Daughter of a Dead Woman (Original)

by Tess Tucker

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a decoy was created to protect the Alderaanian princess... (At first was written as a challenge from my friends. Expect campiness to turn into real angst, plot, and character development around the second half of Return of the Jedi. There is now an "extended edition" which I would recommend more than this one. Enjoy!)

23. Chapter 22 - Rebel Star Cruiser (3 ABY)

- - - - - Rebel Star Cruiser - - - - -

Tess Naberrie absent-mindedly paced around the giant Rebel cruiser. After three years of travelling on the Millennium Falcon, she was not used to the pristine look and the modern design of the ship. The fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy was attached to their cruiser by a docking tube, currently occupied by Lando and Chewbacca.

Not entertained with simple pacing, Tess crossed over to watch the medical droid fix Luke's hand. The Jedi's few grimaces stopped as soon as his new Padawan was near. He and Tess glanced over to Leia, who gazed solemnly out the large window.

"How would you feel about keeping this a secret for now?" Luke whispered to Tess. She gave him a look.

"Your hand?" she asked. "Because the whole needley medical droid fixing your stub of an arm thing kind of gave it away."

"No," Luke chuckled lightly. "Your training."

Seeing the actual seriousness of the situation, Tess' expression hardened a bit.

"Lie to Leia?"

"Leia is always worried about me because of what I can do," Luke reminded her. "And she worries about you already—can you imagine the stress of finding out that you are following this path, too? A path she is so confused about? You'll be protecting her, Tess." Luke looked over to the princess once again. "She has enough to worry about right now. At least until we find Han."

It took her a few moments, but Tess finally nodded. Luke smiled at her and pushed himself to a stand. He squeezed the girl's hand, then lead her over to Leia.

Tess took a few steps ahead of Luke and placed herself to Leia's right, taking the princess' hand. Luke came to Leia's left side. He smiled softly at her, and then hugged her shoulders.

The three of them stood there in front of the Rebel cruiser's huge window. They watched the Millennium Falcon detach itself from the docking tube and zoom off into oblivion.

So much was new—Tess would soon be trained in the Force, Lando was now on their side, and with him and Chewbacca on the Falcon, they had a new arrangement of their traditional crew. Yet despite all the new, the three friends felt as if they had known each other forever.

Luke, Leia, and Tess were the same people they had been for the past three years, yet somehow looking at the galaxy spilled out before them, they could not deny the sense of a brand new adventure.