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Description
(Take Your Rebels to Work au)

When the doors opened Leia had already sensed the suddenly unshielded presence -- He shielded! That skulking sonovavronskr shielded! Since when does Darth Vader shield?! -- and had approximately twenty seconds to move.

The doors opened and Leia did the one thing Obi-wan had repeatedly told her not to do.
She dropped her shields.
Darth Vader rose from the end of the table, started to speak. Leia threw her hands out to the sides and pushed. The stormtroopers stumbled, and many of them fell. Han and Chewbacca didn't need to be told what to do. Han started to run, then realized Leia was still keeping the troopers immobilized.

"Go." She offered him a watery smile. "I love you. Was afraid I wouldn't get to tell you."

"I knew," he croaked. He swallowed hard. "I'm coming right back for you. Promise." Then he grabbed Lando by the collar and ran.

Vader had left his seat now, and Fett had lit out after Han and Chewbacca. Leia kept her focus on the troopers until the Sith rounded the edge of the table and began to walk towards her.

"Princess-" he began, but Leia was not about to stay and talk. Luke had tried on Hoth, and whatever Vader had said had shaken him.
He hadn't even told his own sister, and that disturbed Leia.

She released the troopers and took off running. She had no idea where she was going, and didn't really care so long as it was away. The Force would probably lead her to the Falcon eventually. It usually did. Heavy footsteps echoed behind her and she caught the edge of a doorway, swinging around and dodging startled guards.

"Miss, don't!" One of the hapless men said, "That's the carbon freeze chamber!"

But at the moment, Leia was a little too distracted by the glaring fact that her twin brother had just entered the atmosphere. What is he doing here?! He does realize this is a trap, doesn't he? Oh Force, what if he doesn't? HEY FLYBOY, GET OUT OF HERE!

Don't fight him! Hide until I get there!
Luke sounded urgent. More than that, he sounded frightened, which was really the only reason Leia listened. She dove through the doorway to the carbon freeze chamber and darted into the shadows.
They wouldn't hide her for long, but perhaps it would work until Luke could get there.

The hiss of steam and other gases almost drowned out the metallic breathing of her pursuer. Leia crouched in the darkness and waited.

********

Luke had been lucky to escape Vader on Hoth. Rushing to face him again was probably suicidal, right? Master Yoda certainly seemed to think so. And Obi-wan had looked absolutely terrified by the idea. When Luke had insisted that Leia was in danger, Obi-wan had hugged him and told him to do what he could, but to be wary of Vader and of the Dark Side.

"Please come back, Luke, both of you," he'd begged, "I can't be the last one, I can't."

Hoth had been...well, Hoth had been hard. Brashly, Luke had confronted the Sith in a room full of debris.
"You know who I am," he'd said.

"Yes," Darth Vader had answered.

"Did you kill Anakin Skywalker?"

"I did not."

Luke had lifted his chin defiantly, aware that Vader wasn't lying but not sure how much was "from a certain point of view". "Do you know how he died?"

"Child." Vader had seemed conflicted, eager and apprehensive all at once. "He has not died. Not yet."

And oh, there'd been a surge in the Force then. A warning, a declaration, a revelation.
Luke hadn't been ready for it. He should've been demanding that Vader explain himself. Should've pressed for information. But he'd fled. He'd had an inkling of what was to come and he couldn't face it, not then.

Now he was going to be forced to face the truth, he knew. There was no other way. Luke knew he had to keep his sister from engaging Vader in combat before one of them did something that all three would regret for the rest of their lives. Once he landed the X-Wing, he didn't even stop to get Artoo down. He scrambled out of his flight suit and ran as fast as his legs would take him, letting the Force guide his steps.

He found his sister in the carbon freeze chamber, having run out of hiding places. Darth Vader stood less than two yards from her. The great black helmet swiveled, and Luke had the uncanny sensation that the sith's eyes had found him despite the shadows.

"Your sister and I wondered when you'd join us," Vader said simply.
He knew!

Deciding there was nothing for it, Luke climbed the stairs slowly, watching them. "Leia, are you okay? Where's Han and Chewie?" he asked, ignoring Vader for the moment.

"Safe, they got away. But Han's an idiot so he might come back for me," Leia sounded like she was trying very hard not to let emotion overcome her.

"Well he's your idiot," Luke tried to sound lighthearted as he carefully placed himself between his sister and his...well he wasn't going to jump to any conclusions until the man said something.

Leia's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing, Luke?" she asked in a low voice, "Whatever it is, it's about what happened on Hoth, I can tell. What aren't you telling me?"

Luke struggled to keep his composure. His breath hitched and he clenched his fists. "He...he didn't kill our father, Leia. He told me-" his voice cracked and he was hard-pressed to keep tears from his eyes. "He told me our father is still alive."

He felt a surge of desperation from his sister as she whispered, "This...no, he's not...that doesn't absolve him of his other crimes."
She was beginning to sense what he'd been trying so hard to deny.

"Search your feelings, young one," Vader said softly -- almost gently -- "You will know it to be true."

Luke took a step forward, shaking almost uncontrollably, and ignored his sister's gasp of protest. Swallowing hard, he spoke.

"Do you intend to have us executed, Lord Vader?"

The armored giant physically recoiled, as though he'd been struck. "Most certainly not!" he snapped.

"Then why are you hunting us?" Leia challenged.

Vader grew still. "I suspect you know why."

Luke gritted his teeth and took another step closer. "Say it," he hissed, blinking rapidly to clear his sight, "Out loud."

Vader dipped his helmet in something like a gracious nod. "Very well. I did not kill your father. I am your father."

Leia made a little, heartbroken gasp and covered her mouth, shaking her head. "It's a lie, it's a lie!" Her protests died away into the sounds of muffled tears.

Luke shut his eyes, having suspected the truth and yet having still not been prepared to hear it. "Is that why you didn't kill me on Cymoon? Or Leia on Vrogas Vas?" he asked dully.

"It is," the man -- their father? -- answered, and he took a hesitant step forward. "I have hidden your existence from the emperor for the last three years, but now he knows of you, Luke. He demands that you be trained in the ways of the Sith or else destroyed."

Setting aside that particularly disturbing thought, Luke found himself focusing on the first part of that sentence.
"Only three years? Were we not worth the effort to hide prior to that?" he asked a little bitterly. Of course, it might've simply been that they'd been well hidden, but something in Luke needed to know why their father had bothered to seek them out after over twenty years of silence.

He hadn't realized he'd been crying until black leather barely brushed against his cheek, carefully wiping away a tear.

"Luke, no," Vader sounded as though he were having difficulty articulating what he wanted to say. "I was...the Jedi...it was made to look as though you had both perished when your mother died in childbirth. The galaxy believed it. I believed it. I...I did not know until after the Princess contacted you aboard the Devastator, when I tested her blood on the Death Star."

"You let them murder my family, my home, everything I loved," Leia's voice shook, and her anger swirled in the Force around them. "You did nothing."

"I know." He said it simply, and there were too many emotions in the room to read his intent behind it. "I could not bring myself to interrogate you without knowing for certain whether or not you were my daughter. It was that lack of progress that drove Tarkin's impatience too far. If you wish, you may lay the blame for Alderaan's demise upon my shoulders. As you say, I did nothing."

He was being strangely conciliatory, especially given how insistent he'd been on Hoth.

Luke swallowed hard and glanced back at his sister, trying to gauge her thoughts. Without looking at him, he addressed Vader again. "Well the odds of us both getting out of here aren't good. What are you planning to do with...well, whichever one of us doesn't escape you?"

Gentle fingers turned his face back towards Vader, who let his hand linger a moment before dropping it. "Should one of you escape," he said, "Wait for contact from a woman named Aphra and you will know. Alderaan was meant to be devastated, not destroyed, and the Lars should never have been brought into it at all."

He stepped back, and the Force swirled around him in icy tendrils, spreading out over the twins like the wings of a brooding dragon.
"Crimes against blood must be paid in blood," he growled, "And make no mistake, the emperor will bleed."
The "wings" seemed to wrap around Luke and Leia, drawing them closer despite themselves, and they tried not to cringe when Vader laid a hand each on their shoulders.
"But in order to accomplish this, my son, my daughter, I require your aid."

Somehow, that wasn't the most impossible thing Leia had heard that day.

Description
(Take Your Rebels to Work au)

When the doors opened Leia had already sensed the suddenly unshielded presence -- He shielded! That skulking sonovavronskr shielded! Since when does Darth Vader shield?! -- and had approximately twenty seconds to move.

The doors opened and Leia did the one thing Obi-wan had repeatedly told her not to do.
She dropped her shields.
Darth Vader rose from the end of the table, started to speak. Leia threw her hands out to the sides and pushed. The stormtroopers stumbled, and many of them fell. Han and Chewbacca didn't need to be told what to do. Han started to run, then realized Leia was still keeping the troopers immobilized.

"Go." She offered him a watery smile. "I love you. Was afraid I wouldn't get to tell you."

"I knew," he croaked. He swallowed hard. "I'm coming right back for you. Promise." Then he grabbed Lando by the collar and ran.

Vader had left his seat now, and Fett had lit out after Han and Chewbacca. Leia kept her focus on the troopers until the Sith rounded the edge of the table and began to walk towards her.

"Princess-" he began, but Leia was not about to stay and talk. Luke had tried on Hoth, and whatever Vader had said had shaken him.
He hadn't even told his own sister, and that disturbed Leia.

She released the troopers and took off running. She had no idea where she was going, and didn't really care so long as it was away. The Force would probably lead her to the Falcon eventually. It usually did. Heavy footsteps echoed behind her and she caught the edge of a doorway, swinging around and dodging startled guards.

"Miss, don't!" One of the hapless men said, "That's the carbon freeze chamber!"

But at the moment, Leia was a little too distracted by the glaring fact that her twin brother had just entered the atmosphere. What is he doing here?! He does realize this is a trap, doesn't he? Oh Force, what if he doesn't? HEY FLYBOY, GET OUT OF HERE!

Don't fight him! Hide until I get there!
Luke sounded urgent. More than that, he sounded frightened, which was really the only reason Leia listened. She dove through the doorway to the carbon freeze chamber and darted into the shadows.
They wouldn't hide her for long, but perhaps it would work until Luke could get there.

The hiss of steam and other gases almost drowned out the metallic breathing of her pursuer. Leia crouched in the darkness and waited.

********

Luke had been lucky to escape Vader on Hoth. Rushing to face him again was probably suicidal, right? Master Yoda certainly seemed to think so. And Obi-wan had looked absolutely terrified by the idea. When Luke had insisted that Leia was in danger, Obi-wan had hugged him and told him to do what he could, but to be wary of Vader and of the Dark Side.

"Please come back, Luke, both of you," he'd begged, "I can't be the last one, I can't."

Hoth had been...well, Hoth had been hard. Brashly, Luke had confronted the Sith in a room full of debris.
"You know who I am," he'd said.

"Yes," Darth Vader had answered.

"Did you kill Anakin Skywalker?"

"I did not."

Luke had lifted his chin defiantly, aware that Vader wasn't lying but not sure how much was "from a certain point of view". "Do you know how he died?"

"Child." Vader had seemed conflicted, eager and apprehensive all at once. "He has not died. Not yet."

And oh, there'd been a surge in the Force then. A warning, a declaration, a revelation.
Luke hadn't been ready for it. He should've been demanding that Vader explain himself. Should've pressed for information. But he'd fled. He'd had an inkling of what was to come and he couldn't face it, not then.

Now he was going to be forced to face the truth, he knew. There was no other way. Luke knew he had to keep his sister from engaging Vader in combat before one of them did something that all three would regret for the rest of their lives. Once he landed the X-Wing, he didn't even stop to get Artoo down. He scrambled out of his flight suit and ran as fast as his legs would take him, letting the Force guide his steps.

He found his sister in the carbon freeze chamber, having run out of hiding places. Darth Vader stood less than two yards from her. The great black helmet swiveled, and Luke had the uncanny sensation that the sith's eyes had found him despite the shadows.

"Your sister and I wondered when you'd join us," Vader said simply.
He knew!

Deciding there was nothing for it, Luke climbed the stairs slowly, watching them. "Leia, are you okay? Where's Han and Chewie?" he asked, ignoring Vader for the moment.

"Safe, they got away. But Han's an idiot so he might come back for me," Leia sounded like she was trying very hard not to let emotion overcome her.

"Well he's your idiot," Luke tried to sound lighthearted as he carefully placed himself between his sister and his...well he wasn't going to jump to any conclusions until the man said something.

Leia's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing, Luke?" she asked in a low voice, "Whatever it is, it's about what happened on Hoth, I can tell. What aren't you telling me?"

Luke struggled to keep his composure. His breath hitched and he clenched his fists. "He...he didn't kill our father, Leia. He told me-" his voice cracked and he was hard-pressed to keep tears from his eyes. "He told me our father is still alive."

He felt a surge of desperation from his sister as she whispered, "This...no, he's not...that doesn't absolve him of his other crimes."
She was beginning to sense what he'd been trying so hard to deny.

"Search your feelings, young one," Vader said softly -- almost gently -- "You will know it to be true."

Luke took a step forward, shaking almost uncontrollably, and ignored his sister's gasp of protest. Swallowing hard, he spoke.

"Do you intend to have us executed, Lord Vader?"

The armored giant physically recoiled, as though he'd been struck. "Most certainly not!" he snapped.

"Then why are you hunting us?" Leia challenged.

Vader grew still. "I suspect you know why."

Luke gritted his teeth and took another step closer. "Say it," he hissed, blinking rapidly to clear his sight, "Out loud."

Vader dipped his helmet in something like a gracious nod. "Very well. I did not kill your father. I am your father."

Leia made a little, heartbroken gasp and covered her mouth, shaking her head. "It's a lie, it's a lie!" Her protests died away into the sounds of muffled tears.

Luke shut his eyes, having suspected the truth and yet having still not been prepared to hear it. "Is that why you didn't kill me on Cymoon? Or Leia on Vrogas Vas?" he asked dully.

"It is," the man -- their father? -- answered, and he took a hesitant step forward. "I have hidden your existence from the emperor for the last three years, but now he knows of you, Luke. He demands that you be trained in the ways of the Sith or else destroyed."

Setting aside that particularly disturbing thought, Luke found himself focusing on the first part of that sentence.
"Only three years? Were we not worth the effort to hide prior to that?" he asked a little bitterly. Of course, it might've simply been that they'd been well hidden, but something in Luke needed to know why their father had bothered to seek them out after over twenty years of silence.

He hadn't realized he'd been crying until black leather barely brushed against his cheek, carefully wiping away a tear.

"Luke, no," Vader sounded as though he were having difficulty articulating what he wanted to say. "I was...the Jedi...it was made to look as though you had both perished when your mother died in childbirth. The galaxy believed it. I believed it. I...I did not know until after the Princess contacted you aboard the Devastator, when I tested her blood on the Death Star."

"You let them murder my family, my home, everything I loved," Leia's voice shook, and her anger swirled in the Force around them. "You did nothing."

"I know." He said it simply, and there were too many emotions in the room to read his intent behind it. "I could not bring myself to interrogate you without knowing for certain whether or not you were my daughter. It was that lack of progress that drove Tarkin's impatience too far. If you wish, you may lay the blame for Alderaan's demise upon my shoulders. As you say, I did nothing."

He was being strangely conciliatory, especially given how insistent he'd been on Hoth.

Luke swallowed hard and glanced back at his sister, trying to gauge her thoughts. Without looking at him, he addressed Vader again. "Well the odds of us both getting out of here aren't good. What are you planning to do with...well, whichever one of us doesn't escape you?"

Gentle fingers turned his face back towards Vader, who let his hand linger a moment before dropping it. "Should one of you escape," he said, "Wait for contact from a woman named Aphra and you will know. Alderaan was meant to be devastated, not destroyed, and the Lars should never have been brought into it at all."

He stepped back, and the Force swirled around him in icy tendrils, spreading out over the twins like the wings of a brooding dragon.
"Crimes against blood must be paid in blood," he growled, "And make no mistake, the emperor will bleed."
The "wings" seemed to wrap around Luke and Leia, drawing them closer despite themselves, and they tried not to cringe when Vader laid a hand each on their shoulders.
"But in order to accomplish this, my son, my daughter, I require your aid."

Somehow, that wasn't the most impossible thing Leia had heard that day.