"You need to tell Mom and Dad," Padme begged, as she placed a wet towel on Luke's forehead.
"No," he gasped weakly. "My place is here. I need to protect you, as long as I can."
"I can protect myself, Luke."
"Padme, please promise me you will not say anything to your parents. They will try to bring us back to Hosnian Prime. I just need to hold on a little while longer."
"Fine. But when I feel it is time, I will contact them and tell them the truth about your illness."
"Agreed. Only when the end is near. Now I need to get up. I have a meeting with Poe Dameron."
"No. You need to rest. I will meet with him."
Luke saw that Padme was not going to take no for an answer. So he nodded his head, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Padme made her way to the conference room and met with Poe. He was one of the best pilots the Rebels had. Many women fighting in the war had crushes on him.
"Ms. Desertwar, I'm Poe Dameron," Poe greeted her warmly, as they shook hands.
"Please, call me Padme," she insisted, as they sat down.
"Padme, I thought Luke was going to meet me."
"He was detained." She hated lying, but she did not know Poe. The only other person that knew Luke was sick was Ezra.
"I see. Well, I have good news. One of the Stormtroopers who defected is willing to go undercover and disable the shields."
"Can this Stormtrooper be trusted?"
"Absolutely. This past battle was his first time in combat. When he surrendered, we inspected his blaster. He never fired it. He had a clear shot to kill me, after I escaped my crashed ship. Instead, he helped me to hide until the battle was over."
"Where is the soldier now?"
"He is on Corellia. If you and Luke want to join me in heading there, to further question him, I have no problem with that."
"I will speak with Luke and let you know," Padme promised. She and Poe shook hands before leaving.
When she got back to Luke's room, he had woken up from his nap. Padme knew what she had to do, and she knew her uncle would not like it.
"What did Poe have to say?" Luke asked.
"He said there is a Stormtrooper in Corellia that is willing to sneak onto Starkiller Base and disable the shields," Padme explained. "This may be our chance to finally destroy this weapon."
"So when am I leaving with Poe?"
"I am going with Poe. You are staying here."
"Padme, it's too dangerous for you to go..."
"The trip will be too much for you. Besides, you need to stay here, with the Rebels. I will be back before you know it."
Luke saw that Padme was determined to go without him, so he decided not to argue further with her.
"Since you are going to Corellia, you might as well visit your parents. It's been a long time since you have seen them," Luke suggested.
"Mom will be busy, with the upcoming vote on whether to declare war. I hope the vote goes our way this time," Padme confessed.
"I hope so, too."
"I am going to contact Poe and let him know that I will accompany him to Corellia," Padme said, before kissing her uncle on the forehead.
"May the Force be with you," he uttered, before closing his eyes. It took all of Padme's strength to wait until she reached her room to break down in tears. She cried herself to sleep.
Kylo knew immediately she was upset when they met. He took Padme in his arms and embraced her tightly.
"What is wrong?" he whispered.
"It's Luke Skywalker," Padme muttered through her tears. "He's getting worse. Ben, I don't think he will survive much longer!"
Kylo did not know what to say. Although he had abandoned his quest for revenge against Luke and his family, he was still angry at Luke for hiding the truth from him. He still hated Vader for taking Padme as a prisoner when she was sixteen. But he held his peace and told her,
"I am sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Just hold me and tell me we will win this war."
"We will win, Padme. The galaxy will be at peace, and we will finally be together." Kylo gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Ben, I leave with Poe Dameron in the morning, to head to Corellia..." Padme began to explain.
"Corellia? And with Poe Dameron?" Kylo growled, upset at what he heard.
"Why are you upset? We are going to speak to a Stormtrooper that can disable the shields." She was puzzled by Ben's reaction.
"Why are you going with Poe? Why isn't Luke going with you?"
"Luke is very sick, and he needs to stay with the Rebels. Why..." Padme paused. before realizing the reason why he was upset.
"You're jealous! You're jealous of Poe Dameron!" she exclaimed.
"I am not!" Kylo denied.
"Yes, you are! Ben, you have nothing to worry about. My eyes and my heart belong to you." She wrapped her arms around him. Kylo relaxed when she said this. He knew that many women had a crush on the pilot.
"If he tries anything..." he warned.
"He won't. Even if he did, I can take care of myself."
"You are right. I am jealous. Poe gets to see you in real life, not just in dreams." Kylo leaned in and gave Padme a soft kiss.
"We will also be in the Core Worlds," he said. "Hux is worried that the Senate will declare war. If the entire galaxy stands up against him, the First Order will be defeated."
"If they declare war. They didn't the last time," Padme grumbled.
"Just be careful and leave Corellia as soon as you can."
"I will." They kissed before parting ways.
The next morning, Padme and Poe headed to Corellia. She contacted her mother to let her know that after she was finished in Corellia, she would come to Hosnian Prime for a visit.
"That's wonderful!" Leia exclaimed. "When you get here, your father and I have something to tell you."
"What is it?" her daughter wondered curiously.
"I'm not telling you until you get here. But you will like it, I am sure."
"All right. I guess I will have to wait until then. I will let you know when I leave Corellia."
Leia smiled after she finished speaking with Padme. Han came into the room. He had just come from visiting Chewbacca and Herian.
"Hi, sweetheart," Han said to Leia. "Did you contact Padme?"
"Yes. She is actually going to Corellia, to meet with a Stormtrooper that can take down the shields. After her meeting, she is coming here," Leia joyfully stated.
"Really?" Han's eyes lit up. "Do you think she will make it in time for the wedding?"
"I didn't tell her. I wanted it to be a surprise." Leia wrapped her arms around Han. "She has been hoping that we would get back together. And here we are, about to be married!"
"She wasn't the only one," Han confessed, bringing his hand to his beloved's face. "I never stopped loving you, Leia. And now, I never will." They kissed each other.
"It's getting late," he said. clearing his throat. "We should get to bed."
"But I'm not tired," Leia told him. Suddenly, Han scooped her up in his arms.
"Neither am I," he grinned mischievously. Leia smiled back, as Han took her to the bedroom and made love to her.
