Harbinger

DISCLAIMER: I don't own him, and I've received no remuneration. I just like to play with him in kinky, kinky ways.
EU/Canon referenced in this section: None, save general GFFA information pulled from various sources. The story part is all shit I made up.

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~ “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things.” ~
-John Stuart Mill
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An hour later, Preitha was taken back in front of General Dodonna. Leia was there, scowling as usual, as was Luke, and several other men she didn’t recognize. Threepio stood off to one side, but Han and the astromech droid, Artoo, were not present.

She could tell from the faces of the rebel officers that they had not been convinced by whatever pleading Luke had done on her behalf. She took a seat in front of them, feeling very much like she had during her evaluations at the Naval Academy, where she’d faced the intense scrutiny of an entire panel of Imperial officers.

“If we were to let you leave,” one bearded, middle-aged man began, “where would you go?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” she replied. “As long as you don’t tell me where you’re going to relocate, I can’t harm your so-called operation in any way. And as I told Luke, there’s nothing to be gained by keeping me here. I don’t ‘know’ anything that could help you, and I wouldn’t tell you even if I did.”

“Spoken like a true Imperialist,” Leia interjected.

“You of all people should understand my position here. After all, did you tell us anything when you were held captive on the Death Star? Did you betray your own beliefs?”

“My beliefs are nothing like yours; and you can’t possibly compare your treatment at our hands to mine at yours, can you?”

“Don’t blame me because you’ve made yourself an outcast, ‘Princess’.” Preitha spat the word as if it were physically painful to utter. “Just because you can’t ever set foot on Imperial Center doesn’t mean that I should be barred from doing so.”

“Why is it, Lieutenant, that you want so desperately to return to Couroscant?” the General asked.

“Where else would I go? To visit my father? Oh, right, you blew him up,” she narrowed her eyes and looked at them each in turn.

“The loss of life in that battle was regrettable,” Dodonna stated, “but necessary. In times of war we must – “

“War?” Preitha forced a laugh. “This isn’t ‘war’, this is treason.”

Leia’s scowl deepened and Luke lowered his gaze to the floor, tracing an invisible pattern in the tile with the toe of his boot. It seemed to bother him that Preitha refused to accept the Rebellion’s point of view. It seemed to bother him a lot.

“It is the position of this Alliance, Lieutenant, that the Emperor is the one who committed treason twenty years ago when he destroyed the democratic state of the galaxy,” the General said. “Consider yourself lucky to have never experienced the oppressive nature of the Empire first hand, as many of us have.”

“What is your goal here, sir?” she asked. “To convert me to your way of thinking? Not going to happen. So kill me, or let me go, but either way I’m done talking.”

The older man sighed wearily. “Take her back to her room, then,” he said to the guards.

Preitha went willingly, and somewhat gratefully. She was tired. Perhaps if she got some rest she would be able to analyze her situation in a new light, and come up with a plan for escape.

Once back in her room, she pulled back the thick blankets of her bed and climbed inside, drawing the covers up to her chin. Her thoughts flashed to Vader. The last time she’d slept she’d been tightly nestled into his arms, and thoroughly contented.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head vigorously, trying to wipe his image from her mind. She didn’t want to think about Vader now, not when she was stuck here, in the belly of the beast, and her dark lover was Force only knew where.

Time passed. Still she remained awake, studying the patterns of light that tracked across the ceiling as the guards’ searchlights swept the grounds of the temple at regular intervals.

She was exhausted, but Preitha fought the urge to sleep, because whenever she started to dream, she imagined herself back on the Death Star… back with him. She’d never thought of herself as a weak woman, but perhaps her father had been right; perhaps she was a fool. Perhaps Lord Vader was her weakness.

The “whoosh” of the door opening jarred her from her thoughts and she sat bolt upright, hands reaching out blindly in the darkness for something – anything – that could be used as a weapon.

“Take it easy, it’s just me,” the shadowy figure said. After a few seconds the sweep of the spotlights illuminated Luke’s blond haired figure.

Preitha relaxed, flopping back onto the bed with a sigh.

“Come for more arm-twisting?” she asked sullenly, avoiding his gaze.

“No. I do hope that one day you’ll change your mind about us, about me, but you’ll have to come to that conclusion on your own.”

“Then what is it that you want?”

He sighed and brought one hand up to rub his eyelids. “The guard shifts are changing in ten minutes. To be honest, it’s not a very organized affair. The hangar will be empty; there won’t be anyone to stop you from taking one of the X-Wings. You’d be in hyperspace before they even knew you were gone.”

Her head snapped up and she gaped at him. “Are you helping me to escape?”

“No. I’m just not stopping you.”

“Why? Why would you help me?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“Your friends don’t think so.” She eyed him curiously. Surely his guilt over that afternoon didn’t run ‘that’ deep; there had to be something else…

“Maybe not, but I do.”

“If they find out you helped me…”

Luke flashed his lopsided grin. “I won’t tell them if you won’t.”

Preitha bit her lip and looked at him sadly. Another piece clicked into place in her mind. She actually liked Luke, she didn’t ‘want’ it to be true; but it was the only explanation that made sense. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

There was a lengthy, pregnant pause. “You need to get going, if you want to avoid the guards,” he said finally, extending a hand to her.

She took it.

Together they stepped into the stone hallway. Preitha saw her four guards slumped haphazardly against the wall, out cold.

“You knocked out the guards?” she asked incredulously.

“Nah, you did.” The grin was back in full force, and this time he winked at her. “I’m not even here.”

She shook her head and smiled. Together they crept down the corridors, sticking to the shadows clinging to the cold stone walls. They saw only one guard, and he was crouched in a corner with his back to them, smoking a death stick. Preitha rolled her eyes.

“Nice security you got here,” she whispered.

“Shh!” he rebuked, squeezing her hand. He pulled her further down the hallway lest the renegade guard decide to investigate the small noise.

Eventually they came to a wide junction, with numerous passages leading off in varying directions. Luke pulled her back into a small alcove.

“Ok,” he whispered. “This is the main passageway here. Take that hall, second from the left; go straight through two junctions, and then take a right at the third one. It’ll lead you straight to the hangar. We keep all the ships fueled and ready to go, in case we have to high tail it out of here. You won’t have an astromech, but you should be okay without one.”

Preitha glanced down the corridor, then back to her companion. “Luke, I… thank you.”

He pressed a small blaster into her palm, briefly tracing the curves of her fingers before pulling away. “Just in case.”

“Get your people out of here, Luke. Do it tomorrow.”

Luke nodded. “Take care of yourself, Preitha.” He turned and walked back in the direction from which they’d come, fading into the shadows. Then he was gone.

She had to move fast. She hadn’t kept strict track of the time, but she knew that her window of opportunity had to be closing. With a final glance in the direction Luke had gone, she turned and ran down the hallway as fast as she could. She kept the blaster drawn and held tight at her waist.

‘What the hell kind of operation is this with ‘no’ guards by the hangar?’ she wondered. ‘Unless it’s a trap…’

Could it be a trap? Preitha supposed it was possible. The rebel leaders could have orchestrated the ruse in order to follow her. If that was the case, though, they were going to be disappointed. She really ‘was’ going to Imperial Center; and she really ‘didn’t´ know anything. She’d take the risk.

The hangar spread out in front of her – rows of X and Y-Wings lined up neatly in parallel columns. She jogged down the first row and selected the ship closest to the open hangar bay doors. A ladder was already set into place near the craft, and a helmet and flight suit lay on the seat inside. She climbed in and straddled the cockpit of the X-Wing long enough to kick the ladder with one foot. The durasteel structure wobbled and clanged as it moved backward, but seemed to end up far enough away.

Preitha dropped into the cockpit and donned the helmet before settling in to orient herself with the control panel.

The controls of the X-Wing differed from those of a TIE, but everything Preitha needed to use seemed to be clearly marked, and relatively user-friendly. She didn’t plan on doing any crack flying or dog-fighting. All she needed was a hyperdrive and a working nav-computer.

She powered up the craft, belted herself into the seat, and performed a rudimentary (and inexperienced) check of her flight systems. Everything appeared to be in order. Preitha took a deep breath, eased the craft forward, then out of the hangar, before lifting up and into the humid air of the moon. When she was at a safe enough altitude she fueled her thrusters and increased her speed until she burst up out of the atmosphere, into open space.

She kept one eye on her proximity sensor, expecting a squadron of rebel crafts to appear behind her at any moment. They never came. Preitha circled the moon once to make sure she was comfortable with the controls before examining the nav-computer.

When the coordinates for the hyperspace route were locked in, the display panel chimed, indicating that calculations had been complete and it was safe to make the jump. Preitha took one final look at the receding glow of Yavin 4 before engaging the hyperdrive. Flecks of distant stars morphed into a blur of lined light.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She’d be in Core space within hours. It was finally over.

******

IMPERIAL CENTER, COUROSCANT SECTOR, CORE SPACE

Preitha dozed fitfully until a shrill beep woke her, signaling that the craft was preparing to drop out of hyperspace. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed two fingers to each of her temples, hoping to massage away the headache that had arrived as she’d slept.



The ship dropped out of hyperspace directly into the Imperial blockade surrounding the Empire’s capital planet.

‘Shit’. She’d been so desperate to get away from Yavin 4 and get back to Core space that she’d ‘forgotten’ about the blockade. She set the transmission frequency of the X-Wing to one of the channels reserved for use by the Imperial Navy, and waited.

“Citizen, identify yourself,” a terse voice announced almost immediately.

“Lieutenant Preitha Motti, Galactic Imperial Navy, sir.”

Did the comm. officer actually laugh? “You are in a rebel spacecraft, citizen. Identify yourself.”

“I just did. Lieutenant Preitha Motti of the Imperial Navy,” she replied. “Identification Number Seven-Oh-Two-Bravo-Nine-Four-Four-Eight-Four. Last assigned location, Death Star Battlestation. Which, you may have heard, is now spacedust.”

There was a pause. “Stand by for verification. I hope for your sake you’re telling the truth.”

Preitha had the urge to respond nastily, but bit her tongue. Truth was, the comm officer was right. She was lucky they hadn’t blasted her into oblivion as soon as she’d dropped out of hyperspace. She ‘was’ flying a rebel spacecraft, after all.

After several minutes of tense silence, the comm. officer's voice returned. “Stay where you are, Lieutenant, a squadron is coming to meet you; they will escort you to the surface. Do you copy?”

“I copy.”

The escort squadron arrived within moments and surrounded her craft in a tight formation. She glanced over at the pilot to her left, who gestured with two fingers, pointing first to the level of his eyes beneath his flight mask, and then to Preitha. His meaning was clear: I’ve got my eyes on you, and I don’t trust you.

The TIEs led her down through the restricted space of Imperial Center’s atmosphere, heading for the naval academy’s main station. As she eased the X-Wing down for landing, she saw a battalion of stormtroopers waiting for her, along with two Navy Commanders. They surrounded her ship as soon as she touched down, guns at the ready.

“Get out of the craft!” one of the officers shouted. Preitha recognized him as Commander Vashlin, one of her instructors at the Academy.

She did as she was instructed, making sure to keep her hands displayed. She wisely left Luke’s blaster inside the ship.

Vashlin stepped forward, watching her carefully as she disembarked. “It’s her,” he confirmed, nodding to his companion. He turned back to face Preitha. “Lieutenant, you’re to come with us.”

She nodded.

The other Commander did not introduce himself, simply turned and began to walk in the direction of the Academy’s main building. Vashlin followed. She fell into step behind the two men, all too aware of the ‘troopers bootsteps at her back.

When they entered the Academy, the ‘troopers disappeared, as did the unnamed Commander. Preitha stayed with her former instructor.

“Lieutenant, I’ve asked that a uniform in your size be brought in. I suggest you change and prepare yourself immediately,” Vashlin stated.

Vashlin grabbed his commlink, speaking into it rapidly as they walked, “Have a uniform in Lieutenant Motti’s size be brought to my office immediately. Size is…” he looked to her expectantly. She gave him her size, and he repeated it into the comm. before replacing it on his belt.

“For what, sir?” All she wanted at the moment was a bath, a nap, and some normal food.

“The Emperor has been informed of your arrival. He wishes to meet with you.”

“Me?” she gulped.

“You are the only known survivor from the Death Star,” Vashlin explained. “Thus far, we have little knowledge of what happened above Yavin 4.”

Only known survivor? Her heart sank. Did that mean that Vader…? Not necessarily, she told herself firmly. It had taken her some time to get back to the Core. He could still be out there.

“Do I have time to – “

“Immediately, Lieutenant.”

******

The Emperor’s palace was a sprawling complex in the heart of Imperial Center’s political sector. The Emperor flaunted his massive material fortune with unabashed brazenness. The ruler of the galaxy had become increasingly reclusive in the time since the Empire was born, and so he used his wealth to mark his presence. Few citizens ever had the honor of meeting the Emperor.

Red guards flanked every door both inside and outside the building. A man who introduced himself as Palpatine’s personal assistant – one of many Preitha was sure – met her at the main entrance. She was led down a labyrinth of corridors to the throne room.

Palpatine was seated in a high, oval backed chair at the far end of the room. His face was swathed in shadows from both his robes, and the chair, making it impossible to make out his features. Preitha walked as close to him as she dared before dropped down into a kneeling stance. She had no idea what to say, or how to act, so she simply waited.

“Tell me, Lieutenant, how you managed to survive the destruction of the Death Star,” the Emperor rasped. His voice was caustic, almost painful to hear.

“I was in a TIE fighter when the station exploded, your Highness.”

“But you are not a pilot.”

“No, sire. I was… given orders to join the battle, and then given orders to retreat. Beyond that, I confess I was not in much of a position to know exactly what happened.” Her knees were beginning to throb painfully, but she didn’t dare move.

“Ordered by my apprentice, Lord Vader?”

“Yes, sire.”

“And what of Lord Vader?” the Emperor asked.

“I don’t know, your Highness,” Preitha answered, keeping her gaze fixed on the floor. “I saw his craft thrown clear of the fuel trench, but I don’t know if he survived.”

“Hm… that is interesting to know, Lieutenant, but that’s not what I was asking about.”

“Beg your pardon, I don’t follow.”

“I was referring to your feelings for him,” he stated flatly. “He took you, did he not?”

Oh. ‘Oh’. “Yes, Highness,” she mumbled, mortified. Another mind-reader, she should have know.

“Do you love him?”

“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly.

“Interesting.”

There was a lull in the conversation, through which Preitha held her breath, silently wishing that he would dismiss her.

The Emperor waved his hand dismissively. “It’s of no consequence, Lieutenant. In fact, I admire your honesty. Keep your feelings, and set your mind at ease – Lord Vader is alive.”

She couldn’t prevent a sigh of relief.

“I have instructed Commander Vashlin to arrange an apartment for you here on Imperial Center while the matter of the Death Star is investigated, after which you will receive your new assignment. For the moment, however, I’d like you to tell me about these rebels you encountered.”