CHAPTER 20

The rebel fighters were boarding their respective ships. Leia and Luke were boarding their X-Wings. Leia turned to see Artoo being loaded on Luke's ship. Leia then turned to meet Han.

"I heard you are leaving." She said grabbing his attention.

"Yes. I am going back to Mandalore." He replied turning to meet her.

"You know we could use a guy like you."

"I know but I don't want to. I just could go back to a place I call home."

"What next after going home?"

"I don't know. Maybe I could help Korkie with integrating Mandalore."

"Hmm, now that is interesting."

"What will you do after this all is over?"

"Continue my training as a Jedi knight."

"Hmm, I too will need to continue my training as a Mandalorian crusader."

"Mandalorian crusader?"

"Yep, one of the most honorable positions in Mandalorian society. An old man is ready to train me. They guard the traditions and hold some really cool guns."

"Sounds interesting."

"I know."

"Very well then. Bye."

"Bye."

"Han." She called out as he turned to leave. "May the force be with you."

"May the force be with you, Leia."

Saying so he boarded and left. Leia quickly turned and ran towards her X-Wing. Luke was already seated in his. Obi-Wan decided to stay back and help in guiding the fighters. The Death Star was in the space field and they had to leave. Soon the fighters took off with Leia and Luke being the only generals. There were three teams; two led by the Skywalkers another led by the gold leader; Dav'iad. Luke's team, team red, consisted of Wedge Antilles, Biggs Darklighter and himself. Leia's team, team blue, consisted of Houdini, Kan Ya'lksi and herself. The gold team consisted of Dav'iad Yorlek, Cal Kestis and Wate Var. The three teams left to attack the Death Star. They discovered that there were two openings. The empire built a super weapon and a super easy way to destroy it. Escaping the empire's defenses was easier but launching the torpedoes was not. Leia managed to get to the other side with her team, so did Luke. She then opened her targeting computer. But a voice suddenly called out, use the force. It was Ahsoka's. Luke and Leia closed their eyes and felt the way through the force. They felt danger rippling through the force. Vader had targeted Luke. Leia was targeted by TIE fighters. The two managed to connect to each other. Leia felt the calmness inside Luke. She felt the resemblance she felt when she was born. She felt peace radiate from him. Luke felt the turmoil of emotions inside Leia. He also felt the bravery and boldness which he felt when he was born. He felt strength radiate from her. They opened their eyes and let the force guide the torpedoes as they let go of them. Vader and his fighters had open fired at the rebels. The Death Star had reached a position from where it was easy to take a shot and obliterate the temporary rebel base. He ordered the firing up of the weapon. Leia felt the flicking of switches like her brother. The two felt the fear of the rebels on Yaavin IV. They felt the warning the force gave them. They were being open fired at by the imperials. They felt the fear of their team mates. They felt strength and peace in each other. Strength to face whatever came at them; peace to gather themselves after the attack. They felt the torpedoes go on the path the force pulled them on. Suddenly three TIE fighters were destroyed. The Millennium Falcon had arrived. Leia and Luke turned around and fired at the imperials. Behind them the Death Star blew up as they were preparing to obliterate the temporary rebel base. The rebellion danced with joy. The pilots were immensely relieved and happy. Soon they landed on the base. As soon as Leia and Luke got down, the rebels flooded to congratulate them. The twins ran towards Han. The three were hugging each other. Chewbacca then joined and lifted the three.

"You came back!" Leia called out in the middle of the calls.

"Well the Wookie wouldn't let me just go without helping my crush." Han replied. Chewbacca then put them down. Han bent forward and pulled Leia for a kiss. They shared a sweet moment till Luke placed himself in middle.

"Kisses and hugs after everything is over." He said as he placed himself in the middle. He placed a hand on each shoulder.

The rebellion had won the first battle. The dangerous weapon of the empire was destroyed. Senator Mon Mothma then moved forward and greeted Leia. Leia then went forward and hugged her. She let the streams of joy and grief let go. Then the senator turned to the rebellion and addressed them, "We have lost many friends, this is for them" she said lifting her hand. The rebellion roared with joy. Leia was then asked to the address the rebellion. She move forward and climbed on top of the Falcon. She cleared her throat and spoke, "We have lost a great leader, a mentor, a friend and many people in this battle. This battle of Yaavin is the beginning of the end of the imperialism and the dawn of democracy. We finally have showed the galaxy the importance of democracy. We have lost the leader of the rebellion. We have lost the motivator of the rebellion. But we shall move on. The clone wars era republic was broken beyond repair. But now we shall fix it. There are a lot of mistakes which have occurred and it is important that we fix them. The list of mistakes is long but with help we can make it shorter. We can rectify it." She said turning to her brother and nodding. He then grabbed her hand and climbed the Falcon. He then turned to the rebellion and spoke, "Today's victory was not only the victory of the rebellion it is the victory of the people. Today marks a great event in the history of the galaxy. The days of imperialism are ending and the days of freedom are beginning. One final push can end the imperialism and replace democracy. To make sure that the mistakes of the past occur again, Senator Mon Mothma shall be stepping down as the Alliance Chancellor. Instead she shall be a member of the committee of alliance which shall constitute of Senator Riyo Chuchi, Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Senator Mothma, Senator-in-process Kane Ya'lksi, Senator-in-process Ingo Bartandi and Jedi Knight Leia Skywalker Amidala." Luke finished. Leia turned sharply at him. She then turned to Obi-Wan and Senator Riyo Chuchi. They nodded at her. She then added, "The committee shall also include Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker Amidala and Senator Ulka Ingot." This decision was made the previous night by Obi-Wan, Senator Chuchi and Senator Ingot. Kane was there too. This was to make sure that the next Republic was not repeating its old mistakes. Senator Mothma was too selective of the members. Hence the decision was done without her acknowledgement. She was indeed surprised. She had been thrown out of a powerful position without a warning.

The rebellion took the information better. They accepted it with open and clapping arms. They had heard what they wanted; Skywalker Amidala. The two names which once gave it hope were now ready to give them hope once again. Hope; it was the weapon of the rebellion. Hope was the reason people joined the rebellion. Hope that things would get better. Hope that life would develop. Hope that wrong would turn right. Hope that the Republic would be reformed to become a better place. People were tired of the imperialism of the empire. What use was development without freedom? People faced crippling poverty and had only one choice; the empire. The hope that the rebellion would provide them development with freedom was the only reason people joined the rebellion. Mon Mothma was a good leader but was not the right one. The new republic needed someone who was firm and yet flexible. Someone who would resolve matters with peace and yet wouldn't hesitate to use violence when necessary. Someone who knew what was good for the people and yet knew what was their mistakes. Someone who knew what to do at the right time. They lost a person who could've been that person; Nora Crai'sis. She often opposed Mon Mothma. Those opposition would often help the rebellion better. She knew when it was time to strike. She knew that in order for the rebellion she had to sacrifice her life. Hence she jumped onto a ship and confused the empire. A TIE fighter had managed to follow one of the fighters. The empire arrived there immediately. She received a copy of the Blueprint. She made twelve more copies. She made the fighters operated by droids go and confuse the empire. She made sure that they would catch her and think that the rebellion never got the Blueprint. But the Blueprint had reached the rebellion and the base was safe. The base made sure that the imperial droids never got a glimpse of the base. The rebels were saved by the cunningness of a good leader. Leia managed to make the empire more confused. Her sudden bursts of force fields made the environment of the Death Star tense. The destruction of Alderaan was an attempt to break the leaders and make them reveal the location of the base and clear the confusion. But they were strong and refused. Nora had seen the destruction of Alderaan. She felt hurt. But she held herself together.

Now Leia looked up at the rebels who had placed the last memories of the dead heroes in a place which would be lit. This would mark their sacrifice. Leia moved forward and placed the cloaks of Bail and Breha Organa inside. She also placed a gown of Nora provided by Kane. She then turned towards Obi-Wan who gave her the clothes of Ahsoka. Luke moved forward and took another cloth of Ahsoka. The two bent forward and placed it inside. They each took a lightsaber which belonged to Ahsoka and ignited it. The rebellion bent their head honoring the great agent of the force. She always walked her own path. Cal was hurt. Ahsoka was his inspiration. Many surviving Jedi who were there had ignited their blades honoring Ahsoka. She was an inspiration for all. Leia and Luke lifted their heads and touched the items and waited till they lit on fire. As soon as they lit on fire they switched of the lightsabers and placed them in their utility belt respectively and ignited the blades they temporarily wielded. They honored the part of the Daughter. The Morai called as she flew in circles around the smoke. Leia lifted her head in pride. So did Luke. Soon the rest surviving Jedi followed the suite. The memories Leia had with Ahsoka flashed in front of her. Luke remembered the times they spent together. Though it was short, it was enough to leave an impression on him. Obi-Wan remembered the time he spent with the young Togruta. He knew her from the Battle of Christophsis to her trial and then again the recent events. Captain Rex closed his eyes as all the memories flooded him. He knew Commander Ahsoka Tano from the battle of Christophsis to the siege of Mandalore. The Ghost closed their eyes; they spent a small time with the great agent and yet had a great impression of her. Ezra Bridger was introduced to Cal Kestis by Ahsoka Tano; Cal took Ezra as his apprentice.

After everything was over, Leia and Luke had attended the meeting of the committee along with Obi-Wan. Senator Mon Mothma had finally accepted the decision. Leia comforted her and was comforted by her. Leia sat besides the X-Wing when she heard the call again. Leia, follow my voice. Whoever was calling her was strong in the force. It was neither a light nor a dark presence. She ignored it. She went with Luke and continued her training along with him. The two kept having visions. Leia had visions of a planet; one so strong in the dark side. It was as though it was a wound in the force. She also saw a man in a Mandalorian mask. He wore black robes. She saw him again but in white robes. He was wearing the Mandalorian mask and wielded two lightsabers which kept on varying with his robes. Whenever he wore black it was purple and red, when he wore white it was purple and blue. She didn't know who he was but he kept on calling her. She tried using the ability she learned from Obi-Wan but it made no effect. Luke had visions of a lady in her twenties. She wielded a dual bladed yellow lightsaber. She wore orange robes. He saw her in black robes too; the lightsabers would be red. He saw her calling him. He often heard the calls; Luke, Luke Skywalker. Follow my voice. The voice kept calling him. He too ignored it. He tried suppressing the dreams but they would not work. He gave up and told it to his sister.

"So have you been having nightmares?" he asked softly.

"Let me guess, you have them too?"

"Yep. It is just visions of a lady."

"Wait, a lady?"

"Yeah why?"

"I have visions of a man and a dark planet."

"I have visions of a lady and a dark planet."

"That's weird."

"Do you think we should tell Obi-Wan?"

"I guess we should wait for a couple of days."

"Hmm."

The twins waited for a couple of days. The wait proved to be beneficial for Luke as his visions got milder. But for Leia they had other consequences. She would hear calls from distant lands. She tried suppressing her dreams and the calls but they bounced like springs. The more she suppressed the more vivid they would get. It was like a curse. She couldn't handle it anymore. She decided to go and inform Obi-Wan about it. She walked up to him and spoke, "Master Kenobi, can I speak to you?" Obi-Wan turned to greet Leia. He was talking with Cal. Cal nodded at Leia and so did she. Obi-Wan then asked, "You have had another vision, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, what does the voice tell you?"

"Wait how do you know about it?"

"Your mind is like an open book when you are with people who you trust."

"Hmm, I guess it is Skywalker trait."

"Maybe, so what does this voice tell you?"

"It just asks me to follow it."

"To where?"

Leia smiled as the memories came back. It had been four hours since she came and landed on the world of Belkadan. She crash landed on the forest planet. She got up and looked around. She saw the amount of damage her father's fighter had sustained. The hyperdrive motor was destroyed. The navigation computer was fried. Leia picked up the lightsaber which once belonged to her master and walked on. She expected someone to be there. This was the place the voice and visions guided her. This was where she would start her journey according to Kenobi.