"Ten minutes to return to realspace. Please strap yourself in in case of evasive action around debris or other craft."
Luke followed the directions of the voice over the speaker and did like the other passengers on their way to Coruscant. It had taken a few days, but he didn't mind. The time traveling had given him time to think about what had happened and he had had a lot to think about. He knew he could have gotten in contact with a New Republic base sooner, but that would also have meant talking to people, who might not have known he was missing and thus a whole lot of questions. He couldn't very well disguise the fact that he had been through hell considering how gaunt his face still looked, and from scanning the news he knew his disappearance had not been reported. No, it was better to wait and talk directly to Leia and General Cracken once he got back.
He leaned back in his seat. It had taken him a few changes of flight to get all the way to Coruscant; he had gotten lucky and met a trader in the first spaceport, who was going to a planet further towards the Core, which also had a larger and more bustling spaceport. That trader had been happy to earn a little extra from taking a passenger with him, and had been particularly happy when Luke had fixed a wonky stabilizer. In fact, he had offered to take him further coreward for free, provided he used his skills as a mechanic to fix up some other issues onboard. Under other circumstances Luke might have accepted the offer, but it would have meant waiting around the spaceport for the trader to conclude business, and it would simply have taken more time. So he had politely declined and gotten a standing offer to return should he change his mind. Luke knew the trader hadn't had a glue who he really was and it was just as well.
It had taken him another hour at that spaceport before he found another ship to travel on, getting him closer to Coruscant, and finally he had bought a ticket for a large passenger liner for the last leg of his journey. He had kept his hood up throughout the journey and together with the beard nobody had recognized him. And should someone show interest in him, then he had gently used the Force to direct it away from him again.
Now he was back. Luke didn't want the New Republic to go looking for Mara. He knew nothing of what had happened was truly her fault; she had acted on the beliefs Palpatine had instilled in her, all of his hate and anger towards him, his lies and deceit, and now she was finally free of them. He had no wish for revenge and taking the slow route back also meant giving her more time to erase her tracks and disappear among the stars.
He sighed. He couldn't change what had happened, but he hoped he could convince the NRI not to chase her. The NRI and his sister. He doubted Leia would want to let something like this go, but he hoped he could convince her.
Then he felt the slight shift as they returned to realspace and he felt the distant, bustling planet of Coruscant once again. It was amazing how different everything felt now; it was like the galaxy around him had somehow become sharper, brighter, during his captivity as if the Force was determined to show him new sides of it, of the life it teemed with. He reached out to the planet they were fast approaching and almost felt overwhelmed by all of it. He narrowed his focus and sought out the one person he really needed to contact.
Leia. He put as much comfort and reassurance into the thought as he could.
Her response was almost instant and much clearer than he had expected. Luke?
Yes. I am back.
Where are you?! He could feel her concern through the Force, and quickly sent soothing emotions over their bond.
Don't worry, sis. I'm currently in Coruscant space, but the ship will land soon. Then I will come to the palace.
Where are you coming in? I'll send an airspeeder to pick you up. Although she seemed calmer now, he still got the feeling she wouldn't be totally reassured until he was back at the palace itself. If he had had any doubt about whether Leia knew about his troubles or not it was now gone.
South-western quadrant 6, Terria Spaceport. He listened to the voice of the intercom for a moment. We should land in about twenty minutes and I should have disembarked about ten minutes later.
Fine. I'll send someone to pick you up there then.
Leia ... just so you know I'm traveling incognito.
There was a short pause before she replied. I understand. I'll make sure they are discreet and someone you will recognize.
Thank you, sis. I will see you soon then.
You, too. There was a warmth mingled with lingering worry in her emotions, but Luke could tell she was truly happy to have him home. He gently retreated and closed down the connection.
He closed his eyes, sighing slightly. Leia had changed, too. He could feel it. She had never been this good at communicating via the Force before, but now she had done it almost flawlessly. It was clear she had been practicing and it was another thing Luke would need to talk about with her. But it could wait.
The captain was informing them of their reentry into atmosphere and how they might feel some turbulence, that their flight was on schedule for landing, and that they must not forget any luggage. Luke only listened to it with half an ear. He had no luggage except for the sack Mara had given him and that was firmly secured across his body. He still had a single ration bar left in it, plus the water bottle Mara had given him, and, of course, his lightsaber, which he had decided to hide away for his journey. Besides it made his belt hang awkwardly. He might have regained a few pounds in the last couple of days, but it would take a while before everything stopped being loose on him.
Luke felt it when the spaceport's tractorbeam caught the big liner and brought them the last bit of the way in; with ships as big as this most spaceports did not take any chances on the skills of the pilots. That also meant an almost unnoticeable stop as they connected to the landing platform.
Together with all the other passengers he unbuckled his restraints and patiently waited his turn to disembark. He idly thought that it had been a good experience traveling like this and seeing things from the perspective of the normal citizens rather than what his privileged rank normally meant.
Someone bumped into him and his hand automatically snaked out, catching the hand of the would-be thief before the other could get their hand into his bag. The thief looked startled at his fast reaction and quickly withdrew. Luke let go. He might look like an easy target, but that didn't mean he had to be one.
A few minutes later he was walking through the spaceport, trusting his feet to bring him in the right direction, and it didn't take him long to spot the people Leia had sent for him. Luke smiled slightly. Trust Leia to make a statement.
"Hello, Wedge, Chewie."
The wookiee roared a greeting and Wedge shook his head.
"Blast, Luke, you look worse than when you met that wampa."
"I know. To be honest this wasn't one of my better ones, I'll admit," Luke replied as they started walking.
"You okay?" Wedge asked, glancing at Luke out the corner of his eye.
Luke could hear the unspoken questions in that simple question. "Yeah, I am. I've been better, true, but I'm all right." He laid a hand on Wedge's arm. "Don't worry about me, Wedge. Things were rough, but they turned out all right in the end."
Wedge nodded and held the door open for Luke, while Chewbacca kept a sharp eye on their surroundings. Leia sent me bodyguards. She is still worried about my safety.
"Well, we'll be at the palace in half an hour, so sit back and relax, and when you feel ready, tell me about it."
Luke nodded from the backseat. "I will. But first I have an overprotective sister to calm and reassure."
Chewie huffed in a wookiee laugh from the seat next to Wedge, and even Wedge had to smile.
"That obvious, huh? Yeah, she wanted us to look out for you. You really had her scared this time, Luke."
"I know," Luke said softly. "I'll try to not do it again."
"I think that would probably be best for everyone," Wedge agreed. "Otherwise we might end up tearing the Empire apart to find you."
He said it lightly enough, but Luke could hear the strain under the words, and wondered just how bad things had been here while he had been captured. Well, he would find out soon enough. For now he just sat back and enjoyed Wedge's piloting and looked forward to flying again himself.
ยง
Leia stood in the private hangar of the palace that was reserved for her use and that of her family and guests and waited. Artoo and Han were with her and Han had draped one arm over her shoulders in a comforting manner. She was glad for his company; it had been some difficult weeks, but once the tension left her a few days back she had found herself able to concentrate on her work again, much to Mon Mothma's delight. She knew she would soon be pushed fully back into the work of getting the New Republic truly functional and working as a cohesive unit, just as Han would soon be expected to go chasing warlords again, but for now she had him with her and soon Luke would be with them, too.
She could feel Luke getting nearer; all her practice with the Force had helped her learn how to pinpoint people and it had been so easy to sense him when he returned to Coruscant space. She now felt certain that she could have found him if she had gone to the right planet and it gave her a great deal of comfort. She didn't want to consider the possibility that something like this might happen again, but at least she was better prepared now, and she had vowed she would continue her training so Luke would not stand alone in the future.
Finally she saw the closed airspeeder as Wedge expertly maneuvered it into line with the opening and landed it a few meters from where she, Han, and Artoo stood.
"He's back," she breathed, and Han gave her shoulders a squeeze. She twisted slightly towards the entrance just as it opened to admit General Cracken. Part of Leia would have preferred this meeting to just be about her and Luke, but she knew that the general would have a lot of questions for Luke and that those would help them find the culprits, so she accepted his presence. "Welcome, General."
"Councilor Organa, General Solo," he greeted them. He walked up to them just as the speeder engine died down and the doors opened. Leia held her breath and didn't release it until she saw Luke step out.
Then she stepped away from Han, arms outstretched in greeting. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw his face; it was gaunt and sunken and a short, full beard adorned it. But his smile was as radiant as always when he looked at her.
"Leia." His voice was warm and he hugged her affectionately. Leia returned the hug, holding him tightly. By the Force! He has lost so much weight. She could feel his bones where muscles usually covered them and she felt a surge of worry.
He withdrew to look her in the eyes. "I'm all right, Leia. Don't worry about me anymore."
"Oh, Luke. I'm so sorry I couldn't find you," she said.
Luke gently touched her face. "Don't be; it all turned out right in the end."
Leia hugged him tightly again before she reluctantly let go so Han could hug him, too.
"Welcome back, kid. You really had us scared there. The princess was almost sick with worry about you." Artoo tweeped his agreement.
"Sorry," Luke said with a little smile. "I'll do my best not to get captured again."
"Speaking of captured ..." General Cracken said. "Pardon me for interrupting, but how did you escape? We got the impression such a thing would not be possible, at least not on your own accord."
Luke nodded. "You're right, General. And the truth is that I didn't escape."
"What?!" Han exclaimed, but Luke raised a hand to forestall further questions.
"I didn't escape, because she released me and set me free," he explained.
"What? Just like that?" Wedge asked.
"Oh, I'll not pretend it was easy," Luke said, "but yes. I finally managed to convince her that it was the Empire that was evil, not the Republic, and she set me free. She even returned my lightsaber," he said and pulled it out of the sack.
For a moment they all just stared at him in disbelief. Leia was speechless; Luke had talked his way out of torture and imprisonment? It was Han, who voiced what they were all thinking.
"You talked your way out of it?! Talked?! Emperor's black bones, Luke!"
Luke made a face. "Yeah, that's a pretty apt expression, considering this was just the ghost of his hate rearing its ugly head again."
General Cracken shook his head. "So where are they now? The people behind all of this?" He looked at Luke as if he had a suspicion of what Luke had done and Leia felt the same knot tie in her stomach. He hadn't ...
Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I know she left, but I have no idea where in the galaxy she might have gone. And I'm pretty sure she was working alone, General."
"What? Just one person?" Wedge said, looking at Luke in disbelief.
Luke nodded in confirmation. "Just one person."
Chewie grumbled a comment and Han nodded his agreement.
"She must be one hell of a person if she could plan all this and capture you on her own," he said.
"Yes," Luke agreed. "She is. But you don't need to worry about her anymore; she is no longer a threat to the New Republic."
Leia shook her head. "How can you say that, Luke? She tortured you!"
Luke reached out and took her hands between his. "I know, sis. But she has changed. She won't be a danger to us again." He felt so calm, so sure, as he spoke, but Leia did not share his conviction that they should just let her go. That woman had hurt him and deserved to be punished for it. Luke squeezed her hands. "Let it go, Leia. She is gone and spending resources looking for her won't get us anywhere." He shifted his gaze to General Cracken. "I mean it, General. Don't waste the NRI's resources trying to track her down; she will have made sure you are not successful."
For a long moment Cracken looked at him, sizing him up. "You were slow in returning and sharing your former location with us. In fact, you have yet to share that location with us," he said slowly. "You have essentially ensured she would get a decent lead and plenty of time to cover her tracks."
"General!" Leia exclaimed, feeling angry at the implied accusation at her brother.
But Luke just squeezed her hands again to calm her down and met Cracken's gaze openly. Leia held her breath as the two of them stared each other down, but finally Cracken sighed and slumped his shoulders.
"I still want a proper report, but I doubt we'll get anything out of pursuing her now."
Luke inclined his head in a nod. "And you will have it, General."
Leia shook her head. "No. Luke, you can't just let her get away with this." She hurt you.
Luke met her gaze again. "I know, Leia. But it's over now and seeking revenge will only hurt you more. Let it go. Please. If not for your own sake, then for mine." He held her gaze until she finally dropped her own. He gave her hands another squeeze before letting go. He looked at General Cracken again. "Will you want a report right away, or can it wait until I've had a change to freshen up and change into something else?"
General Cracken shrugged. "Doesn't seem to matter one way or another anymore. Let me know when you are ready and then we'll talk."
"Thank you, General."
Cracken shrugged, shook his head slightly and walked away.
"Come on, kid," Han said, draping his arm over his shoulders. "Let's get you back to your quarters and then later you can tell us all about your little adventure."
Luke smiled gratefully at him. Trust Han to lighten the mood, Leia thought.
Leia tried smiling, too, but it felt forced. Luke wanted her to forget about what had happened, but she couldn't, not after those horrible holovids and weeks of constant, gnawing worry. No, she would find that woman and then she would pay for her crimes, regardless of what Luke said or wished. Luke might be a jedi and able to simply forgive and forget, but Leia couldn't do that. She will pay for her crimes, I swear it. One day I will find her and then she will regret ever touching my brother.
She followed Han, Luke, and Artoo out of the hangar, her silent vow echoing through her mind. One day she would make her pay.
AN: That's it. I hope you have enjoyed reading the story. Thanks to everyone who have reviewed; it means a lot to me. :) I'll probably turn my attention to my other fandoms now since they seem to be more interactive than the Star Wars fandom currently is, and I use fanfiction for both writing motivation and to improve my writing. If you read the story then I'd love to hear what you thought of it; con crit is welcome.
P.s. I have not planned a sequel to this story, so feel free to imagine whatever you want. :)