Chapter Forty:

Luke was awake before Leia, who seemed to have drifted off also while Luke slept. He had no way to tell time, so he didn't know how long it had been; but when he moved toward the entrance, he saw that it was night.

Luke returned to the commons area and began to think over the information Leia had given him. Luke was far from helpless, and he was going to get Leia out of here too. He had no doubts his father was looking for him, but Luke didn't know how long it would take for his father to figure out what had happened to his son. In the meanwhile, Luke would do what he could to get back to his father.

Luke glanced about the space, trying to figure out if there was anything he could use as a weapon. In his search, he discovered a pile of used air masks, with the oxygen tanks depleted. Luke realized that Leia must have found them and used what clean air they had left. She'd said her lungs were dying, so Luke guessed that the meager supply of clean air was probably why she wasn't in worse condition.

Luke moved on, careful not to disturb the walls lest he cause the precarious cavern to collapse. He didn't find anything useful, so Luke sat and waited for his companion to get more rest. However, after a time he woke her, knowing that they needed to get moving if they were to reach the camp Leia had mentioned.

Leia stirred, coming awake with ease at Luke's gentle shaking. "Huh? What?"

"It's time to go."

Leia blinked sleep from her eyes, offering a puzzled look. "Go where?"

Luke gestured to the entrance. "We're going to their base, and we're getting out of this place."

Leia groaned, laying her head back down. "You don't give up do you? I told you it's impossible to get into there!"

"Not for me it isn't," Luke said confidently.

Leia sat up and laid a hard gaze on him. "Oh? And how is that? What makes you so special?"

"I have experience in this sort of thing." Luke stood. "I don't want to leave without you since you know the way, but if I have to I will do so."

Leia merely stared, and Luke stood firmly in place under her scrutiny. Finally she stood with a sigh. "Are you sure you can get us in?"

"Yes," Luke said. "But I want to free you as well. Please, come with me." Luke offered a hand.

Leia looked to the proffered hand, chewing on her lip. "How do I know you won't leave me behind once I show you where to go?"

Luke thought for a moment, and then stepped forward. "I have nothing to offer you except my promise. Please, trust me like I trusted you."

Again she hesitated, and Luke somehow understood what she was thinking. No one had ever kept a promise to her, so all she had to go off of was faith... and that was hard for her. Luke waited patiently, allowing her to come to her own decision.

"Where will I go when we get away?" Leia asked softly. "I... I don't have a home."

Luke's heart panged. "You can stay with my father and me." Luke hesitated. "Actually... we came here in search of you."

Leia's head came up, her eyes wide. "What? Why?"

"I've seen you." Luke shifted, wondering if she'd think he was nuts.

"...seen me?" Leia asked dubiously. "How?"

"Through the Force," Luke answered, waiting for her reaction. "My father is a Jedi, and I have the Force too, though I am untrained."

"Jedi?" Leia said slowly, her gaze faraway. "I... I remember something about Jedi, from stories someone told me. But I don't know who told me."

Luke thought her response was rather odd, and he frowned. "You can't remember?"

Leia's shoulder slumped somewhat. "No. I... the first definitive memory I have is waking up strapped to a table."

It was Luke's turn to stare, and he had to work through his shock for a few minutes. But then his mind recalled something Saez had said to Luke about wiping memories.

"Saez had your mind erased," he said sadly, his heart going out to her.

Leia wrapped her arms around herself. "I... I don't know why I can't remember anything. I don't know where I came from, who my parents were, or anything else."

Luke didn't know her origins either, but he knew Obi Wan and Anakin would be able to help her. "Look, my father and his friend are both Jedi, maybe they can help you?"

Leia looked up hopefully. "Really?"

Luke shrugged, hating to give her false hope if he was wrong. "I can ask them, at least."

Leia considered, and then stepped forward. "Alright. Let's go."

00000

It was morning when Anakin returned to where Saez was strapped to a chair, Dewlanna keeping a silent vigil in the room. He offered her a small smile and then focused on Saez. He and the others had scoured every file on Saez's computer terminal and found many notes regarding Leia. Saez had indeed had her memory cleared entirely. Anakin didn't know if it was reversible because of the drugs used in the process.

The serum used on the child's brain had essentially been a toxin that caused her brain to completely cleanse itself, which meant it had also lost its memories. Leia had no recollection of her past, Anakin knew, which saddened and angered him immensely.

She had been fed lies ever after that, with Saez planting certain memories into her mind to make her think she'd always been a slave and that Saez truly owned her.

After their finds on Leia, Anakin had tinkered with the ruined droid's memory banks. Subsequently they'd discovered everything done to Luke. But the droid never left the room it was stationed in, so it had no way to tell them where Luke had gone from the house.

"I found the room you had Luke in. Oh, and your droid is gone," he said as an afterthought.

Saez swore colorfully. "You idiot, that droid cost me a fortune!"

Anakin shrugged. "You should have found a better use for it. I also discovered what you did to Leia."

Saez snorted, sitting back. "Why do you care so much about what I did?"

"That's for me to know."

Saez shrugged. "Whatever. But I told you I don't have your son."

"Not anymore, no." Anakin agreed, coming closer. "But I know you took him somewhere. See, I felt his fear, so I know something happened to him."

Saez shifted. "How can you feel his emotions?"

"I am a Jedi." Anakin reminded him mildly. "We can do many things."

Saez sighed. "Ah, right. Well, if the Force is such an ally, then you go find your kid on your own."

Anakin smiled in a way that sent chills down Saez's spine. "Oh, the Force is an ally... but see, I still need your help."

Saez lifted a brow. "Oh?"

"Yes," Anakin said. "I need you to show me where you took him... please."

The pleasantry surprised Saez, who sat upright. But the motion didn't melt his heart. "I refuse."

"Alright." Anakin stood. "You don't have to like it, but you are coming with us." With that he took the man by the arm, released him from the chair and cuffed him. "Onward."

00000

Luke was both pleased and surprised at the progress they had already made in their walk to the base the workers stayed at. It was now morning, with the sun rising behind them to illuminate everything to their rear. That caused everything to cast long shadows, which in turn created a tapestry Luke found intriguing in an odd way.

He had never been an artist, and never would be, but he could appreciate the hobby at least. Leia hadn't had much in the way of provisions, so they had left the junk pile relatively empty-handed. However, Luke was keeping a sharp eye out for anything he could use as a weapon as they passed pile after pile of scrap.

Something else had been on his mind, however, and yet he'd been hesitant to ask, not wanting to open a can of worms. But he could contain his curiosity no longer.

He picked up his pace to come even with Leia, and glanced to her. "Leia, how do you know your name if you have no memory?"

She glanced to him in surprise, and her step faltered a tiny bit before she answered, though she didn't stop walking. "I guess it just... felt right."

"A feeling?" Luke clarified.

Leia nodded. "Yeah, it's almost as though that's such an integral part of me that it can't be erased. It's me."

Luke considered that, and then nodded, shrugging. "I guess that makes sense."

Leia smiled minutely, and then asked her own question. "Where do you come from? I mean, where did you grow up?"

Luke's heart felt a little heavier all of a sudden, and he was silent for a moment. "I was initially raised on Tatooine by my aunt and uncle."

Leia looked to him, and the way she did so made Luke pause. It was almost as though she was feeling something too...

Wait, how do I know what she's feeling or thinking? Luke asked himself. But the look in her eyes was disconcerting.

"Are you sad?" Leia asked cautiously. "You... feel sad... somehow."

Luke stopped in his tracks. "Wait, you know how I am feeling?" Did she have Force ability too, Luke wondered?

Leia stopped also, though she tugged him out of the open and under the relative cover of an overhanging speeder-front. "I think so. I can hear it in your voice, but it's more than that."

Luke frowned. "I... I thought I could feel your emotions too, but... I didn't want to presume."

They stared at each other, silence reigning for long minutes as they both sought answers in the other's eyes. It was Leia who broke the stillness, though her voice was only a whisper.

"Why do I inherently want to trust you?" She shifted uncertainly. "I've never trusted anyone, because no one has been truthful with me. I'm purposely aloof with people so I don't get hurt." She narrowed her eyes a little. "But with you... I went with you willingly on only your word."

Luke felt as though he was out of his depth. "I don't know." He tried to look away but couldn't. "I'm the same way in that I only trust a select few... but I went with you too. Stars, I went to what I thought was a dead end when you said to."

Leia lifted a hand and moved to touch him, which cause Luke to flinch noticeably, and he backed up a step, dark memories surfacing. Leia dropped the hand, blushing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried that."

Luke felt bad for making her feel that way. "No, it's not you. I... I endured a lot under Garris. I still have memories to overcome." He turned away, thinking back to his first moments on the ground before Leia had arrived.

"Is that what was happening when I found you?" Leia asked. "Were you remembering something?"

Luke cringed. "Yes..."

Leia stepped closer again, though this time she didn't try touching Luke. "What kind of memories can cause paralysis like that?"

Luke heaved a world-weary sigh, glancing at the sun that was now higher in the sky. "I'll tell you as we walk." Besides, it would help pass the time, Luke knew. And... he wanted to talk to someone who had no ties to himself about his past. Luke felt that it would be cathartic for him. Not that he would tell everything, but he could give a summary of events.

"When I was on Tatooine, a squad of stormtroopers came to my home..."