Chapter Ten:
As the sun began its rise over the ecumenopolis known as Coruscant, Padmé lay in bed. She'd awakened in the early hours of the night after a disturbing dream in which Leia had become more beautiful and loved than Padmé. Now she rolled something around in her head that she had been contemplating for some hours now, and the more she turned the prospect around in her mind— and the multiple benefits it would also generate— the more she was taken with it.
Yes... her plan would work beautifully, and Leia wouldn't be the wiser...
Now Padmé only had to select the proper girl for the job. Someone fresh; someone Leia wouldn't suspect would be working for Padmé in reality. There was no way any of Padmé's known handmaidens would work: Leia would discern instantly not to trust the women.
But who...
Then Padmé struck gold. There were a trio of young women in training for handmaiden positions already, and they were almost done with their tutoring. She would select the most... unassuming of the three for the task. Or perhaps the best actress?
Padmé would need to give the thought more consideration, but that could wait until she'd had the chance to see those young ladies for herself. A pleased smile curving her lips, Padmé finally rose and prepared to greet the day.
00000
It had been three hours since Han and Chewbacca had left, and the ship was far too quiet for Luke's taste. He had already run through every exercise he knew... some of them twice, but now he had nothing with which to occupy himself since Han had forbidden Luke touch so much as a bolt on the ship with the intention of 'fixing' something.
Luke snorted softly at that. Fix... more like add to the rat's nest this ship already was under all the decking and bulkheads.
It was clear this ship was so modified that only the two who lived on it could understand it. Luke had barely managed in the escape, and that had been an emergency. He hadn't exactly had time to really look at it all save to notice it was a lost cause.
If Vader had seen the way this ship was held together, he'd have instantly demanded the ship be scraped since it was essentially a flying hazard. The thought of his father wiped the smile from Luke's face and he grew solemn again.
That led to his feeling caged, and whenever that happened he needed to walk the tension off. And the chance to do that in fresh air— and real nature, not the metal and stone forest of skyscrapers on Coruscant— was too much to pass up.
But he couldn't just leave the ramp down...
Luke recalled seeing a top hatch while heading for the gun turret before and chose to use that as his access point. After grabbing a backpack and water, Luke exited the Falcon. He set a Force-based marker on the ship so he could find it again when he needed to return, and then closed the top hatch but didn't lock it.
He paused, taking a deep breath of the moist air and looking all around him. Where to begin?
Oddly enough, he felt the slightest pull west and, with nothing else to go off of, Luke decided to do just that. He checked his weapons just in case and then jumped down from the ship to walk into the trees.
It didn't take long for Luke to lose himself to the abundance of life all around him. Avians of all colors and sizes crossed his path in the air as he wandered, and Luke allowed himself to observe all the creatures and plants in an effort to keep his mind off of his troubles.
He kept walking, deeper into the rainforest and unafraid of the wildlife. As he rounded a collection of giant boulders Luke stumbled across a herd of herbivores of some sort. The entire group lifted their heads at his abrupt appearance and Luke froze in shock himself, not daring to move lest he start a panic.
These creatures were about the size of an eopie from Tatooine, though their fur was a ruddy reddish brown. Darker colored stripes ran down their bodies to no doubt act as camouflage, and their refined heads gazed at him with black eyes. There were a few males in the group judging by the intricate antlers they adorned, though Luke was swift to find the patriarch from his much more pronounced set.
And indeed this dominant male eyed Luke suspiciously before he trumpeted and the herd broke into a gallop to disappear into the forest. Once the ground stopped rumbling from the combined hoof-power, Luke moved onward.
00000
"I see you had trouble sleeping last night also."
Leia jerked upright, looking around in a disoriented panic for a few heartbeats before she registered who stood before her desk. Leia blinked a few times, wondering when exactly she'd drifted off, though judging by her sore neck and back, she had been asleep for a few hours at least.
"Father?" Leia asked groggily, doing her best to wake up further. Her glance happened upon the screen of the computer and she was gratified to find it had put itself to sleep. Recalling her searching last night, she didn't want to bear the wrath of her father if he suspected anything.
Looking back, she should have been far more careful about doing such a search here in the Imperial Palace.
"Have you heard anything from your brother?" Darth Vader inquired.
The query brought Leia back to sudden full awareness, and she looked up to her father's blue eyes. "No, I haven't," she answered. "Have you?"
The man's eyebrow lifted. "If I knew, would I be here asking you?"
Leia winced. "No. Forgive me, Father."
"You haven't had any contact from Luke since he left?" Vader went on, ignoring her apology.
"No." Leia shook her head.
Vader eyed her. "Did he give you any indication of abandoning his post before he left?"
Leia frowned, but her gut was turning into a lump of durasteel. "No."
Her father's head turned somewhat, and she felt a mental nudge from him, and she held her shields steady. Vader still pressed her, however, and Leia wondered if her political mask wasn't solid.
"You don't sound especially certain of that fact, Leia." Vader remarked.
"I..." Leia paused, thinking, and knowing that act alone solidified her father's suspicion. She didn't want to give Luke away... but at the same time, maybe she could give half-truths... she had to try and maintain some semblance of a relationship with the man before her. "He was upset after the execution, yes. He was... well, bothered by it."
Leia saw the disappointment clearly written on Vader's face and her heart went out to her twin. "Father, he wasn't expecting you to make our... abilities public like that." She tried to reason. "You've always kept that under wraps."
"Luke should have been ready for anything," Vader growled. "It was part of your training, was it not, Daughter?"
Leia used her political training to keep from flinching outwardly. "Yes, it was."
"He is weak, and now he has abandoned his post." Vader paused a fraction of a second, then, "he's abandoned this family."
Leia didn't reply verbally, but the thought flickered through her mind of 'what family?'
Thankfully her father seemed to not have caught the notion, and Leia was left to watching him turn.
"I do hope you will not be so foolish as your brother, Leia," the man said as he began to leave. "You haven't as of yet disappointed me as Luke has."
Leia opened her mouth... shut it again. What was to be said to something like that?
"Good day, Daughter." Vader stated.
"Thank you... Father," Leia responded softly, though the door was already closed behind him.
00000
Luke had lost track of definite time, though he could tell by the position of the sun that it was late afternoon. He was also quite deep into the forest, and for quite some time he'd come to feel like he was being watched.
But so far nothing had jumped out at him as the reason. Sensing no imminent threat, Luke surmised that it was probably some creature trailing him.
Luke paused on an outcropping of rock to take a swig from his water skin. As his head tilted back, his gaze happened to fall upon something odd in the canopy. Pausing in his drink, Luke squinted in an effort to see it better.
Indeed there was something... anomalous about a gigantic trio of trees a few yards away. Replacing the water container to his belt, Luke strode off in the direction of his newfound irregularity. Luke studied it from the ground for a while before the shape became something he could recognize: a ship.
Or rather, what was left of one.
Surprised, Luke pursed his lips... and then sought for a way to climb up. He found some thick vines that wrapped about the trunk of the tree and tested their strength. They held once he put all his weight on them and so he climbed them like a rope-ladder. The climb was tedious since the tree was so large, but Luke relished the challenge. He encountered a bright blue bird midway and it flew off with an indignant squawk. Luke eyed the vast, dense canopy and wondered if this craft had been discovered before.
But the closer to it he came, the less that sounded plausible. The ship looked like it hadn't been touched by sentient hands in millennia. It was rusted through in many places, with gaping holes filled in by vegetation and even a nest of tiny monkeys that scattered away from him as he approached.
Luke paused once he was close enough to see the vessel better, and now that he could make it out from up close he whistled in awe. The ship before him was something he never thought he would see in reality: an Old Republic-era space vessel.
The architecture was elegant as befitted most of the ship designs of that timeframe, and Luke marveled at it for a short time. He followed the remains of the once-perfect curves as the hull tapered beautifully into a nose that would cut through space like a spiral seashell.
Luke was reminded of his position clinging to vines when one of the monkeys decided to investigate him closer. Luke smiled gently at the creature and moved closer to the ship. He gingerly placed one foot inside what had once been an entryway. The ramp had long-since been lost, and the interior of the ship was dark while pockmarked by light via the holes in its hull.
When the ship didn't shift under his added weight, he considered. Then he placed his other foot down and, without releasing his handhold on the vines still, tested the stability of the ship once more. Nothing happened yet again.
Luke finally released the vines and stood completely in the ship. Now that he was in the shadows, his eyesight began compensating, allowing him to see in the gloom better. A corridor led left and Luke could see a lobby. When he cautiously made his way that direction, Luke could see tiny segments of ancient red paint still on whatever part of the walls weren't rusted or overgrown.
Seats that had once been plush and comfortable were either twisted, broken off, or the cushions were completely rotted through, leaving only tattered remains of fabric that was fraught with mildew.
A computer terminal stared back at him, showing Luke his distorted reflection in its broken glass. The parts were beyond salvageable, but Luke didn't mind.
He moved though the ship with extreme caution, feeling as though he was on tour of a piece of history. And in reality, he was, even if it wasn't very well preserved. Animal droppings littered the floor and Luke glanced inside each cabin until he came to the master suite.
There he paused, eyeing one wall with a critical eye. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that wall looked almost too-well preserved. Head tilted in indecision, Luke eyed it for long minutes, and then used the Force to check for danger. When nothing lit up his senses with the bitter taste of danger, Luke approached what he saw could be a closet.
He felt along the wall with gentle fingers until he found a release. The panel cracked open to reveal a somewhat disappointing display. What he'd thought would be an interesting find turned out to be nothing more than a junk pile.
Although, Luke noted as he stared at it a bit more out of sheer curiosity, there seemed to be only mechanical components inside. Clearly someone loved to tinker.
Feeling an unforeseen spark of kinship with the owner of this ship in that regards, Luke knelt before the heap, and only then noticed something that gave him pause. He leaned a bit closer and blinked to find double-slit eye sockets gazing up at him from an odd angle. Carefully moving some of the surrounding mechanics away, Luke unearthed a narrow, conical droid head.
Interest piqued far more now, Luke dug around the head some more, but found it ended in a narrow neck piece. Pursing his lips, Luke carefully picked up the entire assembly, turning it about in his hands to inspect it closely.
The innards were a mess and most of the wires corroded, but the body-casing of this part was actually— surprisingly— in pretty good shape. After a further minute of contemplation, Luke slung his pack off and placed the part into it. He carefully sifted through the remainder of the pile and came up with a few more odd appendages, though he still lacked a main body piece. Luke pocketed anything that looked useful and when he stood, the backpack was far heaver than when he'd begun.
He questioned his choice to add to his weight, wondering if his new load would affect the ancient craft any. But apparently it was held fast by the vines and boughs upon which it rested, because the vessel it didn't so much as twitch.
Luke finished looking at the rest of the ship just for the sake of seeing it all before he felt sated. He turned to leave and as he reached the entrance he'd used the air about him shifted.
Luke froze, tense and ready for anything even as he frowned uncertainly.
Luke...
He gasped. There was that voice again! The one from the day he'd tried to kill Han! Luke whirled, eyes searching almost frantically before he felt the air shift again and he was overcome with a sense of weightlessness.
Luke reeled for a moment, especially when he stopped moving. While he was regaining his balance, the voice came again, only it was right beside him.
"Luke."
Again Luke flipped around, and his eyes widened some to see a middle-aged woman with kind features gazing at him. She had skin that looked as if it had spent all its days under a desert sun and dark hair pulled into a simple bun. A soft smile painted her lips, and Luke had the oddest sense of déjà vu upon seeing it.
"Hello Luke," the woman said quietly.
Luke frowned, looking her up and down to see her more clearly. "Who are you? And how do you know me?"
Her smile turned sad. "You wouldn't know me, would you? I'm seldom a topic to be discussed. Though I suppose it's my little boy's way of avoiding the pain."
Luke tried to ignore his growing confusion, even as he recognized that this was a vision of some sort. "What do you want with me?"
"To help you... and in turn ask for your assistance." The woman looked down for a moment. "Your destiny will not be an easy one, Luke, but it is one that the galaxy desperately needs."
"I..." Luke fumbled. "Destiny? How would you know anything about me? And who are you?"
She stepped closer. "Someone who loves you very much, even though we never met in the flesh. And my son never speaks of me because he still mourns me... or at least, he did." She closed her eyes, and Luke was surprised to see a teardrop leak from between her lashes. "I have tried to reach him myself, but I fear my son is beyond listening to me."
Luke opened his mouth... and then snapped it shut. Those eyes... he knew them. They were the exact shade of his own blue gaze. And that cleft chin, the set of the eyes... the softened features.
A possibility struck Luke like a blow to the gut and his heart fluttered in hope. And here he'd thought he only got his softened facial features from his mother...
"Grandmother?" Luke breathed. "Grandmother Shmi?"
He had only ever heard of her briefly when he'd been a toddler, and his father was willing to briefly indulge his little ones' questions about where Vader had come from.
The spirit of Shmi Skywalker smiled warmly, dipping her head. "Yes, Luke."
The teenager gaped, unable to help it before he caught himself and coughed, feeling somewhat sheepish. "Grandmother..." he whispered.
Shmi stepped forward, her fingers lifting to trace a strand of Luke's hair. The young man closed his eyes and allowed himself to pretend he could actually feel her touch. "My handsome grandson."
He smiled gently back at her, and then she dropped her hand, expression darkening with sorrow once more. Something flitted across her face, and her next words threw Luke for a loop. "My sweet Luke Skywalker."
Luke frowned. "Skywalker?"
"Yes. That is your true name... and Anakin's. He may be Vader now, but he was born Anakin Skywalker, and he will always be my son. You are a Skywalker, Luke. That is not something to be ashamed of."
Luke turned that around in his head for a few moments before the woman before him spoke again.
"I don't have much more time, so I will cut to the chase, Luke." Shmi sighed. "Please stay strong, Luke. Despite how hard things may get. Anakin does love you and Leia; he's just... lost himself. I have tried to speak to him like this, but he won't let me in."
Luke shifted uncomfortably, looking down sadly. "Father doesn't love me, Grandmother. I'm a disappointment to him, that's all."
Shmi shook her head. "Maybe he thinks that. But you need to trust in the Force no matter what. Never give up, and always remember that you are worthwhile. You cannot live in constant fear of Darth Vader."
Luke grimaced. "Forgive me, Grandmother, but I have every reason to fear him. But I cannot keep killing for him like I was."
"And that makes all the difference," Shmi returned, touching his chin. "Your strength of will is more than you give yourself credit for. It may take time to find yourself, but when you do, never let it go."
Shmi looked over her shoulder as if she'd heard something. "I'm out of time now, Luke. I am using borrowed Force energy to communicate with you. I love you, sweet boy."
Luke's throat closed and his eyes misted. How long had it been since someone other than Leia had said those words to him and meant it?
"I love you too, Grandmother," Luke whispered. "I will do my best... but I'm still frightened."
"Be brave!" her voice faded as she swiftly disappeared, and Luke found himself reaching for her, wanting just a few more seconds.
"Wait!"
But then the world shifted and dissolved around him again and Luke found himself back in the antiquated ship. For a few disorienting moments, Luke remained frozen in place, unable to do anything.
Eventually he recognized moisture on his cheeks, and realized he was weeping. His throat was tight, and Luke had to take several minutes to get a hold of himself.
His grandmother... he had seen and spoken to her! What a precious gift he'd been given from the Force! His tears were a mixture of joy at the meeting— he now had a face and voice to go with her name!— and sorrow at the departure.
But there was nothing to be done about it by standing there like a lost cub, so Luke wiped his eyes dry and began the return to ground. It was almost full night now, and Luke grimaced, not having realized how long he'd been up in the tree tops.
As Luke began the trek back to the Falcon, he contemplated all he'd heard. Shmi had been trying to help her son, but she'd said he was unreachable. Well, Luke knew how that went. But maybe Luke could reach his father?
He could only hope. However, he would also be treading dangerous waters if he brought up Shmi. She was the only topic more taboo than the Jedi with Vader, and Luke didn't know if he wanted to face the certain wrath that would spark in his father.
Luke's musings were cut short when the feeling of being watched returned and he froze when a twig snapped to his right. Luke looked in that direction, eyes searching... and then a leaf fluttered down from a bough, and Luke's gaze travelled upwards.
There, sitting in a nearby tree was a large feline with scales darker than a black hole. Its amethyst eyes were locked onto Luke, and he swallowed when the giant cat-like creature bounded gracefully down.
When it straightened, it came up to Luke's chest, and he felt a flicker of fear. However, Luke pushed it aside and instead carefully lifted a palm. Opening himself to the Force, Luke stood tall and firm, yet did his best to appear non-threatening.
"Easy there," Luke said in a soothing voice. "I'm not here to cause trouble. Let me go please."
The feline hissed at Luke, and the young man had to resist the strong urge to back away. Instead he calmed his mind and voice. "We're friends here; I'm not here to harm you."
The animal flattened its ears and approached still, clearly eager to have him for supper. Luke delved deeper into the Force and touched the creature's mind.
"Stop." He commanded.
The animal actually did pause, and Luke felt its surprise mirror his own at that. Purple eyes met blue, and Luke maintained his connection with the creature.
"Leave me be. I am not food, and we don't need to be enemies." Luke softened his voice some. "Please..."
The creature growled lowly, but lifted its head and seemed to consider. Hunger gnawed at it's belly, and Luke wondered when it had last eaten.
Recalling the herbivores from before, Luke had a thought. "I can help you get food, if you will let me."
Rounded ears perked up at that, and the scaly feline finally backed up some, no longer hissing in a show of acceptance. Luke smiled softly at the animal and made to turn. That was when the calls of several young cubs came to his ears, and Luke turned to see five smaller sets of violet orbs gazing at him.
Now Luke understood, and he looked upon the feline with new eyes. A mother stood before him, and Luke realized only then he had unknowingly wandered into her territory. She was hungry, yes, but she also had a litter to feed... not to mention protect.
"I am sorry for intruding; I didn't know you had a family." Luke apologized, and the feline tilted her head.
Luke closed his eyes and located the herd of creatures he intended for the family of cats and gestured to the animal to follow him. She called to her cubs and they followed also, though remained steadfastly behind their mother.
Once he'd reached the target's location, Luke urged the cat mother to wait and then pointed to the herd visible through the trees. The feline eyed them a moment and then turned her head to Luke. Something in her body language chanced and she purred, nuzzling him gently.
Luke gingerly stroked the fur of her head and then the feline pulled away, beginning to stalk her prey.
Luke took that as his cue and left her to it. Partway back to the Falcon, he heard the trumpeting of the herbivores and the death cries of one. Then there was silence, and Luke knew the cat had hunted successfully.
