Fic Prompts: Star Wars Wednesday
(Back at it again with the Doom Vader au)
It was an old J-type 327 Nubian cruiser, like the kind her father had told her the rulers of Naboo used to use. Of course, Leia could see even from the control room that it had been heavily modified.
"Princess," General Rieekan said in a low voice, "The ship didn't transmit clearance codes. We don't know if they're friend or foe."
Leia felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she watched the black ship approach.
"I think the answer would probably be "yes", General," she murmured. Her eyes never left the screen. "It would be in our best interests not to antagonize him."
At the back of her mind, concern and curiosity were placing wagers on whether the appearance of the Avenging Angel was a good omen or a poor one. At the forefront of her mind, the princess wondered whether Luke had finished his patrol yet. He would want to know that their birth father was invading one of their bases again for unknown reasons.
On the rare occasion that he did enter a Rebel base, he never explained himself. The most anyone ever got out of him was a verbal greeting, and that only if Luke or Leia was physically present.
Leia left the control room and donned a heavy coat before going topside to watch the ship land. She could save everyone a lot of unnecessary fright if she knew what Vader wanted at the outset.
The Nemesis exited his ship with his usual lack of hesitation. Under one arm, he carried a bundle of cloth. That seemed odd, but Leia was more concerned with how he had found a base they'd only been in for a few weeks.
"What are you doing here?" she asked tersely.
He never seemed to mind. Considering his own blunt way of conversing, Leia suspected that Vader preferred when she got straight to the point.
Snow gathered on the ridges of Vader's armor and helmet as he paused in front of Leia. He inclined his head a little, then gestured towards what little of Echo Base could be seen over the snowdrifts. Then he continued walking, and Leia understood that he meant to enter. She waved away the guards as she followed him in. They wouldn't have done any good anyway.
"You do know we have clearance procedures for a reason?" Leia sighed. "All you had to do was announce yourself and we would've let you through without me escorting you in."
"My ship is announcement enough," Vader answered calmly.
Leia snorted, but did not disagree. She still remembered her first encounter with the Nemesis, as a little girl. When her mother had uncovered proof that a high-ranking Imperial was engaged in the slave trade and they'd both been held hostage, the instant that cruiser had entered the atmosphere they'd known. Breha had immediately reassured her daughter that all would be well, now that the Avenging Angel had arrived.
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Leia walked alongside the towering warrior and watched him warily from the corner of her eye. Usually, if Vader turned up, it meant something very dramatically bad was about to happen. Generally involving the Empire. Was there an invasion on the way?
Vader did not stop moving until they'd reached an empty chamber. There was nothing of importance inside. It was really little more than a storage closet. But evidently Vader wanted to speak with her in private.
"I did not come for your Rebellion, Princess."
Nearly three years had passed since the fateful meeting on the Death Star, and Vader still called her Princess, or Organa, rather than Daughter. According to Chewbacca, this was because the people that Vader tended to associate with most held adoption in very high regard, and that Vader may have felt indebted to Bail and Breha for raising and loving his child when he was presumed dead. That he acknowledged the Organas as her parents whenever they spoke was simply his way of honoring that. Leia was grateful for it, really.
Without further comment, Vader held out the bundle of cloth. Gingerly, Leia took it, surprised by the weight. Within the white cloth were several ingots of a shining metal. Turned one way, it appeared blue. Turned another, white. When her fingers touched the metal, Leia swore than she felt, just for an instant, the presence of her parents once more.
She looked up. "What is this?"
"I have gone to the graveyard of Alderaan, Princess," Vader answered. "There remained elements of your ancient armories that could be purified and strengthened. Repurposed to a new use."
Alderaan. Leia was holding a fragment of a home that no longer existed. Her grief rose unexpectedly and spread behind her like dragon's wings.
"On Alderaan," she said, "I used to go into that old armory museum to see a sword on display." She wasn't sure why she was telling Vader this, but he seemed to be listening. "I always loved the way the cross guard was made to look like a rising sun."
Her smile turned bittersweet. "I don't know what context my name had when you chose it, but on Alderaan Leia is a homophone for an archaic word for sunrise. Mama used to call me her sunshine for that."
Vader reached out suddenly to fold her hands completely around the ingots.
"This was meant to be your armor, Princess," he declared. He ignored her startled look.
"You will wear it when you find those responsible for Alderaan's destruction, and you will teach them to fear the dawn."
Leia's eyes sharpened, and she nodded slowly. "Yes. I will."
She was just beginning to consider what kind of armor could be made from the ingots when a faint sense of unease stirred in her gut. Across from her, Vader looked up abruptly.
"Where is your brother?" he demanded.
"Doing a patrol sweep. Last one before we shut the blast doors for the night," Leia said. "He was out with Captain Solo..."
But Han had returned not long ago. And he'd mentioned Luke wanting to investigate some kind of meteor.
Vader turned on his heel and exited the room quickly.
"Do not seal the doors yet," he warned. "I do not know what Luke has found, but it is not an ally."
