More than a year later, Sun was lightsaber-dueling with a droid.

When his lightsaber training had first begun, he had moved past a simple seeker droid quickly. Presently, he was fighting an intelligent training droid that wielded a lightsaber.

Vader stood nearby, proffering remarks only rarely. He usually reserved most of his comments for when the duel was over.

When Sun finally managed to sever the droid's appendage and send its lightsaber to the floor, he turned to Vader, panting. He switched off the red saber and waited for Vader to begin talking.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Your style is still somewhat lacking," Vader began. "You are too defensive. The defensive opponent will find himself hard-pressed by an offensive one. If you would press your advantages, then you would find yourself winning more quickly...Your footwork, however, seems to have improved. Your dancing sessions with Jade seem to have done you some good."

Sun felt embarrassed; he hadn't realized that Vader had known about the dancing. Mara had told him that learning to dance would help him in his fighting, and he certainly felt lighter on his feet after a few lessons given to him by her. Her style of dancing was a lot different from the dancing Tuskens sometimes partook in, but he found it pleasant.

"You should try harder to envelop yourself in the Force. If you do, then you will not find yourself so exhausted after a duel."

A muscle in Sun's cheek twitched. He had lived without the Force for so long; he hated to rely on it in a fight.

But he gave Vader a nod of comprehension. The dark man was speaking the truth, whether Sun liked it or not.

****

Leia felt breathless. At eighteen, she was presently the youngest human ever to serve in the Imperial Senate—she had actually beaten Mon Mothma's record!

Her father, who had given up his seat to her, had reclaimed his position as Viceroy and First Chairman of Alderaan. He had even given her the Alderaan Diplomatic Cruiser he had used to travel to and from Coruscant—the Tantive IV!

Leia, however, didn't plan to just use the ship as a transport to meetings of the Imperial Senate. The Tantive IV had diplomatic immunity, which meant it would have greater freedom than other ships. She would be able to help the Alliance by participating in secret missions and pretending she was simply doing humanitarian work...

As if that weren't exciting enough, Winter had finally convinced Bail to take up arms, and he was presently succeeding in convincing the people of Alderaan to renounce the pacifism that he had helped instate after the Clone Wars. Leia's hopes for the Rebellion continued to grow every day.

Leia would ensure that the Empire atoned for all the ill it had done to innocents.

****

One day, Qui-Gon Jinn appeared before Obi-Wan in the latter's Alderaanian quarters.

"Master?" Obi-Wan whispered, standing up with a surprised look on his face. His former master did not appear very often.

"You are troubled, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon's words were spoken without emotion, but there was a fatherly and concerned glint in his eyes.

Obi-Wan looked down at the floor. The years had been unkind to him, and his hair had prematurely grayed. Despite the pride he felt at watching Padmé's daughter grow up, Obi-Wan felt as if his every second were overshadowed by his failure with Padmé's husband and son. The happiness he had felt when Qui-Gon had been alive, the happiness he had regained when Anakin Skywalker had been his prospering apprentice—all his previous happinesses felt bitter in his mouth.

"You are right, Master," Obi-Wan whispered. "I am troubled."

Qui-Gon remained silent, waiting for Obi-Wan to talk.

"I do not know what is happening to the boy...And Leia is filled with such anger—I am afraid she is her father's daughter..." Padmé's anger had been harnessed, but Obi-Wan felt that Leia's anger had the potential to spread out of control like a wildfire.

"You do not know Leia's path," Qui-Gon said gently. "And you must follow the will of the Force. You may try to help Leia, but you must allow her to choose in the end."

"Anakin chose his own path, and look at what happened to the Jedi," Obi-Wan returned quietly. Whenever he was around Yoda and Qui-Gon, he felt as if he were still a mere Padawan, frustrated with the wisdom of those who had been Jedi longer than he had.

"The Jedi grew blind, Obi-Wan. Even the Jedi have faults."

"I fear he'll find her, Master."

Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan a sad smile. "There may still be hope for Anakin. His finding her might not be such a bad—"

"Master!" Obi-Wan interjected. "She must be fully prepared before she truly meets with him. If he finds her before she is ready..."

"The future is always in motion, Obi-Wan. You cannot control Vader's actions. You can only hope that Anakin will release himself from the bonds of Vader."

"Anakin is gone."

"No man is ever completely gone," Qui-Gon said gently. "This is the last time I will appear to you in the guise of a mentor. You are no longer my Padawan—you are a Jedi Master...I just want you to remember two things: never give up hope and never force decisions upon anyone. A Jedi Master is more of a guide than a true master. No one wants to be enslaved to the desires of others."

"I miss you, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan whispered. His eyes glimmered with moisture.

"No man is ever completely gone," Qui-Gon smiled. "I am one with the Force, yes, but remember, Obi-Wan, the Force is one with all."

The great Jedi Master disappeared, leaving behind only an echo in the Force. Obi-Wan sat in his quarters for hours afterward, lost in thought.

****

Leia was contemplating a datapad when Obi-Wan approached her. She smiled at the Jedi Master. "Hello, Obi-Wan."

He nodded at her, but she could see that he felt troubled. "Hello, Leia."

"What's wrong?" Leia queried, the datacard she was reading forgotten.

The Jedi hesitated. "I want to tell you a story."

Intrigued, Leia encouraged, "Please do, Obi-Wan." The Jedi was usually giving advice for situations rather than actually telling her about situations he had faced...She didn't begrudge him his privacy, however—she suspected the past was painful for him.

Obi-Wan took in a deep breath, looking around the parlor before bringing his eyes back to rest on Leia. "There was once a boy. He grew up as a slave, but he was rescued by the Jedi...The Jedi thought he would be able to fulfill a prophecy; they thought he would the one who would bring balance to the Force..." He paused. "The boy hated—but he also loved...And both his love and his hate ended up destroying him. His love of his mother brought him hatred toward those who had killed her, and so he killed them. His love of his wife brought him hatred toward those who would work against the vision he held for him and his wife, and so they were also killed. But his wife was not mired in hatred as he was, and her love for him killed her."

Leia's teacher closed his eyes tightly. "The Jedi have always warned against attachments, Leia. Beings whose love attaches them to something often find that hatred easily springs up toward those who threaten their attachments...Perhaps the Jedi were not quite correct in warning against love. But those who love need to understand that their love can easily turn to hate...That is what is important. Those who love need to learn to let go. The dead would prefer that you weep for them, not hate for them."

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and stared at Leia. "While you work against the Empire, ensure that you seek justice, not revenge. Revenge will set you down a dark path and end up destroying all that which you want vengeance for...Please be careful, Leia." His voice was almost a plea.

Looking into her mentor's eyes, Leia felt a chill go down her back. What had happened to him? Who was that boy? And why did Obi-Wan seem so haunted?

She took in a deep breath and bit her lip in thought. Finally, she spoke, telling him, "I will try, Obi-Wan."

"Thank you, Leia," Obi-Wan whispered.

****

Mon Mothma smiled. She had just convinced another group to join the Alliance. She had a gift, she knew. She was able to inspire and unite beings quite easily, which was why she had become the public face of the Rebellion. Garm Bel Iblis provided brilliant military strategies, and Bail Organa, who had managed to retain more of Palpatine's trust than Bel Iblis and Mothma had ever managed to receive, was able to access important resources and intelligence.

Mon Mothma disagreed with Bel Iblis on many issues. The Corellian was always advocating strong attacks against the Empire, while Mothma preferred to resort to diplomacy when possible, seeing no sense in pointless bloodshed.

At times, Bail was a little too cynical for Mothma's tastes, but his mediation between her and Bel Iblis kept the Alliance together, and all three of them agreed that the Empire had to be replaced by a republic. And despite their occasional disputes, Mothma cared for both men dearly.

She also cared for Bail's daughter. Leia had a great destiny ahead of her, Mothma was sure. Politics was the realm which called to that young woman, and she would be important even when a republic was reinstated.

Mon Mothma couldn't wait until the Empire fell.

****

Vader was taking out his frustration on a trio of training droids. But their intensive programming in lightsaber duels was no match for his anger, and soon all their lightsabers were on the floor, their severed mechanical limbs lying on the ground beside those extinguished weapons.

Palpatine was blaming him for the Rebels' actions, threatening to take Sun away from him unless Vader crushed the Rebels or demonstrated Sun's progress in the Dark Side.

But Vader felt a strangely deep connection with the boy—he knew that if he forced use of the Dark Side upon the boy, the boy would run away...He was torn between following his master and his...what? His instincts? His...feelings?

Vader's mood darkened. His thoughts were taking a dangerous turn.

In anger, he used the Force to sweep the droid remnants against the wall, which they hit with a loud noise before falling to the ground.