Millennium Falcon

Hanger Bay

Death Star

In orbit around Alderaan

"Boy, its lucky you have these compartments," young Luke Skywalker murmured, looking cautiously out of the chamber where he and his companions were hiding.

"I use them for smuggling," Han Solo began, then abruptly lifted his blaster and fired directly at the man who stepped into view. To his shock and dismay, the man lifted up one hand and calmly deflected the blaster shots. The next moment, something unseen yet incredibly strong yanked the blaster from his hand, causing it to sail into his antagonist's hand.

"Take it easy, Han," older Luke said mildly. "I'm on your side."

"Is everything Ok up there?" a feminine voice called up the ramp.

"We're good, Leia!" Older Luke yelled back. "Han just shot at me!"

"Figures!"

"Who ... who are you?" Younger Luke demanded, pulling himself out of the compartment even as Chewbacca and Obi-Wan looked on in unsettled confusion.

"I'm you," Older Luke said simply, "from about 9 years in the future. The Force has sent me back to try and help fix the current problems in the galaxy."

Solo coughed in disbelief even as he vaulted out of the smuggling chamber, "Time travel is ..."

"Impossible," Future Luke finished. "Yes, that's everyone's favorite word today. Unlikely, yes, but not impossible. As proof, let me tell you a few things about your life, Han Solo. You were born on Corellia and lived as a scrumrat under the unpleasant auspices of Lady Proxima of the White Worms gang. You escaped Corellia, joined the Empire, then deserted on Mimban right after you saved Chewbacca here. A little later, you found your first love, Qi'ra, working for Crimson Dawn. Shall I go on?"

Solo stared, smacked his head hard with one hand, stared again, and finally looked at Chewbacca, who had climbed to his feet and was now staring at Luke in awe.

"Waddya think, fuzzball?"

Chewbacca howled at some length and Han sighed, "Ok, it's pretty weird stuff, but Jedi stuff is weird. We'll go with it for now."

"Are you really me?" young Luke demanded in surprise. "No offense, but you look pretty old."

Future Luke smiled a little sadly and nodded, "It's not the years, Kid, it's the parsecs."

Obi-Wan Kenobi put one elderly knee up and Luke stepped forward to help lift the old Jedi from the smuggling compartment.

"Hello, Ben," he murmured softly.

"So you do know me?" Kenobi responded, quirking one eyebrow curiously.

"Of course I do," the young Jedi responded, wiping his eyes surreptitiously. "I met you on Tatooine just like younger Luke did, of course. But I haven't seen you in a long time because in my timeline, Vader killed you here on the Death Star."

There was a sudden, shocked intake of breath and Luke cried out, "Vader is here? Now?"

"Yes, he's down at the bottom of the ramp waiting. But don't worry, I've forbidden him from killing you, Ben, though of course he wants to. He's been obsessing about murdering you slowly and thoroughly for almost 20 years. It's pretty unhealthy."

"Darth Vader is down at the bottom of the ramp," young Luke repeated, his face now as hard as durasteel.

"Yes?"

"I'm going down there right now," the younger man said, placing one hand on his lightsaber and taking a firm step toward the exit.

"Bad idea, Kid," Han said, putting a restraining hand on the youth's arm. "He's a killer."

"Yes, he is," young Luke snarled.

"So what?" Han asked in exasperation. "You're just going to march down and try to slay him?"

The young man blinked in bewilderment, frowned, then shook his head, "No. I'm going to walk down there and say, 'Hello. My name is Luke Skywalker. You killed my father. Prepare to die.' Then I'll try to kill him."

Older Luke snorted at this, then began laughing, "I had forgotten how dramatic I was a decade ago."

"How can you laugh about the man who murdered our father?" young Luke demanded angrily.

"Vader didn't murder our father."

The floppy blond hair shifted as young Luke shot a bewildered glance at Obi-Wan, who was looking constipated.

"Ben said ..."

"Ben lied," older Luke stated gently.

"I told you the truth, from a certain ..."

"Point of view," Future Luke finished drily. "Look, I know this will be a shock but let's just get right to it. Darth Vader didn't kill Anakin Skywalker. He was Anakin Skywalker. He is our father."

Chewbacca howled and Han swore softly.

"That's impossible!" young Luke sputtered, his face white.

"I said the same thing," Older Luke said gloomily, "but it's true. Let's sit down in the main cabin. It's a long and complicated story and it would be best if you had the basic gist before you talk to Vader and your twin sister."

"Twin sister?!"

/

"Young Luke is so bright in the Force!" Mara muttered aloud.

"Yeah, I guess Kenobi was shielding him until now," pregnant Leia commented. "At this point old Obi-Wan must realize it is pointless, but in our timeline he must have been shielding like mad the whole time Luke was running around rescuing me, because of course Luke didn't learn to shield until later."

"Your brother rescued you from the Death Star?" younger Leia asked incredulously.

"Yes," older Leia explained, turning to face her young counterpart. All three women were seated on comfortable chairs at the bottom of the Falcon's ramp. Darth Vader was standing beside Mara, breathing in his annoying and repetitive way.

"And you escaped?" Leia continued.

"Yes, we got out, though Vader killed Kenobi in a duel just before we lifted off."

"I have dreamed about killing Kenobi the last twenty years," Darth Vader growled. "Indeed, I am not certain I can restrain myself."

Mara rose fluidly to her feet and turned to take a menacing step towards her alter father-in-law, "You don't touch a hair on his gray head, you got it? I realize Obi-Wan made some major mistakes but we need him right now. Your son just lost his aunt and uncle on Tatooine to rampaging stormtroopers, and Kenobi is all he has left of his former life. If you kill Kenobi in a hissy fit, it'll make it that much harder to forge a decent relationship with your son. Is that clear?"

"I do not, as you put it, throw hissy fits," Vader snarled.

"You have major anger management issues," Mara riposted. "You need to reach deep inside of you for some semblance of patience and calm."

The two glared at one another for another ten seconds, and then Vader took a tiny step backwards, "Very well. I accede to your greater understanding of my son."

"Thank you," Mara replied sarcastically.

"So how did you and ... um ... your Luke meet?" younger Leia asked.

Mara chuckled, "Oh, the usual way. I was working for Palpatine as a Hand – a sort of special agent. I was totally devoted to the man and when he died, I discovered that Luke Skywalker had been present and probably had killed him. So I tried to assassinate Luke. He was way too strong for me and captured me and tossed me into jail, came to visit me a few times, and naturally we fell in love."

The younger girl's eyes were wide, "Naturally."

There was a pause, and then young Leia turned with determination to her older self, "So, what about you? You're pregnant so obviously you, um ..."

"I'm married, yes," Leia said with a glimmering smile.

"Please tell me the father isn't that annoying Prince from Hynestia who has been making up to me!"

The older woman chuckled, "Not a chance. Keep in mind you are a war criminal now."

"That's true," Leia replied thoughtfully. "I lost track of that for just a minute. So the princes and kings aren't interested in me anymore?"

Future Leia smiled a little, "Not at the moment, anyway. By the time the war ended, I was already in love with my husband."

"And who is your husband?"

Leia hesitated even as she caressed her giant baby bump, "Are you sure you want to know? With our intervention in this timeline, everything may change."

"Yes, I want to know."

Voices from the Falcon cut through the air, and a moment later a tall, dark haired man swaggered down the ramp, complaining enthusiastically over his shoulder to both Luke Skywalkers.

"Listen, I'm not in it for your Rebellion, you got that? I'm in it for the money!"

"That's him," Leia said with a grin. "That's my husband."

Young Leia quivered, "You've got to be kidding me!"

/

Death Star Conference Room

Death Star

In orbit around Caamas

4 hours later

"You want to evacuate the Death Star?" Younger Leia demanded incredulously.

"Yes," Luke and Leia said simultaneously.

"Why?" The younger woman asked in disbelief. "They are Imperial troops!"

"And slaves, and prisoners, and technicians," Luke said gravely.

"And even the troopers aren't necessarily guilty of anything but desperation," young Luke commented hesitantly. "I know what it's like. On Tatooine, most people are trying to get off planet and one of the few ways to escape is to sign up with the Empire."

"I admit that's what I did on Corellia," Solo chimed in. "I had to get off planet as soon as possible so I joined up."

Princess Leia Organa of unexploded Alderaan sighed deeply and ran a weary hand over her forehead, "Ok, I see your point. You said that you destroyed the battle station before though, right?"

Older Luke nodded, "Yes, I did. The first time was in my original timeline. The Death Star was about to destroy a Rebel base and it was the only option. I don't regret it, though I do grieve over the loss of a million sentients. The second time, Leia and I were tossed back in time to an alternate timeline. Again, we had to destroy the Death Star, which was seconds away from obliterating Alderaan. That time, I was well trained and I felt all those deaths …"

He trailed away and looked out the window, through which swam the swamp world of Caamas.

"We have an opportunity, this time, to save these people, or at least some of them."

"How?" young Luke asked practically.

Older Leia gestured toward the window, "That is why we asked Lord Vader to bring the Death Star here. Caamas was the subject of an Imperial bombardment a short time after the rise of the Empire. Its ecosystem was almost destroyed. However, in the intervening years it has healed significantly. My counterpart went here on a humanitarian mission about a year ago."

"I did," younger Leia agreed thoughtfully. "The planet is still largely uninhabited. You are thinking Lord Vader could order everyone on board the Death Star to evacuate? That would save their lives in the short term, but I don't think there would be easily available food down there."

"I seem to remember there were some edible animals," Older Leia murmured, "but that is a problem. Perhaps you could convince ... your parents to assist?"

"A humanitarian mission to the Imperials who almost blew up Alderaan," her younger self commented drily. "That's a stretch even for us."

"I believe the whole idea, while noble, is unwise," Kenobi said worriedly. He was seated at one end of the table, Darth Vader was seated at the other end, and the remaining humans and one Wookiee were scattered in between to provide a buffer.

"The Death Star can destroy planets," he continued. "If we delay to evacuate, the Emperor's forces could conceivable retake the station."

"I agree," Darth Vader stated in a rather long suffering tone.

"You agree with Obi-Wan Kenobi," Mara said with a smile. "That is unexpected."

"I am willing to align myself with my children's wishes," Vader continued. "However, it is true that a full evacuation would take more time than we safely have."

Kenobi nodded gravely, then frowned and rose to his feet. He walked slowly over to the window and stared down at Caamas.

"What is the geography of Caamas?"

Older Leia walked next to the old Jedi and peered at the boggy planet below, "Well, it has a terrestrial crust but the swamps cover 90% of the planet and some are very deep."

"Hmmm," Kenobi replied, and shot a daring look at Vader.

"Hmmm what?" Older Luke demanded.

"It is not important. Even your father could not manage such a feat."

"I most certainly could," Vader replied indignantly.

"The Invisible Hand was a mere Kashyyk land shrimp compared to this battle station."

"Nevertheless," Vader riposted, locking his hands behind his back as he gazed at Caamas, "it would be entirely possible."

"What are you talking about?" Younger Leia demanded.

"I think," Older Luke murmured in shock, "they are talking about landing the Death Star on Caamas."

"What?!" Older Leia inquired. "That's impossible! It would crash and disintegrate, would it not?"

"No," Vader rumbled with confidence. "The Death Star is fully equipped with thrusters to allow it considerable maneuverability. This was necessary during its lengthy construction phase. I could land the station intact in the bogs. It would never rise again, of course, due to the gravitational constraints of Caamas."

There was a thoughtful pause and then Future Luke smiled broadly, "With the station intact, the individuals on board would be able to use it as a base for a considerable time. I'll help you, Father. Let's do this!"

Author Note: I am not sure if this would really be remotely feasible. The Death Star was huge. But Anakin landed half a ship on Coruscant successfully. If anyone can do it, Vader can!