This is pretty much a talking chapter, that's probably why it took me so long to write it.
I'm so tired...
Nothing too fancy, just...review, please.
And Enjooooyyyyy
As soon as the landing ramp shut behind her, Zelina dropped to the floor with a grunt, Luke already at her side with a hand on her uninjured arm. Part of her wanted to relax and give into the impression that she was safe, but she knew they hadn't finished their escape quite yet.
"Are you all right?" Luke was asking her, looking torn between helping her to her feet and making sure she didn't move from the spot she'd already found on the floor.
"I'll be fine—I'm fine. Go see if Han needs us anywhere, we're not out of this mess, yet," Zelina told him with a slight wave of her hand. Luke still hesitated. "Go, I'll still be here when we're safe, I'm not going anywhere."
Luke finally backed away, heading down the Falcon's hall towards the cockpit at a fast walk, looking back her way every now and then. Once Luke couldn't see her anymore, Zelina turned her attention to her minor injuries, looking over her lightsaber burn and blaster wound.
The bruises that would come out of the fight she'd had were the least of her problems, so she wasn't thinking much about that right now.
While Zelina did a closer examination of her blaster wound, a new voice spoke up, startling Zelina from her narrowed focus to realize there was someone else in the room, someone new.
"That looks like it's going to need some bacta."
Right. The other presence that was with them in the station.
Zelina looked in the direction of the voice, expecting…well, she wasn't really expecting anything other than someone feminine, but who she saw was definitely at the end of her list of who she would have expected to see.
She leaned back, taking a moment to really look at her now that she was here in person, unable to help but compare the young woman to her mother and father in her mind. Defiant brown eyes beneath elegant eyebrows, long brown hair done in a way that was giving Zelina flashbacks to the day she'd found out about her impending birth, a stubborn set to her jaw that had the aura of her father but look of her mother…
"Princess Leia," Zelina finally said, taking perhaps a little too long to get out the title before her name. The title was going to take some getting used to after so long just thinking of her as Leia, the other Skywalker Twin, the Skywalker Twin she couldn't protect, Anakin and Padmé's daughter. "I was wondering what the boys were doing running around the station."
"You're General Du'ahn, I take it," Leia remarked as Zelina got to her feet. "It's a pleasure to meet you, despite the circumstances."
Luke reappeared around the corner, leaning just far enough into the room to catch Zelina's attention. "Han wants us on the guns while he tries to get us to lightspeed."
Zelina nodded, and Luke ducked back out to get in one of the gun wells. "We'll have to get acquainted after we've jumped, I'm afraid," Zelina told her already starting to follow Luke's path.
"Wait, what about your arm?"
Zelina turned and removed her hand from over her blaster wound. "Already better," she said with a reassuring smile. She'd been healing the injury through the Force as she spoke with Leia, and let the young woman see there was no longer a wound on her arm before she turned and hurried back down the hall.
Luke had already climbed down into the lower gun, so Zelina made her way up into the upper gun, letting her gaze rove over the controls as she got settled into the seat.
She hadn't operated one of these before, and neither had Luke. Of course, Luke made himself more familiar with ships than Zelina did, so she was less worried about Luke getting the hang of the controls than she was herself. There was a headset that she put on first, hands tentatively finding their way to the steering, noting that the targeting computer was already firing up.
"You all strapped in?" Zelina asked, figuring Luke already had his headset on at least.
"Yeah, I'm good," Luke confirmed.
"You two know how to use those guns, right?" came Han's worried voice through the headset.
"We're fast learners—and it looks pretty straight forward," Zelina answered.
"The faster the better," Han muttered.
"Here they come!" Luke interrupted.
The Falcon was rocked by several explosions after Luke spoke, their sign that the Imperials hadn't given up keeping them in the Alderaan system quite yet. Zelina only took a few moments to figure out how the motions work, figuring that the buttons on the top of the handles were the triggers for the gun. The motion for the seat was strange to her—she was used to stationary fighters—but it was something she would simply have to adjust to in the name of survival.
"There's four of them I can see!" Han announced.
Just four?
Moments later, a TIE flew past the viewport, and though she knew she'd miss, Zelina fired at it, just to make sure she was right about the controls.
"Okay, I've got this, now," she muttered to herself.
"You're not very reassuring, there, Zel."
"You know that's not my real name," Zelina quipped, hearing Luke fire at another TIE below her.
"Well, it's what I've known you as for years, so it's what I'm gonna call you."
Now's not the time for this discussion, Zelina chastised herself, focusing back on the moment so she could shoot down the TIE's that were buzzing the Falcon. One flew past the viewport, but she didn't fire, knowing it was going too fast in too tight of a corner opposite from where she'd been sitting, so she held back. Down below, she could hear Luke's guns going off as she tried to get the battle focus only the Force could provide.
"They're coming in too fast!" Luke suddenly shouted into the headset over the scream of TIE fighters.
"Luke, don't trust your eyes," Zelina admonished him, and his end of the headset fell eerily silent. She would have been worried if she hadn't felt his Force Presence flare brighter as he started to seek the same battle focus Zelina was reaching for.
"We've lost lateral controls," Zelina heard Leia announce up in the cockpit, followed by Chewbacca's howl of confirmation.
"Don't worry, she'll hold together," came Han's quick reply. Zelina blocked them out, fingers flexing around the cockpit controls as she put all her focus on shooting down the TIE's that were basically teasing them. They should have struck a fatal blow by now, but instead it was like they were some sort of feline playing with its food.
Zelina could make that analogy cause she'd seen a bored Ameenah eat.
Her stray thoughts almost distracted her from the tremor in the Force, but she managed to catch it in time, letting the Force guide her actions as her seat swiveled in place and she opened fire, getting a TIE right in the center on the second shot.
"Gotcha!" she said with a smirk, and a second later her even-toned exclamation was drowned out by Luke's crow of victory.
"I got him!"
"That's great, Kid—don't get cocky," Solo admonished, but both Jedi ignored the smuggler, staying immersed in the Force as they sought out the remaining two fighters that they could still hear screaming around the Falcon. Zelina's chair swiveled lazily as she waited for the right moment to fire, eyes scanning the segment of space she could see through her viewport. She was itching to shoot down the TIEs and be done with it, more than ready to reach the Rebel Alliance, and impatient to finally sit down with Leia for the first time in nearly twenty years.
Come to think of it, she hadn't even had the chance to hold the young woman when she was born—she'd only been able to catch a fleeting glimpse, and her arms had been occupied by Luke at the time…
Not the time for stray thoughts, Zelina!
Shaking herself back into the present, Zelina focused once more on seeking out the darting TIEs. Luke opened fire again below her, and Zelina braced for a TIE to appear in her viewport. She swiveled her chair instinctively—she was getting the hand of these controls—and she opened fire without thinking, the blasts scoring on what had to be a briefly very surprised TIE before the ship exploded in front of her. Down below, Zelina heard Luke give a victorious whoop as he shot down the last TIE.
"That's it, we did it!" he cheered, and Zelina heard Leia happily echo Luke's statement over the coms.
"Hold tight, we're making the jump!" Han announced, and within seconds, the stars in front of Zelina's viewport bled away into the mottled blue of hyperspace.
Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, removing her headset and letting the targeting computer in front of her power down. She rubbed at her eyes warily, her mind a mess of a thousand different thoughts, the same kind that had been plaguing her as she tried to focus on defending the Falcon.
She had one Skywalker she needed to sit down with and have a long talk with, another that was probably itching to make sure she was really all right and get debriefed about that fight on the Death Star…and a dark sider to ponder. Not to mention now that they were headed straight for the Rebel Alliance, she needed to start thinking about what they—as in her and Luke—were going to do when they arrived.
Luke was probably assuming they were going to sign onto the cause, that they would join as soon as they arrived…but Zelina had other plans.
The Republic had made her wary, and she'd seen what politics did to the Jedi Council.
Something tapped lightly on the ladder below her, and Zelina craned her neck back to see Luke staring up the gun well at her.
"Can we talk?" he asked. Zelina climbed out of her chair without a word, climbing down the ladder as Luke stepped out of the way and into the hall. As Zelina stepped out into the hall with him, he was tousling his hair, looking worried.
"Are you really all right?" he asked first, before she could even get a question of her own in.
"Yes, Luke, I'm fine—see, it's already gone," she said pointedly, showing him the smooth spot where the blaster wound had been previously. Her skin was still blistered where she'd been burned, but that would be another easy fix. She was also weary after all the heavy use of the Force, but she left that part out. She'd have time to recuperate before she had to use it again.
"Why didn't you let me help?" Luke asked suddenly after it was established Zelina was physically all right. Her eyebrows rose substantially at the question.
"I don't recall stopping you from firing at the stormtroopers, or interfering while you and the others were running around the station even though I told you to stay put. I'll admit, it crossed my mind, but I figured you had your reasons—"
"I mean with that Sith," Luke clarified.
Ah.
That was what this was about.
"I had it handled, Luke," she said calmly.
"But they almost—"
"Nothing you could have done would have made any difference, except maybe get yourself hurt, or worse, killed," Zelina said sternly, cutting him off.
"I could have taken him!" Luke protested.
"That's the kind of thinking that lost your father an arm at your age," Zelina said sharply, and whatever protest Luke was about to continue with was cut short as his mouth snapped shut. "Luke, you have training, and you're impressively capable and quick thinking, yes, but you lack the experience, and that's the most important part. You need more experience before you try to go toe to toe with a Sith—they're dangerous. Obi-Wan's master was killed by a Sith, your father was killed by a Sith, I was almost killed by a Sith more times than I'd like to admit. They're a danger even for a fully trained Jedi Knight, and you're still learning. That's why I didn't want you stepping in."
"How am I supposed to get experience, if you don't let me fight?" Luke countered.
"Gradually. Starting closer to the bottom and working your way up," Zelina said bluntly. "Train with Jedi other than me—Obi-Wan and Pria should be with the Rebellion, it will be a nice change of pace from always sparring with me. Get some experience out in the field against non-Force Sensitives, and then go against lower tier dark siders and work your way up."
"What if it doesn't work out that way?"
Zelina sighed, shaking her head. He had a point. That may be how Zelina wanted Luke to learn, but the universe was hardly that forgiving. "Then at least try not to face a Sith alone. Get help or get out of there. Okay?"
His mopey expression was in full effect, but he still nodded, looking more than a little put-out by what must have looked like a lack of faith in his abilities. Zelina reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling the young man into a warm side-embrace.
"That's not to say you're not talented for the training you do have. You have the potential to be a great Jedi—perhaps even greater than your father was. But that's going to take time, and discipline. You're already on your way. Look what you did today—you rescued a princess from a giant Imperial Space Station; that's no small feat, and I'm proud of you."
Luke glanced up at her, his presence rippling with an emotion close to bashfulness. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."
Zelina smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "And that makes it even better." She could sense Leia moving their way, apparently having left the cockpit, Han, and Chewbacca behind in irritation. "Why don't you go check up on Han and see where we're going next-I need to talk to Leia for a little while," she told him softly.
Luke nodded, making his way down the hall and towards the cockpit. Leia appeared moments after Luke disappeared, the disgruntlement she'd felt in the young woman's presence echoed on her face. When Leia saw Zelina, however, she stopped.
"Are all your companions as selfish as him?" Leia huffed.
It didn't take much to guess who she was talking about.
Zelina smirked, gesturing for Leia to follow her down the hall towards a more private corner of the Falcon. "Han's an acquired taste, but he's a good man," Zelina told Leia. "I'm guessing he brought up payment?"
Leia's scowl deepened, and Zelina took that as her answer. "To be fair to Han, he only signed up for a quick transport of two old friends to Alderaan, with a promise to be paid well enough to pay off a debt to a crime lord. He didn't sign up for all the rebellious activity and rescuing…but he still helped," she said pointedly.
Leia inclined her head, a sign she would give Han as much. Zelina ushered Leia towards the back cargo hold, knowing it wasn't ideal but was probably the best they were going to get in the way of privacy. "I'm sure we've got some time before we land, and there's clearly a lot I need to catch up on, if you don't mind talking for a while."
Leia seemed to shift from a semi-casual air to one of regal business, an impressive change that reminded Zelina of Padmé. "Of course. You probably have plenty of questions."
Zelina led them towards a corner of the cargo hold they could have some privacy near the ship's access grill, stepping aside to let Leia enter first before she followed close behind, shutting the bulkhead door behind them once she'd stepped inside. "I'm sure most of my questions would be answered if you simply start at the beginning." Zelina took a seat on one of the many crates that dotted the hold, with Leia sitting opposite her. "Just start there, and I'll try to hold my questions until the end."
Leia was already schooling her expression to be carefully controlled before she even began recounting her tale, something that, had she not already had experience with politicians and seen Padmé do something similar for years, she would have taken as Leia being perfectly collected about what happened, rather than seeing it as a diplomatic mask being fit into place for the sake of professionalism.
"I wasn't present for some of the events that brought us here, but what I do know is that the Alliance became aware of a super weapon that the Empire had built and was intending to set loose on the galaxy, one that could potentially destroy the Alliance. That weapon is the station we just escaped—the Death Star, capable of destroying entire planets, and yes, it can travel through hyperspace," Leia said, notes of pain echoing in her presence, though the young Skywalker did well to keep it from outwardly showing. "There was a battle where we sustained heavy casualties trying to retrieve the plans in the hope there was a weakness we could exploit to destroy the Death Star—as far as I'm aware, all our forces that were sent to the planet's surface were destroyed. I myself was in the fight, though I was only there to take the plans and deliver them as quickly as possible to you. Unfortunately, my ship was intercepted above Tatooine, which is why I sent the two droids instead of coming myself. Artoo is carrying those plans that so many Rebellion lives were lost attaining."
Zelina wanted to ask why Leia had been sent to her with the plans, but she resisted traveling down the tangent for the moment, since she didn't have the whole story yet. "I assume what happened to Alderaan was the Death Star's doing, then?"
Leia's presence tremored, and Zelina felt a flash of guilt at opening what must have still been a fresh wound, but she needed to hear the confirmation. "Yes…Governor Tarkin ordered Alderaan's destruction, both to make me reveal the Alliance's location, and as a demonstration of the Death Star's capabilities."
Zelina couldn't help her instinctive reaction at the name she'd thought was buried in the past, simultaneously bristling as she blanched at the mention of Tarkin. One of Leia's eyebrows rose slightly at her reaction.
"I take it you know him."
"Unfortunately," Zelina muttered. "I had to rescue the then dear captain back during the Clone Wars. I really wanted to push him off a cliff or something along those lines, but he'd memorized valuable information…though information or not, I regretted not acting on those impulses when he tried to have a good friend of mine executed on false charges of treason later on in the war."
Zelina had to forcibly pull herself out of the past, shaking her head and refocusing on the woman before her. "I should have known that serpent would survive the end of the Clone Wars—and find a high rank in the Empire, as well." Her gaze softened, as did her tone. "I'm sorry for your loss, Leia. Truly. I knew your parents. It was a long time ago, but…I knew them."
Once again, she found herself resulting to words laced with double meanings, unable to tell the young woman Zelina had known her birth parents for Leia's own safety—and Luke's. Hoping Leia wouldn't catch onto the undertone of a hidden meaning, she pressed a little further to make it sound like she was simply talking about the Organas. "I'm not sure if anyone told you, but Bail smuggled myself and several other Jedi, including Master Kenobi, around the galaxy when the purge was carried out at the end of the war. And I know both your parents were dear friends with one of my closest friends, Senator Amidala."
Leia perked up slightly at the mention of Padmé. "You knew Senator Amidala?"
Bless you, Bail, for not making Leia entirely ignorant of her parentage.
Zelina nodded. "Padmé was one of my closest and longest friends. I'd known her as long as I knew Obi-Wan. The only person I'd known longer was also probably the only person who knew her better, and that was Anakin Skywalker."
"Luke's father?" Leia guessed.
Zelina leaned back slightly before she figured Luke had told her. "Yes, Anakin was Luke's father."
Leia nodded. "He mentioned you were his mother. I was a little surprised, but—"
"That's not—" Zelina cut her off before laughing softly. "Not the way you think. I raised him, yes. Anakin had me promise to take care of his family before he died," she explained gently.
Leia looked thoughtful, and Zelina could guess what the next question would be. Before Leia could ask who Luke's mother was, Zelina started to guide them back on topic—things were already going to be complicated once the information of Luke's father got out, and she didn't want to further complicate things with all the political issues revealing Padmé as Luke's mother would bring.
"You remind me of her, by the way. Padmé," Zelina added for clarification. Leia seemed mildly surprised by the switch away from Luke's parentage, but in the end respected Zelina not wanting to talk about it. Instead, she allowed a moment of flattery in Zelina's statement about Leia's resemblance to Padmé.
"I've heard about her in my studies, and my father mentioned her a few times. She's one of the people I look up to," Leia admitted.
Zelina felt her heart warm at the news, nodding slowly. "She was a good woman…a good role model to have," she said softly. "Now, back business," Zelina said with a small shake, forcing herself not to get distracted by the tangents.
"Why bring the Death Star plans to me?" Zelina asked. "I know Obi-Wan's helping the Alliance, so it can't be because I'm Force Sensitive…and only four people in the universe knew where I was hiding with Luke."
"The Empire was after us. Obi-Wan was too far away for me to bring the plans to him, and…well, I assume there was a discussion, and since Tatooine was much closer, it was the obvious choice. The galaxy needs you," Leia said calmly.
"Don't get me wrong, Leia, I'm not complaining," Zelina quickly expanded. "Force knows Luke and I were getting restless on that rock—there's only so long you can live on that planet before you start to lose some of your sanity. And I think a few more days, and Luke would have been fleeing the planet on his own if he had to," she said with a smirk, earning a small smile from Leia.
"I was just wondering what brought you our way, instead of turning to Obi-Wan. Now I know," Zelina finished. "Just a couple more questions, and then you should probably get some rest before we arrive."
"If anyone needs rest on this ship, I'd wager it's you," Leia returned.
She wasn't wrong. Zelina did want to get some rest to recover what strength she'd lost in her fight. But that wasn't the point.
"Even so," Zelina said pointedly, though she respectfully dropped the topic lest she come off as trying to be parental. "I know that, with who Luke's father is, once the Empire gets a hold of his name, they're going to do everything in their power to get their hands on him—or kill him, depending on their mood. Anything the Alliance can do to try and keep his name under wraps as long as possible would be much appreciated. I know it won't last forever, but the longer I have to prepare him, the better," Zelina said seriously.
Leia nodded. "I can't make any promises, but I'll ask around and see what we can do. You might want to have a conversation with him about that now so he doesn't go around telling everyone he's a Skywalker," she added in amusement.
"Trust me, I will," Zelina said with a small smile of her own. "And, if you don't mind me asking, where's our next stop?"
"The Yavin system. One of the planet's moons has been serving as our base for some time, now. We're stationed in the remains of a Massassi Temple."
Zelina nodded, rising from her seat, with Leia following suit. "Thank you, Leia. If you ever need anything, I'd be happy to help, no matter what it is," Zelina said softly, giving the young woman a gentle smile. "In the meantime, you should get some rest. The bunks are all the way down the hall, then a sharp right past the lounge chairs. Follow that hall and it'll lead you straight to them."
Leia nodded, leading the way as the two headed back to the Falcon's hall. "Thank you…I'm glad you'll be joining us in the fight to come, if I'm not too bold to assume so."
Zelina didn't quite answer, instead only smiling and inclining her head, watching as Leia disappeared down the rest of the hall while Zelina remained rooted in place.
She had a feeling when she did finally answer that question, she was going to cause several unpleasant…bumps, whether that was in someone's plans, their idea for the ideal answer, or whatever else she might disrupt. But she had her own priorities, and her own experiences that caused her to approach things far differently than what seemed to be expected of her.
What she'd felt in the Force when she'd prodded at her future tried to float back to the front of her mind, but Zelina shook it off, determined not to be distracted by things she had no control over, at least not yet. She needed to stay focused on the now and on Luke, as well as pound out the details for her rough idea of the near future.
Speaking of Luke and the future, she needed to have a few more words with the young man before they landed…
Zelina made her way back down the Falcon's hall towards the main hold, the many thoughts she had to plague her swimming around in her mind. Thoughts of Luke, of Leia, of the dark sider, of the Rebellion, the future, and Anakin. There were always thoughts of Anakin, though, in one way or another. He'd died years ago, and yet he was still with her every day, like a ghost that haunted her from the shadows.
At least she had a little light to keep the darker memories away…at least, while she was awake.
Luke had apparently left Han behind in the cockpit and was sitting at the holotable looking surprisingly disheartened. For a moment, Zelina worried he might be picking up on her own mood, or that he had taken her admonishment earlier a little harder than she'd intended. Carefully, she slid into the seat next to him, shaking the young Skywalker out of whatever low-spirited thoughts he'd been having. Before he could do more than sit up a little straighter, Zelina's hand gently covered his own, drawing his full attention to her.
"Before we arrive at the Rebel Base, I want to lay down a few ground rules. And they're serious rules I need you to keep in mind from here on out, okay?"
Luke seemed to be stuck between caution and curiosity, but he still nodded slowly. "All right…why, are you expecting trouble from the Rebellion?"
Zelina's lips twitched towards a smile. "Not in the way you think," she said simply, not wanting to give him any assurance before she could assess the Rebellion for herself. "The biggest thing I'm worried about right now…is actually your name."
Now he was really confused. "What about it?"
Zelina's grip on his hand tightened slightly by instinct, even though there were no threats at present. "When we were on Tatooine, I wasn't worried about anyone finding out who you are. There are other Skywalkers in the universe, and no one was looking for you, anyway. Now, once we start fighting the Empire, that name is going to make you a target."
"We'll already be targets," Luke pointed out.
"Yes, but that will be different. If word starts getting around about a twenty-ish year old Jedi wielding Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, trained by Zelina Du'ahn, not to mention having the last name Skywalker himself…the Emperor is going to do everything in his power to either turn you, or kill you. Maybe not just the Emperor, either," Zelina said seriously. "We can't avoid it forever, but I'd like to hold off that intense of an onslaught as long as possible, so that you have a bit more time to prepare for it. And to do that, we need to be very careful about who knows your name, who even hears it. Understand?"
"That's something that will be a little difficult to control, don't you think?" Luke asked doubtfully.
"It is, but there's ways to do it. I already mentioned it to Leia, and she'll be working on the Rebellion end to keep your name a secret. Doing so also will require some effort on your part. You can tell people you already know, or people you know for sure we can trust, but the rest…it's best to keep it to yourself."
She was about to leave it at that, but to her surprise, something else was playing around on the edge of her lips. "You might want to be careful about giving out your first name, too."
That one was a surprise to Luke—she could feel as much in the Force. It was a surprise to her, too. "What harm could my first name do?"
"I'm not sure. It's just a feeling. And I trust those feelings more than I trust basic reasoning," Zelina said, giving his hand another squeeze. "Just be mindful. And if you're not certain whether it's a time to keep your name secret or share it, try to find some guidance in the Force. It won't be a secret forever, but the longer we can keep it a secret, the longer you have to adjust and prepare. Okay?"
Luke nodded. "Is that the only rule?"
"Just one more," Zelina promised. "I know it sounds odd, but…once we land, don't go making any commitments yet. As in don't go officially signing onto the Rebellion when I'm not looking, okay?"
Luke was taken aback. "I thought the plan was always to join the Rebellion once we left Tatooine."
She chose her words very carefully, not wanting to sound like she wanted inaction, or to turn and walk away after they helped this one time—that wasn't the case. "I want to get a good feel of the Rebellion before we make any decisions—so we know what exactly we're getting into. And I want to make sure the Jedi work with the Rebellion, not for the Rebellion."
"Obi-Wan's probably an official Rebellion member," Luke countered.
"And that's Obi-Wan's choice if that's the case," Zelina returned patiently. "Call me jaded, but after what happened to the Jedi Order after it was tied to the Republic specifically, I'm a little wary about signing up under Rebellion leadership. That doesn't mean we won't help or do our part, I just want to make sure we still have the autonomy to do what we need to. I know you're not thinking about it now, but I'm sure you wouldn't like to find yourself in a position where you know one thing is right, but the Rebellion won't let you do said right thing."
"That's not going to happen," Luke started to scoff, but Zelina cut him off.
"It could. People in the galaxy think very differently, Luke, and everyone has their own goals. What you think is right won't always line up with someone else's idea of what's right, and sometimes that's going to lead to conflict. It's just a fact of life—especially in times of war."
"Don't you think this is all a little cynical?"
Zelina shrugged. "I'd rather be cynically cautious and safe than optimistically reckless and dead," she said pointedly. Luke slumped slightly in his seat, brows furrowed as he stewed over these two rules she'd just dropped on him. "But that's all I'm going to ask of you for now, okay? Just be careful who you share your name with—for your own safety—and wait until we know what we're getting into before we officially sign on to help the Rebellion."
Luke nodded, though he was starting to show signs of sulking, shoulders slightly hunched and eyes not quite meeting her own. Zelina leaned in, giving him a soft kiss on the head. "You got what you wanted—we're in the fight now. But it's going to be a lot more complicated than waving a lightsaber and shooting down a few TIEs."
She gave his hand one last squeeze, then shimmied her way out of the seat, taking a moment to stretch before she turned towards the bunk in the main hold. "I'm going to get some rest before we arrive—you might want to think about doing the same."
Luke mumbled something unintelligible in response, but Zelina didn't press him, sliding into the bunk with a soft sigh and letting her eyelids droop shut.