#esb40

“Carrie and Harrison took [the kiss scene] and actually, subtly, took it into the place that most people didn’t expect us to go.”

The Empire Strikes Back 

40TH ANNIVERSARY

@treenahasthaal​ posted this behind the scenes ESB pic a few weeks back and mentioned that it would be excellent “fanfic fodder.”

I couldn’t agree more, so in honor of The Empire Strikes Back’s 40th anniversary, my favorite film ever, I present to you a one-shot of this moment. 

Why Didn’t You Tell Me?

“Ben, why didn’t you tell me?”

Leia could barely hear Luke’s defeated whisper over the sounds of herself and Lando feverishly changing every setting they know in the Falcon’s nonsensical console and Chewie yelling at the mishmashed inner workings. But she could hear him and for a moment she felt overwhelmed by her dear friend’s anguish. So overwhelmed that her hand drifted ever so slightly on the navigation controls. They could all feel the rocking jolt that could only have been a hit from an enemy laser. In the nanosecond that followed, Leia heard Artoo screech louder than she thought a droid could. Chewie and Threepio’s cries rung out in short succession. 

A sharp gasp and shout from Luke is what brought Leia back to her mission of not running the Falcon into the side of Vader’s Super Star Destroyer. For a moment all she saw was clear space in front of her before the whole ship lurched forward and then was pulled back. 

“Tractor beam.” Lando said gravely before running out and calling for Chewbacca. The door to the cockpit slid closed and the pair of friends suddenly found themselves in silence.

Leia looked back at Luke and was suddenly struck by how different he looked.

His hair was longer, clothes looked more filled out. His face even looked older, like her friend had aged in their short time apart. There were cuts on his face, and of course the missing arm.

“What happened?” It was all she could say as they felt the ship starting moving again, towards the flagship of the Imperial Navy. His eyes looked past her, like they were going to bore a hole in the Falcon’s steering column. Leia reached out and took his remaining hand where it was clutching the rough blanket he had wrapped around himself for dear life. It took precious seconds for Luke to answer and Leia thought it looked like he was listening to something besides her. Something in some unexplored past of her soul, seemed to say that Luke was hearing voices. 

“I can’t.” She had never heard his voice so strained, not when he talked about his guilt about destroying the Death Star or even when he had told her about the death of his aunt and uncle. 

“Why?” She says purely out of instinct. She and Luke had always been able to talk with one another. For the past three years, after their respective former lives had been destroyed by the Empire, they had been one anothers’ confidants. Luke felt like her brother some days. But now, he looked like someone she barely recognized. 

An anticlimactic thump sounded throughout the ship as they felt the Falcon settle down onto what appeared to be a hanger bay floor. Luke’s face fell as he looked down. Leia squeezed his hand as they listened to troopers trying to get the boarding ramp down. It took Luke another few moments to raise his head back up but he still couldn’t look Leia in the eyes. The sound of the ramp lowering felt like waiting for the Death Star to fire on Yavin IV all over again. Then, they heard Lando and Chewie yelling and the sounds of blasters, but strangely Leia thought she heard the distinct warble of stun blasts. 

“They’re taking us alive.” She said aloud. Luke shuddered and suddenly gripped her hand, his eyes finally finding hers even as they heard a faint snap hiss behind the closed cockpit door. Leia turned from Luke and watched the space where the lock lay start to glow red before it sparked. 

“I’m sorry.” 

The door rolled open slowly, revealing Vader’s improsing form. Leia took momentary pleasure in seeing chunks of his armor missing and streaked with lightsaber grazes. If Luke can put up a fight, so can I. 

Leia stood then, rising regally before whipping out the concealed blaster Han kept wedged under the console. However, her attempts went as well as Han’s had back on the surface and the bolt arched back and right into the blaster, frying it in her hands. Vader, however, made no attempt to enter the cabin, and simply stared right at Luke’s turned back. His interest in her friend and the ominous breathing distracted Leia long enough that she didn’t notice a trooper pulling a blaster up behind Vader. The stun bolt felt like it had years ago and Leia Organa soon found herself in darkness. 

Only when she had collapsed, did Vader step into the space. The Dark Lord’s heavy hand on Luke’s shoulder was enough to break the shattered rebel from whatever stupor he’d fallen into. With a quick glance down at Leia’s prone form, Luke turned fully to face his fa- to face Vader. 

Do not deny what you know to be true, young one. 

With more care than Luke would have expected, he watched Vader raise his arm slightly. Leia rose with his motion and was guided carefully out of the cabin to the waiting arms of two equally careful stormtroopers. 

Then, there was silence, save for Vader’s staggering breaths. 

It took an hour of patience for Vader to leave the Millenium Falcon with Luke walking dejectedly, yet willingly, behind him. The boy was beyond spent physically and mentally. It would be some time before Vader’s plans to bring his son to his side could begin in earnest, for him to earn the boy’s trust and loyalty. But Vader had been without his son for twenty-two years. He could wait a little longer.

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