Man! This is one hell of a story. The parts are more like episodes than chapters. This one alone was eight thousand words. Someone mentioned breaking up the chapter and although I could do that, I rather keep them long and update every week or two. The week gives people a chance to read the long chapter because unlike other stories with shorter chapters, longer chapters take longer to read. Anyway, make sure you read my not at the end. I have some other stuff to mention about the story. Okay, on with the chapter. Read, Enjoy, and Review!
Chapter Three
Escape from Naboo
Leia had become close friends with Winter over the course of twenty-four hours and found herself occupied by talking to the older girl. She did things she had never gotten to chance to do before, like painting her nails, trying on make-up (she decided it made her look like a clown), and staying up late to gossip. Well, Winter was doing the gossip. She talked about her aunts and how they were determined to make her a more proper princess and mentioned her life in the palace, particularly all the dinner parties, and her secret boyfriend,
Leia couldn't help but find herself not only jealous, but also disapproving of Winter's lavish life. Sure, Leia wouldn't mind some of the luxuries the princess had, but some of it was just over the top. She even somewhat disliked Queen Kylantha's lavish live, but her people lived well too so she could overlook it. However, while they were living wonderful lives, people all over the galaxy had not even the basic comfort of a good meal every day. Leia had just read a report on the holonet of planet in the outer rim that was being disrupted in civil war. It wouldn't have bothered her that much if the name of the planet hadn't rang a bell and she remembered she had been a slave on that planet. She would have never made it off the planet alive if it hadn't been for the older girls that had taken her under her wing.
Leia herself had just been one of them a few days ago and technically she still was. She couldn't stay on Naboo forever. Someone would look for her and Luke, and they would have to leave.
Luke meanwhile wasn't as disapproving of the lavish life style, but he did think they seemed a little selfish about it. He and his aunt and uncle had been about two steps from poverty on Tatooine. All it took was for a vaporator to break down, and they could lose what little money they made. He felt guilty that he was being taken care of and in the company of the queen while they were still on that planet, probably worried sick about him. But he wasn't going to abandon Leia. She didn't have anyone but him. At least his aunt and uncle had each other. In a sense though, he and Leia had the same background. Neither knew their parents, they had no siblings, and both had an unexplainable power that sometimes made them outcasts from the rest of their peers.
Luke sighed in restlessness as he threw down the game controller. He was bored. Either they found something to do or this boredom would motivate him to get off this planet more than someone finding them. First they needed a ship though…
Luke and Leia sat in bored silence for a while. Winter couldn't come. Her father had taken her somewhere for the celebration. Luke and Leia would have gone out the palace to explore again, but they didn't want to get lost in the city. A knock came to the door and the two handmaidens the queen had assigned to them came in the room
"Milady suggests you get out today. Perhaps you'd like to go outside and join the festival," Ayame said.
Leia sighed. "None of the fun stuff happens until tonight," she pointed out.
Luke, though, had an idea. "Can we explore the palace?"
"Sure," Rashidah said.
"Is there a hanger?" Luke asked excitedly.
"Yes," Ayame said with a smile.
Leia rolled her eyes. Boys and ships. Really…
She ended up being dragged along for the ride though since she didn't want to stay in the room bored. Although now that she thought about it, she might be just as bored in the hanger. Perhaps she would go to the gardens later. They looked interesting.
"Wow," Luke said not knowing where to start.
A mechanic looked up. "Who are they?" he asked and the two handmaidens explained the situation.
"So you're the two guests that's got the whole palace talking. Well then," he said. "You like ships?"
"Yeah," Luke said looking at the ship the mechanic was working on. "I want to be a pilot someday."
"Come on then. I'll show you around. By the way, my name's Rad."
"I'm Kyle," Luke said and then looked at a bored looking Leia. "And this is my sister, Kyla."
Luke listened with rapt attention as Rad explained some of the ships and even let him tour some. Most of them were royal ships. Luke wiped his hands over the current model of ship. He would love to fly one of these things one day.
"What's that one?" Leia suddenly asked pointing to a ship on the far end of the hanger sitting amongst some other ships.
"Oh," Rad said. "Those are ships that have been laid to rest in honor of the person that owned them."
"But what's that one specifically," Leia asked pointing to a sleek silver ship.
"Oh. That's a Naboo Star Skiff that belonged to Queen Amidala. Well she was a senator when she owned it. It was laid to rest when she died," Rad explained.
Luke noted the sleek design and the shape of the wings. They curved back. It made the ship look a little like the shape of a J.
"I bet it's fast," he pointed out.
"Yeap," Rad said and then led to a control room.
"Now from this room we can find information on every royal ship in the city. We update the schematics every so often to keep progress of everything that's been done to the ships and when," Rad explain.
Luke looked at the monitor and felt like a kid in a candy shop.
"Can I look at the database?"
"Normally, that's restricted, but I can let you look at one of the ship we use most often," Rad said punching in the security code.
"So that computer program has the schematic and details of every ship," Leia asked suddenly in an odd tone.
"Yeap," Rad said and Luke slowly turned to Leia. She was up to something…
"And you program every little thing that's been done to the ship. Part changes, when it's been tested, trackers…" Leia trailed off and Luke narrowed his eyes. Yeap, she was definitely up to something.
"You bet," Rad said as he started to lead them out the room.
Leia started behind them and them and then clutched her stomach.
"What's wrong?" one of the handmaidens asked.
"My stomach hurts," Leia replied. "I think I ate too much."
"More like too fast. We told you to slow down," Luke muttered. Leia had been eating a lot since she got to the palace. It was like she had just discovered food. In her excitement, not only did she eat a lot, she ate fast. The day before, she had gulped down a large bantha steak, fruit salad, and a bowl of vegetable soup in less than fifteen minutes. That wasn't including dessert. She did end up throwing up and stayed in bed for a while the night before though. He guessed she still wasn't feeling as good as she thought she was even though she had been careful about how much and how fast she had eaten. And Luke thought he had the tendency to eat too much… He couldn't blame her though. She hadn't had a good meal in at least nine years.
"Would you like us to escort you back to your room?" Ayame asked.
Leia shook her head. "No. I think I can make it back on my own. Or better yet, could one of you go get me something to take for it. I really want to see the rest of the palace."
"Sure," Rashidah said. "I'll go get something and Ayame, you stay with Kyle. Kyla you sit right here until I come back."
Leia grimaced as she rubbed her stomach again. "Okay," she said and moaned.
"You sure you'll be okay?" Luke asked concerned.
"I'll be fine Kyle. Go finish you tour," Leia said and everyone left the room. When they were gone, she rolled her eyes and sat up.
"Really," she said to herself as she began to mess with the computer. "You'd think they know not to leave me in here alone. For people who work in the palace, they're extremely easy to fool."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Luke frowned as he tried to make his way back to his room. He had gotten tired of being escorted everywhere like he was a five year old and had long since 'accidentally' gotten separated from Rashidah and Ayame. He was now starting to regret doing that. He had no clue where he was. One moment, he had been in the hanger. Then he left the handmaidens and now he was lost. He had seen many rooms though, including a gallery that had all the history of Naboo, and its previous rulers.
He would have looked for Senator Organa to have a talk with him, but Luke was sure he wasn't in the palace at the moment. Something to do with the festival… He still didn't understand why the man didn't seem comfortable around Leia. They had dinner again the night before and he still seemed to stare at Leia like he was a ghost.
"Ugh," he said and stopped. Now what?
A series of whistles and beeps came from around the corner, and Luke looked up.
"Yes, that's true. But Master Bail didn't tell us we could leave either," a very proper sounding and prissy voice said.
Two droids came around the corner, an artoo unit and a protocol droid. The artoo droid said something else to the protocol droid and the golden unit said, "Yes, I'm very aware of the two youth are talking about. The whole palace has been whispering about them. Personally I don't understand why the humans are so fascinated with them and even if there is something to wonder about them, it's none of our business."
Luke looked at the two droids in curiosity as they came kept walking his way. He'd never seen such animated droids.
The protocol droid stopped in surprise when he saw him.
"Oh I'm sorry. Excuse us for getting in your way. It's all my friend's fault you see. He's a troublemaking little unit," it said.
Luke grinned. "No. It's alright. I'm Kyle."
The droid gasped in surprise. "So you're one of the children these humans keep talking about. One would think you had two heads with the way the servants and everyone's buzzing about you. I'm C3PO, human-cyborg relations and this is Artoo Deetoo. It's a pleasure to meet you Kyle."
Artoo began to whistle in excitement and rolled into Luke.
"Hey," Luke said and the Artoo kept whistling and beeping. Luke looked at Threepio. "What's he saying?"
Threepio stopped to listen to the droid then said, "Why, that's ridiculous."
Artoo respond even more frantically and then Threepio turned to Luke.
"Pardon this unit sir. I may suggest to Master Bail to get his circuits checked. He's talking complete rubbish."
"What's he saying?" Luke asked again.
"He seems to believe that you're lying about your name. Claims to have seen you when you were a baby…" Threepio stopped to listen again and then added. "Something about having served your father during the clone wars."
"My father?" Luke asked. "That's ridiculous. My father didn't fight in a war. I don't even know my father's name."
Artoo responded and Threepio shook his head trying to decipher it.
"Something about an Anakin Skywalker," the protocol droid said and Luke looked up.
"Who?" Luke asked.
"Anakin Skywalker," Threepio said. "Don't mind him. It's impossible. According to history, Anakin Skywalker was a jedi and they didn't have families. My friend is sadly mistaken."
Luke nodded in agreement with Threepio. There were bound to be more Skywalkers in the galaxy. Surely he wasn't the only one. Nevertheless, Luke liked the two droids. And maybe they could help him find his room.
"Well, since you all have nothing to do, could you help me find my room?" he asked.
"Our deepest apologies Kyle, but we seem to be lost ourselves. We don't habitat the Naboo royal palace often," Threepio said. However, Artoo beeped, rolled back and forth as a gesture for Luke to follow him and sped off. Luke didn't hesitate to go after him and Threepio ran behind them saying, "Wait for me!"
Artoo stopped for a moment where the hall turned left or right and then went right and stopped in front of a door, the door to Luke's room.
"Wow," Luke said and patted the droid on its dome. "Thanks."
Artoo beeped what Luke guessed was a 'you're welcome'. Luke opened the door and went in his room but before he could close the door, Artoo wheeled in followed by a fussy Threepio.
Leia was already in the suite sitting on the couch reading something on her datapad. She looked up with an excited grin on her face when they came in and started to say something before she saw the two droids. She looked at them in confusion.
"Who are they?"
"This is Artoo Deetoo and this is Threepio," Luke said. "They belong to Senator Organa."
"Oh," Leia said and then tilted her head. "Can we talk with them around?" she asked.
"Depends on what it's about?" Luke said cautiously.
"You know."
"Talk in code," Luke replied and sat on the opposite end of the couch.
Leia looked at the droids carefully and then said, "I think I found a place we can get a ship."
"Where?" Luke asked.
Leia looked around the room and said, "In a ship hanger…"
Luke didn't know how he caught on so quickly. Usually he was a little oblivious, but when it came to Leia, he always seemed to know what she was thinking.
"You're kidding. We can't!" Luke said.
"Why not?" Leia snapped.
"Because they've already done so much for us," Luke replied. "We can't repay them by taking a ship."
Leia rolled her eyes. "And just what do you think they're going to do when people come looking for us Luke. Naboo isn't that far away from Tatooine. Once they figure out we're not home, this'll be one of the first places they check."
"So you're going to strike a blow to them before they can do the same to you?" Luke shot.
"No," she said. "I'm just not going to give them the chance to turn us in."
Luke looked at Leia in disbelief and then smirked. "One problem dear sister," he began. "Do you know how guarded that place is? Do you know how many codes and securities they have on those ships? And trackers? They'll find us anyway."
"Way ahead of you brother," Leia replied smiling as she tossed her datapad to him. "I got this on our tour."
Luke caught the datapad and gaped in shock. There on the datapad were the schematics of all the ships in the hanger and their repair records, the same schematics that were on the computers in the control room.
"How did you get these?" Luke asked.
"How do you think?"
"No, I mean there was a password. How did you figure it out?"
Leia shrugged. "Telekinesis. Same way I opened that locked at Meyrin's place."
Luke groaned. "Leia!" he said forgetting the droids standing there. "I know we're in a desperate situation, but we can't just take advantage of other people and disregard their feelings for our own advantage. It's not right!"
Leia breathed out hard in effort to control her temper. The glasses in the room shook a little, threatening to break but she was able to bring her temper back under control. Instead she said in a clam but harsh tone, "Maybe you don't understand how desperate this situation is. Luke you grew up on a farm where your aunt and uncle sheltered you from the harsh realities of the galaxy. But I saw them with my own two eyes. No one was ever considerate of how I felt and no one cares about how you feel either Luke. At the end of the day, the ones who take care of themselves and disregard what others feel wins."
Luke lost it at her calm proclamation. "Leia you selfish inconsiderate idiot! You can't just decide not to take into consideration how other people feel because you had a hard life and people didn't care about your feelings. You didn't even come ask me what I felt about it. You just made up your mind to do it. I understand it's hard for you sometimes and I also understand that I may never completely comprehend what you've gone through, but if you decided to treat everyone else the way you've been treated, it makes you no better than them."
"How dare you compare me to them?" Leia snapped shoving Luke.
"Oh please," Luke said rolling his eyes lightly shoving her back. "Don't try that unleashing your temper and intimidation thing on me because you're mad I'm telling you the truth."
Leia glowered at him, and Luke groaned, turning on his heal and starting to his room. Then he stopped and looked at Leia.
"And for the record I do care about your feelings, but you don't seem to return the favor," Luke snapped and closed the door.
Leia winced. Luke wasn't one to get angry and as she thought about it, maybe she had been a little selfish and inconsiderate of him seeing as she had made a move without consulting him. They were in this together. He didn't have leave his whole life behind him and run away with her. He could have gone back home and left her to fend for herself like everyone else usually did. If anything, Luke being considerate of how she felt was the reason he hadn't left her alone.
Artoo, who she had just remembered was there, said something to her and Threepio translated.
"He thinks Luke has a right to be mad at you. He's not quite sure what you two are up to, but it was very harsh of you to say those things to your friend." Threepio paused and then said, "If you don't mind me asking miss, if your names and Kyle and Kyla, why did you call each other Luke and Leia in your debate?"
Leia paled. She had forgotten all about the droids.
"It was just a game Threepio," she said. "Hey, I wonder if Senator Organa is looking for you two."
As she expected, it took Threepio's mind away from her and Luke's little slip up as he began to frantically talk to Artoo about being permanently shut down as punishment. Then she turned to Luke's room door and sighed. She was never good at admitting she was wrong. In the past admitting she was wrong meant a beating… She approached the door and knocked on it.
"Luke," she said softly. The droids weren't paying attention anyway. When he didn't answer she let out a breath and leaned her head on the door.
"Luke," she said again. "I'm sorry okay. For the last nine years I've always had to do what someone else wanted me to do and maybe I got a little carried away with this freedom thing. It might take a while to break the habit, but I promise I'll try not to be so selfish. We don't have to take a ship if you think it's wrong… Wait, it is wrong, but the fact of the matter is it may be our only option."
Luke still didn't say anything, and Leia felt herself getting frustrated.
"I'd like it if you at least said something," she insisted and then gave up when he didn't reply. "Fine. Can't say I didn't try. I'm going to the festival if you need to know where I am. I'm leaving the droids with you. Winter or her father may come looking for them later."
Leia then made her way to exit their suite giving one last look at Luke's room door and then making her way out.
When he was sure she was gone, Luke opened his door. He had heard everything Leia said and though he was still mad at her, he couldn't blame her. Eventually she'd learn that considering others didn't make her a slave to them. She had been on one extreme for so long it would take her a while to find balance.
Luke then frowned… Something was coming. He and Leia would have to leave Naboo tonight. He wasn't quite sure how he knew that, but someone was looking for them. He didn't know who it was, but it wasn't going to be in their favor either way. He looked at the two droids that were arguing over something and called them over. So long as they were here, they may as well help him.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Leia made her way through the full streets of Theed taking in all the sights of the festival. There were all kinds of attractions and decorating all the streets was a type of flower whose small white blooms covered the top of one whole stem. She picked one and smelled it. It was so pretty.
"I wonder what they are…" she said.
"Their Naboo mountain lilies," a woman from behind her said. "They only grow in the mountains of Naboo and are rare. It was my sister's favorite flower."
Leia whirled around and then calmed when she saw a brown haired woman in white robes behind her.
"Oh," she said. "Hello."
"Did I frighten you?" she asked with a smile.
"A little," Leia admitted.
"My deepest apologies," the woman said. "I'm Pooja."
"Kyla," Leia said reaching her hand out to the woman. Her presence was similar to Luke's a little.
"So you're the girl who's staying in the palace with her brother," Pooja said grabbing her hand. "You two caused quite the stir."
Leia blushed. "It was an accident."
"Don't worry," Pooja said and looked at Leia in a way that made the teenager uncomfortable though she didn't feel like she was in danger. "No harm done."
"So do you come to the festival every year?" Leia asked as she began to walk with the woman.
Pooja shook her head wearing a sad smile. "Not normally, but I had to this year. I was recently appointed to the senate."
Leia stopped. The people of Naboo seemed to adore the former queen they were celebrating this week. Did Pooja not agree with the masses?
"You didn't like Padmé Amidala?" she asked curiously.
Pooja laughed. "I adored her. She was my aunt."
Leia winced. That was kind of rude of her. She really needed to word on her quick mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't know Miss Pooja."
"It's okay and just Pooja. I'm not that much older than you."
Leia started to ask another question but then stopped and backtracked to another holo of Padmé Amidala. She was dressed in her senatorial robes again and her hair was done up in a simple braid style, but next to her was a man with blonde hair dressed in black robes with some kind of tube on his belt.
"Who's that?" Leia almost demanded. There was something about this man.
"Oh. That's Anakin Skywalker. He was before your time so you wouldn't know him. He was a jedi, but the emperor wiped them all out. He died on the same day my sister did and was a very close friend of hers," Pooja replied.
Leia couldn't tear her eyes away from the picture though. This man looked like an older version of Luke. His hair was a little darker, but Leia guessed that Luke's hair might be that shade if it weren't for the Tatooine suns he had been exposed to all his life.
"He's handsome isn't he?" Pooja teased and Leia blinked out of her stupor.
"Yeah," Leia replied looking away embarrassed. "I guess."
"Just about every girl in the galaxy had a crush on him during the clone wars," Pooja said to her.
Leia didn't know why, but she didn't have any attraction to the jedi in the picture, just curiosity and the feeling that she knew him from somewhere. Maybe it was because he looked just like Luke.
"As representative of Naboo in the senate, I'm required to say some words about her at the memorial tonight in a few moments. Would you like to come with me?"
Leia grinned. "You bet," she said and before she followed the woman grabbed another candy.
Meanwhile Luke couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go really wrong and was packing him and Leia some things to take with them that the queen had provided. He took some of her pretty dresses and hair accessories just in case she wanted them, along with some more practical clothing, soap, and other basic necessities. He looked in all the drawers of the room and found blasters. He guessed more important people usually stayed in this room, and they needed protection sometimes. Luke grabbed them and threw them into the bags just in case.
Then he raided the half size fridge the queen had sent to them just in case they needed food and didn't feel like calling them. He only took some of the fruit and water, enough to last them to where ever they went. They could restock on another planet later.
"Here you are Master Kyle," Threepio said holding a bag out to him. "I packed everything you said. Oh and I also found this datapad lying on the couch. Will you need it?"
Luke grabbed it and saw that it was the datapad Leia had earlier. He really didn't want to steal from the queen. She had only shown them kindness, but Leia was right. They had to resort to taking advantage of it if they wanted to get out of here.
"Thanks," he said to the two droids. "I'm glad I met you two he said. I would have never gotten all this done without you."
Luke started towards the door and Artoo rolled behind him beeping something. Threepio make a sound like a gasp.
"Are you crazy? We can't go with him. We belong to Master Bail," Threepio insisted.
Artoo beeped again. "What do you mean we served Luke's family years before we ever served Master Bail?"
Artoo replied and Luke turned around as he opened the door.
"What's he talking about?"
"Some more rubbish. I apologize sir. He's usually not this insistent on something. He swears our rightful place is helping you and your sister," Threepio translated.
Luke looked at Artoo in surprise. "No. You belong here with Senator Organa. I don't own you and what do you mean you've served my family before? I don't remember my aunt and uncle having a droid like you. I'd definitely remember," he added.
Artoo said something else.
"He says that he's not talking about your aunt and uncle. He means your parents," Threepio replied. "He keeps going on about this Anakin Skywalker person."
Luke stared at Artoo for a moment. He was starting to really wonder if this droid had known his father. Luke himself didn't even know his father's name. His uncle wouldn't let aunt Beru tell him. All he knew was that the man was a navigator, so he couldn't verify what the droid said. Luke looked outside. He was wasting time. Not only did he have to get a ship ready, he had to find Leia.
"Well if you want to come with us," Luke said with a grin. "I guess that's up to you."
Luke liked the droid, so he didn't mind. Besides, it wasn't really stealing if the droid insisted on it.
"Artoo, can you get us back to the hanger?" he asked and the droid whistled and beeped in excitement before taking off down the hall.
Luke chased after it. Threepio wobbled after them as fast as he could.
"Artoo. Stop this nonsense right now. I'm not going to leave you alone until you forget about this foolishness."
Both Luke and Artoo ignored the Threepio. Luke guessed it was going to be coming with them too. They made it to the hanger door and Luke groaned. He had no idea what the security code was and though he and Leia apparently shared some of the same powers like sensing danger, reading each other's feelings and sometimes others, her telekinesis was something Luke didn't share a talent in.
"Dead end," Luke groaned but the Artoo opened up a panel on him and connected to the door. A moment later, the door slid open and Luke was suddenly grateful the droid had followed him.
"Let's go," Luke said running through the dark empty hanger to find a ship. This was the perfect time to get away. Everyone else was at the festival. He started to go to some of the smaller crafts in the back before he got this feeling and turned to face the Naboo skiff Leia had pointed out earlier. There was something very important about it, a reason he probably wasn't supposed to touch it. But he couldn't remember. All he knew was that the ship was calling him, like something was telling him he owned that ship.
Luke thought that feeling was a bit far-fetched. No one in his family had been royalty, but he decided that was the ship they were going to take anyway.
He found the schematics of the ship and manually set the ramp down. Then he climbed aboard dropping the bags in the middle of the floor and ran straight to the cockpit.
"Wow!" he gasped running his hands over the controls. He had never flown anything this nice. The control were simple enough that he knew the basics of flying it and if he needed help, not only did he have the schematics, he had Artoo. The droid had already plugged itself into the ship and activated the lights.
"Okay," Luke said turning to it. "I have to go get Leia. You two stay here. Artoo, check the ship and get it started. If you can find the tracker that's on this thing disable it. If you can't find it, have Threepio read you these schematics. We can't go anywhere unless we disable that tracker. Eventually I'll look for it and take it out all together. I'll be right back."
Luke turned to leave the hanger and then stopped. He would never get to Leia and back to the hanger in time if they walked, especially with his ankle still hurting when he put too much pressure on it. Their first day on Naboo was proof of that. He looked around the hanger and grinned when he saw the speeder.
"Artoo," he yelled. "Open up the doors," Luke yelled referring to the big hanger door on the end.
While he waited on Artoo, he looked at the speeder. No keys… a security code. He sighed and then snapped his fingers. He opened the latch at the bottom and began to mess with the wiring. If his uncle ever knew he could do this kind of thing, he would have been grounded for the next hundred years. Luke let out a triumphant cry when the speeder started and sped out of the now open doors. He looked around the palace grounds. It was scary how empty it was on this holiday. He didn't dwell on it though. Instead, he drove to where the memorial for Padmé Amidala was being held.
At the memorial, standing next to Senator Pooja, Leia almost felt giddy. She always wondered what it would be like to a senator of a planet with the power to make a difference. However, the senators she had seen didn't seem like that. They sat in their offices and debated about what to do instead of just taking action. While Padmé Amidala had been a senator, she read that the woman was at the forefront of the clone wars, even going so far as to getting in the line of fire. That's where Leia wanted to be. She wanted to make a difference for the people who had no voice, but up close and personal. Sure things could get done by negotiating and talking out problems, but sometimes action was necessary when talking failed. Padmé Amidala seemed to understand that.
She listened intently to Pooja's speech about her sister's life and what a wonderful person she was. Then, Leia's senses made her look up. There in the back of the crowd were Imperial storm troopers. She then chanced a glance to where the queen was perched in the middle of the audience amongst the crowd. An Imperial officer was talking to her about something and the queen made a quick brief glance toward Leia.
Leia kept her cool on the outside despite her nervousness and decided it was time to take her leave. Her eyes met Luke's. She had no idea where he had come from, but he probably felt the same way she did. She started to discreetly make her way around Pooja, acting like she was going to sit down.
Luke kept his eyes on Leia and the storm troopers in the back, along with the officer talking to Queen Kylantha. He had no idea why the Empire would want them, but he somehow knew they were after him and Leia. His senses spiked and he turned to look at a man pulling something out of his pocket. He couldn't see it, but he knew it was a blaster.
"Hey," he shouted at the same time Leia shouted, "Pooja watch out!"
Pooja looked at Leia and then back to the crowd just in time to see the blaster pointed at her and duck the blast. The crowd began to murmur and then scream when they saw the man with the blaster.
Luke tried to run through the panicking crowd to get to the gunman as he shot off three more shots at Pooja who was trying to get off the stage. Leia got in front of the woman and put out her hand not quite sure what she was doing, just acting on instinct. The blaster bolts stopped in midair and then exploded harmlessly.
The gun man then decided since he couldn't get Pooja, he'd turn on the queen. Luke had a clear path to him, but he'd never get to the man in time. Instead he reached out his hand. The blaster flew out the gunman's hand to his outstretched one.
The queen's bodyguards tackled the man while her handmaidens got her to safety. Luke couldn't have asked for a better distraction. He and Leia could get away without anyone noticing or caring.
"Leia!" he yelled and the two met halfway. "Come on. We have to go. The speeder's this way. Artoo and Threepio are starting the ship."
"What?" Leia said but Luke didn't answer as he pulled her to where he parked the speeder. He started to mess with the wires.
"I think I have them," a storm trooper yelled running towards their speeder. "Stop it you two!" he yelled.
"As if," Luke yelled and Leia grabbed the blaster he dropped and shot at the storm trooper.
"Hurry up already," she said frantically picking off another trooper.
"I'm trying. It must be some kind of safeguard that you can only rig this once… I had no trouble with it before," Luke replied.
Leia turned around. "Forget it," she said and moved her hand over the security pad and the speeder cranked to life. "Drive!"
Luke didn't have to be told twice as he sped off with Imperial speeders hot on their trail.
"Luke," Leia said knowing this wasn't the ideal time, but she had to get this off her. "I'm sorry about earlier. You're right. I shouldn't be inconsiderate of how other people feel just because no one was ever considerate about my feelings."
"Don't worry about it," Luke said shaking his head. "You were right too. If we want to survive we may have to do some things that normally would be wrong. I was being stupid to thing we could follow all the rules."
"Still, I should have asked you first at least," Leia said and then blinked. "Wait. The palace is the other way. Where are you going?"
"We have to lose those Imperials first," Luke explained. "If we fly straight to the palace they might try to block our way. I've got to shake them first."
Luke sped up and Leia almost screamed. "You're going to get us killed!"
"No I'm not. I have quick reflexes," Luke insisted. Leia sighed and turned around carefully in her seat again. She pointed the blaster.
"Try to shoot for the engines or better yet, the breaks," Luke yelled.
"Where are they?" Leia yelled over the wind.
"I'm not familiar with Imperial speeders. Just guess."
Leia pointed her blaster near the top front of the speeder and let off a few shots. She wasn't sure what she hit, but the car burst into flames and the driver lost control.
"Alright!" Luke yelled. "Whatever you did, keep doing it!"
Leia got two more speeders by the time Luke had probably driven them far away from the palace. Leia pulled again and the blaster clicked. She tossed it on the floor.
"Out of rounds!" she said turning back around in her seat.
"I've got an idea!" Luke said and sped up even more.
"Luke, you've lost it!" Leia yelled. Everything was one big blur to her, but even she could tell as they went down a sloping road, they were about to crash into a building.
"You'll never make that turn," she said covering her eyes.
"Trust me," Luke said determined and just when Leia thought they'd be splattered flat on a wall, Luke made the turn, amazingly, and Leia whipped around to see the other cars run right into the building an explode on impact. What Luke lacked in telekinesis, he made up for in reflexes.
Leia breathed a sighed a relief, clutched her japor snippet, and began to thank every deity she could come up with. "Thank the Skyborn, thank the angels of Iego, thank Shiraya, thank the Force…" she didn't know where that one came from, but she heard about it on one of the planets she had been a slave on. Something about jedi…
Luke sped back to the palace, confident no one else was tailing them and made it back to the hanger. He stopped the speeder and the two teenagers climbed out the car. Luke led Leia to the ship Artoo and Threepio were waiting for them on.
Leia stopped at the ramp. "Luke Skywalker. You idiot!"
"What now?" Luke sighed.
"We can't take this ship. It's been laid to rest in honor of Padmé Amidala," Leia yelled. "I didn't mean this ship."
Luke couldn't believe it. This was coming from the girl who had the idea to take a ship in the first place. Now she was being moral about which ship they stole. Honestly!
"It called to me. I couldn't help it. Besides, it's not doing her any good since she's dead. Let's go," Luke said trying to pull a stubborn Leia up the ramp.
"No way," she declared. "You didn't even ask me."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Sound familiar?" he asked pointedly
Leia opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she heard footsteps and her senses told her they needed to get a move on.
Apparently Luke felt it too because his next words were, "Fine, you can stay here if you want. But don't try to blame this on me when you're stuck in a detention cell."
That got Leia moving.
"Artoo. Close the ramp!" Luke demanded as they went up the ramp.
"Artoo," Leia muttered as the ramp began to close. When they got to the cockpit and saw the two droids she felt like punching Luke. "You took the droids too!"
"You picked the perfect time to gain a conscience Leia," Luke muttered in exasperation. "And it wasn't my fault. Artoo followed me. Threepio will tell you."
Leia shook her head. "Forget it. Let's go. Does this thing still run?"
"Are you kidding?" Luke asked. "It's like a brand new ship."
"Then go! They're about to close the doors!"
Luke sped the cruiser out the door and got the tail end of the ship out just before the doors would have crushed it. The ship lifted into the air and sped off.
Luke could tell the difference between this ship and the last one they had taken immediately. This was a ship maintained to last. It was the smoothest ride he'd ever been on.
"Alright!" Luke said.
"We're not in the clear yet sir," Threepio said. "According to the readouts here, something's coming behind us."
"I'm preparing to make the jump to hyperspace," Luke said trusting his instincts to tell him what to do.
"Hurry up," Leia said impatiently.
"Hold on. The navicomputer is checking for the best route to that planet you're trying to go to," Luke said.
"How'd you find that out?"
"It was in your datapad."
"Is it done now?" Leia asked impatiently.
"You want to end up in a black hole?" Luke snapped and Leia closed her mouth.
"We're doomed!" Threepio said frantically and Artoo said something that Leia couldn't make out. But it sounded like a snappy order to shut up.
"Got it," Luke said and smashed the button to launch them into hyperspace.
"Finally," Leia said relaxing her tense shoulders in relief. Another remarkable escape accomplished.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bail Organa was a tired man. He had been through a lot in the last thirteen years. His wife was unable to bear children, the republic fell, his adopted daughter had been kidnapped, and then his wife died shortly after. However nothing could describe what he went through in the last couple of days. First he met the orphan twins the Queen of Naboo had taken in and the girl, Kyla, looked so much like his kidnapped Leia that it was uncanny, despite her hair which was a little lighter with blonde streaks. His hopes were dashed when she and her brother told their story and mentioned their ages.
Now he was beginning to wonder if the girl had lied and that really was his darling Leia, especially since the situation at Padmé's memorial today. Both children had showed a display of force sensitivity. He wasn't sure who the boy with her was, but after today, he knew they had obviously been on the run. They had both escaped with not only Padmé's old ship, but also his two droids. Knowing Artoo, it went with them willingly and dragged Threepio along for the ride.
He had to give it to the two though, whether it was Leia or not, they were smart. Not only had they managed to steal the schematics for the ship, but also lose all the Imperial officers that had chased them and blast three off their tail. The boy also had driving skills that no one in the galaxy could match except one person that Bail would prefer not to think about. The icing on the cake was the fact that they thought to disable the tracker on the ship they had taken. Bail had to wonder how two young teenagers managed to accomplish such feats. He picked up his communicator to get in touch with Obi-Wan. Sure the chances of having seen his little girl were slim, but the Jedi needed to know about them if they really were force sensitive.
"Bail," Obi-Wan said obviously surprised.
"Hello Obi-Wan," Bail said and then noticed the tired expression on the jedi's face. "What's wrong?"
"I'm afraid something dire. Luke's gone."
"What?" Bail exclaimed. "How?"
"Apparently he was friends with a slave girl and saved her life. We found her master and an Imperial officer dead where she lived. I believe he was about to do unspeakable things to her. I assume they went off planet knowing that the girl would receive punishment because she was a slave. I have no clue where they could have gone," Obi-Wan explained. "Enough with my problems though. What's going on my old friend?"
Bail was in shock and hardly heard Obi-Wan's question. The two children… The boy had been Luke and the girl he was with… Leia had been kidnapped by pirates. It would only make sense that she would eventually end up on Tatooine. The suns must have changed her hair but that had been her, right in his grasp. Luke and Leia had found each other, and the Empire was after them. It was his and Obi-Wan's worst nightmare.
"He was here," Bail said, slowly regaining his ability to speak. He then relayed everything that had happened in the last two days, culminating in the current day's events.
"Impossible. Luke couldn't have done those things untrained, even with another force sensitive helping to awaken his dormant force ability. The most he should be capable of are the simple reflexes you observed in Leia before…" Obi-Wan trailed off.
"It's alright," Bail said not being able to help a wide smile. "The girl, it was Leia. She must have been sold into slavery. I wasn't sure until now. I thought it was a coincidence, but then you said Luke was missing."
Obi-Wan was hardly able to contain his shock. All this time, Leia had been right under his nose and he never sensed her presence. He cursed her ability to shield her presence more now than he ever did.
"Then that explains their sudden talent with the force. Force twins are always stronger together. Being together unlocked their hidden talent," Obi-Wan deduced and then made a grim expression. "They're in more danger now than they've ever been, yet they'll probably be safer together now. They really did all that!"
Bail nodded grimly and Obi-Wan sighed. All that attention the two had brought to themselves… He felt a familiar headache coming on, one that only one person in the galaxy could give him, except this time, it was twice as bad. Only a Skywalker could walk into and cause that much havoc and trouble in a matter of minutes. One Skywalker was a walking disaster, but two, twins no less… That was a walking environmental hazard. The galaxy would never be the same again with Luke and Leia Skywalker on the loose.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the next chapter, Luke and Leia land on Affavan, a planet in hutt space where Leia was taken care of by women who were prostitutes owned by her master. However, the planet is being torn apart by the Empire who has decided to enslave the whole planet to work in mines and extract precious metals for a secret Imperial project, with the permission of the hutts. Having been left alone for so long, the people of Affavan start a rebellion, but when Luke is taken prisoner by the Empire to work in the mine, they both become determined to stop it.
AN: Two thing people. The first thing is, I may very well post the next chapter in two parts. Why? It's going on ten thousand words long... So I'm breaking it up and posting it in shifts. I'll post the first part next Monday (or even Thursday or Friday with the right motivation... cough reviews cough) and I'll put up the next part three or four days later. It's all up to what you all want really.
And my next announcement is that tomorrow, I'll be posting the third part in my Dark Ahsoka saga, Transition in Darkness. Like Empire strikes back was probably the best movie in the star wars series, this one I was really pleased with. I'll post it around... four o'clock. I'm taking into account that a lot of children just started school again and people are busy.
Alright. That's it. Hope you Enjoyed. Review Please!