Hope Reborn - Chapter 3

Luke had to stop himself from grinning like a lunatic when he saw the Falcon again. Han poured a lot of love into the old bucket. Their departure was a lot easier this time. The Stormtrooper ambush didn't happen. No one had paid much attention to them without the fight in the cantina. It was amazing how much attention a lightsaber brought.

Soon, they were in the air and on their way to Alderaan. Rather, the Death Star to recue Leia. There was nothing he could do to save the planet. Hyperdrive was not instantaneous. They had a couple of systems to cross before they were even close enough to drop back to sub-light travel. After that, it was still another hour or more to get where they needed to be.

To break up the time, Luke resigned himself to the training droid once more.

It took more concentration to intentionally miss the target ball than to deflect the bolts. Through his years of training in the Force, Luke had learned quite a lot. Ancient texts, holocrons, and a large amount of time communing with the Jedi Masters that had become one with the Force. Their ghosts directed him to find more knowledge. In some cases, they pointed him to a few Jedi in hiding.

Luke deflected a few bolts back at the little drone. He was tempted to split the thing in two. The bolts stung and the floating orb seemed to be programmed to aim for his ancles.

"Very good, Luke," Obi-Wan said.

A wave of fear, sorrow, and rage tore through space. It washed over him and Obi-Wan. Luke stumbled a step back. A million voices crying out and then suddenly silenced. He had felt every single one. Obi-Wan looked over to Luke. The old man studied him.

"You felt that didn't you?" Obi-Wan said.

Luke couldn't speak. He nodded.

Before, the first time this had happened, he had been too distracted to feel anything. He was worried about looking like a fool, angry at himself for not being there for his aunt and uncle, disgusted with himself that he was relieved that he wasn't dead with them. This time, there were no such distractions.

All of those people. So many lives stolen. Luke shuffled over to the nearby seat and dropped heavily into it. He could see them, hear them, if he tried.

"You have to let it go, Luke," Obi-Wan said. "The Force feels every life, the creation and its end. You must steel yourself or be lost. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. This is the Jedi code. These words you must keep close if you are to become a Jedi Knight."

~ꬸ~

Owen and Beru arrived back at their homestead in a foul mood. An entire day of work had been lost. Unit Forty-Nine had been perfectly fine, aside from some minor upkeep. Owen was going to have long talk to his nephew about the importance of time.

All thoughts of their trip were erased when they saw the state of their home. It had been ransacked. Footprints, all with the same boot-pattern, were everywhere. Not only that, but every single one of their droids were either missing, or in pieces.

An Imperial Notice had been staked in the center of their courtyard.

Under Imperial Order all droids, data-pads, and mechanical devices are to be searched. Any damages sustained during the search, be it to property or person, are of no concern.

Owen felt a pit of dread open beneath his feet. Beru rushed through the hallways.

"No sign of Luke." Beru panted as she ran back to her husband. "He must have been out when they showed up. Do you think he knew?"

Owen swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew something had changed with Luke yesterday. The way he moved, how his eyes moved, those small expressions he tried to hide. Owen had seen them but hadn't given them much thought. There was a tickle of a memory in the back of his mind yesterday that he had written off. Now, he knew where he had seen it before. It was the look Obi-Wan had the last time the old wizard had visited. No. It was closer to the way Anakin acted before he went off to find their mother.

"I think he did." Owen nodded. "We need to find Obi-Wan."

Beru jolted to a stop. She studied her husband for a long moment.

"I knew this day would come." She sighed.

~ꬸ~

"That's no moon." Obi-Wan said as a spike of dread shot through him. "It's a space station."

"That's too big to be a space station." Han shook his head.

Luke steeled himself as the Death Star came into focus. He had forgotten the scale of the thing. It truly was amazing. Even more since it had been built in secret.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Luke muttered.

"Turn the ship around." Obi-Wan ordered.

The ship began to shake as Chewy and Han worked on the panel.

"Chewy lock in the auxiliary power." The panic was clear in Han's voice. "We're caught in a tractor beam. It's pulling us in."

Han and Chewy acted fast, powering down the drives.

"I've got a plan." Han said with a desperate edge in his voice.

Han led them to the back of the ship. Chewy efficiently removed a couple of floor panels to expose a space below.

"Get in." Han motioned to them. "I use these for smuggling. I never thought I'd be smuggling myself."

They set the cover panels back in place as the ship landed. Luke tried to keep himself steady as the sound of boots on the floor above them passed over. It seemed like every time one would leave another would take its place. Time ticked by slowly. He felt a chill climb up his spine. The presence of the Dark Side, unhindered, unbound, and positively impressive in proportions. It faded a moment later.

"Even if I could take off, I could never get passed that tractor beam." Han said as they raised themselves out from under the floor.

"Leave that to me." Obi-Wan grumbled as he climbed out.

"Old fool." Han muttered. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?" Obi-Wan quipped back.

Chewy let out a chuff of a laugh.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the scanning crew. A quick scuffle took care of them. The Stormtroopers that followed a moment later were easy to handle once Chewy got ahold of them.

Their trip up to the control room, and the short fight, went by in a blink.

"We’ve found the computer outlet, sir." C3PO said.

"Plug in, R2." Luke spoke up before Obi-Wan could. "You should be able to connect to the network."

The two droids looked to Obi-Wan for instruction. Luke rolled his eyes.

"Go on." Obi-Wan waved for them to continue.

R2 connected. The droid let out a string of beeps after a minute.

"He's found the controls for the tractor beam." C3PO relayed. "He will try to make the precise location appear on the monitor."

The group watched as a map of the area flickered across the screen. A small, dotted line from their position to the closest terminal appeared as well.

"The beam is powered through seven points on the ship." C3PO explained. "A power loss at one of the terminals will be enough for the ship to leave without drawing unwanted attention."

"I don't think you can help." Obi-Wan directed his attention to Luke. "I must go alone."

"No." Luke moved to stand in front of the door. "I've got a better chance at this." He motioned to himself. "I'm wearing the armor. One more trooper walking around the station won't draw any attention."

Obi-Wan went to speak only for Han to cut in.

"Hey, if the kid wants to go, let him go." Han shrugged. "We're stuck here anyway."

Luke gave the smuggler a thankful nod.

"The princess has to be here." Luke continued. "Have R2 search for prisoners. You'd have a better chance than we would."

"Hey." Han groaned.

"Do you want to rescue a princess from an Imperial prison surrounded by Stormtroopers?" Luke asked with a tired glance at the smuggler.

"Princess, what princess? What are you talking about?" Han looked from Luke to Obi-Wan.

"Princess Leia. From Alderaan." Luke explained. "She's the one who sent the droids to find Ben.

"Whatever you say." Han dismissed. "I've done more than I bargained for on this trip already."

Obi-Wan didn't get a chance to argue before R2 started to beep excitedly.

"What is it?" Obi-Wan turned to ask the droid.

"Sir Luke was correct." C3PO said. "He said that he's found her."

"The princess, she's here?" Obi-Wan turned to study Luke.

"Level five, detention block AA-23." C3PO continued. "I'm afraid she's scheduled to be executed."

"See." Luke prodded. "You have to go get her now."

He didn't wait for a reply. Luke stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind. They would figure something out. Obi-Wan had a better chance at keeping Han in line anyway. The prisoner trick should work just as well for them.

Luke settled into a steady walk as he headed toward the power terminal. His changes had been minor up to this point. Now he was going to move in broader strokes.

None of the Stormtroopers even looked twice at him. The occasional nod was enough to satisfy any interaction. He found himself at the doorway to the terminal a lot faster than he expected. Two Stormtroopers stared at him as he approached.

"Do you know what's going on?" One of them asked.

"Maybe it's another drill." Luke replied with a shrug.

That seemed to be enough to get them to relax. Luke settled into a spot beside them as they guarded the door.

"You seen that new VT-16?" One of the stormtroopers asked.

"Yeah." The other said. "Some of the other guys were telling me about it."

"They say it's quite a sight to see." The first said.

"That's the new speeder, right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." One of the troopers replied. "Figures they'd get an upgrade after I'm transferred off-world."

"You were." Luke motioned down the hall. "Down there?"

"No." The trooper laughed. "Now it makes sense why they blocked visitation passes."

"TK-FNG was pissed about that." The other trooper said.

"That's the guy who won't shut up, right?" The first trooper asked.

"He's not that bad." The other trooper said with a shrug. "He showed me how to hack personal media player into my helmet."

"Tell me that after you've been stuck next to him in a drop-ship drill." The first one groaned.

The duo looked to Luke.

"I just got here." Luke said with a shrug.

"Straight out of the academy, eh?" The first one scoffed. "Are they still shoveling that blaster-proof armor crap?"

"It's not?" Luke asked in shock.

They both shook their heads.

"What are we wearing this for?" Luke asked. "Where would bright white be camouflage? It's not warm enough to wear on Tatooine at night."

They shrugged. Luke sighed. As interesting as this conversation was, he needed to power down the shield. He had no idea what Ben had come up with. They might already be at the ship. Luke waited for the two troopers to go back to their conversation.

Once they were both occupied, he shifted a step out of their line of sight. He waved his hand toward both of them. They both started to walk away. He waited until they turned a corner before her jogged over to the terminal.

"No rails?" He grumbled.

Carefully, he shimmied around the terminal. Every screen and panel were labeled with bright letters. It was color-coded which as well made it simple to turn it off. He added a little twist of force power to remove one of the levers.

With that done, he shimmied back onto the main walkway. Luke adjusted hooked the blaster on his belt as he headed back the way he had come. He hadn't made it very far when a chill shot up his spine. It was much more intense this time. He turned the corner to find that Darth Vader stood in the center of the hall.

The imposing form seemed to fill the space. Vader studied the trooper before him. The only sound was that of breath.

"You are not who I expected." Vader looked down at the trooper.

Luke nodded. He suddenly felt so small. Like a child playing dress-up. The feeling was all the more intense when Vader lifted a hand. Luke was flung back against the wall. He felt the armor on his back crack from the impact. His feet dangled a good couple of feet from the ground.

"Who are you?" Vader growled.

"Luke Skywalker." He kept his voice even as he spoke. "You knew my father, Anakin Skywalker."

Vader cocked his head to the side. The crimson blade of compressed light emerged almost without a sound. If it wasn't for the hum of energy, it would have been like it wasn't there at all. This was not how he imagined the first encounter would go.

"That is a name I have not heard in a long time." Vader chuckled.

Luke tried to think of some way to get out of his grasp. Vader was incredibly strong in the force and had years of constant practice with it. Luke had the knowledge and memories, but his body wasn't quite as adept just yet. He snapped his hand forward. A concentrated burst of Force Push knocked Vader's outstretched arm off target.

He dropped down, his feet back on the floor. The armor on his back fell away, a moment later the piece on his chest followed. Luke reached to the small of his back and popped the lid off the tube that rested there. A little use of the force jumped the hilt of his lightsaber from the container into his open hand. He ignited it as he brought it around before him.

"Where did you get that?" Vader shifted his head down ever so slightly to take in the blade.

"Obi-Wan gave it to me." Luke replied.

"He is here." Vader sized him up once more. "What do you know of Anakin Skywalker?"

"I know he was a great Jedi Knight." Luke kept his blade between them. "I know he saved the Republic more times than people can imagine. I know that he loved his wife and feared for her safety. I know that his need to protect her led him down a path of darkness."

Vader tracked his movements with his crimson blade.

"I know there is still good in him." Luke sighed. "In you. Father."

"Interesting." Vader hummed. "Let's see how true the Skywalker blood runs in your veins."

Vader was moved faster than expected. His speed wasn't so much a blur as it was akin to a landslide. It didn't look fast, but it definitely was. Sparks kicked up as the crimson blade clashed with the azure. Luke could feel the impact reverberate along his arms all the way up to his teeth.

The dark lord didn't give him any time to recover. It was all Luke could do to intercept the oncoming blur that promised red death. Each time their blades met it felt like his hands went numb. He stopped his attempts to block the strikes and focused on dodging instead. It wasn't until he bumped into the wall that he realized that Vader had pushed him into a corner.

Luke sprang over Vader's head. He pulled himself into a flip to use the momentum to buy some space. Once his feet hit the floor he rolled back out into the center of the hall.

"Impressive." Vader inclined his head ever so slightly.

"We don't have to do this, father." Luke pleaded. "There is good in you, I know it. I can feel it."

"I can feel your fear." Vader countered. "Channel it into anger. Feed it until it becomes hate. Kneel and swear your loyalty to me."

Luke shifted his position so that his back was to the expanse of hallway. The sound of heavy doors opening caught drew his attention away for a moment. He looked over his shoulder to see Obi-Wan lead Leia up the ramp of the Falcon. C3PO noticed him first and began to chatter excitedly. He couldn't make out the words from here, but the sound carried just fine.

Obi-Wan reappeared incredibly fast. Vader let out a growl that almost sounded happy. A swipe of his hand sent a wave of Force that tossed Luke out into the hangar. The momentum carried him for quite the distance before a stack of cracks caught him.

"Go, Luke." Obi-Wan said as he strode by. "This is something I must handle."

"I'm not going to leave you alone." Luke pulled himself to his feet.

"You need to get the princess and the droids to the Rebellion." Obi-Wan didn't look back to the boy. "They are more important than the life of an old man."

Luke heard a lightsaber ignite. He was about to follow when another way of Force energy pushed him away. His feet kicked helplessly as he slid over to stop at the foot of the ramp. He gritted his teeth as he watched Obi-Wan raise his lightsaber into a resting guard position. The view was completely obscured when the blast doors closed.

A squad of Stormtroopers rushed into the hangar. It wasn't until they started to shoot at him that he decided to get on the ship. He made it up the ramp and almost crashed against the pair of droids that waited for him.

"Move." Luke grumbled.

He slipped by the droids to get to the cockpit. Han and Chewie would need help to get the Falcon out before things got too hot. He slid to a stop when he saw Leia alone in the cockpit. Her face was screwed up in concentration as she studied the panel in front of her.

His breath caught in his throat. He had forgotten how beautiful she was. The sound made her sharp eyes snap over to him.

"Aren't you a little short to be a Stormtrooper?" She asked.

"Where are Han and Chewie?" Luke ignored the jibe as he hopped into the pilot's seat.

"That smuggler and the Wookie?" Leia asked.

Luke nodded. It had been quite a while since he had flown the Falcon. His attention shifted from the panel when Leia didn't answer. She looked at him with an expression of mingled sorrow and anger.

"They didn't make it." Leia replied.

The air was suddenly too thick to breath.

"No." Luke shook his head. "That's not right."

"I'm sorry." Leia placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know the lose hurts, but we have to get out of here."

"Right." Luke cleared his throat. "Right."

He closed his eyes as he ran through mental exercises that he had developed over years of study. Their focus was to control his emotions and hone his awareness. He could feel Obi-Wan and Vader beyond the blast doors. There was a small crowd of Stormtroopers that had gathered to watch. A squad inside the hangar hadn't been so easily distracted. They worked to setup a heavy gun aimed at the Falcon.

When Luke opened his eyes once more his attention was on the task at hand. His fingers flew across the panel with efficient ease. A moment later the Falcon lifted off and rocketed out of the hanger.

Leia lurched back. She scrambled into a chair.

"A little warning next time." Leia chided as she strapped herself in.

"Don't get comfortable." Luke motioned to the harness. "I need you on the guns. They aren't going to let us leave without a fight."

Leia goggled at him for a beat. She shook her head before she rushed out of the cockpit.

"R2!" Luke called over his shoulder.

The droid beeped in response.

"Can you control the other gun?" Luke saw a string of Tie-Fighters launch from the Death Star.

R2 let out a quick string of beeps mingled with whistles as he rolled back into the hallway.

"He said that he with connect to the Falcons' systems and see what he can do." C3PO translated.

"You're going to want to strap in." Luke kept his eyes forward. "This is going to be rough."