Chapter 5: The Will of the Force
Leia found herself in the Council Chambers once again, but she knew it was for a far different reason than the last time she was here.
It seemed like an event from a previous life now. She had been so forceful, so arrogant, and so sure that the next time she appeared before the full council she would be a Jedi Knight, like her father before her.
She had to stifle a dark chuckle as she reminded herself that she could still make good on that idea. There wasn't a full Jedi Council to stand in front of at the moment.
Masters Eeth Koth, Luminara Unduli, Coleman Kjac and Shaak Ti had been at the official remembrance ceremony in the Senate building when everyone inside was turned to ash. That was over a quarter of their number dead and gone. Though the Jedi Order wore their injuries and grief much more privately than the rest of the Republic did.
And there was much to mourn. Almost all of the Senators of the Galactic Republic were dead. A good portion of the Republic High Command was also gone, and Leia thanked the Force that Grand Admiral Tarkin had personally been overseeing traffic going in and out of Coruscant to try and catch her mother's killer when the 'explosion' had gone off in the Senate. At least now he was able to be Acting Chancellor and give some small amount of stability to the situation.
It was stability that brought Luke and Leia into the Council Chamber once again. Though some very important Jedi Masters had been slain, no one else from the Order had been present. They had mercifully been spared, so now it was their duty to provide order to a galaxy that needed it now more than ever. The Jedi were all that was left, and Anakin Skywalker vowed that they would not be found wanting when duty called.
All of it made Leia's blood boil. They were being sent off to locations far away to attack foes they didn't know about while her mother's killer was pushed to the background. How could her father have forgotten about his wife that easily? Why wasn't Ahsoka grieving with her? When Leia needed her family the most, it seemed like they deserted her to do their so-called duty first. Sadness and Anger dueled in her heart, and it was far too close of a thing to call victory for either side.
"Coruscant Security has not been able to find any trace of an explosive." A Jedi said in an incredibly droning tone, tapping away at a datapad that was sending what Leia assumed would be pointless information to the Jedi Masters. "Our own people haven't been able to find anything either. Nothing in that building could have created a blast of that size."
"Mhmmm." Yoda pondered, shaking his head in frustration. "Troubling news, this is. Sense the Dark Side at work here, I do."
"The Sith are dead, I killed both of them." Anakin said, frustration was etched on his face as he struggled to control his emotions. "So who, or what, is doing this?"
"The Sith may be gone, but their holocrons aren't." Ahsoka mused. "Remember the one you discovered on Zygeria, master? Who knows who else has their hands on Dark Side powers that haven't been seen in millenia."
"Proves nothing, this conversation does." Yoda gently reminded the pair. "Wounded, the Republic has been. Heal it, the Jedi must."
"Which brings us back to why you two Padawans were summoned here." Obi-Wan chimed in, nodding for Anakin to resume the briefing.
"Thank you, Master." Anakin said, collecting himself. His demeanor just made Leia angrier. A lost train of thought. That was all that Anakin Skywalker could muster for his wife, supposedly the love of his life. Was Leia the only one who had truly loved her?
"Until Grand Adm- Chancellor Tarkin can rebuild the command structure of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Jedi are going to be used much more frequently to keep the peace." Anakin said. "I know the two of you must be feeling empty right now, failing your Trial and then losing your mother, but we must trust in the Will of the Force and allow it to use us to keep balance."
It took all of Leia's limited remaining willpower not to scoff out loud. The Republic was dying, her world was collapsing, and all the Jedi with their millenia of wisdom could think to tell a grieving woman is to trust in the Will of the Force? They had better be sure not to mention that again. She wasn't sure that she could keep her cool next time.
"Master Obi-Wan, Luke." Anakin continued. "Almost every single politician on Coruscant was killed with very few exceptions. There are those like Bail Organa and Mon Mothma that were recovering from their injuries in… in the first explosion. Some were simply too busy or despised Padme enough they didn't bother to attend the service. Then there is the former Chancellor Garm Bel Iblis. Before the smoke had even cleared from the bombing, his ship had taken off, flying straight back to Corellia. Now the Corellians are increasing their military patrols in the region, and the former Chancellor won't return any of our requests for communication. Something is wrong there, very wrong. I want the two of you to go there and find out what's happening."
"Do you suspect Chancellor Iblis had anything to do with the second attack?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Unsure, we are." Yoda replied. "But a missing piece of this puzzle, Garm Bel Iblis remains. Do not assume, Obi-Wan. But be mindful of what he does, you must."
Obi-Wan and her brother bowed like the obedient little puppets that they were, and something about the way they did it was the final straw for Leia.
Maybe it was that she had been so bored she'd tuned them out and found herself alone with nothing but her hopelessness, rage, and frustration. Maybe it was how she seemed to be the only one grieving. Maybe it was because it seemed like her mother's death was being overlooked because the Jedi had more important things to do.
Perhaps it was a little bit of all three reasons, but Leia was past the point of caring. She was past the point of being a good little Padawan and keeping her mouth shut.
"Ahsoka and Leia, your mission is much more obscure, but equally as important." Anakin said. "The Mon Cala are at the Hutt Cartel's throat and we don't yet know why. The Council needs to the two of you to go there and-"
"No."
She'd said it with a calmness that surprised even her. Not to say that nobody else was surprised. In fact, the only person who didn't seem shocked that Leia had said something was Yoda. The old master was just staring at her, as if this was an unexpected but welcome interruption during afternoon meditations.
Leia didn't care if they were shocked or angry. It had felt good, and she had the desire to do it again.
"What did you say?" her father asked, a dangerous tone creeping into his voice.
"You heard me."
"Leia, the Council is giving us an assignment." Ahsoka said, putting a hand on her Padawan's shoulder. "We should be honored to have such an important assignment."
Leia shrugged her off so she could continue her rant unimpeded.
"Oh yes, a possible skirmish in the furthest parts of the Outer Rim." the young Padawan said, rolling her eyes as hard as she could. "How very exciting. Tell me, how about the assignment of finding my mother's killer. Is determining who shot the Supreme Chancellor not important enough of an assignment for the mighty Jedi Order?"
"Entrusted to Coruscant Security, the matter is." Yoda said, his greenish brown eyes still peering at her, his emotions intangible.
"The same people who let her die?" Leia responded with an ugly smirk. "Nevermind, I'm sure they'll find the person in no time at all."
"The Jedi Order is called to serve the Republic by doing more than finding Padme's killer." Anakin said, almost shouting. It was clear that his daughter knew just how to push his buttons, and she was having exactly the kind of effect that she wanted. "We must follow the Will of the Force in order to maintain bala-"
"Ah yes, the Will of the Force." Leia replied, cutting him off. She'd held her tongue on this the first time this stupid thing had been brought up. "Tell me, oh wise master, does the Force see and influence everything?"
"You know it does, Leia."
"So why is Mom dead? Are you refusing to investigate it because it was the Will of the Force that you cradle her dying body in your arms?"
The silence that filled the room was an ugly kind. The kind where the people are too shocked or angry to do anything. A hideous pause grew larger and larger as almost everyone present was worried that breaking it would only cause the situation to get worse. Most of the people in the Council Chambers could see on Leia's face that she knew she had gone too far and would apologize. It wouldn't fix what had been said, but it would go a long way towards mending that wound.
They were right, which made it so unfortunate that not everyone was on the same page.
All of the Jedi in the room could feel the raging storm clouds growing inside Anakin Skywalker. He was looking at his daughter with a newfound anger she had never seen in him before. It hit her like a bolt of lightning that her father, and probably even her brother, were grieving too, just differently than she had been. In her own anger, she had been blind to it. But that realization led her to realize that what she had just done had made it worse for her father. And she wasn't sure if she could fix it.
"Look," she began. "I only meant that."
"You will… you will board a shuttle for Jabiim." her father growled at her. "You and your master will go there immediately. I don't want to see you in my sight again until you have done what I sent you to do. The details will be sent to your ship on a holo."
Something snapped in Leia. Despite all of her newfound regret and sadness, the stubbornness she had inherited from her father reared its ugly head. Even after everything she had said, he still wasn't going to do anything about his own wife's murder investigation. Leia knew that she hadn't been very eloquent in her arguments and her anger had gotten the better of her, but she still knew that she was right. And her father wasn't listening. Her brother wasn't listening. Her own master wasn't listening.
She knew what she had to do, she just hoped that she had the strength to go through with it.
"I'm not going." Leia said. "And the more you squeeze your fist around me, the more likely I am to slip through your fingers."
She made for the turbolift as she heard her father scream out from behind her.
"Leia Skywalker, this is not over!"
She didn't want to, but she had to twist the dagger into his heart. It would make what she was about to do next so much easier for him.
Leia turned around and gave her father a look of pure loathing as she pressed the button to close the door to the turbolift.
"It is over." she said with a sneer, "and it's Amidala. My name isn't Skywalker, it never will be!"
Night had fallen over the Jedi Temple and the unsuspecting Temple Guards didn't see the shadowy figure sneak past them. They were looking for something from the outside to threaten the Jedi sleeping within, they didn't count on something from the inside getting out.
Using a durable, roughspun traveling cloak made for long journeys, Leia crept quietly down the halls towards the main entrance to the Temple. Taking a speeder or a ship would have only alerted Temple Security, so Leia knew that she had to make her way out on foot. She didn't know what her next step was, but she knew that she couldn't stay here any longer.
If the Jedi Order was going to ignore Padme Amidala's death to focus on 'other matters', then Leia didn't care if she was no longer a Jedi. Packing up her lightsaber and whatever meager credits she could call her own, she would set out on her own to bring the killer to justice.
Leia gave herself a small bit of congratulations as she neared the main entrance. The Temple Guardians at the front left once their shift was over, but their replacements would be a few minutes late in arriving after chasing the mouse droids Leia had set loose in an abandoned wing of the Temple. That should give her a small, precious amount of time to simply stroll right out the front door. As she took her first step down the steps, she could feel her heart growing more numb with every moment that passed. If this was the price for getting revenge, it was a small one to pay.
"Leaving without saying goodbye, are you?"
The heart that Leia had so recently been working on hardening almost stopped dead in its tracks. She whipped around terrifyingly quickly and was almost ready to ignite her lightsaber when she saw the diminutive green figure before her, even smaller than normal on account of being double over because he was laughing so hard.
"Did you mean to scare me on purpose, Master Yoda?" she asked, trying in vain to get back some of her dignity.
"Amusement, I must find, wherever I can." the aging Jedi replied with a small, final laugh. "Especially on Padawans out past their bedtime."
"I'm not a Padawan, Master Yoda." Leia declared, a defiant expression on her face. "I can't stay here anymore. I'm running away to-"
"Yes, yes. To find your mother's killer, running away you are."
Leia didn't even have a response to that. How in the world had he known?
"When 900 years old, you are, surprised by the motives of young Padawans, you will not be." Yoda replied with a shrug, a warm smile plastered all over his face and eyes. "A common motive, revenge is. Leads to ruin, it often does."
"Do not try to stop me though!" Leia said, shouting louder than she wanted to. Ever since her outburst in the Council Chambers earlier that morning she had been on edge about Master Yoda. He seemed to see more of her than even she did. "There isn't anyone who can stop me, even my father."
"Stopping you, am I?" Yoda asked, theatrically looking around and searching in vain for something he was looking for. "Poorly equipped for the task, I am. Doing a horrible job, I have been."
"Then… why are you here?" Leia asked, finally holstering her lightsaber. "If you're not here to stop me, why even show up? Is it to see me off? No offense master, but I've never really felt that close to you, or anyone besides Ahsoka. I guess that's why I'm leaving the Jedi Order."
"Ah, leaving the Jedi Order." Yoda said with a chuckle, taping his cane on the weathered duracrete as he descended the stairs and motioned for Leia to follow. "The Council has decided this, have they?"
"Well no... " Leia said as she followed Yoda down the steps. Strangely, it seemed as though the small Jedi master was taking her to one of the landing platforms in front of the Temple. "But they will once they realize I'm gone. What I'm doing isn't forgivable."
"Stealing, are you?"
"No, master."
"Harming Jedi as you leave, are you?"
"No, master."
"Causing others to fall to the Dark Side, are you?"
"Master!" Leia exclaimed, more than a little frustrated at his questioning. "You know the answers to all of these, you've been here for almost my entire escape. You know I haven't!"
"No crimes are committed then." Yoda said firmly. "A Jedi, you remain. And even if you fell to the Dark Side as you left, welcomed back, you would be."
"But… why?"
Leia hadn't been expecting this. All day long, ever since she realized this is what she'd had to do up in the Council Chambers, she had been preparing to leave her entire family behind. But Master Yoda was giving her an escape route, a guided path back to the Jedi, that is if she even left. The way he was talking, it seemed like she was still a Jedi, even after everything she had done and was about to do.
"Luminous beings, are we." Yoda said as they arrived at a platform. "The Force surrounds us all, binding us, weaving us together. Works in mysterious ways, it does. Not capable, are we, of always seeing which direction it is moving. Follow its Will, I do. Wishing for you to be on this journey, it does."
"Not here to scold you, am I." he continued as he pressed a button as a speeder lazily made its way over to them. "Here to guide, I am. To teach, to forgive, to love, to prepare. A long journey ahead, you have. Go it alone, you must not."
"But I am alone, Master Yoda." Leia replied. "And while I'm grateful, I don't think any other Jedi will agree. If you're talking about yourself, you can't be spared. You need to be here, looking after the other Jedi and advising my father."
"Speaking of myself, I was not."
A golden arm appeared out of the speeder and waved frantically at the pair.
"Oh my goodness, Mistress Leia!" C-3PO exclaimed. "How good I am to see you here. Master Yoda summoned me, gave me this unbearably heavy case of credits, and told me to wait for someone who would need me help. Is that you?"
To her own surprise, Leia felt tears in her eyes.
"Yes, Threepio, yes I am." she said, a small laugh escaping her lips that almost sounded like a sob. As she climbed into the speeder, she turned around to look back at the platform and saw the little green Jedi staring up at her, another large smile on his face.
"On Coruscant, your journey might not remain. Most useful, a protocol droid will be. Oh, and my own credits, they are. Use them, I do not. A thief, I am not." Yoda said. "Go now, before others begin to suspect. And remember: trust in the Force. Let it guide you, you must. Proud of you, I am. See you again, I will. May the Force be with you."
Before she could respond in kind, the doors automatically closed and she was whisked off into the endless streams of Coruscanti traffic. A small part of her started to feel terribly worried. For the first time in her life, she was well and truly alone.
But as she looked back at C-3PO still babbling to nobody in particular in the passenger seat and the steadily shrinking figure on the landing platform, she felt a spark of courage inside of herself that gave her the strength she needed to crush those thoughts once and for all.
She would never be alone again, not unless she wanted to be.
Yoda had not been quite quick enough to see Leia off before Temple Guards were alerted. Being the diligent Jedi they were, they immediately woke up Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan just to be safe. The three of them rushed down to the landing platform just as the speeder carried off Leia into the Coruscanti traffic.
"Was that Leia?" Anakin asked, worried clearly present in his voice. Despite everything that had happened with her today, he loved her as only a father could.
"Yes." was Yoda's only reply, but the three masters thought they could hear a faint chuckle accompanying the statement as well.
"We need to go after her!" Anakin exclaimed. "Ahsoka, get some speeders in the air and see if we can't get her back here. Obi-Wan, I need you to find out which speeder she stole and find out its tracking numb-"
"No."
It was the first time that Anakin had been faced with that word today, but he really didn't expect one of the people saying it to him to be Master Yoda.
"Beg your pardon, Master?"
"Stolen, the speeder was not." Yoda said simply. "Gave it to her, I did."
"But why, Master?" Ahsoka asked.
"Help her along her journey, I did."
"Her journey?"
"Seeking her mother's killer, she does."
"Master Yoda, you're insane!" Anakin exclaimed. "She's in no condition to track down an assassin! She seems tough, but she's just a scared little girl. Was it not you who told me once that fear is the path to the Dark Side?"
"And governed by your fear, you are not? Hmmm?" Yoda replied, poking Anakin in the hip with his cane. "Ruled by your fear, you can be, young Skywalker. Immune, you are not."
"She's reckless!" Anakin pleaded. "Immature, overconfident, and likely to get herself killed!"
"Exactly as the Force made her, she is." Yoda countered, jabbing his cane even harder now. "And more like you than you care to admit. To the Force, you must listen, young Skywalker. Calm your fear, and see what is the Will of the Force."
Anakin did as he was bid, and tried to center himself, to look at the various webs of fate surrounding his daughter to see where they led.
"See something, do you?"
"I… I can't tell." Anakin said at last, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "But you are right, there is something there."
"Yes, and more important matters to attend to, you have." Yoda agreed. "To Corellia, Obi-Wan and Luke are going. But to Jabiim, two Jedi there must be."
"I see where this is going, Master Yoda." Ahsoka said with a grin. "King Lee Char knows and trusts both Anakin and myself. He will listen to us more than he would any other Jedi. Anakin will go in place of Leia."
Yoda just nodded, for that was exactly what he felt the Force was trying to tell him. For too long he had listened to the whims of politicians and mortal Jedi, both of whom were equally as likely to make mistakes. Now he vowed to listen to the Force itself, and although he didn't know what the full plan was, he felt strongly that this is what the Force was guiding the Jedi to do.
"Decided, it is." Yoda said with a nod. "Back to our quarters, we must go. An important day ahead of us, we have."
The four masters looked at each other. It was not easy, but all of them, even Anakin, were beginning to realize that this was the right thing to do.
"Leia will be fine, Anakin." Obi-Wan assured him. "People tried to kill you all the time, but you were just too stubborn to let them. And I don't have to tell you that your daughter will be worse."
"Thank you Obi-Wan." Anakin grinned. "And thank you, Master Yoda, for asking that I not be governed by my fear. I have a feeling that we will be tested on that in the days to come."