Chapter 8

Deciding it would be best not to take a direct route to the rendezvous from Tatooine, Anakin made sure to make several indirect jumps on the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle to throw off anyone who might be tracking him off. It was on the third redirect that he began picking up tracking beacons all over the stolen ship. When he had determined that there were no further tracking beacons, he piloted his ship to the planet of Alderaan, but it was taking longer than many times before which grated on the young Jedi Knight's nerves immensely.

Unable to rest as Anakin had felt the dread in his system since he had found himself missing Obi-Wan despite the fact that the old man had lied to him, Anakin can only reflect in regret and self-pity.

He was such a fool to believe that old man would have given him the power to save Padmé and to allow him to live his life in peace. The likelihood of Palpatine using Padmé and his children against him is high even if he had bested Obi-Wan. Palpatine probably would have arranged for Padmé to be assassinated. He wouldn't put it past the traitor.

Anakin had an unrivaled gift for the Force. Palpatine wanted him as a Sith, believing he would become a huge asset to the Sith cause.

Anakin had hated himself even worse than he did for a whole year. For his entire life, he had believed he was going to be the most powerful Jedi ever, to bring peace, justice, and security across the galaxy, to protect the innocent, and to free those slaves even if he has to leave the Order to do it. Although Anakin hadn't seen this timeline's version of himself, he can imagine that he was a cyborg similar to General Grievous, a shell of his former self.

The lightspeed lanes compounded with the emptiness of cold space made him truly realize what little he had. The clothes on his back, his lightsaber, and the ship. All of his other things are probably in the Temple that he himself brought down to its knees so it's likely that all that he had was destroyed in this time and cannot be recovered.

Anakin had known Obi-Wan knew the location of his children and he shall inquire him about it later as he had wanted to kill Sidious and Vader first and then track down his family. Hopefully, Luke and Leia are safe with their adopted families.

Anakin thought about those innocent mothers who he had probably taken children from. It had disgusted Anakin that Vader saw them as enemy combatants. Those children were trained students, who could then grow up to be Jedi, and if they banded together, would be a threat to his power, and of course, that murderer didn't want someone to stand a chance against him.

Anakin thought back to his old life, and pondered, what would happen if he does kill Palpatine? Would the Jedi take his children and use him and his wife as a kriffing scapegoat?

Anakin wouldn't put it past the Jedi. Unfortunately, the Jedi has lost their way and is incompetent. The Jedi were discouraged from marrying and having children because attachments like those could be a "path to the dark side".

At one point, the Jedi were not blinded by their pride and arrogance. The Jedi would find children out in the galaxy that were Force-sensitive and would take them to be trained as Jedi if their parents were okay with it, but by the second year of the war, the corruption within the Order begins to spiral and they would send children off to a kriffing war and merely states "The Force will decide their fate". Some Jedi were allowed to marry and have children. Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi was allowed to have several wives and many children because his species was "endangered" yet he had harbored a hatred for that Jedi Master after he had voted against Ahsoka's innocence and even before then when he have told him about his family who died when he had believed Kenobi died and a bunch of his friends dead, stating that it was wrong to be sad about people dying because apparently their deaths are the will of the Force.

None of those cold peacekeepers understand love as he does. He isn't cold and detached as they are and he would tell them to kriff their codes and outdated rules if he ever does return to his time.

Anakin placed the shuttle on autopilot and turned around, deciding to do something since he was going to die if he doesn't do something. He'd missed Padmé. If she was here, she would have always found something to do and make Anakin's crappy life entertaining and magnificent as all the Jedi do is underestimate him and scold him for the littlest of things, ruining his life.

He walked to the refresher and looked around, seeing nothing but black but there was a light switch, and he turned it on, his eyes brightening as he stares at the place that must have been constructed with a great amount of handiwork.

He has admitted this place was luxurious, and he begins walking up to the mirror, staring at himself in the mirror. There was a shower and bathtub, a faucet and sink, effluvial rinser, toilet, and sanitizer. It was all top-model and modern, and it had spiked Anakin's disgust as what he had seen so far was the Empire wrongfully attacking innocent civilians and pray on their money for resources for themselves, and it had made the satisfying images of cutting off Palpatine's head returned to Anakin's thoughts.

As much as he enjoyed the thought of decapitating Sidious, Anakin decides not to reflect too long as he would be on Alderaan soon and he had wanted to look his best, not like he's homeless or is struggling for survival. It's not like Bail Organa would care, but Anakin still wanted to look somewhat decent as he hates having to scratch himself every 10 seconds which had spiked Anakin's nerves.

Fastening his hair as he was staring at the mirror, it was then he had noticed his hair was not trimmed nor neutralized as it made him appear much older and going down his face despite how fairly decent his beard appears. Frowning slightly in disgust at himself, Anakin begins to fix his hair, making it look similar to the way it did at the end of the war, noticing the sand falling from his hair and sighed.

'I hate sand.'

Anakin reminded himself that it was time to take a real shower and got in, wiping off the sand and cleaning off his appearance. Although Anakin hadn't looked completely messy back on Tatooine and the old man also look decent, the difficulties of survival and the complications of keeping one look like a model was damn neared impossible on that miserable planet, making the young man's appearance aged greatly, but luckily, the Jedi Knight receiving this shower is helping him look even better than the end of the war.

After approximately 15 minutes, Anakin walks up to the mirror and he couldn't resist the childish smirk at approving his appearance and places his clothes down, wiping the sand off with the water in the sink and laying them down where they could warm up, and all he could do is stare at himself.

At first, he'd saw himself, then he had seen his form beginning to transfer into a different form; his eyes were now the golden color of the Sith, his skin was noticeably more paled, the hood was covering himself but he was easily still recognizable.

Anakin growled and bumped his head against the mirror quickly, causing it to crack instantly and glass to form on his head, wanting nothing more but to kill that version of himself. Darth Vader. He had been involved in killing Padmé; his innocent... precious-precious Padmé.

Wrapping a towel around himself, he begins walking out, looking at the blue streaks of lightspeed, deciding to do something at the very least.

He calmly walked back to the seat and sat down, deciding to lay back and allow the ship to pilot itself, and he felt his eyes begin to close, the world fading around him, the towel still wrapped around him as a sort of blanket.

"Imperial shuttle, I'll ask again, what is the meaning of this unexpected arrival without an appointment?" A voice asked sternly from the other side, startling the Jedi Knight to consciousness as he looks around him and it was then he had noticed that the ship piloted itself to Alderaan, the planet easily recognizable as he had been here before and it still looked beautiful than ever.

He released a yawn before touching the button that would allow him to speak with the person speaking.

"I require to speak with the Viceroy of this planet, but the reason I am here is only the information I will share with him," the Jedi Knight replied, preparing himself to use the Jedi mind trick if he has to.

There was silence for a moment, and Anakin couldn't resist the urge to roll his eyes out of impatience and annoyance as he had hated when there were momentarily delays to land. Just as Anakin was about to voice his outrage at how long it was taking, a different voice was heard from the other side.

"You're clear for entry. The Viceroy will meet you the second you land. Land at sector 336."

Anakin had to resist the urge to smirk. He had been hoping Bail Organa and his forces wouldn't make life complicated, and now, he was clear for landing.

Anakin would thank to three years of landing in unfamiliar territories, Anakin had known all protocols. At least, the Clone Wars assisted with that.

"Copy that."

The shuttle begins descending onto the surface.

Anakin had been fairly aware of Alderaan's involvement in the Clone Wars.

As a whole, Alderaan strongly opposed the Military Creation Act; they had their own security forces but remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars. Alderaan allowed Refugee Relief Movement settlement by displaced exiles from Ando including Orogor Binn and Sandi Maba and her family and other Separatist worlds who wished to remain Republic citizens. Due to its assistance of these exiles, Alderaan was attacked personally—nearly "being destroyed"—by General Grievous.

Considered the "Shining Star" of the Core Worlds, wild grasslands and old mountain ranges dominated the planet's land surface. Large oceans and scattered inland seas provided the planet with ideal conditions for a large variety of flora and fauna to develop. As such, Alderaan was the homeworld of some of the galaxy's most famous animals, such as the nerf, the grazer, and the thranta.

Alderaanian cities were often built with great care taken to protect nature. One such city, Crevasse City was built on the walls of a canyon, nearly invisible from above. Others were built on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice. The capital, Aldera, known for its university, was built on a small island in the center of a caldera.

In the Castle Lands, the remains of Killik mounds stood as a silent testament to the indigenous species that had disappeared for unknown reasons. Philosophers, poets, and artists often visit the Castle Lands for inspiration and meditation.

Alderaan is home to more than eight thousand subspecies of grass and an even larger number of wildflowers. Its flora also included a massive variety of spices, herbs, and grains. The planet had no major oceans, but it had a single polar ice cap. The rest of Alderaan's surface water was composed of thousands of lakes and connecting waterways.

In short words, it was a beautiful planet, but nothing matched Naboo in his opinion as it was the place he had fallen in love with the love of his life.

He had known Alderaan and Naboo was very strict with royalty though he allows his wife to handle the details. Memories of her attempting to teach him politics in their free time invaded his thoughts and memories of Anakin cursing in Huttese also invaded his thoughts, making him nearly burst out with laughter as he remembers his wife smiling at him teasingly and saying that he should never sign up for politics and he had promised her with a roll of his eyes he won't.

Anakin threw on his robes along with his cloak and raise his hood over his head, knowing that it was still wet but was still useful, grabbing the lightsaber and holstering it onto his belt, thankful yet slightly nervous, though it was time to meet his old friend.

Bail Organa, despite the fact that he was going to use Leia as a secret weapon against her true father and the tyrannical Empire, had loved his adopted daughters.

Winter was adopted by Bail and Breha and became Princess Leia's best friend and companion. The two grow up together on this peaceful planet known as Alderaan and attended the best schools, learning about art and history, as well as ladylike graces. Possessed of natural grace and poise, she was often mistaken for Princess Leia by visitors to Alderaan's court. This impression was increased by the fact that Leia's youthful tomboy nature did not seem as regal as Winter's stately bearing.

Despite these differences in personality, however, Winter would remain a comfort to Leia, who had problems relating to the snobbish, cruel young girls at court. Though the pair's physical resemblance was tempered by Winter's stunning white hair, the two friends would soon learn to employ similar looks for tactical advantage, a practice they would continue throughout their lives. Winter would sometimes disguise herself as Leia so that Leia could escape the palace to create mischief and visit with inappropriate boys. It was probable that Winter attended the University of Alderaan with Leia, who recalled that Winter's perfect memory was very helpful when it came time to study for exams.

One way or another, Winter and Leia were both schooled in Alderaanian ideals of freedom and liberty, as well as weaponry, on Leia's insistence. A key tutor was Sabé, the former handmaiden of Leia's mother.

Also as teenagers, the young women encountered Emperor Palpatine at Imperial Center. The image of Palpatine and his eyes, which made her feel as if he would drink up her spirit, would remain with Winter forever and she told him would influence her decision to join the Alliance.

Leia is slightly more serious than her adopted sister.

She was certainly a hard-working Senator already and would probably become the youngest Senator the galaxy has ever seen when she turns 18.

Although the Organas were not trying to hide the fact that Leia was adopted, they never informed the Princess of her parentage, nor did they reveal the existence of her twin brother. However, during the short time between her birth and her mother's death, Bail had remembered Leia telling him some years after that she had gained a faint memory of her mother as a beautiful and kind, yet sad woman.

Leia had a large extended family to take part in her upbringing. It included Silya Shessaun, a mentor and friend of Amidala, Queen Breha's sister Deara and Bail's three sisters Tia, Rouge, and Celly, whom Leia later described as "three redoubtable dowagers" that "made her girlhood an intermittent burden."

Even though Leia was rather advanced for her age, having learned to speak and walk before the age of one, she did not show any signs of Force potential—much to the relief of her adoptive father, who knew that being a Force-sensitive in Palpatine's Empire would be a heavy burden. However, she had inherited her biological father's gift, which surfaced for the first time many years ago when her caregiver Memily was about to lean on a weakened railing overlooking a cliff. By throwing a laserball at it, Leia alerted Memily and saved her life.

Because of the incident, Leia became a target of the Galactic Empire for the first, but certainly not the last time. Word of a child with extraordinary reflexes had reached the galactic capital of Coruscant, and Inquisitors Ferus Olin and Hydra were sent to investigate. Olin, a former Jedi apprentice, was in fact a double agent trying to save as many Force-sensitives as possible and had come to Alderaan on Obi-Wan Kenobi's behest. Even though the Inquisitorius was not aware of the child's gender, Kenobi feared that the toddler might be Leia and wanted to turn the Empire's eye away from Alderaan. Olin covered up the incident, stating it was nothing more than a rumor, and Leia's heritage remained a secret. The Imperial informer turned out to be Deara Antilles; Queen Breha had mercy on her sister but exiled her from the royal family forever. Following the incident, Olin settled on Alderaan. The former Jedi was tasked with protecting the Princess, following her like a shadow under the guise of the obsequious botanist Fess Ilee. Olin's act was so convincing that the young Princess came to despise that greasy yes-man Ilee who always seemed to get in her way.

She was certainly a lot like her mother despite them attempting to raise her as a Senator but also had wanted her to be a normal girl instead of being known as the daughter of Vader.

Nicknamed Lelila, the Princess grew up with Winter, the orphaned daughter of Bail's aide Sheltay Retrac. Leia's best friend and companion since earliest childhood, Winter possessed a natural grace and poise that often led court visitors to mistake her for the Princess of Alderaan, while the tomboy Leia was regarded as a domestic girl. The Princess's lack of upper-class gentility remained a constant source of despair to her aunts Tia, Rouge, and Celly, who were nevertheless determined to turn her into what they called "a Proper Princess," and hired deportment teachers to drill into her manners fitting for the heir of an Ancient House. One part of making her a lady was to learn how a princess dresses up and does her hair. According to Alderaanian customs, Leia's hair was allowed to grow long and arranged into elaborate hairstyles. Ironically, one of Leia's trademark symbols—her signature "bun" coiffure—was inherited from her mother's homeworld of Naboo, although a long time passed before she came to know it. To avoid the tiresome hairstyling, she even cut her hair once—only to be forced to wear a wig, even though she argued that she did not need earmuffs in the summer.

While Leia disliked being "everyone's dress-up doll," her bright and outspoken nature blossomed out when she had a chance to learn diplomacy, government, and languages. Like her birth mother Padmé Amidala before her, Leia had the benefit of palace education: the best equipment and the finest tutors, among them Arn Horada, who instructed her in galactic politics and history, And Amidala's former handmaiden Sabé, who tutored her in matters of court etiquette and diplomacy. Wanting to expose her to as many experiences as possible, Bail oftened took his daughter along to trips to other worlds, such as Ithor, where he attended the Time of the Meeting as the representative of the Imperial Senate. About six years old at the time, the Meeting was an unforgettable experience for Leia.

Despite knowing that she was loved, Leia sometimes felt an outsider to her family. Winter was like a sister to her, but the young Princess still wished she had a brother or a sister of her own, someone she could truly feel close to. In her growing years, she often felt that she was just slightly different, without exactly knowing how, and that a part of her was missing. Winter remained a comfort to Leia, despite the differences in their personality. Though the pair's physical resemblance was tempered by Winter's stunning white hair, the friends soon learned to employ similar looks for tactical advantage, a practice they would continue throughout their lives. Winter sometimes disguised herself as Leia so that the Princess could escape the Aldera Royal Palace to create mischief and visit inappropriate boys. Leia also befriended Neena, a musically talented girl about her age who lived in the Organa household.

Besides receiving palace education, Leia attended the Collegium for Young Ladies in Crevasse City. During her time there, the young Leia expressed early tendencies toward rebellion. When the school's staff once served bottled juice instead of freshly squeezed, a seven-year-old Leia staged a sit-in protest with the other students. After playing the forbidden anthem of the Old Republic, and reprogramming the Collegium's security mainframe to swap every reference to Palpatine with a curse, the Princess was finally expelled from the school.

When she was 8, Leia and her friend Winter once hid a giant wooly moth in the desk drawer of Alderaan's Minister of Agriculture. The harmless joke, however, took a more serious turn when it was discovered that the moth had eaten the budget for the whole next year, written on a sheet of flimsiest. As a means of punishment, Leia was banned from participating in a party held in the Grand Ballroom of the Royal Palace. The Princess and Winter attended the gala anyway, hidden behind a marble staircase with a store of scavenged food. Having accidentally crossed the eyes of Fess Ilee, the young girls were afraid and got out of their hiding place, bumping into Bail, who promptly banned them to their rooms.

Bail had to resist a chuckle at that memory, 'lest he embarrasses himself in this public room and receive odd looks from the bodyguards as he remembered Leia and Winter's expressions on their faces when they bumped into him.

The following night, the Princess got over the wall so she could join Winter at the Gingerbell blossom festival. Walking alone in the deserted streets of Aldera, Leia was almost kidnapped by a trio of goons who worked for Senator Ask Aak of Malastare. Aak wished to use the child as a bargaining chip so that Bail would vote the way he wanted. The rapture attempt, however, was thwarted by Ferus Olin, who had been following the Princess in the streets. Later that night, Leia lost her way. The Princess climbed upon a half-finished building so she would be able to see the Palace in the distance, but she nearly fell while trying to climb down. Once again, Ferus Olin's timely intervention allowed Leia to escape unharmed.

Two years later, Leia was attending the prestigious Alderaan Select Academy for Young Ladies under the tutelage of the strict Madame Vesta, whom the Princess described as "a rancor of a nanny." Together with other daughters of Alderaanian nobles, the Princess learned etiquette, table manners, and many other uses, and to her mind, rather boring, things that a lady needed to know. During this time, Leia saw the downside of the upper class as well: many of the girls had a condescending attitude towards ordinary people, and expensive parties were thrown in the court even though many in the galaxy were hungry and suffering. Once she reached her adolescent years, Leia discovered that one of her school friends used drugs.

However, her adolescent years also had their share of cherished memories. Leia became friends with Heeth and Raal Panteer, two scions of the patrician House Panteer. Once, the Princess snuck out at night with Raal Panteer to swim in the reflecting pools of Aldera. The pair, who had fallen in love, exchanged their first kiss on that occasion, but the relationship failed to last. Bail and the Panteer brothers would meet again during the Galactic Civil War. At age thirteen, Leia and Winter met Jahan Cross, the son of the Alderaanian diplomat Davim Cross.

Both young girls had a "mad crush" on him, which, according to the Princess, "lasted three whole days." After a long hiatus, the three met again last year on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Alderaan Ascendancy Contention. Upon seeing the two young ladies three years after leaving Alderaan, Cross made it look like he did not recognize Leia, "mistaking" Winter for the Princess on purpose.

Leia showed promise in politics and from early on, Bail began grooming her to one day succeed him in the Imperial Senate, encouraging her to attend Alderaanian debates and palace receptions for off-world personnel. In this Leia unknowingly followed the footsteps of not only her adoptive father but her late birth mother, who had entered politics at an early age and became a Senator. Indeed, Leia resembled Padmé Amidala in many ways: she was confident, poised, and had a quick political wit.

This made Bail miss Padmé even more as it was a complete tragedy to what happens to her by the man who she had loved until the end.

Rather if Bail hated seeing his old friend becoming Darth Vader, he had admitted that he had missed Anakin Skywalker as he, along with Obi-Wan Kenobi, had saved Alderaan and many other Star Systems multiple times from the Separatists.

There is no way to save Vader, but at least Anakin Skywalker would be remembered as the Hero with no Fear, the savior of many planets, the person who strives to protect the lives of innocents until falling victim to Order 66 in the Jedi Temple, and Padmé Amidala will be remembered as someone who kept the Republic on the right path, one of the Senators who weren't corrupt as the others, the savior of her people, and the woman who had tried to keep the galaxy in peace.

Bail thought back to other occurrences of his daughter's life and had remembered happy memories but there were ones where she tends to grow as snappish as her biological mother.

When Leia was thirteen, she met Wilhuff Tarkin for the first time when he came to visit Bail on Alderaan. She had heard a lot about the Moff from her father, none of it good. She instantly disliked him, maintaining that he represented everything that was wrong with the Empire. Leia was particularly disgusted with the idea of Tarkin having a slave, as she did not understand how it was possible that the Emperor allowed slavery. She even dropped a water balloon on his head while "watering her plants." The visit made Leia seriously contemplate what kind of galaxy she lived in, and what she could do to change it.

At the age of sixteen, Leia attended the University of Alderaan together with Winter, whose holographic and audio graphic memory, as Leia would joke, was very useful with homework. They studied history and art, two subjects the Empire seemed eager to suppress, which in Bail Organa's opinion was all the more reason to study them. Leia also began training with Giles Durane, a mercenary her father had hired to teach her self-defense and marksmanship. True to her tomboyish nature, she enjoyed these lessons far more than those of Madame Vesta and showed considerable talent in both areas.

Around this time, the Princess began to realize that her father was preparing her for something more than just becoming the next Senator of her home planet. A month before turning seventeen —the age of adulthood in the eyes of Alderaanian law —she accidentally overheard a secret HoloNet meeting Bail Organa was having with fellow Senators Mon Mothma of Chandrila and Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia, where the name Alliance to Restore the Republic came up. Leia's hatred for the Empire had been growing over the years—she certainly found their treatment of non-Humans and women atrocious and their desire to control everything appalling—but this was the first time she heard anyone discuss an open rebellion. She decided not the tell her father what she had heard but promised herself to make him proud and do whatever it took to restore the freedoms the Empire was systematically taking away.

Among the Ancient Houses, it was customary to bring the daughters to Coruscant when they finished school at seventeen—or even sixteen, if the parents were ambitious to start the long and complex search of a suitable groom candidate at the Imperial Court. The Princess's aunts would have been glad to see their niece marry someone from one of the other old Houses; Leia, however, regarded their heirs as "brainless twerps" and refused to be presented to the Emperor until she could do so as a Senator in her own right, not simply as a young girl in the Court marriage market. Her aunts were horrified, doubly so when Leia's decision was backed by Bail.

Bail also allowed Leia to be sent on Imperial missions and attempt to fool the Empire as they mustn't know about Alderaan's relations with the Rebellion. Leia was serving as her father's aide in the Imperial Senate and in the rebellion. After the Battle on Garel, she devised a plan to give the rebels three Hammerhead corvettes, ostensibly by going on a relief mission on Lothal where the rebels would apparently steal the ships. She was greeted by Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger, who were respectively disguised as a stormtrooper and an Imperial cadet, as well as Lieutenant Yogar Lyste, who unwittingly foiled her plan by placing gravity locks on the ships and ordered two AT-ATs to guard them. Leia requested she use Lyste's shuttle, and she flew with Kanan and Ezra to former governor Ryder Azadi's hideout. However, they found stormtroopers had apprehended Ryder. The Ghost appeared and opened fire: Kanan, Ezra, and Leia feigned being taken hostage by Ryder and the crew. Onboard, Leia bonded with Bridger after learning he had recently lost his parents, assuaging his fears the rebellion might not be worth fighting. They then resolved to find a way to steal the corvettes. Still disguised, Jarrus and Bridger used the Phantom to escort Leia back to the depot, distracting a surprised Lyste while Ryder, Sabine Wren, and C1-10P disabled the gravity locks and commandeered the ships. During the ensuing firefight, she saw Kanan use his lightsaber to down an AT-AT, and Ezra use telekinesis to disarm a pair of stormtroopers, which gave her the opportunity to grab one of the rifles and use it against the troopers. When Bridger boarded the last corvette, she ordered him to make it appear they were struggling and stun her. When Lyste came to her aid, she berated him for his failure and requested a shuttle home.

The time for Leia's introduction at the Imperial Palace will come soon enough though. She had told him, at the age of 18, she want to join the Imperial Senate, no debate, and this means she will become the youngest Imperial Senator ever elected, and Bail vowed to formally present her to Palpatine shortly before she assumed her Senatorial post. He knew Darth Vader came here frequently and the fear edged inside of Bail at each time as he had seen Vader staring at his daughter with what he'd guessed was suspicion.

Along with her unknown brother, she might be a weapon against the Empire, but Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine must die and this Rebellion must succeed. As long as there is peace in the galaxy, that is all that is important, and certainly, the children won't care for their father after his death after witnessing his atrocities, despite the blood relations they share with him.

Bail and Breha learned that they could not have children. Breha had suffered multiple miscarriages and injuries during those failed pregnancies, to the point where the doctors informed her that another pregnancy would probably kill her. This was public knowledge, so it afforded Leia another level of protection, as people would know she was adopted, but not inquire too closely, out of respect for the Organas.

Bail was a close ally of Padmé in the Senate, and she was friends with both him and Breha in a personal context. That, coupled with the fact that he was the only other living being besides Obi-Wan and Yoda who knew about the twins made it a pretty clear call.

Padmé's family didn't know about the marriage, but unlike the Tatooine relatives, their location made it unsafe for either twin. The Naberries were a high-ranking family on Naboo, which was Palpatine's own home turf. The idea of them adopting a baby just after Padmé died would have raised some major red flags. The adopted parents of the boy were living on a planet that basically no one cared about, the Empire didn't even really show up here that much so Leia is safe.

It was partially out of respect and love for the friend who had died, but it was also something of a selfish choice. He and Breha wanted a baby, and now they had a chance to stop a tyrannical rule.

"Senator Organa, an Imperial shuttle has just landed on the surface, and the reason here is unknown. I have allowed them entry." Captain Raymus Antilles reported, snapping Bail out of his thoughts.

"Very well. Leia, Winter, with me." Bail replied, standing up from his seat as he had gotten used to the Empire coming to Alderaan uninvited. At first, he had feared Darth Vader would recognize Leia in one of his visits to Imperial Center on this planet, yet those fears were unfounded at the very least so far.

Whenever the Empire chooses to come, it was wise to bring both of the children to avoid suspicion. Breha had made a valid point about this when Darth Vader had come to the Imperial center the first time.

Luckily, Vader is not currently in Imperial Center at this time on this planet and was probably still recovering from the injuries the apprentice - well the former apprentice of Vader - has recently given to him and is likely at his hidden fortress in whatever the kriff he is in this suffering galaxy so it must just be an odd routine checkup since the Empire is in a worse state than ever before and the corruption is increasing each day.

He'd hoped this wasn't an attack waiting to come as the Emperor knows that he is one of the founding leaders of the Rebellion and had recently attempted to execute him along with his daughter and many of the other leaders. He had wanted to receive the chance to save Leia and Winter and many more lives at the very least if his fears has merit.

As Bail approached the shuttle with Leia and Winter, they had heard the sounds of the hanger ramp lowering and saw a hooded figure emerging, causing everyone at his side to become bemused at first as this individual certainly wasn't a stormtrooper nor a Sith Lord or an Inquisitor.

Senator Organa knew he had committed treason against the new Empire by harboring two Jedi masters. He was there when the twins were separated. He knows who Vader really was and he had believed he died on Mustafar at once, but after seeing the new Vader, he placed two and two together.

So why was Darth Vader marching out of the shuttle and is still wearing the Jedi robes he once wore as a Jedi Knight long ago?

"What? No. It can't be him. He is now more machine than man and there's no way he couldn't age for 17 years and look like he's 25."

But yet as he stared at Anakin Skywalker, he had realized that this wasn't Darth Vader in the form of Anakin Skywalker or a clone even, for he isn't that imitating so this must be an odd occurrence through the Force. In Bail's opinion, Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker may share the same body, but they are different people entirely. Anakin Skywalker died at the Jedi Temple and Darth Vader was born the moment he had bowed to the Sith.

That meant before Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, he probably was sent into the future of time by the Force as Kenobi use to say the Force works in mysterious ways.

It was then Bail realized that as the young man now known to him as Anakin Skywalker from the past approached, he stared down at the girl at his side who stood tall.

Darth Vader has seen Leia before but he must be too blinded by arrogance, loss, and rage after his wife's death.

Yet, Anakin Skywalker can see through arrogance, loss, and rage. He isn't blinded by the dark side of the Force and he can see through the deception.

There was noticeable rage and fury in his blue eyes as Anakin stared down at Leia, the two meeting eye contact with the young girl staring at him in confusion while he was staring at her the way Bail stared at her at realizing how much she had grown up, examining her up and down.

Anakin immediately knew she was his daughter; Padme and Leia do resemble each other greatly. They both have the deep brown eyes, the brown cinnamon bun hair, the already strong political fiery attitude he can sense from her. Having the same hairstyle and the same color eyes isn't a physical resemblance.

Winter was just looking in confusion between her sister and the man who was giving her a critical eye. Something was wrong here, she knew, and she vowed to talk to her parents about it later.

"Please, follow me," Bail said in a half-pleading tone, hoping that the emotional Jedi Knight doesn't start a confrontation and rage about her being his daughter as Leia never did adequately with first impressions so it would only humiliate the Jedi Knight further.

Logically, he should give the girl to her real father as Padmé would want for that to happen since he was still the same man from the Clone Wars, but it isn't like that Leia would be able to understand this. It's best to keep her away from Anakin.

All Bail could think; how is he going to keep her safe now?

Arthur's note: The Original Trilogy will NOT be the same. To me, Leia has always been my favorite twin out of between her and Luke. I don't know why but I just love her attitude. I think it's because Leia is more like Anakin Skywalker who is my favorite Star Wars character and thus she got points over Luke. This is going to be more of a legends story with little bits of canon added in such as Clone Wars and Rebels and probably Mandalorian (I love the show but not certain if it would reach that far) thus why Leia's little adventure in Rebels is added in.

I have a question; Should I have Anakin train Leia in the Force? As many stories have Anakin train Luke to help Obi-Wan and/or Yoda so having Anakin training Leia in the ways of the Force would be something different. It would also make the Death Star clashes 'very interesting'.

I'm pretty certain many of you wondering why Anakin didn't inquire Obi-Wan further about why he was on Tatooine but he was blinded by rage and wanted nothing more but to come to Bail to attack the Empire, and not to mention Obi-Wan never gotten closer to Luke besides rescues in the past and A New Hope so ironically he's putting the less important child of their plan in danger while keeping the one who is suppose to be a Jedi safe.

May the Force be with you all always.