Chapter 1
"Ben." Was the last word that Leia uttered as the last of her life left her and she became one with the force. She had been ill for some time, and had been clinging to life as long as she could to train Rey, and she had decided to use the last of her strength to save Rey from death while she was dueling her lost son. It worked, and she had let herself drift away after. A swirling tumult of energy whirled around her, she couldn't make anything out, and she felt herself reach a crossroads, give up her sense of self and become utterly one with the force and let her essence fade. Or retain herself. She chose the latter, but it was difficult, and she could feel a familiar presence help her. Luke. Then he was there, his bright smiling face was the best thing she could see right now. They embraced for what felt like forever, before breaking apart.
"Leia," He said, warmly. "That was a noble last effort you made. I'm proud of you. Rey can handle it from here." Leia nodded, but sighed. "I should've done more, I feel like I made the wrong choice putting down my lightsaber, because of the possibility of Ben's death. If I could do it over.."
Luke's eyebrow raised slightly. "Would you? You'd do it differently if you could?" Leia nodded once again. "Yes, for whatever good, it'd do. I'd change that, and so many other things. I should've stayed a Jedi, a proper one at least."
Luke shrugged. "You died a Jedi's death, for the sake of others, for the good of all. Not to mention a lifetime of saving lives and fighting evil, what else could anyone ask of you?"
"More." Leia said simply. "The galaxy was such a disaster, who knows where it'll end up, even after the defeat of the Final Order."
"Who can say? But now you can interact, and offer aid to anyone, should you choose to."
Leia shook her head. "Send me back."
Luke actually looked surprised at that. "Send you back? I don't have that power. Even now."
Leia moaned in annoyance. "Then I'll do it myself. I'm sorry Luke, but you know me, I can't just sit back while other people do the work." Then she turned from him. "I'll see you again, I hope." Then she stuck her hands out infront of her, and made a gesture like she was parting a curtain, and a bright light appeared between her fingertips. She groaned in effort as she opened the light wider and wider. Luke stood just behind her, amazed. "How are you even doing that?" He asked, that same boyish smile on his face.
Leia didn't know, but she couldn't spare the effort to respond, she just continued on until she made it big enough for her body to pass through, and then she did. Of course she had no idea where she was headed, but did it really matter? She pressed on, running at full speed. And then she felt the sensation of falling, and the formerly bright light around her turned to darkness, and she knew no more.
It didn't take long for her to open her eyes again, and she realized something was wrong. She heard blaster fire and yells around her. She sat up to find herself in the middle of a battle. She sprang to her feet confused, and disoriented. She saw soldiers in white battling against droids. One of the clones ran up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She saw he had blue paint on various parts of his armor. She had almost shot him immediately for being a Stormtrooper, but she noticed the different armor, and realized her error.
Clones, and droids? This was the Clone Wars! She went way too far back in time! "Sir! Are you alright?" The trooper asked with concern in his voice. "I saw you on the ground there." He tilted his head in curiosity. "Though, I don't recognize you, who are you?" Leia slapped his hand away and took a step back, she took a look at herself. Very strange, she thought. She had robes similar to the Jedi of this era, but they were all white with bits of silver trim. It was a nice look, and it would've been exactly her choice during this era, but how did she get the clothes? And she also noticed that she was young again, she'd have to say she was 25 based on how she felt. She wasn't complaining. It was odd however, that she had the lightsaber she had created decades ago on her hip again. As well as a blaster pistol. She shrugged, she'd make the best of it.
She didn't know where or when she was exactly, but she knew damn well how to lead, she'd figure things out after she won. She smiled at the clone. She knew these men had ultimately wiped out the Jedi, but it wasn't their choice. Maybe she still had time to prevent the awful events. But a sad tug at her heart reminded her that Luke, Han, the droids, Lando, Ben, and most of the people in her life were gone. Well, not all of them. Most of them were just young at this point. Thoughts for later. Focus, Leia.
"Trooper," She said in the commanding tone she'd honed over decades of experience. "I'm General Solo. There must've been an error in communications, if you don't know who I am. Now, who is the leader of this legion of Clones? I'd like to speak to them. She was far enough behind the main battle line that she wasn't in danger of being shot from behind, but this was battle, and she needed to get her mind right. Though she still wondered what world this was.
"Sorry General, didn't know we had another general on this world, but the one leading this force are Generals Skywalker and Kenobi. They're right over there." He said, and pointed a finger towards the fighting. She turned around, and though they were some distance away, she could clearly see their flashing lightsabers. As well as another pair of green and yellow ones. Leia paused at that, and felt another tug on her heart. That was Obi-Wan Kenobi, and her father, Anakin. She certainly wasn't ready for this meeting, but she was the one who had decided to come here. She had long ago forgiven her father for his crimes, and had even spoken to his force ghost a few times. Still, this was a young version of that same man. And this was shortly before he fell to the darkness, and brought the galaxy down along with him. She wouldn't let that happen. She took a deep breath and drew powerfully on the force and let it fill her. She felt many things at once, the sheer darkness in the force was like a blanket over her head, it was powerful.
She vaguely remembered this feeling from during the days of the Rebellion. It was the deaths and the violence of war, and the existence of Palpatine. She'd make sure to shoot him dead at the first possible opportunity. Leia flicked on her lightsaber, and a brilliant blue blade sprang to life and withdrew her blaster, and she broke into a run.
As she got closer and saw Anakin jumping around and fending off a pair of Destroyer Droids. Obi-Wan and the unknown Togruta Jedi were a short distance away fending off droids. Leia noticed the Sepratist stronghold in the distance that they were fighting towards. Leia returned her attention to the fighting, and she cut through a handful of droids that crossed her path until she got close enough to Anakin and extended her palm and lifted the two droids he was battling and crushed them into a ball with the force. Anakin turned abruptly at the unexpected aid, with a smile, expecting to see one of his companions, and saw a stranger in Leia. He frowned at her. "Who are you? I don't remember there being any other Jedi assigned to take this world." Leia walked up and stood in front of her, and she noticed again just how tall he was. Not as tall as he was while he was Vader, but still significantly taller than her, but most people were. It hardly bothered her. She grinned at him. "I'm Leia Solo, and I'm here to rescue you, Skywalker."
Anakin shrugged and smiled back. "Well, it's nice to meet you, I'll take any help I can get. This battle is taking way longer than I was hoping it would. Come on, we're falling behind." Anakin finished quickly and pushed on. Leia was surprised how quick he was to accept her, but she figured that he thought she was just another random Jedi here. It'd make it a bit easier, for now. She followed closely behind him, and they fought side by side as they moved ahead closer to where Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were currently pinned down by turret fire from the stronghold. They were very close to the gates of the tall walls surrounding it now. Anakin and Leia came to a halt and squated down beside them. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka warmly greeted Anakin, and both looked at Leia in curiosity. Leia had never met Obi-Wan after he returned from being a Hermit on Tatooine, but he was certainly a handsome man. He looked the part of a Jedi General, just as her father Bail had always described. "And who might you be?" Obi-Wan asked. "Did we get some reinforcements from off-world?"
Anakin made to explain, but Leia cut him off. " No one could be spared, so I came myself to assist." She said, simply. Better to keep explanations short to avoid awkward questions. Then Ahsoka spoke, "Are you another Padawan or something? I've never seen your face before." There's the awkward question. "No, and we don't have time for these questions now, let's focus on taking that fortress, shall we?" Leia said and turned to address the battle. Ahsoka was clearly put off by the dismissal, but didn't press. "What's the plan?" Leia asked. Obi-Wan stroked his beard, and looked at her appraisingly, and she noticed his eyes look at her lightsaber hilt that was strikingly similar to his own, but then followed her gaze. "Well, the fortress is surrounded with a powerful force field, and the AT-TE cannons aren't having much effect at bringing it down, and we're completely out of bombers." Leia nodded and took a look at the situation, she didn't know what resources they had on hand, and it'd make her look uninformed if she asked a bunch of questions. "The solution seems simple, let's dig a hole under the wall and come out behind their emplacement. Obi-Wan seemed aghast at the idea, but Ahsoka and Anakin nodded in approval. "I like that idea, actually." Anakin said. "Let's do it, I think we have a tunneler on hand, I'll call it up." Anakin spoke some commands into his comlink as the rest waited. Leia made an effort not to make eye contact with Ahsoka or Obi-Wan. It was strange enough being here, but if she made it too obvious she wasn't from around here, she'd lose the fleeting trust they seemed to have. This was going to be very difficult.