"Damn stupid women leaving me to do the job!" he mused to himself. The trail to the core was a huge labyrinth and it was agonizing to find the way. Even with the map, it sure hell got confusing navigating there.

He ducked behind cover as blaster bolts rushed past his head, having ran into another patrol. 'Patrol' was an exaggeration actually; it was only two troopers. He easily got rid of them by accurately placing two bolts into their skulls. The detonator pack tightly pressed against his back as he had to duck to avoid more blaster fire.

Two more stormtroopers shot at him from behind. Taking a chance, he ran towards another cover, firing multiple shots in the process. Only one of them was gone. His hands shook and his heart beat rapidly as he checked the map once more. The core was just ahead.

There was a weird thing going on. Every now and then he could hear an explosion and most of the stormtroopers were gone. Being the core, it was supposed to have highly tightened security; that had been his worries. Now, it seemed like a joke. Unless he was reported, he had nothing to fear.

* * * * transition * * * *

Vader turned off his lightsaber, awed by his son's endurance and performance. He was a skilled fighter, despite the hours of torture and injury he had endured. He hummed in satisfaction as he placed his lightsaber hilt back in his belt. Luke did the same, only after he gave him a questioning look.

"I thought we were supposed to have more training," he asked, following his father out of the training room. "Isn't the Emperor powerful?"

"I'm afraid we don't have such a luxury in time," Vader replied and put on the binders on his son's hands so as to not look suspicious. "And you are skilled enough. I am sure that we can defeat him."

In truth Vader alone can slay the Emperor but he needed Luke to be there. He could not explain his desire, except if he just said that he wanted to spend some time with him. He knew it was dangerous; that was why he had a backup plan to protect Luke. Now, the only worry he had was if the boy would join the Emperor.

Most people, who were old and experienced at least thirty years of existence, ignored the two, thinking that the Sith was leading the Jedi to his execution. The younger ones gaped at the young man, since they had never seen a Jedi before. They had imagined Jedi to be majestic and proud beings, not some messy lone boy. Vader huffed at their shallowness, if they could only see the power of his son.

His son. That claim aroused great pride in the man. He was happy to see that his boy had grown to a fair lad. The only problem was that he loathed his father. The reason? Vader was a Sith, Luke was a Jedi, the two were as different as day and night. If only the differences would disappear.

He entered the pass code for the elevator that went to the Emperor's chambers. The door smoothly opened, and he stepped in hastily. Luke followed, slower and more wary, feeling the binders cut his wrists. There was a slight cold and his fingers couldn't stop trembling.

"Nervous?" Vader said, noticing the symptoms of the stated feeling.

"No," he answered and took deep breaths to calm himself, but the trembling won't stop. "The Emperor does have some intimidating factor, but that's not enough to get through me."

His father had the look of disagreement. "Yeah. I can see the confidence in your shaky voice," he sarcastically remarked, searching for his comlink in his pocket.

"Have you never felt nervous?" Luke responded, his voice now laced with spite. "I guess not. High and mighty Sith do not have such simple human feelings and here I thought they liked their emotions."

"And here I thought Jedi were generally calm and collected. Have you been training properly, boy?"

The Jedi could not retort to that. Vader told the truth. He had been worried about that and now it has become noticeable. He relaxed his fists that were tightened and released a deep breath, calming himself down. Perhaps being close to his father made him subconsciously excited and more emotional.

His father. He looked at the man who typed a frequency into his comm. He couldn't say that he did not despise him. The man before him brought suffering to thousands and was responsible for the death of Jedi. He had left his wife, and abandoned his child. He was his second enemy, the first being Palpatine.

Which brought the thought: what would happen after their truce is over? Would he let him escape, would he capture him or would he kill him instead? Never mind what Vader thought, what he wanted was to escape, but to where? Alderaan was destroyed (courtesy to Tarkin), meaning that everyone there had been killed too.

His shoulders slumped; his own thoughts weighed him down. ‘One thing at a time,’ he mused. His head aimed at the ceiling, and leaned on the wall, at a distance from Vader. The elevator was sure taking a lot of time. Fumbling with his fingers, he stared blankly, deep in thought. 

He did not notice his father's tiny look of concern directed towards him as he put the comlink to his ear.

* * * * transition * * * *

Obi Wan panted as did the Inquisitor. Their hands held their lightsabers which they pointed at one another. They hadn't kept track of the time they had spent fighting, but it was probably long. Padmé and Chewbacca had been pushed back, their ammo almost finished. If they were lucky enough, they could scavenge for some from the bodies of the fallen stormtroopers that were close enough.

The Jedi Master felt his arms and lungs burning and a pain in his abdomen. He knew he could not continue any further. From the looks of it, the Inquisitor felt the same too. The Cathar clutched his side, and his other hand, barely able to hold his saber, rested on his thigh. His breath was uneasy and he had to struggle even to move a little.

They continued restoring their energy through the Force. However, they were at their limit of using Force powers. The Force wanted them to rest; they needed to rest. Their arms could barely grip the hilts of their lightsabers, but they persisted. They were trained to persist, no matter how differently.

The Inquisitor stared at Jedi, when they both paused from combat. He must defeat him, for the sake of the Empire and for Vader. He charged at him once more, determined that that would be the final blow. The device in his ear started to buzz, causing him to falter. Obi Wan attempted to behead him, but he jumped away, subconsciously hissing.

He then received the call, annoyed at the person who interrupted him. He parried the lightsaber strikes from the old man as he listened.

"Inquisitor," Vader said from the device. "It is time."

"I understand, my lord," he answered, just barely able to duck from another strike. "But there are intruders."

"Then deal with them, quickly. You are needed," Vader's indifferent voice hissed. And the call was ended.

The Cathar diverted his attention to the Jedi and delivered a spinning kick to his abdomen. With the power of the Force, Obi Wan was pushed back. Surprise filled his expression as he saw the Cathar fleeing. He was glad that his opponent ran away, giving him a chance to rest and escape.

‘Hold on to that happy thought, Jedi,’ the Inquisitor thought and pushed a button.

Padmé got down to the floor as it started to quake. The Inquisitor was smart, having a backup plan. In a matter of milliseconds, it felt burning hot and a loud boom deafened her ears. Splinters of the metal floor scratched her arms, blood oozing out from those wounds, but she felt nothing except the lightness you would feel when you're falling.

Her breathing rate increased, feeling the thrill of adrenaline. She could not do anything but close her teary eyes as she fell endlessly. She knew the Death Star would be where she would perish; it was in the name. At least, falling to her death in a chasm was not bad. She wouldn't feel anything.

"Padmé! Grab onto me!" Obi Wan screamed, holding out his hand, followed by the Wookie's roar. He held out his hand to Force-pull the woman towards him. The calculation of their speed and height was already in his mind.

They had a ten-second-mark, if the time crosses that, they would be cut into pieces or crushed on impact from the increasing kinetic energy.

Two seconds have passed, so far.

Eight seconds.

He took his grappling hook and wrapped the wire around both of them. Chewie did the same.

Three seconds passed. Five seconds left.

He then released the hook and aimed at anything that could catch the hook. Five seconds passed before the tension of the wire halted their fall.

Zero. Perfect timing.

However, due to the sudden halt of their kinetic energy, the wire cut their skin. Padmé hissed as she felt it dig into her arm and her waist. Blood continued to fall. She could see Wookie hair fall along with it. The wire is indeed sharp.

"Can you move?" he asked, conscious of their awkward position, but it was for their survival.

Padmé nodded through the pain, a deep grimace on her face. She tore off a piece of clothing with her teeth and used it as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. She ignored the numbness she felt and the tears of pain that continued to flow.

Chewie roared and pointed at a locked door just above them. He then tried to swing himself towards the wall where he could grab anything to stabilize himself. Obi Wan Force-pushed the wall behind him, the opposing force pushing them towards the wall before them.

He grabbed the grill that kept the internal wiring in the walls safe and held on tight. He helped Padmé grab it, while her other arm was immobilized. They both climbed and reached where the Wookie hung awkwardly, unable to do anything but wait since the door was locked.

Padmé clutched the grill tightly, feeling her other hand numbing and watched the Jedi ignite his lightsaber. She ducked and avoided the sparks that flew all around as he cut the door. She wanted to cover her ears to avoid the unpleasant rattling sound when the metal was scraped out and thrown into the chasm.

Chewbacca climbed up to the corridor that connected to the door, being used to the colossal trees in Kashykk. Since he was also the heaviest and the strongest, he helped up the injured woman, followed by the old man.

"That was..." Padmé did not know how to describe that. Close? Scary? Terrifying?

The three sat on the floor, their bodies trembling at their near-death experience. They had this experience countless times, but one will still be terrified when they see their lives flash before their eyes. They were tired, but they knew they had move. Lucky for them, those shields protected them from further damage.

Chewbacca saw one of those first aid compartments that they would keep. He ripped the cabinet off the wall and brought it to the woman. She looked at the Wookie weirdly, awed by his strength. It would be enough to kill a man. She slowly took the required bandages and began treating her wound since Chewie had little to no knowledge about first aid.

Obi Wan took out his data pad to study the area. The primary objective was to reach the hangar where the Millennium Falcon was. However, it was far and they were closer to the core. There was also the disturbance and Luke. Might as well help the bombing squad, he knew they had made it out, as an excuse to stay longer and see how things escalate.

A faint distant sound of blaster fire interrupted their short break. Apparently they were closer to them than they thought they were. Obi Wan shook his head. Wherever that man went, trouble would follow. Alderaan was proof.

"Let's go," Padmé said and refilled her blaster, the Wookie doing the same.

"We are just never allowed to rest, aren't we?" Obi Wan sighed. He was trying to ignore his fatigue from the dynamic past few hours. He had a feeling that things were about to get worse.

"I agree," she replied, running beside him towards the sound. "I'm still feeling exhausted from my sleep deprivation."

He widened his eyes at that and slowed down. And the speed and energy she had in the battle just now...

Chewbacca commented on that. "This is one hell of a lady."

"They did that to you? I'm surprised you can keep going," he responded to her statement, worried and checking for signs of weakness in her.

"Ah, don't worry," she assured, gripping her injured arm. "I got a few hours sleep; the Death Star rotates slowly and I had a dose of caffeine before coming to aid you."

"But you're injured."

"It's fine." She put on a calm smile, then sighed. "Though I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want Tarkin dead."

"We're gonna blast him to oblivion."

Padmé chuckled at the Wookie's confident tone. At least one more thing to do, then they would be flee the insufferable Death Star.

He was glad to see her relaxed and optimistic face. However, there was the worry about her reaction when she finds out about Luke. She was already fatigued as it is, and he knew that nothing could stop her from searching for her son if she found out. She has been distressed for several months after that incident...

He decided not to tell her. First of all, he had no clue where the boy was and second, he might have joined forces with Vader (considering he was released from prison.) He had no idea was the Darth was planning but the Force gave him vibes that it was nothing good.

Padmé wanted nothing as such for her child and she had suffered enough. Her eyes were droopy, dark circles were below them and her breath was fast and shallow. Somehow she had a lot of energy, but she looked so weak. Telling her would make her worse. He just hoped Luke was at least alive.

A blast flew past his face. Better think of Luke later.

They caught Han Solo in the middle of a four versus one battle. As soon as the troopers saw them, they directed their fire towards the former Senator, the Jedi and the Wookie.

‘Futile,’ he thought as he swiftly finished them with his lightsaber.

"Are you alright?" The Wookie ran towards his best pal, happily. Finally after long hours, they could finally meet.

"Chewie?" Han called from behind cover to immediately be crushed by his cuddle. "You're crushing me, you big oaf! Yeah, I'm glad you're okay too."

"Is it done?" Obi Wan questioned.

"No," he answered. "These stormtroopers down here are well trained, and annoying to handle. I see you've brought a friend." 

Padmé nodded in acknowledgment and the smuggler awkwardly returned the gesture.

"I find it odd that there are less guards here." He scratched his head.

"Yeah, well, we occupied them," Obi Wan softly answered. "We ran into some sort of trouble. Turns out, your security isn't so secure."

"The Inquisitor?" Han raised an eyebrow. "That's impossible!"

"Maybe not for Sith and Jedi."

"Pfft!" He shrugged in disbelief. "I'll just pass this as luck."

"Um, shouldn't we be going?" Padmé cleared her throat. The men straightened themselves and nodded. The four, objectives in mind clear, continued their quest to set detonators in the core.

Padmé thought that it was exhilarating. She hoped that Leia would reach her decision, that girl looked shaken when she seemed her advice. How would Vader react? He seemed busy and had something on his mind. She closed her eyes for a split second to pray for their lives.

* * * * transition * * * *

The Oracle and Ahsoka stood before the Grand Moff's office. Piles of corpses surrounded them. Ahsoka's body slouched, having spent her energy in purging Tarkin's security. That man liked to have a ridiculous amount of guards.

The woman was thankful she had Ahsoka with her. She had almost no combat skills, and was defenseless but for the Force. She has been only lucky during the incident at the Tantive IV. She felt foolish that she thought she could defeat a Sith assassin, but that was what the Force told her to do.

"I am sorry for making you do this, Ahsoka," she said in a quiet voice, eyebrows scrunched up in worry.

"It can't be helped," the Togruta panted. Wiping the sweat off her face, she destroyed the door to the office and stepped inside.

It was sad that he was not present, but they were not there for assassination. They wanted his security card. Only Vader and him had authority to meet the Emperor. Ahsoka had tried to hack into the elevator to the Emperor's quarters, but the firewall was in her way.

She searched the desk and found the card in one of the cabinets, after slashing it open. She grabbed it and placed it in her belt, happy that the job was no tension. Iaren was pleased that it was successful, and turned her wheelchair around to leave. However, their smile faltered a few seconds later.

"My, my, I never knew Jedi were now thieves."

Ahsoka froze, while the woman beside her put on a poker fade and tilted her head in annoyance at the person. Tarkin stood before them with a whole battalion of troopers behind him.

"And I never knew you were a Jedi stalker," the woman said, her voice laced with spite. She told Ahsoka that the card was fake through eye signals.

"Amusing." Yet his face said otherwise. "Kill them," he ordered, stroking his chin at the satisfaction of them dying. The cocking of their blasters and footsteps of the stormtroopers were heard, while the Gray Jedi stood still.

But they never attacked.

Instead, they yelled out unnatural screams of horror and collapsed one by one, twitching on the floor. Ahsoka could 'feel' faint streaks of purple surrounding them, an effect of the Force-induced fear. Her eyes widened; this technique was new. She turned to her companion.

The Oracle's eyes were closed and her hands gripped the edge of the wheelchair tightly. She was in total concentration; this Force power was her trump card, which she took years to hone. It was a Dark Side power, a terrifying one, capable of scaring people until they went into shock and some cases, death.

He mockingly clapped his hands at her performance. "Wonderful, but you have to do better than that dear, I can resist such manipulations to the mind."

"Tarkin, do you question why are you still alive?" she smirked, stopping her fear manipulation. She nodded at Ahsoka. The Togruta's hands went to her lightsabers.

He noticed the movement and took out his pistol, firing madly at them. Ahsoka deflected all the blasts and stalked closer. The man backed away, step by step, until his back touched the wall. Something was different about Ahsoka Tano, whom he had made an enemy.

Her eyes held a killing intent, but at the same time, pity. He'd be damned if that was how she actually felt.

"You had to deal with only those lax and apathetic Jedi those years ago," the woman continued, her voice gradually becoming menacing. "Unfortunately for you, the fangs of the Gray Jedi are not so gentle. For your sins, you deserve to perish."

"Oh please, if anything I've seen fangs sharper than yours," he snarkily replied. "The Sith are far worse than a Gray."

"True, but they spared you. We will not." She clenched her fist and he was sent to the floor. You could hear his bones crack on impact.

Ahsoka stood before him, brandishing her white plasma blades. Looking at this man, she remembered his offences against her — accusing her of treason, treating her as a lowlife, his movements againsts non-human species — he was an evil to be rid of. 

She lifted her weapon. Her conscience was disturbed. The Jedi teachings that remained in her screamed at her not to do it. Her grip on her hilt shook. She gritted her teeth in frustration. What would Obi Wan say? Yoda? All the past Jedi? She couldn't believe it, after all this time, after all he did, she felt compassion for this human being.

Tarkin was afraid, he wouldn't be a man if he wasn't. He could not move himself, thanks to whatever gripped him tightly. He struggled under the grip. He wanted, he needed to escape. It would be a shameful end. It would be unprofiting, especially when the Empire was at its peak.

The Oracle stared monotonously at the event before her. This was a good sign, the woman had a good heart, but too much of that and she would be in ruin. She left it up to Ahsoka; she needed to resolve this herself.

Did he even deserve such compassion?

All he ever did was cause her pain. When Ahsoka was held on trial, when he had tortured her fellow surviving Jedi, caused multiple people to suffer, and finally, the last and most unpopular, the destruction of Alderaan. All of these were his faults.

In the end, the answer was...no.

Ahsoka knew what must be done. She released a cry, and plunged the lightsaber into his body. His eyes widening at the conclusion, coughing out blood. She sheathed her blade, her breath shaky and her palms sweaty. No matter how many times she did it, she was still not comfortable taking a person's life.

The woman did not react to the entire ordeal and went forwards. She bent down to check the body and search for the real security card. It was in his inner coat pocket and she handed it to Ahsoka who kept it in her belt.

"It's...not over...yet..." he wheezed using his last breath and snapped his own neck.

Ahsoka sensed what he meant and Force-pulled the woman towards where she was. She then ran away from the body and the office.

Tick.

The force of the explosion sent them flying. It shook the entire floor and obliterated anything and anyone within a six-metre radius around it. The women coughed out the smoke, thankful they had the Force to reduce the impact. This was the second explosion that day.

Ahsoka rose from the floor, and wiped off the dust. She fixed the dislocated front wheel of the wheelchair which the Oracle relied heavily on and carried the woman to sit on it. They were both shaken by the explosion of Tarkin's body, but they made it out.

The Oracle nodded at her for her achievement for killing the Grand Moff of the Empire. She nodded back, the nervousness had already dissipated away. She focused on her mission, putting aside her guilt.

* * * * transition * * * *

The elevator beeped, indicating that they had finally arrived after a long wait. Something churned in his pit that made Luke want to throw up.

The darkness was strong there, even more than his father besides him. Its stench was everywhere and he wanted to get away as far as he could from that place.

"Are you ready?" Vader asked, concerned at his son's state.

He took a deep breath to relax himself. He can do it, he can do it. "Let's just go."

****

Palpatine: *hears explosions* Hey! Stop damaging my Death Star! I swear we need to restrain those kids from explosives.

And yes, I got that technique from the KOTOR series.

Blessings of the Lord be upon you all.

Hope you enjoyed this long chapter and that your beloved characters (and OCs) had the right development. Please vote or comment so that I may thank each and every one of you who are reading this book.

If you are confused with the timing, here:

First 1 hour: Obi Wan and Chewbacca were heading towards the tractor beam control. Ahsoka and Han, on the way to the detention levels. Vader's not-so-big reveal to Luke and the Oracle's interaction with Leia. Padmé, sleeping.

For 3 hours: Training (Luke and Vader), Leia researching her family and meditation, Obi Wan and Chewbacca, heading towards the tractor beam control, Ahsoka and Han, disguising themselves to infiltrate the prisons (for the last five minutes of those three hours). Padmé, sleeping.

After 1 hour: Padmé's and Leia's conversation. 

Next 1/2 hour: Obi Wan and the Inquisitor's duel, Ahsoka and Han get caught and later separate. Han, to the core, Ahsoka and the Oracle, heading towards Tarkin's office.

Next 1/2 hour: This chapter starts.

Tiring, I know, (for them.)
_____

“Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall He receive of the Lord, whether He be bond or free.” (Ephesians 6:8)