Lucas leaned against the wall of the Falcon. In the quiet that had followed their landing in the mouth of a space slug that Han still didn't believe existed, all the excitement and weariness had had time to catch up to him. And then there was finding out Ben was dead.

Ben and dead weren't words that went together, despite the fact that Lucas had personally threatened to kill him many times over him consistently not remembering that Elton John sang "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" instead of Billy Joel. It just didn't fit.

"Oh, where is Artoo when I need him?" C-3PO muttered, hitting his metallic fist against the wall of the Falcon. As expected, the protocol droid's attempt to converse with the ship had gone awry.

Han walked toward them as Lucas straightened. He wanted to grieve for Ben, to scream and destroy things with Vader's stolen lightsaber, but he couldn't. Not now, not yet. He couldn't believe Ben was dead, couldn't believe his friend was gone forever. No wonder Lumina had been so shaken throughout the entire escape and flight.

Does Leana know? Is she okay, too? Or did she wind up like Ben, crashing and burning in the snow?

We haven't even been in Star Wars that long, and Ben is already dead.

Lucas took in a deep, shuddering breath as C-3PO turned toward Han, looking as flabbergasted as a droid can. "Sir, I don't know where your ship learned to communicate, but it has the most peculiar dialect. I believe, sir, that it says that the negative axis has been polarized. I'm afraid you'll have to replace it."

"Of course I'll have to replace it," Han snapped, turning away.

"Hey, wait for me," Lucas called, running after him as Han approached an access compartment in the ceiling, where Chewbacca was working. Right now, he needed to make himself busy, to keep Ben on the periphery of his mind until they escaped the space slug and the Imperials and...now that Lucas thought about it, there wouldn't be a good time to mourn coming up anytime soon. They would be running, fighting, or preparing to run or fight until the very end.

And that was if they continued to follow the storyline.

Part of our job is changing the storyline, right? Well, swell job we've done so far.

All Lucas could think of were Qui-Gon's words earlier that very same day, and Ben's reply: "You aren't ready to save Star Wars. That is why you are on Hoth. You need to practice, to train. You need to prepare yourself for what you're dealing with."

"We've been watching Star Wars our entire lives. We're already ready."

"Chewie," Han called, holding a coil of wire up to the Wookiee as he looked down at him. "Here. And Chewie, I think we'd better replace the negative power coupling."

Chewbacca took the wire and barked in reply.

Han pivoted and headed into the circuitry bay, Lucas trailing behind him. Leia and Lumina were in there, Leia fixing a valve while Lumina finished up examining some wiring, checking it for any breaks. She looked up as the guys entered, her brow furrowed in concentration. Lucas stepped over to her as Han approached Leia from behind.

Leia switched her attention from a valve to a lever as Han stood behind her, his arms coming around her to grab the lever. Leia started and threw an elbow back, forcing Han back a step. "Hey, I'm just trying to help," he protested.

"Your help isn't wanted," Leia fumed.

"Really, your Worshipfulness?" Han asked, lifting his hands defensively. "All right then."

"Would you please stop calling me that?" Leia asked.

"Okay, Leia," Han replied.

"Oh, you make it so difficult sometimes," Leia muttered, still trying to move the lever.

Lucas furrowed his brow slightly. Throughout the day, he'd been noticing that some conversations stuck to the script, while others varied in some way or another. This one was yet another example, containing mostly the original lines with a few that differed in some way.

Is that because of us being here?

"I do, I really do," Han said. "You could be a little nicer, though. Come on, admit it, sometimes you think I'm all right."

Leia cursed under her breath as her knuckles scraped against the lever. She turned away, gritting her teeth. "Occasionally, maybe, when you aren't acting like a scoundrel."

"Scoundrel?" Han echoed, stepping closer to her, his fingers finding hers. "I like the sound of that."

Leia dropped her eyes to their hands, still connected. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Stop that!" Leia repeated. "My hands are dirty."

"My hands are dirty, too," Han replied. "What are you afraid of?"

"Afraid?" Leia echoed.

"You're trembling."

"Gag me," Lucas muttered, and Lumina stifled a laugh.

"I'm not trembling," Leia insisted.

Han moved closer to her. "You like me because I'm a scoundrel. You don't have enough of them in your life."

"I like nice men," Leia replied softly.

"I'm nice," Han said.

"You're –" Leia started.

Then Han kissed her, interrupting her. It was like they had forgotten Lumina and Lucas were still in the room. The two friends exchanged a glance as C-3PO stepped in. "Sir, sir. I've isolated the reverse power flux coupling." Then he noticed the couple kissing. "Oh my. Excuse me."

C-3PO quickly left, Lucas and Lumina following after him.

****

Ben sat on the metal bench in his cell, shoulders hunched. He held the remains of his lightsaber hilt in his hand, turning the pieces over.

Vader thinks I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader thinks I'm the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. There's only so long I can keep up this charade without the Force.

There's only so long until he realizes I'm not Obi-Wan, but just some random kid with red hair and bad flying skills.

Ben sighed, tucking the lightsaber pieces into his flight suit pockets. The hilt was just another reminder of his failure. The cell was an even bigger reminder.

What's going to happen to me now? Vader says he wants to kill me! Well, he wants to kill Obi-Wan – who he thinks I am.

He leaned back, resting his head against the hard wall of his prison cell. What do I do now?

****

"Lord Vader, sir!" Captain Dan saluted the Sith Lord, standing at rapt attention. "Incoming transmission from Captain Needa."

"I'll take it on the bridge," Vader said, stalking past the captain. The young Imperial followed him. He was obviously dedicated to the Empire – though out of wholehearted belief in its values or through a desire to move up the ranks a little bit faster, Vader didn't know. Or care.

The hologram of Captain Needa shimmered into existence as he recounted the TIE fighters' chase of the Millennium Falcon through the asteroid field. "And that, Lord Vader, was the last time they appeared on our scopes. Considering the amount of damage we've received, they must have been destroyed."

Vader narrowed his damaged eyes at the hologram, although Needa did not see his expression, only the menacing mask. "No, Captain, they're alive. I want every ship available to sweep the asteroid field until they are found."

"Yes, sir," Needa replied, his hologram fading. Behind Vader, Dan cleared his throat and the Sith turned around to see Admiral Piett approaching.

"Lord Vader, the Emperor commands you to make contact with him," the admiral said.

I wonder if this has anything to do with what Obi-Wan referred to, about the Emperor killing me.

Vader brushed off that thought. He had always known his apprenticeship to Palpatine was time limited. After all, it had been Palpatine who had given him the orders, back when he had hair, could breathe without a respirator, and had gone by the name Anakin Skywalker, to kill Dooku, his former apprentice. "Move out of the asteroid field so we can send a clear transmission, Admiral Piett."

"Yes, Lord Vader," Piett replied, glancing to Dan. "Give the order to move out of the asteroid field, Captain."

"Sir, yes, sir," Dan replied, snapping to attention again as Vader strode away, heading for his personal chambers.

He took the long way, passing by the cell that had been given to the redheaded Rebel, the supposedly younger, clumsier version of Obi-Wan Kenobi that lacked one tenth of the Jedi Master's strength.

And he had claimed to come back ten times stronger.

Vader frowned. There was something off about that kid. Although he did bear a slight resemblance to the young Obi-Wan he had first met on the J-type 327 Nubian starship leaving Tatooine, the kid lacked any finesse or ability with the lightsaber or the Force. Vader had sensed nothing from him, only that vague sense of confusion. But despite his inability to remember their fight on the Death Star or having trained him as his Padawan, the Rebel did remember other things – telling Vader not to lose his lightsaber back when he was an apprentice, having cut off his legs on Mustafar, and their conversation, years ago, about Vader minding his thoughts concerning Padmé.

Vader reached his chambers and activated the hologram scanner to receive Palpatine's message. The Emperor's face appeared in the air, formed from the blue light as Vader dropped to one knee. "What is thy bidding, Master?"

"There is a great disturbance in the Force," Palpatine commented.

"I have felt it," Vader replied. "Four beings are causing it. I have met three of them, but the fourth still eludes me."

Palpatine's brow furrowed. "Four? I thought there was only one?"

"No, there are four," Vader said. "One is stronger than the others, but they are all causing the disturbance. Who were you referring to?"

"Luke Skywalker, of course," Palpatine replied, sounding annoyed. "Are you sure these four are really causing the disturbance in the Force?"

"Yes," Vader said. "How did you not know about them? Their arrival caused a huge backlash in the Force."

"Must have missed that," Palpatine muttered. "Maybe they arrived during my yoga session. I always tune out during yoga. Anyway. Tell me about the four."

"One of them tried to have a conversation with me like he knew me from somewhere," Vader started. "Perhaps an old Jedi acquaintance? Otherwise, I have no clue who he could be."

"The nerve of people, trying to strike up conversations with people who obviously are too busy for them," Palpatine said. "Who else?"

"A girl," Vader said. "She didn't do much."

"And the other two?"

"One of them is particularly powerful in the Force – I have not met that one yet. But the last is, I believe, the reincarnation of Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Palpatine disappeared from sight and Vader heard something hit the ground with a thud. He frowned, waiting, as several seconds passed before the Sith reappeared, his hood disheveled as he rested his arms on the edge of his desk, looking annoyed again.

He must have fallen off his chair again.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Palpatine asked. "Are you sure?"

"Sort of," Vader confirmed. "He seems to lack connection to the Force, but he is aware of the past, despite some initial confusion. Obi-Wan told me, before I struck him down, that he would return ten times stronger. It seems he has, indeed, returned."

"And has he ten times the strength?" Palpatine demanded.

"Not really," Vader confessed. "He kinda sucks."

"Perhaps the process of coming back from the dead caused Force blindness?" Palpatine suggested. "It happened before, to Ulic Qel-Droma years ago. He never regained his powers."

Obi-Wan is permanently powerless, then. "That could explain it."

"Well then," Palpatine said, sitting back and straightening his hood. "Back to who I intended to talk about: Luke Skywalker, the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star, my oh so beloved Death Star. I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker."

Stunned, Vader stared at the holographic Emperor. "You think he's my kid?"

"Well, you did blow up a starship on your galactic debut," Palpatine remarked snidely. "Like father, like son?"

"How is that even possible?" Vader questioned. "You told me...you told me Padmé died on Mustafar."

"Don't worry, she is dead," Palpatine assured him. "But, uh, I may have been a bit off with the time of death."

"What?" Vader demanded.

"It was a chaotic time!" Palpatine said defensively. "Search your feelings, though. You will know this to be true. He could destroy us."

"He's just a boy," Vader pointed out.

"Again, the starship you blew up when you were nine," Palpatine said. "Kids are dangerous. We must make sure the son of Skywalker receives no Jedi training."

"Well, Obi-Wan is locked up," Vader told him. "And deprived of a lightsaber, so. That's a point in our favor."

"It is, indeed," Palpatine said. "What have you decided to do with the old coot, anyway?"

"He's currently in a prison cell," Vader said. "He has no powers or anything."

"Give him a babysitter and let him watch us end the Rebellion," Palpatine directed. "Rub it in his face a little. But do not let him out of your sight! Okay, now back to Luke."

"If Luke could be turned, he would make a powerful ally," Vader said, thinking back to Obi-Wan's words about the Emperor later killing him. Before three years time, I will die. With my son at my side, I can prevent that.

"Yes," Palpatine said. "Yes, he would make a great asset. Can it be done?"

"He will join us or die, Master," Vader promised.

"Like father, like son," Palpatine chuckled. "Just make sure you do it before the backup apprentice draft is scheduled. It will be a struggle to get our hands on him then."

And with that, the connection was severed.