Across fictive worlds

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Obi-Wan POV

"There has to be something we can do. Anything!" Luke exclaimed and kicked a nearby crate in frustration. This action made the single light bulb illuminating the tiny cell flicker.

The old Jedi sighed. With as much traveling as they did, he was sure thy had visited nearly half of the rebel bases in the outer rim by now and none were particulary comfortable.

"She's been his captive for two months now! She said if something like this ever happened, she'd escape on her own but she hasn't. She hasn't even sent any messages." Luke drew a hand through his hair, his face twisted in worry and desperation. "Leia is so good at shielding her mind. Would I... Would I even notice if she...?"

Right after Leia told Luke she would be taking her adoptive parents' place as Vader's hostage, Luke had wanted to start a rescue mission. It took all of Obi-Wan's experience and skill as a negotiator to convince him that it was a bad idea. In the end the only thing that had stopped him was the reminder that Leia herself, driven by her visions, had warned him of exactly this scenario.

However, a week passed, then two and still no message from her. She wasn't even trying to call Luke through the Force.

There had come news from another source though.

"Don't forget that according to Bail, the Empire ordered one of Princess Leia's old handmaiden to transfer to Vader's ship. That much is true. She wouldn't need a servant if she were dead or a prisoner. Even if the latest reports are faked, it is unlikely that she is dead. The Empire would've used even that against us."

Multiple attempts had been made since then to free or at least contact the Princess, both from Alderaan and the Rebellion itself. They'd tried to smuggle in a spy or spying equipment but security around the princess was so tight, none of the attempts had even gotten close. After one month, Nymia had started to send messages back to her own family on Alderaan. These messages went through Imperial-approved and screened channels and thus far nobody had managed to find any encrypted messages in them. If taken at face value, the handmaiden was still serving Princess Leia, who was supposedly being treated as an honored guest while still under heavy watch and restrictions. But of course, any message that the Empire allowed to pass though could be entirely fabricated.

News was unfortunately slow to travel from Alderaan to the Rebellion and even slower from the Rebellion to the two Jedi who were jumping bases every couple of days. After being so heavily targeted and narrowly escaping total destruction, the planet had understandably withdrawn a lot of its support for the Rebellion. That was why Obi-Wan and Luke had only now heard of this supposed confirmation of Leia still being a captive through her servant.

"But if she's not being kept in prison, why hasn't she managed to escape yet?" Luke worried.

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment. He debated whether or not he should tell Luke about Bail's... other suspicion. In the end, with a heavy heart, he decided he had to.

"Luke... It is time that maybe we consider all options."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

Obi-Wan looked at his padawan sadly. "If she's not a prisoner and if she's made no attempts to escape or request help... Maybe she doesn't want to be rescued, Luke. Maybe she's there of her own free will."

Luke stiffened. "You're thinking... No. No! Leia wouldn't betray us!

"Maybe not willingly, not if she were herself, but Luke... It's possible Leia had too much confidence in her shielding abilities. The dark side can do terrible things to a person. It can twist the mind, cause illusions, make you doubt your every belief... The Empire has entire programs dedicated to brainwashing people and turning them around. Vader never wanted Leia just because she's his daughter. He's looking for an apprentice to help him usurp the Emperor, that is all. If he can make her cut all ties to her past and betray everything and everyone she's ever loved, she will have nowhere to go and no one to turn to but him. That is what he wants. We have to consider at some point the possibility that he's succeeded", Obi-Wan said as gently as possible. "Is is even possible that he planted the first seeds of that when he first held her captive on the Death Star." It pained him deeply to think Leia would follow in her father's footsteps. But he saw the pain in Luke's eyes himself every time Vader came up. Family was a powerful connection, one that Obi-Wan didn't fully understand. He'd never had such yearning simply because of shared blood. It made him sick to think Vader would use the Force to twist a child of his that way... But after everything he'd seen, he wouldn't put it past him. Vader could be truly obsessive when he considered something personal.