Chapter 52 - Welcome to the Infantry

"Welcome to the White Forty-Seventh Infantry uh Private Skywalker." Donael, her commander greeted her.

Leia tried to retain composure, but was finding it difficult as she boarded the CR90 Corvette she'd been stationed on. 'Luke would love this!' she couldn't help but think. Of course she missed her brother. But now was not the time to get emotional. She gulped as her captain continued.

"It's been a while since we've had an officer assigned here straight out of Basic Training. Most of your fellow officers have served one or two terms already," Donael went on, "But I don't doubt you'll fit in. We're an agreeable bunch." The Captain was an older Duros who'd, she had no doubt, seen many battles in his time. His blue-green skin was wrinkled and he bore a prominent scar on his bald head. "Your quarters are down this way. You'll be bunking with Aretti. I'll leave you to get settled in. We have a diplomatic mission in forty eight hours. I trust you'll be ready."

"Sir, Yes sir!" Leia enthusiastically replied.

Leia rushed into her bunk to unpack her belongings. She didn't have much, just the usual stuff given out to recruits and what she'd brought from home. She hesitated for a second thinking about her lightsaber. Lennis, her drill sergeant, had said that it would be up to her next commanding officer if she was allowed to use it.

'I'll have to ask the captain,' Leia thought as she slid it back into her bag. Then she tucked the bag so it was hidden under her bed.

"Oh, hello." Leia looked up at the new voice to see a Caamasi woman standing in the doorway. Her skin was covered in a greyish fur with brown and black markings on her cheeks and arms. Her ears stuck out to the sides of her head and she had a long snout that was more elegant than rough. Her eyes were a warm deep yellow-brown. And most surprising, she wore a Rebellion Uniform, with one patch on her sleeve.

"Hi, I'm Leia. You are?"

"Corporal Aretti. You're my new bunkmate." She declared.

"Yeah, um…" Leia drawled.

"You're wondering what I'm doing here?" Aretti supplied.

"Uh…" Leia didn't know how to answer.

"You wouldn't be the first. I'm a Caamasi soldier, almost like saying I'm a Jedi Pacifist, but here I am." Aretti held her arms up and spun around.

"Well…" At this point Leia really was tongue tied. Caamasi were known to be pacifist by nature and friends to all. And what she said about Jedi was very outdated. 'Maybe in the clone wars, but now. Most Jedi won't join the Rebellion unless the Emperor comes knocking at their door himself. It's why I left them after all.'

Aretti continued, "Mine is a very long story. I joined to defend my people. Then after we lost my old Remnant, well, this unit seemed to work out for me. What's your story? I heard you transferred here right out of basic training."

"Yeah, I did. I kinda joined up without clearing it with my parents first, and my aunt was really mad at first. But then I impressed my Drill Sergeant and my aunt knows the General, so. That's how I got here," Leia summarized as best she could.

"Oh, I see. Say, who was your Drill Sergeant?" Aretti asked.

"Sergeant Vill Lennis," Leia answered.

"Oh, I know him. He wasn't mine, but my bunkmate during the sieges trained under him. Said he was a stickler."

Leia rolled her eyes, "A loud mouth and a stickler, but he wins you over in time. Say, I was wondering, what kind of action do you typically see here. They said we were escorts to some important people, but they weren't very specific after that. I figured it probably varies from assignment to assignment, but I wanted to be prepared."

Aretti looked surprised to hear the question. "Oh, you don't have to worry. It's an easy post. Our next mission is escorting the Alderaanian Princess. She's going to be of age in a couple years and her father likely wants her to have some experience seeing the wider galaxy before she takes on her next role. The Princess stands to inherit a seat in the senate. That's how Alderaan works. A bit old fashioned with the inherited posts, but it's a great place to live, if you have to settle anywhere."

Aretti just stopped talking and stared off into space.

Leia meanwhile started to contemplate what she meant by Easy Post. "So mostly protective detail and guard duties," she guessed. "How often does someone try to harm the mark?… Aretti?" Her companion was silent for several seconds.

"Oh," Aretti shook her head. "Pardon there, I had a Memnii. I had just arrived on Alderaan. I was feeling grief, from leaving my home, and afraid of all the new things around me. But then one of the Rebels bought us a pastry at a little shop at the docks. Yumm It was so good. I like having that one."

'Memnii, Oh. Memory,' Leia thought. "That sounds like a good memory."

"It is. I have to go. I promised Rob I'd help him with his stretches. Rob is in our unit too. Was injured a couple months ago out on the front, and he transferred here until he completes his recovery. Get this, he actually wants to go back to the active unit!" Aretti shrugged. "So I help him, that way he can recover faster. Say, why don't you come too. That way I can introduce you and give you the tour. The training room is on the other side of the ship, so we'll be passing most of everything on our way."

"Alright," Leia agreed. She gave her guide a smile before stepping forward to follow her out the door.

"Rob, Rob. I want you to meet somebody," Aretti called out as they entered the training lounge.

A human with brown hair and strong muscles used a pair of crutches to hop over.

"Rob, this is Leia Skywalker. She's my new bunkmate, and the newest recruit to our team." Aretti placed a hand on her shoulder.

Leia stood there staring at Rob's injured leg. It was wrapped in several layers and he clearly couldn't put any weight on it. How he could be expected to perform in active duty with such an injury baffled her.

"Hi Leia," Rob leaned his elbow on a crutch and reached out a hand to shake with her.

"Have you been doing the exercises?" Aretti asked.

Rob nodded his head. As he answered he walked with her to a bench and placed the crutches against a wall. Aretti knelt down and started removing the brace from his leg.

"Yes, mostly. That one on my hamstrings still leaves me in sheer pain though. I haven't been as thorough on it as I should," Rob admitted.

Aretti wrapped her three digit hand around his ankle and pulled his foot up. Rob winced. "You know it'll only get better if you do, don't you."

"Yeah, yeah. You remind me of that every session." Rob spat in between breaths of pain.

Leia sat beside them and chewed on her words. She hadn't blurted out a question since she was a child, always aware of the social protocols first. But here she wasn't aware of the protocols, or if there were any. "How do you, I mean… Do they expect you to perform active duty with us?"

"Yes, of course Rob serves with us. He's the best partner to have on an overnight watch!" Aretti exclaimed.

"But what do you do when enemy combatants strike?" Leia asked.

Both officers laughed at Leia's question. "Enemy combatants!"

Rob looked up at her. "Let me tell you this now, so you're not disappointed. We never see enemy combatants. We ride around with the family of Rebel Alliance leaders so they feel safer. So many safety measures go into keeping their trips secret that half the Rebel Alliance would need to fall for the Empire to even learn the fuzziest details about our voyage, let alone enough to strike."

Aretti and Rob's conversation turned to lighter topics, which Leia mostly tuned out. Her expression turned to one of anger. She would be having words with her aunt about this.

The next day, Leia checked her commlink before she was expected to meet with her unit. That was one of the benefits to finally being out of basic training. They were allowed to use a commlink again, with proper safeguards to prevent the empire from tapping the line, of course. Her screen read: no new messages. It seemed Aunt Ahsoka had not replied to her angry messages yet.

Leia tucked the device back into her uniform's pocket. She marched to stand on deck, ready to follow the orders of her captain.

Aretti and Rob were there too, along with the rest of the unit. Rob standing at attention as best he could while holding two crutches. Captain Donael walked in next, and Leia stood still, half expecting the same procedure she'd experienced in bootcamp.

"Everyone, welcome our newest member, Private Leia Skywalker." He paused for breath, but a few members let out a hollar. Aretti howled in her native tongue. Leia smiled at their greeting, but Donael gave them a look over his eyebrow and all hollering ceased instantly. "Now that we've had that out of the way, our VIP, Princess Mara Organa will be arriving here tomorrow. Skywalker, you will take the first shift as her bodyguard."

"Sir, yes Sir," Leia responded.

"But first, we need to do one last sweep of the ship. Your crewmates will show you the proper procedures."

"Yes sir," Everyone responded as one.

"Dismissed." And Donael moved to go.

"Wait," Leia shouted after him. The nervous energy that flooded her almost made her dizzy.

"Skywalker?" Donael walked back up to her.

"I-I" She gulped. "I wanted to ask your permission, sir. I have a homemade weapon, sir. A laser sword that I've trained with and used since early childhood. I'd like permission to carry it on active duty."

Sure, 'homemade laser sword' was a poor description for a Jedi Lightsaber, but still accurate. Leia was still a little nervous to say the word Jedi here. Even though this wasn't the Empire, most of those in the rebellion were raised with the Empire's propaganda, and she wasn't sure how much of it they rejected. From her conversations with her fellow recruits at Basic Training, she gathered that some of them fell on both sides.

"Permission granted, soldier," he replied.

Leia let out a deep breath, "Thank you, sir."

The captain nodded, and he turned to leave. She caught Rob giving her a funny look through the corner of her eye, but didn't question it.

Sweeping the ship, for bugs not dirt, was a tedious process that involved going one by one into each room, closet, and storage compartment. She'd set up a plethora of equipment, then wait for it to find nothing. The chances that they'd find a bug were so small it'd have to be infinitesimal. An Empire spy would need to be deeply placed to gain access to their ship, and desperate or bored enough to pick ships at random to tag. This was because, if they'd looked at the 'official' logs, this ship was supposed to be performing a training routine in the mid-rim. Nothing interesting at all about the voyage or it's passengers.

Still, Leia followed orders and swept the third deck while her teammates did the others.

About half way through, one of her Breech Nodes broke and she had to go back to the upper deck to get a new one. While she was on her way there, she heard a conversation she was not meant to hear.

"A homemade weapon. And the Captain just approves it like that. Doesn't even ask to see it," Rob projected his worry.

"I do admit it is a bit strange, but…" Aretti stammered.

"And a laser sword, of all things. The only people I know of who used laser swords were the Blasted Jedi."

"Rob, now you don't think that Leia is a Jedi?" Aretti said a bit more confidently.

Rob growled, "Maybe. Maybe she was just trained by one. Who knows, after they all disappeared."

Aretti shook her head, "Rob, that's crazy."

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm just saying, Leia is under my watch. If she so much as has a breath of Jedi in her I'll report her. And I'll advise you to keep an eye open too. Never know when they'll stab you in the back."

Aretti gave him a look.

"They were supposed to be the guardians of the republic. Then they attacked the Emperor. Sure, you think my Jedi Palpatine conspiracy theories are laughable. Maybe they weren't trying to take over like he'd said they were. Maybe they were honestly trying to stop him, but they didn't. They failed, and then the Emperor rose to power, and they all disappeared. What honor is in that?" Rob spat. "I'll never trust a Jedi. Nothing will change that!"

Leia rushed to make her way past them unseen. As she approached the equipment storage, she hastily wiped tears from her eyes. If anything was clear to her, it was that she could not reveal her Jedi past to her crew. Captain Donael walked past at that moment and stopped.

"Private," he addressed her.

Leia looked up and tried her best to hide her tears.

"The General told me about your- uh family connections. I know it may not be popular, but I used to serve with Jedi Generals in the Clone Wars. I don't understand about the Force, or how they do the things they do, but I found them to be honorable. I value your input to the team."

Leia smiled, and for the first time since she left Tatooine, she held out her hand and the part she needed floated down to meet it. The trick was showy, but her captain's wide eyed expression was worth it.

Instead of judgement, Donael nodded and smiled. "How useful. I wish I could do that."

Leia noticed that there weren't too many other replacements on it's shelf. She'd heard about supply shortages in her training. So then she held up the broken one, and closed her eyes to use the Force to see it internally. She opened her eyes and threw it at her captain. As he caught it she said, "This one needs a new B-Wire, then it should be running again.

The next morning Leia stood on guard duty outside of the VIP quarters as General Bail Organa walked the princess to her door.

"Mara," Bail stopped the red haired sixteen year old.

"What!" Mara sounded displeased.

"This isn't a punishment. It's a learning experience," Bail stated.

"Yeah, yeah. A Political Discourse seminar. Three days of sitting in a lecture hall learning how to sit in another senate hall." Mara sighed. "I can't wait." She rolled her eyes.

"One day you'll understand dear." The father reached over to affectionately hug his daughter who winced outwardly, but as he pulled away Leia caught a faint smile on her lips.

"Oh good! Mara, this is Leia. Leia, how are you liking your new assignment?" Bail turned to Leia and asked.

"Are you going to tell me I'm not being punished either," Leia said. Mara smirked at her candor.

Bail's eyes grew bigger for a second, then he smiled slightly, as if it reminded him of something. "You are your mother's child." He breathed audibly, almost laughing.

"You said this would be a special assignment, fitting to my skills. It's a zero action post, with teammates who wouldn't last a day in an average post." Leia glared at the man.

"You are here because I have specially chosen this assignment for you. Unlike what you may think, this is not the bottom of the barrel. Each of your platoon was specially chosen because they have skills and abilities I hope, when put together, will be a sound defense for my daughter. The most precious connection I have. That includes you."

Bail turned to open the door for his daughter and left Leia fuming in the hallway. She quickly stepped back to stand on duty, but continued to think about what he had said.

Hello,

So Sly of Bail to assign her to a unit where she would be unlikely to get injured in the line of duty. But will she stay out of trouble? With Leia and Mara together, that may be too much to hope for.

I used a couple of aliens for Leia's team because I wanted to write more out of the box characters. I did try to research them for this, but my version may not be exactly canon. I haven't read any of the original works with their species in it, but I do have storytelling intentions with the characters.

Leia is still eighteen in this. Luke and Leia were nineteen in A New Hope, and we will be having chapters that recognize those events, sort of. I'm just not sure how many chapters I'll do before that. How much trouble can Mara and Leia get up to in a year? Maybe I'll have Winter, or even Juno Eclipse come along for an adventure too. In this chapter Winter would be eighteen as well, if that explains why she's not with Mara on this voyage.