Disclaimer: I don't own SW otherwise the abomination that is the Sequels would never have existed and Vader would be acknowledged as the genocidal psycho he was and not 'redeemed' and forgiven for the murder of hundreds of thousands of people just because he died saving his son, or Dai Bendu (kudos to aroaccejoot, ghostwriterofthemachine and loosingletters for their hard work in creating it, that takes a lot of work and dedication).

Posted 10-11-2023

Also, if you don't like my stories, DON'T READ THEM! DON'T SEND ME A BUNCH OF COMMENTS CRITICIZING MY WORK! You're entitled to your opinion on the plot, but so am I. I don't critize anyone who thinks Anakin is great and that the Jedi were full of flaws and caused their own downfall, that's fine, that's your right, but I have the right to mine.

Read, enjoy and review

Chapter Six

Chasing the Huttlet

"Leia," Han Solo, Republic Navy captain and Leia's lover of two and a half months, cupped her cheek. "How're you feeling, Gorgeous?" Clearly, he had heard the news about their newest mission already, and of course she'd told him months ago about her history.

She'd met the Naval captain four months ago. She'd taken one look at him and fallen in love. It had been a bit of a surprise, because Leia had always been quite cynical about love at first sight, but she felt as if she had known Han for decades. A lifetime. It was like she'd looked at him and something clicked into place like, oh, there you are. I've missed you. She'd barely put up a protest against his pursuit of her, and he'd accepted her condition of secrecy without blinking. He'd been furious when she revealed the Request system, vowing to see it abolished and threatening Palpatine, Senator Taa, and everyone else who abused their power over the Jedi, but he'd eventually calmed down and grudgingly agreed not to murder the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic in a time of war.

Leia was a bit concerned by the qualifier, but she figured the promise would do for now.

He'd told her he loved her anyway, and even though she was pretty sure it was too early for that, she'd loved him even more for his acceptance of her despite her baggage.

The blonde Jedi sighed and leaned into his embrace. "I don't want to do this, Han," she whispered. "Jabba is-he's the Master on Tattooine, and he's pure evil. He's what I picture when I think of the devil from the stories of Corellia's hell. It's not Jedi-like, but I hate him, I really do. Helping him makes me feel sick."

"It is human, though," Han reminded her. "And anyway, didn't you say it wasn't about not feeling the emotions, but not letting them control you? As for the rest of it...Don't think of it as helping Jabba. Think of it as ensuring the safety of the hundreds of thousand of men and Jedi who will be travelling on those hyperlane routes. As saving an innocent child whose done nothing wrong."

"Yet," Leia sighed. "But I suppose that thought is, less revolting at least."

He leaned in and kissed her.

Unlike when the Chancellor kissed her, Han's kisses didn't make her stomach churn. They weren't possessive or bruising, but gentle and soft. His embrace would be easily broken if she wanted to pull away, and he wouldn't stop her if she tried. He made her feel safe, not sick and scared. He was always careful with her, like she was a treasure, never bruising her delicate skin. His Force presence made her soul sing. She couldn't understand how she'd gotten so blessed to have his love. Surely she didn't deserve it.

She pulled away quickly as she sensed Rex's approach. It wasn't against regulations or the Code (despite what Force-Nulls often thought) for a Jedi to be in a relationship with one of the Navy men, but Leia insisted on keeping their relationship secret anyway. Like most Jedi, she feared what the Senate would do if they knew the Jedi had any source of happiness. They really did revel in the Jedi's suffering.

Twisted bastards.

"General, the scouts are back!" Rex announced once he'd rounded the corner. He showed no sign of knowing what he had interrupted, but Leia wouldn't be surprised if he knew and was just keeping it quiet for her. He was a good man. "They're ready to give you their report."

"Excellent," Leia said crisply, crossing her arms under her cloak. "Where's Ahsoka?"

"She's in the landing bay," Rex replied.

Leia nodded and headed for the landing bay, Han and Rex at her heels. Han's crutch clicked against the metal floor as they strode through the grey corridors.

A camouflage wearing lieutenant was disembarking from a stealth-ship as they walked in. Ahsoka was in the corner, entertaining the men with a story by the looks of it. Leia let her be for the moment.

"Lieutenant!" Leia called to him. The clone turned to her and saluted sharply. "Any chance the kidnappers saw you?"

"No Sir!" He denied, and she could sense a hint of offence at the suggestion. "We're the best scouts in the regiment."

"That you are, Lt. Hunter," she nodded at him. "Sitrep, please." The military jargon, while distasteful to her ear, had come to her much easier than most Jedi, and she didn't know why.

There were a lot of things about her that were different to her rah'eni, but they had taken her and her mother in and loved them anyway.

"The bounty hunters disappeared," he began. "I suspect they're dead." He took out a projector and turned it on, revealing an old monastery. "We counted at least two droid battalions guarding an old monastery. It's heavily fortified, Sir. You won't be able to land there."

"Of course not," Leia muttered. "That would make it easy. Right, good work, men. Thank you. Now go and get some rest."

They saluted and left, leaving the projector with Leia.

"Right, we need a plan for this," Leia stated, turning to Han and Rex. "If it's droid battalions, then this is a Separatist plan, and probably a trap at that."

"I'll gather my best men, Sir," Rex offered. "We'll get you through."

"That would waste a lot of men's lives," Leia noted, a shiver of warning from the Force trickling down her spine. "I'd rather avoid a full-on assault if possible."

"I've got an idea," Han spoke up, studying the projection with a shrewd expression.

One planetary rotation. That was all they had to get the Huttlet and return him (and his captors' heads) to Jabba.

Leia thought that was doable. After all, as she said to her mentor when he gave her the deadline, they had the Force as their ally, and therefore could not fail.

The gunship swooped down below the cloud cover, and Leia turned to Ahsoka. "Are you ready, young one?" She asked the young Togruta, eyeing her for any sign of nerves. Ahsoka just seemed excited, and Leia wondered what it was like to be so young and naïve. She herself had an old soul, according to her mother, and had been born a mixture of solemn and serene. A natural Jedi, Jaieh Windu had once called her.

Ahsoka nodded eagerly, an attempt to look serious on her face. "Yes, Ja-Master," she promised.

"This is a dangerous mission," Leia warned her. "There will only be a handful of us against a hundred droids. You must let the Force flow through you, let it guide your decisions. With the Force as your ally, you cannot fail."

Ahsoka bowed her head obediently. "Yes Master," she said meekly.

Leia quirked her lips at the sides. "Now, whoever lands first gets to choose what your first proper lesson is on. That means philosophy or lightsabre training."

Ahsoka's expression lit up and she smiled smugly. "I'll give you a head start," she offered.

Leia laughed, letting her cloak fall to the floor of the gunship. "Oh, my young Padawan, you are a delight," she grinned. Then she went to the open doorway, and jumped. Her jump was the signal, and the dozen men and her apprentice both followed, the men utilizing jetpacks.

Her braid came out of its' infinity shape and flowed behind her as the air whooshed by. Leia revelled in the freedom and sheer, utter bliss she felt as she dove through the clouds, surrounded by Ahsoka, Rex and the rest of the men. Eventually, however, it came to an end and they landed on the monastery roof.

"I landed first!" Ahsoka declared eagerly.

Leia laughed again, reaching up to pin her long braid out of the way again. "I think you're overconfident in your skills, young one," she smiled affectionately at the girl. Her joie de vivre was so refreshing, and Leia prayed the Force let her keep it, and it wasn't crushed beneath the weight of war and death. "But very well. We will begin your lessons with an assessment of your lightsabre skills, and a discussion of what forms you might prefer to specialize in."

"Yes!" Ahsoka pumped her fist.

"Now, however, we have a mission," Leia stated, getting things back on track. "Rex, take point with me. Be on your guard."

"Why can't we use the val-uh, the invisibility technique, Master?" Ahsoka asked curiously.

"I don't have the practice needed to use it on this many people," Leia explained. "Now. Let's move. The area below us is empty." Droids felt different in the Force to organics, but they could still be sensed, and the Jedi had all gotten ample practice at improving their ability over the past few months.

She used her lightsabre to create a hole in the roof and they jumped down through it into a dark and musty hallway. The men turned their helmet lights on to let them see, while the two Jedi used their lightsabres as torchs.

"I don't like this place," Rex grumbled. "It gives me the creeps."

"It looks like one of those B'omarr monasteries," Ahsoka noted. "I read about them in my studies at the Temple."

"It probably is," Leia shrugged, "Smugglers like to take over these places and turn them into their personal retreats."

"And the monks just let them?" Ahsoka asked disbelievingly.

"No," Leia said quietly. "They don't. But the monks are pacifists, and the smugglers are not."

Before Ahsoka could reply, there was the sound of metal joints and footsteps, and Leia spun around, going into a Shien defensive position. A droid was approaching, but it looked more like a protocol droid than the "roger roger" idiots used by the Separatists. Its eyes looked like bug eyes and sent a whisper of warning down Leia's spine.

"Uh, good guy or bad guy, Master?" Ahsoka asked nervously, holding her lightsabre in Shii-Cho's first defensive position.

"Who are you?" Leia demanded suspiciously. She reached out with her senses, knowing all the while that even the Force couldn't let her know if a droid was lying or not. It was saying what it was programmed to think of as the truth, and therefore to them what they were saying was the truth, even if their programmers knew it for a lie.

"Merely the humble caretaker, oh mighty madam," the droid replied in a monotone voice. "A servant of this great monastery, and a prisoner of those dreadful battle bots."

"I see," Leia answered coolly. She still had a sense of warning, but she couldn't tell if it was because of the caretaker droid or the battle bots lining the halls. "Well then, I take it you know the place well?"

"Yes, Master Jedi," he nodded.

"Then you can guide us," Leia said firmly. She didn't trust the droid, but it knew the way to the Huttlet at least, which Leia did not. This would be quicker. And if it was a trap, well. Obi-Wan always said the best way to deal with a trap was to spring it. "We're looking for the Huttlet imprisoned here. And don't worry. We'll deal with any of those 'dreadful battle bots' that we stumble across."

The droid bowed creakily. "Very well, Master Jedi," he acknowledged. He turned and began walking away.

"Are you sure about this, General?" Rex whispered. "I don't trust it."

Leia tossed him a smile. "Neither do I," she said brightly. "But the best way to deal with a trap is to spring it."

He sighed, and she felt a sense of resignation radiating from him. But he still followed behind her as she strode confidently after the droid, nine men staying behind to secure their exit as previously planned.

They met about twenty droids along the way at various intervals, but the combined firepower of two Jedi and three clones was more than enough to deal with them. After an hour of creeping through the halls, they came to the detention level. Leia ordered everyone except Ahsoka to wait at the entrance, then entered the hall, her Padawan at her heels.

"Jaieh, you know you're walking us into a trap, right?" Ahsoka asked dubiously as they passed their fourth droid.

"I know," Leia confirmed evenly.

"And you know we've just passed another droid, right?" The Togruta pressed.

"I do."

"This is making me nervous. Can I please take care of them?" The Togruta pleaded.

Leia eyed her student. "You shouldn't be so eager to fight, you know," she commented. "But yes, you may."

Ahsoka turned and began slashing at the droids, going for their weapons first, Leia noted with approval. It was the work of moments for the young Jedi-in-training to destroy them all, and she turned hopefully to Leia. Leia nodded approvingly at her. "Good work, Padawan, especially on remembering to go for their weapons first," she said. As she spoke, she gutted the final droid that creeped out behind her. Ahsoka's face fell a bit as she realized she had missed one. "Next time, use the Force, not your eyes to figure out how many opponents there are," the Knight instructed.

"Haj dai, Jaieh," Ahsoka muttered. Leia reached out and rested a hand on her Padawan's shoulder.

"Do not be discouraged, Ahsoka," she urged. "This is your first day away from Anohrah. You cannot, and are not expected to be, perfect."

"Haj dai, Jaieh," Ahsoka repeated as they came to a stop outside of a closed door. Even if the Force weren't telling her so, Leia would've known the Huttlet was there from the sheer stench radiating from the room. She hid a wince and released the memory of Gardulla's palace with a long breath.

"I suspect our missing Hutt is in here," Leia stated as she began tapping at the door panel instinctively, letting the Force aid her in cracking the encryption.

"Yeah, me too," Ahsoka groaned, waving a hand in front of her nose. "Force, that stinks."

"That's the Hutts," Leia sighed as the door opened and they peered into the darkened room.

"Well," Leia said when she saw Jabba's son. "I didn't expect that."

The Huttlet really was a Huttlet. He was half-the-size of Leia's arm (in length, if not width, at any rate), and his Huttese was mere nonsense babbling.

"Aw, how cute!" Ahsoka cooed. "He's just a baby."

"So it seems," Leia said quietly. She closed her eyes and exhaled, letting go of her anger and bitter resentment for the Hutts in general. It was something that she'd had to do again and again since joining the Order, but, as Jaieh Yoda had told her when she worried that she was a bad Jedi because of it, it wasn't about getting rid of the emotions, but rather about not dwelling on them and not letting them control her.

"Right," Leia said once she was centred once again. "You grab him. We can't afford to stay here for too long."

Ahsoka cradled him in her arms and they retraced their steps. Their steps quickened and the Huttlet began whimpering when the sound of shots reached their ears.

"Stay behind me and guard the child!" She ordered Ahsoka as she pressed the alert on her comm that would let the extraction team know that they had retrieved the Huttlet but were under fire. They would be waiting at the roof.

Ahsoka looked mutinous, but she glanced at the Huttlet and nodded in acceptance. "Haj dai, Jaieh," she said, her tension radiating from her body and her Force presence.

Leia had no time to reassure her as they burst into the hall. She was horrified to see Ventress' pet assassin, Savage Opress, was the one fighting her men, of whom Rex and Dev were left standing, Cras lying decapitated in a pool of blood. The caretaker had been shot by a blaster bolt, so Leia assumed he was a spy or assassin droid.

Leia leapt over her men's heads and landed lithe as a lothcat in front of Opress, falling into Makashi in time to catch his lightsabre with hers.

"Skywalker!" Opress snarled. "Came running to the rescue, did you? Tell me, did it not offend you to risk your life for a Hutt?"

"I am risking my life for a child whose done nothing wrong, as a good Jedi should!" Leia retorted, their sabres clashing, keeping herself between her companions and the imkai'an and using her free hand to sign an order at the others to get away.

"Ah, but he'll grow to be a gangster, a slaver master," Opress pointed out smugly. "Doesn't that sting you, given your, ah, origins?"

"You're one to talk to me about slavery, given you're nothing but the Sith's pet!" Leia spat as Rex and Dev began dragging a protesting Ahsoka away. Leia, still exchanging blows with Opress, sent her a sense of savethechildyouareaJedidoyourduty and the Padawan gave in, beginning to run along with the men, the Huttlet in her arms.

"I am no slave!" Opress cried in rage, thankfully not even glancing after Ahsoka and the others in his rage. He lost himself to his fury, just as Leia had hoped, lunging at her with a series of vicious swipes that she easily blocked. She spun her blade in an arc and watched as Opress' 'sabre hand fell to the ground.

"Surrender, Opress," Leia demanded, holding him aloft with the Force. "You've lost."

"I don't think so," Opress sneered, his eyes glinting with hatred. "Or would you choose to capture me over saving your apprentice and men? Honestly, knowing what the Jedi are like, I wouldn't be surprised at all."

"There's the thing," Leia hissed, "You don't know what the Jedi are like." Then she Force-shoved him into the wall and ran for it.

Her Padawan and her men were in danger.

Dai Bendu:

Haj dai: Yes (lit. Force wills)

Jaieh: Master (Teacher)

Imkai'an: Senseless murderer, the worst thing you can call a person

Anohrah: The Temple on Coruscant