Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter 36

Wedge dropped out of the simulator cockpit, exhausted but happy. He glanced over at his wing mate and grinned, getting one in return. Flying with the Emperor…not something he had ever imagined in any way and yet it had been easy. It had been like flying with Wes or Biggs, they had just clicked. Biggs and Wes approached, and Biggs playfully punched the Emperor in the shoulder, making the younger man laugh. It was easy to forget how young he was, but he remembered Biggs telling them about his friend, how he was a few years younger than him.

Then the Emperor turned to him, still grinning "Great flying," he praised, and Wedge couldn't help grinning back.

"You too, you're the best pilot I've flown with or against."

The Emperor, no he'd told them to call him Luke, chuckled. "You've obviously never flown with my Father."

"There's a reason Blade Squadron loves it when he flies with us," Biggs offered. "Got much time before having to be our wonderous Emperor?" he teased, and Luke groaned before checking his wrist comm and the inbuilt chrono. "Another hour and then back to work."

"Lunch?" Biggs offered and Wedge stayed quiet even as Wes glanced at him.

Luke looked at them and Wedge nodded, he didn't mind. Wes just shrugged. So, the four of them went to the locker room to clean up and then down towards the officers mess, thanks to the Emperor no one would say anything since only Biggs was actually an officer.

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Cassian stood on the bridge of the Eclipse, staring out into space, they had a lead on Draven. He glanced to his side as he was joined, smiling as Jyn joined him in front of the viewport that took up the whole front of the bridge. She still wore clothes styled in the same manner as when he met her, and he couldn't imagine her in a uniform. No one had said a thing about her coming aboard, despite not being military or intelligence but the crew was unchanged from when they'd been rescued of Eadu so that was probably why. She slipped her hand in his briefly and he hid a smile. It felt strange, this connection between them, but he found himself coming to care for her more and more deeply as time went by, something he had never expected.

They dropped out of hyperspace in the Ileenium system and headed for D'Qar. The planet had been used by the Alliance since it was scouted, and they had been considering placing a full base on it but hadn't gotten around to it.

"Commander," Captain Needa called and Cassian turned to face the man. "Initial scans are showing limited humanoid life signs as well as ancient ruins and signs of ships."

Cassian accepted the datapad and looked over the data before passing it to Jyn who also read it over. "Looks like we found him," he said. The question was, what next? He'd been given full discretion which in some ways was nice, he didn't have to report back everything and then wait for orders, but it also meant if anything went wrong it was his fault.

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Obi-Wan smiled at his daughter as the rock slowly, shakily rose into the air. She had no interest in being a Jedi but had agreed to basic training for her own safety. It was nice to be training again and he was looking forward to hopefully having more students in the future. They'd tested her and while her count was far lower than Luke's it was around the same level as his own. There were those who disagreed with the new direction the Empire was taking or its continued existence and that meant there could be threats to the lives of Luke and Leia. She was good with a blaster and in hand to hand, but any Force training would give her an extra edge should someone attempt assassination.

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Cassian sat on his bed, head in his hands. They were returning to Coruscant, mission complete, 20 bodies in the ships morgue. They hadn't needed to die, Draven should have surrendered or tried to run and yet they had attacked in a suicide run at the men sent down to bring them in. He'd lost four of the troopers with him, but they had gotten every member of Draven's cell and the techs were cracking the encryption on the computers they'd found. He glanced up as the door opened and Jyn slipped into his bedroom to sit beside him.

"You did everything you could to ensure a peaceful end," she whispered. "It wasn't your fault," she promised as she took his hand and he turned to look at her.

"I believed in Draven, in the work we did," he choked out. The man had turned into a fanatic, an unhinged one and he hadn't seen that coming. He glanced over at Jyn and then he leant down and kissed her, and she kissed him back.

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Mon Mothma stared at the casket, this shouldn't have happened. Why had Draven done this? He had condemned the men under his command to death by ordering the attack on Andor's forces. She did not blame Cassian for what had happened although she knew some might. He had tried for a peaceful end and it had been Draven who escalated things. For years he'd been pushing his authority, like the attack on Luke at the Academy, that had not been sanctioned and never would have been. They should have done more then to reign him in. She looked up and nodded, backing away as the coffin was lifted onto the belt and moved into the incinerator. He had no living family to claim his body and the authorities of Pendarr III had no interest in claiming his body either, not wanting to be associated with him.

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Leia smiled as she danced with Luke, she couldn't believe it had been two years since they had become Emperor and Empress. It hadn't been easy, and they still had enemies out there, but they were making progress. Isard was still missing but the rest of the fleets had been fully merged together into one. The size of the Navy and Army had been reduced as had their power since they were no longer needed to keep such an iron grip on the Empire. She smiled as she saw two people dancing and turned them so Luke could see, laughing as his eyes went wide at the site of Senator Mon Mothma dancing with his Father.

Luke saw them dancing and nudged his Father. 'Having fun?' he sent through their bond.

'I loath dancing,' Anakin answered and Luke bit back a laugh.

'Then why?'

'For the press,' he grumbled, and Luke nodded.

"For the press," he whispered to his wife. Seeing the old Emperor's once feared enforcer dancing with one of the leaders of the now disbanded Alliance made for good press.

"We have news that should keep them happy for a while," she murmured against his cheek.

"Oh?"

"Well, an Imperial heir would make for big news," she offered, and Luke froze.

He pulled back to look down at her, eyes wide. "What?"

"I'm pregnant Luke," she smiled up at him.

"I…." he swallowed. "A baby?"

"Yes," it was very rare to see Luke so off balance and she saw his Father look over. She smiled at Anakin and then focused back on Luke who suddenly grabbed her and swept her up off her feet, spinning in a circle.

"I love you," he laughed.

"Luke, you're making a scene," she warned, and he grinned.

"I don't care," he admitted. "When do you want to announce it?"

"Well everyone's staring already," she admitted, and he nodded.

They walked to the stairs that lead to the Thrones and Luke held up a hand, the music falling silent. "I apologise for disrupting the festivities, but we have even more news to celebrate," he looked to her and Leia smiled.

"In seven months, there will be an Imperial heir," she finished for him and the room erupted in cheers and well wishes even as Anakin pulled her into a hug.

"I am so happy for you, congratulations," he told her, and she smiled.

"Thank you."

"Although I feel a little young to be a Grandfather," he admitted, and they laughed before Leia was being swarmed by the women attending the night.

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Cassian read the reports again, they had to find Isard, there had been an assassination attempt on General Dodonna by one of his own men. The soldier had been captured by the old Empire but had escaped after a few months…so they had thought. The man's last word before dying had been Lusankya. They still had no leads on her or the ship, it was like she'd never left the planet…was it possible?

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Luke smiled and wrapped his arms around Leia, feeling their baby kick. "How do you feel?"

"Fat," she groaned and then sighed as he kissed her.

"You're pregnant, not fat," he denied, kissing her again.

"I'm worried," she admitted.

"Isard?"

"Jan nearly died and there have been two other possible attacks."

"That's why only the 212th is near here, none of them are a risk and they will not allow anyone to harm you. And you're never unarmed."

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Luke turned to the screen. "Yes?" he asked his secretary.

"Your Majesty, Commander Andor is here to see you."

"Send him in," Luke answered, closing down the Senate hearings he'd been studying. The door opened and Cassian walked in and saluted. Luke nodded and motioned him to a chair. "What can I do for you?"

"I think I may have found Isard," Cassian answered, handing over the datapad and Luke quickly transferred the data to his system.

He read it and then looked at Cassian. "You think she's still on planet?"

"Yes Sir. See these records, a massive construction project near the mountains. It's supposedly a large planetary shield generator and was built over. Yet there is no shield coming from that area. the area has since been built over. Also, those old tunnels we've been finding and looking into…several seem to head in that direction."

Luke nodded and they began digging deeper into just what had been built on that side of the planet.

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"Your Majesty!" A young voice called, and Luke turned before entering the Senate to give the opening address for the season. Leia usually did but she was too far along.

"What is it?" He asked even as Cody shifted at his side, hand near his blaster.

"The Empress…she's been taken to medical. It's time Sir!" The boy, no more than sixteen called and Luke frowned, time…

Luke's eyes widened, oh, time. He glanced at Cody and then raised his comm. "Father, I need you to give the opening address, it's time," he said even as he began to walk very quickly down the hall.

"Understood, I am on my way. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are on their way to medical," Anakin answered.

"Thanks," Luke told him as he jumped in his speeder and took off, ignoring many of the traffic rules, Cody holding on tightly beside him. After the death of his own Mather and Sabé in childbirth they were taking no chances with Leia. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka would be on hand to assist with lending her strength and healing if needed and they had the best specialists in human childbirth on hand. They soon arrived and the staff led them into a well-equipped room where Leia was dressed in a white medical gown and pacing. "Leia," he moved to her side and kissed her gently. "How do you feel?"

"Alright, ready for this to be done," she admitted, leaning against him and Luke gently fed her some of his strength, trying to take the discomfort from her and she smiled.

"Your Father and Ahsoka are on the way, Father will be addressing the Senate."

"Childbirth takes time, you could have stayed."

"I don't want to miss a moment," he admitted. "Should you be up?"

"Walking helps speed the baby's move deeper into the pelvis, gravity helps speed it up," she answered so he walked with her until Obi-Wan and Ahsoka arrived. It took two hours before she was helped onto the bed and examined again.

"Very good your Majesty, you are fully dilated and ready to begin pushing with the contractions," the midwife told her, and Leia nodded. "Do you need more pain relief?"

"No," Leia took a deep breath and began to push with every contraction, Luke holding her hand. Ahsoka stood behind the bed, hands on her shoulders as she closed her eyes and focused on the Force. Obi-Wan focused on helping Leia and Luke stay calm, giving her ice chips and keeping her cool with a damp cloth.

Five hours later the cries of a newborn filled the room and Leia slumped back, exhausted even with their help. The medics quickly cut the cord and then took the child to examine and clean. A few minutes later they handed the now clean baby to Leia who cradled it close. "Congratulations Your Majesties, the child is a girl."

"I am so proud of you," Luke murmured, kissing Leia's cheek. "What are we going to name her?" They hadn't really discussed it, they hadn't even asked the gender, wanting to be surprised.

"Padme?" Leia offered and Luke swallowed, honoured that she would offer to name their first child after his Mother when she'd lost two herself.

"You're sure?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Padme Skywalker," Ahsoka smiled, happy for them.

"A fine name," Obi-Wan agreed as Leia handed the baby to Luke who cradled her close, eyes filled with love. This was how Luke's birth should have been, how Leia's should have been.

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The crowds went wild as the Royal family appeared on the Palace balcony, presenting the heir to the Throne for the first time. And then Luke was moving, lightsaber humming to life as he deflected blaster bolts, two more lightsabers appearing as Anakin and Obi-Wan began blocking as well, all three men moving to cover Leia and Padme even as Ahsoka leapt from the balcony, taking off after the shooters. The 212th quickly moved in as did Imperial Intelligence. They were soon safely at the secure room and as much as he didn't want to, Luke entered it alongside his wife and daughter as was protocol.

They waited for over an hour until finally the all clear was given and they could leave to return to their quarters, Leia settling Padme in her room. Boomer, Spark, Deviss and Switch stood in the corners of the room, ready to defend the young Princess with their lives. She kissed Padme's cheek and then left to join Luke out in the main rooms to wait for more information. Finally, the three Force users entered, all uninjured.

"What happened?"

"Sleeper agents," Anakin growled even as he checked on his granddaughter with the Force, using her bright presence to help calm himself.

"Lusankya?"

"Indeed," Obi-Wan also checked on his granddaughter, still shocked and amused that they shared a grandchild, something he had never dreamed of.

"We need to stop Isard before anyone else is captured and turned or activated against their will," Leia stated firmly, and the men nodded in agreement.

"Send for Commander Andor," he told Cody who nodded and sent the message.

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Cassian looked as his men, all standing ready, weapons out. They were waiting for the signal from Admiral Skywalker and General Kenobi who were tracking somehow with the Force. They had finally pinpointed the ships location and were ready to storm it. They had to take it quickly in order to ensure no one could initiate the launch, if that happened hundreds of thousands would die but they could not evacuate without risking tipping them off. They also didn't want to endanger any remaining prisoners or risk them wiping data on what had been done to them, taking away their chances of finding a way to deprogram them.

TBC…