Chapter 17 – The Coming Storm

It seemed her mother's warning about their training being challenging had not been hyperbole. For three hours that afternoon, she drilled Ben and herself on the first five forms of lightsaber combat. She had sparred individually with each of them, and she had not gone easy in spite it being the first day of training. Ania had done marginally better than Ben had – perhaps because of her greater experience and vastly superior physical condition – but even so, she hadn't performed up to her mother's high standards.

Keep your blade high! Your neck is exposed like that.

Ania had tried to do as her mother said, but she found it difficult not to resort to her instincts. They had never let her down before, so why should they now? Copying her mother's rigid textbook motions felt wrong to her. When she had gathered the courage to express her reservations, Leia had shot her down.

This isn't street fighting, Ania, she had told her bluntly. The motions only feel uncomfortable because you haven't mastered them yet. Now, let's reset from the top. Form I…

On and on they went until both she and Ben were drenched in sweat. Unimpressed, their mother glowered down at them both as they dropped their lightsabers and gasped for breath with their hands on their knees.

Ben, you're woefully out of shape. And Ania, you're undisciplined and wild with your weapon. You both have a lot of work to do.

Do you have anything positive to say? Ben had asked facetiously.

Leia hadn't replied at once, her chin inclined as she scrutinized their faces. Not particularly, she had said with a subtle smirk. Keep working, though. You will improve in time.

She hadn't been kind, but Ania hadn't expected her to be. She was everything Ania had ever thought her to be and more. Leia Skywalker was an incredible woman; never before had Ania met a person as powerful yet humble as she. Every authority figure in her life up to this point had been egregiously abusive of their power, whether it be Snoke, the Hutts, or even her senior senatorial colleagues like Zorq. Her mother wasn't like that. She knew she was powerful – more intrinsically powerful than anyone Ania had ever met before – yet she didn't flaunt that power. It was her humility which Ania most admired about her.

All her life she had yearned to meet her mother. Sure, things hadn't gone as smoothly as she had envisaged. She hadn't failed to notice how uncomfortable her mother was in her presence. If she had to be near her, she would make sure that Ben was around as well so that they didn't have to be alone with each other. This had disheartened Ania initially, but she understood why it was. No doubt, every time she looked at her, she was reminded of the horrible deed she had committed.

Ania was not one to brood, however; she would do anything in her power to redeem herself in her mother's eyes. Therefore, even though her shoulders were aching and her legs felt hollow, she continued practicing the combat forms later that night hours after their first training session had ended. The ship was in hyperspace to Chandrila now, and both Leia and Ben were asleep. She had let her brother have the second guest room for the night and had insisted that she would be fine sleeping on the bench in the main hold.

She wasn't tired, however. Jaw clenched in concentration, she repeated the sequences her mother had taught her. Her forearms trembled as she gripped her lightsaber hilt tightly, yet she refused to slacken her grip. Imagining her attacker in front of her, Ania assiduously performed the necessary parries and counterstrikes. She would picture Snoke looming over her on his gaudy golden throne, his grotesque face sneering at her as she swung the blade which he had bequeathed to her through the air.

Ania found herself closing her eyes as she repeated the motions with greater speed and force. She slashed and danced about the spacious main hold, her bodily aches and pains ebbing away as she became one with the weapon in her hands. Never had Ania felt so empowered before. Whenever she had been dueling the Knights of Ren in Snoke's shadow, she had been merely fighting for her life with no instruction or guidance.

Through your failures you will learn, girl, the wretched man had said. With each scar, you will grow stronger. With each wrong move, you will grow wiser.

Growling angrily, Ania redoubled her efforts. Her blade clashed with another while Snoke jeered at her from above. Eyes still shut tight, Ania swung again and again against her imaginary opponent. She advanced forward, no longer having to think about the motions as she performed them. It seemed her mother had been right; no longer did Ania feel awkward and rigid as she executed the sequences. On the contrary, she felt light and fluid. With every strike, she felt as if she was maximizing her strength. Before, she had merely been flailing about, relying on her physical strength and agility to defeat her more-cumbersome opponents. Now, she was truly accessing her true potential.

She felt powerful! Ania had never felt this way in her entire life! Snoke's sneer was faltering, his eyes widening as she continued to advance. Her confidence augmented with each powerful blow of her saber…

"Most impressive."

Startled, Ania's eyes flew open to see her mother standing in front of her with her blue lightsaber pressed against hers. Had she been fighting her the whole time?

Ania didn't get the chance to ask, because Leia suddenly pushed forward and began an offensive. Her confidence evaporated in an instant as she stumbled away. Holding her red blade up high, she did everything she could to keep the vicious blue one at bay.

"Concentrate! Remember your training!"

Leia's blade slashed down toward her knees. Looking down, Ania found herself frozen with fear. A phantom pain flashed in her left leg and she fell downward.

She was writhing in pain as the sneering zabrak loomed over her, his vibroblade humming balefully in his right hand. He was going to kill her, and nobody was going to stop him…

"Ania!"

Ania, get up!

"Are you okay?"

She leapt into the air. How she managed to do this with only one leg, Ania had no idea. Jumping higher than she had ever jumped before, she twisted in midair and kicked down at the zabrak's hand with her right leg. The vibroblade went skidding away as she wrapped her legs around his torso and reached for his throat…

Suddenly, she found herself on her back on the floor of the main hold. She couldn't breathe, having been completely winded. Her mother was looming over her with a dangerous look in her eyes.

"M-mom?" she stammered.

Leia's expression softened and her belligerent posture slackened. Extending her hand to her, Ania reached up and took it.

"You used the Force," she told her as Ania got to her feet.

"I… I what?" she asked, perplexed.

"That's how you killed that zabrak," Leia explained. "And that's how you nearly just killed me." Ania's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets at this comment. "Don't worry," her mother assured her, smiling faintly at her reaction. "It's going to take a lot more than that to get the better of me."

"What… what did I do?" she asked, still horrified.

"You jumped over me," Leia told her, her eyes sparkling with what Ania hoped was pride. "It's a good thing you didn't hit the ceiling. I'm not quite sure how you did it, but you managed to wrap your legs around my torso and you tried to strangle me."

"I – I didn't mean to!" she insisted. "I swear!"

"It's quite alright," Leia said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. At her mother's touch, Ania ceased fretting as a warm sensation percolated throughout her torso. "You were merely acting on instinct. After all, I was about to kill you."

"Not… not really, right?" she asked nervously.

Her mother chuckled. "No, not really," she affirmed.

Adrenaline wearing off quickly, Ania suddenly felt a rush of lightheadedness. Staggering backward, Leia's grip on her shoulder tightened as she stabilized her.

"I'm okay," Ania said before Leia could ask. "Just tired, that's all."

"I figured you would be," Leia said as she released her. "I was surprised to see you were still awake, much less still practicing."

"I want to get better," Ania said determinedly as she took a step back and sat down heavily on the bench. "I have to get better."

Leia smiled at her, causing Ania to feel a gush of pride. She had never seen her mother smile like that before. Heart fluttering, Ania looked down as she felt a blush spreading across her already-rosy cheeks.

"You will get better," her mother told her. "But perhaps you should get some sleep first. You need rest."

Ania clasped her hands together on her lap and nodded. "Yes, Mom," she said softly, her head still bowed toward her knees. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her chin, compelling her to look up. Complying, she locked eyes with her mother's brown ones which looked so much like her own.

"I am proud of you, Ania," she told her, her voice uncharacteristically warm as the corners of her eyes crinkled with affection. A beat passed as mother and daughter looked at each other. Releasing her chin, Leia suddenly leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Ania's eyes widened and her skin tingled as she watched her mother stand back upright. "Get some rest," she told her. "You're going to have a busy day tomorrow."

"Yes, Mom," Ania said once again, feeling downright giddy that she was able to say this. She had a mother! That was all she had ever wanted, and Ania could scarcely believe that she finally had it.

Leia smiled at her one last time before nodding. Without another word, she stepped away and left the main hold. "I won't let you down, Mom," Ania promised to the empty room.


The next morning, Ania woke up with a groan. Every muscle in her body from her neck to her calves were aching. Sleeping on the hard bench certainly hadn't helped things, either. She felt stiff as a board.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Ania's abdominal muscles screamed in pain as she forced herself up into a sitting position. Grimacing, she turned her head toward the voice to see Ben crouched over on the ground a few feet away.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Arching her back, she felt a series of cracks and groans cascade down her spine, granting her a modicum of relief.

"I was just putting the finishing touches on A5," he told her enthusiastically. She watched with an amused smile as Ben returned his attention to the droid, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he concentrated on the circuitry in the back of A5's head. "That should do for now," he said, standing up. "We can work more on him when we get back to the capital. I've got a whole shop, you know," he told her, standing back upright. "You'll love it. I've got all the tools you could ever need."

Ania's thin smile broadened as she contemplated her brother's eager tone and expression. She could admit that she was jealous – so much so that she had been downright hostile toward him when they had first met. It was hard for her not to be. He was a man who had been granted everything to him on a silver platter while she had been forced to endure a lifetime of suffering and tribulation. It wasn't fair!

Nothing in this galaxy is fair, Ania, the voice had told her when she voiced her frustrations to him. In the end, it is what you make with what you are given that matters. Remember that, young one.

Now she saw Ben in a more objective light. While she had been deeply aggrieved to learn that he didn't appreciate his mother like she did, she could now understand why that was. She could also understand why he had hated his father yet had nevertheless been devastated by his death. The one thing she couldn't understand about him, however, was how he had been so willing to forgive her. With Leia, it made sense. They had endured comparable hardships, so her mother understood why Ania had felt forced to do what she had done. Ben, on the other hand, had no such comprehension.

My mother once told me that you can forgive a person no matter what as long as you love them, Leia had told her three days prior. So I forgive you, Ania. And so does your father and so does your brother.

Was it really that simple? Did Ben forgive her simply because… because he loved her? She should have been too cynical to believe such a thing, but she found that she wasn't. She had seen how welcoming Ben had been toward that little girl Rey despite hardly knowing her. He had embraced her as his sister even though they weren't related and he had no relationship with her adoptive father. That was the singular trait which defined Ben: his compassion.

And Ania loved him for that.

She felt so fortunate to have both him and her mother in her life. Despite all the horrible things that had happened over the course of the past week, Ania felt stronger than ever. Their love for her and her reciprocal love for them had empowered her beyond what she had ever thought possible. With their support, she was finally shedding herself of the ingrained belief of inferiority and sense of powerlessness which all slaves possessed. With her brother and mother at her side, Ania's shackles were finally crumbling away.

"What are you thinking about over there?"

Ben's voice startled Ania back to the present. Blinking a few times, she shook her head and reoriented herself.

"I, uh… nothing," she said, rubbing her eyes. She hadn't known how long she had slept for, but she knew it hadn't been enough. She still felt exhausted. "How long before we get back to the capital?" she asked.

"Not long, maybe an hour," Ben told her. "We should be exiting hyperspace pretty soon."

Nodding, Ania rubbed her sore shoulders tenderly as she thought of what she wanted to say. "Hey, Ben?" she said finally, causing Ben to look away from A5 back to her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he said at once.

"How… how are we going to do all this?" she asked. When Ben furrowed his brow in confusion, she elaborated. "Surely we can't train as Jedi yet also be full time senators, right?"

Ben's bemused expression morphed into one of contemplation as he scrunched up his forehead. Clearly he hadn't thought about this before now. "I don't know," he confessed honestly. "But we have to, don't we?"

"You might, but I don't," she said cautiously. When Ben quirked an eyebrow, she spoke before he could ask her what she meant. "I'm not like you, Ben," she said. "I'm a junior senator from an Outer Rim planet. Nobody cares about what I have to say."

"Ania, don't say that!" Ben exclaimed, aghast.

"It's okay, Ben," she said, smiling faintly at his indignation. "I don't deserve my position, anyway. Snoke was the one who got it for me."

"He did?" Ben asked. "How?"

Ania shrugged. "I don't know exactly," she said. "I think he exposed by predecessor for corruption and bribed the Hutts to approve of my appointment. Either way, I didn't earn the position like you did."

"I didn't earn it either!" Ben insisted. "I was chosen because of my name alone!"

"Yeah, but you actually want to be a senator," she pointed out. "I only did it because Snoke made me."

Ben frowned at this. Glancing behind him toward the hallway, he took a step closer toward her. "I don't really want to be a senator either, if I'm being frank," he told her. "I always wanted to be a Jedi when I was a kid, but Mom wouldn't let me. I guess I just felt… obliged to follow in my grandmother's footsteps." Surprised, Ania leaned back against the bench and tilted her head. "That being said, I have a duty to represent my people now," he said. "And so do you, for that matter."

Ania snorted cynically at this. "The people I represent are the scum of the galaxy, Ben," she said.

"Maybe so, but even scum deserve representation," Ben retorted in true egalitarian fashion.

Amused, Ania shook her head. "I'm not going to do it, Ben," she said. "When we get back to the capital, I'm going to submit my resignation."

"But why?"

"I already told you why," Ania said, frowning.

"No, you misunderstand me," Ben said, raising a hand. "Why are you officially resigning? You have to give an explanation, otherwise the media is going to come up with all sorts of nasty things."

"Oh," Ania said, having not considered this. It was clear Ben was far more politically savvy than she was. "Why can't I just give the real reason?" she asked.

"You can, but we have to talk to Mom first if you're going to do that," Ben said. "If we're going to do this, we have to do it carefully."

"Do what?"

"Reveal to the galaxy that you are Leia Skywalker's long-lost daughter," Ben explained. "Are you sure you really want to do that?"

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed.

"Okay, but be warned that this is going to cause a media frenzy," Ben presaged. "Your life will never be the same. There won't be anywhere you go without people recognizing you. Never again will you just be Ania. From here on out, you will be known as Leia Skywalker's daughter, just as I am only known as her son." Ania swallowed hard and looked away, the magnitude of this decision suddenly weighing down upon her. "Are you sure you want that?" Ben asked her.

Ania opened her mouth, but no words came out. All her life, she had been an anonymous figure amongst the shadows whom nobody looked twice at. She wasn't sure how she would handle being thrown into the spotlight like that.

But this was what she had always wanted! All her life, she had dreamed of being reunited with her mother. Who cared what the galaxy thought about her! Ania didn't give a damn about that.

"I am sure," she said therefore. "I don't want to hide anymore, Ben."

Ben considered her for a few moments before smiling. "Okay," he said. "I can help draft up the press release, if you want."

Ania reciprocated his smile a bit sheepishly. "I'd appreciate that," she said. She could read and write, yes, but nowhere near as fluidly or elegantly as she suspected Ben could. Unsurprisingly, education wasn't emphasized amongst slaves on Tatooine.

"I will ask you to at least refrain from resigning until tomorrow, at the very least," Ben said suddenly. "The Vice Chair of the Senate contacted me this morning. She wants me to convene an emergency CIH session."

"Why?" Ania asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen the briefing yet," Ben told her. "I suspect it has to do with the First Order, though. They've been getting more and more bold with their strikes into the Mid Rim."

Ania pursed her lips at this disquieting news. "Do you think it could be connected to the Sith?" she asked.

Ben shrugged. "I hope not, but it seems like too much of a coincidence not to be," he said. "I'm going to propose an expansion of the military budget this afternoon. I want you to be there."

"You think it's not going to go well?" Ania asked, perturbed by his foreboding tone.

"I know it won't," he said heavily. "My whole career I have opposed such measures, but now I feel we have no choice. My allies are going to call me a hypocrite for it, but hopefully they'll see my side with some persuasion."

Ania nodded. "I'll be there for you, Ben," she said.

Ben beamed at her, causing Ania to smile in return. "Thank you, Ania," he said. "That means a lot to me."

It meant a lot to her too. To have someone whom she cared about enough to want to support them in their endeavors irrespective of her own interests? That wasn't something Ania had ever had before. Relationships with her fellow slaves or superiors on Tatooine had always been cutthroat and devoid of generosity. All her life, she had been taught to look out for herself, oftentimes at the expense of her peers. Because of her budding friendship with Ben, however, she was coming learn that not all relationships had to be so vicious.

"Come on," Ben said, beckoning her to stand up with a gesture of his hand. "Let's see if Mom needs help in the cockpit."


An hour later, the three of them were disembarking the Falcon after they had touched down on Chandrila. Glancing up at the cloudy sky above, Ania was greeted rather rudely by a fat rain droplet which hit her square in the forehead. Drying herself with her sleeve, she suddenly froze when she looked back down to see where they were.

She intuitively knew that it wasn't the same landing pad, but it looked more or less the same. Just a few feet away at the bottom of the ramp had been where she had murdered her father in cold blood…

"Ania, you okay?"

Startled, Ania looked up to see Ben at her side. "Yeah," she mumbled. "I'm fine."

Following their mother's example, Ben and Ania descended the ramp and onto the landing platform. The wind was howling powerfully, causing her hair to whip about in front of her face. Brushing her recalcitrant hair out of the way, she blinked in surprise when she saw Leia had spun around and was giving her a probing look. Disconcerted, Ania glanced to Ben for support.

"You mustn't do this to yourself, Ania," Leia said finally.

"Do what?" Ania asked, perplexed by this abrupt instruction.

"Feel guilty," her mother explained. "It is a path to ruin."

"I… I don't –"

"There's no point in hiding things from her, Ania," Ben told her gently. "She can sense anything."

Fighting back the instinct to offer another retort, Ania chose to purse her lips and look back at her mother silently. Leia met her gaze for a moment longer before taking a step toward her and, much to both Ania and Ben's surprise, wrapped her arms around her.

"Do not blame yourself, my dear," her mother whispered in her ear. "Mourn your father's passing, but do not wallow in guilt." With that, Leia patted her gently on the back of her head and stepped away. "Come to my apartment this afternoon," she instructed, the kindness now gone from her voice. "We will resume your training then."

"We'll be there," Ben said much to Ania's relief. She wasn't sure she would be able to speak if prompted to do so. She felt too choked up as she internalized her mother's advice and marveled at the warmth her mother's embrace had imbued within her.

Leia nodded and gave Ania one last encouraging look before turning to depart. The two stayed where they were as they watched their mother leave. Only once she was out of sight did they break out of their ephemeral paralysis.

"Come on," Ben said to her. "We should get to the Senate."

"Right," Ania said, having entirely forgotten about the pending CIH meeting. What could she say? She had a lot on her mind.

"She really loves you, you know," Ben said suddenly after they had begun walking toward the stairs.

"You think?" Ania asked, although she knew it to be true. She felt a bit uncomfortable with how differently Leia was treating her and Ben. Whereas she acted warm and compassionate toward Ania, she didn't demonstrate the same level of affection toward Ben. On the contrary, their interactions were rigid and defined by their brevity.

"I've never seen her act that way toward anyone else before," Ben told her as they exited the landing platform and entered the bustle of the space port.

"Not even with you?" Ania asked abashedly.

Ben snorted and shook his head. "No, not really," he said. "Although…" He trailed off, a distant look in his eyes as they walked through the crowd. "She's not very good at expressing herself emotionally," he concluded finally. "With you, she doesn't seem to have those inhibitions, though."

Ania chose not to say anything to this. Ben's tone was utterly inscrutable to her; she couldn't tell if he was upset or not about the disparate nature of their respective relationships with their mother. From what she could tell, he seemed to be apathetic about it all, but Ania had never prided herself on her ability to decipher the subtleties of social interaction.

The siblings fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way out of the spaceport and onto a shuttle leading them to the Senate. Ania watched curiously as Ben had to fend off several overly-zealous female admirers on multiple occasions. He looked especially disgruntled, clearly not appreciative of the unsolicited encroachments into his personal space. Would she be forced to endure similar irksome encounters in the future once her identity was revealed to the public? Ania had a tiny bit of experience with being a celebrity during her brief tenure as Tatooine's most-famed gladiator, but she was sure that the celebrity associated with being Leia Skywalker's daughter would be on a massively greater scale.

Upon reaching the proudly domed Senate building in the center of the city, Ania and Ben made their way to the latter's far more-spacious and well-varnished office. There, Ben called up the briefing and provided her with a spare datapad so that they could both read it in preparation for the CIH meeting later that afternoon.

At first she hadn't put much effort into reading the briefing. She was a slow reader – having only learned Aurebesh on her own with the assistance of her patient grandfather – and she didn't feel particularly inspired to make sense of the convoluted document considering her impending resignation. Her apathy quickly faded, however, when the briefing began discussing the specifics of the recent terrorist strikes in the Mid and Outer Rims.

"This is horrible!" she exclaimed, setting the datapad down on the desk forcefully as she was no longer able to continue reading the depressing report. "Can you believe this stuff?"

Ben looked especially grim as he too set his datapad aside. "Unfortunately, I suspect this report is understating the extent of the First Order's crimes," he said plaintively.

"Understating?" Ania repeated dubiously. "Just listen to the description of this one attack on Sullust. Fifty killed, a whole village wiped out by firing squad! Mass rape and violence! How could they be understating this?"

"The intelligence service has been known to withhold information," Ben said with a shake of his head. "This whole government is dominated by naïve fools who don't want the galaxy to know how badly the New Republic is struggling."

"What do you mean?" Ania asked, shocked by Ben's attitude. Wasn't he the poster boy for the New Republic? How could it be that he of all people was disenchanted with it?

"People are afraid, Ania," he told her darkly. "They're afraid of another war. The War of the Rebellion and the Clone Wars before that left horrible scars across the galaxy. That's why pacifism is such a dominant philosophy nowadays. People don't want another war and will do anything in their power to hide evidence that suggests one is coming."

"But I thought you were a pacifist?" Ania said.

"Ostensibly, yes," Ben said with a shrug. "But only because it's politically infeasible not to be one. Zorq and his hawks all come from historically chauvinistic planets so they can get away with it, but most others can't. Especially not me considering who my grandmother is."

Ania blinked a few times as she attempted to process this. Politics could be so befuddling at times. Why couldn't people just say what they felt and support positions which they believed in?

"So you think the First Order is more dangerous than this report suggests?" she asked.

"I'm sure of it," Ben said confidently.

"Then what are we going to do?" Ania asked nervously.

Ben smiled thinly. "I don't know if you heard, but our mother is a very adept military mind," he said, prompting Ania to roll her eyes. "As long as we give her the resources she needs, the First Order won't stand a chance. It's my job as head of the CIH to push that legislation through, but that won't be easy due to the reasons I just explained to you."

Ania nodded, finding herself becoming increasingly impressed with her brother's political expertise. He may claim not to like politics, but it was clear to her that he thrived in that arena.

"Damn!" Ben exclaimed suddenly, startling Ania. "We're going to be late! The assembly room is on the opposite side of the building!"

Following his example, Ania stood up out of her seat and pushed the chair in. Suddenly, a sly smile emerged as an idea hit her.

"I'll race you there," she said.

Ben quirked an eyebrow at this suggestion. "Race?" he repeated. "Why would I do that?"

"As part of our training," Ania said without hesitation. "Mom wants you to get in shape, you know."

Aggrieved, Ben huffed at this. "I am in shape!" he insisted.

"Absolutely," Ania agreed readily. "A round one."

Snorting in a mixture of humor and indignation, Ben walked around the desk toward her. "Round or not, I have longer strides than you," he pointed out. "It really wouldn't be fair."

"Is that so?" Ania asked, smirking.

"I know it won't be," Ben said. "Because on top of that, I have a head start on you."

Ania blinked a few times in confusion. "Head start? You don't have a –"

"Yes I do!" Ben sang as he rushed toward the exit.

"Hey!" Ania yelled, stunned that he would pull such a juvenile stunt. "Get back here!"


Author's Note: I figure that from now on I'll start updating this story twice a week rather than once a week. Maybe even three times, who knows. I've got plenty of unpublished chapters, so why not. Hopefully reading this story can help you stave off the boredom while we all hunker down. Stay safe and stay inside!