So I changed the photo! Same face claim (Summer Glau), just a different pic of her older. Also, it seems like more people are wanting Kal's daughter to be paired with Poe rather than a son for the next installment of this series, but I'm going to keep the poll up on my profile since I haven't started writing or planning it too in-depth.

3 ABY

The Force cocooned itself around the young woman lying on the cold, hard floor of the destroyed rebel base, protecting her from frostbite and falling ice. For over an hour, Kaleena laid there against the ice, unconscious and barely able to breathe with Gray by her side.

When she came to, she struggled to take in a whole breath. Her head hurt, her trachea was bruised, and she could barely move. Kal could hardly keep her eyes open. Her entire body ached with every slight movement she made. Lifting her head and arms hurt just as bad as when the explosion had wrecked her body. The tunnel around her was dark, but small streams of light filtered through the cracks in the tunnel ceiling. The tiny bit of light hurt her eyes.

Picking her head up only lasted a second before she set it back down on the ice. The ice numbed her cheek, chest, and legs, but she still felt the pain.

How could she be so stupid? Why did she decide to face Vader? Why didn't she head down a different tunnel instead? Why did she egg him on? How could she let herself reveal her feelings so easily? What happened to her self-preservation instincts? She had been trained better, so why did any of that even happen?

She knew why. She had spent so long running away from everything. She ran from her father and the fate of the Jedi. She ran from her mentor and the fate of bounty hunting. She ran from the Ghost crew and the fate of the rebellion. She ran from her feelings and the fate of falling in love. But the Force had brought her back to each fate. She was training Luke to be a Jedi. She joined the rebellion against the Empire. She fell in love with Luke Skywalker. And now, with her rebel friends far away from her and Hoth, she had to call Boba Fett.

He was the only one she could possibly call. But would he even come to her rescue? The last time she had seen him, she threw him through a wall. She had to try though. Either send him a distress signal or freeze to death on Hoth. She had to get to the Command Center.

"Gray," she croaked out, her throat burning and swollen. The droid perked up from his spot next to her. "Help me to the Command Center." The droid whistled, but Kal couldn't look at her wrist to check his translation. She could tell he wasn't particularly happy, however. Gray charted the best course through the base using his scanners. Kal hauled herself to her hands and knees, using the Force to help her cope with the pain and anguish she was putting her body through by moving. Gray started down the hall.

Before Kal followed, she spotted her lightsaber where she had dropped it during her confrontation with Vader. He hadn't taken it. Calling it to her, Kal attached it to her belt and limped after Gray as quickly as she could, following the little, floating droid through the tunnels, around chunks of fallen ice, and over the rubble. Outside of the Command Center, Kal and Gray encountered a caved-in area.

"Blast," Kal whispered, clenching her fists. "Gray, come here. Keep me steady." Gray sidled up to her side so she could place her hand on him to help keep her upright while her focus was diverted to moving the large pieces of ice out of the way.

Sweat dripped down her forehead and neck at the exertion while she also shivered from the cold. The ice hit the ground hard, out of the way, and Kal panted like she had run a marathon. Gray's beeps were filled with concern. "I'm okay, buddy. Thank you. Let's hurry. I don't know how much longer I can stay upright."

Kal and Gray continued down the hall together until they reached the Command Center door. With the mechanics damaged, Kal had to make it open with the Force. Kal shuffled inside with Gray by her side, limping over to the closest console that she could use as the door slid to a close. "Plug in," Kal ordered. Gray flew over to the console plug, extended his arm, and powered it up. "Send a distress signal to Boba. Only Boba. Make sure it's encoded. I don't want Vader and the Empire knowing I'm here."

She let Gray work his magic as she slumped to the cold floor, resting her back against the console. As she sat there looking around, she realized just how much of a mess the Command Center was. It was a wonder anything was still working. Wires hung from the ceiling. A few consoles had been smashed. Tables were overturned. The Empire had destroyed it like they had the rest of the base.

Rubbing her throat, she winced. It had already bruised. She could feel Vader's grip around it still, squeezing slowly to draw out the torment. Kal couldn't remember being thrown, but considering the state of her body, she knew she had been. The pulsing in her head threatened to drown out her thoughts until she was consumed in darkness, her head hanging limply to the side.

Gray tried to wake his owner, prodding her with his arms, but she didn't budge. He beeped sadly and floated down to her legs, setting down on her thigh. The message had been sent. Whether or not the seasoned bounty hunter would respond was the question.

A few hours passed with Kal unconscious. One of the tunnels nearby rumbled, rousing the small droid. He stood on her thigh, his large eye pointed at the Command Center door. His sensors picked up one life form just outside. Gray brandished his electro-prod. Sparks flew from the edge of the door, going up the side and around it until the door fell to the ground with a loud clang. The figure on the other side was menacing but familiar. Gray recognized the armor of Boba Fett instantly and put his electro-prod away.

"Hey, buddy," Boba greeted the droid as he hurried to Kal's side. "Come on, let's get to my ship." The elder bounty hunter slid his arms under Kal's knees and behind her shoulders, lifting the young woman into his arms. He brought her up and out of the destroyed tunnels with Gray flying close behind, worried about the woman who had built him.

Boba laid her down on her old bed in her old room on his ship then left her side to get his ship into the air and moving on. He had gotten her call on his way to a job. A big one. With the ship in hyperspace, he began attending to Kal, but he only had basic first aid equipment.

Standing above her, his eyes were downturned as he looked at her. Boba wondered what had happened to her but didn't dwell on it for too long, focusing on applying bacta patches and using kolto spray to at least speed up the process. The bruising around her neck didn't look good, but there was only so much he could do without actual medical equipment. Boba was better with wounds that he could patch up rather than internal damage.

Before long, Boba decided to sit and rest by her side. His ship sailed through hyperspace. Kal laid unconscious and as patched up as she could be. There was nothing else he could do, except one thing.

Gray flitted closeby, never having left Kal's side. "Gray, come here," Boba ordered. The droid turned around to face him and hesitantly flew over. Boba sighed at the droid's trepidation. "I know Kal and I haven't exactly been close as of late, but I won't let anything happen to her under my watch. I promise." Gray's happy beeps filled the air. "Can you show me what happened?"

For a moment, Boba wasn't sure if the droid would fulfill his request; nevertheless, Gray complied. The holographic image spilled from Gray's eye as Boba looked on, watching the recording.

In the video, Kal used the Force the send the Imperial troopers surrounding Darth Vader down the tunnel before she ignited her lightsaber. Boba leaned forward. "Kaleena, how could you be so stupid?" he asked himself. It was a stupid move, taking on Vader. Brave yet stupid. But he didn't expect anything less from her. She had a heart. She couldn't sit by and watch bad things happen. She must have held his attention while rebels evacuated the base.

Vader's voice echoed through the recording. "You care about him. And he cares for you in return. Good. Your death will be his first step to joining the Dark Side of the Force." He was talking about the rebel who had blown up the Death Star. Skywalker. The boy she had been with on Tatooine. The one with a lightsaber.

Kal obviously hadn't liked what he said. "Luke will never join you, even if you are his father. You already took my father from me. You won't take Luke, too." No matter how often Boba had tried to instill in her that attachment wasn't good for a bounty hunter, she had done it anyway, even if she tended to hide it well. Boba hadn't realized how much she had cared for him until Kal had told him she would have laid her life down for him at one point. He hadn't deserved her affection. At all.

And Boba sat there watching her protect her friend from someone as menacing as Vader, someone who was apparently his father. How Kal knew that Boba didn't know.

Boba's movements stilled as Vader grabbed her by the throat as Boba had once done to her as well. "You are strong with the Force, young one," Vader said. "And. . . familiar. Why are you familiar?" Vader took a long pause. "Cattleya." Kal's eyes widened at the name before she struggled harder and was thrown down the hall. Vader then left and Gray cut off the recording.

Leaning back in his chair, Boba thought over what Kal had gone through. She had faced Vader and survived. But that also meant he knew her face and probably believed her to be dead. Boba couldn't let Vader know otherwise. He still had to meet Vader for a job, but there was no way Boba would let Kal off the Slave 1 until they were far away from the Vader.

Kal had a hard time opening her eyes the second time she woke up. But something was different compared to the previous time. She wasn't on a cold, hard surface. Her body rested on something soft and comfortable. She could barely move though, so she couldn't figure it out.

Her entire body was stiff. Her throat burned. Her head throbbed. Her back ached.

When she finally slid her eyes open fully, she recognized her surroundings. The room hadn't changed a bit in the years she had been gone. Moving her head to the side was a chore, but she spotted Gray resting on the bedside table. He stood on his legs the moment he noticed her movement and beeped excitedly.

"Hey," she choked. While she felt better than she had before, it didn't mean she felt good. "Wh-where's Boba?" She struggled to raise her wrist to see the translation of Gray's answer. Boba Fett = not onboard, on Imperial starship. What was Boba doing on an Imperial starship? Kal didn't think she'd like the answer. "When he comes back, bring him to me." Gray whistled an affirmation and left the room, the door hatch sliding closed behind him.

She was left to think about everything that had happened. Kal slumped back on the bed, her body straightened out and looking up at the ceiling. The ache and pain went to the bone. Allowing her eyes to close again, she used the Force to help ease her agony. While it did help, she wondered if Luke could feel it through the Force. He was gaining exceptional skill in the Force ever since he was able to unlock it. There had been times he could sense something was wrong before she did. He was far more attuned to living organisms through the Force than she had ever been. It suited him. And to think, she used to seriously dislike him and his naivety. What she would give to be with them all.

A short time passed before the door slid open to reveal Boba and Gray. Kal tried to sit up and speak, but Boba handed her a small bag of ice, rested a hand on her shoulder, and said, "Don't talk. Let your body heal." Slipping off his helmet, he set it on the table next to the bed and sat in the chair close to it. He looked older than he had the last time she had seen his face. There were bags under his dark eyes. "Gray showed me the holorecording of your fight with Vader. And he probably told you I was on a star destroyer." Kal nodded as she shifted the ice on her throat to help with the swelling. "Vader's hired me and a few other hunters for a job." Kal raised an eyebrow, silently asking about the job. "He wants us to find the Millennium Falcon." Kal tried to sit up again, panic coursing through her. "Don't. You knew it was gonna happen at some point. Jabba wants Solo. I think Vader wants Organa and Skywalker. It's a good job."

Rolling her eyes, Kal laid back down. She knew he was right. It didn't mean she liked it. "Luke's not on the Falcon," she blurted out, her voice still coarse and rough.

"But you know exactly where he is, don't you?" Boba asked, leaning forward onto his knees.

"I'd rather face Vader again than tell you Luke's location."

Boba shook his head and smirked. "I didn't ask for it. Your response is everything I need to know. Regardless, I'm taking the job. We're in an asteroid field right now following the Falcon, but Solo is crafty, so once he gets away, I'm following. When I catch them, I will hand them over to the Empire."

Kal's eyes narrowed at his specific use of 'them.' "Them? Not me?"

Boba stood with a sigh. "No matter our differences, I would never hand you over to the Empire. But that doesn't mean I'll let you leave." Kal didn't have time to react to his statement as he pulled binders from behind his back, cuffed her right wrist to the bed frame, and snatched her droid out of the air.

"Boba!" she exclaimed, struggling against the restraints, the metal rattling together. She got a good look at what he used to cuff her. "Stun cuffs, really?" She wouldn't be able to use the Force on them.

"The Empire always gets what it wants, one way or another. I'm not going to have you get caught as well." With Gray powered off, Boba opened up the storage container by the door and slipped the droid inside. Then he grabbed his helmet and put it on. "If you'll excuse me, I have a freighter to catch. I'll be back later to check up on you."

Kal yelled after him as Boba left her room, the pain momentarily forgotten as it was consumed with anger. She yelled until she couldn't muster the energy to continue. She couldn't believe what she had gotten herself into. It had been ridiculous to think that calling Boba for help after everything that had happened between them would result in anything less than a disaster. She should've gotten on the Falcon when she had the chance. Then she wouldn't be hurt in more ways than one.

Discarding the bag of ice that Boba had brought her, she decided to welcome the discomfort and stinging instead. It would give her something to focus on. Two debilitating injuries within about a week. Some Jedi, she thought cynically. Can't even use the Force right. Can't even protect my friends.

Maybe they don't need protection. Boba was right. Han was slick. Leia was smart. Chewie was brave. They didn't need Kal to get them out of trouble. Han probably had a great plan to save their skins.

But it won't work. Kal knew it wouldn't. Something was going to go wrong. Kal wanted to do something about it, but for some reason, she didn't think she should.

Sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing.

It didn't make any sense to her, but something told her it was the right thing to do. As she laid there staring at the ceiling, she wondered what her destiny truly lied with. The rebellion? The bounty hunters? The Jedi? Some weird back and forth? Or perhaps the Force wanted her to do nothing this one time to allow something to happen? She didn't like that thought one bit, but it seemed like the correct one. Something was going to happen, something she wasn't supposed to interfere with.

But that meant her friends had to be captured and turned over to the Empire. Which, in turn, would draw in Luke in an attempt to save them. He would most likely be led into a trap. Vader wanted him, wanted to turn him. Kal knew Luke wouldn't turn to the Dark Side. She knew it deep in her bones, which meant the Force wanted him to face his father. Great Light versus great Dark. But while Luke wouldn't turn to the Dark Side, he wasn't ready to face Vader yet. He didn't even know they were related. Unless that was what the Force wanted him to learn. It would do a number on his psyche but would also be necessary for his development as the Jedi he was born to be, let go of his impulsivity, and master his emotions.

Kal couldn't be there for that, but she could do one thing. She could keep an eye on Han and make sure he stayed safe.

Jangling the cuff on her wrist, Kal sighed as she felt the ship enter hyperspace and made herself sit up, working through the ache. She would listen to Boba, stay with him, for the time being. Not with the damn cuffs on though. Reaching out with the Force, she opened the chest that held Gray and lifted him out of it over to her on the bed. With the small droid in her lap, she switched him on. He came alive with a loud, indignant beep, springing up as though he was angry.

"Wow, okay, calm down," Kal forced out. "Get me out of these cuffs, will you?" Gray let out a series of low beeps that sounded like he was being sarcastic or belligerent, but Kal ignored it and let him crawl over to her wrist and use one of his arms to undo the stun cuffs. Rubbing her wrist, Kal thanked him. "I need you to do me a favor. You won't like it."

The ship was still in hyperspace, but they were likely coming up on their destination soon. Where that was, Kal had to find out. Kal crept out of her room, leaning on the wall for support as she made her way to the cockpit.

Inside sat Boba in the pilot seat. He whipped around in the chair at the sound of the cockpit door opening and groaned audibly at the sight of her. "What are you doing up?" Boba asked, not even asking about how she undid the restraints. He messed up by leaving the droid in the room. She must've turned it back on. "You need to lay down and rest."

"I know," Kal grumbled, shuffling over to the copilot's seat and slumped down. "Where are we going?"

"What makes you think I'll tell you?"

She picked up on the slight playfulness in his voice. "Because you know I can just look at the navi-computer to see what system we're going to. Just tell me, Boba."

Boba faced the windshield. "Bespin."

Kal tilted her head and leaned back in the chair. "Why?"

"It was in the direction Solo was flying in." He could hear the silent 'so what?' stemming from her eyes. "And it's run by one of his old associates, Lando Calrissian. Solo is heading there. I have no doubt about it. So we are, too. You are staying on the ship."

"I know."

Boba did a double-take and stared at her like she sprouted a second head. "You know?" he repeated. "And you're not arguing with me about it?"

Chuckling lightly, Kal shook her head as it turned into a cough. "Yeah, it's just as much of a surprise to me, Boba. I've come to the conclusion that it is the best possible route to take. Jabba wants Han alive, not dead, so if I stay with you, I can keep an eye on him."

"How can I trust you to not set him free?"

"You can watch me every second of every day. I'm not going to free Han." She let out an aggressive sigh. "Come on, Boba, you know I'm not stupid enough to do something that rash in Jabba's Palace. If you really do then you're completely barvy. Han was the main reason I was with them. There's nothing keeping me there now." It hurt for her to say. It was a complete lie. There was plenty to keep her with the rebellion, but Han needed someone to watch over him. Luke and Leia could take care of themselves. She'd see them again.

Boba sighed, either unaware of her fib or ignoring it. She had a feeling he was ignoring it, not wanting to fight with her. "All right, you're with me then. But keep your head down and your mouth shut. I won't have you being taken by Jabba as well."

"Of course, Boba."

It wasn't until a few days later where Kal finally came out of hiding, fully rested and healed. She had been wakened by her slumber by sensing the strong presence of Luke Skywalker. He was being led straight into a trap, but she had hope that he would make it out alive. Han was the one who needed a helping hand.

She watched from a hidden alcove as two Imperials led a frozen Han to the cargo hold in Boba's ship. He was frozen in carbonite and ready to be taken to Tatooine. To Jabba's Palace. Boba readied the ship for takeoff and Kal stood in the cargo hold, looking down at her friend in the big slab. His hands were raised and his face twisted in what seemed to be pain. But he was alive, and that's what mattered to her.

Kal could only hope that Luke got her message.

The small droid floated through the passageways of the Millennium Falcon as it flew through space, fleeing the Empire without its pilot. Gray attached to the ceiling of the main hold, above the golden protocol droid C-3PO and his astromech companion R2-D2. Artoo was putting Threepio's leg back on him while Chewie ran by, lifted a floor grate and got to work on a part of the ship, the two droids bickering above. If Gray could roll his eye like his owner rolled hers, he would have.

The ship shook as another laser blast hit it. Chewie growled at his name being called by Lando. Telling the Wookiee to hurry wasn't going to help him in any way. Gray watched as Artoo left Threepio to fix the hyperdrive himself, the ship immediately entering hyperspace and escaping the clutches of the Empire.

For a few moments, everything in the ship stood still, almost as though they couldn't believe they had escaped. But when the realization hit, their shoulders relaxed. Leia and Lando helped Luke out of the cockpit to take Luke back to the med bay so he could rest, but as they passed the central hold, Lando noticed something on the ceiling of his old ship that wasn't supposed to be there.

"Recon droid," Lando blurted and drew his blaster, drawing everyone's attention. "It'll track us through hyperspace." Chewie howled at him, recognizing the droid.

"Wait, wait," Luke said, grabbing ahold of Lando's arm before he could shoot it. "That's Kal's droid." Gray dropped from the ceiling and floated over to his owner's friends, eyeing the newcomer who lowered his blaster.

"What's it doing here?" Leia asked no one in particular.

Gray whistled and beeped. Threepio stood to the side, still holding his other leg, and translated, "He says he has a message for you, Master Luke, but only you. He says he won't permit anyone else to hear it."

"That doesn't sound promising," Lando muttered. "It must be from your friend. Han said Kal didn't make it off Hoth on the Falcon, so how did she and how did she get her droid here?"

The question sunk in, the group glancing at each other. "I'll find out," Luke said. "Come on, Gray." Luke left Leia's side with Gray, shuffling down the hall to the infirmary on his own. Once inside, he sat down on the bed and looked at the droid floating in front of him. He remembered putting the small droid back together shortly after Ben died. Sighing, he nodded at the droid. "Okay, what's the message?"

Gray beeped sadly and displayed the message, the blue holographic image of a roughed-up Kal shining bright in the dim lighting. She didn't look good. Even in the recording, Luke could see the bruising and swelling around her throat, the dark bags under her eyes, and her strangled breaths. It filled him with despair to see her in such a state so shortly after seeing her torched body not too long before. Luke had a feeling it had been worse and that the recording was of her after some treatment and healing.

Kal's hoarse voice echoed through the small room as she spoke. "Luke, I don't know if you'll get this message, but I wanted you to know something that I couldn't tell you in person." She took a long pause, her head ducking down before looking back up. "I love you. I love you with all my heart. I couldn't tell you in person because. . . because there are things I've been keeping from you. Things I couldn't bear to tell you for fear that you'd lose the light in your eyes. Things about your parents." Luke couldn't believe her words. A small smile broke across her face. "You've always been so hopeful. I never wanted to ruin it. I yearn for the day that you can forgive me. When you get this message, I'll be long gone with Boba again. It was either join him under Jabba the Hutt's patronage once again or something potentially far worse if Vader had gotten ahold of me. At least this way I'll be able to keep an eye on Han. . . do something right for once. I hope to see you again soon if you'll have me. May the Force be with you, always." The recording shut off.

Had she known about who his father truly was? What his father had become? The subject of their fathers had always been a tense one, but Luke would've hoped that news as big as Darth Vader being Anakin Skywalker would've been something she'd tell him. Unless her father asked her not to. She had done a lot against her father, but perhaps it was something she had seen eye to eye with Ben on in an effort to protect him. All she had ever done was in an effort to train him or keep him safe.

Unlike what she had said in her message, she had always tried to do the right thing, tried to protect people. Luke hated that she couldn't see it, but he still loved everything about her. He wished she could've been right there with him. But she was with Fett again. And at Jabba's Palace. They had to get her out, too. Now, they just had to find it.