A/N: I cannot believe I've done this to you. I am so sorry that I just cannot update this at a steady pace. My last author's note said that this is getting a bit out of my control—and it is. I'm trying to make sure that I don't write myself into a corner, because I do not want this to end up abandoned. I had a very clear vision of this story when I started, and somehow Luke has gotten a bit out of hand. Seriously, I can't seem to lock his character down. If I don't end up editing the next few chapters significantly… you'll see what I mean.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Luke still had his back against the lift wall when the door opened onto the one-hundredth level. Thrawn and Moloch stood, each with their hands clasped behind their backs, waiting in the corridor. Vader immediately stepped out of the lift, then paused and looked behind him, irritated. Luke reluctantly followed his father into the corridor. He focused on his boots.

Moloch dragged his tongue over his lower lip. "I do hope that you found that simulating, Milord."

Luke looked up and started when he realized that Moloch was looking at him, not his father.

"What did you call me?" he asked hoarsely.

Thrawn turned his crimson eyes to the Dark Lord and said, "Palpatine has passed, my Emperor."

"How long until we release this information and bring on the storm?" Vader asked.

"Seventy-two hours at the most. Ideally, forty-eight."

Vader nodded.

The group began walking down the corridor; Luke was still looking at Moloch. "What'd you call me?"

The air was thick with a choking sweetness that seemed to cling to the back of the throat; one could almost feel the air strangling the life out of each cell in the body. The rolling and coiling smoke made the eyes burn and the senses sway, but one had to stay focused. The clubs on the lower levels of Coruscant were virtual deathtraps. The clientele consisted of bounty hunters, murderers, drug traffickers, slave traffickers, and the occasional soon-to-be-dead idiot who wandered in.

That's what Han felt like- a soon-to-be-dead idiot.

He, Leia, and Wedge had joined up with Chewie and the Rogue Squadron pilots who insisted on finding Luke. They'd rented a cheap room, and then Han, Wedge, and Leia set out into the bowels of the city-planet to see what they could find out about what was going on. Han didn't want to attract unwanted attention, so they found a booth in a quiet corner, ordered some drinks, and waited.

"What are we looking for?" Leia whispered into his ear.

"We'll know it when we see it, sweetheart."

Leia poked at an ice cube bobbing in her fruity mixed drink with her straw and propped her fist against her cheek. Yes, the Coruscant night clubs were scary, but she was also bored out of her mind.

"I have it on good authority that the old man is about to croak," a raspy voice said from the next booth over.

Han motioned for Leia and Wedge to be silent.

"What of the rumors about Vader?"

Leia raised her eyebrow at Han, who was casually sipping at his Corellian Ale.

"What've you heard?"

"Vader returned yesterday with two of the Ascendancy. There are also rumors that he's found an heir."

Leia, Han, and Wedge shared serious looks.

There was a stiff silence for a moment before the first voice hissed, "Vader cannot be allowed to take the throne. We have no chance of securing control over the government with him in the way."

Leia and Han exchanged a very grave look as the other voice whispered, "We need to eliminate his heir. That will confuse matters enough to allow us to topple the populace's confidence in Vader's succession."

There was a moment of silence before the first voice said, "Do we know who this heir is? Or his relationship to Vader?"

"No. Nothing."

"Find out."

Leia glanced between Wedge and Han and mouthed, "We need to get to the palace."

"Why can't we get a lead on these people and find them?"

"They consistently flesh out and kill our agents, Highness," Thrawn answered patiently.

Thrawn and Vader had been discussing the secret plot to overthrow the Empire in the wake of Palpatine's death for hours. They knew of the plot but had no idea who was behind it, how many of them there were, or even if it was a viable threat. Vader knew that the Empire was in a vulnerable position, and he refused to take any chances.

Moloch was at attention, listening to his father and Vader mull over the little information they had. Luke was curled up in a chair half asleep.

"Luke, does this plot sound like something that the Rebels would be capable of?"

Luke glanced up as his father addressed him; he blinked a few times to focus. "They didn't even know that Palpatine was dying," Luke replied.

"Could they have concealed their knowledge of this from you?"

Luke stared at Vader for a few moments, considering the question, then reluctantly replied, "Yes."

"Princess Leia might have such knowledge."

Luke's head jerked, and he stared at Moloch in disbelief.

"Calm down, Luke. The security cameras recorded the entire exchange on the landing platform. Moloch has not betrayed you," Vader reassured him.

Luke stood up from his chair and stretched, then walked over to the schematics table that the others were seated around. He pulled out a seat and settled into it.

"What happens if this threat is real?" Luke asked softly, for the first time sounding interested.

Vader looked at Luke for several moments and then said, "They kill you. While I try to regain order, they move in and take power. The group is most likely headed by a powerful politician or military head."

Luke's face remained serious. "What if they can't kill me?"

"Then we still have our concentration divided trying to protect you."

Luke sat back in his seat, his knuckles against his chin. It had only been yesterday that he had snapped and dove from a balcony because he was forced to admit that Darth Vader was his father, a truth that he had been carrying with him for weeks, if not his entire life. In comparison to that, the fact that his father was the new Imperial Emperor and he was his heir seemed inconsequential. Now, not twenty-four hours later, he felt like a different person. His idealism had melted into a determination to dispel his naiveté and help the galaxy. No more drawing lines between good and evil, black and white, Empire and Alliance. He was going to learn from these three intelligent and powerful people, one his own father; he was going to accept the guidance and wisdom they offered, and he was going to make a difference. He knew he was still being a bit idealistic, but it had only been twenty-four hours. Fourteen of which he spent demanding impossible and insulting questions of his father. Where had he been? Who was his mother? Was he abandoned? How had he ended up in that blasted suit? And then he realized, as he watched his father's demeanor, that he was being childish and cruel. And that's when things changed.

Luke rubbed his hand over his eyes; he was trying to pay attention, but so many hours of deliberating over fragments of intelligence by Vader and Thrawn had left him nearly comatose.

"Leia is still on planet," he said slowly. "I can try her commlink, she must have it on her."

"Can we trust her?" Moloch asked.

Luke smiled, "With my life."

"I don't understand how we're supposed to get into the palace. That place is locked down tight," Han said as he balanced on his elbows and peered at all of the access points he could find with his micro-binoculars; there were an uncanny amount of stormtroopers posted at every one of them.

"We have to warn Luke," Leia murmured, mostly to herself. They all knew they had to get to Luke. They didn't quite know what was going on, but they knew that Luke was most likely in danger. When wasn't he?

"Well, it's not like we can just stroll up and say, excuse me? May we please speak to..."

Leia's commlink beeped. She pulled it from her belt and answered it. She was quiet as she listened to the voice on the other end. Then she said, "Luke?"

They stood on the rooftop of the one of Coruscant's countless malls. With traffic constantly coming in and out, and passengers being picked up and dropped off, no one was bound to notice three humans rendezvousing with an Imperial-issued speeder.

Leia stood near the edge of the roof, looking out over the city. The lights rising from the buildings and countless speeders made it seem like it was day, but when Leia looked straight up, she could barely make out the pattern of the stars littering Coruscant's night sky.

"Did he say who was pickin' us up?" Han asked, sitting on the back of a bench with his feet on the seat.

Leia shook her head, "No, but I have a funny feeling I know who's coming."

Han raised an eyebrow. "You gonna share, sweetheart?" he asked, just as a black speeder came to a graceful and gentle halt beside Leia.

She waved her hand for Han and Wedge to follow her as she stepped up to the speeder. The door hissed slightly as it released, revealing a very comfortable interior.

Han ducked down and looked in at the driver, "Oh. It's you."

Leia rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the shirtsleeve, dragging him into the speeder behind her. Wedge followed and pulled the door shut behind them. The speeder immediately pulled away from the roof before the three could fully settle in. Han fell against Wedge as he was trying to adjust his restraints.

"Hey! Watch it, buddy!" Han yelled.

Moloch smirked and banked hard; he was rewarded with a string of creative Corellian curses.

The palace wasn't far, but Moloch didn't want to take a direct route. He glanced in the rearview mirror as Han leaned forward.

"Um, where're we goin'?"

Moloch's crimson eyes shifted onto the smuggler in the mirror. "We're being followed," he replied coolly.

His three passengers craned their necks around and looked out the small rear window.

"That other black one?" asked Leia.

Moloch nodded.

"It looks like an Imperial speeder like this one. You sure they're not on escort duty?" Han asked.

Moloch ignored the implication that he might need backup to pick up three humans from a mall. "I am sure," he replied.

Suddenly, all of the lights went out in the speeder, including the headlights, and the speeder dove through an oncoming lane of traffic into another lane.

"Whoa! What happened? Did he shoot at us?" cried Han.

"No," Moloch replied simply. "I'm losing him."

"You can't see! Turn the lights on!" Leia cried desperately.

Moloch didn't even flinch as he dodged around a lumbering public transport. "I can see quite well. Thank you, Highness."

The Chiss brought the speeder into a near impossible barrel roll, plowing through traffic with no lights and three screaming passengers. He pulled into yet another current of traffic between two other black, Imperial issue speeders. He slowed and turned the vehicle's lights back on. The speeders in front and behind jerked at the sudden appearance of the vehicle.

Moloch glanced behind him at the backseat; Leia had her head leaned back and was staring at the ceiling, Han kept looking behind them into the traffic, and Wedge had his head between his knees—he looked like he might be sick.

When Moloch finally brought the speeder around and lowered it into one of the numerous palace landing-pads, his three charges were silent, perhaps sick from the trip or too terrified to speak. The Chiss leaned forward and peered into the night down onto the landing pad, where he could make out a figure. He unfastened his restraints and cursed.

"What is that foolish boy doing out here?" he muttered, pushing open the speeder door.

Leia climbed out after him, despite the fact that she had to scramble into the front and over the driver's seat to do so.

"Luke?"

Luke stepped out of the shadows, a shy smile adorning his face and his hands jammed in his pockets. His face glowed at the sight of his friends climbing out of the speeder. He refused to meet the Chiss' eyes.

"You should not be in the open!" Moloch hissed as he rounded the speeder to stalk towards the young man.

Luke crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "Stop acting like I can't take care of myse—"

Luke's retort died as a blaster bolt landed a meter from where Moloch was, sparking against the concrete landing pad. The Chiss did not pull back or show any signs of alarm; he merely continued forward, glaring at Luke. Luke took the unspoken command and began backing away from the landing pad, back towards the safety of the palace. Just as he turned to run the remaining meters, a compact speeder dropped from the sky and cut off his exit. Luke stumbled back, but it wasn't enough to evade the burly man who leapt from the vehicle and grabbed him in a perverse bear hug and dragged him into the speeder.

The following moments moved in slow motion for Luke.

He heard Leia scream his name and even caught a glimpse of her and Han running towards the speeder. The brief glance was obscured moments later by Moloch's body. It took Luke a second to process that Moloch had closed the distance between himself and the speeder and then had thrown himself into the vehicle which was now climbing away from the roof. The Chiss' body slammed into Luke's abductor, throwing the man into a wall. The man slumped down, unconscious— or dead.

Luke stared as Moloch rose and shook himself. His eyes were unfocused and burned in the dim light of the speeder. The Chiss pushed Luke against the back of the vehicle as he moved towards the driver. There were two men in the front of the speeder: the driver and a passenger. The passenger was turned in his seat with a blaster aimed at Moloch's face.

"Take a seat, sweetheart," the man snarled.

Moloch raised an eyebrow at the man.

And he fired.

Luke watched in horror as the Chiss collapsed at his feet. The man then pointed the blaster at him. Luke had a moment to realize what had happened before the stun blast hit him too.