Title: Mission to Dathomir
Writer: Callista Loveday
Summary: Han, Luke, and Leia set out on a mission right after ROTJ to Dathomir. There they find a mad scientist and force-trained "witches." Oh, and Leia also finds a close friend...
Spoilers: The Truce of Bakura.
You may notice a scene from the Truce of Bakura in here and some characters from the Courtship of Princess Leia. I am writing this for fun, and I am not getting any money off of this! These characters belong to George Lucas, not me, and I am simply a Star Wars fan.
Han, Leia and the whole gang were together again....At the Ewok
village on Endor.
"When are we going to get off this planet?" Leia asked impatiently.
Luke glanced at her amusingly. "Would you prefer Tatooine?"
"Cute," Leia replied dryly. She looked out over the bridge she stood
on and started at the forest. "Tatooine is just a place where the
scum and villiany hide out. It's millions of miles from the center
of the universe and I'm surprised people actually live there since
it's so dry and hot." Then she turned to Luke. "No offense."
Han chuckled. "We'll all be going back to the rebel station
tomorrow. At least I hope so."
Luke seemed not to of heard him. "You're wrong, Leia. Sometimes I
didn't even notice the heat because of the people. Where I lived
everyone was... mostly nice..." Han snorted. Luke glanced at him
again and Leia stared into Luke's blue eyes. "But you were right
about scum and villiany. There's plenty of that. Especially in Mos
Eisley!" Luke got a look in his eyes that reminded Han of Obi-wan
Kenobi." My friends and I once snuck out in our landspeeders to a
concert in Mos Eisley. It was the middle of the night, and coming
back some Tusken Raiders knocked us out cold."
"Tusken Raiders?" Leia asked.
"Sand People." Han answered knowingly.
Luke continued slowly, a smile growing on his face. "Beru and Owen
found us and when they asked who's idea it was my friend's said, 'It
was Wormie's idea,' and I was grounded for a month! I was about
sixteen."
"Wormie?!" Leia exclaimed, laughing.
Luke blushed deeply. "It was my nickname!"
"Wormie," Han repeated. "That sounds familiar..." He snapped his
fingers. "I know I heard it from somewhere. I'll think of it later."
"I'm sure you will, Han." Leia said distractedly.
"Watch it, or you'll end up like your brother!" Han said, fighting
back a smile.
"Wouldn't want that to happen." Leia said teasingly. "Luke, when we
were Tatooine did you try to find your old friends?"
"I tried, but all of them were gone except for Camie. He had his own
reasons for staying. His father wanted him to become just like him.
A moisture farmer. I wonder if I would of turned out like him if
Uncle Owen survived."
Leia studied her brother's face. "You never did say how they died."
Luke's face turned expressionless. "The Imperial's burned the house while I was being taught by Obi-wan."
"I'm sorry, Luke," Leia apologized quietly.
"It's okay. You never talked about Alderaan, either."
"I know. What do you want to know about it?"
Han smiled and replied for Luke, "Well, for one thing- What was YOUR nickname?"
Leia blushed. "Lelila."
Luke laughed. "Lelila?!"
"I was a child! My guardian called me that." Leia answered defensively. The sun was beginning to rise, and she yawned. They had been celebrating the destruction of Death Star II all night.
Han decided this was the best time to bring up touchy subjects of the past. "What about your friends?"
Leia winced but answered with a slight hesitation. "My best friend was Winter. She was my royal aide and executive assistant. Winter had a photographic memory, and my father would often send her to meetings to take notes. She hated going because she could remember every boring detail afterwards." Han chuckled. "She was tall and regal-looking, and she carried herself in such a way that people would mistake her for the princess of Alderaan. She was supposed to be off-planet on a mission, but... I don't know if she made it."
Luke talked fast and eagerly. "She could be at the Alliance Procurement and Supply."
Leia shook her head. "Maybe, but I- I'm not sure if I want to find out... I won't have a chance, anyway. I'm being assigned to another mission-"
"What?!" Han exclaimed. "But you're barely finished with this one. What are you doing this time?"
"The Empire is temporarily stunned by the Emperor's death, so we have to act now. An Imperial scientist named- uh- Dr. Johnson has done some research on a planet named Dathomir. I'm supposed to go with a small troop to take his experiments. It's quick and simple."
"I don't like it, Leia." Luke said. "One Rebel troop aren't going to defeat an Imperial scientist, as much as I had to admit it."
"Luke, I can take care of myself. Besides, I need to go on missions. My senator term only lasts for two more years. I want to become a Chancellor. If that works out, I can move on to... better things." she added quietly. She hoped to become Cheif-of-State of the Republic one day, but Mon Mothma was only ten years older, and in great shape. Mon Mothma also loved her job, and even though Leia looked up to the leader, the Republic was a big deal in her life.
Han silently agreed with Luke. "But what good is leadership if you're dead? I'm signing up."
"Me too," Luke said quickly.
"All right, all right." Leia agreed, defeated. "But you'll see that there was nothing to worry about." She walked out to her hut in the Ewok village. "We'll be leaving tomorrow."
The next morning, a silver, sleek shuttle came for the trio.
Twelve Rebels and General Rieekan meet them.
"What are they doing here?" Rieekan whispered to Leia.
Leia glared at her brother and Han. "They refused to let me go by myself." she said flaty. Rieekan tried to stop himself from laughing. He had seen the princess' temper lot's and lot's of times to know not to laugh when she was mad or irritated.
"Don't you DARE laugh," Leia threatened. She walked up the ramp and Han followed her, trying to apologize.
Luke laughed and took off to follow, but Rieekan stopped him.
"I haven't talked to Leia in awhile. What's going on with her?"
Luke seemed taken aback. "General, I didn't know you were close to her."
"Well, we were friends on Alderaan. I am from Corellia, of course, but I was her guardian on her home planet for awhile."
"Guardian? Well, she was talking about-" Luke was cut short, however, when a Rebel walked down the ramp and forced them to get inside. They were leaving Endor.
Han knocked on Leia's door before entering. She had found a trunk of old clothes at the Ewok village, and guessed they used to belong to an archaelogist. Most of the clothes were basic, comfortable clothes, but some were obviously made by hand.
"So how long does it take to get to Dathomir?"
Leia let out a short laughing noise. "Six hours- with lightspeed."
Han's eyes widened. "I never really heard of the planet before."
Leia pulled out a hologram from her pocket. She clicked it on, and Han stared wide-eyed at the most beautiful planet he had ever seen. It was green and blue, and animals were programmed to be seen on it.
"Who lives there?"
"Oh, several tribes and the Empire has sought a hide-out there."
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"It's too late to go back now, Han. Hopefully this will be a quick mission."
Han started for his cabin. Before he opened the door, he said with a half-smile, "You do know that I won't be leaving your side when we get to Dathomir, right?"
He shut the door and Leia let out a frustrated sound. She buried her face in her pillow.
"Don't be too hard on him, Daughter. He is only looking out for you."
Leia pulled out her blaster at the man. When she saw him, she gasped. It was Anakin Skywalker.
"I can't hurt you, Leia. I wouldn't if I could." Anakin said softly. Leia found that his voice was actually pleasant, not very deep like it was when he was in his black armor.
Leia raised one trembling hand to her mouth. "But Luke said you're dead!"
"I am appearing to you in Spirit only. I may not be able to come to you again."
"Good!"
"I'm asking for your forgiveness, Daughter."
"Don't call me that!" Leia said angrily.
"Please. This is my only chance to right what I have done."
"Oh, are you going to ask Han, too?"
"Only through you. Han doesn't have the Force in him. Only you. And your brother."
"Is that it?" Leia asked impatiently. But by the time she had finished her sentence, her father was gone.
One little voice seemed to whisper, "The witches of Dathomir. The witches of Dathomir."
"Who are they?" Leia whispered. The voice was gone.
'I will not cry.'
'I will not cry.'
'I will not cry.'
Hours later Luke walked out to the galley. It had a large screen that showed the planets they were passing quickly.
When Leia walked out, her hair was a bit matted down and tangled.
"Take a nap?" Luke asked. Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her hair. "Oh my stars! I forget to fix my hair!" She rushed into her cabin.
When she stepped into the galley again, she looked a lot better. She wore loose black pants, a white, short-sleeved shirt and her hair was in the same style as it was when on Endor: piled on top of her hair and braided.
"So, what took you so long to come out?"
She sighed. "Something interesting happened." She stood next to Luke, staring out at the universe. Luke put one arm around her shoulder.
"This reminds me of when we going away from Cloud City, and my arm had been cut off," Luke said. He was glad when Leia laughed.
But after a moment of silence, Leia's face had turned back to worried. "So what happened?" Luke asked quietly.
Leia closed her eyes briefly. "Our father came to me. He wanted forgiveness."
"Our father- Anakin?"
Leia nodded.
For a second Luke felt a flash of jealousy. Leia felt it too. "Luke, don't tell me YOU wanted Anakin to appear to you!"
"I did."
"Well, I'm envious of you." Leia admitted. "You get spirits like Yoda and OBi-wan. What do I get? A dark Jedi Knight."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" Han asked nervously when he came in.
"No," Luke said quickly. Leia stared at him; wondered what he was doing.
"We're coming up on Dantooine."
"We'll be out in the cockpit in a minute." Luke said.
When Han left, Luke started talking to Leia again. "Did you tell him we were brother and sister?"
"Yes, but I didn't say we were twins."
"I didn't tell you that!"
"Well, isn't it pretty obvious? Our birthday's are on the same day, and the same year."
"I wonder who's older?" Luke asked innocently.
"I bet it's me."
They smiled. "Did you mention Vader was our father?" The smiles faded.
"No," Leia admitted quietly. To change the subject, she talked about the up-coming planet. "Look how beautiful Dantooine is!" They started to land, and even Luke gasped as he looked out.
Without a word, they walked to the cockpit. Han was silently staring out at the ocean. The blue-green water glittered like diamonds, and the grass on the other side was so green, it was like it rained every day, although the skies were a bright blue.
"It reminds me of Alderaan," Leia said. Han looked up, startled.
He covered it with a grin. "Hey, I didn't know you were there!"
"Sorry." Leia said. "Ready to go?"
The troop greeted them at the ramp.
"It'll be a long walk to Dr. Johnson's hideout. And even then, we're not sure where it is. Hope you packed enough food," General Rieekan warned Leia.
She tried to cover her fear with a short nod.
Dr. Johnson laughed as he saw the animals in the cages struggle to try to escape.
One mooka, a dog-like creature with fur and feathers, yipped continually and bounced up and down in his small cage. He was surprised the mooka had room to jump.
Using the Force, an invisile hand picked up the animals cage and put him outside.
A Nightsister had given him news that the Emperor and Darth Vader had been killed. He feigned disappointment until the Nightsister had left. He was overjoyed. There were over one-hundred Nightsisters in the tribe, and they all came to his cave because he had a ship. They wanted to get off this planet, and he was the only way they could. Of course they all hated him really, but they also feared his powers. The Nightsisters and the other tribes were made entirely out of women, and the men were used as slaves. To have a male Jedi, or Jai, more powerful than him was frightning. He silently prided himself for picking this planet. The Nightsisters were all evil, but one clan was in the Light. There were only thirty-two in that tribe.
He laughed again.
Dr. Johnson slowly walked to his chambers. Sitting on his dresser, protected by a password, a bright blue blue hovered. He punched in the code and the ball slid into his hands. This ball had the power to draw the Force out of young men and women. It wouldn't be long before it would be put to use...
For two days the Rebels walked. The climate was comfortable, but everyone ended up sweating in their camaflouge outfits.
As usual, Leia was in the lead, with Han closely following. Luke knew that if there was any danger, the Force would tell him, so he stayed further back. Further back, as in, right behind Han and next to General Rieekan. Okay, so it wasn't really "further back".
It was 2200 when they finally reached the area the scientist was supposed to be.
'This is going to be harder than I thought,' Leia thought misreably to her brother.
'Relax. We have the Force. We can find him.' Luke thought back. She caught his eye and smiled gratefully.
The whole area was forest. There were a couple of caves, and the silence there was eerie.
Leia expected at least animal noises, but there were none. In fact, there wasn't an animal in sight.
"Where are the animals?" Han asked aloud, saying Leia's thoughts.
"I don't know." Leia admitted.
General Rieekan sighed and pointed to a small clearing. "Let's set up camp there. We can search tomorrow." He said, almost whispering. They didn't want to be over heard by someone on the wrong side.
They put their sleeping bags in a circle, in case there was an attack on someone.
Most of their food was already gone, so the twelve Rebels went off searching for things to eat. Hopefully they would at least find some non-poisonous berries.
No one was hungry. "Lelila, will you start a fire in the center? It's getting kind of cold here." General Rieekan asked quietly.
"Sure, Ricky." Leia answered. She was glad to have something to do.
Ricky? Lelila?
Han laughed. "So you were Leia's guardian! Or should I say, 'Lelila's' guardian?"
Leia blushed and hit him with a pillow.
"Quiet!" she whispered.
Han stopped. "Sorry, Lelila." Luke started laughing, too, but tried to silence himself. Leia then hit Luke harder with her pillow. Soon they were hysterical. When the troop came back with an apple and some fruit, they were puzzled.
Smiling to herself, Leia lied down and fell asleep.
When she was woken up at 0400 by Luke, she was again worried. Luke was the only one awake, and the look in his eyes wasn't good.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered. Leia listened closely. There was a slight whining sound.
"Let's go find out what it is!" Leia said excitedly.
Luke nodded. "Should we wake Han?"
"Yes. I guess we should. Otherwise he'd have a search party set out." Leia said wryly and Luke grinned. He set his lightsaber down deep in his sleeping bag. He figured he wouldn't need it.
They put the pillow over Han's mouth and tapped him on the shoulder.
He woke up, startled, and was told to stay put. Han studied their faces. He knew he wouldn't win the argument. "Be careful," he made Leia promise.
They found an upset, hungry mooka not far from their camp. He was locked in a small cage outside of a cave.
"The poor thing," Leia muttered. She opened the cage and he ran free. Then she tossed the cage noisily into a bush.
"Quiet!" Luke hissed. "Someone must be here."
"You're right about that." a man said.
The twins looked up. There stood a tall man with piercing blue eyes and wavy black hair.
"Dr. Johnson?" Leia asked wearily.
The man smiled in response and pushed them into the cave before they had a chance to scream.
Thirty-two clan sisters sat around in a circle. The red reptile scales on their tunics glittered in the sunlight.
The leader, Gethzerion, held out a map.
"Sisters, we must prepare for the attack on the Nightsisters. I know there aren't a lot of us, so we will need help," the woman began. Her hair was beginning to gray at the temples, but the Force inside helped her look and seem more intimidating. And she was.
"Mother Reel has forseen a group of people marching through the wilderness. She says that three of these warriors will be of help to us. Two men and a young woman, they will be."
Tenenial, a fourteen year old girl with a strong spirit interrupted. "How can we trust Mother Reel? She is 300 years old, and she gets the past mixed with the future. How do we know this isn't of the past?"
"Silence! She has seen the future. Here is proof." Gethzerion put her rod in the sand and twirled it in a circle. It showed the three people in a cell in a cave. Then Gethzerion sang a verse, and the vision disappeared. "We must go to this cave, and take these people with us back here. Two will not come at first. But we must capture them all eventually. And quickly. Before the Nightsisters become too powerful."
"How can we capture them without people being killed?" one sister asked doubtfully.
"We must create a distraction. The plan is sketchy, now, but it will become clear. Who is coming?"
Gethzerion was disappointed that only two women rasied their hands.
'Oh, well,' she thought. 'We'll just take some slaves with us.'
She smiled and looked out at the small but determined sisters around her. "This will be the beginning of a new era!"
Han woke up at 0800. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep! He looked at the two beds near him. They were still empty. Looking around, he saw General Rieekan had just waken up.
"General," he said grimly. "Luke and Leia went out and they haven't come back yet. It was hours ago. I'm worried."
Rieekan immediately woke up the rest of the troop. "Men, search the woods. Two people are missing, and we must find them. Go in twos." He looked at Han. "You'll be coming with me."
Han started searching at a cave nearby. There was no clue that they had been there. 'Well, what was I looking for? A sign that read: TWO CAPTURED 22-YEAR OLDS HERE?' He smirked at the thought.
Then he heard a quiet whining noise. A tiny, frightened mooka peered out at him. "Hey, how'd you get here?" The mooka scurried away.
'Maybe that's why Luke and Leia set out today.' He tried to follow it, but it was too fast. Exhausted, he dropped near the entrance of the same cave.
"Find anything?" Rieekan asked hopefully. Han shook his head.
"Not unless you count a furry little mooka."
"I hope Lelila is all right."
"Me too."
Then a glimpse of silver caught his eye. "Hey, what's this?" He picked up a cage.
"Maybe it's a clue!" Han said excitedly. "I'll search the cave."
Han went in very quietly, but Rieekan hung back. Picking up his comlink, he headed back to the ship with four Rebel soldiers. He hated deserting his friends, but he wanted to bring back reinforcements. Just in case, he left a message on Han's hologram. The sleeping bags would be a dead-giveaway, so he hid them in some bushes.
He glanced back at the cave before heading for the ship. 'Sorry, guys.'
The scientist led Leia and Luke into the lab. Luke was surprised to find how deep it went down.
"What is it that you want?" his sister said angrily.
Dr. Johnson gestured to a bright blue on a table. "This is a Force ball."
"What does it do?" Luke asked.
"It takes the Force out of people and gives 90% of their powers to me."
Leia's face turned to horror. "That's horrible!"
"Not for me, it isn't." the man replied. "I now have the Nightsisters in my power, and soon I will have you, too."
"The Nightsisters?" Leia asked.
"A clan of Force trained witches. They are extremly powerful warriors."
"Taking away people's powers is terrible!" Luke exclaimed angrily. Leia glared at the scientist also. Then Luke realized he was giving into anger and he used a Jedi mind trick to relax. Touching her mind, he made her relax too. Noticing the change, Dr. Johnson used an invisible fist to knock Luke into the wall.
"Luke!" Leia screamed. But the next thing she knew, she and her brother were in a cell. It was just like the one she stayed in on Death Star. Leia shuddered at the memory.
"Are you all right, Luke?" Leia asked.
Taking a breath. Luke let the Force flow through him. His injuries were instantly healed. "I'll be all right. But what are we going to do about the ball?"
"I don't know if there's anything we can do." Leia admitted. "Luke, teach me how to use the Force. Please."
Luke studied her face. Then he nodded. "Okay. If... We do get our powers taken away, we'll get them back. Somehow. I just wish I had my lightsaber with me. I shouldn't of left it."
They began Leia's training. Touching her mind, Luke realized that she was just as powerful as he was. The Force was growing, and she was a fast learner.
Then, Han burst into the room.
Leia leaped up and ran to him. "Han! What are you doing here?"
"I am came looking for you. You never came back."
"Oh, good. Now your friend can watch." Dr. Johnson said from behind. Han turned to try and punch him, but the scientist hit him first.
The twins were drawn next to the ball. A bright light burst from the blue object and Luke and Leia floated off the ground, part of the light. Pain flashed through them, and Luke reached for his sister's hand.
Then it was over.
They landed on the cold, hard floor at the same moment, still clutching each other's hand.
Han tried to run to them, but it was like a wall was seperating him and keeping him to run to their rescue. When they finally got up and walked back to their cell, Luke knew the Force was practically gone.
The power left in him wasn't enough for him to ever become a Jedi.
This man was now more powerful then all of them. In time, he would become the next Emperor.
The sisters were almost to the cave. They rode tall rancors, and the passengers were only Gethzerion, Turti, Vinew, and three slaves.
"If Mother Rell hadn't of said this, I wouldn't go. What good are two men?" Turti complained.
"One is a Jai," Vinew explained.
The three witches stopped. They had a vision of a blinding light, and then there was a flash of pain.
Turti, the new sister, was shocked. "What was that, Gethzerion?"
The witch shook her head grimly. "A force ball. It takes the powers of Jedi's. We may be too late."
"No! We can't be." Vinew said stubbornly. She was in her early thirties, with strawberry blond hair and brown eyes. She was the tallest sister in the clan, and was very smart. Her mother had become a Nightsister herself. Vinew was taking a great risk at coming.
They went into the cave. It looked tiny on the outside, but there were a set of stairs immediately in front of them.
"Wait." Gethzerion commanded quietly. She pushed the sisters out of the cave right before Dr. Johnson came out. Using the Force, she made five trees in front of her explode. Panicked, the man rushed into the forest. "Hurry," Gethzerion commanded. "We don't have much time."
Their long black robes rubbed against the narrow walls as they ran. The lab, a large room with gray walls, had two rooms off it. One a bedroom, one a cell. They flicked open the gate, and a petite young woman with long, straight brown hair tumbled out. A tall man with brown hair and blue eyes caught her. He eyed the three witches suspiciously.
"Luke!" he yelled. Out came a shorter man with blond hair and clear blue eyes, who seemed releived the women were there.
"We don't have much time," Gethzerion said.
"Hold it." the tall man said. "I'm not going anywhere unless I know who you are."
"Gethzerion, Tinew, and Vurti. And our servants. There is only room for one on our rancor. We will send two sister's from our clan to come for you. They will arrive tomorrow at sundown."
The tall one nodded. "Leia is going."
Leia looked like she wanted to argue, but Gethzerion began pulling her arm. "Han," the woman said.
"I know."
Vinew wondered what it meant.
They led Leia out to the rancor, and noticed she hesitated.
"There's nothing to fear," Turti said.
Leia nodded and climbed on. They were silent at first, but then Leia broke it. "Why did you help me?"
Gethzerion gave her a smile. "Mother Rell foresaw that you and your slaves will help us against the Nightsisters."
"The Nightsisters... Dr. Johnson said he took their power. I never saw where they were."
Vinew closed her eyes. "They are dead. A Nightsister cannot live without her power. They don't care if they survive or not."
"How did the Nightsisters come to be?"
"They came from our clan. One sister turned over to the Dark Side, and then she tempted others."
"Those men in there were not my slaves. One was my brother and the other is my boyfriend."
Gethzerion pulled in to their clan's hideout. "Do not worry. We will help them. But just to be safe, when Tenenial and Zenon go to rescue them, they will tell the other sister's they are your slaves. Otherwise someone else will claim them."
For a reason the sister's didn't understand, Leia shuddered. "I'm sorry, but where I come from, people don't have slaves. We just have droids to do our work."
The other sister's were curious of the stranger, but they welcomed her. Gethzerion apologized. "Excuse us, Leia, but we don't have a lot of rooms. You'll have to share with another new member."
When Leia saw her roommate, she was overjoyed.
The woman was tall and regal, and carried herself like a princess.
"Winter!" Leia exclaimed. A tear went down her cheek, and she realized she hadn't cried in a long time. But Winter was just as happy to see her. Gethzerion left them to catch up.
"Winter?! What have you been doing?"
"Well, your father had sent me off planet to go to a meeting, remember? And one thing led to another and I decided to stay at Alliance Procurement and Supply. I designed maps, you know, because of my memory." she laughed as she talked. "The Imperials called me Targeter! Then I went to Coruscant, because I figured you'd be at the Imperial Palace, but my ship wrecked down here. The sister's found me and they adopted me into the clan. Now, what happened to you?"
"Well, when I was at Death Star,Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and two droids rescued me. Luke bacame a Jedi Knight, and Han and I fell in love. Then Darth Vader put Han in carbonite, although he was rescued by us and Lando Calrissian. Then we fought at the Battle of Endor, Lando blew up the Death Star II, and I decided to come to Dathomir for a mission. Han and Luke wouldn't leave my side, and.. here I am!"
Winter's eyes were wide, and Leia laughed. "Wow, Leia, the last four years have been a lot more exciting for you."
"Winter, will you come back to Coruscant with me? And become my executive assistant?"
"Sure!"
"Thanks, Winter. But... Han and Luke are still in Dr. Johnson's hands. I need to go with them."
Winter nodded. "I'm going with you."
The next day, Tenenial, Zenon, Leia and Winter headed out to Dr. Johnson's cave.
Leia was quiet on most of the trip. She was sitting next to Winter on the rancor, and asked worriedly, "Do you think they're all right?"
Zenon laughed. "That's the third time you've asked!" she said as they neared the entrance.
Zenon started to open the door, but Leia stopped her. "Maybe you and Tenenial should stay here."
"What?! But this is an adventure!" Tenenial objected.
"It's a risky adventure. You could get your powers taken away. Although at your age I was just like you. Still am, in fact."
Teneial beamed. The grownup's in her clan never prided her, or complimented her. It was beneath them.
Leia clutched her borrowed lightsaber as the door quietly slid open. She and Winter stopped at the bottom of the steps and listened carefully.
The man really was mad.
Leia could see Han and Luke trying to see what she was doing, but didn't open the gate. She planned to sneak up.
Unfortunately, the scientist turned around. "I'm the next Emperor. You really thought you could sneak up on me?"
The man's once blue eyes were now red. The sign of a Sith.
He stepped forward, prepared to fight with lightsaber in hand.
Leia felt a burst of energy.
"To help," Gethzerion said in her head.
"Thank you," Leia said gratefully.
Leia opened her beautiful blue lightsaber Gethzerion had given her. Blue was one of her favorite colors, but it did nothing now.
The scientist ran forward and tried to hit her head, but Leia blocked him. The impact sent her flying across the other side of the room.
She blocked every shot he tried, and he blocked every shot she tried.
Breathless, she ended up cornered. She kneeled down to try pick up something to throw at him, before he could get to her, but stopped when she reached the floor. There was nothing there.
He lifted his lightsaber over his head. If Leia had known that she could of cut through his stomach, she would of done it. Unless, of course, his saber would of landed on her head when he collapsed.
The man tried to save the moment; tried to save the look of absolute terror in her eyes.
Leia quickly used an invisble hand to unlock the gate holding Han and Luke back. They stepped forward, but didn't come close, in case the man tried to kill her because of that.
Then it happened.
Winter picked up a test tube and threw it at the man's head. He cried out as a peice of glass hit him, and stumbled backwards.
Leia knew he was going to fall, and apparently the man did too. He used his last amount of energy to knock the Force energy ball onto the floor, broken in a thousand peices.
He went out as he hit the hard floor, and Leia looked away from him and into the broken ball. Her eyes once again flooded with tears.
General Rieekan ordered his troop onto Dathomir's surface, just outside the forest. He was closer to the cave this time.
All he thought as he got out of his ship was that he hoped Han and Leia could forgive him for deserting them.
He had brought an extra ship with him, just in case any local's wanted to get off the planet.
First, he went to the clearing. He picked up Han's hologram, being careful as if he might break it.
His message was still on it.
He took a couple men and ran to the cave.
A girl and an old lady stood at the entrance instead.
"Who are you?" the old lady demanded.
"We're with the Republic." General Rieekan said carefully. They had on lizard skin and animal skulls decorated their outfits, but he wasn't sure if they were with the Empire or not.
The girl seemed excited. "They're with Leia! They're on our side!"
Rieekan tried going through the entrance.
The old lady stopped him once again. "You're not going in there. This is their fight."
He sighed.
But if they didn't come out soon, he promised himselfhe would go in, no matter what this woman said.
Luke cried out as the ball hit the ground, and Leia looked just as horrified. She would never become a Jedi now.
He walked over to his sister and switched off her lightsaber. He took her hand as she looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.
Then a vision came into the center of the room.
There were ghosts swirling around in a circle, moaning softly.
Luke watched in fascination as one ghost stood right in front of him. It was a woman, with long hair and big eyes.
The light came into the room, brilliant as before. He felt pain go through him, and closed his eyes.
When he opened them, the spirit's were gone.
He checked the Force inside of him. It was surely there, as powerful as before. He could sense his sister standing next to him, not moving. She still had her eyes closed.
He watched, bemused, as Leia opened her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
He looked over at Han to make sure he had seen them too, and one look at his face told him yes.
Leia saw him too, and started to laugh. Luke had to join her.
When they stopped laughing, Leia seemed to remember something. "Oh. Han, Luke. Meet Winter, from Alderaan." she gestured towards the woman leaning against the wall, her face almost as white as her hair.
"So," Winter said, "Do things like this always happen to you?" She was only half-joking.
The four walked outside, and Luke didn't give Dr. Johnson a second thought when he saw the troop waiting outside.
"Princess Leia! You're all right!" Rieekan exclaimed gratefully.
"I didn't know what happened to you." Leia answered.
"I left, to get help. I'm sorry I didn't stay."
Leia seemed thoughtful. "That's all right, Rieekan."
Everyone else headed for the ship, but Leia stayed behind.
She walked over to Tenenial and Zenon still standing there.
"Mother Rell was right. The Nightsister's are gone, and so is the Empire. You really did it." Zenon said in awe.
"This trip was very interesting. If you wish, I will ask the Senate for money for your clan."
"I'm sure Gethzerion will agree." Zenon said.
Leia said her good-byes and walked out to her ship. Dathomir was an adventure in itself.
Dr. Johnson woke up with a pounding headache. He looked around to find his enemy, but she was gone.
He ran outside. Leia was talking to the sisters. Quietly he snuck around the back of the cave and into the second ship.
There were only two men inside, and he locked them into storage.
Dathomir may not of worked out, but there were plenty other planets in the galaxy...
~~~~~~~~~~EPILOGUE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was one more hour to Coruscant. Leia still hadn't forgiven her father, but that would come in time.
She had one more thing to do for the night.
She walked out to the cockpit where Han sat.
He smiled when he saw her. "Remind me not to let you talk me into these missions." He frowned when he saw how serious she was.
"Han, I need to talk to you." She turned to look out at the galaxy instead of at him. "Luke is my twin brother. We were seperated at birth. Luke went with Obi-wan's brother, and I went with Obi-wan's trusted friend. We were being protected by our father." She turned bac to him.
"Who was he?"
"Darth Vader."
Han gasped. "I'm sorry, Leia, I just didn't expect you to say that."
"He asked for my forgiveness a couple days ago."
"That can't be. I saw the smoke from his grave."
"He can appear from the dead. Like Luke can see Yoda and Obi-wan."
Han thought for a moment. "Leia, Vader was your father, but he wasn't you. I can't hold anything against you just because of your family."
For the rest of the night, they talked about where they came from.
Leia sighed and thought about her brother, finding Winter, and Han's forgiveness.
Her family was back together.
END