The Rise And Fall Of Darth Vader (13 page)

Motti stopped speaking and reached to his throat as Vader made a pinching movement with his own gloved hand from across the meeting room. “I find your lack of faith disturbing,” Vader said.

“Enough of this!” Tarkin snapped. “Vader, release him!”

Although Vader answered only to the Emperor, it was the Emperor’s command that he serve Tarkin on the Death Star. “As you wish,” Vader said as he lowered his hand, releasing his telekinetic grip on Motti’s throat.

Gasping for air, Motti slumped forward onto the table. Tarkin said, “This bickering is pointless. Lord Vader will provide us with the location of the Rebel fortress by the time this station is operational. We will then crush the Rebellion with one swift stroke!”

* * *

After the meeting, Vader was informed that he had an incoming message from the Tatooine system. He had already been notified that Commander Praji’ s storm-trooper squad had learned that the
Tantive IV’s
missing escape pod had carried two droids to Tatooine’s surface, and that the droids had been picked up by a Jawa sandcrawler. Vader walked over to a communications console, where a holoprojector flickered to life and projected an image of two fully armed Imperial sand-troopers standing beside a middle-aged man and woman who wore robes and were kneeling on the ground. Near the four figures, there was a partial view of a structure, which Vader recognized as an entry dome for a desert dwelling.

Addressing the sandtrooper squad leader, Vader said, “Report via closed circuit.”

‘Lord Vader,” said one of the sandtroopers, adjusting a control on his helmet so that only Vader could hear his voice. “The Jawas sold a protocol droid and an astromech to these moisture farmers, but both droids are gone.”

Moisture farmers?
Intrigued, Vader examined the holograms of the kneeling couple and said, “The farmers’ names?”

“Owen and Bern Lars, sir,” the sandtrooper responded. “They say they don’t know where the droids are, but it looks like a landspeeder is missing from their garage.”

Owen and Bern,
Vader recalled. The resolution of their holograms was clear enough that he could make out their worn, weathered features. Neither of them appeared to be comfortable having blaster rifles aimed at their backs. Remembering how they’d looked on the day Anakin Skywalker had met them, Vader thought,
The years have not been kind. It’s time for them to pay for their repeated weaknesses.

“Your orders, sir?” said the sandtrooper.

“Tell Mr. and Mrs. Lars that they seem to have trouble keeping protocol droids on their property.”

Not certain if he had heard correctly, the sandtrooper said, “Sir?”

“Then you may extend to them every courtesy that you showed the Jawas before you continue your search. Establish checkpoints to detain any droids entering Mos Espa or Mos Eisley spaceports. And one more thing.”

“Yes, Sir?”

“Do not stop transmitting until I break the connection.”

“Understood,” said the sandtrooper.

Vader watched the sandtroopers carry out his orders on their helpless victims. He found the sight of rising flames - even holograms of flames burning millions of light years away - to be most satisfying.

When the Lars family homestead had been transformed into an inferno, Vader deactivated the holo-projector. He proceeded to the nearest lift tube, and was quickly transported to sublevel five of detention area AA-23, which was reserved for political prisoners.

Time to talk with the Princess.

* * *

The door to detention cell 3187 slid up into the ceiling and Darth Vader ducked through the doorway, followed by two black-uniformed Imperial soldiers. Inside the cell, Princess Leia sat on a bare metal bed that projected from the wall. Looming over the prisoner, Vader said, “And now, Your Highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden Rebel Base.”

There was an electric hum from behind Vader, then a spherical black interrogator droid hovered slowly into the cell. The droid’s midsection was ringed by a repulsorlift system, and its exterior was festooned with devices that included an electroshock assembly, sonic torture device, chemical syringe, and lie determinator.

Leia’s eyes went wide at the sight of the droid, and Vader could practically taste her terror. She said, “Keep it away from me!”

Vader seized his prisoner, pinning her arms to her sides while the interrogator droid moved in closer There was a brief hiss from the droid’s injector arm then Leia cried out and fell backward, slumping against the cell wall with a thud. “You can’t…” she said. “You c…”

“Your Highness,” Vader said in his most soothing tone. “Listen to my voice.”

Leia’s eyes rolled in their sockets, unable to focus on anything. She stammered, “V-voice…” 

“That’s right. Listen… I am your friend.” 

“Wha… friend?” Leia said, then winced. “No…” 

“Yes!” Vader insisted, watching her plunge deeper into a hypnotic state. “You trust me, you can confide in me. All your secrets are safe with me.” 

“Mmmm?” Leia licked her lips. “Safe?” 

“That’s right, safe. You are safe here. You’re among friends. You can trust me. I am a member of the Rebel Alliance, like you.”

A look of relief swept over Leia’s face as she muttered, “Rebel?”

“What did you do with the Death Star plans? Where are they? The Rebels need to know! Help us, Leia!”

“No,” she moaned, closing her eyes. “Can’t!”

“It’s your duty,” Vader urged. “Your duty to our Alliance. Your obligation to Alderaan and to your father. It’s your duty to tell us where those tapes are!”

“Father?” Leia said, her eyes still shut.

“Yes,” Vader said. “Your father commands you to tell us!”

“Father… wouldn’t.”

Growing impatient, Vader used his own psychic powers to make Leia believe she was in excruciating pain, but after several minutes, he ended the interrogation. He sensed that her inborn willpower was not only formidable but must have been augmented with certain physical and mental disciplines. She would not be broken easily.

Leaving the detention cell, he went to report to Grand Moff Tarkin in the Death Star control room. Vader said, “Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable. It will be some time before we can extract any information from her.”

Just then, Admiral Motti approached Tarkin and informed him that the Death Star was finally fully operational. Tarkin looked to Vader and said, “Perhaps she would respond to an alternative form of persuasion.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Vader.

“I think it’s time we demonstrated the full power of this station,” Tarkin said. Turning to Motti, he commanded, “Set your course for Alderaan.”

“With pleasure,” Motti replied with an evil smile. Realizing what Tarkin intended, Vader surveyed the man with new respect. The Dark Lord had done many horrendous and unpardonable things, but it seemed that Tarkin - at least in this situation - was even more diabolically inventive. However, Vader had one concern with Tarkin’s scheme. “Alderaan is one of the foremost of the inner systems,” Vader said. “The Emperor should be consulted.”

“Do not think to challenge me!” Tarkin snapped. “You are not confronting Tagge or Motti now! The Emperor has placed me in charge of this affair with a free hand, and the decision is mine! And you will have your information that much sooner.”

Vader had long suspected that Grand Moff Tarkin was insane, but it was not until Tarkin had addressed him just then, without a trace of fear, that Vader was left without a doubt. Vader said, “If your plan serves our purpose, it will justify itself.”

“The stability of the Empire is at stake,” Tarkin said. “A planet is a small price to pay.”

* * *

Released from her cell and brought to Grand Moff Tarkin in the Death Star control room, Princess Leia stood against Darth Vader’s chest with her eyes fixed on a wide viewscreen that displayed the planet Alderaan. After Tarkin threatened to destroy her homeworld unless she revealed the location of the Rebel base, she told them that the Rebels were on Dantooine. However, Tarkin was determined to prove that the Empire was prepared to use the Death Star without the slightest provocation.

There were billions of people on Alderaan, including Bail Organa, and they were all about to die. As the battle station’s superlaser powered up, Vader felt the Princess quivering with fear.

You brought this upon yourself, he thought.

The green-beamed superlaser fired at Alderaan, blowing the entire world to oblivion.

After the Princess was returned to her cell, Vader met with Tarkin in the Death Star conference room. Tarkin said, “What of the search for the plans?”

“I am convinced that the Princess sent them down to the planet Tatooine with a pair of droids. A short time ago, a starship made a highly illegal blastoff from the Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine after her crew exchanged fire with a squad of stormtroopers. The ship then entered hyperspace, evading pursuit. The droids in question were thought to be aboard her.”

Tarkin grimaced. “And our stormtroopers were outfought, our Starfleet evaded? How is this possible? Whose ship was it?”

“That is difficult to say,” Vader said. “She had false identification markings and a forged registration. Moreover, she was an extremely fast and elusive vessel, probably one of the smugglers who congregate in that region.”

An Imperial officer entered the conference room and reported that scout ships had traveled to Dantooine but discovered only the remains of a Rebel base that had been deserted for some time. After the officer left, Tarkin exploded with rage.

“She lied!” Tarkin snarled. “She lied to us!”

As much as Vader respected Tarkin’s indifference to mass murder, the Grand Moff s rattled outburst indicated that Princess Leia had clearly won this particular battle of wills. Unable to resist driving a splinter into Tarkin’s demented psyche, Vader said, “I told you she would never consciously betray the Rebellion.”

Tarkin scowled at Vader. “Terminate her… immediately!”

Vader moved across the conference room to a communications console. With his helmet facing the comlink, he said, “Detention Area Security. Schedule the prisoner in cell 3187 for execution in one standard hour.”

“Yes, Lord Vader,” answered a voice from the comlink.

Glaring at Vader’s back, Tarkin said, “I said immediately, Lord Vader.”

Vader was about to respond when a comlink buzzed on the table in front of Tarkin. He pushed a button and said, “Yes?”

From the comlink, an Imperial officer announced, “We’ve captured a freighter entering the remains of the Alderaan system. Its markings match those of a ship that blasted out of Mos Eisley.”

Processing the information, Vader hypothesized, “They must be trying to return the stolen plans to the Princess. She may yet be of some use to us.”

* * *

Vader proceeded to Death Star Docking Bay 327, where a tractor beam had deposited the captured ship. Entering the large hangar, Vader recognized the battered vessel as an old Corellian YT-1300 stock light freighter. He also noted its customized features, including illegal military-grade blaster cannons and an absurdly large top-of-the-line sensor dish on the port side.

Definitely a smuggler’s ship, Vader thought as he walked past the squad of stormtroopers who were guarding the ship.

A gray-uniformed Imperial captain and a pair of stormtroopers stepped down the ship’s landing ramp. Stopping before Vader, the captain said, “There’s no one on board, sir. According to the log, the crew abandoned ship right after takeoff. It must be a decoy, sir. Several of the escape pods have been jettisoned.”

“Did you find any droids?”

“No, sir,” the captain replied. “If there were any on board, they must also have been jettisoned.”

“Send a scanning crew aboard,” Vader ordered. “I want every part of the ship checked.”

“Yes, sir.”

Vader looked up at the ship’s hull. “I sense something… a presence I’ve not felt since…”
Since Mustafar.
Then it hit him.
Obi-Wan Kenobi… He’s alive!

* * *

Nearly an hour after the freighter had been captured, Grand Moff Tarkin was at his usual place in the conference room when Darth Vader announced: “He is here.”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi!” Tarkin said with disbelief. “What makes you think so?”

“A tremor in the Force,” Vader answered. “The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old Master.”

“Surely he must be dead by now.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of the Force.”

“The Jedi are extinct,” Tarkin insisted. “Their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that’s left of their religion.” A signal chimed from the comlink at the console in front of Tarkin’s seat. Tarkin pressed a console button and said, “Yes?”

From the comlink, a voice said, “We have an emergency alert in detention block AA-23.”

“The Princess!” Tarkin exclaimed. “Put all sections on alert!”

“Obi-Wan is here,” Vader said. “The Force is with him.”

“If you’re right, he must not be allowed to escape.”

“Escape is not in his plan,” Vader said knowingly. “I must face him - alone.” He turned for the door. As large as the Death Star was, he knew he would find the elusive Jedi Master.

But first, he would make certain that a homing device was placed on the captured freighter. Although he was confident that Obi-Wan wouldn’t leave the Death Star, he was actually counting on the possibility that the Princess would.

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi, wearing a dirty-brown desert robe with a large cloak, had bypassed numerous stormtroopers and sophisticated security sensors by the time Vader sighted him, entering the dimly illuminated, gray-walled access tunnel that led back to Docking Bay 327. Vader stood in plain sight, holding his red-bladed lightsaber at the ready, blocking Obi-Wan’s path to the captured freighter.

He looks so old,
Vader thought, but knew better than to assume that the white-bearded Obi-Wan had weakened with age. As Vader moved slowly toward the hooded interloper, Obi-Wan activated his own blue-bladed lightsaber.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Obi-Wan,” Vader said, edging closer to the elderly Jedi. “We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete.”