bled along with them The droids were C 3PO a gold plated humanoid protocol droid and his counterpart counterpart R2 D2 an astromech with a domed head and cylindrical body who moved on three legs Did you hear that C 3PO said to R2 D2 as the Tantive IV's engines powered down They've shut down the main reactor We'll be destroyed for sure This is madness More Rebel troops ran into the main corridor The two droids stepped aside into a shallow alcove to avoid being trampled The Rebels took up defensive positions and aimed their weapons at a sealed hatch at the end of the corridor C 3PO said We're doomed R2 D2 replied with a series of beeps and whistles There'll be no escape for the princess this time C 3PO said just loud enough for R2 D2 to hear Mere minutes before the Star Destroyer attacked the Tantive Tantive IV's commanding officer Captain Antilles had issued command control instructions to the droids ordering them to restrict and protect all references to Leia Organa's identity and presence onboard the Tantive IV The corridor was suddenly filled with the echoing echoing sounds of metallic latches clanking and moving around the ship's outer hull Hearing the noise C 3PO asked What's that R2 D2 beeped nervously The astromech suspected 4
that the Star Destroyer had used a tractor beam to draw the Tantive IV into the Destroyer's main hangar hangar and the clanking sounds were produced by a magnetic paralyzing pincer lock as it secured the captured ship Indeed that was exactly what had happened The Tantive IV was now nestled in the Star Destroyer's underside hangar Although the hangar hangar remained exposed to space the Tantive IV was trapped like a small fish in a sando aqua monster's belly Inside the Tantive IV's corridor the droids braced themselves against the alcove wall as the Rebel troops kept their eyes on the sealed hatch Suddenly sparks blazed at the hatch's frame as it was cut from the other side Then the hatch exploded Before the smoke cleared a white armored Imperial stormtrooper stormtrooper stepped through the shattered hatch and fired his blaster rifle at the Rebels The stormtrooper was immediately cut down by a hail of return fire from the Rebels but another stormtrooper appeared from behind him firing as he stepped over his fallen predecessor The second stormtrooper also fell to the Rebels but there were more where he came from and they kept on coming The stormtroopers were identical Each wore a head concealing white helmet that resembled a robotic robotic face with black polarized lenses for eyes and a grimacing vocoder for the mouth Below the vocoder 5
jutting out from the helmet's chin a grilled breathing breathing filter was set between two artificial air supply nozzles More stormtroopers poured into the main corridor From their alcove the droids watched helplessly as several Rebel soldiers were shot down The Rebels fought back and the corridor was filled with deadly crisscrossing projectiles When a laserbolt slammed into the wall near the droids R2 D2 responded with a loud electronic shriek then rolled forward on his treads Not wanting to be left behind C 3PO stepped after his companion Laserbolts whizzed past their forms as the droids crossed the narrow corridor to a hatch that faced the alcove Incredibly neither droid was hit during their quick but harrowing exit Overwhelmed by the stormtroopers the surviving Rebels retreated hastily to other parts of the Tantive IV A squad of stormtroopers secured the corridor then instinctively moved away from the hatch as a tall caped figure entered He was clad entirely in black giving him the appearance of a menacing shadow amidst the white armored stormtroopers in the whitewalled whitewalled passageway His head was concealed by a helmet with a fierce looking faceplate distinguished by two recessed black oval visual sensors positioned above a triangular respirator A life support system control panel was affixed to his chest plate and he carried with him the sound of his mechanical 6
labored breathing Everything in his outward appearance appearance suggested that the black armored suit only barely contained the evil lurking within He was Darth Vader the Sith Lord Darth Vader ignored the two dead stormtroopers near the exploded hatch and surveyed the fallen Rebels on the corridor floor He felt neither pity nor remorse for the lives that had been extinguished These men brought this upon themselves They sealed their fate the day they chose to oppose the Empire Stepping over the corpses Darth Vader proceeded into the Tantive IV R2 D2 stood in a dimly illuminated subhallway that linked the Tantive IV's port airlock to the escape pod access tunnel He had lost sight of C 3PO almost immediately after they'd made their hasty exit from the main corridor and assumed the golden droid had either gotten lost or found a good hiding place The only reason R2 D2 had not yet attempted to find C 3PO was because he was busy making a holographic holographic recording of Princess Leia Organa R2 D2 had run into the young woman as she hid in the subhallway She had fair skin dark brown hair and wore a loose fitting white gown and travel boots She sounded distressed as she spoke which was understandable 7
