Disclaimer: I don't own it; it belongs to George Lucas, yada, yada, yada.

Sorry, this is a short chapter….

Aurora had finished fastening a protective cuff around Luke's wrist and was dabbing bactagel on the cuts on his face when Chewie suddenly rushed past them, growling ominously. Aurora glanced after him. She should head up to the cockpit to see what was wrong and if she could do anything, but she was hesitant to leave Luke by himself. There was something seriously wrong with him; something more than just his physical injuries. She could feel a darkness rippling in the air around him.

The ship jerked again as they took several more hits. The Falcon wasn't going to be able to take much more of this damage. Her shields were shaky at best. Several vicious Wookie oaths came from the doorway Chewie had exited through, followed by the sounds of banging metal.

That decided it; she'd better go see what was going on. Aurora stood up, brushing her hand gently over Luke's hair. "I'll be right back." She kissed him gently and headed aft to the cockpit. However, before she had gotten more than a few steps past the doorway she felt a strange shifting in the Force; a ripple of darkness that left her cold, and she could hear, faintly in her mind, Vader's voice.

"Luke."

She turned immediately, intending to go to Luke's side and protect him from whatever evil Vader had planned now.

But even as she started back, Luke sat up suddenly, his eyes glassy. And then he uttered one word, and with it, shattered her world:

"Father."

The voice came again. "Son, come with me."

Luke subsided against the pillow again, his strength seemingly gone. "Ben, why didn't you tell me?"

But in the passageway behind him, Aurora was beyond hearing. She had collapsed against the wall, her fist shoved in her mouth to stop the scream that wanted to come spilling out. Vader was Luke's father? No! No, it couldn't be. Not the monster who had killed her own father. Luke couldn't have come from him. Vader was everything that was evil and vicious and Luke was…not. No! She shook her head viciously. It couldn't be true. She was shaking uncontrollably and her legs had given out, sending her sliding to the deck plates. There was a sickness rising in her throat, and for one horrid moment, she wanted to go tearing into the other room and scream at Luke; force him to deny it.

How long had he known? How long had he been hiding this from her? Had he known from the beginning? But even as these ugly thoughts rose in her mind, she was shaking her head in denial. No, Luke hadn't known. He couldn't have hidden something like this; not from her. But her father…he had known. He must have, and Master Yoda too.

She was suddenly furious; an ugly rage rising in her, scraping her throat like shards of jagged glass. They had known. Her trusted teachers; her own father. They'd known and they'd purposely concealed it from them both. Not just concealed, Aurora thought violently, but deliberately misled them. Especially Luke. She remembered the stories Luke had told her Ben had shared with him, about his heroic Jedi father. Obi Wan had deliberately built Luke's father up into a legend, something that Luke could worship and adore.

Suddenly, Luke was there, moving past her, like someone in a dream, his eyes focused ahead of him. He never even saw her huddled against the wall as he passed into the cockpit, staring out the viewport at the approaching ships.

Leia and Lando glanced at him in surprise.

"It's Vader." He muttered, not even acknowledging them.

That hideous voice came again, and Aurora shoved her hands over her ears, trying to shut it out.

"Luke…it is your destiny."

She could hear the desolation and despair in Luke's voice as he whispered brokenly. "Ben, why didn't you tell me?"

And suddenly, his pain got through her own, and she realized that as much of a horrible shock as it had been to her, it was nothing, nothing, to what Luke must be feeling. A fierce surge of protectiveness went through her. Father or no father, Vader wasn't getting Luke. She shoved herself to her feet and went to him, trying to build a shield with the Force to block the waves of darkness she could feel emanating towards him.

Suddenly there was a new sense to the tendril of darkness. A sense of surprise, and then awareness. Vader knew what she was doing and he was…amused? Before fear could grip her entirely, the entire ship seemed to tilt as, without warning, the Millenium Falcon shot into hyperspace. Caught off guard, Aurora stumbled and was just barely able to steady Luke before he fell.

Behind them, there was a loud electronic squeal from the direction of the maintenance pit, followed immediately by a Wookie growl of rage.

Leia and Lando had been thrown back into their seats by the unexpectedness of the maneuver, but that didn't stop Lando from throwing a triumphant glance at the princess.

"See? I told you my people fixed the hyperdrive."

Aurora stared out the cockpit window at the steaming lights of hyperspace, her arm still supporting Luke, who had gone rather limp, and her mind still focused on that last sharp feeling that had shot past her just as they went to lightspeed. It had come from Vader and it had been…despair?

*

Aurora got Luke settled back in the bunk and gave him a sedative. It was mild, but in his exhausted condition, it knocked him out immediately. She was sitting on the deck near his bunk, her thoughts racing out of control, when Leia entered.

She went immediately to the bunk and the unconscious young Commander on it.

"How is he?"

"A bloody mess." Aurora replied flatly. "He's got cuts and bruises, possibly some cracked ribs, maybe a concussion. But the hand's the worst of it."

Leia glanced down at Luke's right arm. She gently touched his wrist above the protective cuff.

"I guess we should just be grateful it was a lightsaber." Aurora said. At the Princess' questioning glance, she explained further. "We don't have to worry about blood loss. Lightsaber's cauterize the wound."

Leia nodded, but it was perfunctory, as if she wasn't really listening. Her eyes kept straying to Luke's arm, but her mind was whirling away, calculating everything that she had heard in the past few days.

"Vader did this." She said suddenly. "He wanted Luke. That's what Lando told us. He said that Vader was after Luke and we were just the bait." Cool brown eyes turned to regard the other woman. "No one ever mentioned you."

Aurora was exhausted. More than just physically, it was the emotional mire that she had been through that had left her feeling bruised and beaten and in no mood for games.

"What are you trying to say, Leia?
The princess turned to face her fully. "Vader was after Luke specifically. Why?"

"I would think that would be pretty obvious. He wanted to get his hands on a Jedi."

"No," Leia was already shaking her head. "No, if that had been the case, he would have wanted both of you. But he didn't. Lando said he only mentioned Luke, not you. He only wanted Luke, not you. Why?"

Leia was watching her carefully and Aurora was reminded forcibly that as fragile and diminutive as the former princess of Alderaan looked, there was a razor-sharp intelligence behind that pretty face.

She gave a casual shrug. "I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say because Vader and the Emperor consider Luke the greater danger. Maybe it's the same tired Imperial prejudice against females: I'm only a woman, so they don't consider me as much of a threat as a man. Who knows?"

Leia was silent for several long minutes. "You're lying."

Aurora sighed, her eyes closing wearily for a moment as she tried to think of the best way to handle this. After a moment, her eyes opened again. "No, Leia, I'm not." She held up her hand to forestall the comment the princess was about to make. "I'm not." She repeated forcefully. "But I'm not telling you everything I know either."

"Why?"

"Because it's not all mine to tell."

The two women stared at each other for several heartbeats. Leia could see the toll that exhaustion and worry had taken on Aurora. There were dark circles under her eyes and the brilliant green of the irises seemed dim. Her clothing was dirty and wrinkled. She could see a scorch mark across one shoulder from a near blaster miss, mute testament to the danger that Aurora had been in. From what she'd been able to gather, at some unknown warning of danger to herself, Han and Chewie, Luke and Aurora had flown straight to Bespin, and then Aurora had immediately jumped into the firefight to try to save Han. She'd risked her life several times and Leia had never had any reason to doubt her before. But it was the several unknowns in the story that were bothering her. How had the two young commanders known that she and Han were in danger and why was Vader after Luke not Aurora? It was these reasons and a lifetime habit of secrecy that kept Leia from fully trusting the young woman in front of her now.

Are those the only reasons? Her conscience prodded her. It doesn't have anything to do with her relationship with Luke?

Of course not! Leia loved Han. She didn't have those kinds of feelings for Luke.

But you feel protective of him, don't you? Maybe even a little possessive?

Leia considered it. Yes, maybe she did feel a little possessive. Luke was her friend too, but sometimes it felt like when Aurora was in the room, Luke didn't see anyone else. She knew this was foolish and untrue, but it felt like it all the same. And maybe that too was spurring on the feelings of doubt towards the other woman. Feeling as if maybe she was being a little unfair, she shifted slightly and uncrossed her arms, trying to assume a less accusatory stance.

"Fine. I'll let it be. But whatever secrets you're hiding, Aurora, better not put the Alliance in danger."

Aurora shivered and forced herself not to look away, but she couldn't bring herself to deny the accusation. The secret that she was concealing for Luke was more dangerous than Leia could even imagine.