400 reviews! I am so, so, so happy to see that! I honestly never thought my story would be this recognized. I would like to thank everyone for liking and following my story. Reading your comments, good or bad, has always made my days. I don't know how I would have gone through the last year without you guys. I was saved in COVID lockdown by writing and being inspired by your comments.

All I can say is thank you very much. I hope you will also like the rest of the story and the sequels :))

Also, I'm currently writing the final battle between Laetitia and Darth Vader. I just finished her bickering and first encounter with Darth Sidious. Let me just say I felt so tense just writing about it. It's chapter 199, so I think the whole story will end with 205 chapters (so-so).

:D


Chapter 177

Everyone was in the Command Center of the Echo Base. Laetitia, Ahsoka, Mon Mothma, Gial Ackbar, Crix Madine, Lux and Rex. They were discussing the future of the Rebellion. The meeting was not going very well. They had been taking a lot of losses by the Empire. Losing more people every minute.

"Wait, where's Luke?" Leah asked in alarm.

Luke was always at meetings like this. And yet, he was no where to be found. Where the hell was he? Why didn't she see him with them?

"He's on a patrol." Rex replied, frowning in confusion. Did she not know that?

"What?" She demanded.

"It's just outside the Base, Leah. Relax. He'll be fine. You've taught him well." Ahsoka reassured her.

But Leah was still unconvinced. Why didn't he say he was leaving on a patrol? He knew, or should have known, that she would let him do what he wanted. Besides, what if something happened to him? What would she do them?

Hoth was one of the dangerous planets in the Galaxy with a lot of unknown species. That was one of the reasons why she chose it as a Base.

"What about General Solo? Should we not wait for him?" Madine asked.

"No, he's ... He's busy. Besides, it's better if he's not here for this." Leah vaguely said.

Han had left to talk to Qi'ra. He tried to change Leah's mind about her staying, but ... she couldn't risk that. Even if it was her best friend's girlfriend. Qi'ra was not someone to be trusted, no matter how much she had 'changed'.

"Do you know the girl he's brought with him?" Mon Mothma asked.

"I've met her once or twice. Her name is Qi'ra. She and Han were together for a while. Then, she just left."

"Did you know that she used to be a member of White Worms?" Madine asked, looking at the tablet of information.

"Yeah, but so was Han."

"Wait, Qi'ra ..." Ahsoka wondered out loud.

Leah turned to her, her eyes asking her friend to not remember where she heard that name and what things she told her about her. She told her about Qi'ra years ago. She really needed her to not remember that, and make things worse for Han.

"Wasn't she the Smuggler who tried to keep you captive when Maul wanted the Holochrons?!" She asked, remembering exactly what she shouldn't have.

"Uh ..."

"Is this true?" Mothma demanded in alarm as she turned to Leah, who was sighing in irritation.

"Well ... yeah ... but ..."

"Then, we must hold her here until she gets a trial in the New Republic. She is dangerous." Gial Ackbar said.

"Okay, wait a minute!" Leah demanded loudly to stop the talking.

"Yes, she has done a lot of questionable things. That is exactly why she's not staying here. I've given her until tonight to get the hell out of here. And she knows that if I ever see her again, I will make sure she regrets it."

"Then you don't trust her?" Lux asked, getting a sense of what she was feeling.

"Hell, no! How stupid do you think I am?" She asked in frustration.

"But what if she goes straight to the Empire? What if she releases the location of our Base? We've only been here for a month. We cannot afford to lose this one, too." Ahsoka stated.

Leah sighed. If she was being honest with herself, she was worried about that one as well. She knew Han loved her. That was the reason why she was letting her go ... But what if she led the Empire right to their doorstep? Or worse, Darth Vader?

What could she do then?

"We're letting her go for now. But we'll monitor her. I wanna know everything she does. Send the best guy we have to trail her." She ordered. That was the best thing she could do.

"I will get right on it." Rex said.

"But this is not right. We need help." Mon Mothma stated, frustrated with the situation.

"What must we do, then? We are doing everything we can in our power. We are all doing our best." Ackbar said.

"We need help ... from powerful people. Ones who have the power and the will to fight alongside us ... Allies." She said.

Leah frowned in suspicion, biting back the comment she was ready to throw. She did not like where this was going. She had a feeling where it was going, which is exactly why she was hating the idea. She was talking about ...

"Do we have those allies, Senator?" Ahsoka asked.

"General Skywalker ... are you in touch with Grand Master Yoda?" She suddenly asked.

Leah blinked in surprise and choked on her own breath. She was caught completely off-guard. She knew Mothma was most likely going to ask about a Jedi Master, but not Yoda! Everyone turned to her with wide open eyes. They, too, were shocked.

Leah was regretting telling the Senator about the surviving Jedi now more than ever. She just looked into the machines, making it obvious that she wasn't interested.

"General Yoda is alive?" Rex asked in shock.

"Um ..." Ahsoka tried to say.

She knew, but ... she wouldn't reveal that information to anyone. She hadn't even told Lux about him. He trusted her that everything she kept was for a reason, for the sake of everyone. He did the same, and they were having their lives just fine.

One of the most stable couples Leah ever knew in her life.

"Do you really think he'll be able to help us? Or even will want to help us? He's been in hiding for 16 years!" Leah stated in irritation.

She used to like the old Grand Master a lot. But as the Clone Wars went on, the dark side forced the Jedi to do things they should not have done. Besides, she still had the last memory of him yelling at her to 'respect their ways'.

"Do you have other ideas?" Mothma challenged.

"No. But I'm not going to him. I am not going to reveal his location to anyone, and lead the Empire right to him. We will find another way. And that is the end of this discussion." She strongly demanded.


Laetitia was in the Command Center of the Echo Base on Hoth. After the meeting was done, she decided to start analyzing the data the Bothan Spynet had sent them.

It wasn't looking good. The Empire was getting more powerful by the minute. And there was still no sign of Arcann. She didn't know if that was good or bad. She wanted to find him and make him pay for forcing to live the rest of her life as a widow, but ... she also didn't want to find him. She knew that if she did, she would definitely lose it ... And she was scared of that.

Of herself.

"Uh, Leah?" Han nervously said as he walked to her.

"Uh oh! What did you do?" She seriously asked.

"What ... what makes you think I did anything?" He tried to bluff.

"You never call me 'Leah'."

Han sighed in defeat. That was true. He always called her 'Princess', 'Force-wielding maniac', 'sister', 'buddy' and stuff like that. He already gave it away that they were going to have a serious talk ... for once.

"Uh ... Do you have a minute?" He asked seriously.

Leah just nodded as she followed him to the hallway outside the room. She had a bad feeling about this. He had never been this ... tense and nervous around her. What was he going to say that he was even afraid to say?

"So? What is it? Did Qi'ra finally die?"

"What? No! Why would you say something like that?" Han yelped.

"A girl can hope." Leah muttered sarcastically.

Once again, they both fell silent. Han didn't say anything, even though he was the one who asked for a moment alone. He just walked forward in the cold and snowy hallway. The Rebels were moving past them as they were still getting prepared on the Base.

"If no one died, then what the hell is going on?" She finally asked.

"I'm leaving." He quickly said to get it over with.

Leah frowned in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? Why would he want to leave? What happened? He didn't want to leave her alone 2 hours ago. What did the Gold-digger tell him to convince him?

"What changed your mind? She did?" She asked as she realized what he was talking about.

"No ... Well, yeah, but ... I also contacted a buddy of mine. He said the situation is a lot worse. Boba Fett is finding his way to here ... I can't let him find you guys." He quietly said.

"Oh, give me a break, Han. That is a load of crap!" She snapped at him.

"Huh? Look, I get that you don't like her ..."

"Understatement!"

"Why?! Why don't you like her? Did something happen between you two that I don't know?" Han asked, trying ti understand the situation.

He couldn't understand why Leah hated Qi'ra so much. He knew that she didn't play well with others. But the way she was acting ... He didn't need to be a Force-sensitive to sense her anger. It was so obvious. He also knew his sister that much.

"I just don't. I'm allowed to not like people." She vaguely said.

She didn't want to be the one who made Han choose between his girlfriend and sister. She could sense his love for her, as much as she was confused about that. After losing the love of her own life, she wasn't going to put Han through that. No one deserved that ... especially the brother she loved.

"Yeah, you are." He muttered.

"You're the one that said if I wanted this, I should go." He stated.

"And you're the one who said to kick your ass if you changed your mind." Leah told him.

"Look, I don't have a choice! It's better this way."

"Wait, so you're actually leaving because of her? Because of her?! Are you kidding me?!" She shouted in ridiculousness in what he was doing.

"So we mean nothing to you?"

"You guys mean EVERYTHING to me!" He yelled in defense.

"Then stay." Leah begged.

"I can't ... I'm not gonna risk your life, which is what I will be doing if I stay." Han quietly said, asking her to understand.

"I don't care! Han, if Boba Fett comes after you, then he'll have both of us to deal with." She promised him.

"The Hutts aren't creatures you wanna mess with, sister." He said.

He knew Leah was more than capable of killing them, but ... she shouldn't have to do that in her condition. She was still pregnant. He didn't want to risk her like that. Her and her baby. What kind of a best friend and uncle would he be if he did?

"I know! We used to work for them together, you know. And they used to own my father! How stupid do you think I am?" She half-yelled at him.

Han cursed himself from the inside. He had completely forgotten about that. But how?! She told him about how Kitster and Anakin were slaves to the Hutt. That was one of the reasons why she hated the slavers and Hutts so much.

"If I stay, I might as well sign your death certificate. You, your brother ... your kid." Han quietly said, but Leah stopped herself to tear his head off his neck.

"Do not bring my child into this." She threatened him coldly.

She would not let anyone, not even her best friend, to use her child as leverage or a way to change her mind. She would not have that. No one could. Yes, she was having a baby. That didn't mean she would stop being who she was. Her kid wouldn't want that. He, or she, would not accept Leah as their mother if she backed off.

"Can't you see that I'm doing this for you? I am letting you go, letting all of you go! ... because I love you too damn much to see you get hurt because of me!" Han screamed at her in frustration.

Leah just stayed silent as she looked at him. What was she supposed to say to that? She knew that they were stronger together than apart, but ... what good did that do? When he didn't realize it? How was she supposed to save someone who didn't want to be saved?

She couldn't force him to stay, but she also knew that Qi'ra was hiding something. It was like she was using Boba Fett as a way to draw Han away from Leah, so she could do what she wanted to her. As if she was setting a trap for Leah the minute Han got away from her.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Han sighed in guilt and sadness from what was happening. To be honest, he didn't want to leave, either. He had grown too close to everyone in the Rebellion. They were his family. All of them. Ahsoka, Luke, Mina, Rex, Lux, Thexan ... Laetitia.

He just walked closer to Leah and put his arms on her shoulders to make her look him in the eye.

"Look, don't worry. I'm still gonna be here when you give birth to my cure little niece. I know you want me to." He very seriously said.

Leah glared him with no feeling in her eyes. After a while, her laughter turned into scoffs of frustration. She didn't even ask him that. She wanted him close when that happened, not there to hold her hand! What the hell did he think he was?!

"Han Solo ..." She slowly started.

"Yes, sister? Gonna give me a hug?" He smiled, thinking she was forgiving him.

She smiled back to him to mock him. She suddenly pushed him away violently and put his hands off of her. Han blinked in surprise. The second he looked up, he saw Leah's un-illuminated eyes giving him a death glare.

"You have the brain size of a Bantha ... and about just as charm." She sarcastically said to his disappointment.

"Good luck!" She strongly said as she patted him on the chest and left him alone.

Han just stood there, wondering what the hell was happening ... Was is all worth it? Was he really doing the right thing to leave her all alone? In her situation? Did he really trust Qi'ra that much? Was he right to trust her?

What if she hurt the people on the Base? Or worse ... Laetitia?

Done :)