The Battle of Endor forces Luke and Biggs to face entirely new challenges. Their lives are at stake, as well as the future of the entire Alliance. Then Luke must finally open up about the dark secret he's been hiding for months; the truth about his father.


With his face still flushed from the excitement of his first kiss shared with Biggs, Luke finally boarded the stolen Imperial shuttle to join the command crew for their trip to the Endor moon. Han had come to retrieve him while his fingers were still tangled in Biggs' hair so he was sheepishly avoiding looking anywhere but at the floor as he climbed into his seat.

"Sorry about the wait. Let's get going."

The silence after he spoke made Luke look up and peer around the cockpit to find Han and Leia exchanging glances, as if they'd just been talking about him before he boarded.

"What?" He was starting to feel as if he was going to get a lot of questions.

Leia looked somewhat peeved. "I don't know, Han won't tell me what's going on. What happened?"

Han shrugged defensively. "Hey, all I said is that it's none of my business. I just wanted to get out of here and Luke was taking his sweet time."

"Doing what?" Leia switched her attention back to Luke who was looking redder by the second.

"I was just saying goodbye to Biggs," he said quietly.

Han snorted. "Can't really say much when your tongue's down his throat, kid."

Luke's whole face started to heat up and he hid it in his hands. He couldn't see Leia but he could hear the surprised tone in her voice. "Biggs? Really?"

Han laughed as the engines warmed up. "Come on, the pilots have been putting down bets on how long it'd take them to come around since Yavin. Don't tell me you hadn't noticed."

"And maybe you hadn't noticed that I've been trying to run a rebellion. Excuse me if I don't keep up with the latest in hangar bay gambling."

"Four years ain't exactly the latest."

"Any gambling, then!"

Just when Luke thought that they seemed to find a different topic to argue—er, talk about, he felt Leia's hand on his shoulder and heard her gentle voice. "I'm sorry, Luke. I'm very happy for you and Biggs. It sounds like you've been working toward it for a long time."

Finally lifting his face from his hands he gave Leia a shy but grateful smile. "Thanks, Leia."

"So," she lifted an eyebrow at Han and relaxed back into her seat, "who won the big prize money?" Her sarcastic tone suggested that she didn't actually care about the bet, but more about who she'd chew out later.

"Well, I didn't keep tabs on the smaller ones. The 'big prize money' hasn't been won yet but I imagine it won't be long now. That bet was on when they'd finally screw."

"Han!"

Luke's face went back into his hands.


Navigating the tight interior passageways of the Death Star took far more concentration than Biggs had anticipated. It kept his heart thudding and his eyes sharp. It was challenging; just the way he liked it. There were even some moments when he was reminded of threading the stone needle in Beggar's Canyon back home. It wasn't quite as tight as that, otherwise Lando in the Millennium Falcon behind him wouldn't have had a chance no matter how good he was, but sometimes it got close.

There had been a few tense minutes earlier when it was discovered that the entire attack had been a trap. The Empire knew they were coming and the Death Star's shields were still up. Biggs' thoughts were on Luke and the command crew on the forest moon below. He could only imagine what they must have run into when they reached the control bunker. Perhaps they hadn't reached it at all.

He'd had to control his worry and focus on the battle. Finally, the shield had been taken down and Biggs' hopes were restored. Whatever happened down on that moon, he had a good feeling that Luke was just fine.

While out chasing TIE fighters, Biggs had caught one on his tail and managed a maneuver that sent it swerving out in front of him in the wrong direction while he pulled away. As it passed him he could have sworn he saw the pilot do a double-take at the hull of his ship before making an embarrassing collision with the heavy armor of one of the Alliance fleet's capital ships. Biggs almost felt sorry for the pilot. That wasn't exactly a very dignified way to go out… though he still made a mental note to tell Wes about it later.

Now he and Lando were traversing the quickly narrowing path towards the main reactor. It was getting smaller and tighter by the second, and just when Biggs was sure they'd run out of room the passage opened out into a vast cavern inside the heart of the massive battle station, the glowing reactor at its center.

"I see it," Biggs said as he led the way out of the tunnel.

"Alright, Biggs," Lando replied, "go for the power regulator on the north tower."

"Copy that, Gold Leader." Biggs shot towards his target, ready to fire when he was within range. "Stay close. Once this thing goes it's going to get hot in here real quick."

They would need to loop around and find the passageway out on the first try, otherwise they were toast. Biggs let off a single blast at the power regulator which made the reactor unstable and Lando followed him with as many shots as he could get in on the reactor as he passed it.

There was an explosion of blue light and before they could witness the fallout of the destroyed reactor, Biggs and Lando were already racing back through the passage.

Another, bigger explosion followed and this time an orange fireball could be seen out Biggs' rear viewport. It was chasing them and they couldn't afford to make any errors on the way to the surface.


As Luke maneuvered the shuttle away from the Death Star's hangar he could swear he saw flames licking the edges of the viewport just as he hit the thrusters. Sure enough, a fraction of a second later there was a blast behind him and he let out a breath of relief, knowing he just barely made it.

Lying on the floor of the shuttle in the passenger area, wrapped in the cape, was his father's armor. His body had become one with the Force and disappeared when he died, but Luke would use the armor to give him a proper funeral once he reached the moon's surface.

Luke felt ragged, his nerves were shot, he was beyond exhausted, he wasn't sure how he hadn't collapsed yet … but he was alive. The Emperor's Force lightning had left him sore and stiff and he was sure he had another bacta dip in his near future.

As he piloted the shuttle towards the moon he remained calm on the outside but his mind was a flurry of emotions and recent memories, trying to process what had just happened to him, and what this meant for the galaxy.

The Emperor was dead, and so was Vader. The Empire couldn't go on. It would continue to fight, sure, but it'd be limping terribly all the way until its dying breath.

Maybe Luke was focusing so hard on the bigger picture to keep from being tempted to glance behind him at the black armor he attempted to hide in the cape's fabric. All his life he'd spent believing his was father was already dead; but it had only just happened not even ten minutes ago and it was near impossible to wrap his head around.

Luke had cried briefly, quietly, but the Death Star's critical alarm had started blaring and he knew he had only minutes to make an escape. Even as he ran to the shuttle, dragging his father's empty armor, he couldn't hide a wistful smile. Biggs had done it. Just thinking of him renewed Luke's fervor to escape, to live and see him again.

Now he felt as if his thoughts were being pulled in far too many directions at once to focus on any one thing or feel any one emotion, and maybe that was for the best. He could grieve properly later. For now he had to face the others down on the moon. Feeling numb or scattered was better than making a scene.

They'd be celebrating, joyous, and they'd expect him to join in. The only one who'd have any idea what he'd just gone through was Leia… his sister; yet another new revelation, and a happy one. He needed more of those.

Then there was Biggs... Luke really didn't know what to expect with him. He knew that Luke had a secret so terrible that he couldn't even tell his best friend—no, he was far more than Luke's best friend now. And Luke had gone and allowed their romantic relationship to take hold, when he promised himself he would refrain until he could really open up to Biggs and tell him everything.

Perhaps it was time.


That was close. Biggs' fighter shot free of the tunnel and only just in time. For a moment he held his breath as the ensuing fireball made a brilliant display behind him. He wasn't sure if the Falcon made it out, but he released his breath when he heard Lando over the comm channel, "Yeee-haw!"

Biggs grinned and he hit the thrusters hard, charging away from the station as quickly as he could, twisting around in his ejection seat to watch the Death Star explode for the second time in his life. The feeling it ignited in him was indescribable.

As he headed for the fleet, he noticed dozens of Imperial shuttles and other small ships that had made escapes and were running for it in every direction. "Home One, should we start herding 'em toward your tractor beam?"

"Affirmative, Red Leader," Admiral Ackbar's gravelly voice said over the comm.

"You heard him," said Lando "Fighters, engage only if necessary. Keep them from escaping but try to shoot to disable only."

"Biggs! There's one near you. It's headed for the moon," Hobbie alerted him over the comm.

"Copy, Red Four. I'm on him." Biggs saw it. That shuttle was gunning hard for the moon's surface. He attempted to open a channel to it, try to negotiate a surrender before having to be more convincing with a little laser fire. "Imperial shuttle, surrender or I'll be forced to open fire. Reverse your present course immediately."

A familiar voice crackled through the channel. "Excuse you, commander. Who do you think's flying this thing?"

"Luke?!" Biggs laughed joyfully. "Luke, I don't believe it! Wait—" he suddenly frowned, "—don't tell me you were on the Death Star. What in blazes were you doing on that thing?!"

Biggs could hear a sigh on the other end of the transmission.

"Never mind. Long story, right?"

"You got it."

"Well I'm sure I'll get to hear all about it later. I'll contact the ground forces, let them know you're coming."

"Thanks, Biggs. Though, uh—tell them I'll be a while."

"Uh… sure. Whatever you need."

He wanted to say more, to tell Luke how glad he was to hear he was okay, but Biggs had a job to do. The cleanup would take another hour or so at least and he'd surely be reprimanded if he wasted any time having a personal conversation while on duty.


It was night time at the Ewok village by the time Luke got there. He was sure he'd be arriving long after everyone else. You'd think it wouldn't take so long to gather enough wood for a funeral pyre in a forest of all places but he spent several hours on it.

In all honesty he hadn't been in that much of a hurry. It was a labor of love, a monument to his father, if a humble one. Luke had gone about his task slowly and with reverence. He wished he could do more but he didn't expect many others to have much interest in honoring his father the way he wanted to.

He was also somewhat dreading what would likely become an all-out party at the village, especially if even a small fraction of Rogue Squadron showed up.

Hopefully he could pull Biggs away and have a quiet talk with him, but he didn't like the idea of tainting the victory for Biggs with what he had to say. Then again, he knew he'd feel a bit better if he could just tell someone. Now that it was all over, getting it off his chest was sounding better and better, even if he was still nervous at how Biggs might take it.

This is Biggs, he told himself. How do you think he'll take it? Surprisingly well, as he usually did. Shocked, sure, worried for Luke maybe, but he'd also be supportive, understanding, caring, regardless of his own feelings. That was one of the reasons Luke was—he could say it now—so in love with him. No one made him feel wanted and safe like Biggs could.

However, there was still one concern Luke had left over and it had more to do with practical reasoning and less to do with Biggs' own feelings. Being involved with Luke could affect his future and upon realizing that, it could make him hesitant about their relationship. He would be right to be worried, too, which was why Luke was dreading the conversation.

The village was alight with drum beat music and dancing in the flickering firelight. The celebration was already well on its way. Luke paused on a platform to watch, seeing many faces he recognized and many more who were close to him. They were all smiling and joyful and for a moment Luke entertained the thought of staying right here, watching from afar. They didn't need his melancholy.

Then he spotted Biggs, smiling and sharing stories with a couple others but occasionally he'd glance up and search around him, as if looking for someone. Luke knew exactly who he was looking for.

That was what finally drew him forward.

His arrival caught the attention of quite a few people. They all started for him with bright smiles, ready to offer hugs and handshakes, but Biggs pushed past all of them. His joy radiated from him through the Force and Luke couldn't help but grin in return as they closed in toward each other. Biggs flung his arms around Luke with rather a lot of enthusiasm, and though Luke didn't have the energy to match him, he let himself lean into Biggs and the warm circle of his arms melted away much of his tension.

They pulled apart only enough to kiss. Luke held Biggs' face in his hands and for a moment he was able to forget that there was anyone else around.

Before too long though, Biggs knew he had to let Luke visit with the others and he reluctantly let him go. Leia had an especially warm hug for him and Han got one too. Luke was more than pleased to see so many of his friends safe, Lando, Chewbacca, Wedge, a good majority of Rogue Squadron. Many of them asked him questions about what happened on the Death Star but he'd had to wave all of them off, insisting they'd all surely hear about it eventually.

He knew they would. Sooner or later Luke would have to be debriefed by Alliance high command and then the news would spread as it always did. The idea made him supremely uncomfortable but there wasn't a lot he could do to stop it. Part of it was a personal matter, but most of it was important to the Alliance and the war.

When it seemed like he'd shaken hands with just about everyone, some of them several times over, Luke finally breathed a sigh of relief. Even when it wasn't a formal event, he'd never been very good at social gatherings. He knew someone who was though, and just when Luke was wishing that Biggs could always be there to diffuse the social tension he always felt with his charms and charisma, an arm snaked around his waist from behind.

The wait was over. He could be with Biggs now, without being faced by imminent doom (at least for the moment), and without worry for how Biggs felt. They could be together. He hoped. There was still one more dark cloud of worry hanging over his head and even though he didn't think it would bring the world crashing down around them, he knew he had to tell Biggs before they went any further. It was only fair.

Luke took Biggs' hand and turned around to face him. "Let's find somewhere to talk."