Summary: Can Luke Skywalker's new apprentice help him put together the pieces of his past?
Luke Skywalker sprinted down the narrow corridor, zigzagging erratically to dodge the blaster shots aimed at the back of his flight suit. A bolt of orange energy that whizzed past his ear, splattering in a burst of plasma on the durasteel wall, told him that they were shooting to kill.
Luke felt painfully vulnerable without a lightsaber in his hand, and even more so without the Force. He reached the end of the hallway, hastily slamming his stolen blaster into the door panel, which sparked but slid open.
Outside the door was an intricately carved stone balcony, its polished floor embossed with the mark of the Galan crown. Without hesitation, Luke flung himself over the edge, catching hold of one of the protruding pieces of Wayland marble. Swinging his arms from piece to piece, he managed to maneuver himself directly underneath the balcony.
Luke's heart thumped as he hung suspended over a five-hundred meter drop. Even with the shimmering silver ocean below to cushion his fall . . . . He might make it outside the yslamiri's range as went down – but then again, he might not.
Above him, Luke could hear the soldiers clattering onto the balcony. "Where'd the Jedi go?" one of them asked. "Did he jump?"
"Maybe," another replied. "We should blow the balcony, though," he added. "If he gets back inside, the Queen's going to have our heads."
Luke let go.
Two days later
Luke Skywalker groggily lifted his head off the sleeping platform, hoping in vain that the relentless beeping of his holocom unit would cease.
No such luck.
Summoning up all of his willpower, Luke slid out of the warm sheets and limped across the plush carpet of his bedroom to check the unit. The name "Leia Organa Solo" flashed in a particularly aggressive shade of crimson. As he halfheartedly pressed the receiver button, Luke sighed. The hour or so of sleep he had managed to snag after returning from that last mission wasn't likely to be extended any further.
Leia's face materialized on the unit. Dark eyes roved over his disheveled appearance, but she didn't comment on it. "Welcome back, Luke," she said simply, smiling at him. "Would you like to come over for dinner? The kids are here, and we're having nerf steaks."
Luke, who had been expecting something more along the lines of why-isn't-your-mission-writeup-on-General-Cracken's-desk-yet or we-have-a-crisis-on-Block-47-that-needs-your-immediate-attention, was startled into accepting. "I'll be right over," he replied.
As the words left his mouth, he immediately regretted them. "Actually, Leia – " but it was too late. His sister had already ended the call, and with it, any last hope of returning to bed.
Luke dragged himself over to the refresher to splash some cool water onto his face. He glanced up into the mirror and was met with red-rimmed blue eyes and tousled sandy hair.
He changed into an outfit consisting of a pair of black pants and short-sleeved grey shirt. Leia would no doubt scold him for its drabness, but Luke lately hadn't had time to eat lunch most days, let alone go shopping.
Stepping outside, Luke breathed in the still-warm air of Coruscant's fading summer, and started across the walkway to the Solos' apartment.
A tinkling chime rang out from the Solos' entryway. "Could someone get that?" Leia called out in the general direction of the living room.
Fourteen-year-old Tahiri Veila's blonde hair went flying as she leapt to answer the door. "Hi, Master Skywalker!" she exclaimed to the man standing beside the red ladalum shrubs that lined the walkway to the Solo's apartment. He looked as exhausted as Tahiri had ever seen him, but he gave her a genuine smile.
"Hi, Tahiri," Luke replied, stepping into the apartment. "Did you have a good break?"
"Yes, I did!" Tahiri said, pulling the door closed. "Anakin invited me to stay with him." Tahiri paused a moment, bursting to ask a question.
"What is it, Tahiri?" Luke asked, with a faint smile.
Unable to resist, Tahiri started asking. "Did you just come back from a mission? It must have been really important; you were gone for nearly a month! What were you doing? Did it go well? Or is it a secret?"
Luke was no longer smiling, but there was no trace of a rebuke in his face either. "No, it's not a secret," he replied, with a rather serious look in his cerulean eyes. "I was in a mission on Gala. It didn't go too well, though."
"Anakin's just like you!" Tahiri groaned theatrically. "In the entire time we've been here, the only things he's said to me are 'good morning Tahiri' and 'pass the Bassel sea salt, Tahiri'! And I'm his best friend!"
Luke did smile a bit then. "There's really not much to tell. I went undercover to find some information for the New Republic, but my cover got blown, so now I'm back."
Her interest was not lessened at all by the few facts that Luke gave her, but Tahiri knew that she wouldn't get much more out of him.
So, they made their way to the living room. It was surprisingly cozy for the abode of a politician, decorated with mismatched colors and squashy chairs scattered on a thick carpet. In the middle of the room, Jacen and Anakin Solo were facing each other across a low round table with a game of dejarik spread upon it. Both were being egged on by their sister Jaina, who was sprawled on the nearest sofa.
When Luke and Tahiri entered, they looked up.
"Uncle Luke!" Jaina got up to hug him tightly, though Jacen and Anakin were more restrained in their greetings. "Mom and Dad and Chewie are trying to figure out the new food-prep unit in the kitchen. Want to go take a look?"
Luke followed Jaina into the kitchen, and Tahiri took her place on the sofa facing the dejarik board. Anakin and Jacen both had quite a few pieces left, but Jacen was down by two k'lor'slugs and kintan strider. "Go Anakin!" Tahiri cheered, to a rather indignant look from Jacen.
Some time later, Han Solo came into the living room. "Time to eat, kids," he informed them, turning to give a rather superior smirk to his wife behind him. "You should know better than to doubt me," he told her smugly. Leia rolled her eyes, but grinned.
Tahiri entered the kitchen with the rest of the Solo family. Luke was soundlessly sleeping in one of the chairs, the side of his face pressed to the rectangular kitchen table.
Leia took a seat and leaned over to nudge her brother's shoulder.
Luke awoke with a start, bemusement flashing across his typically unruffled features for a split second. "Sorry, Leia," he said tiredly. "Looks like you got the food-prep unit running without me, though."
"We did," Leia agreed, with a slightly calculating look on her face that puzzled Tahiri.
But she took a seat, and C-3PO began bringing over food, and before long, she was engaged in a lively argument with Jacen about the shockball scores in the recent Commenor-Taanab game. Across the table, Han and Jaina were enthusiastically discussing something mechanical, using highly technical terms Tahiri would have no hope of understanding.
After a while, though, there was a lull in conversation. "So Luke," Leia said airily. "Wes Janson tells me that you haven't been spending much time with your friends lately."
"I've had a lot of work to do lately," Luke replied, somewhat warily.
"Don't worry, I've given up on the idea of ever having a sister-in-law," Leia said, with a look on her face that made it clear she certainly had not. Luke sank down a bit in his chair, and seeing the look on his face, Tahiri felt quite sorry for him. "But you're obviously lonely," she added.
If possible, Luke looked even more miserable. "We've had this discussion, Leia," he replied. "I don't have the time to run the Jedi Academy, go on missions for the New Republic, and have a relationship all at the same time."
"As a matter of fact," Leia said, "I wasn't talking about your love life. I think you should take an apprentice."
A/N: Please review! I love to hear what you have to say about my story, and if you could, I'd really appreciate it.