Cheesemaster112 asked for a scene where Leia has to care for Poe and young Ben gets jealous. I might have created a 5k-word monster from this prompt and it's finally capable of being posted in two segments. 0_o
A huge thanks to Laatija, Brievel and Cheesemaster112 for reviewing! Love reading your responses!
(Before Kylo Ren) (Ben is 7)
"I'm sorry, Ben. We'll go another day." Keep your voice light and your words indifferent. Leia never thought diplomatic tactics would be so critical when it came to raising a child. Fourteen hours in hostile territory, and only ten remain. If these negotiations fail...
"But you promised!" Ben whined, following her around like an abandoned runyip colt. "You said every day this week, 'Ben, on Republic Day we're going to the Senate House and we'll go to the festivities afterwards.' You promised you wouldn't change your mind!"
"I know what I said, Ben," Leia insisted, closing her eyes in a silent plea for strength. "We just received an urgent transmission and they need me to answer. I'll be back tomorrow."
"But Dad's gone and stupid Dameron's not here and I never get to have any fun!" Ben wailed.
"Ben!" Fear pierced her voice, braising it with anger, and she cringed when her boy stuttered in dismay. Oh Force, if he only realized what was at stake. But he didn't know. Leia was determined that he wouldn't be introduced to the coarseness of a galaxy that was still itself of an Empire, and that meant that she couldn't let on how grievously his words had affected her. Breathe. Seek the Force. Let it out.
Kneeling by her son, Leia stroked the inky mop of hair and sighed. "Ben, I'm sorry we can't go out today. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. We'll go anywhere you want."
Coltish eyes narrowed in rebuke, before the tantalizing offer clicked. "Even the Sarini Island zoo?" Ben blurted.
Oh Shiraya's word, if she had to listen to another chorus of Ben hooting along with the uralangs... "Even the zoo," Leia swore, desperate for peace. "We'll even take Poe with us." She'd noticed the boy seemed to get along with her son, eccentric as that friendship might be, and it would be a small reward for a long, uncertain night.
Ben curled his nose in dismay. "I don't want Poe to come," he snarled. "I want it to just be me and you!"
"Darling, that's fine," Leia said hurriedly, every instinct screaming at her to stop talking and make the flight. "Whatever you want. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"But when will I ever get to go to the festival?" Ben called after her.
"C-3PO will take you!"
It should never have happened. The students were on an internship flight, for goodness' sake! Twelve cadets had been selected to experience a day on a MC85 Star Cruiser, running drills and mock debriefs to give them a taste of space combat. Somehow one of the teams had been separated post-return, and the next communication to reach Leia was a hologram showing three startled, young faces surrounded by fanatics in haphazardly assembled Imperial uniforms. Poe Dameron, Celia Nevak, and Devon Ur'huan; children imperiled by remnants of an old empire.
"They're expecting a demonstration," Captain Antilles warned her as the information bled through a patchy screen. "The Republic can pay the ransom, but there's no saying the scumbags will honor the terms."
"They won't negotiate," Leia refuted. "Why in the blazes wasn't I informed of this earlier?"
Subtly looking from the lightsaber scars on the control panel, to the one who had disastrously failed in her child's rearing, Antilles answered calmly, "We were making repairs when the transmission was first sent."
"Leaving us ten hours," Leia said grimly. Though fury gripped her heart at the wasteful delay brought about by her son, her thoughts immediately flew to Ben's defense. Don't you dare blame this on him, Wedge! He's only a child. He doesn't know himself yet.
"They have specifications regarding the delivery," Antilles added. His level tone warned her to brace herself for something she would hate. "They want Alderaan's princess to make the exchange."
"So they can flaunt our acquiescence as a sign of a failing Republic," Leia guessed. Stang, and she thought that one day she would be allowed to move on and leave the dead in peace. Her mind settling with chilling decisiveness, she palmed the blaster at her belt and nodded. "All right, let's negotiate."
Antilles startled, fixing her with a bewildered stare. "General?"
"The Old Empire seems to forget that my brother is a Jedi," Leia said serenely, "And so am I."
She would meet them on their desired terms, and they would regret the day they polished the brass pins on their Imperial uniforms.
Leia did not share her brother's infinite patience.
Refusing to acknowledge the duplicity of her actions, Leia stepped around the bodies littering the freighter's hall. Stunned and then blasted by a crate rigged to take out a small demolition, they Imperial fanatics never had the opportunity to gloat. A pilot in a grey, captain's uniform pelted towards her, alerted by the noise, and he too went down with a swift patter of bolts from a Kueget LN-21 blaster pistol. The age-old 'pay first, surrender after' tactic was exactly what Leia had anticipated when delivering the ransom - they would have taken the payment and fled with their captives still in tow. She only hoped that the Imps had kept the young pilots alive for a public demonstration.
"In here, General!"
Running towards the shout, Leia sprang over the smoldering heap that was once a soldier in white armor, and slipped past two of her guards as they heaved against a grating, rust-encrusted door. The moment the space was clear she slipped inside, shining her light on a huddle of bewildered, rumpled children, who fell back against each other in harried efforts to shield their eyes. Sagging in relief, Leia swung the light away, offering reassurances even as she crouched beside them to ensure - yes, they were all alive, bruised and shadow-eyed and sagging with relief, anxious to just get home and end the nightmare.
"They left us here to die!" Celia whimpered, falling against Leia and clinging to her with red, chapped hands. "There was a poor soul in the corner they'd never let out and - and - and the stench - Oh, it was awful!"
Devon shook his head, muttering that he wasn't scared of nothin' even as his trembling legs nearly spilled him onto the tangle of limbs that was once one of his captors. Force, these were children that had been threatened. They weren't expected to behave like soldiers yet, drills and mock battles be hanged!
"M'fine," Poe mumbled as Captain Antilles plucked him to his feet. Of the three cadets he had the most devious poker face, and Leia could have believed his claims if not for the rapid avoidance in his eyes. He was shivering. Shaking her head at Antilles, she mouthed, Watch out for him.
None of these young cadets would be fine. Not for a little while yet.
"They didn't hurt us," Dameron admitted in the ship's medical wing several hours later, when the cadets had been approved for light duties following their return, and the initial scare had worn off. He hung his head, crestfallen, as if the galaxy had expected a gallant hero to emerge from the cell and he had failed them all. "They roughed us up a bit, but Devon punched the goon that leered at Celia and after that they seemed content to keep us locked up. We didn't know if they'd open the door again. There were bones in the corner..." He shook his head, rubbing his scalp as though he could pull the fear out of his brain and kick it under the bunk. "I thought the Republic didn't negotiate for hostages."
"We have alternate methods," Leia said vaguely. She kept silent about the corpses she'd put under his feet, and he didn't mention hearing the distinctive, crisp notes of an Alderaanian pistol. Sometimes, secrets in war were best kept for the sake of sanity. She had no doubt that Poe had learned so at a cruelly young age.
When they arrived at the base late that evening, three sleepless cadets in tow. Ben was one of the first to greet the party. He scowled at the straggling team and latched onto Leia, grievance in his stony eyes. "You said you'd be back this morning."
"We were delayed," Leia said, running a hand through his curls. Force, it was good to hold her boy again. She looked at the slumped teens in their midst - red-eyed and dazed by their ordeal - and let out a slow breath, grateful that their journey had not been in vain. "Another day, Ben."
"But you say that every time!" he keened.
"Hey." It was Dameron, quick on his feet but daft as a stunted mynock, who tried to be helpful by grabbing the boy's attention. "Your mom did real good today, Ben. In fact, she probably saved my life. If the medical droid clears me for tomorrow, I'll get you a frosty just to say thanks."
Leia snorted. As if the cadet would be able to drag himself out of his bunk for the next fourteen hours.
"I wasn't talking to you!" Ben snapped, baring his uneven teeth. Quick eyes put together the returning cadets and the prior absence of his mother. Flinging down Leia's hand, he rounded on Poe. "Why'd you have to be so stupid to get captured, anyways? We were doing just fine until you got into the middle of it!"
"Ben Solo!" Leia shouted, pulling her son back before a flabbergasted Poe could snap out a retort of his own. "What has gotten into you?"
"This whole thing sucks!" Ben screamed, wrenching his hand away. "No one ever cares about me! This is the worst day ever!"
Shame and exasperation flooded Leia as her son bolted. The boy had no control; no thought for anything save his selfish whims. To question her authority was one matter, but to publicly snub the efforts of a rescue team was a transgression comparable to treason for any grown lad. The celebration of a valiant extrication effort was quenched by the thoughtless reaction of a selfish child. It could not be permitted any longer.
Even as indignation flared hot within, dismay stunted Leia's reaction. Bail Organa had made many promises to her during her own childhood. Even in times of hardship, he had honored them as if they were vows made to a queen. Eight years a mother, and Leia was already failing to walk in his stead. If Ben lashed out in doubt and insecurity, was it not the fault of those whose failed to be reliable for their son? If I was there for him, just as I promised, this would never have happened. Yet how could she choose the happiness of her son over the lives of three innocents?
No, she could not have chosen otherwise. One day Ben would understand that there was more to leadership than diplomatic meetings and titles of honor. Sooner or later, the sacrifice must be asked. But she would not fault him for this transgression. He had reacted in pain, and she had caused it. One day he would learn to put the needs of others above his own.
When that day came, Leia was certain, he would be a fine general, just like his father. He just needed time.
(Aftermath)
"Poe, we can't waste the light."
"It's a blackout, not a power failure. One torch isn't going to signal a colo clawfish."
Ignorant of universal marine monsters, Rey looked at him like she wanted to lay both hands on his forehead to gauge his fever. Again. (As if that one instance in the crowded mess hall wasn't embarrassing enough - Snap still wanted proof of either sibling DNA or romantic affiliation after that little display.)
Rolling his eyes, Poe slid out a chair and stepped onto it, blowing dust off an array of models. They were tampering with Master Luke's private collection, but Finn was clingy regarding his toys, and besides, Luke was a Jedi. Wasn't there some code about spiritual hermits leaving behind their worldly possessions?
"We're not supposed to be here!" Rey hissed, looking agitatedly over her shoulder.
"Shhh!" Poe whispered. He rummaged carefully, wiping cobwebs away from faded labels, and seized a special edition Boonta Eve podracer. Classic.
"No, that one!" Rey exclaimed, jabbing at the largest boxes at the base of the closet.
"The medical frigate?" Poe made a face. "Gotta be the most boring ship in the fleet. Are you sure you want to - "
"No! That one!" Rey insisted, pointing to the case towering above the others.
Clambering down from his vantage point, Poe hefted the chair aside and swept dust from the patch of cardboard. He whistled low.
"That's an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer," he said with awe. "They stopped manufacturing these before I was born."
"I know how they're built," Rey said excitedly, snatching for the package.
"Whoah, whoah!" Poe cautioned, catching her hand before she could scurry off with her scavengings. "This is an exclusive. We can't just walk off with it." Luke will kill me. Or worse, I'll be demoted to sanitation detail.
"We're already breaking and entering," Rey argued with devious logic. "What's the difference if we take this or that flimsy race cart?"
"It's a common model," Poe reasoned. "They make 'em all the time." And it's less likely to be missed if a certain Jedi decides to rummage through his old stuff.
"Well, I want this one!" Rey answered, hauling up the model and hugging it to her chest. Daft if she didn't have a fluffy bird-monster's mooka eyes welling up at him, as though he might take her prize away without a whiff of compassion.
Poe was going to be indebted to the Skywalker financing program for a long time after this.
"Okay, fine," he huffed, switching off the light and slapping the door switch. Rey beamed, darting ahead of him to escape to the hall. "Just don't let the 3PO see you!"
True to her Jakku upbringing, Rey didn't stop running until she hurtled into Poe's quarters, out of breath and alight with laughter. Poe followed at a leisurely pace, scowling at a passing Bothan. No, we're not together and I will rig your sanisteam with salamander eggs if you mention anything otherwise.
Rey had already shredded the box seal and dumped the contents onto his desk by the time he arrived. The blueprints lay discarded on the floor. She was already sorting parts by joint and texture.
"These might be handy," Poe commented, scooping up the blueprints. Kriff, the manual was thick; one more indicator of how expensive the set must have been. At this rate he would be luckier to have a Hutt's bounty hanging over his head. Luke might sacrifice him on a pyre to appease the porg deities if he witnessed this sacrilege.
"I took one of these apart," Rey said, an electrified smile blossoming without coercion as she fitted the base plates. "I know where everything goes."
"Lucky," Poe grumbled, setting the manual where he could see it and sifting for pieces of the outer shell. He'd have given up his academy graduation certificate for the opportunity to take apart ancient Imperial engineering. Well, at least you got a close look at the inside of a Tie.
"These components are wrong," Rey said, scowling as she held a cannon turret to the desk bulb. "If this was a real ship it would never hold against the strain."
"Yeah, well it's not like they're firing actual lasers," Poe said, pulling back the tip of a springy cannon shot. "When it says 'real live space action' it's just a hoax for kids."
"Then why would Master Luke care if we borrowed it," Rey wondered.
Poe rubbed a hand over his mouth, a creeping sense of guilt and disaster filling him with visions of good-natured "borrowing" depleting the Resistance of every shiny tool and light fixture. He really was instilling some bad habits in the General's favorite scavenger.
"Uh... because adults like these, too," Poe said, squinting at the blueprints to ensure the A-J parts were really labeled through 'Part #10,087.' "And Finn has a couple Podracers."
Rey snorted. "How can they hold together if the engines are threaded with a single bolt of energy?"
Grinning, Poe began singling out the J pieces. "One of these days I'll take you to Malastare."
"Promise me."
"What?" Startled by the sudden fervor in Rey's tone, Poe set down J-814 and narrowed his eyes, trying to interpret the impassioned stoicism that baffled every mechanic who tried to sweet-talk the Falcon's pilot.
"Promise you'll take me there," Rey commanded. "That you won't die in battle or hand yourself over to the First Order just because you've given up."
What the - He was not suicidal after Ben's homicidal display. What sort of morons were feeding into Rey's paranoia for her friends?
"Okay, so who's been talking?" Poe asked, tossing J-814 onto the pile and leaning back in his chair.
"Everyone," Rey said, her brow furrowing with concern. "The pilots, the soldiers - they think you've given up hope. That it's only a matter of time."
"Huh." Trust the one person without social scruples to tell him what everyone else was avoiding. That explained Chewie's recent shadowing when he was tinkering in the hanger late at night.
"Rey, I'd like to reach forty before I hit the treeline," Poe reassured her. Not that he'd be lucky enough to survive to a decent, ripe age, but pilots tended to aim high.
"They say Kylo Ren stifled your resolve," Rey said.
Joyous news. His insanity had reached new peaks in the eyes of the public. "Six weeks ago I was blown off my ship, stabbed, brought back to life, caught a cold, and I still staved off a Dreadnaught," Poe deadpanned. "I'm friggin' invincible."
"No, you're not." The avid literalist didn't get the point. "Poe, we need you. If you die, hope goes with you."
Kriff, he'd just wanted an evening to pull out the rubber cement and coax a smile from a fellow orphan. This wasn't an invitation to hone in on his tragic life story.
Rubbing a hand over his face, Poe cast Rey a pleading glance, guaranteed to shame General Organa into leaving him alone for the night. "Rey, I'm not going anywhere. Can we just build?"
Closing her mouth in a firm line, Rey selected two of the base planks and slid them together. She would harangue him tomorrow, of this Poe was certain, but for now she respected his desire for peace. He continued sorting wood chips and bits of plastic, letting the silence rest for a few minutes before commenting on the durability of a Star Fighter hull.
That, of course, spiraled Rey into a heated description of how stupid the model designers were, not to account for the integrity of a starship that could overshadow a quarter of a small planet.
"Look at these Ties, Poe!" she stated, brandishing a tiny piece of unpainted plastic. "You can't even fit five into the docking bay. That racer is half the size of this model. How can it be strategically comparable?"
"Look, toys aren't scaled for exact battle stations," Poe said good-naturedly. "Most people just assemble them so they can paint the outer shell and hang'em somewhere."
"There's not even an engine!" Rey exclaimed. "Twelve Ties, no docking port, and no engine! How is this garbage supposed to fly?"
"You know, in my days we just held them up and went 'zoom,'" said a droll voice from the door.
Poe nearly toppled his chair. Rey squeaked and flipped a three centimeter Tie, where it was lost with a soft ping somewhere beyond Poe's laundry pile. In the doorway, Luke folded his arms and smirked.
"I seem to recall a blackout being in effect. You wouldn't be fudging the rules, Cadet?" he challenged.
I am so dead maybe there's time to will everything to Finn there will be porgs dancing over my pyre...
Rey knew her master well, however. "You're not angry?" she said with a sheepish smile.
"I thought these were discarded a long time ago," Luke said nostalgically, stepping inside to examine the torn box. "Glad someone is getting some use out of them."
"So you won't object if Poe wants the X-wing," Rey established. She caught Poe's panicked glance and whispered, "What's the matter? You were looking at it."
"Not the Rogue Squadron deluxe," Luke said, grimacing at the reminder. "I won that in a Sabaac match - can't find it anywhere else."
"That's all right; you can paint another starship," Rey said, patting Poe's hand in an attempt to sympathize. "What about that podracer you showed me?"
"What, the Boonta Eve exclusive?" Luke groaned. "That thing's worth more than Jabba's bounty on Han. Never mind," he said hastily, wiping a nervous hand over his brow. "I've sworn off collections. Just do me a kindness and paint them nicely. No aerial battles or flights over the staircase."
"Ben," Poe supplied softly. The memory dragged through his mind, like a burn that had healed slowly before the scar tissue was flayed open.
"My Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor," Luke said morosely. "The yellow one. Smashed it in the courtyard fountain."
Poe whistled low. "That was from the Old Republic era."
"Yup." Selecting a supporting plank, Luke examined it closely before squinting at the blueprints. He surveyed Rey's handiwork and then snatched up the instructions, crumpling them up and tossing them over his shoulder. "My apprentice seems to know what she's doing. Why don't you call that trooper kid in here? We need someone who knows the locations of the garbage disposals."