Rescue for a Sith Princess

Chapter 10

A.N. I have returned!! After a long and tough semester, I came out victorious! Now I am very excited to return to these adventures with you. I apologize for the long wait, and if you need a refresher about what has happened in this story, you can read my summary in the previous Author's Note. Without further ado...

"Alderaan. It's gone. They destroyed it."

Han's face blanched and his mouth ran dry. He took Leia up in his arms and let her drown him with her tears. He knew he had to try and contact Obi-Wan the first chance he had. If he still existed.

Han squelched his fears and focused on the issue at hand. Han removed his helmet, then caressed Leia's hair comfortingly while whispering, "I'm so sorry, Princess Leia."

As if a switch was flipped in her head, Leia wrenched herself violently from his arms. "No! Don't call me that, I am not Princess Leia! Since my home world was destroyed, there is no one for me to be a princess to anymore."

Han stared at Leia in shock, watching her take shuddering, angry breaths. "That part of my life is dead now, just like Alderaan." She said in a deep, cold voice.

"No, keep that part of you alive!" Han countered, desperately hoping to bring her back from the darkness that was enveloping her. "Keep it alive for Alderaan."

Leia scowled at him and didn't reply. She stood up and started pacing around the room, running her hands through her hair and breathing heavily. 

With an inhuman scream, Leia Force-pushed her dresser against the other wall, causing it to splinter into millions of tiny fragments. "I want to kill them all! The Emperor, Vader, every smug officer, every faceless stormtrooper. Every one of them did this to me, every one of them caused me this pain."

Enraged now, Leia whipped her lightsaber out of her belt and ignited it with fury. Han flinched back and expected the worst. But she merely swung it around the room, murdering every member of the Empire in an invisible fantasy.

Finally, she spun around and directed the tip of the blade inches away from Han's face. "Once everyone was dead, with not a soul breathing on this space station, I would kill the one I spared until the very end. You."

Han realized he wasn't breathing, and hadn't been for a long time. The smuggler had seen many horrifying things in his life, from deformed pirates to Jabba the Hutt, but he was never so terrified as this.

He croaked out, "Why? I'm not one of those faceless stormtroopers. I'm different, I've helped you."

Leia's mouth broke into a sinister sneer and she responded in a low quasi-whisper, "You. You were the worst of them all. You gave me hope, even though it no longer exists."

With that, Leia withdrew her lightsaber and stormed out of the tiny room. Han finally let out the breath he was holding and held his head in his hands. This was it. She was gone, and Han had no idea how anyone could bring her back. For the first time since he was a child, Han Solo broke down and wept.

~~~

Leia burst into the Emperor's throne room unannounced, but she didn't care. A stormtrooper standing in the doorway tried to stop her, but with a lightning-fast reflex she cut the soldier down with her lightsaber.

The Emperor saw this and was overcome by the waves of rage that flowed throughout the room as Leia approached his throne. He grinned maliciously and thought, My plan worked.

"Lord Tochter, to what do I owe the pleasure of this...unexpected visit?" The Emperor asked.

Leia bowed before him with immense respect and stated, "I am ready to complete my training. When the time has come, bring me to Skywalker."

~~~

Han rushed to find the nearest holoprojector possible. His hands were shaking and sweat was dripping down his face and back. What if they were all gone? Luke, Ben, Bail...Chewie, blown to smithereens?

Eventually, Han found an empty control room and closed the door behind him. He knew the holoprojector on Alderaan didn't exist any longer, so he started a secure transmission to the Falcon and hoped for the best. After what seemed like hours, Chewbacca's furry face appeared in blue before him.

"Chewie! You're all right!" Han shouted. "Where are you, you heard about Alderaan right?"

The Wookiee barked a response and Han's entire being flooded with relief.

"You're all on Yavin IV. With the Rebellion? Why?"

Han listened carefully to Chewie's response. "Bail needed to bring them the Death Star plans and everyone decided to ride in the Falcon. Typical. Can I talk to Ben and Luke?"

Chewie disappeared to retrieve the pair, and soon they both appeared before him. Luke caught his attention first. Somehow, he seemed so much older and wiser than the last time they spoke.

"Luke! Ben! I am so glad to see you're all right. I need to talk to you."

"Are you okay, Han? You're shaking so much you're blurring the holo," Luke said.

"Just let me speak!" Han responded tersely. "Alderaan's destruction was used as a way to break Leia. And it worked. She's gone, her anger has consumed her. I don't know what to do."

"Han, calm down," Obi-Wan said peacefully, although his voice was edged with sorrow.

"I failed her, guys, I failed her!" Han was yelling wildly now. "I was supposed to protect her from the pain and now she's gone. It's all my fault, I don't-"

"Han!" Obi-Wan shouted forcefully. "There was nothing you could have done. The devastating impact of Alderaan's destruction was beyond your control."

Luke added quietly, "It wasn't your fault."

Han nodded and attempted to suppress his panic.

"Luke is ready to face her," Obi-Wan said. "Either their familial bond will save her, or she will be destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Han practically whimpered. Not Leia, not his precious Leia. "No! Give me some more time, maybe she will come around. I swear we had a connection, I can bring her back-"

"Luke is our last hope," Obi-Wan said simply.

Han laughed bitterly and said, "Leia doesn't believe in hope anymore."