Explosions rocked the ship and sirens wailed distantly. Leia could hear the shooting of what sounded like cannons. She and Luke were huddling together in the corner of a black containment block, jumping at every loud bang and detonation that sounded outside. She'd never heard the sounds of a space battle except on HoloNet shows, but it sounded similar. Their kidnappers were clearly under attack. She just prayed that whoever was fighting was here to save them, not to make everything worse.

There was nothing inside their cell except a metal bench and a stinky toilet. It was just like the prisons on the HoloNet crime shows mom used to watch at the weekends. She knew the reason they were taken was because she used her powers. She had no other explanation for the turn of events. Her father had forbidden them to show the Force in front of others, and this was why. She was a criminal now, and this was the punishment. What's worse, she'd hurt Luke and her parents because of it. Leia felt so much guilt for everything that had happened. She didn't even know if her mother was alright, Luke still hadn't told her what had happened in the living room. Tightening her hold on him, they cuddled close. She could sense his terror and his longing for their parents through the Force. It was as tangibly real to her as her own emotions.

Mom…..dad….I miss you so much…..

Leia had lost track of the time since they'd woken up from a deep state of sleep. There was no way of telling day from night on the ship. The stormtroopers had taken them off Bakura in a small vessel, then they'd been boarded onto another bigger ship where the prison was. They'd shoved them inside, pointing guns to their heads, and locked the huge black door. Her and her brother had tried everything to push it open, but it was useless. Then, the ship had felt like it was floating all of a sudden, and her dad's Force presence disappeared and the bond they had with him cut off.

It was then that a feeling of utter desolation overcame them. Her and Luke had never been without their dad's presence in the Force. Their bond with him had always been there, safely close by and offering them a feeling of comfort. It felt like part of their soul had been ripped away from them. It was very cold and lonely and they cried together for a long time, missing him desperately. They had no idea where they were going, but Leia imagined it was going to be an even larger, more horrifying prison. She didn't know how long she'd have to stay there to serve her sentence, but the worst part was that she'd dragged her poor innocent brother along with her.

Since their dad's presence had disappeared they hadn't spoken a word, instead they clung to each other through the tears until they cried themselves dry. To make matters more alarming, Leia could feel the fear in the Force from other lifeforms nearby, though she didn't know what or who they were. Maybe there were lots of other criminals on here too. They could be dangerous murders or thieves. She hugged Luke.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered into his sandy hair.

"Why are we here Leia?" he replied after some time, sniffing as his nose was still blocked from crying. "What happened when you came home from school?"

She knew that he would have sensed something was off about her and she didn't want to tell him that it was all her fault, but sooner or later the truth would come out.

Reluctantly she revealed the truth. "I…I used the Force."

"In front of others? Why? What happened?" he looked up at her in shock, his blue eyes rimmed with red from the tears.

"Dumbon was bullying Nadira. He was hitting her so hard she was getting bruises. I tried to fight him but he hit me too. I…I didn't even know that I was using the Force Luke. I just pushed at him with my hand and he went flying. He broke his arm I think. He must have told somebody and that's why the stormtroopers came to our house and now they're going to take us to prison…but it was an accident I swear. I never meant for this to happen," she hung her head.

Luke was silent for a while. Another distant booming sound rocked the ship and the sirens continued on.

"If it was an accident, then don't worry Leia. It's not your fault, you were protecting Nadira," he paused as he considered his words. "But you should have told mom and dad instead of keeping secrets. If dad knew, he might have been able to fight the bad men away."

"I know…I'm sorry. I was afraid. I didn't know that any of this would happen. Can you tell me now what happened to mom?" she ventured.

He nodded, wrapping his arms around her again as they huddled. It was cold in the room and they only had their summer clothing on. They didn't even have boots on, just their inside shoes which were like slippers. She rested her head in the crook of his neck. Although twins, mother said Luke was born first which made him older. She felt a degree of protection by being in his arms, though in reality it was normally her who stood up for him.

"Mom was shot with a stun ray like us, so maybe they took her too. Maybe they took her to some other ship. She definitely isn't here…" she nodded at his words; they'd be able to feel if their mother was nearby. "Maybe dad is looking for her…or maybe he came home and they caught him too… I don't know."

"So, they could be in prison too like us?"

"Well…dad hasn't used the Force in front of others, and mom can't. But maybe the stormtroopers don't know they're innocent."

"You're innocent too," she reminded him.

"Yes, but I'm glad I'm here with you so you're not alone."

She smiled sadly, feeling even more guilt when she remembered that she'd run off to the village without Luke, leaving him alone. She was a bad sister. Somehow, she'd make it up to him. "What happened after that?"

"Well, I remember hearing the stormtroopers say that she was pregnant and they reported it back to base. Then I didn't see anything else because I ran to get… the saber!" he jumped.

"You have dad's lightsaber?!"

"With everything that happened I forgot!" she moved back as he reached into an inner pocket of his tunic and brought forward the shining silver hilt.

"How could you forget something like that?" she chided him. "Look how big it is!" He laughed and she did too, finally a shred of hope had returned and the mood was lifted.

"We might be able to use it to get out of here!" Leia got up and moved to the door, gesturing Luke to follow. "Maybe it will be strong enough to cut through the door."

The two nine-year-olds stood by the imposing metal entrance. It seemed incredibly thick and strong and Leia wasn't sure if it would work. They didn't want to break the weapon, but dad had said it was one of the strongest swords that existed. She nodded at Luke and he ignited it. The blue glow filled the dark room with a mysterious light and the humming noise reminded them fondly of their father. Luke began to push it into the metal, and to their surprise, it melted beneath the sword like warm butter.

"It's working! It's working!"

They had almost finished cutting out a shape big enough for them to fit through when Leia felt the ship move again like before. The explosions and sirens died away and it felt like the ship was suddenly floating in silence. It must be hyperspace again. They learnt all about it in school, the ship must be moving at incredible speed through the galaxy.

"We need to find a way out of here as fast as we can - I think we're in hyperspace again and that means getting further and further away from Bakura. We need to send a transmission message to Alderaan before we're too far away, and then get there somehow to see Bail Organa like mom and dad told us."

"Maybe there are escape pods?" he said as orange sparks flew around them.

"Can you use an escape pod in hyperspace?"

"I don't know. It might be a rough tumble but we have no other way of escaping from here," Luke said as he finished the job. He kicked the cut-out shape he'd made with a slippered foot a few times and it eventually fell forward into the dark corridor they'd seen many hours earlier. Her heart raced as the reality of what came next sunk in.

"What about the stormtroopers?" she asked her brother. "This place will be full of them. We saw how strong they are. If we fight them, we could be killed."

"We have to try. We have father's lightsaber and he taught us some self-defence remember?"

"But these are real bad men Luke, we've never fought anybody dangerous before."

"You've fought loads of people."

"They were kids at school!"

He retracted the saber and put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "The Force will be with us. That's what dad always said. We have to try, otherwise there will be no one to rescue our parents if they have been taken. We need to get to send that message to Alderaan. We're their only hope."

Nodding, Leia was emboldened by his words. She was surprised at his confidence as Luke was usually the quieter one at school and at home. For a moment she was quite proud of him. If they were sneaky, they might manage to make it to the escape pods in once piece. She brushed her wavy brown hair from her eyes and tucked it behind her ears.

"Let's go. But remember, be quiet. If we can sneak past them then maybe we won't have to fight at all. You keep the lightsaber, you're better at using it."

He smiled at the compliment and nodded. The two of them headed out into the dark, adrenaline rushing in their ears. Leia could see Luke's hands were trembling as he gripped father's saber. They could both sense that there were other prisoners on board, but they didn't want to free them. They could be dangerous or even worse than the imperial troopers. They crept quietly to the end of the corridor; their slipper-clad feet silent on the metal grated floor. A keypad kept the main door locked, but with a few stabs of the lightsaber the mechanism malfunctioned and the door slid quickly open. To their horror they were met with two stormtroopers who looked just as surprised to see them as they were.

"Hey!" the closest one called in shock, aiming a stun ray gun right at her brother's forehead.

Everything happened within the blink of an eye. One moment the two of them were in the doorway, the next Luke had sliced the man's hand clean off with a panicked slash of the lightsaber. He screamed in pain as he staggered away and fell to his knees. Luke launched himself at the other trooper's waist, pushing him back. Completely taken by surprise the startled soldier fell and tried to shoot him but Leia was there in an instant wrestling the gun off him with a strength she didn't know she had.

"Quick! -" he yelled to the other, who was still kneeling on the floor, curled up in pain from his severed hand.

In panic, Leia realised the soldier beneath them had recovered from the surprise and was using his strength to viciously beat Luke off of him. In horror she saw him land blows on her brother and his lip split with the force of the blows. Panicking, she thought fast and kicked him as hard as she could between the legs where the armour didn't quite reach, just as she had done to Dumbon. Yowling in pain, his grip on the stun gun lessened enough for her to finally rip it from him. She fired a shot and he was unconscious, then she ran to the other and did the same. It all went quiet.

Panting, she looked over to Luke who was doubled over on the floor clutching at his stomach.

"Are you alright?!" she knelt beside him.

"Wind…knocked out of me…" he gasped for air and she did her best to help him stand upright. He brought his hand to his lip and saw the blood. "Tastes bad," he said.

There would be a lot of bruises to show for their fight, but it was nothing some bacta couldn't heal. Neither of them were badly harmed. Thank the Force, as mom would say.

"Come on, we need to find those escape pods before anymore show up!"

They had to get going before anyone found out. Luck was on their side as the damage from the space battle had their side of the ship mostly empty of soldiers. It seemed lots of them were away cleaning up the mess. Leia held the black stun gun in one hand as she helped her brother down the corridor, checking at all corners for more troopers. Eventually he regained his breath and they crept down endless dark corridors. They had to hide in crevices and behind pillars a few times when groups of men ran past in unison.

The adrenaline was still coursing through their blood, heightening their senses. Leia could pick up on every sound, feel every vibration in the ship and she became aware of the smell of durasteel that encased them in the endless corridors. To some extent, Leia could sense the guards too, even when they had not seen them yet. It seemed something within her was reaching out for signs of danger and keeping them safe. The Force was with them, she was sure.

A feeling told her to head a certain way, and she followed it.

"This could be it," she said as they came to an empty gallery filled with small circular doors set against a long dark wall.

They checked the coast was clear before entering, and seeing no men, she ran in, her white dress flowing behind her. Leia lifted her black gun up to cover Luke as he quickly checked the computer next to one of the doors.

"It says it's an escape pod!"

"Open it up then, let's go. I can feel stormtroopers coming our way," her heart beat fast against her ribs as she felt their urgency and malice.

Luke pressed a few buttons at random and the door opened with a hiss as the vacuum seal released. They got inside and closed the door, urgently looking on the computer pad for the space lock option. She could hear them outside now, getting louder and louder.

"Quick!"

"I can't find the-"

Leia shoved him out the way and quickly pressed the correct key. The door sealed itself firmly shut with another hiss and the low clunking noise of multiple locks. Angry voices bubbled up from outside as the stormtroopers entered the room they had been standing in moments before. She leapt forward into the small seat by the dashboard. Luke did likewise, looking more nervous now than she'd ever seen him. They didn't know what would happen now. The men might be able to override the pod's locks if they weren't quick about leaving. The lines of hyperspace whizzed past them through the small circular window, illuminating them in glowing blue light. Her heart was in her mouth and she was trembling.

"Are you ready?" she asked. Luke nodded. Tightening her grip on the seat and wishing there were seat belts, she lifted up her other shaking hand over the control panel. "Hold tight. It's going to be bumpy. May the Force, and mom and dad be with us."

She flipped up the clear casing that surrounded the red button and hit jettison. The pod lurched forward and fell from the ship.