Author's Notes: Well, this is now officially my most reviewed story ever.
On a side note, darn you Fanfiction.net. Why is my italicized text no
longer italicized?
Thanks to Griffin Turboclaw for the link, it has been very useful, and to Shezan for your offer. I would be very thankful to anyone who would alert me to any spelling or grammar mistakes I have made.
Sorry it took me so long to post this.
Broken Wings Chapter Four
Biggs Darklighter walked through the hallways of the rebel facility on Dantooine favoring his left leg slightly. Every where he turned equipment was being disassembled, troops were being loaded into transports and Alliance leaders were giving last minute instructions. His own squadron was being sent out in less than two hours, but he hoped to grab some breakfast in what was left of the mess hall before setting out.
He stepped through the doorway, narrowly avoiding a group of workers carrying some boxes. Long tables filled the large space, it looked as though most were going to be abandoned. Biggs glanced around before spotting what he was looking for. His five closest friends sat around one of the tables. He stopped to watch them for a moment, memories of childhood coming back to him.
Brake sat closest to the door, the rank insignia on his pilots uniform identifying him as a squadron leader. He had certainly matured from the awkward teenager Biggs so clearly remembered. Brake had already been a well established pilot when he had arrived, well known for both his skill in flying and his charisma. It had been Brake who had sought out the rebellion first, and who had helped the rest of them to join.
Every last one of Luke's closest friends sat around that table, Biggs realized with a twinge of pain. Memories of the his best friend, and the day he was taken from them had etched themselves across his mind. He remembered it every time his leg troubled him, every time he looked at Jarru's crooked nose, and every time he heard of another imperial atrocity. It was because of those memories, because of Luke that he had joined the rebellion. He was certain the same was true for all of his companions as well.
Luke was dead, he had to be. The old Jedi had told them that Luke's father had been a Jedi himself. It seemed that the Empire included children in its purge.
It was a strange feeling. Luke, the boy he had grown up with was the son of a Jedi, hunted by the Empire; Luke who played practical jokes and raced speeders with him, who always seemed to know when a sandstorm was coming, who seemed to know what was wrong with a broken piece of electronics before he even got his hands on it, who had somehow thrown four full grown stormtroopers to the ground...
He could almost imagine him, sitting there, laughing with the others, but thanks to the Empire, Luke would never laugh again.
"Hey, Biggs, what are you standing around for? Come over here and sit down!" he heard Coric call. Biggs forced feelings of sadness away. Today he was with his friends. He didn't know when he'd see some of them again, best to enjoy the time they had. As he came forward to sit down he looked around the table.
Coric, Jarru, and Brake wore their pilot's uniforms. Coric hadn't changed at all, still the stubborn, good natured giant he had always been, even if he had gained at least half a foot in height. Jarru sat with her boots on the table, ignoring Tinker's annoyed looks at her lack of manners. She had gone from short and stocky, to fairly tall and unusually muscular. While no one would ever call her beautiful, and even pretty might have been a bit of a stretch, she certainly manged striking. Tinker wore a mechanic's uniform. Tinker was... well, Tinker. Apparently, somewhere in the last few years he had decided to stop cutting his hair and now in fell past his shoulders in unruly strands. The many pockets of his overalls bulged with assorted odds and ends, mostly electronic, ranging from the common place to the completely incomprehensible. Both his face and clothing were adorned with their usual collection of oil smears.
Biggs had been certain that Jarru would chose to become a mechanic as well, machines had always been her first love, and he doubted that she would want to be separated from Tinker, but he also understood that she needed a more direct form of revenge against the Empire. Everything, the war, the rebellion, seemed so much more real when you were actually out there, fighting.
Tullen was the only one wearing civilian clothing. He sat examining a data pad. As Biggs sat down Tullen gave him a mysterious smile. No one was one hundred percent certain what the Alliance leaders had Tullen doing, but most of them were convinced he was a spy. It was believable, Tullen had always been able to lie better the anyone else Biggs knew, and he his features were so completely unremarkable he could pass for any age between sixteen and thirty with a little effort.
"Ah, yes," Brake said, gesturing towards Biggs, eyes sparkling with humor. "Here we have the flying ace of Dune Squadron. Take a bow, Biggs, that was pretty impressive maneuvering at that last raid."
Cheers welled up from around the table, and Coric clapped him on the back, hard. Once Biggs had recovered, Jarru grinned at him saying, "They're sure to promote you now. Come on Lieutenant, think of it, your own squadron."
He laughed. "No thanks, don't want it. I'd have to leave Dune Squad." He looked down at his stomach pointedly. "Besides right now, the only thing I want is something to eat."
"Then you should have gotten up earlier." Tinker said, brushing a strand of hair out of his face and only seceding in smearing some oil across his cheek.
Jarru looked at him in disgust. "Tinker, do us all a favor, take a bath."
"Don't worry," Coric said, trying to speak over what looked like it was devolving into a full blown fight ("I just bathed recently!", "When, last year?"), or would have if everyone hadn't known Tinker and Jarru too well to think they were actually mad at each other. "We saved you some." he said as he pushed a plate full of food across the table.
"Thanks," Biggs said, catching the dish. "Any word on where we're being transferred to?"
"No, and you won't find out until you've completed your next assignment." Tullen commented, not looking up from his data pad.
A chorus of groans from Biggs, Brake, and Coric pulled Jarru's attention away from the fight. "Eh, what?"
"I hate it when he knows these things before we do." Brake grumbled.
"We've got another mission." Biggs told her.
"Already? They haven't even fixed the scorch marks on my X-Wing yet!" she protested.
"Got to it first thing this morning, while you were still snoring." Tinker said.
Jarru shot him a nasty look. "I do not snore." She turned to Tullen. "What assignment?"
"You are to escort a ship to the new command facility."
Brake snorted. "How are we supposed to escort it if we don't know where the new facility is?"
"One of the passengers will give you the coordinates." Tullen informed them, putting the datapad down on the table, screen side down, Biggs noted.
"Who is this passenger?" Jarru asked leaning over table.
"That is confidential."
"You don't know, do you?" she said with a smirk.
Tullen started to protest but Biggs cut him off. "What I want to know is why all the secrecy? And why, all of a sudden are we just packing up and leaving?"
Tullen pointedly turned away from Jarru, who was still smirking at him, and began to inspect his datapad once again. "We have reason to believe that our security has been compromised."
"Okay, I'll give you that, with all the surprise attacks the empire had been throwing at us lately" Brake said. "What I want to know is, why Dune Squadron?"
"Since most of the members of Dune Squadron come from Tatooine..." Tullen began.
"Hence the name 'Dune Squadron'" Tinker said interrupting him.
"And most of the other members come from other rim worlds, with the only exception of Shanbara, who is clearly trustworthy for other reasons." Tullen continued, ignoring Tinker. "It was judged the least likely to be involved in the security leak."
"You mean the least likely to be spies." Brake said.
"Well I'm flattered," Jarru said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "'Cause you know, some of us pilots, who risk our lives for the Alliance on a regular basis, just might be working for the Empire, but I'm so glad that you just happen to trust us, in particular, enough to think that we might not be spies."
"Don't be flattered yet, Jarru," Biggs said. "If they really though we weren't spies, they'd have told us where the new installation is."
"Actually, that's not the reason you weren't told," Tullen said, looking abashed.
"Oh, well that's just great. They trust us enough to send us on a mission where they think there's a good chance we might be captured."
"I have just one question," Biggs said, raising his fork for emphasis.
"What's that?" Tullen asked.
Biggs gestured towards the food on his plate. "What the heck is this made of?"
"I thought by now you'd know not to ask."
*^*^*^*^*
Destiny must have a fairly warped sense of humor, Obi-Wan Kenobi reflected, as he watched rebel mechanics prepare a ship for him.
After arriving on Dagobah, Kenobi had spoken only briefly with master Yoda. The old master had been pained by the news of Luke's capture, but told Obi- Wan that the future was always in motion, and there was still hope for the boy. There was always hope. Yoda had advised him to seek out the girl, and begin her training as soon as was safe.
For six years he had searched the Galaxy for Luke's twin sister. He had returned to Naboo, a difficult feat In and of itself as the planet was under martial law, thanks to the Empire, only to find that Anu had died three years previous and the only thing her remaining family knew was that she had taken up with a cargo ship captain sometime earlier. Her nephew had given Kenobi the man's name, but he hadn't known anything more.
It proved remarkably difficult to find a single cargo ship when the only thing he had to go on was the captain's name. When he did finally locate the ship, discovered that its Captain Kresin had been executed by the imperials for shipping cargo to the rebellion, and the new captain didn't know anything about him. Several years of painful research turned up the information that Kresin had a brother who owned a small business on Corellia.
The captain's brother turned out to be an unpleasant man named Nruud, who, as far as Obi-Wan could tell, not only knew nothing of any interest, or relevance, but only seemed concerned with his storage business.
The old Jedi was about to dismiss the man as a dead end, when Nruud let slip something that was too unlikely to be a coincidence. Kresin had known Bail Organa.
He had taken the next transport to Alderaan.
It proved somewhat difficult to get a chance to speak with the prince. He didn't dare risk mentioning his name for fear that it would be leaked back to the Empire. He had no illusions about what Vader would do if he found out his former master was still alive.
He had finally managed to get in to see Bail by using his Jedi powers, something he had been hoping not to have to resort to.
*^*^*^*^*
3 years earlier
Bail was sitting behind his desk, staring at a number of datapads. "I said I don't want to disturbed." He said without looking up. It was clear to Kenobi that the years had weighed heavily on Bail. Once brown hair was now heavily streaked with gray and worry lines his is face.
"Really? You would not even make an exception for an old friend?" Obi-Wan asked walking up to Bail's desk.
Bail looked up from his work, his eyes filled with amazement. "Obi-Wan? Is that really you?" When the old Jedi only nodded, he jumped up from his seat and embraced his old friend. "I thought you had exiled yourself to Tatooine. Why have you come here? You're in danger. If the Empire finds out..."
Obi-Wan held up his hand to quiet Bail. "I am here because of a situation of the gravest urgency, but I'm not even certain you can help me."
Bail gestured towards one of the chairs in front of his desk before seating himself. "I'll do what ever I can, you know that."
"Did you know a woman named Anu? She once served as a handmaiden for Queen Amidala of Naboo," Obi-Wan asked as he settled into a chair.
"Yes," Bail said cautiously. "We met, once. Why, Obi-Wan? What is this about?"
"Did she have an child with her? A little girl.?"
"Yes, she did," Bail sounded oddly resigned. "Why is this so important, Obi-Wan?"
"Please Bail, if you know where she is you must tell me."
"I can tell you where she is. My daughter, Princess Leia Organa, has just been elected the new senator for Alderaan, and is right now on her way to Coruscant," Bail said, as he stood up and walked over to a tray holding brandy. He poured two small glasses.
Obi-Wan let out a slow breath and leaned back into the chair. "This complicates matters."
"Obi-Wan, tell me what this has to do with my daughter," Bail handed on of the glasses to Obi-Wan before settling back in his chair.
"What did Anu tell you?" Obi-an asked, swirling the liquid around in the glass, but not drinking.
"Not very much, that the girl was an orphan and she needed someone to take care of her, and there was a chance that she would be in danger."
"So you agreed to take her in?"
"Of course, how could I refuse? It was just after the earthquakes had devastated the city of Arast. It was horrible, there were so many children left without families. As far as the public was concerned Leia was one of the orphans of that disaster." Bail leaned over his desk. "Please Obi- Wan, tell me what this is about."
"Did you know my former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, before... before he turned?"
"Yes, I met him on a number of occasions," Bail said, stiffening.
"What no one knew is that he was married in secret, and against the Jedi code, to Senator Padmé Amidala. Bail, Leia is their daughter."
Bail put his head into his hands and remained quiet for a moment. "I always knew that she was somehow important, but I never expected this," he said, his voice full of pained emotion. "She's his daughter? Vader's daughter?"
"Anakin's daughter," Obi-Wan gently corrected. Bail downed the contents of his glass in one gulp. "There is more, Leia had, has a twin brother, Luke. I took him to Tatooine, to be raised by some of his relatives. Vader found him nearly six years ago."
"The boy's probably already dead."
"No, he's still alive, I can sense that much. I fear that Vader and the Emperor are training him as a Sith. Luke is powerful, very powerful, possibly stronger than his father. Leia must be brought back and trained as a Jedi. Our only hope is that she turns out to be equally strong in the force."
"No."
"Bail, for the sake of the galaxy, she must be trained!" Obi-Wan said, placing his still full glass down on the desk and standing.
"Obi-Wan, I've already told you, Leia was just recently elected senator of Alderaan. She is the youngest senator ever accepted. The media is all over it. What do you think would happen is she were to be suddenly called back home? Do you think she would even come? She's wanted to get into politics since she was old enough to know what the word means."
"How long until her term expires?" Obi-Wan asked. He realized that it would not be wise to give the Emperor or Vader any reason for suspicion. Leia would by now be past the age where she would reach for the force out of instinct. He could only hope and pray that neither Vader, nor the Emperor would notice her potential.
"Just over four years."
Obi-Wan nodded. Four years to wait until he could begin the girl's training, nothing was going as he had hoped.
*^*^*^*^*
Bail was still a part of the rebellion, a leader in fact, with many rebel contacts, which brought Obi-Wan to his current position; adviser to the rebellion, trainer of troops, and special operative. The rebellion had been only too happy to accept him into their numbers, reinstating his former rank of general.
Now, three years into her term, the princess had chosen to leave Coruscant. She was on her way to the new facility at Yavin 4, baring what plans for the Empires newest space station. Obi-Wan intended to be there when she arrived.
*^*^*^*^*
Biggs checked the his X-Wing's scopes one last time before the jump to hyperspace. They had only just been given the coordinates where they were suppose to meet this transport.
Earlier he had watched Tinker board a ship bound for the new facility. Jarru had stood by, tears in her eyes, not saying anything. Tullen had left on an unmarked civilian ship bound for who knows where just before they were ordered to their X-Wings.
"Dune Leader, standing by," he heard Brake's voice over the comm.
"Dune One, standing by," he said over his own comm.
"Dune Two, standing by," came Coric's voice.
"Dune Three, standing by." That was Jarru.
A series of growls came over the comm, which from the little Wookiee that Biggs understood, could only mean "Dune Four, standing by." Their sole Wookiee pilot, Shanbara had just reported in.
"Everyone initiate the jump to hyperspace on my mark." Brake said after the rest of Dune Squadron finished reporting in. "Mark."
Biggs' X-Wing jumped to hyperspace along with the rest of Dune Squadron. The hyperspace trip was brief, they had only a short distance to travel.
*^*^*^*^*
Luke prowled the bridge of the Devastator. His father was in his meditation chamber, resting and healing. Luke was suppose to remain on the bridge and alert his father as soon as either of the rebel groups arrived.
Over the last few days Luke had been feeling what he could only describe as vibrations through the force. His father hadn't appeared to notice anything and Luke hadn't mentioned it, but the feeling was making him jumpy and irritable.
It felt like an impending sense of something coming. Something was going to happen soon, something very important.
Luke stopped his pacing and stared out the main view screen. Something was about to happen, right... about... now.
A squadron of rebel X-Wings dropped out of hyperspace directly in front of them. Two of fighters actually had to change course suddenly to avoid a collision. Luke could almost feel their shock. He smiled.
He called out to his father though the force as he began to give orders. "Release the TIE fighters, and make certain the pilots know that they are only to disable as many of the ships as possible, do not destroy them if at all possible. Target their main hyperdrives and weapons, nothing else, and lock the tractor beam onto the leader."
*^*^*^*^*
The X-Wing squadron exited hyperspace as one, straight into the path of an oncoming Star Destroyer.
Biggs didn't hear his squad mates' startled exclamations over his own swearing. He jerked back on his controls in order to avoid a head on collision with the destroyer. TIE fighters were beginning to swarm out of the destroyer's main hangar bay.
"It's a trap!" he heard Brake call over the comm. "Everyone jump back into hyperspace as soon as your R2 units make the calculations. Do not, repeat, do not wait for anyone else. Someone has to find a way to tell command about this."
"Roger that, Dune Leader," Biggs said as he told his R2 unit to begin hyperspace calculations. He swerved out of the way of some enemy fire and shot back, destroying a TIE fighter.
"Damn it! They've got me in their tractor, I can't get free!" Brake yelled.
"Hold on, Dune Leader, I'm on my way," Biggs turned his X-Wing to face the destroyer. He tried to target their tractor beam.
"No! You can't damage it with your blasters, it's too heavily armored. Just get the hell out of here!" Brake yelled.
"I've been hit! My engine's are dead!" Jarru screamed. A few moments later Shanbara growled something similar.
Biggs pulled his X-Wing away as Brake's ship disappeared into the Star Destroyer's hangar bay. One of their X-Wings erupted into flame, followed by another.
Biggs felt a sudden lurch and found himself moving backwards. "Oh hell..." he muttered to himself. "Coric! You're got the only functioning hyperdrive! Get out of here now!"
"I don't want to abandon you!" Coric yelled back over the comm.
"Coric this isn't the time to be stubborn! Just go!" Biggs yelled.
"Alright, my R2 has just finished the calculations. Initiating hyperspace jump..."
"Coric, look out!" Biggs heard Jarru yell. "You've got one on your tail!"
A bright flash lit up the darkness as Coric's X-Wing was destroyed.
*^*^*^*^*
On the bridge of the Devastator, Darth Vader entered to find his son clutching his head, a look of pain and confusion on his face.
[Insert witty yet compelling plea for reviews here.]
Thanks to Griffin Turboclaw for the link, it has been very useful, and to Shezan for your offer. I would be very thankful to anyone who would alert me to any spelling or grammar mistakes I have made.
Sorry it took me so long to post this.
Broken Wings Chapter Four
Biggs Darklighter walked through the hallways of the rebel facility on Dantooine favoring his left leg slightly. Every where he turned equipment was being disassembled, troops were being loaded into transports and Alliance leaders were giving last minute instructions. His own squadron was being sent out in less than two hours, but he hoped to grab some breakfast in what was left of the mess hall before setting out.
He stepped through the doorway, narrowly avoiding a group of workers carrying some boxes. Long tables filled the large space, it looked as though most were going to be abandoned. Biggs glanced around before spotting what he was looking for. His five closest friends sat around one of the tables. He stopped to watch them for a moment, memories of childhood coming back to him.
Brake sat closest to the door, the rank insignia on his pilots uniform identifying him as a squadron leader. He had certainly matured from the awkward teenager Biggs so clearly remembered. Brake had already been a well established pilot when he had arrived, well known for both his skill in flying and his charisma. It had been Brake who had sought out the rebellion first, and who had helped the rest of them to join.
Every last one of Luke's closest friends sat around that table, Biggs realized with a twinge of pain. Memories of the his best friend, and the day he was taken from them had etched themselves across his mind. He remembered it every time his leg troubled him, every time he looked at Jarru's crooked nose, and every time he heard of another imperial atrocity. It was because of those memories, because of Luke that he had joined the rebellion. He was certain the same was true for all of his companions as well.
Luke was dead, he had to be. The old Jedi had told them that Luke's father had been a Jedi himself. It seemed that the Empire included children in its purge.
It was a strange feeling. Luke, the boy he had grown up with was the son of a Jedi, hunted by the Empire; Luke who played practical jokes and raced speeders with him, who always seemed to know when a sandstorm was coming, who seemed to know what was wrong with a broken piece of electronics before he even got his hands on it, who had somehow thrown four full grown stormtroopers to the ground...
He could almost imagine him, sitting there, laughing with the others, but thanks to the Empire, Luke would never laugh again.
"Hey, Biggs, what are you standing around for? Come over here and sit down!" he heard Coric call. Biggs forced feelings of sadness away. Today he was with his friends. He didn't know when he'd see some of them again, best to enjoy the time they had. As he came forward to sit down he looked around the table.
Coric, Jarru, and Brake wore their pilot's uniforms. Coric hadn't changed at all, still the stubborn, good natured giant he had always been, even if he had gained at least half a foot in height. Jarru sat with her boots on the table, ignoring Tinker's annoyed looks at her lack of manners. She had gone from short and stocky, to fairly tall and unusually muscular. While no one would ever call her beautiful, and even pretty might have been a bit of a stretch, she certainly manged striking. Tinker wore a mechanic's uniform. Tinker was... well, Tinker. Apparently, somewhere in the last few years he had decided to stop cutting his hair and now in fell past his shoulders in unruly strands. The many pockets of his overalls bulged with assorted odds and ends, mostly electronic, ranging from the common place to the completely incomprehensible. Both his face and clothing were adorned with their usual collection of oil smears.
Biggs had been certain that Jarru would chose to become a mechanic as well, machines had always been her first love, and he doubted that she would want to be separated from Tinker, but he also understood that she needed a more direct form of revenge against the Empire. Everything, the war, the rebellion, seemed so much more real when you were actually out there, fighting.
Tullen was the only one wearing civilian clothing. He sat examining a data pad. As Biggs sat down Tullen gave him a mysterious smile. No one was one hundred percent certain what the Alliance leaders had Tullen doing, but most of them were convinced he was a spy. It was believable, Tullen had always been able to lie better the anyone else Biggs knew, and he his features were so completely unremarkable he could pass for any age between sixteen and thirty with a little effort.
"Ah, yes," Brake said, gesturing towards Biggs, eyes sparkling with humor. "Here we have the flying ace of Dune Squadron. Take a bow, Biggs, that was pretty impressive maneuvering at that last raid."
Cheers welled up from around the table, and Coric clapped him on the back, hard. Once Biggs had recovered, Jarru grinned at him saying, "They're sure to promote you now. Come on Lieutenant, think of it, your own squadron."
He laughed. "No thanks, don't want it. I'd have to leave Dune Squad." He looked down at his stomach pointedly. "Besides right now, the only thing I want is something to eat."
"Then you should have gotten up earlier." Tinker said, brushing a strand of hair out of his face and only seceding in smearing some oil across his cheek.
Jarru looked at him in disgust. "Tinker, do us all a favor, take a bath."
"Don't worry," Coric said, trying to speak over what looked like it was devolving into a full blown fight ("I just bathed recently!", "When, last year?"), or would have if everyone hadn't known Tinker and Jarru too well to think they were actually mad at each other. "We saved you some." he said as he pushed a plate full of food across the table.
"Thanks," Biggs said, catching the dish. "Any word on where we're being transferred to?"
"No, and you won't find out until you've completed your next assignment." Tullen commented, not looking up from his data pad.
A chorus of groans from Biggs, Brake, and Coric pulled Jarru's attention away from the fight. "Eh, what?"
"I hate it when he knows these things before we do." Brake grumbled.
"We've got another mission." Biggs told her.
"Already? They haven't even fixed the scorch marks on my X-Wing yet!" she protested.
"Got to it first thing this morning, while you were still snoring." Tinker said.
Jarru shot him a nasty look. "I do not snore." She turned to Tullen. "What assignment?"
"You are to escort a ship to the new command facility."
Brake snorted. "How are we supposed to escort it if we don't know where the new facility is?"
"One of the passengers will give you the coordinates." Tullen informed them, putting the datapad down on the table, screen side down, Biggs noted.
"Who is this passenger?" Jarru asked leaning over table.
"That is confidential."
"You don't know, do you?" she said with a smirk.
Tullen started to protest but Biggs cut him off. "What I want to know is why all the secrecy? And why, all of a sudden are we just packing up and leaving?"
Tullen pointedly turned away from Jarru, who was still smirking at him, and began to inspect his datapad once again. "We have reason to believe that our security has been compromised."
"Okay, I'll give you that, with all the surprise attacks the empire had been throwing at us lately" Brake said. "What I want to know is, why Dune Squadron?"
"Since most of the members of Dune Squadron come from Tatooine..." Tullen began.
"Hence the name 'Dune Squadron'" Tinker said interrupting him.
"And most of the other members come from other rim worlds, with the only exception of Shanbara, who is clearly trustworthy for other reasons." Tullen continued, ignoring Tinker. "It was judged the least likely to be involved in the security leak."
"You mean the least likely to be spies." Brake said.
"Well I'm flattered," Jarru said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "'Cause you know, some of us pilots, who risk our lives for the Alliance on a regular basis, just might be working for the Empire, but I'm so glad that you just happen to trust us, in particular, enough to think that we might not be spies."
"Don't be flattered yet, Jarru," Biggs said. "If they really though we weren't spies, they'd have told us where the new installation is."
"Actually, that's not the reason you weren't told," Tullen said, looking abashed.
"Oh, well that's just great. They trust us enough to send us on a mission where they think there's a good chance we might be captured."
"I have just one question," Biggs said, raising his fork for emphasis.
"What's that?" Tullen asked.
Biggs gestured towards the food on his plate. "What the heck is this made of?"
"I thought by now you'd know not to ask."
*^*^*^*^*
Destiny must have a fairly warped sense of humor, Obi-Wan Kenobi reflected, as he watched rebel mechanics prepare a ship for him.
After arriving on Dagobah, Kenobi had spoken only briefly with master Yoda. The old master had been pained by the news of Luke's capture, but told Obi- Wan that the future was always in motion, and there was still hope for the boy. There was always hope. Yoda had advised him to seek out the girl, and begin her training as soon as was safe.
For six years he had searched the Galaxy for Luke's twin sister. He had returned to Naboo, a difficult feat In and of itself as the planet was under martial law, thanks to the Empire, only to find that Anu had died three years previous and the only thing her remaining family knew was that she had taken up with a cargo ship captain sometime earlier. Her nephew had given Kenobi the man's name, but he hadn't known anything more.
It proved remarkably difficult to find a single cargo ship when the only thing he had to go on was the captain's name. When he did finally locate the ship, discovered that its Captain Kresin had been executed by the imperials for shipping cargo to the rebellion, and the new captain didn't know anything about him. Several years of painful research turned up the information that Kresin had a brother who owned a small business on Corellia.
The captain's brother turned out to be an unpleasant man named Nruud, who, as far as Obi-Wan could tell, not only knew nothing of any interest, or relevance, but only seemed concerned with his storage business.
The old Jedi was about to dismiss the man as a dead end, when Nruud let slip something that was too unlikely to be a coincidence. Kresin had known Bail Organa.
He had taken the next transport to Alderaan.
It proved somewhat difficult to get a chance to speak with the prince. He didn't dare risk mentioning his name for fear that it would be leaked back to the Empire. He had no illusions about what Vader would do if he found out his former master was still alive.
He had finally managed to get in to see Bail by using his Jedi powers, something he had been hoping not to have to resort to.
*^*^*^*^*
3 years earlier
Bail was sitting behind his desk, staring at a number of datapads. "I said I don't want to disturbed." He said without looking up. It was clear to Kenobi that the years had weighed heavily on Bail. Once brown hair was now heavily streaked with gray and worry lines his is face.
"Really? You would not even make an exception for an old friend?" Obi-Wan asked walking up to Bail's desk.
Bail looked up from his work, his eyes filled with amazement. "Obi-Wan? Is that really you?" When the old Jedi only nodded, he jumped up from his seat and embraced his old friend. "I thought you had exiled yourself to Tatooine. Why have you come here? You're in danger. If the Empire finds out..."
Obi-Wan held up his hand to quiet Bail. "I am here because of a situation of the gravest urgency, but I'm not even certain you can help me."
Bail gestured towards one of the chairs in front of his desk before seating himself. "I'll do what ever I can, you know that."
"Did you know a woman named Anu? She once served as a handmaiden for Queen Amidala of Naboo," Obi-Wan asked as he settled into a chair.
"Yes," Bail said cautiously. "We met, once. Why, Obi-Wan? What is this about?"
"Did she have an child with her? A little girl.?"
"Yes, she did," Bail sounded oddly resigned. "Why is this so important, Obi-Wan?"
"Please Bail, if you know where she is you must tell me."
"I can tell you where she is. My daughter, Princess Leia Organa, has just been elected the new senator for Alderaan, and is right now on her way to Coruscant," Bail said, as he stood up and walked over to a tray holding brandy. He poured two small glasses.
Obi-Wan let out a slow breath and leaned back into the chair. "This complicates matters."
"Obi-Wan, tell me what this has to do with my daughter," Bail handed on of the glasses to Obi-Wan before settling back in his chair.
"What did Anu tell you?" Obi-an asked, swirling the liquid around in the glass, but not drinking.
"Not very much, that the girl was an orphan and she needed someone to take care of her, and there was a chance that she would be in danger."
"So you agreed to take her in?"
"Of course, how could I refuse? It was just after the earthquakes had devastated the city of Arast. It was horrible, there were so many children left without families. As far as the public was concerned Leia was one of the orphans of that disaster." Bail leaned over his desk. "Please Obi- Wan, tell me what this is about."
"Did you know my former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, before... before he turned?"
"Yes, I met him on a number of occasions," Bail said, stiffening.
"What no one knew is that he was married in secret, and against the Jedi code, to Senator Padmé Amidala. Bail, Leia is their daughter."
Bail put his head into his hands and remained quiet for a moment. "I always knew that she was somehow important, but I never expected this," he said, his voice full of pained emotion. "She's his daughter? Vader's daughter?"
"Anakin's daughter," Obi-Wan gently corrected. Bail downed the contents of his glass in one gulp. "There is more, Leia had, has a twin brother, Luke. I took him to Tatooine, to be raised by some of his relatives. Vader found him nearly six years ago."
"The boy's probably already dead."
"No, he's still alive, I can sense that much. I fear that Vader and the Emperor are training him as a Sith. Luke is powerful, very powerful, possibly stronger than his father. Leia must be brought back and trained as a Jedi. Our only hope is that she turns out to be equally strong in the force."
"No."
"Bail, for the sake of the galaxy, she must be trained!" Obi-Wan said, placing his still full glass down on the desk and standing.
"Obi-Wan, I've already told you, Leia was just recently elected senator of Alderaan. She is the youngest senator ever accepted. The media is all over it. What do you think would happen is she were to be suddenly called back home? Do you think she would even come? She's wanted to get into politics since she was old enough to know what the word means."
"How long until her term expires?" Obi-Wan asked. He realized that it would not be wise to give the Emperor or Vader any reason for suspicion. Leia would by now be past the age where she would reach for the force out of instinct. He could only hope and pray that neither Vader, nor the Emperor would notice her potential.
"Just over four years."
Obi-Wan nodded. Four years to wait until he could begin the girl's training, nothing was going as he had hoped.
*^*^*^*^*
Bail was still a part of the rebellion, a leader in fact, with many rebel contacts, which brought Obi-Wan to his current position; adviser to the rebellion, trainer of troops, and special operative. The rebellion had been only too happy to accept him into their numbers, reinstating his former rank of general.
Now, three years into her term, the princess had chosen to leave Coruscant. She was on her way to the new facility at Yavin 4, baring what plans for the Empires newest space station. Obi-Wan intended to be there when she arrived.
*^*^*^*^*
Biggs checked the his X-Wing's scopes one last time before the jump to hyperspace. They had only just been given the coordinates where they were suppose to meet this transport.
Earlier he had watched Tinker board a ship bound for the new facility. Jarru had stood by, tears in her eyes, not saying anything. Tullen had left on an unmarked civilian ship bound for who knows where just before they were ordered to their X-Wings.
"Dune Leader, standing by," he heard Brake's voice over the comm.
"Dune One, standing by," he said over his own comm.
"Dune Two, standing by," came Coric's voice.
"Dune Three, standing by." That was Jarru.
A series of growls came over the comm, which from the little Wookiee that Biggs understood, could only mean "Dune Four, standing by." Their sole Wookiee pilot, Shanbara had just reported in.
"Everyone initiate the jump to hyperspace on my mark." Brake said after the rest of Dune Squadron finished reporting in. "Mark."
Biggs' X-Wing jumped to hyperspace along with the rest of Dune Squadron. The hyperspace trip was brief, they had only a short distance to travel.
*^*^*^*^*
Luke prowled the bridge of the Devastator. His father was in his meditation chamber, resting and healing. Luke was suppose to remain on the bridge and alert his father as soon as either of the rebel groups arrived.
Over the last few days Luke had been feeling what he could only describe as vibrations through the force. His father hadn't appeared to notice anything and Luke hadn't mentioned it, but the feeling was making him jumpy and irritable.
It felt like an impending sense of something coming. Something was going to happen soon, something very important.
Luke stopped his pacing and stared out the main view screen. Something was about to happen, right... about... now.
A squadron of rebel X-Wings dropped out of hyperspace directly in front of them. Two of fighters actually had to change course suddenly to avoid a collision. Luke could almost feel their shock. He smiled.
He called out to his father though the force as he began to give orders. "Release the TIE fighters, and make certain the pilots know that they are only to disable as many of the ships as possible, do not destroy them if at all possible. Target their main hyperdrives and weapons, nothing else, and lock the tractor beam onto the leader."
*^*^*^*^*
The X-Wing squadron exited hyperspace as one, straight into the path of an oncoming Star Destroyer.
Biggs didn't hear his squad mates' startled exclamations over his own swearing. He jerked back on his controls in order to avoid a head on collision with the destroyer. TIE fighters were beginning to swarm out of the destroyer's main hangar bay.
"It's a trap!" he heard Brake call over the comm. "Everyone jump back into hyperspace as soon as your R2 units make the calculations. Do not, repeat, do not wait for anyone else. Someone has to find a way to tell command about this."
"Roger that, Dune Leader," Biggs said as he told his R2 unit to begin hyperspace calculations. He swerved out of the way of some enemy fire and shot back, destroying a TIE fighter.
"Damn it! They've got me in their tractor, I can't get free!" Brake yelled.
"Hold on, Dune Leader, I'm on my way," Biggs turned his X-Wing to face the destroyer. He tried to target their tractor beam.
"No! You can't damage it with your blasters, it's too heavily armored. Just get the hell out of here!" Brake yelled.
"I've been hit! My engine's are dead!" Jarru screamed. A few moments later Shanbara growled something similar.
Biggs pulled his X-Wing away as Brake's ship disappeared into the Star Destroyer's hangar bay. One of their X-Wings erupted into flame, followed by another.
Biggs felt a sudden lurch and found himself moving backwards. "Oh hell..." he muttered to himself. "Coric! You're got the only functioning hyperdrive! Get out of here now!"
"I don't want to abandon you!" Coric yelled back over the comm.
"Coric this isn't the time to be stubborn! Just go!" Biggs yelled.
"Alright, my R2 has just finished the calculations. Initiating hyperspace jump..."
"Coric, look out!" Biggs heard Jarru yell. "You've got one on your tail!"
A bright flash lit up the darkness as Coric's X-Wing was destroyed.
*^*^*^*^*
On the bridge of the Devastator, Darth Vader entered to find his son clutching his head, a look of pain and confusion on his face.
[Insert witty yet compelling plea for reviews here.]