Hi there!
The nice people who sign my paychecks let me off way early on saturday so I had some extra time, that means you get an update on monday instead of, well... alot later than that!
To all my fabulous reviewers...
Amber: Glad to hear from you! I'm also glad to hear you are enjoying this.
Namonaki Pharoh: Wow, I got applause! Yeah, Barok and Jeboe'i just kind of showed up so Fred said to give them parts. Truth is, Barok is Force-sensitive too. (oops, probably shouldn't have said that!) Fred say's they won't be playing a major part in this story so I will be posting something more about them later. The boy's hideout is based on a place called Devil's Well in southcentral Missouri, USA. That cavern is full of water and can't be accesed the same way, but I thought I would give credit where credit is due. (for inspiration)
Princess Kinky: More Luke and Leia to come. I've always thought authors kinda ignored the siblings thing too. I'm going to have to read some of your stories when Fred gives me time off. My siblings are a very important part of my life so I can't imagine why no one else bothers to write that.
MistiWhitesun: Are you kidding? I love chatty people. One of my biggest problems has been keeping these replys short so the A/N doesn't get longer than the chapter!
Thanks for the tips, I can't believe I slipped up on the contractions! I've been slipping up alot though with this story. I usually take great pride in my grammatical skills, but I haven't been paying too much attention to it lately. On the foreign language, I actually though it was better if you didn't know what it meant, but I've seen other people get tons of requests for translation and I wanted to throw the comment in.
Barok has a life story that I won't go into in detail here, I'm currently working on it when I'm not working on this one. Yes it was supposed to be semi-obvious that they were both force sensitive. The reason Barok and Jeboe'i didn't notice Leia is because she isn't trained at all yet. Remember, even Darth Vader didn't notice her. (although, Barok wouldn't say anything if she didn't, did you notice that he didn't even mention Luke's being force sensitive where his friends could hear?)
I do think in complex sentences. I also think in simple sentences and song lyrics and movie quotes. I probably should have mentioned up front that I am a little weird. I really can't tell you on the writing styles. I tend to write fluff. I can't keep a plot going to save my life. I have noticed that if I'm not careful, all my stories start to sound the same. That's why three stories is a big deal, they are set in different eras and I don't want them to slide together.
Wow, and you thought you were chatty! I probably should have e-mailed this to you, but I don't have your e-mail. If you decide you want to chat (this is an open invitation to everyone) my E-mail is pokey1984yahoo.com I check it about every other day, sometimes more often.
A/N: This chapter changes very abruptly, sorry about that but Fred said to do it that way. Chapter six is only partially written. It will be a few days before it is even close to ready to post. In the mean time, I am so Sorry. (you'll understand about the apology later)
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"Isn't Anyone Going to Say Anything?"
Chapter 5 -Wow this is getting to be a really long one shot, isn't it?
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The flying lesson started out just fine. Leia settled in the pilots seat fairly confident that she could learn this, after all, she already knew how to fly, she just wasn't familiar with this particular type of plane. Luke stood on the wing and showed her how the controls worked. It was really fairly simple since half the gauges weren't connected to anything and it only had the most basic of controls. Leia said as much.
"Your problem isn't that there is a lot to learn, your problem is that there aren't any sensors for you to look at. Your first lesson is going to be to trust your instincts."
"Okay, I have to trust my instincts. I've done that before."
He smirked at her. "Then it shouldn't be a problem" He climbed in behind her and strapped in. "When ever you're ready, take off."
Leia checked her display and started the engines. Gently, she touched the controls, getting a feel for how the plane would handle before she was even in the air. She hit the repulsor lifts and pushed the controls forward. "Hey, this isn't too bad."
"Alright, take us home."
"Which way?"
Luke didn't say anything. Leia repeated the question, "Luke, which way do I go?" She began drifting in circles, waiting for an answer. She didn't get one. She turned in her seat as far as the straps would allow and saw a smiling Luke watching her.
"This is part of the lesson isn't it?"
He nodded.
"Your not going to say anything else are you?"
He shook his head.
"Okay, I can handle this. We came west to get here, so I'll start by going east, that's fairly easy." She reached for the controls, then realized she didn't know which direction was which. The suns were both high in the sky and she wasn't familiar enough with the planet to use them to determine the directions. She pushed several buttons before she realized that the little plane didn't even have a compass. She really had no instruments.
She started to ask Luke, then realized he already knew the problem and wasn't going to say anything. The plane was still circling and she was starting to get dizzy. Finally, she just closed her eyes and tried to ignore everything except her memory of the path they had flown in. Okay, just before we landed I saw a tall rock that looked like part of the palace back on Alderaan. She looked around and spotted the rock formation. Just before that was a very smooth, round rock that I thought was artificial at first." She spotted it much farther away and started toward it by way of the palace-shaped rock.
She was flying slowly because she was still trying to remember the path they had taken. Okay, just before that was the needle, I hope I can make it through that, I don't think this plane can make it over the top. She flew on and spotted the cliff they had come out of. "Luke, can this plane go over that or is it too high? She asked, knowing it wouldn't hurt to ask.
He did answer, but it wasn't helpful, "What do you feel?"
"Frustrated."
He laughed. "That's because you are still thinking, you're supposed to be feeling."
"I'll try."
He laughed at her again. "Do or do not, there is no try!" He almost sing-songed from behind her.
"That isn't helpful."
"Be glad you aren't standing waist deep in a swamp the first time you heard it!"
"Swamp?"
"Master Yoda's obstacle course. It is helpful, you just don't understand it yet."
Leia sighed and wondered what she had gotten herself into. "So how do I feel the way your talking about?"
"How did you know what to say to Barok this morning?"
"Like I told Han, I was trained to be able to respond to a formal greeting in any language." She was still nervous about going through the hole in the cliff so when she reached it she swung the plane in a large arc the other direction.
"That was a formal greeting for him, but I know they don't teach common Corellian in Princess school. How did you know what to say? How did you know is would be better if you didn't just respond in basic?"
"I don't know." she said miserably.
"That is it exactly. You didn't know, so you trusted your feeling that you should use his language. I've been watching when you deal with other people. Part of what makes you so good at what you do is the way you sense what would make them the most comfortable, then you do it."
"So I just pretend the cliff is asking me to dance?" She said sarcastically.
"Do whatever you do in places where you might get asked to dance."
Great, why does the idea of dancing with a cliff strike me as a bad sign? She pulled the plane around and headed straight for the cliff. The hole was there, she could see it, but she couldn't feel it. She approached it slowly, then, on impulse, swung around again. She was just in time. Just as she swung away from the opening, another craft came speeding out.
"Good, I was wondering if you would sense that coming."
Leia was still recovering from the near miss and almost blew up at him. When she spoke, it was through gritted teeth. "If you knew he was coming, why didn't you say anything?"
"Because I trust you. Besides, that was a podracer doing a trial run. He saw us miles ago and knew we were coming. There's no way one of those guys would ever hit anything going as slow as this plane's top speed."
Okay, take a deep breath, Leia, it's just a plane, it's just a little hole in the wall, you can do it. She swung around for another pass. As the plane approached the cliff, the princess pushed the accelerator. The speedometer stopped changing and she still accelerated. At the last moment before she reached the gap in the cliff, she pulled up on the controls and the plane rose, almost parallel to the cliff face. At the speed she was going, the plane reached the top in no time and she leveled off.
"Good, how did you know the plane would make it to the top?"
"I didn't. It just occurred to me, at the last moment, that I would feel really silly if I clipped one of the wings off and that I would probably be better off to just go over. You told me to trust my feelings, so I went over." Leia was breathing hard. She had been terrified the entire time that the plane wouldn't handle the altitude and it would stall halfway up.
"You did good. Now go down into the canyon."
"What! Why?"
"You did good, but you need more practice."
Sighing in frustration and relief, the princess dropped the plane into the canyon. She slowed down and Luke didn't say anything so she continued at a much more reasonable speed than he had used. The twists and turns weren't too bad and she was quickly settling into a rhythm. Suddenly it occurred to her that she was going too slow. Still not sure why, she accelerated. As she rounded the next bend she heard a loud crack and spotted some stones crumble down the far wall. She sped up more and slipped past a group of Tusken Raiders who had intended to use her for target practice.
"Good." Luke said over the radio, she could hear his smile. "How many of them were there?"
"Five, why?"
"How were they positioned?"
"There were three men taking shots at us, one woman setting up a recharge station for the rifles, and there was another one on top of the cliff tethering the banthas." She was answering him on autopilot because her attention was focused on the canyon ahead of her.
"I'm impressed, I didn't think you could see through stone."
"What do you mean see through stone? They were right there in plain sight."
Luke laughed at her again. "Leia, you couldn't have possibly seen the top of the cliff from that point in the canyon. You certainly wouldn't have been able to see the raider woman and the banthas. Think about it."
She did and he was right. She couldn't have possibly see the fifth raider, but she'd known the woman was there. There wasn't time to ponder it though. The canyon was getting more difficult to navigate. She sped up more and expertly hopped the plane over a series of low bridges, using the rock formations to boost off of with her repulsors. Next there was a sharp turn, tighter than ninety degrees. Leia pulled on the control and showed the planes underbelly to the cliff face. The repulsors, instead of pushing her up off the ground, pushed her away from the cliff that she would have otherwise collided with at the speed she was going.
One more turn and she was free of the canyon. She soared over the open desert with a grin on her face. "I did it!" She cheered into the headset. "I flew Beggars Canyon!"
"You did, and you did a great job too!" Luke called from the passenger seat.
"Can I do it again?"
He laughed while he said, "Tomorrow, if we go again today we'll be late to supper."
"Do you want to put the plane in the garage, or do you want me to do it?"
"Actually, you can land outside. If we're going out again tomorrow there's no sense putting it back. Just make sure you land inside the fence, we call 'em raiders for a reason."
"Alright."
When they approached the house, Leia spotted Han standing outside. She couldn't resist circling him once and waving enthusiastically. He waved back and she landed the plane. She popped the canopy and jumped on the seat and then out on to the wing like a pro. Leia dropped her helmet on the seat and ran to meet Han, who was walking towards them.
"Guess what?" She called, already halfway there. "I flew Beggars Canyon! Not the whole thing, but I flew most of it!"
Han looked to Luke for confirmation. The Jedi nodded and Han was impressed. "That's great sweetheart. I've flown that, it ain't easy! This your first time in a light plane?"
"Yeah, but that was the easy part."
"It's still something to fly that thing while your still getting used to new instruments." Han told her. He knew.
"Oh that wasn't a problem, none of them work anyway."
Leia spoke so nonchalantly that it took Han several moments to register exactly what she'd said. When it did finally register Han wasn't just shocked, he was angry. He turned to Luke, "You let her fly that thing blind! Are you insane? You both could have been killed!"
Leia wasn't about to let him yell at Luke, she'd had fun and they were safe, there was nothing to be angry about. "Han, relax. It's a Jedi thing. I had to do it."
"A Jedi thing?"
"Luke was teaching me to trust my instincts. He was watching out for me the whole time." Leia reached for his face and made him look at her. "You know Luke wouldn't do anything to put me in danger. He's my brother. What's gotten into you?"
"I just worry about you." Han said gently, realizing he'd gotten carried away. That conversation with Barok this morning was really making him a wreck.
"Well don't worry so much, I'm alright."
"Yes you are. Is this something that is going to come up a lot? This Jedi stuff, I mean?"
"Yes."
Luke cleared his throat and they both looked at him. "If the two of you are good, perhaps we should get in out of the suns?" He pointed one finger upward where both suns were clearly visible, if rapidly sinking toward the horizon.
That evening, after dinner, Leia used the Lars' holoterminal to check her messages. She'd been out of touch for days now and she wondered how the rest of the universe was getting along.
She found a message from Mon Mothma at the top of the list. She opened it, worried that something had come up and she was needed. Inside was a cheerful message telling her everything was fine, not to worry; the universe would get along fine with out her for a few days and asking if she was enjoying her vacation. She felt a familiar pang of guilt over not telling her friends the true reason for her leave of absence, though everyone had agreed that she needed a vacation desperately. The princess just wasn't ready to share this with the galaxy yet.
Guilt rolling over her, Leia typed off a message telling the Alliance leader that, yes she was having a marvelous time. She was on Tatooine for now, visiting some long lost relatives and she would write again when she decided on a date to leave. She signed the message simply, Leia. With the issues she was dealing with right now, she really wasn't sure what surname she wanted to claim and any of the titles she had acquired made her feel like a charlatan. She read over the message, decided it was good enough, and sent it.
She read two more similar messages, one from Admiral Ackbar, and one from General Madine, and she sent them similar replies, leaving out her current location. If they needed to know, they would ask Mon Mothma, who would tell them. She took a few moments to cringe when she realized most of the people she knew signed their letters with some kind of military rank.
Next was a message from her friend Winter, which was much more heartfelt and personal. Leia wanted to cry as she sent back the same drivel she had sent to her other friends. If anyone deserved to know the truth, it was Winter. The Alderaanian woman had been Leia's best friend and confidant for as long as either of them could remember. You can't tell her anything in a letter, it just isn't right. If she deserves to know the truth, she deserves to hear it in person. Leia told herself. She debated for a while and decided that a vacation was not the time to make serious decisions and put it off once more.
Nearly finished, Leia declined some invitations to social events, accepted two that were set for a few weeks from now, and came to the end of the list. She read the last invitation, to a ball in honor of the survivors from Alderaan. She read the date in horror, it was set for two weeks from now, on the anniversary of her home planet's destruction. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths. She hadn't realized that the anniversary was that close. With the battle of Endor and the things she had learned there, finding Luke, the war ending, she had completely forgotten.
"What's wrong?"
The voice made her jump. She had been concentrating so hard on herself, she hadn't notice Han entering the room. "It's nothing. I just got an invitation to a ball in honor the all the surviving Alderaani citizens."
"And you hadn't noticed the date?" He'd thought it must be something like that. She nodded in confirmation.
"It just hit me suddenly, I'm okay now."
"No, your not. You will be though, we all will." He said kindly, sitting on the floor next to her chair. "So, are you planning on going to this 'ball' of theirs?"
She sighed, "I suppose I should. As the only surviving member of the Royal family..." She stopped when Han snorted. "What?"
"What about Leia Organa, citizen of Alderaan? Does she want to go?"
Leia opened her mouth to respond, and closed it again. What do I want? She thought to herself. Han waited patiently for her to respond. She swallowed the lump in her throat, took a deep breath, and said, "No, I don't."
"Then don't go." He told her simply.
"But Han, people are counting on me.."
"For what?"
"The Aldreaani people need a leader to look to and the rebellion..."
Han cut her off again. Now why doesn't that bother me? she thought as he said, "Alderaan is gone, sweetheart, and the rebellion is over. In case you missed the memo, we won. Now you get to decide what Leia wants instead of what everyone else needs." He reached up and touched her arm. "What do you want to do, Leia? Who do you want to be?"
Trembling, she closed her eyes and just breathed. Though true, Han's comments were not what she wanted to hear. For the first time in her life, she really had no responsibilities, not in the long run anyway. The feeling was disconcerting and a bit frightening. For as long as she could remember, she had always had a goal, a purpose, a responsibility to build her life around. Now that was gone and she was truly free to make any decision she wanted. She was terrified.
She barely recognized the trembling voice that answered, "I don't know."
Great, now you've done it! Han thought. You upset her, great way to build a relationship! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean.."
She shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. "It's not you."
He reached for her and she slid out of the chair and into his arms. "Then what is it? Do you want to talk about it?"
She sobbed into his shirt, holding on to him for dear life. "I just feel so lost." She whispered, her voice barely audible. Confused, but getting used to the state, Han held her and let her cry. He didn't know if he understood, but he was sure going to try and help her anyway he could. As she calmed slightly, he said, "Your on the Lars' farm, just outside of Anchorhead, on Tatooine, in the Acordian sector, on the Outer Rim of the galaxy."
The response he got was somewhere in between a sob and a giggle. He continued. "Nearby are the planets of Hoth, Dagobah, and Bespin. Coruscant is about six day's travel from here, though why anyone would want to go there is beyond me..."
"Han?"
"Yes?" He said innocently, offering her a lopsided grin.
"Shut up!"
"Yes, your highnessness."
Having stopped crying, Han expected her to get up and pretend nothing was wrong, like she usually did. Instead, she nestled closer to him. "What did I do to deserve you?"
Han looked at the top of her head, which was as close as he could get to looking her in the eye, in shock. His answer surprised them both. "Did you ever stop to think that it was me who did something to deserve you?"
She giggled again. Stang, I would do anything to hear that sound. Han thought.
"You're a good person, you don't deserve to be stuck with me." She said miserably.
"Who, me? I'm not a good person, I'm a smuggler and a scoundrel. You're a princess and a senator and a war hero and the most beautiful, intelligent, kind person I have ever met. The only thing I can't figure out is why you're hanging around with me." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Because I'm in love with you."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
She looked up at him, tear tracks making her face blotchy. Han thought she had never been more beautiful when she asked, "What am I going to do?"
"What do we always do?"
"Make it up as we go?" She said with a shy smile, remembering all the times the smuggler had told her he was 'making is up as I go along.'
He squeezed her gently and gave her another grin. "Just like always. You going to that ball?" He knew what her answer would be, but had to ask anyway.
"Yes." That was the answer he expected, the next part was new. "You are too."
When he scowled, she grinned. "I don't go anyplace I have to wear a shirt with a collar."
"Wear anything you want. Bring Chewie and Lando, we'll make a party out of it. I know these people, they need a few smugglers around to liven things up."
"You're not serious?"
She thought about it for a moment and grinned, "I am serious. Call everyone you know and invite them, we'll have a good time."
He laid a hand on her forehead and looked closely into her eyes. "You feeling alright?" He was only half kidding. She had a strange look in her eyes, like someone on a bad spice trip.
"I've never been better. You're right, who cares what these people think of me, I'm sick of all of it. My planet is gone, the people who destroyed it are gone. Except for you and Luke and Winter, all my family and friends sign their letters to me with a military rank, why should I care what they think. I'm going to enjoy my life."
Han sniffed her breath. "You don't smell like you've been drinking." And you don't take drugs. he added silently.
"Knock it off, I'm not sick and I'm not drunk. I think I might be having a nervous breakdown, but I'm not sure I care." She told him, almost flippantly.
"I think you need some sleep." He said, worried about her sudden change of mood. He stood and when she didn't follow suit, he picked her up and put her in the chair. She giggled again and this time the sound chilled him slightly.
"What, you aren't going to carry me to bed?" She giggled like a school girl and pouted her lips.
Han looked at her appraisingly and decided something was definitely wrong. "Don't tempt me sweetheart." He said, turning around and walking away. At the door, he turned back. "Don't move, I'll be right back, understand?"
She giggled again and said demurely, "I'll be waiting."
The smuggler walked down the hall as fast as he could with out running. He wasn't sure what to do, so he was going to get a second opinion. "Luke!" He called down the hall. "Hey, Luke, where are you kid?"
The Jedi poked his head out of his room. "What is it Han?"
"It's Leia, I think something is wrong with her, she's acting kinda strange."
Luke didn't hesitate, in moments he and Han were in the tiny office where Han had left the princess. She wasn't there anymore.
Han was ready to panic. "Where did she go, she was right here!"
"Relax she couldn't have gone far." Luke took off down the hall, opening every door along the way, Han did the same thing going the other direction. It didn't take long to find her, the house wasn't that big.
Luke was the one who found her. She was hiding in the closet, curled up in a ball under the lowest shelf. He hair had come loose from it's braids and was hanging in her face which was contorted in fear. She was whimpering slightly and whispering something just below audible level.
"Leia, what is it, what's wrong?" He had been trying to pick her up in the Force since Han had told him there was trouble, but all he got was confusion. Even now, within sight of her, all he could sense was confusion and a vague terror. Luke tried to focus on her, but she kept slipping away, like she was purposely trying to hide from him.
Her whispering became louder as she recognized him. "Don't let him get me Luke, please don't let him get me. I'm scared Luke, please don't let him hurt me."
"It's okay, no one wants to hurt you. Everything is okay now, come on out."
She shook her head furiously. "If I come out he'll find me. Don't let him hurt me anymore. Please don't let him get me."
Her voice had risen above a whisper, but just barely. Luke was truly frightened now. He'd never seen his sister like this before. He couldn't imagine what could terrify her so much, certainly there was nothing like that on this planet, let alone this farm. He tried to sound encouraging despite his fears. "It's okay, he's gone. I made him go away, he can't hurt you anymore. You can come out now."
Tears and sweat plastered her hair across her face. "You promise?"
"I promise." He said solemnly. She grasped the hand he extended and pulled herself out from under the shelf. She was having trouble standing, however and Luke found himself supporting her. He sensed her fear receding, but the aura of confusion and wrongness was still there.
"Han, go get Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, they're in the kitchen. Tell them to get the speeder ready, we have to take Leia to a medicenter."
Han was way ahead of him. "The best medicenter in this sector is on a space station about four hours from here. I can get her there in three in the Falcon. It'll be at least two hours to Mos Eisley by speeder and they won't recognize her so she'll have to wait in line..."
Luke nodded sharply. "Tell Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen, I'll take her to the Falcon and get her strapped in. Don't take too long."
"You don't have to tell me kid." Han took off down the hall to the kitchen. He commed Chewie on the way and told him to start the engines. Hearing the strain in his friends voice, he asked why.
"I'll tell you when I get there, just get her ready to take off. Solo out." He switched off the comm as he entered the kitchen. "We're taking Leia to a medicenter, something is wrong with her and we don't know what, are you coming?"
Beru and Owen stood up instantly. "Of course, what's wrong?" Beru asked, following Han, who hadn't stopped moving to talk to them and was already at the door.
"We don't know, she started acting strange about half an hour ago and now she is hallucinating. Luke is taking her to the Falcon right now."
"The Falcon?"
Han didn't turn to find out who spoke the question and he was in too much of a hurry to care. "She's a princess and a hero, she'll get better care some place they'll recognize her and that ain't here."
They reached the ship to find the ramp was already down and the engines were running. "Get strapped in, I'll help Chewie clear it with traffic control." With that, Han ran to the cockpit, leaving Owen and Beru to find Luke and Leia on their own.
They found Luke stooping over a bunk in one of the cabins. Leia was lying on the bunk, apparently unable to sit up on her own. She was smiling faintly and jabbering at Luke who looked absolutely terrified. Beru sat on the edge of the bed and fumbled with the pouch on the wall that held the acceleration straps for the bed. She managed to fasten them, praising every deity she could think of that no one had ever changed the design and she could operate them. Then she pulled Luke to the floor so he wouldn't have so far to fall if the ship jolted suddenly.
Luke allowed it but wouldn't go any further than his knees. He held on to Leia's hand and watched her face as she told him about how pretty the flowers were at the park and how her mother, her real mother, had taught her to make a crown out of them.
Beru watched them both, her mothering instinct kicking in. She watched her boy's face shape itself into a mask of fear and worry and wrapped her arms around him, whispering encouragement in his ear as she felt the ship accelerate. A few moments later, Han came back and she realized just how crowded the room was getting. She stood and pulled Luke up, making him let go of his sister for a moment. Leia cried out when he let go and he returned to the bed.
"How is she?" Han asked, slipping in between Beru and Luke. Owen had stepped out into the corridor and was listening from the doorway.
Reduced to whispers, Luke said, "I can't find her. She's there, but she keeps slipping away. She's confused, it's like she's slipping back and forth in time. One minute, she feels fine, then she acts like a very small child. She won't let me leave either." He hadn't taken his eyes off of her the entire time. She started whimpering again and he bent to comfort her.
"We'll get her to the medicenter in no time, don't worry, she'll be okay." Han wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or Luke.
"That's not all Han. She keeps reaching out to me with the force. She thinks someone is chasing her, trying to hurt her. She's scared."
Han didn't know what to say, there wasn't anything else he could do for her right now. "We'll be docking at the station in two and a half hours. I already told them we were coming so we'll have priority status when we get there. Just hold on, she'll be okay." The smuggler didn't say anymore, he just stood there and watched the two of them for a moment then left the tiny cabin and headed for the cockpit.
"Just two and a half more hours," He said to himself. "Just hang on for two and a half more hours."