gone, hunting for the clouded city, Bespin. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi's image had not been able to dissuade her.
Luke Skywalker opened his eyes to a dimly lit room and the feel of strong arms on his shoulders. He fought back instinctively, but the older man gripping him had the advantage. It took a moment before he realized the man was speaking.
"Yoda is on Coruscant at the Temple, not on Dagobah. Why do you seek him?" The man was not rough or angry-sounding, and Luke relaxed. He tried to use the Force to sense his surroundings, and was surprised at the feeling of other, the sensation....
"Are you Jedi?" The surprise in his voice was high.
The other man nodded and Luke sat up, only now noticing the younger man in similar robes -- Jedi robes! -- and a long braid. "Are you well?" the younger Jedi asked.
The older man still had a hand on Luke's arm, it tightened for a moment and then he nodded. "I believe the young man is fine. Come, then." He stood, pulling Luke to his feet as well. The younger -- was one the master and one the apprentice? -- man moved to flank the elder, almost instinctively.
"You're both Jedi, aren't you?"
"Yes. I am Master Qui-Gon Jinn." A gesture to the younger one with the braid. "My apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Obi-Wan caught Luke as he wobbled. His eyes had gotten so wide they threatened to fall out of their sockets.
"You're alive? You're...young?" Regaining his feet he continued to clutch at Obi-Wan. "How? I don't --" his voice grew hard: "Is this some kind of trick!?" Then seemed to answer himself, looking somehow into the Force. "I don't understand."
"Understanding comes in time." That was Qui-Gon. "Now, perhaps it is time to answer one or two of our questions. Who are you?"
"And how did you get here?" Asked --impossibly!-- Obi-Wan.
"I don't know how I got here. I was headed for Dagobah, to find Yoda -- Ben told me I had to --" He looked very queerly at Obi- Wan. Then took a breath to answer the easy question. "My name's Luke. Luke Skywalker."
Now it was the two Jedis turn to look shocked. Master Qui-Gon recovered quickly. "Do you know Anakin Skywalker?"
"What?!" The shock was his again. Slowly, Skywalker nodded. Qui- Gon darted a glance at his apprentice and the young man moved out into the hallway, beckoning at someone.
That someone turned out to be a young boy, who looked at him curiously. He seemed fearless.
"Luke," Qui-Gon said it gently, and Luke was braced to hear it, but it still rocked him back to sit abruptly on the bed. "This is Anakin. Anakin Skywalker."
"'Lo. Are you a Jedi Knight?"
Luke shook his head. "I'm studying to become one."
"Master Yoda says *I'm* too old to start as a padawan." Luke simply looked at him, not understanding. "When did you start training?"
"It's...." the pause was a long one, "a long story."
"Can I hear it?"
Qui-Gon's interruption was smooth, "Another time, Anakin. Why don't you go next door and see what there is for some supper."
The little boy nodded, then headed for the door at his normal breakneck speed.
Qui-Gon looked back at Luke, then gestured to his apprentice. The two men sat. Obi-Wan crosslegged on the floor, Qui-Gon in the room's only chair.
Luke was staring into space.
"Do you know him, Luke Skywalker?" The inquiry was gentle.
Luke was nodding, staring in the direction the boy had run, as if seeing an image of him hanging in the air. "Yes. I know him. Kind of. We never met. Darth Vader killed him before I was born."
The two Jedi shared a long look. "He's my father." He looked at Obi-Wan. "You told me. On Tatooine. Ben Kenobi told me," he said to Qui-Gon. "Obi-Wan told me."
The small ship moved through thick clouds toward the city. Artoo made a sharp, interrogative, whistle. "No. Threepio's with them."
Another noise. "Just hang on. We're almost there."
She made it into the city with little difficulty. It was too simple. What was wrong?
Dinner was a slightly strained affair, Luke Skywalker stumbling over his tenses as he tried to describe his past. Anakin, bored long before with the guest that did nothing but stare at him, had gone off to find Padme.
Neither Jedi had a solution. They were pressed for time, on their way to Boss Nass's hideout, to try and convince him to assist in the retaking of Naboo. They had only stopped in the small, abandoned village that Luke had appeared in quite by accident, and only for a day, maybe two.
Skywalker -- Luke -- asked an incredible number of questions. He seemed to have never heard of Coruscant, or the Trade Federation, a fact which made Qui-Gon believe his story more than anything else. But to believe all the Jedi but a precious few had been destroyed? It was difficult, to say the least. Obi-Wan, however, had survived to a ripe young age. And Anakin had become a Jedi, it seemed, after all. And Yoda had retired to Dagobah.
"Luke. We do not know how you came to be here, or how to return. But we are pledged to retake this planet from the Trade Federation, to assist Queen Amidala. We will be continuing onward tomorrow. Come with us. Fight with us, and we will try to find a way to send you home. I make you no guarantees."
"I understand. I'll come with you."
Obi-Wan grinned. "Good! Now it's three against one if we find the Sith."
"Sith? You mean like Vader?" And the next round of questions began.
As Leia and Artoo moved down the corridor, there was a burst of activity -- voices, droid noises, stomping feet. Boba Fett entered from a side hallway, followed by two guards pushing a floating device of some kind. Two more stormtroopers followed. That was two too many, but Artoo squealed at the sight of the oblong floater. Leia glared at him, but had no time for more: Boba Fett fired once and almost brought the wall down on her.
Chewie, Threepio, and several others were being herded down another hallway. Where was Han Solo? Chewie started howling at her, and Threepio chimed in from some kind of pack on the Wookie's back. It was a trap.
Well then. She'd just have to see who trapped who. Leia headed after the group -- if she could free Chewie quickly enough, they could take on the four troopers. Then find Han and get out of there.
She moved quickly, leaving Artoo to catch up.
Luke didn't understand the significance of Padme's revelation -- she was this Queen Amidala, not the feathered, painted bodyguard who'd stood in her place. She was beautiful by herself, paint and grand robes unnecessary. Boss Nass agreed to assist them, and the war council convened at once.
They would attack on three fronts -- the Trade Federation's stations, a sneak attack on the palace, and a bold, mounted charge on the capital city. Many would die. He would fight with the Jedi, trying to get Amidala into the palace.
All too soon, it was time. Getting into the palace itself was not as hard as he'd expected. They gained access to a hanger and left Anakin there for safety. However, there was someone....waiting...for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi. A dark Jedi, a Sith, with a mask of red and black for a face. Three against one was good odds, and the rest of the assault team continued on their mission, leaving the Jedi, and Luke, behind.
Leia couldn't find Chewie and the others -- perhaps one of the walls was really a door? She didn't have much time. Darting into an anteroom, she stopped to catch her breath. Turning, Artoo was a little ways behind her, just as a door slammed down the way she'd come, seperating her from the little droid, cutting off her exit.
Well. Artoo was resourceful, he might just find a way to open that door, given half a chance. At least it wouldn't open to let anyone else in, without her knowing about it. The floor began to rise, carrying her up into another chamber.
The room was silent, small quantities of steam venting from large pipes. She walked toward the stairway and more steam began venting. Looking up, Leia could see a dark figure above her.
"So, it is you, Leia Organa. I sense you have been studying. Your presence in the Force is much like Skywalker's." There was a moment when all she heard was the rasp of his breathing appartus. "No matter. He will come for you, and then the Emperor will have two apprentices."
Leia moved up the stairs and activated her lightsaber.
The fight was furious. The Sith was incredibly fast, and Luke was hard-pressed to keep up with the activity -- the Jedi knew so many tricks he didn't, but once he saw one attempt something, it was child's play to realize he could do it himself. He learned a great deal in every second of battle. They raced down a hallway protected by red force shields, Obi-Wan ahead of Qui-Gon ahead of Luke, with the Sith racing ahead of them all.
Luke caught up with Qui-Gon before the next shield sprang up, shutting them away from Obi-Wan, just a few paces ahead, and the Sith, another shield ahead.
In the next interval, Obi-Wan poured on the speed, skidding to a stop right before the final shield. The Sith, black, horned, red, waited for him.
Leia advanced across the landing, it swayed when her saber crossed with Vader's.
"You have learned much, princess."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises, Lord Vader."
Vader moved forward, hooking Leia's sword out of her hands and sending it flying. Another sweep at her feet forced her to jump back for protection. Windmilling briefly, Leia rolled down the stairs, back to the platform she'd risen on.
Sprawling for a moment, she looked up just in time to see Vader swooping down like a bird of prey. Leia rolled out of range. She needed her saber.
"Your destiny lies with me, Princess." He paused for a moment, and Leia thought to attack. "Ah. You...are a Skywalker. Yes, your presence in the Force is far too similar for you to be anything but a Skywalker. Obi-Wan knew this. I am your destiny."
Leia gaped. Skywalker? "No!"
There was a noise behind her and Leia windmilled again, losing her balance and falling into a small chamber. It smelled. This was where Vader had been positioning towards during their entire fight.
She leapt and steam followed her upwards.
"Perhaps your brother will be stronger."
Brother! She must know what happened to Luke!
Leia's saber was in her hand before she knew it, and she attacked, pressing forward, driving the pair away from the chamber she'd nearly been trapped in. Vader lost his balance and fell into and outer rim of pipes. Leia took advantage of her opportunity to regroup -- to attack now, in anger, would be disastrous. She couldn't betray Yoda's trust. She stashed her saber and moved down into the pit, carefully controlling her emotions. Feeling them but not holding them. She must remain clear-headed.
Vader. Sword in hand again, just in time to slice a large pipe. The Dark Lord of the Sith was tossing equipment at her. Leia deflected the large pieces, and Vader started up a tornado of machinery, large and small. She was whipped in the middle of it.
She hurtled back, knocked into the air by a large reactor probe.
Luke and Qui-Gon didn't make it. Trapped behind the last force shield, Qui-Gon deactivated his saber, and waited. Obi-Wan and the Sith were matched for the moment, but only a moment, and then Kenobi was fighting a defensive battle.
Leia was creeping along the railing, up to the control room. The wind around her was intense but she didn't feel it. All she saw was Vader, driving her farther down the gantry.
"You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did."
Leia didn't spare breath to answer, instead, rolling sideways and thrusting her saber at Vader to nick him on the shoulder. His armor smoked, and she knew there was not much time, or space, left for her to move in. She moved around the final instrument complex near the end of the gantry and screamed, as Vader sliced through it, then her own right arm.
Her saber was gone.
Luke tried to pound on the force shield with his fists. He could not watch this. Could not watch Ben Kenobi die in front of him *again*. That plea went unanswered, as the Sith drove his saber right into the Jedi's chest.
Obi-Wan staggered, and Qui-Gon lifted his own hands as if to catch him, and the force shield finally withdrew.
Luke and Qui-Gon attacked.
"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you, Princess. You do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power, like your brother. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
"Never."
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side." Vader's fist clenched. "Obi-Wan never told Luke what happened to your father."
"Luke told me, he told me you killed him."
"No." Vader's cloak was whipped by the wind. "I am your father."
It was too much to even contemplate belief.
"That's impossible!" Her voice was weakening.
"Search your feelings." Vader's hand to her was open, now. "You know it to be true."
"No. No!" Leia shook her head, looking for someplace to back up into, but there was nowhere else to go. This could not be true. Death would be better.
"Join me." Vader put his sword away. "Come with me. It is the only way."
Leia looked at him. Then took one large step backward, into nothing.
The Sith was still incredibly fast, but his saber-staff was now only active on one end, and Qui-Gon's saber chased him around the room like a bird of prey. The two warriors finished the grisly task Obi-Wan had begun, though Luke wound up dangling from a precipice in the process. He trusted in the Force, and imitated the dying apprentice, to flip back up onto the ground in time to see the Jedi master decapitate the Sith.
Qui-Gon spared not a glance for the body of his enemy, merely bent close and gathered Obi-Wan to him. "Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan." The gentle voice was horrible.
"Master."
"Padawan."
Kenobi's hand reached up to Master Qui-Gon's cheek, and that was all.
Leia dangled from a sensor array underneath the city, crying out for Ben Kenobi, for Luke, for Han, for anyone, anyone at all.
The Millenium Falcon spotted her on mid-range sensors, purely by luck she was told; Chewie popped the hatch and handed her in like a child. She remembered the Wookiee growling to someone over the intercom, and the ship bucked, and nothing else.
"Leia."
"Father.....Obi-Wan, you should have told him the truth...Luke, oh Luke."
My father is Anakin Skywalker, she said to herself. A dead Jedi. It is true. She was Leia Skywalker. She wept. Where was Luke?
The funeral pyre was high and hot, and Luke held the hand of Anakin Skywalker in his, and tried not to think about it. He saw his whole life in the flames leaping up around Obi-Wan's profile. He would return to Coruscant, the capital, with Master Qui-Gon, to take the place of a lost apprentice in whatever way he could. He would try to keep Anakin from the Dark Side, and fail. He would fight in the Clone Wars as a Jedi Knight. He would lie to a young farm boy from Tattooine.
He would die by Vader's hand. It had already happened, and with a grimace he set his foot firmly on the path, and told Anakin to call him "Ben".
reprinted by permission
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back/Phantom Menace time-travel AU.
Crossed Paths
Princess Leia, Senator Organa, and ex-leader of the Rebel Alliance paused for a moment to shoot a wicked grin at her master. She was covered in sweat, dressed in simple trousers, boots, and with a tight band wrapped around her breasts to strap them down. And, for the first time in what felt like forever, she was happy.
Yoda merely flicked an ear in her general direction. She had deposited the master on a stump and was currently standing on one hand, levitating several objects -- including R2D2. Even more than at the head of the Rebellion, this was where she belonged. And she knew Yoda was pleased, though he'd never say it. Now it was time to open herself even further.
Leia had come to Dagobah after Luke disappeared. There was no indication of him anywhere, and once she had the command of her senses in the Force, she had looked for him to no avail. Yoda had accepted her as an apprentice -- more truthfully, he'd conscripted her into apprenticeship. She had come to convince the being to join the Rebellion -- the Alliance could use all the Jedi Masters they could find -- and somehow one day had bled into the next. Before she knew it she was sending an encrypted communique to the Admiralty to instruct her second in command to take over. Yoda had convinced her of the necessity of training in the Force, although, in some quiet nights of reflection, it had taken less convincing than she would have expected.
There was no sign of Luke Skywalker, and she frequently cast out on Yoda's instructions, feeling for his presence, feeling into the future to find him, searching for him anyway she could. They were bound in some ineffable way, and she could not rest without knowing he was well.
It was in this state, then, searching for friends long gone, body at rest and mind in motion, that the vision came to her.
"Han! Chewie!" She fell and Artoo squealed.
Yoda 'hmmm'd at her. "Control. You must learn control."
"I'm trying, Master. I know, 'do," she pushed up off the ground, "or do not, there is no try.'"
The small green being just looked at her.
"I saw a city...a city in the clouds." Leia cradled her head in her hands and forcibly relaxed, thinking.
"Mmmmm. Friends you have there."
"They were in pain."
"It is the future you see."
She searched his eyes for a long moment. "Will they die?"
Yoda concentrated, and she could feel him somehow tugging on the Force. It made her want to tug as well, to understand what he did and how he did it and what it felt like and any number of other things, just as one other part of her cried out in anguish at Han's pain. Chewie was howling in rage and hurt, somewhere in the future. Would they live? Where was Luke?
"DIfficult to see. Always in motion is the future."
The next day she was gone, hunting for the clouded city, Bespin. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi's image had not been able to dissuade her.
Luke Skywalker opened his eyes to a dimly lit room and the feel of strong arms on his shoulders. He fought back instinctively, but the older man gripping him had the advantage. It took a moment before he realized the man was speaking.
"Yoda is on Coruscant at the Temple, not on Dagobah. Why do you seek him?" The man was not rough or angry-sounding, and Luke relaxed. He tried to use the Force to sense his surroundings, and was surprised at the feeling of other, the sensation....
"Are you Jedi?" The surprise in his voice was high.
The other man nodded and Luke sat up, only now noticing the younger man in similar robes -- Jedi robes! -- and a long braid. "Are you well?" the younger Jedi asked.
The older man still had a hand on Luke's arm, it tightened for a moment and then he nodded. "I believe the young man is fine. Come, then." He stood, pulling Luke to his feet as well. The younger -- was one the master and one the apprentice? -- man moved to flank the elder, almost instinctively.
"You're both Jedi, aren't you?"
"Yes. I am Master Qui-Gon Jinn." A gesture to the younger one with the braid. "My apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Obi-Wan caught Luke as he wobbled. His eyes had gotten so wide they threatened to fall out of their sockets.
"You're alive? You're...young?" Regaining his feet he continued to clutch at Obi-Wan. "How? I don't --" his voice grew hard: "Is this some kind of trick!?" Then seemed to answer himself, looking somehow into the Force. "I don't understand."
"Understanding comes in time." That was Qui-Gon. "Now, perhaps it is time to answer one or two of our questions. Who are you?"
"And how did you get here?" Asked --impossibly!-- Obi-Wan.
"I don't know how I got here. I was headed for Dagobah, to find Yoda -- Ben told me I had to --" He looked very queerly at Obi- Wan. Then took a breath to answer the easy question. "My name's Luke. Luke Skywalker."
Now it was the two Jedis turn to look shocked. Master Qui-Gon recovered quickly. "Do you know Anakin Skywalker?"
"What?!" The shock was his again. Slowly, Skywalker nodded. Qui- Gon darted a glance at his apprentice and the young man moved out into the hallway, beckoning at someone.
That someone turned out to be a young boy, who looked at him curiously. He seemed fearless.
"Luke," Qui-Gon said it gently, and Luke was braced to hear it, but it still rocked him back to sit abruptly on the bed. "This is Anakin. Anakin Skywalker."
"'Lo. Are you a Jedi Knight?"
Luke shook his head. "I'm studying to become one."
"Master Yoda says *I'm* too old to start as a padawan." Luke simply looked at him, not understanding. "When did you start training?"
"It's...." the pause was a long one, "a long story."
"Can I hear it?"
Qui-Gon's interruption was smooth, "Another time, Anakin. Why don't you go next door and see what there is for some supper."
The little boy nodded, then headed for the door at his normal breakneck speed.
Qui-Gon looked back at Luke, then gestured to his apprentice. The two men sat. Obi-Wan crosslegged on the floor, Qui-Gon in the room's only chair.
Luke was staring into space.
"Do you know him, Luke Skywalker?" The inquiry was gentle.
Luke was nodding, staring in the direction the boy had run, as if seeing an image of him hanging in the air. "Yes. I know him. Kind of. We never met. Darth Vader killed him before I was born."
The two Jedi shared a long look. "He's my father." He looked at Obi-Wan. "You told me. On Tatooine. Ben Kenobi told me," he said to Qui-Gon. "Obi-Wan told me."
The small ship moved through thick clouds toward the city. Artoo made a sharp, interrogative, whistle. "No. Threepio's with them."
Another noise. "Just hang on. We're almost there."
She made it into the city with little difficulty. It was too simple. What was wrong?
Dinner was a slightly strained affair, Luke Skywalker stumbling over his tenses as he tried to describe his past. Anakin, bored long before with the guest that did nothing but stare at him, had gone off to find Padme.
Neither Jedi had a solution. They were pressed for time, on their way to Boss Nass's hideout, to try and convince him to assist in the retaking of Naboo. They had only stopped in the small, abandoned village that Luke had appeared in quite by accident, and only for a day, maybe two.
Skywalker -- Luke -- asked an incredible number of questions. He seemed to have never heard of Coruscant, or the Trade Federation, a fact which made Qui-Gon believe his story more than anything else. But to believe all the Jedi but a precious few had been destroyed? It was difficult, to say the least. Obi-Wan, however, had survived to a ripe young age. And Anakin had become a Jedi, it seemed, after all. And Yoda had retired to Dagobah.
"Luke. We do not know how you came to be here, or how to return. But we are pledged to retake this planet from the Trade Federation, to assist Queen Amidala. We will be continuing onward tomorrow. Come with us. Fight with us, and we will try to find a way to send you home. I make you no guarantees."
"I understand. I'll come with you."
Obi-Wan grinned. "Good! Now it's three against one if we find the Sith."
"Sith? You mean like Vader?" And the next round of questions began.
As Leia and Artoo moved down the corridor, there was a burst of activity -- voices, droid noises, stomping feet. Boba Fett entered from a side hallway, followed by two guards pushing a floating device of some kind. Two more stormtroopers followed. That was two too many, but Artoo squealed at the sight of the oblong floater. Leia glared at him, but had no time for more: Boba Fett fired once and almost brought the wall down on her.
Chewie, Threepio, and several others were being herded down another hallway. Where was Han Solo? Chewie started howling at her, and Threepio chimed in from some kind of pack on the Wookie's back. It was a trap.
Well then. She'd just have to see who trapped who. Leia headed after the group -- if she could free Chewie quickly enough, they could take on the four troopers. Then find Han and get out of there.
She moved quickly, leaving Artoo to catch up.
Luke didn't understand the significance of Padme's revelation -- she was this Queen Amidala, not the feathered, painted bodyguard who'd stood in her place. She was beautiful by herself, paint and grand robes unnecessary. Boss Nass agreed to assist them, and the war council convened at once.
They would attack on three fronts -- the Trade Federation's stations, a sneak attack on the palace, and a bold, mounted charge on the capital city. Many would die. He would fight with the Jedi, trying to get Amidala into the palace.
All too soon, it was time. Getting into the palace itself was not as hard as he'd expected. They gained access to a hanger and left Anakin there for safety. However, there was someone....waiting...for Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi. A dark Jedi, a Sith, with a mask of red and black for a face. Three against one was good odds, and the rest of the assault team continued on their mission, leaving the Jedi, and Luke, behind.
Leia couldn't find Chewie and the others -- perhaps one of the walls was really a door? She didn't have much time. Darting into an anteroom, she stopped to catch her breath. Turning, Artoo was a little ways behind her, just as a door slammed down the way she'd come, seperating her from the little droid, cutting off her exit.
Well. Artoo was resourceful, he might just find a way to open that door, given half a chance. At least it wouldn't open to let anyone else in, without her knowing about it. The floor began to rise, carrying her up into another chamber.
The room was silent, small quantities of steam venting from large pipes. She walked toward the stairway and more steam began venting. Looking up, Leia could see a dark figure above her.
"So, it is you, Leia Organa. I sense you have been studying. Your presence in the Force is much like Skywalker's." There was a moment when all she heard was the rasp of his breathing appartus. "No matter. He will come for you, and then the Emperor will have two apprentices."
Leia moved up the stairs and activated her lightsaber.
The fight was furious. The Sith was incredibly fast, and Luke was hard-pressed to keep up with the activity -- the Jedi knew so many tricks he didn't, but once he saw one attempt something, it was child's play to realize he could do it himself. He learned a great deal in every second of battle. They raced down a hallway protected by red force shields, Obi-Wan ahead of Qui-Gon ahead of Luke, with the Sith racing ahead of them all.
Luke caught up with Qui-Gon before the next shield sprang up, shutting them away from Obi-Wan, just a few paces ahead, and the Sith, another shield ahead.
In the next interval, Obi-Wan poured on the speed, skidding to a stop right before the final shield. The Sith, black, horned, red, waited for him.
Leia advanced across the landing, it swayed when her saber crossed with Vader's.
"You have learned much, princess."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises, Lord Vader."
Vader moved forward, hooking Leia's sword out of her hands and sending it flying. Another sweep at her feet forced her to jump back for protection. Windmilling briefly, Leia rolled down the stairs, back to the platform she'd risen on.
Sprawling for a moment, she looked up just in time to see Vader swooping down like a bird of prey. Leia rolled out of range. She needed her saber.
"Your destiny lies with me, Princess." He paused for a moment, and Leia thought to attack. "Ah. You...are a Skywalker. Yes, your presence in the Force is far too similar for you to be anything but a Skywalker. Obi-Wan knew this. I am your destiny."
Leia gaped. Skywalker? "No!"
There was a noise behind her and Leia windmilled again, losing her balance and falling into a small chamber. It smelled. This was where Vader had been positioning towards during their entire fight.
She leapt and steam followed her upwards.
"Perhaps your brother will be stronger."
Brother! She must know what happened to Luke!
Leia's saber was in her hand before she knew it, and she attacked, pressing forward, driving the pair away from the chamber she'd nearly been trapped in. Vader lost his balance and fell into and outer rim of pipes. Leia took advantage of her opportunity to regroup -- to attack now, in anger, would be disastrous. She couldn't betray Yoda's trust. She stashed her saber and moved down into the pit, carefully controlling her emotions. Feeling them but not holding them. She must remain clear-headed.
Vader. Sword in hand again, just in time to slice a large pipe. The Dark Lord of the Sith was tossing equipment at her. Leia deflected the large pieces, and Vader started up a tornado of machinery, large and small. She was whipped in the middle of it.
She hurtled back, knocked into the air by a large reactor probe.
Luke and Qui-Gon didn't make it. Trapped behind the last force shield, Qui-Gon deactivated his saber, and waited. Obi-Wan and the Sith were matched for the moment, but only a moment, and then Kenobi was fighting a defensive battle.
Leia was creeping along the railing, up to the control room. The wind around her was intense but she didn't feel it. All she saw was Vader, driving her farther down the gantry.
"You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed as Obi-Wan did."
Leia didn't spare breath to answer, instead, rolling sideways and thrusting her saber at Vader to nick him on the shoulder. His armor smoked, and she knew there was not much time, or space, left for her to move in. She moved around the final instrument complex near the end of the gantry and screamed, as Vader sliced through it, then her own right arm.
Her saber was gone.
Luke tried to pound on the force shield with his fists. He could not watch this. Could not watch Ben Kenobi die in front of him *again*. That plea went unanswered, as the Sith drove his saber right into the Jedi's chest.
Obi-Wan staggered, and Qui-Gon lifted his own hands as if to catch him, and the force shield finally withdrew.
Luke and Qui-Gon attacked.
"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you, Princess. You do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power, like your brother. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
"Never."
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side." Vader's fist clenched. "Obi-Wan never told Luke what happened to your father."
"Luke told me, he told me you killed him."
"No." Vader's cloak was whipped by the wind. "I am your father."
It was too much to even contemplate belief.
"That's impossible!" Her voice was weakening.
"Search your feelings." Vader's hand to her was open, now. "You know it to be true."
"No. No!" Leia shook her head, looking for someplace to back up into, but there was nowhere else to go. This could not be true. Death would be better.
"Join me." Vader put his sword away. "Come with me. It is the only way."
Leia looked at him. Then took one large step backward, into nothing.
The Sith was still incredibly fast, but his saber-staff was now only active on one end, and Qui-Gon's saber chased him around the room like a bird of prey. The two warriors finished the grisly task Obi-Wan had begun, though Luke wound up dangling from a precipice in the process. He trusted in the Force, and imitated the dying apprentice, to flip back up onto the ground in time to see the Jedi master decapitate the Sith.
Qui-Gon spared not a glance for the body of his enemy, merely bent close and gathered Obi-Wan to him. "Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan." The gentle voice was horrible.
"Master."
"Padawan."
Kenobi's hand reached up to Master Qui-Gon's cheek, and that was all.
Leia dangled from a sensor array underneath the city, crying out for Ben Kenobi, for Luke, for Han, for anyone, anyone at all.
The Millenium Falcon spotted her on mid-range sensors, purely by luck she was told; Chewie popped the hatch and handed her in like a child. She remembered the Wookiee growling to someone over the intercom, and the ship bucked, and nothing else.
"Leia."
"Father.....Obi-Wan, you should have told him the truth...Luke, oh Luke."
My father is Anakin Skywalker, she said to herself. A dead Jedi. It is true. She was Leia Skywalker. She wept. Where was Luke?
The funeral pyre was high and hot, and Luke held the hand of Anakin Skywalker in his, and tried not to think about it. He saw his whole life in the flames leaping up around Obi-Wan's profile. He would return to Coruscant, the capital, with Master Qui-Gon, to take the place of a lost apprentice in whatever way he could. He would try to keep Anakin from the Dark Side, and fail. He would fight in the Clone Wars as a Jedi Knight. He would lie to a young farm boy from Tattooine.
He would die by Vader's hand. It had already happened, and with a grimace he set his foot firmly on the path, and told Anakin to call him "Ben".
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on 2004-09-06 10:07 pm (UTC)Wow.