I wrote this in tribute, and with gratitude, for Carrie Fisher (1956 - 2016) Our princess, our general and, our hero.

My Hero

Thea fidgeted nervously with a stray lock of hair that had escaped the twin bun style she'd twisted it into. Huffing with annoyance, she tried her best to tuck the errant tress neatly back into place. She had so wanted her hair to be perfect and look exactly like Leia Organa's did on the holo image she'd studied. After a moment or two of unsuccessfully trying to wrestle the rebellious strand into submission, her irritation turned into amusement and she burst out laughing. It couldn't be helped that she'd inherited her father's gangly build and wild unruly mane instead of her grandmother's petite elegance and sleek tresses. Thea resembled her in other ways beyond the physical. Everybody who'd known both of them said the two women shared the same vibrant spirit. She never grew tired of hearing how much they were alike. The only lingering sadness for Thea being that they'd never got the chance to meet in person. But Leia Organa had been a constant presence in her life from birth, and perhaps, even before then. Her grandmother had been strong with the force, and she too possessed that potential. It had been both a blessing and a curse in her family and, like the woman in whose footsteps she hoped to follow, Thea chose not to train and develop her abilities. She wanted to be a senator just like Leia and her great-grandmother, Padmé Amidala, had once been.

She smoothed out an imagined wrinkle in her flowing white gown. It wasn't a colour Thea felt comfortable wearing. Like her mother, she preferred earthy tones that didn't show the dirt so easily. Both of them were prone to getting stuck in whenever a ship or droid or anything mechanical required fixing, subsequently they spent much of their time smeared with oil and grease. It occurred to her that perhaps she should have chosen something an outfit in black. But she'd been reliably informed her grandmother rarely wore that shade. It had painful associations for her which Thea understood, even though she'd been able to reconcile herself to the darker branches of her family tree. She had been born into a battle-worn galaxy, weary but cautiously optimistic after twice defeating evil foes. This time around, they would have to be more vigilant. Her grandmother's memorial holo museum and library would stand as a lasting reminder of what happened when the lessons of history were not learned.

There had been much debate about who should give the dedication speech. Everyone but the man who'd once been known as Kylo Ren had been considered for the role. Her father had long since earned a pardon for his past crimes due to almost giving his life to save the galaxy. But, there were some who would never forgive or forget his part in it needing saving in the first place. It had taken him twenty years to get the recognition for his mother's life's work he felt she deserved. Some people thought her legacy too tainted and they wanted to bury the good along with the bad. Ben Solo refused to let them forget what they owed to Leia Organa. However, when it came to the matter of delivering the dedication, he didn't argue it should be him as he regarded himself unworthy of the honour. The idea of public speaking terrified Thea's mother, but Rey had been willing to try and conquer her fears to pay tribute to a woman she greatly admired. In the event, Thea saved her the trouble by putting herself forward to deliver the speech. Her fourteenth birthday fell the week before the date of the ceremony and she took it as a sign she should be the one to honour her grandmother. Leia Organa became a junior legislator in the Imperial Senate at the same age before going on to eventually succeed her adopted father, Bail Organa, as Senator of Alderaan. Her great-grandmother had also been fourteen when she got elected as Queen of Naboo. Thea's parents and her siblings happily agreed it would be fitting for her to deliver the dedication.

As she stood awaiting her cue to go out onto the hovering ceremonial platform, she began to panic. What if she wasn't up to the task? Her family were entrusting her to represent them, and more than that, she wanted to do her grandmother proud. Thea snuck a glance at the assembled crowd and found it full of different species from every corner of the galaxy. All of them well groomed, brightly dressed, and wearing polite smiles. Her parents sat in the front row along with her ten-year-old siblings. The twins, Oran and Zena, were bobbing about in a state of excited anticipation as they waited for their big sister to take to the stage. Even her Great-Uncle, Luke Skywalker, had temporarily eschewed the life of a hermit to attend the ceremony honouring his late sister. He had grown so old and wrinkled; he'd begun to resemble the holos of his old Jedi Master, Yoda. Next to her family were Poe Dameron and her mother's best friend Finn, along with his wife and children. Chewbacca sat beside Maz Kanata and a whole host of other distinguished guests who had known and loved her grandmother. Thea began to feel queasy as the nervous fluttering in her stomach turned into a full blown tidal wave of nausea. She stepped back into the shadows and listened as First Senator Ransolm Casterfo delivered the opening address. He owed his life to her grandmother after being wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit and sentenced to death. His voice, strong and sincere, wavered with emotion as he recounted how Leia had fought to clear his name, even as her own reputation lay in tatters after the reveal of Darth Vader as her birth father.

"Excuse me, Mistress Thea, but are you quite well? You do look rather pale."

C-3PO's interjection startled her. She had been so consumed by her anxieties and listening to Casterfo, she hadn't heard him approach.

"Yes, no, I don't know," she babbled clenching her fists so tight her fingernails dug into her palms. "People are always telling me I'm like my grandmother and I want to be, really I do, but I don't think I have her courage. There are so many people out there and I'm worried I'm going to throw up or trip over and fall flat on my face."

"I could calculate the odds of either scenario occurring, if you wish, but it would hardly be helpful under the circumstances," Threepio said.

Thea couldn't help but smile. "Did my grandmother ever get nervous before giving a speech?" She hoped it would help to know if they had that in common too.

The golden droid's head bobbed as if in contemplation. "It is my opinion that Princess Leia never truly cared for public speaking. She did not seek to revel in pomp and ceremony. However, when called upon, she always rose to the occasion." He turned as if to walk away and then paused to add a note of reassurance. "I'm sure you will do just as well."

"Thank you, Threepio," she said feeling a little more confident. "But still, I'm glad you didn't calculate the odds of me falling on my face."

Thea watched him resume his place next to BB8 and R2-D2 as First Senator Casterfo invited her onto the platform to make the dedication. The crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause, her family and friends clapping so hard it must have made their palms sting. She took a deep breath and gave them one of her brightest smiles. After the obligatory pleasantries, she launched into the speech she'd spent weeks writing and memorising.

"We have come together today to celebrate and commemorate the life and work of my grandmother, Leia Organa. Although she died six years before my birth, she has been a constant source of inspiration to me. From an early age, those closest to me who had known and loved her would regale me with tales about my grandmother. Her adventures soon became my favourite bedtime stories. I delighted in hearing about how she befriended Ewoks on Endor, and escaped from garbage mashers on a Death Star, and how she could beat even the most seasoned players at Sabacc. Her wit, determination and bravery, often in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, always shone through. Whether she was safeguarding the plans to the first Death Star to aid in the rebellion against the Empire or convincing a roomful of opposing New Republic senators to take action to right wrongs across the galaxy, she never stopped fighting for the causes she believed in and the values she held dear. When hope was hard to find, she dug deeper and refused to give up or give in. Leia Organa paid the ultimate price so that we might one day know lasting peace. In order that her sacrifices and achievements would never be forgotten my father, Ben Solo, painstakingly collected old holos and official records from the surviving Imperial and the New Republic archives documenting his mother's work in the senate and elsewhere. The charitable foundation my parents established in my grandmother's name will fund education programmes across the whole galaxy. Galactic peace isn't easy to achieve or sustain, and we must work hard every day to preserve it if we are to properly honour her memory. Today, it is my honour to declare the Leia Organa Memorial Holo Museum and Library officially open. May all who come to visit it be as inspired and enriched by her life story as I have been. Please, join me in giving three cheers for Leia Organa, my grandmother and my hero."

The crowd erupted into a trio of rapturous roars before generously applauding Thea for her speech. She breathed a grateful sigh of relief as she stepped down from the platform into the proud and loving embrace of her family and friends. Praises were lavished on her and her mother. Rey always received all the parenting credit for her three children's successes, despite her protestations, as no one seemed capable of acknowledging their father's part in their upbringing. Thea knew the day had stirred up painful memories for him. Fighting for his mother's memorial and amassing the archive collection for the museum had served as a kind of penance for her father in many ways. Since Leia's death at the hands of the First Order, Ben had been desperate to make whatever amends he could for all the pain he'd caused her. He strove to be the son she ought to have had during her lifetime, knowing they'd been forever denied the opportunity to reconcile. She could no longer give him the forgiveness he craved and he'd had to learn to live with his guilt. He had long since let go of the bitterness he'd harboured towards her his mother when she sent him away to Luke as a young boy, and for not being truthful with him about his heritage.

Thea made her way through the crowd of well-wishers to where her father stood apart from the rest. She caught him brushing away a stray tear and pressed a soft kiss to his scarred cheek. "You know, grandmother loved you very much and I do too," she said wrapping her arms around him.

Ben hugged her tightly to his chest planting a grateful kiss on the top of her head. "I do know she would be very proud of you." His voice cracked with emotion. "You were amazing up there, but selfishly, I fear you're not my little girl anymore. You looked so grown up on that stage."

His daughter leant back in his embrace so she could meet his concerned gaze. "Daddy, I'll always be your little girl, no matter what," Thea promised as she pressed another kiss to his cheek.

He smiled as she took him by the hand to go and re-join the celebrations. Leia Organa deserved to have the best party ever in her honour and they would make sure she got it.

THE END.