Cold Surrender
–
Looking up from underneath, f ractured moonlight on the sea
Reflections still look the same to me, a s before I went under
And it's peaceful in the deep. C athedral where you cannot breathe
No need to pray, no need to speak
Now I am under all
And it's breaking over me
A thousand miles down to the sea bed
Found the place to rest my head
Never let me go, never let me go
–
"Lord Vader, your ship is ready." The Grand Inquisitor approached the Dark Lord.
"Good." Vader nodded, gesturing for Luke and Leia to get aboard.
"But sir." The inquisitor interjected, surprised by Vader's choice of guests. "The children?"
"What about them?" Vader grumbled once Luke and Leia were on the ship.
"Nothing." He quickly responded, making a welcoming gesture with his now badly disguised quivering hand. "Carry on."
–
"You wanna fly it?" Vader turned to Leia who was eagerly observing the controls.
"What?" Leia almost chuckled, caught by surprise. "I've never done that."
"I piloted a ship around your age." Vader breathed out. "Come on, it's easy. I'll show you."
As Vader showed her the ropes, Leia couldn't hide the fact that she felt elated. She was single-handedly responsible for this ship making its way in the air.
"Luke, I'm flying!" She called for him to notice. "I'm doing it!"
"Awesome!" Luke made a beeline for the interface to watch his sister in action.
"Sir, we need to land." The Grand Inquisitor conscientiously chimed in.
"Why?" Vader's languid demeanor around the inquisitor made it obvious he was in no mood to deal with him.
"They've captured a Jedi sympathizer, he's detained at the Headquarters. He won't give us any information on their locations."
"He won't reveal any information? Or he doesn't have any?" Vader quipped.
The ship hit quite a bit of turbulence, causing Leia to shudder in a panic. Vader quickly regained control of the ship, grabbing the piloting controls. A nervous Leia stared absently ahead. Vader noticed her fear as the ship went through irregular motions.
He offered her gentle words of solace. "It's alright."
Another tumultuous shift in airflow tested her nerves. She reached out for Vader's hand in a desperate moment.
He looked down at her small hand on his. And suddenly whatever the Grand Inquisitor was referring to didn't seem all that important. None of it mattered. Maybe he couldn't physically feel her hand but he could sense what this feeling symbolized. And it wasn't his connection to the force that awoke something in him. It was his own flesh and blood connecting to Anakin, who, in this moment, felt like he was looking up from his dark hole buried deep within Vader. Like there was a little fracture that let some light in, glowing on Anakin inside the suit. And he felt her hand reach out for him.
And all the battles in his head, all the battles between the Sith and the Jedi, the Empire and this new underground rebel alliance, all of it was an after-thought right now. He couldn't remember why he so valiantly fought all these battles. He couldn't think about anything else now that he felt this innate instinct to protect her – now that she placed her hand in his.
