Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property and creation of Lucas Film and Disney. I own none of the characters and places mentioned in this story.
Special thanks to my beta-reader Everren (from AO3) for helping me out with this chapter.
I know I said in the chapter, Past and Present, that the only flashbacks that would appear in such a long length will be how Rey got to Starkiller Base and how the fight between her and Kylo went there.
Well, it was wrong of me to assume so. Because in order to understand the characters' motivations, another round of flashbacks was necessary.
So I hope you will not be upset about this whole chapter being flashbacks.
7 ABY – Coruscant
A little time has passed since midnight. The fangs of the winds tear at the outside of the buildings, and only a few poor souls are brave enough to be out walking through such weather. The majority prefer to stay in, drinking their caf or tea while watching the holotelevision, relaxing in the peacefulness of their homes. But not everyone can enjoy the night.
In an apartment located on a top floor in Galactic City, Leia shifts on the couch, drifting in and out of a fitful sleep.
After putting her toddler son and her stepdaughter to sleep and feeding her newborn twins, she had lain down on the couch to wait for her husband to come home from one of his missions. She would have gladly gone with him if it weren't for the kids.
Soon, her restless sleep is interrupted by loud footsteps entering the living room.
She doesn't move from her spot on the couch immediately, her drowsy gaze taking in the disheartened form of her husband and the bundle that he holds against his chest.
At the sight of it, she jumps from the couch as if burned.
"Han, what's that?!"
"It's a long story," comes his weary reply.
Leia is shaking with anger by the time Han finishes telling the story.
How dare they do this? Going so low in their attempt to discredit her as a politician?
It could result in her losing her political position. And to leave a child without her mother?
She won't let the Remnant of the Empire get away with this.
But the baby girl Han has brought back is an innocent victim, not a weapon.
Maybe her maternal instincts are heightened, or maybe she recalls the love she'd received from her own adoptive parents, but Leia knows, in that moment, she isn't going to abandon the baby.
She wants to give this child the same kind of loving family as Breha and Bail Organa had given her.
"What do we do now?" Han asks her in an apprehensive tone.
"Well, of course, we will keep her. She's your daughter, after all. I could care less, that she was created in a laboratory using your DNA and Qi'ra's. She stays right here. So you better pick out a name for her, handsome!" Leia replies with a smile.
"Landa".
10 ABY - Coruscant
Ben holds on tight to the back of his older sister's tunic in a futile attempt to stop her from leaving.
"Don't go, Garma!" he pleads.
His sister removes his hands from her back, then turns around to face him, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear.
"Nothing would make me happier than to be able to stay, Ben. Unfortunately, our parents decided that it's better for me to go with our uncle to learn to control my powers," she replies with a sigh.
"But... but..." he splutters in desperation.
"Please, Ben. Don't make this harder than it already is. I need to go!" Garma says. Her voice is stern, but Ben sees tears start to fall down her cheeks as she turns to walk away through the door, leaving him behind.
"Don't go! I don't want to face the voice alone!" he says in a broken, shaky voice to the spot where his sister had been a moment before.
28 ABY - Jedi Temple
Landa sits on a rock on the shore, her feet dipped in the water of the lake, enjoying the cold breeze that blows through her black locks. Next to her, a bald, blue-eyed young man looks out toward the horizon.
"It's so calm and peaceful here," she reflects quietly.
"It is," he agrees.
"The galaxy is in turmoil, but here we have our own sanctuary. Devoid of war, devoid of violence."
"Tai, when we become full-fledged Jedi, would you like to travel with me? Helping other planets?" she asks, her face growing hot.
"Silly, you know that wherever you go, I will go," he says as he leans in for a kiss.
"You lied to me! You and my parents lied to me!"
"Ben, this wasn't my secret to tell. Your mother wanted to tell you so many times, but she thought you weren't mature enough to stand it," Luke says with a sigh.
"Not mature enough?! I'm twenty-three. When I was supposed to be mature enough to find out that my grandfather was Darth Vader?!
"At least I wasn't the only one kept in the dark," he adds with coldness.
"It seems that your children and my siblings didn't know about this either."
"About that..." Luke says, massaging his temples.
"Can you call your siblings and cousins here?"
"What did you just say?" Landa asks with a grave voice, shock etched all over her face.
"You weren't adopted," Luke repeats patiently.
"Your biological father is Han Solo and you were created in a laboratory, with genetic samples from him and an old flame of his, Qi'ra, in a bid to discredit Leia as a political figure."
"So all this time, all these years, I believed I was a human being, while in reality, all I've ever been was a discarded experiment? Does that mean that everything I've felt up until now wasn't real? That everything was a lie?"
Her voice shakes as tears roll down her cheeks.
Luke doesn't offer any word of comfort, just looks down. And how could he comfort her? He has never faced this kind of situation.
So when Landa runs out the door, the first one to react to her distress is her sister, Jaina.
Soon after Jaina has left the room, her brothers start after them, only for Garma's stern voice to stop them in their tracks.
"Don't! She needs comfort from someone her own age who's close to her. And as far as I'm concerned, you boys aren't what she needs right now.
"As for you, uncle, I'm letting you know that I can't stay no more," she adds with determination.
"It's true that I'm the only one who knew the truth about my origins. I know that my mother, Bria Tharen, died in the battle of Scarif. But I can't stand by a man who keeps his own relatives in the dark and acts so cold while revealing sensitive information."
Far away from the huts, in the green meadow, Tai sits alone on a rock wondering if he made the right decision.
A few days before, some of the students had left. Among them was Landa, the girl he has feelings for.
The day after she'd found out about her origins, she, together with Garma, Garma's boyfriend, Kyp Durron, and Luke Skywalker's daughter, Beru, had packed up a ship and flown away from the Jedi temple.
Landa had asked him to go with her, but he'd refused. He wanted to become a full-fledged Jedi before leaving. To say she'd been disappointed was an understatement. She had shaken with anger, so much so that some of the things from her hut floated in the air. And they hadn't parted on a good note; Landa had slapped him.
He is so lost in his thoughts, that he doesn't hear a pair of footsteps coming up from behind, so when another student sits on the rock next to him, he almost has a heart attack.
"Oh, it's only you, Voe".
"Are you still bummed about Landa's departure?" Voe asks, looking worried.
"Yes. I mean, I always imagined we would become Jedi knights together, and then help others," Tai says in a melancholic voice.
"I respect Master Skywalker. I always will. But he does have too many skeletons in the closet... too many secrets. Not only did he keep things from his own flesh and blood, he also kept stuff from his students. The twins are still trying to come to terms with the revelation that their father and grandfather were inquisitors," he continues with a sigh.
"Oh, Tai..." Voe replies softly as she hugs him.
From afar, an unseen witness watches the exchange with dismay.
28 ABY - The night of the destruction of the Jedi temple
A month has passed since Landa's departure. Things had gone back to relative normalcy, or as close to normalcy as could be when tensions were running so high that they could be cut with a knife.
But everything must come to an end, one way or another.
Jaina is sleeping soundly in her room when suddenly she is overcome with pain, fear and a deep sadness, so strong that it wakes her up with a gasp.
The first thing she does is shake awake the other girls in the room, that on that night joined her for a sleepover. She tells them to take their lightsabers and get out as quickly as possible. Then she goes to check on Jacen and Anakin, but both rooms are empty. Seeing this, she joins the others, hoping that her relatives are alright.
No sooner than she and the other girls get outside, the Jedi temple and huts erupt into flame, set ablaze with an almighty crack that rings out like thunder.
The last thing she sees, before the force of the explosion knocks her and the others out, is thick, black smoke billowing up into the night.
"Jaina! Jaina... open your eyes!" a worried voice calls out to her.
Even though her gaze is still blurry, Jaina recognizes the person calling her name.
"Anakin... What happened? Where are Jacen and Ben? Where are the other students?" Jaina asks with a weak voice.
"Jacen is trying to keep the other students calm. We don't know where Ben is. We were hoping you would wake up so we could look for him. As for the others, beside the ones that were with you, me and Jacen, I don't think anyone survived," Anakin says with sadness.
Jaina's heart breaks at hearing the fate of the other students, but right now isn't the time for mourning. She still needs to make sure her older brother is alright, so despite her dizziness, she gets up, ready to look for him. She isn't worried for her uncle. She knows he can handle himself.
When Jaina and her group get to the place where Ben's Force signature glows like a beacon, they are relieved to see that they weren't the only students that survived. But Ben's reply, when they hear Tai ask about the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker, shakes them to their core.
"He attacked me, Tai. Tried to kill me in my sleep. And now he's dead," Ben says with cold indifference.
"That cannot be. Master Skywalker would never hurt any of us," Voe growls.
"And you, Ben Solo, could never..."
But Voe never finishes her sentence.
"Ben, tell me this isn't true!" Jaina interrupts.
"Why would our uncle do such a thing?"
Tai, Voe, Hennix and Ben all turn their heads towards her. Tai and his teammates are ecstatic to see that there are survivors, beside themselves, but Ben keeps an aloof attitude.
"Our sister asked you a question!" Jacen yells, igniting his green lightsaber and taking a fighting stance.
"You want to pick up a fight with me, little brother? You think you're stronger than me?" Ben asks with irritation.
Voe, Tai and Hennix turn on their lightsabers, too. Anakin hesitates, looking torn.
"So this is the way it is?" Ben snaps.
"You three believe you could beat me, but you know what? Even if Skywalker made us act like we were equal, you all know the truth. Me, Jacen, Jaina, Anakin and Skywalker's children, we were this temple prize's students!
"I only want to leave. But if it's a fight you're looking for, I would be glad to give it to you."
As Ben finishes talking, several things happen at once. Voe makes a jump, using the Force, in order to attack him from above, even if Tai screams at her to stop. And Jacen darts in for a frontal attack.
Ben stops Voe in midair and pushes her into Hennix. Then he parries Jacen's attack. Their lightsabers lock together, each of them pushing against one another. But neither of them gives way until they both use the Force to shove one another back, separating them for now.
"You are strong, Jacen. You should come with me. We would be unstoppable," Ben says in a pleading tone.
"He is not going anywhere with you!" Jaina replies angrily, pointing her purple lightsaber in Ben's direction.
"Jacen might not go with him, but I would," says a young man with black hair and green eyes named Zekk.
"And us, too!"
Jaina's eyes widen. She can hardly believe what she's hearing.
One after another, the students that want to follow Ben rally behind him. Arecelis, Deke, Rosh, Zekk, Harlan...
"Why are you doing this?" both Anakin and Jaina ask at the same time.
"We owe you no answer!" replies Harlan acidly.
"Jaina, just give up. We're all adults here. You should take care of your concussion, instead of trying to be the boss and telling us what to do," says Zekk with coldness.
"I'm not letting any of you get away," Jaina says, setting her jaw as she begins to walk towards them.
She only manages to take a few steps forward before her cousin-by-adoption, Druna, screams. Jaina turns her head towards her, only to see her collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Then she feels something hit the back of her head, before she, too, for a second time that night, loses her consciousness.
When Jaina comes about in a medical bay on one of the ships owned by the Jedi temple, her brother Anakin has puffy red eyes from crying. She asks him what happened. Anakin tells her that Ben used the Force to hit them with debris and that she was hit by a rock. Druna is awake but still weak. Anakin suspects she's ill with something.
Tai, Hennix and Voe went after Ben when he escaped. Jacen, Tahiri and Nelani are also gone. And their uncle, who seemingly survived, has left them on their own.
Jaina is glad of Anakin's company. They huddle together until their aunt, Mara, and their cousin return from their mission and take them to Coruscant.
Author notes:
First of all I want to apologize for taking me so long to update.
Also one of my ideas for this chapter was for Ben Skywalker and Ben Solo to have a showdown regarding Luke's death but I realized that it would be too confusing since the both of them are called Ben.
So what do you think about this chapter?
Beru Skywalker (OC character) it's Camie Marstrap and Luke's daughter;
Deke (male) and Arecelis Astin - female (OC characters) aka Hu'al Ren and Dathka Ren are the twins siblings mentioned in this chapter. Their parents are Fable Astin and Jaalib Brandl ;
Druna ( OC character) it's the female cousin-by-adoption of the Solo-Organa-Skywalker siblings. Her parents are Neena (who in EU was Leia's adopted sister like Winter) and Drun Cairnwick .
The destruction of the Jedi temple and the afterwards was heavily inspired from The Rise of Kylo Ren comic series.
Also, recently I discovered that Han Solo was quite the womanizer. He had around 12 love interests ( EU and canon universe combined... Leia included). So who knows?
Maybe other children of Han Solo will spawn later on in this fic.