Luke had sat silently for a long time after Yoda's revelation, and then stood and walked into the woods. Yoda hobbled back into his hut, cooking dinner and hoping he'd made the right decision. He'd had many conversations with his former apprentices who were particularly interested in the fate of Anakin's children about this very moment, and they had not come to conclusion about the best way to break such news. In his old age, Yoda sometimes wondered if the Jedi who joined him at night were in fact real spirits, or just figments of the memories he'd collected in nearly 900 years of life. But Obi Wan looked so old, he could not simply be imagined. The years in the desert before his death were not kind to the Jedi.
Dusk came, and Yoda looked up as Luke made his way back into the hut. Without comment, Yoda handed him a bowl of stew and then sat down on the floor next to the boy.
"Your father you are not," Yoda said finally.
"Obi Wan said Vader killed my father," Luke said, his voice low and accusing.
"Not ready for the burden were you," Yoda responded. "Never ready. But needed to know, did you. Confront him, you will."
"Confront my own father?" Luke stood, forgetting the hut was barely high enough to accommodate him on his knees. He bashed his head against the ceiling and dropped back down rapidly, brushing dirt out of his hair. "Dammit."
"It is your destiny. That is why you must train."
"My destiny? I thought you said that kind of rigid thinking was what destroyed the Jedi."
"Not of my choosing is your destiny," Yoda retorted, "Only say what I see in the Force, do I."
"But what am I supposed to do when I confront him?" Luke asked, tears threatening to return to his eyes. "Kill him?"
"Only as a trained Jedi will you know where the Light Side guides you," Yoda said somberly.
"Fine." Ducking this time, Luke stood and walked out of the hut. "Let's get back to training then."
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Wedge looked more haggard than Solo ever remembered. He sat behind a desk made up of two sawhorses and an old metal door, sorting papers and glancing down at an old datapad.
"Solo! Chewbacca!" With a tired smile, Wedge got up to shake hands. "Glad to see you made it."
"How bad was it?" Solo asked, surprised by the usually buoyant pilot's demeanor.
"We lost a lot of people, and equipment," Wedge told him. "We're still sorting things out." He paused. "They got Rieekan. And both Leia and Luke are missing."
"Leia and Luke were with me," Han told him, and the other Corellian brightened. "They were? Where are they now?"
"Well, Luke had some mystical Jedi vision and insisted that I drop him on some planet to train with this supposed Jedi master. I think he's fine- I'm supposed to pick him up in a few weeks."
"What about the princess?"
"She…took off," Han said finally. "Pretty sure she made a break for Alderaan. I tried to stop her…"
"Only so much you can do with that girl," Wedge said with a wry smile. He must have had some experience.
"Thought I might try to give her a hand," Han added. "That's why we're here."
"You want to go to Alderaan?" Wedge asked incredulously. "Do you know if Leia even made it?"
"If anyone was going to, it would be her," Han told him. "But I don't know what she thinks she's going to do when she gets there. I'm sure she could use some backup."
"Thought you were planning on washing your hands of the Alliance?" Wedge pressed.
"I am." Han reddened slightly. "She just, uh, well she owes me for trashing my ship and I didn't want to let her get off scot free."
"I see." Wedge turned around. "Well, as it happens, if you don't mind trading out your ship for a while, there may be an option for you…."
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There was enough room in the empty supply closet for the four human occupants to sit down, keeping the droid in the center. Leia had switched him off, sensing that his presence was annoying her companions. The disused room must have once been used for storing cleaning supplies, the dusty walls vaguely redolent of bleach and window cleaner. Leia breathed into her sleeve, trying to block out the smells that reminded her so clearly of her imprisonment.
"Shh…" Farn held up a hand, hearing a large speeder approach. Holding their breath, they listened for a minute. "It's not him," Farn finally mouthed. "He honks four times." Quickly, he turned out his light, hoping none of the illumination had broken through any spaces in the walls or roof.
Leia squeezed closer to Tantur as heavy footsteps clomped around the building. Farn hadn't locked the door behind them….
"You find anything?" she heard someone bellow, their voice muffled as if speaking into a microphone. Leia's eyes grew wide. Stormtroopers!
"Nah," someone else responded. "Think it's all locked up."
"Damn. I'm starving. What about a 'fresher?"
"Probably locked too. Just go here."
The four youth crinkled their noses in disgust as they heard the telltale sound of liquid flowing onto the ground just outside their hiding spot. Tantur poked Leia with a grin. "At least it's just number one." She was too scared to roll her eyes.
"C'mon, let's get going! We're due back." The other trooper grunted and Leia breathed a deep sigh of relief as the footsteps disappeared in the distance, followed by the sound of a speeder engine starting and then disappearing down the highway.
Farn flicked his light back on. "That was close."
"Eh," said Si waggishly, "When you gotta go, you gotta go, right?" Tantur sputtered and then burst out laughing. Farn, trying to show the princess that he was a responsible leader, resisted for a moment before he too started chuckling. Leia glared darkly at all of them.
"Do you have any idea," she hissed, "Of what would have happened if they had found us?"
Si puffed up his cheeks and made a rude—and very specific-noise at her, sending the boys into even more paroxysms of laughter. Watching them furiously, Leia crossed her arms, and then suddenly began weeping.
Guilty at the sight of the distressed girl, the boys quieted their laughter. "Sorry," said Farn, reaching out to touch her arm. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Leia lied, embarrassedly swiping at her eyes. How could she explain to them why she was crying? That she was mourning a girl who once upon a time, a long time ago, might have laughed at their stupid crude jokes. That she was mourning for them, ripped out of their extended childhoods and forced to risk their lives because of the wars and rivalries begun long before any of their births. They couldn't possibly understand.
The sound of another speeder, followed by four quick honks from the horn, saved her from any further discussion. Quickly, they jumped to their feet. Leia activated the droid, putting her hand over his mouth to remind him to be silent, and they ran through the dark and hopped into the truck's cargo area, pulling the door shut behind them as it whipped back onto the highway.
Two other passengers were already waiting for them when they hopped on board, sitting cross-legged in front of a pile of boxes marked "pasta."
"Farn, good to see you, man," one of them said, extending a hand to the young man. "What's with the droid?"
"Special delivery," Farn said as Leia helped get Threepio secure against the wall of the truck. "So what have we got tonight?"
"Mostly medical supplies." The man gestured to the boxes. "These need to get to Dr. Sulaan. His people are meeting us at the restaurant on the southeast corner of Oroboro Street and Panteer Boulevard. You're on that, Farn." Turning to Leia, he extended a hand. "I wasn't expecting a fourth this time. I'm Yun. We'll find a job for you."
Leia shook his hand. "Actually, I've got a job of my own. Once we're in the city, if you can just let me and my droid off…."
"I don't think taking the droid is a good idea," Yun told her. "They're forbidden for Alderaanis. You could be arrested."
"But he's got some information I need," Leia protested, wishing Threepio were even a little less ostentatious. "Can we disguise him?"
Yun just raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what your mission is, but I just can't let you do that. If you're captured it could threaten our whole operation."
Leia nodded understandingly. "Do you have a datapad I could borrow? I could download the information I need…"
"Let me check." Yun rapped on the small window to the driver's cabin. The truck pulled over and the little window slid open, a man's face appearing.
"What is it? We can't get too far behind schedule."
"This young lady needs a datapad to borrow," Yun said, pointing with a thumb at Leia. The driver stuck his head further through the door and squinted.
"By the gods! By the gods! Is it really you?"
"Hi, Mich." Leia smiled at the sight of her father's secretary.
"You know her?" Yun said, looking critically at Leia.
"As do you," said Mich, merging back onto the empty highway. "Yun, may I present Her Royal Highness, Princess Leia Organa."
"Hm." Yun took the surprise philosophically. "Well, that's not what I was expecting."
"Your Highness, what are you doing here?" Mich asked as he sped up to get the freighter back on schedule. "Your death was reported months ago. Where have you been?"
"Mich, I need to get to my parents," Leia told him. "That's why I brought the droid. He's got the codes for the," she lowered her voice, leaning towards the window, "southwest door."
"The palace is full of Imperial soldiers, Princess! Your parents would want you to stay away."
"No, Mich." Leia was firm. "I'm going to them. I have to."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"You can't." Leia gestured to the rest of the occupants of the cargo area. "You can't give up this truck route. How else will people in Aldera get food and medicine?"
"Please, Princess!"
"No. I have to do this myself." She held out her hand. "Give me a datapad and keep the droid with you. I'm sure you all can find a way to make him useful."
"All right, your Highness," Mich acceded. "But do me one favor?"
"Anything."
"If your father asks, tell him I tried to stop you."
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Since it was well past curfew, they dropped her at a safe house just outside the palace district. The guard pulled the door shut quickly and silently behind her, leading her down some stairs into a dusty root cellar. In one corner, a man lay on a cot, gritting his teeth as a woman dabbed antiseptic on a large slash across his cheek. Two young men held hands next to him, gripping small bags of belongings as they sat on the cold floor. In another corner, an Aqualish family huddled under blankets, trying to quiet a fussy baby.
"You're headed out in the morning?" the guard confirmed as he started back up the stairs. "Need anything before you go?"
"A cloak with a hood, if you've got one." He nodded.
"Go ahead and get some rest."
Ignoring him, Leia quietly padded over to the woman helping the injured man. He was biting down on a piece of cloth as she quickly whipped stitches through the broken skin.
"Anything I can do to help?" Leia asked, taking the man's hand and letting him squeeze her fingers.
"Sure," responded the woman wearily. "You know how to do stitches?" Leia nodded affirmatively, and the woman gestured into the dark hall. Looking back, Leia saw a line of people seated on the floor, clutching wounds.
"What happened?" Leia took the bottle of sanitizer and doused her hands.
"Bunch of Imps attacked a bread line." The man sitting on the floor closest to her said. Looking down, she could see he had a nasty gash on his arm. "We were just standing there and all of a sudden they came in swinging." Pouring out some antiseptic on a pad, Leia gestured him over and dabbed at the cut. "There was a young guy behind me, he started to fight back. They just shot him, right there in front of all the people." Silently, Leia threaded a needle and started to close his cut. The man sat stoically, but she knew the stitches had to burn.
"I'm sorry there aren't any painkillers," she said softly.
"That's okay, m'dear." She finished up and he examined her work. "You a nurse or something?"
"I've had some training in field medicine."
"Well, good job, young lady. Never thought that kind of skill would come in handy on Alderaan." He scooted over to make room for the next casualty.
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Morning came quickly. Leia had finally handed over her medical duties when her hands started shaking from fatigue, and she fell into a blissfully dreamless sleep propped up against the dusty cellar wall.
"Ready to get going?" The guard she recognized from the previous night kicked her boot with his foot, and she stood. He handed her a dark hooded cloak. "This work?"
"Thank you." She wrapped it around her shoulders and lifted the hood over her face, concealing her features in shadow. He led her up the steps and around a corner into the main floor of the house.
"The door is over there," he said, pointing past a window. "Make sure there aren't any Imps right outside when you go."
She slipped out the door into the morning sunshine, blinking. Around here, the street was starting to come to life. Unlike the Aldera she remembered though, there were few open shops and the people scurried around with their heads down instead of stopping for conversations with friends. Even the trash receptacles, decorated with metal work in the shape of plants and animals, had been ripped out, and bits of garbage floated down the street in the gentle breeze.
Leia checked the inside pocket of the cloak for her datapad and lightsaber before turning down a side street. The concealed entrance to the palace was a secret to nearly everyone—only the royal family and a few trusted staff knew its location. It led to a corridor that ran under the garden into a small safe room behind the main dining room. Her parents used to use a simple password, but insisted on changing it to a more complicated electronic code when they caught Leia sneaking in after curfew for the fourth time.
The crowds outside grew thicker as the morning progressed. Leia took a circuitous route to the palace, keeping off the main roads and away from the open spaces in the parks that were scattered around the city. As she strolled slowly up Hydenock Street, carefully keeping her head down, she heard a commotion ahead of her.
"Make way!" The pedestrians scattered to the far sides of the sidewalk as a phalanx of stormtroopers marched down the street, swinging rifles indiscriminately at anyone not quick enough to duck out of the way. Pressing back through the crowd on the street, Leia shoved herself up against a building, fighting a rising panic.
An open topped truck rolled behind them, and if she stood on her tiptoes, Leia could see people riding in the back, crammed in like Lamaredd sucker fish. They were in poor condition, most of them sporting black eyes or bleeding scalps. The truck rumbled to a stop, and the stormtroopers shoved the people out, surrounding them in the middle of the street.
A woman next to her gasped. "Joei!" she cried, waving desperately at a young man who turned at hearing his name, searching the crowd. Turning to Leia, she said, "I thought he got off planet." She began to push forward.
A tall, dark skinned man in a general's uniform was driven up in a speeder, and he stood next to the group of prisoners holding a flimsi in his hand. Leia's eyes went back to the encircled Alderaanis as she remembered Kita's comment about "repatriation." Her heart in her throat, she watched as the woman who had stood next to her reached the outer limits of the bystanders and tried to rush the stormtroopers. Two men grabbed her by the arms and held her back as she screamed viciously at the troops. They ignored her.
The Imperial general started to speak just as one of the prisoners collapsed. His companions dragged him back to his feet, and Leia caught a glimpse of his face as the group parted to give him air. She caught her gasp in the back of her throat.
"Carlist," she whispered, recognizing the Alliance general through the blood and bruises that covered his face. One eye was patched halfheartedly, and his head had been shaved.
The Imperial cleared his throat as the stormtroopers began shoving the prisoners in a line. "In the name of the Emperor, those gathered before you have been found to be traitors to the Empire. The sentence is death."
The bystanders were hushed as a few wails cut through the air. Leia shook as the stormtroopers raised their rifles and aimed. The Imperial general gave a satisfied smile and looked over the gathered crowd, catching Leia's eye briefly as he smirked.
Suddenly, one of the stormtroopers hollered, falling backwards as his blaster rifle exploded in his hands. A moment later, the air filled with a popping noise as the rest of the blasters burst, pitching the troopers to the ground and sending the Imperial general diving to the safety of his speeder.
As the sound subsided, the group of prisoners stared in confusion at the troopers before them, writhing on the ground and bleeding from wounds inflicted by the shrapnel of their destroyed weaponry. A quick thinking man near the front of the ground dashed forward, grabbing one of them by the arm.
"Run!" he yelled. Finally the crowd reacted, rushing the Imperials. The prisoners who were able to walk fled in all directions, and the rest were grabbed by their arms and legs and hustled away as the Imperials screamed for back up into their comlinks.
"Better get going, missy," an older woman said to Leia, who had collapsed back against the wall, exhausted. "They aren't going to be happy about that." Forcing herself upright, Leia took off at a dead run towards the palace.
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Vader stood watching the scene from a balcony of the palace, concealed from view from the street by a large fern. He knew they were bringing another load of expatriate prisoners home for execution today, but was uninterested in the festivities. He could sense his daughter was near, on the planet, and he was becoming impatient for her arrival. When he felt the burst of dark power in the Force a breath before the sound of screams and explosions, he knew his wait was coming to an end.
Peering out onto the street, he saw a cloaked figure break free of the crowd and tear towards the palace. Turning to head back inside, he smiled. Soon.