Imperial Memories and Forgotten Dreams

I do not own anything Star Wars. Han, Leia, and Luke are all borrowed characters, obviously, with Samantha Heart and Komiak being my own creation.

I wrote this a LONG time ago so please be patient as I "update" it...lol. Enjoy!

Chapter One:

History

I sit at my desk, pen scratching across paper systematically, the only sound in the quiet room. The digital clock near me reads almost one in the morning and yet still I am awake. Though as tired as I may be, the pain in my side refuses to allow me rest, or to even lie flat for that matter.

I hunch forward over my desk, the one and only light on in the room sits a mere foot from me, it's pale light barely reaching the corners of my bedroom.

All around me the house is silent. I had shown my guests to their own rooms, the large house providing for just this sort of occasion. I had chosen the house for that matter, though at the time I had no idea what had possessed me to choose this one. Though now it proves useful. Fate is funny that way I suppose.

I pause in my writing, carefully sitting back and allowing myself to release my consciousness into the force, allowing it to pull my mind where ever it deemed.

I am immediately aware of the entire house and every life for in it from my guests down the hall to the small field mouse sneaking cheese from the small cube I leave in the corner of my kitchen closet for it. We are companion of sorts. I leave the cheese for it every night and it stays in the closet. I smile slightly. Jedi I may be, but I am still a woman.

One deeply afraid of mice.

Movement outside my door draws my attention and instantly I know it is Luke. I sigh, leaning forward again.

"You can come in Luke." I say softly, knowing fully well that he can hear me. The door creaks open a crack, then Luke slips in, shutting it behind him slowly.

"I saw your light on and thought I would come see if you are all right." He says, somewhat meekly. I hide my smile by lowering my head to focus on the paper before me.

"I'm fine." He stays across the room from me, hesitant to approach. Finally I sit up as well as I can, gesturing to the chair near me. He takes it, sitting unusually rigid, as if ready to bolt at any time. "What's on your mind Luke?" I ask.

"Nothing." I raise an eyebrow at him.

"You wouldn't be awake at one in the morning and in my room if it were nothing." He smiles at me, a slight, sheepish smile.

"You're right." I set my pen down, not turning to him but looking at him, my long, straight hair falling over a shoulder. Another reason I hide. Any other person would be frightened by my hair. Instead of any usual color, my hair is ghostly white. Another side effect of the Empire's effect on my life. This does not seem to phase Luke though. No surprise really, after all he's seen. I wait for him to speak. "I was just wondering..." He glances at me. "...about..." I smile slightly.

"You're wondering about me, aren't you?" He nods, looking me in the eye for the first time all night. I meet his gaze a moment, then look away, picking up my pen. "Yes, it's me. I am the Samantha from Mos Eisley that you remember, in a way." He doesn't relax at my admonition, as I would have hoped.

"What happened to you? You're hair..."

"A little side effect of the Empire." I say, unable to contain the bitterness out of my voice.

"What did they do to you?" He says, his voice almost a whisper. I set my pen down, slowly this time.

"When they came for us, back in Mos Eisley, we were immediately separated. My father and brother, I later found out, were sent to the spice mines on Kessel. My mother and sister simply disappeared. I never knew what happened to them. I was taken to the capitol. They had a Jedi among them and he picked me out for what I was. Considering my age and lack of training they started running tests on me. I never found out why. Something about my blood interested them a lot though." I pause. Luke is staring at me intently. "It went on for years. Once I reached the age where my abilities fully matured, they began training me the way they saw fit." I say, picking up my pen again and hoping that Luke takes the hint. He does, sitting back in his chair.

"Uncle Owen told me simply that that's what happens when people meddle in outside affairs. Shortly after that he started me working on the moisture farm and it took me a long time to get out of there."

"What got you out?" I ask.

"Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were killed by imperial troops." He says quietly. He sees me staring at him and smiles slightly. "It's a really long story after that." I nod, taking the hint as he had done. "So, I see that you've been training on your own somewhat." I frown, following his gaze to my lightsaber on my desk beside me. I nod.

"I use what the empire taught me as well as some things I've picked up on my own." He is quiet for a time, leaning back into his chair and staring at the wall. I retrieve my pen and continue writing.

"It must have been hard." He says quietly over the sound of pen on paper. I pause, turning my head just enough to look at him. He does not look my way as he continues. "Spending all those years alone."

I don't reply, though I don't go back to writing either. His blue gaze slides to me and I feel a piece of my heart long locked away respond. I look away.

"I survived, as I always do. I have one friend here though, a companion. She is the only one who knows who and what I am." I do not glance up as I lean back in my chair. I am aware of Luke's gaze sliding down my body briefly but I ignore it. Despite the chill in the room I am wearing a pair of form fitting shorts, accenting the pale skin of my legs before they disappear under the desk. My top is a simple black spaghetti strap, outlining my profile even in the partial darkness of the room. My hair is loose, hanging down my back and over the back of the chair. His gaze rests on my side a moment, the bandages beneath clearly outlined by my shirt.

"Does it still hurt?" He asks quietly. I sigh.

"Wounds inflicted by a Talar tend to take longer to heal then regular wounds. Even being Jedi I can't make it heal faster."

"Want me to try?" He says, his hand reaching out toward my side. I slide away quickly, his fingers barely missing my side.

"Don't touch me." He looks up quickly at me and I swiftly look away. His hand slides back to rest in his lap.

"You never really were a touch kind of person back then." I sigh and rise, sliding my chair back. Luke stays where he is, watching me. I can feel his gaze on my body as I move toward the window. I stare out into the inky blackness, all to aware of the man staring at my back.

"It never would have worked Luke.'" I say quietly. He rises from his chair slowly. I do not move as he comes up behind me. He does not touch me, but I can feel the heat of his body radiating off of him.

"You never gave us a chance." He says quietly. I glance at him over my shoulder. "Why didn't you?" I sigh.

"Even back then I knew what you were. I knew the paths that you would be forced to take. And I knew I could not walk them with you." I say quietly. I look back out at the darkness. "The path of Jedi is a solitary one. I learned that long ago."

"It doesn't have to be." He says quietly. "I have started a school for Jedi students. You can become an instructor there." I laugh with no humor.

"No. I cannot. I know nothing." Luke takes a small step closer.

"You could teach what the Empire taught you. Use their knowledge against them." I round on him, our faces just inches apart.

"I would never, ever wish the knowledge I hold on any other living being in the entire universe. What they taught me stays with me and will follow me to my grave." I say quietly but harshly. Luke stares at me a long second.

"What did they do to you?" He whispers quietly. I do not reply, I simply meet his gaze without flinching. After a long moment I sigh.

"It's getting early. You should get back to bed." He stares at me as I walk past him. He suddenly turns, catching my hand.

"Samantha, wait..." His voice dies as he gets a firm grip on my hand and instantly it as if an electrical shock arches through us both. Luke gasps, his eyes bulging wide and I hurriedly jerk my hand away. He crumples to his knees on the floor, clutching his arms to himself as I step back. I clench my hands into fists. Every fiber of my being demands that I drop to my knees beside him and as he looks up at me I can't resist the urge. I drop to my knees beside him, making sure not to make contact with his skin as I touch his shoulder.

"Kid!" I jump to my feet and turn as Han bursts into the room.

"What are you doing up?" I demand, a bit more harsh then I intended. Han kneels beside Luke, his hand curled around the handle of a blaster.

"What did you do to him?"

"Han, wait..." Luke manages. Using the distraction I turn, disappearing from the room silently.

I slip from the house easily, hearing the sound of Han and now Leia talking to Luke through my open bedroom window as I stand near the tree line. The voices disappear and I inhale deeply, shivering only slightly as the cold night air embraces me.

Being so close, being touched, had shaken me more than I had thought it possibly could in my forced isolation. Of all the people, why him? I wonder as I disappear into the darkness of the forest behind me.

Dawn comes and finds me in my kitchen. I had slipped into the house just before sunrise and had dressed quickly before heading down stairs. I hear the guests stirring long before I see any of them. No surprising it is Leia. She takes the offered cup and sips it lightly before reaching for the sugar container nearby.

"Did you sleep well?" I ask, pushing the sugar container closer to her. I notice she is staring at my hands. I wear a pair of gloves, the kind with no fingers on them, the black cloth covering my wrists and part of my hand. Our hands get close and she suddenly jerks away. I hesitate before returning my hand to grip the skillet on the stove.

"I'm sorry." She says quietly, pouring sugar into her mug. I shrug.

"I should be sorry. I have gone a long time since I've spent any amount of time with someone else." We both look up as Han comes in, trailed closely by Luke. Han studies me intensely, Luke barely looking up. He seems a bit paler this morning as he and the others sit around the small dining room table nearby. I dish out the eggs and ham from the skillet onto three plates and set them before the three at the table. They all lean back slightly as I set the plates before them and I notice that they watch Luke as I lean over his shoulder to set his plate down. He leans back, his gaze fixed on my face.

"Did you even sleep last night?" I pause, still leaning over his shoulder.

"No."

"Maybe you should..."

"I'm heading outside to get more firewood. Help yourself to what ever you need in the kitchen." I break in, heading out the door.

Outside I glance back at the house, noticing that Luke shifts his chair slightly so he can see the woodpile near the edge of the house. I look away before he notices that I saw him and trudge the cold toward the wood pile.

The wound in my side is aching horribly by the time I get to the woodpile, coupled with exhaustion I suddenly find it hard to stand upright. I lean forward, hands resting against the stacked logs as I try to shake off the dizziness.

"Easy, I got you." I start, looking up into a pair of gold eyes and a mass of black hair. The back door to the house suddenly opens and I hear someone calling my name. My savior growls slightly, and I can feel her sliding me down her body so I sit on the snow. Darkness threatens my vision and I sway, my shoulder finding a warm leg.

"Samantha!"

"Who are you?" I hear the conversation dimly, as if from a distance.

"We're friends."

"I've never seen you before." The words are practically growled out. I somehow slip off my glove and reach up, capturing the hand of the one standing above me. I feel her instantly go still and nothing moves for a long moment, then my friend straightens.

"Sorry about that Skywalker. I didn't realize that was you." Comes the female voice as I feel her kneel down beside me.

"Who are you?" I hear Han's voice demand. My friend ignores him, bending down beside me and gripping my face in both her hands. I stare up at her a long moment, linking my mind to hers. She curses slightly, helping me to my feet.

"She is my friend I told you about last night." I tell Luke, meeting his gaze a brief moment.

"Han, Leia, Luke, I want you to meet Komiak."

Well, what do you think? Any and all suggestions welcome!