The twins were sixteen when they found themselves back on Tatooine- adults, by the standards of the Rim, where ability and experience count more than marks on a chrono. Their ship was old when they got it years ago, and in desperate need of an overhaul for the past few months. They had connections on Tatooine, family even, so it was at Tosche Station that they rented a bay for their ship to take it apart. Leia and Ben will never have Luke's gift for machinery, the affinity and ability to feel the machines that also helps make him such a fearsome pilot, but they do well enough. Progress was steady, and with alarms rigged everywhere and Leia's senses streched out around the bay like a blanket they even took the risk of using the Force for particularly heavy lifts.

In the middle of detaching one of the ion cannons Luke's attention was drawn away, enough that Obi-Wan grunted as he took up the slack to lower the heavy thing to the floor with just his own mind. "Luke?"

"I'm sorry, Master," Luke said, sounding puzzled. "I sense...not danger, really, but something else. A change, maybe. A loss?"

"What do you mean?" Leia asked, frowning to match him as she tried to let her presence stretch out still further. Her powers were no lesser than her brother's, but of a different sort; more subtle, more anchored, where his were as wide-ranging and open as his generous spirit.

"I don't know," he said in frustration, and Obi-Wan stretched out in the Force to tap at the boy's shields warningly.

"Anxiety will do you no good, Luke. We have received your warning and will heed it; but until and unless it manifests, it will behoove us to keep our attention on the here-and-now."

What manifested, not a day later, was a sandcrawler bearing droids and spare parts; and what two of those droids bore made the Jedi master withdraw his feelings so far under his shields that his children felt a prickle of actual fear along their backs.

"Do you know her?" Luke murmured, staring at the face of the young woman shown in the frozen holo. Leia was sending gentle mockery over their link for his staring, but he refused to be embarrassed; the girl was brave, and in need of their help-and if he found her beautiful also, well, even their guardian liked to look at beautiful things.

"Not personally," Ben said absently. "Her father Bail was a friend."

"General," Leia said, testing out the word. "I never think of you as a general."

"I haven't been one for many years," he demurred, but there was a sudden tinge of mischief to his sense that had both youngsters eyeing him suspiciously.

"But?" Luke prompted.

"You may have repressed the memory," he said teasingly. "There was a time...I think you were six? You both decided my continued refusal to replace our eopies with a landspeeder was cruellest tyranny, and took to calling me 'General' in tones of purest scorn."

"Really?" Leia marveled.

"Oh yes. It went on for about three days." He leveled them with a look. "On the second day, I started to make you run five suicides every time you said the word."

"Ooh," said Luke in sympathy for their younger selves, but Leia looked pleased.

"And we lasted two days of that?"

"Not," he said drily, "the point."

"More to the point," Luke said, "What are we going to do? We have to help her, but it would be at least a week to get the ship put back together."

"Do we have to?" Leia gave her brother an apologetic look and continued, "I mean, couldn't you send the droid on as cargo?"

"I fear we have found Luke's disturbance," Ben replied gently, and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Do you not feel it? I do have to go, personally." He looked them both over. "Of course, you realize that just because I have to go doesn't mean you must as well, children."

The blast of response that hit in the Force was so potent he actually blinked and swayed a little. "Don't be stupid, Master," Leia hissed fiercely, and Luke folded his arms and glared with an implacability that was a little Padme and a little Obi-Wan and a little Leia and a lot Luke.

"Your orders, General," he said, and Obi-Wan wondered if it was his destiny to always be humbled by the regard of those he loved.

"Very well," he said, then smiled. "But don't call me General."