CHAPTER 12

Lantillies

Leia stepped out of the Millennium Falcon, breathing in the fresh air. The town the informant was meeting her in was far from the ship yards, both a blessing and a curse. It would be much easier to see if she had a tail and there was less Imperial presence, but there was nowhere to blend in. Thankfully she had arrived three hours before the meeting time, giving her time get a rhythm of the city, and make sure she wasn't walking into a trap. Already she could see there was a platoon of stormtroopers in the town, but as long as their presence didn't suddenly increase, everything should be fine. Her three years of training had distanced her from her prominent position in the rebellion, and diminished the Empire's interest in her. It felt nice being able to go out and not have her face plastered all over the walls and holo ports.

"Should I stay with the ship?" Han asked, coming down the ramp.

"We have a few hours, but stay close. There's stormtroopers here."

"Your wish is my command," Han said, waving for Chewie to come down as well. "Would you want to grab a bite to eat with us? There hasn't been anything good to eat on the ship for the past few days."

"Sounds like you should've restocked after your last mission. But I don't see the harm."

Chewbacca roared something in response, and Han chuckled.

"Yeah I'm sure there's gotta be something decent on this planet."

"Certainly, neither of you is going to be anywhere near a kitchen," Leia quipped.

"Forgive me for not being up to the standards of your private chef, Princess," Han retorted, stopping for a moment to look in a shop window.

"I'll have you know I-,"

"Leia?" Han called, turning back to check on the princess. "Leia are you alright?" he asked, grabbing her by the arms to make sure she didn't fall. Suddenly she had started swaying, leaning up against one of the buildings for support. "What's wrong?" her face was a little paler than normal, and her breathing was faster.

"That scoundrel!" she hissed, pushing Han away.

"Sorry I checked on you," Han said, backing away defensively.

"Not you," she snapped. "It's Luke, he's here."

"Here?" Han repeated, looking around.

"Not here, but he's close, I felt him."

"Is that a Jedi thing?"

Leia nodded in response, focusing on something.

"He's in some kind of forest, near a canyon," Leia said, taking off down the street, Han jogged to catch up with her.

"What're you going to do?"

"Find him and bring him back," Leia said, the same look in her eye as when they had escaped the Death Star. Han knew that look, and whatever she was going to do there was no stopping her.

"He did leave Leia, and the Rebellion doesn't exactly force people to come back."

"I will if it's my brother."

"Your brother?" Han echoed, stopping in shock. Leia halted as well, moving in close so no one would overhear their conversation.

"Luke is my brother," she said very quietly.

"How? Why didn't you say so sooner?" Han sputtered, trying to put it together in his head. How the hell was the Princess of Alderaan related to a farm boy from Tatooine.

"It's complicated, but he is my twin. I didn't say anything because I honestly wasn't sure he was alive. Obi-Wan said he knew he hadn't died, but I didn't believe him. But now that I know he's here I have to know why he left the Rebellion, was a guest of the Emperor, and promptly disappeared from the galaxy."

"Luke was with the Emperor?"

"Yes I know it sounds bad but I promise I will explain when I bring him back, or better yet he can. I'll send you the information on the informant in case I can't make it back to the rendezvous."

"Leia this is insane," Han said, following her as she began walking off again.

"Not entirely. I know he's close," she answered, pushing her way into the local library. "If I can find the same canyon and forest on one of the maps in here, I should be able to find him myself and hopefully bring him back."

"Well if you're going after the kid then I'm going with you," Han said firmly, crossing his arms in front of him.

"Someone has to meet our friend, and it can't be the two resting on the ship," Leia said in a low voice, scanning the holographic map in front of her.

"Can't you reschedule? Or find Luke after the meeting?"

"No. He might try to leave if he knows he's been detected, and I won't risk losing him, not when he was able to hide for so long," Leia argued. Han scowled, but relented.

"Fine. When are we supposed to meet?"

"Kriff!" Luke shouted, shaking around in pain. R2 beeped, and he shook his head.

"No I'm fine. Just caught my hand in something," he answered, walking away from the blasted speeder. Today was the day it decided to go on the fritz, right when he needed to make a run into Idrasos, which he only did once a month in the first place.

In his frustration, Luke inadvertently dropped his shields, only for a moment. Realizing what he had done he quickly threw them back up, reaching out for anyone who could have detected. Surprisingly, there was someone on the planet, someone familiar.

Uneasy with the arrival of a Force user he didn't entirely recognize, Luke threw himself back into the speeder repairs.