Five years ago...
A young woman awakens from a nightmare in the dead of night, a scream on her lips. Slowly, as the minutes pass, reality comes sliding back into place as she struggles to get control of her rapid breathing in the gloomy darkness of her tent.
In the darkness, she shakes her head slowly as images from the dream of an unfamiliar woman float through her mind's eye like icebergs on a strong current. In pain, in the dark, in the blinding light. Terrified, yet trembling and scared.
It is not the first time in recent months that she has woken out of a sound sleep to find herself screaming, but every time feels like the first and it's always the same: some one is in pain, and scared, and trembling, and alone.
Cocking her head to one side as she listens to the world outside her tent, she feels something else: an enveloping feeling of warmth. Almost as if someone had wrapped her in their arms and were holding her securely. Someone she trusted.
Shaking her head again and dismissing it, she swings her feet over the edge of her small cot and moved to get dressed, knowing that sleep, were she to try again, would be long in coming. Besides, there was much to do, and nothing would be accomplished by laying on her cot waiting for sleep to come.
Stepping out of her tent into the cool night air, she looked around and noticed a man sitting at one of the tables that had been set up to act as a communal area, and he's drinking a cup of caf. Sighing, the woman joins him after getting a cup of caf for herself.
"What are you doing up, Samir?" she asks, her eyes on the table.
"Guard duty," Samir tells her, his tone light and conversational. He waits a moment, then, after a sip from his cup: "That was loud, by the way."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"But…" trailing off, he studies the stiffness in her posture. Something is going on, he knew, and it has been for months. But there are lines when it comes to personal stuff, and this is one of those. "All right. Then we won't... for now."
She glares at him. "That's not funny."
"Wasn't meant to be, Renna… We all have nightmares, you know."
Renna looks away, staring out into the early morning darkness. "I know... I just wish I understood them."
"I could help you understand them. Tell me?"
"No."
Samir reaches across the table and touches her hand gently. When she turns back to him, he smiles comfortingly. "Then I won't force you. But if and when you want to talk about it, I'll be there to listen... Do you understand?"
Renna, nearly swayed by the compassion in his eyes, nods slowly. "I understand."
"Good..."
Now...
"Just something I needed to see, finally. You, like that." Looking away from Mara, Widia noticed an activated data pad on Mara's knee. She frowned at the old familiar holo of a Senator. "Studying Nubian politics?"
"Not exactly," Mara answered non-committally as she looked down at the baby in her arms. She had to agree with her mother and admit that something felt right, even if she wasn't sure what.
Widia picked up the datapad and looked at the holo for a long moment. "Then why are you looking up Senator Naberrie's aunt?" She blinked at the reaction she got when Mara turned and looked at Luke with wide eyes. "What now?"
"When was her niece a senator?" Luke asked carefully when Mara said nothing.
Widia frowned in thought. "We were underground during that time, but I think… just before the Battle of Yavin when the first Death Star was destroyed. I think, at least."
Luke glanced at Mara, who was staring at the datapad in Widia's hand in befuddlement. "You don't think…"
"That Leia knew her?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"It's possible." Mara turned to Luke and handed Novami to him, then turned back to Widia. "I was looking through that because of what Jaelle said about twins running in Alena's family. It made me wonder, even though the odds were... well, they're high. I came across that holo and I think found the answer I was looking for."
"I see?" Ben asked. Widia let him look and he frowned for a long moment before turning to Mara. "Look like Auntie Lay."
Widia looked at the holo again, studying it. "He's right. Senator Amidala does bare a resemblance to Chief of State Organa-Solo." She was met with silence as Mara and Luke turned to look at one another. "There are some differences here and there, but…"
"Was that what you were trying to figure out?" Luke asked Mara pointedly.
"Well… yes." Mara took the datapad back from Widia and curiously looked through the data again. "Huh… the date of her funeral correlates to Leia's official Life Day. Interesting."
Luke looked at her with an unreadable expression. "Just how long have you been looking into personal records and why didn't you tell me?"
"Since Elsie planted the seed of curiosity, and it was just a hobby. I didn't think it'd actually yield anything."
"Ah." Luke's attention was taken when Novami cooed up at him and he smiled down at her.
Widia glanced at Luke, who had acceded to the urge to coo back to the baby in his arms, then smiled and shook her head. "All right... enough seriousness. Is anyone hungry?"
"I am," Mara said, as Ben nodded up at her. "Where is Vima, by the way?"
"In Renna's room, sleeping in a chair. I went in there to check, and then Vima insisted that she stay, saying that it was important." Widia led the three of them to the kitchen and motioned to the table while she began to prepare something to eat.
Sitting down, Mara looked around the kitchen. She didn't get a chance to say anything because a man entered through the back door. "Uh…"
The man glanced at the people sitting at the table, shrugged, and looked at Widia. "Hello."
"Hi, Samir. Renna's asleep right now, so would you like to join us for supper?"
Samir nodded. "I would." He turned and noticed the baby in the man's arms. "Um... I don't believe I've had the pleasure of..."
Widia pulled a pan out of a cupboard. Turning, she set in on the stove. "Samira, this is Mara, Luke, and their son, Ben. Everyone, this is Samir, a friend of Renna's from the reconstruction project she went on."
"And the baby?" Samir prompted.
"Samir?"
"Yes?"
"Guess." She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Samir thought about it. Then his eyes widened and he stared at Widia. "Already? But you didn't comm me!"
"That's because it just happened today, you silly man." Widia went over and took the baby from Luke, smiling at him. "I think it's time I took her back to Alena. Be right back."
Samir, still standing near the door, suddenly felt uncomfortable under the gazes of Luke and Mara. "Uh… hi."
"Hello yourself," Mara said humorlessly as she gazed at him. "Been visiting Renna a lot, have you?"
"Yes. She's a close friend of mine."
Mara's eyes narrowed as she looked at him. A close friend on apparently friendly terms with her mother? This got more interesting all the while...
~*~*~*~*~
Alena smiled as Widia handed Novami back to her. "Thank you. I was starting to wonder."
"Can't have you sending Torath rampaging all over the house looking for her, now can we?" Widia paused, looking at them. "Anyone hungry?"
"Yes, actually," Torath said succinctly. "I am, at least."
"So am I," Alena murmured. "A little, anyway."
"All right, then… I think I need to get back to the kitchen before Mara gets mad and chases Samir away."
"You left Samir alone with Luke and Mara?" Jaelle asked with wide eyes. "Mother!"
"What's the worst that can happen?" Widia paused and thought about that, then she rushed from the room.
Jaelle just shook her head in resignation. "Oh well… can't win 'em all."
"She wouldn't kill him, would she?" Torath asked after a moment.
"I don't think so, but it is better not to tempt fate."
"True."
~*~*~*~*~
Samir was slowly backing toward the door when Widia reentered the kitchen and went back to cooking. "I'll go now."
Widia sighed and turned to look at Mara, who was still staring at Samir with an intent expression. "Mara, he's a friend. What did you do?"
"Not a thing. Awfully jumpy, isn't he?"
Widia laughed. "Ah... Samir, would you sit down already? She won't bite you."
Luke pulled Mara closer and smiled at her. "You'd better not, or I'll be upset."
"Farmboy, are you trying to incite something in front of my mother and our son?" Mara asked him seductively. "Because if you are, you're on the right track..."
"No, but if it'll keep you from hounding the guy with precision questions..."
"Stop it, you two," Widia interrupted them with a chuckle as Samir sat down at the table as far as he could get from Mara. Which meant he was sitting right next to Ben, who smiled guilelessly up at him. "So what have you been doing, Samir?"
"Helping with the restorations of Theed Palace," Samir answered. "There's more work that needs to be done, but the interior is in better shape now than it was."
"That's good."
Mara frowned. "Five years, and there's still reconstruction going on?"
Samir nodded. "Here and there. The first thing we did was help the farmers in the southern hemisphere get back up to speed, then shifted our focus onto other projects."
"Ah."
~*~*~*~*~
Alena leaned back into the pillows and listened as everyone talked around her. It felt so good to hear Widia laugh, and to see the formerly somber woman that was like a mother to her smile like it was the most natural thing in the world.
At her side, holding their baby, Torath smiled at her. "Feels right, doesn't it?"
"It does. I didn't know your mother could smile like that."
Torath had to suppress a chuckle. He was glad everyone had decided to join them in the bedroom after supper, even Samir. "I know what you mean..."
~*~*~*~*~
Renna dreamed.
Dreamed of another life that was not hers.
Dreamed of a young girl sitting alone in the darkness.
Dreamed of that same girl, different and older now, learning from a figure cloaked in darkness and foreboding voice. Learning the ways of darkness.
Always watching. She isn't certain if it the past she sees, or tales of future times. No matter. She doesn't need to know.
Just before she woke, Renna saw another woman, different from the first. This one was in hyperspace, racing toward a loved one, in desperate need to get there in time. Where ever it was.
Dreamed of the woman arriving, only too late. Finding what remained of her rebellious child in a dark and dingy stone room while cruel laughter rang in her ears.
And saw the woman's eyes as she turned and looked at the source of the laughter...
Renna startled awake, breathing hard in the half-light of her room, that cruel laughter still ringing in her mind.
"It was real," an old voice said from beside her. "What you saw? All real."
Renna blinked and turned to find on old woman sitting in a chair and watching her with very familiar eyes. She was dressed in new-looking robes, a scarf covering her head, and there was a sense to her... almost as if she wasn't comfortable in her own skin. "Real? ...wait... Huh?"
The woman was silent for a moment before speaking again. "The force shows. Laughter was real."
Renna was stunned. No one had ever recounted any of her dreams like that before. Her mother believed, sure, but it wasn't quite the same. "How did...?"
"Because you saw Vima's worst. Force told Vima."
Renna sat there, frowning at that explanation. Her worst? "You... lost a child to a dark man in a bad place?"
"To an evil man, yes." Vima leaned toward Renna and put a hand on her shoulder. "Is okay to tell, child."
"Tell what, old lady?"
"Dreams are not dreams, and... it wasn't your fault. None of it was."
"Not my fault in what way? If I'd said something, more people would be alive now."
"Child not know that."
"Yes, I do." Renna looked away. "I saw it, before. If I had spoken up, gone along... something... My father and several others would be alive now."
Vima was silent for a moment, considering the woman in front of her, before making her look at her gently. "Some things happen, child. For good or ill. Maybe could have stopped it, maybe not. Force told you, yes, but..." She paused, eyes going distant.
"Vima?" Renna asked when she realized that Vima wasn't looking at her, but past her.
And then Vima blinked, as if returning to the present. "You must not blame yourself, child. You didn't know it was real. You couldn't have known. Understand?"
Renna cocked her head to the side, trying to understand the meaning of what this old woman was trying to tell her. "I think so... It wasn't my fault?"
"No. None of it was."
"Then the same applies to you."
Vima stared at her, somewhat confused at that. "What?"
"Your regret? Giving in to anger? The anger was your fault, nothing more."
They talked for a long while.
~*~*~*~*~
Later, Renna laid there and stared at the ceiling in the darkness. Vima had fallen asleep again in that chair, softly snoring and occasionally mumbling something about being lost, whatever that meant.
Talking had helped a little. Somewhat, anyway. The pressure in her chest had lessened and she didn't feel quite so nauseated at the mere thought of food.
Shaking her head, Renna sat up and pushed her blankets away. Then she moved to get off the bed and her feet met something other than carpet. Startled, Renna fumbled for the light on her nightstand, and stared when she found a familiar man in a sleeping bag laying there, sound asleep. "Samir?"
Why is he sleeping on my bedroom floor? Renna wondered.
Careful not to wake him, Renna got out of her bed and left the room, glancing back only once, noting that Vima was still asleep in the chair.
Renna made her way to the living room, and stopped in the doorway when she saw that woman from her dream, a blond-haired man, and a small boy asleep on the couch with a blanket covering them. Now she knew something was going on. "Huh... guess mom didn't slam the door after all..."
A tiny wail pierced the air, and Renna turned around to follow the sound. There was a baby in the house? Since when?
She followed the sound to a guest room, where she found her brother cradeling an infant as he sang softly and walked back and forth. Renna watched him for a few minutes before he noticed her and beckoned her to enter, turning to show the infant to her. "It's a girl."
Renna smiled at him. "She's pretty."
"I think so, too."
"When?"
"Ten hours ago... You missed the whole thing, you know."
"I gathered that." She paused, then asked: "Why is Samir sleeping on my bedroom floor, who is the old lady, and where did that family in the living room come from?"
Torath blinked in surprise at her sudden inquisitiveness. "I think Samir refused to sleep anywhere else, and he always does that when he visits you."
"He does?"
"Yes. Mom finds it cute, but I just think he's obsessed with you... As for the old lady? You'll have to ask mom."
"And the family on the couch?"
"Well… they are family. Ours, specifically."
Renna frowned at him as he smiled and turned his attention back to the infant. "That doesn't answer my question, Torath."
"It's 0300, Renna. Go back to bed, all right?"
"Not sleepy."
"Who said you had to sleep?" She just looked at him for a very long moment. "You could wake Samir up and talk to him?"
"No. If he didn't wake up when my feet mistook him for bare floor, then I'm going to let him sleep… He's annoying when half asleep, anyway."
Torath stared at her for a moment, taking in the change in attitude and demeanor in her posture. "You must be feeling better. That almost sounded like a joke."
"It's not a joke, and I kinda am… Spend a year camping with a group of people and you learn things about them. Like the fact that Samir, for whatever reason, will not touch noodles, no matter how they're cooked. And the fact that not only is he a night person, but he'll also be the one to volunteer for guard duty because he hates being woken up by... um... usually me."
"Huh?"
"Dreams. Bad ones."
"Oh."
"Are you two going to yap all morning long?" A sleepy voice asked from the direction of the bed.
Renna turned and saw a very tired Alena, who was looking at them with blearily tired eyes. She went over to the bed and sat down. "Sorry for waking you, Alena. Baby's cute, by the way."
Alena smiled sleepily and rolled onto her side. In moments, she was asleep again.
Renna watched her sleep for a few moments, then looked up at him. "I missed a lot yesterday, hmm?"
"That happens when you're unconscious during the day."
"Yeah." She stood up and fought the urge to yawn. "All right. I'm going back to bed. Talk later?"
"Yep."
"Okay."
Renna went back to her room, gingerly avoided the man sleeping on the floor, and got back into her bed. Looking down at him, she smiled.
Then she turned out the light, yawned as she let the exhaustion take her, and went back to sleep.
