"Jade!" He was startled out of a sound sleep by her scream and ran to the room. She was crying, "No! Jade, don't go, don't go!" She was dreaming of her brother, a fellow Jedi, killed during the fall of the Republic. He had known Jade Organa.
He gently touched her shoulder, "Your highness, wake up, you are dreaming." Her eyes opened and tears streamed from them, "He comes to me sometimes in my dreams, tells me not to grieve, but how can I not? I had so little time with him."
He nodded, "Jade was your twin brother. I knew him well; he was a good friend and a powerful Jedi." She sniffed and wiped her eyes, "Forgive me, I woke you, normally no one hears me cry." He sat down on the edge of the bed and held her hand squeezing it gently, "I know it is not easy to live with his loss, but he will always be with you."
Amira whispered, "You have no wish to help us and I respect that but I have to honor his memory I have to do what ever I can to restore the Republic." He shook his head sadly, "You'll be killed too." Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Or worse."
"What could be worse?" He closed his eyes briefly and said, "Being turned to the dark side. At least for those who care about you it would be harder to bear than your death." Her eyes widened in surprise, "Turned to the dark side? General, I am not a Jedi."
He replied, "If the emperor were to find out that you are Force sensitive, you would either be turned to the dark side or killed. I am sure your family could not bear the loss. Not now, not after losing Jade."
She quietly asked, "How did you know I was Force sensitive? Jade promised never to tell anyone." He replied, "I saw you battling the Tuskan Raiders. You have a bit of instinct. Your skills are unrefined but they are there. Did Jade teach you to use the lightsaber?"
She nodded, "Yes, he was always trying to teach me about the Force. Bail gave me Jade's lightsaber for this journey. Someone returned it to our family after his death." His face betrayed a hint of a smile, "I think I know who that might have been."
She found herself smiling back at him, "So I have potential?" He laughed out loud, "Sure, you have potential." His eyes sparkled and came to life when he laughed and it warmed her heart. "You should do that more often.", "What?", "Laugh." His smile faded, "I don't have much to laugh about your highness."
A wave of sadness washed over her. It was not her own, she was sensing his pain. She looked down at their hands. Giving his hand a gentle squeeze she said, "I am sorry. I know what happened to your apprentice, I… I can feel your grief."
His eyes locked with hers and for a moment neither moved nor spoke. Then suddenly he released her hand and stood up. He was already walking away when he said, "You need your rest Princess, try and get some sleep."
He continued out of the room without another word. She stared after him feeling profoundly sorry for him. The next several hours she lay awake thinking of what to do next.
It was clear that he didn't have the heart to keep fighting and she didn't want to press him. He had sacrificed enough. She decided that as soon as she was recovered she would burden him no more and see the information safely home.