Out of the Shadows – Part 2
This story is mainly for my beloved Mona because I could not do without her and also for all my friends on the SSB list especially Rhea Jedi-Knight. They are a superb group of ladies and inspirational writers. The characters all belong to Lucasfilm and I am only playing with them for my own pleasure. If you are looking for a timeline and character continuity…forget it. This is a very alternative universe albeit still a Star Wars one. My thanks also to Niqella and Michele.
Leia Organa's Quarters – Home One
Han Solo narrowed hazel eyes and fixed them out of the tiny viewport in Leia's cabin but saw nothing of the stars and ships there as they buzzed around the massive Calamarian cruiser like busy insects. "He's up to something."
"Who is up to something?" Leia sat at the tiny vanity unit, brushing her hair free of its confines.
"The Kid. He's got something on his mind. I know that sneaky, smart-mouthed Jedi brother of yours too well, Highnessness." Han leaned back on the bunk, gave a wriggle and squashed Leia's pillow into a more comfortable shape.
"I…"
"Come on, Leia." Han's voice was barbed. "You must sense something's up. Use this Force that Luke says you've got."
Leia chewed on her lip, her expression worried. "I'm not sure. I'm new to this Jedi experience – new to the whole idea of it. I told you before - I don't know if what I sense is the Force or if it's all a lie. I'm trying to second guess myself and I don't like it." She placed the brush on the unit and crossed to the bed, slipping in beside him.
Han looked contrite. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I find it hard to see the Kid dealing with all this mumbo-jumbo and now you tell me it's part of you too. Forget all that and just use your common sense – your woman's intuition. You got by fine on it before without giving it a fancy name."
"He's been…unhappy, I guess." Leia confirmed her own unease as she said the words aloud. Luke hadn't been happy in a long time. Not since he'd found out who he was and who his…their…father was. "He's upset with me because I won't accept Vader as my father." Han pulled her to him and she lay in the circle of his arms, just accepting his closeness. She loved this man, this scoundrel of hers. "He's distancing himself from me," Leia admitted with a slight sense of shock. "His mind is busy but with what, I don't know."
"When do the Rogues fly out?"
Leia shook her head. "I don't know that either – General Madine didn't say. I'm surprised they're not out on patrol as it is but I guess they need a bit of down time too. They've been in the thick of the fighting as usual, first Endor, and then straight onto Bakura with us."
Han sighed. "I think the doc-droid put his wheels down and insisted Luke take several days leave."
"What!"
"Just something I overheard."
"And Luke didn't tell us?" Leia's face was a picture of consternation. She sat up and stared down at Han.
"We've barely seen him since we got back from Bakura. He's in meetings with Mon Mothma and Ackbar all the time and when he's not…" Han shrugged and spread his hands out. "He's become rather secretive."
"I wish he'd told us."
"What could we do?"
"Nothing but…"
"Luke hates being fussed over."
"He does, doesn't he? I wish he would let me look after him for once. At least 2-1B got hold of him. He hasn't mastered this self-healing ability apparently." Leia grabbed the extra quilt from the bottom of the bunk and pulled it over them both, snuggling into Han's strong frame. "It's nice to just all be together but I get the feeling it won't last long."
Han pulled the quilt more securely around them both and dropped a kiss on Leia's head. "We'll take what we can get."
It could only have been a couple of hours later that Leia opened her eyes and began to count the rivets welded into the ceiling above her head. She noticed idly that one was missing. So much for the individual workmanship of the Mon Calamari. Han snored gently next her, his body warm and comforting as his chest rose and fell with each breath. With a sensation of daring, Leia reached out to where she thought Luke was. Her eyes widened as she felt the warm spot in what must be the Force that signified Luke. Already she'd grasped the technique of seeking out his familiar presence from all the others on board the ship. This was more than just Luke calling out to her back on Bespin through sheer desperation. That awful period when she'd lost Han and nearly lost Luke seemed such a long time ago but was actually less than a year. Her brother was still awake. She could feel his restless mind and she had the impression that he wanted to talk to her but was worried about her reaction to his plans.
'Plans! What plans?'
Definitely wide awake, Leia eased from her bed without disturbing Han, grabbed the serviceable grey belted coverall she'd been wearing earlier and slipped it on. She wondered how Han could tell what Luke was thinking without the Force – but he could. He could see straight through the fledgling Jedi as if he was made of transparisteel. She glanced admiringly at her sleeping lover. The shrewd scoundrel had hit the nail right on the head with the vibrohammer. Her newly-discovered brother was up to something.
Leia's quarters were close to the war cabinet rooms and the main bridge of the Mon Calamarian cruiser, whereas Luke was housed with the other Rogue Squadron pilots close to the hangar bays and their ships. Silently slipping from her cabin, Leia headed along the dimly lit corridor until she reached the nearest turbo lift. Although there were enough beings serving on board a ship this size to keep it running for every minute of every hour in a day, Admiral Ackbar and the other Alliance leaders liked to assign a day and night shift. Leia had guessed years ago that it was set to the time of the Galactic capital, Coruscant. This was the time when most of the humans were undertaking their sleep cycle. It made it appear as if one day they would be welcome there.
"Hangar deck," Leia spoke clearly as she entered the lift. The ride only took a few moments.
The doors slid silently open and as she exited, two Verpine mechanics hurried to catch the lift before the door closed. 'Ah', she thought, surprised even though she should not have been that the Verpines were prepping the ships for the pilots' next duty shifts.
The guard at the monitoring station gave her a deferential nod as she passed. The corridor containing the pilots' quarters was quiet, the lounge area empty. They were either out on patrol or sleeping. There seemed to be very little down time for the pilots these days despite being on a ship that could hold at least five thousand beings. But then again, they were still at war. Winning at Endor had only allowed them some breathing space until the Empire regrouped, which it would do regardless of Palpatine's death. She moved along checking door numbers until she came to Luke's. He was a Jedi; he should know that she was there, she thought but out of habit she lifted her hand and pressed it against his announcer.
"Come." Luke's voice bade her enter. "Leia!" he said, surprised at her entrance.
"Didn't you know I was coming?" She took in the tiny room and felt a little ashamed that her cabin was more than three times the size of his. A casually dressed, bare-footed, tousled-haired Luke lay on his narrow bed surrounded by data cards and actual books. He'd obviously been studying. This was a side of Luke that she hadn't really seen – or he hadn't let her see. She knew the fighter pilot and reckless farmboy better than the studious Jedi. He looked so young.
"How would I know…oh, the Force?" Luke asked, his smile warm, as he placed the data pad on the locker beside his bed. "No. I knew you were awake and I could tell you were thinking hard but…"
"You were reading."
"I can read, you know. I know my schooling wasn't as fancy as yours but I did graduate early." Luke hid his smirk, watching as she rose beautifully to the bait. Leia wasn't a snob and was conscious of the difference in their upbringings but every so often he and Han liked to tease her about it.
Leia's eyes widened indignantly. "I wasn't suggesting that your education was in any way inferior to mine. You achieved enough marks to win an Imperial Academy place."
"I did but they would never have let me go there."
"They…?"
"My aunt and uncle and possibly even Obi-Wan and Yoda. Although…" Luke tapped his chin contemplatively. "Uncle Owen wouldn't have had a Jedi on the premises even to help keep me there. He ran Ben off with his blaster rifle once. I don't know how he would have reacted to Master Yoda."
"Probably in the same way," Leia said thoughtfully, remembering the way Luke had described his uncle to her. Luke had mentioned Yoda a couple of times before – his Jedi Master. He'd gone to some secret hideaway to train with the aged Jedi after the battle of Hoth, only returning because he had sensed Han and Leia's danger on Bespin, not realising that it was a trap laid by Vader.
After the encounter with the Dark Lord of the Sith, Luke had been a changed man. He had lost his hand in the fight with Vader and seemed to be carrying a terrible secret. Leia swallowed. She now knew what secret Luke had been keeping to himself; part of her wished that he had never divulged the awful truth.
Her brother had disappeared again after they'd rescued Han from Tatooine and had admitted that he'd found the old Master gravely ill. Luke hadn't mentioned Yoda since he'd returned to the Alliance after the second Death Star had been destroyed. Leia assumed that the old Jedi had died and it was too painful for Luke to talk about it on top of everything else that had happened to him. She frowned. These people - his aunt, uncle and Ben Kenobi - had been hiding Luke. If he'd gone to Raithal – to the Imperial academy, he wouldn't have exactly been concealed. He was a brilliant pilot and an inspired leader – no, his talent would have been discovered and with it, his identity. Leia considered what might have happened and shivered. "No, I don't suppose they would have let you go. It might have been dangerous for you."
"And I never see and experience danger being part of the Rebel Alliance, do I?" He gave a mischievous grin. "I suspect that my Uncle Owen wouldn't have wanted me to fight for the Rebellion either."
Leia chuckled. She saw so little of his quirky sense of humour these days. They hadn't had much to laugh about. But now and then, he reminded her that his sharp wit was still very much in evidence. "No, of course not. Such a safe organisation. You were going to offer me a caf?"
"Was I? You drink too much of that stuff," Luke admonished. "That's Han's bad influence upon you. No wonder you weren't sleeping. Where is the old pirate?"
"Sleeping," she said succinctly. "He and Chewie have been doing things to the Falcon all day – something about rewiring one of the older modifications to the navicomp."
"Uh-oh!" Luke winced. "Doesn't that worry you?"
Leia rolled her eyes. "He wants the ship to be ready if we are needed to go anywhere in a hurry. He says she's still the fastest ship in the fleet."
Luke shook his head, his smile widening proudly. "Then she is." He got off the bunk and smoothed the quilt, motioning his sister to have a seat while he prepared a caf for her and a stim tea for himself.
"The Empire is in a state of total confusion."
"The power struggle gives us a little time to get our act together," said Luke, handing her steaming mug.
"Yes, but we can't have that long. Intelligence cites several star destroyers as not having been present at Endor."
"That's worrying." Luke frowned into his mug of tea.
"We also had many losses and we have far fewer resources than the Empire does. We have agents in place on Coruscant but it's too dangerous to contact them until things have settled down – that's if they ever do. There are still prices on all our heads."
He pressed his hands around the warm mug. "The agents know what they're doing – that's their jobs. Leia…"
"Luke…"
They spoke simultaneously. "You first," Luke said, sitting back down on the bed, leaning his weary body against the headboard. He needed to get some sleep tonight too but first he had to tell Leia.
"I just want to know what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong," Luke automatically denied.
"Yes there is, I can feel…" Leia clenched and unclenched her hands. "I don't know what I feel."
"Neither do I," Luke whispered softly. He'd been delaying the inevitable for too many days and he had to tell her. Now was as good a time as any. "Leia…"
The Alderaanian princess lifted her head and gazed solemnly at her brother. "Tell me," she commanded gently.
"Sweet sister. This is the second time I've had to say something like this to you."
"The second time?"
"The first time was in the Ewok village on Endor when I finally told you that you were my sister and that Vader was..." Luke's shoulder's slumped as he watched Leia's expression shutter and grow cold. He let out a deep sigh. She still hadn't truly accepted who she was and by doing so denied him the right to his own identity. But he wouldn't press her on it this time, not when their remaining time together was so short. "I've resigned my commission and I'm leaving. Wedge will take over my duties as the official leader of Rogue Squadron. He was leading them in all of the last few operations. It's time I gave Wedge his chance. He's leader in all but rank and title. He deserves it."
"What!" The colour drained from Leia's face.
"Rest assured I'm not going off to face the Emperor or Vader – I can't do that any more seeing as both are now one with the Force." The feeble joke fell flat.
"Then where are you going, what are you going…?" her voice rose.
"I have to finish my training," Luke said quietly, not meeting her eyes. "I cannot continue to be a half-trained Jedi. I'm more dangerous like this to myself and to you and the Alliance."
"That's not true. Your power in the Force is truly amazing. Surely you can learn just as much with us," Leia cried.
He indicated the piled books and data readers. "No, I cannot." He was inflexible. "This is not enough for me."
"Have you told anyone else?"
"Mon Mothma."
"Just Mon Mothma?"
He nodded. "She accepted my resignation and understood why I have to go. Ackbar will be told once I've left the ship. I was about to find you and then tell Wedge. Congratulate him."
"Then it's not too late to change your mind. We can give you time…make sure you are not sent out on so many missions."
"That won't work, Leia. I need more than that."
"It must – it has to. I know…I forbid you to go. In fact, I'll make it an order." But Leia knew she was being unfair and her head dropped. "I'm sorry, Luke," she whispered.
Luke's voice gentled. "Leia… It's inevitable that we'll be parted. You cannot order me around. I'm no longer part of the Alliance military – I resigned. I'm a private citizen and I will go. You cannot stop me. Don't make it any harder than it is." He leant forward and rubbed his hand across his forehead, massaging the temples as pain began to throb insistently.
"But why must you do this?"
His hand dropped away from his face. "Because I must. If I'd known more I could have saved Dev."
"You don't know that for certain."
"No, but I'm sure that I did not know enough to try everything that could be tried. The future is always in motion after all."
"It would have been difficult for Dev…if he'd lived."
"I know but that is life – it's supposed to be difficult. I've never found it to be easy. So often I go for the quick fix or the instant cure. I have very little patience – just like my father." His mouth compressed into a flat line. "If I'd stayed longer…learned more…then he might have lived. I will never know but I will always wonder." Luke leant forward and took Leia's capable, small hands in his. "I know you don't totally understand my reasons but you're strong and you have Han. I will return. When I have finished my training I will return. I have you to teach."
"Me?"
"Yes. I said that the Force ran strong in our family and that you would learn to use it as I had."
"You did say that," Leia recollected slowly. "In the Ewok village before you left to face Vader."
"Our father," Luke insisted quietly. It meant so much to him that she accepted who they both were but she wasn't ready. He didn't want to admit to himself that she might never be ready. "I want to do this right. I want to be able to teach you properly. My finishing the training will help me do that. The Force is strong within you, Leia."
"Who…How will you finish your training?" she asked. "I thought you were the last of the Jedi?
"No, I'm to be the first of the new when Master Yoda becomes one with the Force. He is still with us, strong in mind and spirit but frail in body. I have to be able to rebuild the Jedi but I'm not yet ready to undertake such a task."
"Yoda is still alive?" Leia sat up.
"Yes, but I fear his time with us is short. I have to go to him – I have made my choice."
"If he's sick, we have healers. We could cure him. He could train you with us."
Luke shook his head. She didn't understand the need for peace. He could never concentrate and they would not leave him alone. There would always be another mission, another crisis. "He neither wants nor needs that, Leia. I don't think he's even fit enough to travel. The world he lives on is rich with life and strong with the Force. I think it would kill him to leave."
Leia's face fell. "I see. I'm trying to understand why you must go and I suppose I do."
"During the Old Republic, children were taken from their homes for training as babies."
"That's what happened to us in a way wasn't it?"
"I suppose it was," Luke whispered. "To keep us alive."
"I accept your offer of training when the time is right. I don't have time right now, so perhaps it's just as well that your training is incomplete. By the time I'm ready you'll be practically a Master." She swallowed. "What are you going to say to Han?"
Luke hunched his shoulders. "I don't know. He won't understand."
Leia twisted her pretty mouth worriedly. "He might – then again... I'll tell him. He will accept it more easily if it comes from me."
Luke's face showed his doubt. "I should do it myself."
"When are you planning to go?"
Luke's eyes fell away from hers and he gestured around his bare quarters and at the packed bags lying on the floor next to the wall that she hadn't noticed. "Tomorrow."
"So soon?"
"My time here is running short – I have to go. Admiral Ackbar plans to move the fleet to a more secure location within the next forty-eight hours. We're still too close to Endor. If the Imperial fleet regroups as soon as Ackbar's reports indicate and we're still here, we're in trouble. They know exactly where we are and we're not ready to defend ourselves. My destination is several days travel from here but too far from where the Admiral plans to locate the battle group."
"Where are you going?"
Luke shook his head. "I cannot tell you."
"But surely we can contact you?"
"No, you cannot. There are no cities or technology where I'm going."
"No cities or technology." Leia echoed. "What kind of place has no beings?"
"A good place to hide. It has massive amounts of life forms – beings aplenty. You must ask Artoo about that sometime."
"But I don't want to lose you."
"You won't. I'll keep in touch."
"Promise?" she begged.
"I give you my word – as a Jedi."
Leia got slowly to her feet. "I'd better let you get some rest. Will I see you …before you go?"
"Of course but I'm leaving early."
"Were you planning on getting any sleep tonight, brother?"
Luke stood up, his hands coming up to lightly grasp Leia's shoulders. "I was but you came to visit and I'd rather have that."
"Oh, Luke," Leia said helplessly.
"I'll be taking Artoo with me and I wondered…"
"If Han and I would keep Threepio with us?"
Luke nodded. "You usually do. He wouldn't understand at all and where I'm going, there's no need for a protocol droid – especially one with Threepio's sensibilities." He bent his head and gently kissed Leia's forehead. "Go back to your quarters. You need your rest too." He walked with her to the door and then stood and watched her as she made her way back towards the guard station and the turbolift.
"Okay, Artoo," Luke instructed, stifling a yawn. "Check all systems and finish the complete diagnostic that I asked you to do."
"Let me help you, Boss."
"Wedge!" Luke turned around and stared at the grave face of his friend and colleague. "You're the 'Boss' now."
"Perhaps, but to me, Luke, you will always be my Commander. Do you begrudge me the chance to help you check your ship for the last time before you take off?"
Luke swallowed, more moved than he cared to admit. "I appreciate that, Wedge. Once I've finished my training, I will return to help the Alliance. You may even let me fly again with you. I have it on good authority that I'm a reliable wingman."
"That would be good." Wedge's dark eyes spoke volumes. He hadn't forgotten Luke saving his life just after Endor. He'd nearly been space dust. The two men completed their assessment and pre-flight checks on Luke's x-wing in silence. They'd said all they needed to say.
"Luke!" Leia's presence hit him just before she did as she threw herself into his arms.
"Hey!" he soothed. "It'll be alright." He lifted his head and stared over his sister's shoulders into the bleak face of Han Solo.
"When were you going to tell me, Kid?" Han's voice accused.
"Now." Luke winced as Han's feelings of hurt and bafflement hit his shields. He'd known that his friend wouldn't understand.
"This isn't where I could talk you out of another foolhardy stunt, Junior?"
"No. I have to go. That's why I didn't tell you. I couldn't risk the chance that you might be able to talk me out of it." He tightened his grip on his sister. "Force, I don't want to go." Hearing her quiet sobs was almost killing him. He couldn't recall the last time he'd heard Leia weep.
"Look how you've upset Leia," Han snapped. "No, you don't have to go."
"Yes, I do," Luke argued back, just as determined to get his point across. "Remember back on Hoth when you had to go back to Jabba's and pay back what you owed?"
"I never actually got there," Han muttered. "That was part of the problem. But you don't owe anyone anything, Kid. Surely it must be the other way around."
"I owe the Jedi, Han. I have a debt to them."
"What kind of debt?"
Luke walked forward, keeping his arm around Leia and placed his hand on Chewie's arm. "A life debt. Look after him, Chewie. See that he doesn't do anything stupid."
The Wookiee growled in soft agreement.
"Me!" Han's voice nearly went off the scale. "I'm not the one that rushes into detention centres without any plans for getting out."
"No," Luke retorted. "You just followed me. Look after Leia, you old pirate," he said softly and, carefully disengaging himself from his sister, placed her into Han's arms. "There's no one else I'd entrust her to, you know that."
"I do," Han said. He felt totally helpless. Luke was leaving them all for the Jedi! The Kid would never survive on his own.
"I'll manage, Han. I will return when it's time. I'm not off to meet an evil Emperor and a Dark Lord of the Sith on this occasion."
"When will that be?"
Luke shrugged. "When the Force wills it."
Wedge stepped forward and saluted. "Clear skies, Boss."
"Thanks, Wedge."
"Be safe and well, Kid," Han said helplessly. He couldn't believe how much this was hurting him.
"Okay, Artoo. Fire up the converters." Luke stared at Leia and Han, his clear blue gaze saying all the things he couldn't voice.
It was then that they saw the change. His shoulders stiffened, his eyes seemed distant as if he was gazing on a horizon far from them all. It wasn't Luke Skywalker, the rebel fighter pilot that mounted the ladder and slipped into the x-wing's cockpit.
It was Luke Skywalker, the Jedi Knight.