A/N: Just a little bit of background info before we begin. This is set almost a year after the events at Bespin. Han is frozen in carbonite and is being taken to Jabba the Hutt. Lando and Chewie are in the Falcon and are off searching for Han. Luke and Leia are with the Alliance.

This is an au story so it does not follow the canon storyline after the Empire Strikes Back or the EU (although I may end up using a few characters from it).

Obviously, Star Wars does not belong to me. I do, however, own the few planets and OCs that I invented for this story.

I don't have a beta reader so my apologies if there are any mistakes. I checked it as best as I could. Enjoy!

People were rushing around like crazy as Luke strode swiftly down one of the corridors of Home One. There were small red lights flashing on the walls and a voice on the intercom crackling out the required preparations for their impending jump to lightspeed.

Luke rounded a corner and almost crashed straight into a young, dark-haired man in a pilot's jumpsuit who was looking incredibly lost and panic stricken. The man apologised profusely as he jumped out of Luke's way and continued to apologise as Luke rushed down the hallway, not even looking back. But before he rounded yet another corner, Luke paused and glanced back at the pilot who was standing helplessly in the middle of the corridor.

"That way!" he yelled, pointing to one of the side corridors further down. The man gave Luke a smile and rushed off in the direction of the hangar bay, mumbling rounds of thanks as he went.

Luke lingered a moment, hoping the pilot would be okay. He remembered how nervous he had felt the first time he'd flown for the Alliance. The first time was always the worst, but some people just weren't cut out for the kind of pressure such short notice attacks created. Or at least he assumed they were heading for battle. It would be good to find out.

Luke turned himself around and continued on his path, not having to go very far before he swerved into a side room - and once again almost crashed into a number of very busy looking people. At least one of them was familiar this time.

"Leia!" Luke exclaimed as he caught the brunette by the arm. "What's going on?"

"We've received a distress signal from Arka III," Leia explained quickly as they moved over to the main table in the centre of the command room. "We believe it to be from one of our scout groups returning from a mission to Tatooine. The signal implies an Imperial ambush. We're going to help them out."

"Wait a moment," Luke said, holding up a hand and trying to take in all the information he had just been fed at rapid pace. "Arka III? I didn't realise our scout groups were stopping over in that sector."

"They weren't," Leia replied grimly. "Although their preprogrammed hyperspace jump would have led them past there. The Imperials must have used an Interdictor cruiser to pull them out of hyperspace."

"But -" Luke sputtered.

"- that would mean the Imperials knew the route of our ships," Leia finished, pulling up some files on her datapad. "Yes, we know. It's troubling news and it's got everyone in a panicked frenzy."

"Well, that's certainly true," Luke muttered, eyeing the people in the room scrambling around for datapads and other equipment. Some were speaking rapidly into commlinks and others were rushing in and out of the door, obviously carrying important messages to and from other parts of the ship. "So, what's our plan of attack?"

"We'll be making the jump to hyperspace in about…" Leia paused to check the time on her datapad. "Ten minutes. Full attack formation. It won't take us long to get there. The signal was received not too long ago so we're assuming the scouts will still be engaged with the Imperials."

"I see," Luke murmured, picking up a datapad and eyeing the planned course to Arka III. It would take them roughly twelve minutes from their current position to reach the planet and their scout group via hyperspace.

"And speaking of time," Leia said quickly, putting a hand on Luke's arm and guiding him towards the door. "You should be getting to your X-Wing, Rogue Leader."

"Of course," Luke muttered as he stumbled out of the doorway and back into the busy traffic of the corridor.

Leia turned to face him and gave him a small smile. "Good luck and stay safe, Luke," she whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You too," Luke replied, before heading in the direction of the hangar bay and hoping that someone had started preparing his X-Wing for him.

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Luke leaned back in his seat as he watched the stars streak past him, quickly evolving into the mottled blue colour of hyperspace. The jump had been made just in time and they were now blazing straight for Arka III and, most likely, a vicious space battle against the Empire.

Luke chewed absently on his lip as he gazed straight ahead, letting his eyes glaze over and allowing the Force to take him. There was peace in the mystical energy formed from the presence of all living things. It was harder to feel in hyperspace, but it was there nonetheless. It calmed his mind and, soon enough, his body too. The levels of panic on Home One had been almost overwhelming and Luke had been relieved to finally jump into the cockpit of his starfighter, welcoming the solidarity like an old friend. He would've thought that by now the Alliance would have had these short notice jumps down pat. But, once again, he had been proven wrong and the Rebels had struggled to get their act together in time. Sometimes he wondered how the Alliance had even survived this long. It was probably because of Leia. She was always one of the few that could keep their heads clear whenever strife arose. Without Leia, the Alliance would have fallen long ago.

Artoo quickly warbled something, pulling Luke out of his meditation. He glanced at the screen for the translation, skimming the lines of glowing red font quickly. Only two more minutes until they reached their destination.

Luke looked up again at the dizzying pattern of hyperspace. There was a feeling at the back of his mind, gnawing at him, making him feel sick. Something about this was wrong. But he couldn't quite place what.

As he reached for the lever to pull the ship out of hyperspace, he mentally crossed his fingers and hoped that they could handle whatever they faced upon arrival.

Three… two… one. Luke pulled down on the lever and the blue swirls of hyperspace quickly transformed into a streaking starline before coming to an abrupt halt, revealing….

Nothing.

Luke frowned as he gazed ahead of him. There was literally nothing there except for the bright shimmering lights of far off stars flickering against the black of space and the round, green orb that was the planet Arka III. Luke did a double check of his scopes. Yep. Nothing there.

He flicked on his commlink. "Home One, this is Rogue Leader. Do you copy?"

The commlink crackled for a moment, then Leia's voice came through. "This is Home One. We copy. Luke, are your scopes negative as well?"

"All scopes are negative," Luke confirmed, doing a triple check of the equipment in front of him. "There's nothing here."

The commlink crackled again, although this time it was not Leia who spoke, but Admiral Ackbar. "All wings return to Home One. I repeat: return to Home One."

"Copy that." Luke flicked his commlink off and turned his ship in the direction of the large Mon Calamari cruiser.

Yes. Something definitely wasn't right here.

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The doors slid open with a faint whoosh and Luke once again stepped into the white-walled command room. The occupants of the room, to his mild surprise, were actually looking quite calm, although there were a few still rushing around transmitting messages to the rest of the squadron. Leia looked up as he entered and beckoned him over.

"What's going on?" he asked as he stood beside Leia at the table.

"To be honest, we don't know," came the gravelly voice of Admiral Ackbar. The Mon Calamari looked the most stressed out of the group surrounding the table. Through the Force, Luke could pick up on varying degrees of panic, stress and confusion emanating from the military commander. He could understand why. The situation was a mess, although it was not as bad as it could have been.

Luke picked up a datapad and examined the sensory data it was displaying as the Admiral continued to speak.

"All scopes are negative. There are no signs of any Imperial forces, let alone our scout group."

"What about beyond the horizon?" Luke asked, glancing up at Ackbar.

Ackbar shook his head. "As far as we can tell, Arka III's orbit is devoid of spaceships, although we're sending out a squadron to investigate. They should return within the hour."

Luke nodded, frowning down at the datapad. So, someone had sent out a distress signal claiming an Imperial attack and then vanished into thin air, along with the Imperial fleet? It just didn't make sense. Something wasn't right here and he knew it; that nagging feeling from the Force was back. They needed more information.

"You're sure the distress signal was one of ours?" Luke asked, putting the datapad back down on the table.

Leia nodded. "They were using the right code and frequency. We've double checked and triple checked. The signal definitely came from an Alliance ship and it definitely came from Arka III. We just don't know what happened to the ship and its crew."

Luke looked around the table, detecting a strong sense of unease and confusion from most people. Mon Mothma, who was situated next to Admiral Ackbar, looked deep in thought, her brows knitted and jaw tight. Admiral Ackbar was still emanating a great amount of panic and stress, but was doing a pretty good job of not showing it and Leia was being her typical self: calm, confident and clear minded, with a touch of annoyance thrown in due to the fact that they didn't know what was going on. Luke sighed. It was definitely a puzzle.

Behind him, the doors swished open again and a young cadet strode in, his military uniform looking a little disheveled, no doubt from the hectic events of earlier.

"Admiral Ackbar, sir," he said, waiting for an acknowledgement from the military commander. When he received it he stepped forward and continued speaking. "The scanning crews have picked up a signal coming from Arka III. They believe it to be our scout group who must have gone down during the attack."

He handed Ackbar a datapad. The Mon Calamari studied it furtively, then placed it down on the table and looked up to address the group. "We must find out what happened."

The others nodded.

"I suggest we send a small squad down to the surface to investigate," the Admiral continued. There was a slight murmur around the table, then nods of agreement.

Before Ackbar could continue speaking, Luke spoke up. "I'll go," he said. He didn't know what made him say it. It just felt right.

Ackbar nodded. "You would be well suited for the mission. Your skills will be required." He turned to Leia. "And I'm assuming you would like to accompany him, Your Highness?"

Leia nodded. Luke was about to protest but was cut off by a glare from Leia. It was her 'I'm fully capable of looking after myself and making my own decisions, thank you very much' look and Luke knew better than to argue with her when she was wearing it.

Ackbar turned his gaze back to Luke. "I will arrange for a small squadron to be sent down with you."

"No," Luke said quickly. "Just Leia and I - and Threepio and Artoo. We'll need their scanners. No one else."

It was Mon Mothma who spoke this time. "This is a dangerous operation, Commander Skywalker. We do not know what lies on the planet's surface. Without back up you could potentially endanger the mission and the lives of the scouts, not to mention yours and Leia's."

"I understand that," Luke replied. "But I have a strong feeling about this. I will not go down there with a squadron of troops. Leia and I can handle this quickly, quietly and efficiently. You can trust us to do that."

"I know we can," Mon Mothma replied. "So, this is your call, Commander. But know that it will be on your head if anything goes wrong. That scout group is made up of many important members of the Alliance - tacticians and technicians we cannot afford to lose. It will be your responsibility to bring them back safely."

Luke nodded. "I understand."

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"I don't think Mon Mothma was too pleased with your decision about the mission," Leia said as she sat down next to Luke at the control panel of the shuttle. They were almost to the surface of Arka III and Leia could just begin to make out the green, swirling canopy below.

"I don't think anyone was too pleased," Luke murmured in response as he flicked a couple of switches and brought them smoothly through a layer of cloud. A continuous sea of forest opened up before them, clearer now that they had passed through most of the white clouds and mist of Arka III's atmosphere.

Leia hummed in agreement then was silent for a moment as she contemplated her next words. "To be honest, Luke, I don't know whether I'm too sure about your decision either."

Luke glanced at her quickly, his mouth open as if to speak but she cut him off to explain herself.

"It's not that I don't trust your decision," she said quickly. "I trust you with my life, Luke, and you know that. I just don't understand why."

Luke studied her for a moment and she wondered if he was using his Jedi abilities to gauge her honesty. It sometimes made her uncomfortable to know that he could sense how she was feeling. At least she had nothing to hide.

Luke turned back to the console, nodding slowly as he flicked a couple more switches and checked the dials. "I'm not quite sure I understand it either, Leia," he said quietly. "I just had this feeling like I knew it was the right thing to do."

They slipped into a not quite uncomfortable silence as Luke prepared them for landing. Arka III was so thickly covered in forest that the only place that they could safely land was a small clearing located a couple of kilometres from the crashed scout ship. That meant they had a fair bit of walking to do. Leia didn't really mind though. After all the diplomatic work she had been doing for the Alliance, she was quite looking forward to a bit of exercise and a nice view. The only thing that made her a bit apprehensive about the trip was the fact that Arka III was pretty much uncharted. More specifically, there were no records of native flora and fauna, meaning that there could be a number of dangerous creatures or plants out there that they wouldn't even know about.

Leia gritted her teeth. She had been through worse. And at least she had Luke to protect her. Not that she needed protecting, of course; she was fully capable of handling tough situations by herself. Although she had to admit that a Jedi would be much more useful than her diplomatic skills in this situation. She supposed her blaster might not be too much use either, but she strapped it in its holster on her hip nonetheless and chucked a couple of spare power packs in her knapsack before hooking her arm through the strap and slinging it on her back. She looked to Luke, who was doing the same thing.

"All ready?" she asked.

Luke nodded as he tightened the straps of his backpack and moved to the door of the shuttle. Leia sighed internally. He had been quiet ever since she had mentioned her uncertainty about his plan.

She hurried over to the door and put her hand over the release before Luke could get there. He looked at her questioningly when she didn't press it.

"Luke, before we go," she said, looking him in the eye, "I just want you to know that I have faith in you, and in your decision."

"I know you do," he responded quietly, turning to face the door.

"Then what troubles you?"

Luke sighed, dropping his head to his chest for a moment before turning to face her. "I just have a bad feeling about this," he said.

She frowned. "I thought you said this was the right thing to do."

"I did," Luke responded. "And I still believe it is. But my concerns are not about this mission. I've had a feeling about this entire operation ever since we received the distress signal from the scout group. Something's not right here, Leia, and I don't know what it is. That's what bothering me." He paused for a moment as if in deep thought, then his eyes shot straight to Leia's. "Whatever happens out there," he said, gesturing to the door and beyond, "is meant to happen. You must promise me that you'll do whatever I say."

"Luke -"

"Promise me, Leia," he said, his eyes glowing with a mix of emotions that she couldn't quite place. What did he know? What did he feel about this?

"Luke, I don't understand!" she cried.

He continued to stare at her intensely and as he did so, she noticed a particular emotion flutter to the surface: sadness. It was there, hidden in the glimmer of his eyes in the low lighting.

"Luke, what's going on?" she asked, starting to panic now. "What's going to happen? I - I don't understand!"

He reached out and rested his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye. "I don't know," he whispered. "But whatever it is, you must promise me that you'll do as I say."

She continued to look at him, distraught.

"Please, Leia. Promise me."

She nodded, trying to regain control of her emotions. "I promise, Luke," she mumbled.

Luke smiled slightly, although it might have been a grimace warped by the poor lighting of the shuttle. Whatever it was, it was soon gone as Luke reached over and pressed the door release, the glint of sadness no longer present in his eyes but replaced by a calm confidence and grim determination. He looked at her again as the door swished open, then turned his focus on the outside world and climbed out of the shuttle.

Leia straightened her camouflage jacket and paused for a moment to compose herself, then followed Luke out of the shuttle.

She had a feeling she was going to regret this.

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They were about a kilometre in when they ran into their first dilemma.

It seemed that astromech droids were not very well suited to forest travel, especially when said forest was littered with fallen trees, brambles and low-creeping vines, although those problems were easy enough to work through when a lightsaber was involved. No, the issue at the moment was that a certain R2 unit had fallen into a rather large hole and in his attempt to get out, had accidentally set a nearby tree on fire when he had ignited his jet propulsion system. Now there were at least three trees aflame and all were spewing out a noxious-looking, foul-smelling, black smoke.

Luke spluttered as he lifted the front of his poncho to cover his mouth, muttering a curse under his breath. Why hadn't Artoo just asked for his help? They could have avoided this entire disaster and been on their way in a matter of moments. But no. The little droid had once again been over-confident in his abilities and had attempted to free himself unaided.

Luke couldn't help but smile, though. Artoo had such character, and if that smoke wasn't so disorienting, he might have even laughed at the whole situation. He coughed again, harder this time. They really needed to put that fire out before it spread even further.

Artoo whistled and rolled towards the trees, now safely free of the hole. He extended a nozzle and began spraying the flaming trees with his in-built fire extinguisher. Threepio was standing some feet back, yabbering something at the droid but Luke's attention was elsewhere. Leia was crouched on the ground, searching through her backpack and coughing violently.

He rushed over to her and tried to drag her away from the rapidly spreading smoke, but was met with heavy resistance.

"Leia, this stuff's most likely toxic! You have to get out of here," he yelled urgently, pulling her to her feet. He snatched the water bottle from her hand that she had removed from her knapsack and pushed her lightly away from him. "I can handle this. Just get out of the smoke."

Leia coughed again and Luke thought she was going to refuse, but she just nodded slightly and started stumbling into the forest, still sputtering.

Luke turned again to the flaming trees, unscrewing the lid of the bottle and calming his mind with the Force. He took a few deep breaths, using the Force to cleanse his body of the poison and then started forward.

Artoo had already managed to put out one tree but his fire extinguisher was beginning to run low and kept faltering as it was aimed at the next tree. Luke stepped up beside him and threw the water from the bottle onto the trees, using the Force to spread it evenly across the vicious flames. It worked for the most part, but a few branches were still smouldering threateningly. Luke reached out with the Force and summoned his own water bottle from his bag. Being careful to not use all of the water, he put out the rest of the flames in a matter of seconds and then stepped back out of the reach of the smoke, which was still spreading rapidly.

Artoo chirped something at Luke, sounding oddly chipper for a droid who had just set multiple trees on fire and almost poisoned his companions. Luke shot him a glare, although it was hollow. He wasn't angry at Artoo, merely slightly irritated and still feeling a bit woozy from the smoke.

"You need to be more careful, Artoo," he chided. "You know you can ask for my help if you need it."

Artoo warbled something in return, his tones sounding mock offended.

"I don't care about your pride, Artoo. Especially if it endangers Leia and I."

Artoo's response was lower this time, apologetic.

"It's okay, Artoo," Luke responded with a smile, patting the astromech on the head. "I'm not angry at you. Just think before you act in the future, okay?"

Artoo's merry response was drowned out by the concerned tones of Threepio calling Luke's name.

"Master Luke," came the golden droid's voice from somewhere further into the forest. "It's Princess Leia! I believe she's fallen unconscious!"

Luke sprinted off into the forest, pausing only momentarily to collect their backpacks, in the direction of Threepio's voice. He arrived moments later to discover Leia sprawled out on the ground next to the trunk of a very large fallen tree. He dropped to his knees and reached out with the Force to assess her condition, laying a comforting palm on her forehead. She wasn't well, but she would survive. The noxious smoke had infiltrated her lungs and fogged her mind, most likely causing severe hallucinations and balance problems until she had passed out. If she had taken in any more of the poison she would probably be dead.

Luke gently rolled her onto her back and placed his palms over her chest, calming his mind and his body. Then, reaching out with the Force, he began to guide the excess smoke out of her lungs, replacing it with clean, fresh air. Leia coughed violently but did not wake. The poison was still in her system and would take some time to leave - time that they didn't have. If there were any Imperial forces on the planet then they would have been alerted to their position by the thick black smoke which was now rising above the tree tops. Luke gritted his teeth and delved deeper into the Force, letting his focus now lie on the poison flowing through Leia's bloodstream.

Luke opened his eyes suddenly and jerked away from Leia, falling roughly against the trunk of a tree. He looked around, confused. Something had pulled him from his meditative trance, but he couldn't figure out what.

He looked around again, frowning. The droids were standing a couple of metres away, watching him anxiously - well, as anxiously as droids could appear to be. It hadn't been them, so what had it been?

A cough came from in front of him and he quickly turned his gaze in the direction of Leia. She was starting to stir and as Luke reached out with the Force, he could feel that the poison was mostly gone. But he could also feel something else.

He glanced up slowly and motioned for the droids to remain quiet. Someone was coming. But not just one someone - lots of someones. Ten or more, approaching slowly from the direction of the smouldering trees and currently still out of sight. But not for much longer.

"Leia," Luke whispered, shaking her gently. "Leia, wake up."

She groaned quietly, eyelids fluttering for a moment before once again lying closed. She was regaining consciousness. Slowly. Too slow. Luke gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

"Leia," he whispered again, keeping his senses focused on the approaching band of people. He wasn't sure if they were Imperials or Rebels, but they certainly didn't seem to have good intentions; he could feel that as he touched their minds. "Leia, I have to go. There are people coming. They won't harm you, I promise, but I have to go. Trust me, Leia."

He paused a moment to brush some unruly strands of brown hair out of her face, hoping that he was right. Then he got up and turned away from Leia and the droids and the smoking trees and started heading into the forest.

"Master Luke!" Threepio called, as quietly as he could manage. "What about Artoo and I?"

Luke turned back to face them. "Stay with Leia," he whispered, before he disappeared into the forest.

Threepio turned quickly to Artoo. "Oh, Artoo! He's abandoned us!"

Artoo warbled something back, sounding particularly harsh.

"Well, I'm glad you have faith," Threepio muttered, laying a golden arm on the astromech's dome. "But it just doesn't look - Oh my! We're surrounded!"

And indeed they were.

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Leia awoke to something hard jabbing her roughly in the ribs.

"Hey! Cut it out!" she snapped, sitting up quickly and dropping her hand to her blaster. But she stopped suddenly as she took in her current situation.

She was seated on the forest floor, her back pressed up against a fallen tree and surrounding her were ... the Rebel scouts! Dressed in camouflage uniforms, there were about ten or so of them forming a loose circle around her and the droids, with the exception of the one who had been poking her in the ribs. He had stepped back when she had awoken suddenly and now he was pointing his gun at her.

"It's okay," she murmured, raising a peaceful hand in his direction, but then her vision blurred and the world seemed to tilt. She blinked and rubbed her forehead. Now that the adrenaline of being startled awake had passed, she was beginning to feel a bit woozy. It must have been the smoke. The smoke…

Leia looked around but could not locate the trees that had caught fire. She frowned. Where was she?

Then she remembered. She remembered Luke pushing her away from the burning trees; she remembered nodding and stumbling off into the forest; she remembered leaning against a tree for a break; she remembered...

Leia gasped as her vision was suddenly taken by a vivid flashback.

She paused, trying to catch her breath, but instead ended up heaving violently. She doubled over, her hand sliding down the rough bark of the tree. She felt the splinters stab into her hand, felt the blood start to trickle down her palm. But none of it mattered. Not when it was compared to the sight in front of her.

She saw it first out of the corner of her eye; there was a movement in the shadows, not definable, but definitely there. She froze, her blood running cold through her veins as she listened. It was dead silent. Not a creature to be heard, not the rustle of the branches, not even the crackle of the burning trees which were not too far away.

She shivered. The air was growing colder, darker, thicker, choking her, making her sweat and shake. She looked around and then she saw it.

There. Right in the middle of the shadows that were now swirling uncontrolled throughout the forest, right in the middle of the densest, darkest black curls of darkness were two eyes - two glowing, swirling, fiery yellow eyes which glinted with a feral lustre. She gasped and stepped back - only to trip over a fallen tree and land painfully on her behind.

She scrambled backwards, away from the yellow eyes which were growing closer with every passing second. But then her back hit something hard and rough and she knew she was cornered. The eyes lingered just behind the fallen tree that she had tripped over. Their yellow depths burned her, piercing into her very soul. She shied away from them but they were too powerful, too overwhelming. She couldn't breathe. Her vision was going black.

But then they were gone, disappearing back into the swirling darkness from whence they came. The air rang with the echoes of a scream that she hadn't realised she had let out. She gulped in the cool air, taking deep breaths to fill her lungs and calm her down. Her hand fumbled around on the ground beside her for her water bottle. Soon enough her skin brushed against the cold, hard metal and she grabbed for it needily, opening it and tipping it to her mouth. The liquid slid easily down her throat, nice and warm and thick and oddly metallic tasting…. And then she was coughing it up, retching, because it wasn't water. It was blood.

She tossed the bottle as far away from her as she could. But then she saw her hands. The blood was there too - almost up to her elbows. She shrieked and started wiping it on her pants, trying to get rid of the red stain but only making it worse. Then she heard it: the deep, heavy breathing of a respirator - and a very familiar respirator at that.

Leia looked up in horror. And there before her stood Darth Vader, dressed head to toe in black, his dark cape mingling with the shadows from which he stepped. His black, gloved hand was extended towards her and his breathing echoed for a moment before he rumbled:

"Come with me."

Leia bolted - up and over the log she had been pressed up against and into the forest. She ran, looking back every now and then. The darkness was following her. She bounded over another log and whipped her head back to look over her shoulder. The shadows were catching up. They were almost at her heels. She turned her head back to her path but it was too late - she tripped over the large, fallen tree and tumbled onto the ground, her head colliding painfully with a large rock. And darkness took her.

Leia opened her eyes wide. Her breathing was heavy as she tried once again to make sense of her surroundings, although it was proving difficult with her eyes as blurred as they were. She scrunched them tight then opened them swiftly. And found that she was face to face with the barrel of a blaster. She frowned.

"Get up," a rough voice snapped.

She looked to the man holding the weapon and was surprised to see him dressed in a Rebel uniform. But the shock soon turned to confusion as she remembered the situation she was in. Brow furrowed, she glanced around at the circle of Rebels. All of them had their blasters pointed at her, except for two who had their sights trained on Threepio and Artoo. What was going on?

"I said get up!" the man snapped again, grabbing her roughly by the arm and forcing her up off the ground.

"Stand down," Leia said, letting the authoritative tones of her diplomatic training take over. "I am Princess Leia Organa, one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance. There is no need for violence here; I am on your side."

The men didn't lower their blasters. Leia frowned, but she was interrupted before she could ask what was going on.

"We know who you are," said the man in front of her, no doubt the leader of the group.

"Then you will put your weapons down," Leia said with control, not letting her words turn into a command but not diminishing her authority either. She went to raise her hand in a peaceful sign of surrender but was stopped short as the blaster was once again shoved in her face.

"Hand over your weapons, Princess," the leader spat, nodding his head towards the blaster strapped at her hip.

Leia raised her left hand slowly as she moved her right to her hip and undid the clasp. Slowly, so as not to aggravate the man, she grasped her blaster and pulled it out of its holster. The leader snatched it off of her in an instant.

"Bind her," he said, turning to face his comrades and motioning towards Leia. "And put restraining bolts on the droids."

"Excuse me?" Leia asked incredulously as two of the Rebels moved towards her, one of them pulling out a pair of metal binders. "Just what do you think you're doing? I demand to know what's going on here!"

"You're being taken prisoner. That's what's going on here, Your Majesty," the leader sneered. "Our commander wishes to speak with you."

"Your commander?" Leia asked, confused.

The leader nodded. "Lord Vader."

Leia's eyebrows shot skyward. "Vader?" she asked, her voice almost faltering from surprise.

The Rebels with the binders took her moment of shock to snap the metal cuffs around her wrists. She didn't even struggle. If their commander was Vader then that meant…

"You're spies?" she whispered hoarsely.

"You could say that," replied the leader with a wicked smirk. He then turned to the others. "We're heading back to base. Make sure she doesn't try anything and keep an eye out for her companion."

The others nodded and began to head back in the direction they had come. Leia was pushed roughly into line, with Threepio and Artoo close behind. Companion? Oh, of course. Luke.

Leia's blood ran cold. Luke! Where was he? Through her poison induced haze and then the sudden shock at being betrayed she had completely forgotten about Luke. Is this what he had foreseen? That the Rebels they were searching for were actually Imperial spies? If so, then where was he? What was he planning? Then her mind changed track and she suddenly felt sick in the stomach. What if he was injured? What if he too had been knocked out by the toxic smoke?

But then she heard a voice inside her head, echoing and swirling as if murmured through a thick fog. It was Luke's voice and he was telling her that he had to leave but it was going to be okay and she had to trust him.

And she did.

Leia kept her gaze forward as she clambered over various logs and vines, restricted by her binders but still making good time. She just hoped Luke was right.

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Luke moved silently across the leaf littered ground, keeping his distance from the band of Rebels turned Imperial agents yet remaining close enough that he could easily sense their emotions. Or Leia's at least. The Imperial spies, or so they claimed to be, were incredibly hard to read. Every time Luke reached out with the Force he was met with nothing but that same ill intent he had felt when he had first noticed them approaching. He supposed it would be normal for Imperials to have a decent amount of dislike for the Rebels, but he would have thought he'd be able to sense more than that. It was like they were driven only by their hatred for traitors to the Empire. No doubt they would make loyal spies, but Luke just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right about them. A whole band of Imperials posing as Rebel scouts? It just didn't make sense.

And as if to confirm his doubts, that nagging feeling from the Force had returned. It hadn't really left since they had landed on Arka III but it was much stronger now.

Luke continued to track them back to their base, all the while keeping a check on Leia to make sure she was coping okay, which, of course, she was. She had initially been concerned about his disappearance but thankfully she had been conscious enough to hear his final words to her before he had departed and had calmed significantly upon recalling them. Now she was just plain annoyed at being fooled so easily and was wondering how the Imperials had managed to pull this stunt off. But behind her current musings, Luke could sense that she was worried about him. Where was he? Did he have a plan?

Luke recoiled instantly. He had gone too far. Emotions he could handle, but thoughts… He had no right to intrude upon someone's inner beliefs without their permission. To him it felt like a dark side power, although he knew it wasn't. But sometimes he just couldn't help it. Especially with Leia. He constantly found himself slipping past her feelings into her thoughts without realising. It was like they had a connection.

Luke was brought back to the present as the band of soldiers began to slow to a halt. He quickly ducked down behind a tree and peered around the side. The were gathered around the entrance to the crashed scout ship. Or the ship that was meant to be crashed. Luke crept a little closer to get a better look. It appeared that the ship had, in fact, not crashed but had instead been landed neatly in a small clearing just like he had done with their Alliance shuttle earlier.

Luke reached out with the Force to listen in on the small group's conversation.

"Take her into the ship," the leader commanded roughly, jerking a finger at Leia. "And the droids too."

Leia didn't struggle as she was forced up the ramp and into the ship by two strong men, the droids trailing behind her. The leader didn't even watch her go. He turned to the others and continued barking out orders.

"You two," he said, motioning to the two with the biggest blasters, "stand guard. Her companion's most likely not far off. Don't kill him. Vader wants him alive."

"The rest of you, follow me," the leader ordered and turned around, heading into the ship. The Imperials followed, leaving just the two guards outside the ship who moved to the perimeter of the clearing, blasters raised and ready.

Luke smirked. This would be easy.

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"Your plan will not work," Leia said to the leader as he entered the room where she was being held, her voice calm but mild. "I will not tell your commander anything."

"Oh, he knows that, Princess," the leader sneered as he sat down opposite her. "But you will make fine bait for Skywalker."

Leia kept her calm facade in check, but beneath the neutral expression she was beginning to panic. So, Vader was still after Luke. And he might even get him. No doubt, Luke was planning on springing her from her captors but did he realise that Vader was involved in all of this? Done correctly, this situation could easily fall into Imperial control and Luke could be captured. He would never willingly go to Vader, but with the right persuasion… perhaps in the form of a friend held at gunpoint? Leia shook her head. No, Luke would know what was going on. He would know the risks. He wouldn't let the Imperials get the upper hand here.

She looked the leader dead in the eye and asked, "Skywalker?"

"Don't play dumb, Princess. We know you have ties to that rebel scum. He'll come looking for you and when he does, we'll get him."

Leia noticed the smirks on the other men's faces as they looked around at each other and then at her.

"Skywalker's no fool," Leia said, chin raised. "He'll know it's a trap."

"And he'll come anyway," the leader laughed. "Just wait and see, Your Highness."

"Well, then I guess I'll be waiting a while," Leia replied cooly, eyebrows raised slightly, "because Skywalker's currently on the other side of the galaxy. It'll be a week at least before he hears of your betrayal and your dealings with the Empire. It'll be even longer before he decides to come after me."

"I don't believe that for a second, sweetheart," the leader said with a smirk. "He may not be on this planet right now, but I'd bet my ship that he's up there with the Alliance about to be torn apart by the incoming Imperial fleet."

Leia's heart fluttered from relief at the revelation that they didn't know Luke was on Arka III to immediate dread at the mention of the impending battle that the Alliance didn't know was coming.

"I would've thought Vader would want him alive, not blown to pieces," Leia said, keeping up her controlled appearance.

"Oh, indeed he does," the leader said as he leaned back in his chair, the lilt of victory in his voice. Leia clenched her jaw. She very much wanted to punch that smirk off his face but her diplomatic training, as well as her common sense, kept her from doing so. "After Skywalker surrenders and joins the Empire, the Alliance will be destroyed, once and for all."

"Luke will never join you!" Leia grit out, her temper rising. She was useless here, bound and kept under guard. She needed to warn the Alliance. She needed to get out of here.

"He will if your death is the penalty for his refusal." The leader pulled a small blaster from his belt and pointed it at her. "And I'm beginning to tire of your stuck up voice, Your Highness. So why don't you shut it for a bit, huh?"

Leia felt sick. The leader's words were true. Luke would do anything to save her, even hand himself over to Vader. But she couldn't let the Imperials know that.

She opened her mouth to speak again but closed it quickly as the leader placed his finger on the trigger.

"We wouldn't want to splatter your brains too early now would we, Princess?" the leader hissed, his eyes glinting wickedly. "Although, I'm sure it really wouldn't matter. Skywalker will come to us if he thinks he can save your life, so why should we tell him if you're dead? And anyway, I'm sure Lord Vader isn't foolish enough to actually let you go after Skywalker has surrendered. So, let's face it, Princess, you're going to die either way. Do you want it now or later?"

"How about never?" came a voice from the doorway.

Leia froze. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was; she could recognise that voice anywhere. Instead, she watched the man in front of her as he jumped from his seat, blaster raised at the intruder. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to comprehend what was going on. When everything seemed to make sense to him, he turned his blaster back on Leia and inclined his head slightly towards the doorway.

"Skywalker. Nice of you to join us."