Precipice by shadowsong26

Milestones: Chapter 5

Jedha was a desert, like Tatooine, but that was where the similarities ended.

The air smelled different, felt different; sort of rounder, heavier. Full of-something. Full of life. The sand itself was a whole other texture, too, and the moon as a whole just felt… older. Settled, sort of, in a way that Leia was pretty sure Tatooine never would, even after a thousand years. More solid, at least at its base, though the surface was restless and full of barely-restrained tension.

Even that wasn't really all that much like home, even though she could've said the same thing, kind of. But here, that shimmery, shivery feeling was less wild, more…

She didn't exactly know the word for it, except different.

Dad had landed the Waterfall in the shadow of an enormous statue, half-buried in the sand-which just added to the sense of history and depth to this place. There was definitely nothing like that on Tatooine. Then they'd put the last security and cloaking measures in place, leaving Artoo behind just in case they him to bring the ship in so they could make a quick exit, before starting the two-hour walk to the city.

Which was another different thing-the way it dominated the horizon on its wide mesa, rising up towards the sky in a way that no one ever built on Tatooine, with its frequent storms. A city back home would've been at the base of the cliff-if you could even find one that tall-or maybe built into the side, rather than perched on top like that.

It was impressive. And beautiful. And different.

They didn't talk much along the way. Dad kept his eyes on the horizon and his thoughts to himself; his shields wrapped up tight, tighter than she'd ever seen them. For her part, Leia took the time to try and bring her more scattered thoughts back in line, to be really ready for the challenge she was about to face.

Thinking through all the ways this desert was so different from the one she'd grown up in helped. Gave her something to focus on, to blunt the edges of her nerves.

And when that started going in circles, too, she focused on watching Dad instead; because even before she got to the Temple and started hunting for her crystal, she still had an occupied city to walk through. She'd never done that before-sure, there were troopers in Mos Eisley and some of the other cities she'd visited, both on Tatooine and on her off-planet training trips, but not on this level. Dad, on the other hand, had been slipping in and out of places like Jedha City for her entire life.

So it was probably best to watch him closely, to make sure she was following him right.

Of course, for her, it was a little different. Leia wasn't a known Imperial fugitive the way Dad was, so she hadn't really had to disguise herself, other than the name on her fake papers. Dad had had to put a little more effort into things.

Which was what she was trying to track; all the ways he'd managed to become almost a different person without doing all that much, at least on the surface, to change what he actually looked like.

He hadn't even dyed his hair again, like he had for Alderaan, but somehow he looked even more different than he had then. There was something about the way he moved, the way he carried himself, that she couldn't quite figure out. Plus, there was a blaster on his right hip, where he usually carried his lightsaber, and that was somehow weirder than seeing him without any visible weapons, the way he had been in Aldera City.

Between that and his extra-tight mental shields, if she hadn't known better, she'd've almost guessed he was completely ordinary-well, okay, not completely, because the obvious blaster and probably more weapons that she couldn't see. For one thing, even though she had no idea how, without Artoo along, Leia would bet just about anything that Dad had still managed to smuggle his 'Sabẻr in with them somehow. Besides, all the careful movement in the world couldn't totally hide that Dad was a very, very dangerous man when he wanted to be.

But still, the kind of ordinary she'd grown up with. A regular bounty hunter, maybe. Not a Jedi, or Force-sensitive at all.

Of course, that might just be her; she was pretty sure that Uncle Obi-Wan or Aunt 'Soka would still know, even if they didn't know Dad.

On the other hand, Dad was…well, Dad; and he drew a lot of attention unless he was trying really hard not to. The trick, she guessed, was trying without making it obvious that he was trying.

Maybe that was why he was keeping his shields so tight. That alone, at least for her, would've taken a lot of focus. So even if they might not actually work against someone with experience, the shields might give him a single focus point, which would keep him from getting too wrapped up in all the little details, which might make him seem stiff and unnatural.

Just like the way she was focusing on all the ways this trip was different from every other one she'd ever taken was helping her.

"All set, princess?" Dad asked, as they finally approached the city.

"Yeah," she said.

"Stay close to me, all right?" Dad said, stopping just shy of putting a hand on her shoulder to reinforce it. "Trust your instincts, and keep an eye out for trouble."

And, especially given why they were here...

"I will," she said.

The stormtrooper at the gate checkpoint seemed more bored with his job than anything. He scanned their IDs, and made Dad fill in an extra form 'cause he was carrying a weapon. But their covers held, and Dad's allowed for a blaster. The trooper stamped their papers and waved them through. Dad hadn't even needed a mind trick to get them past that first problem.

Dad relaxed a little once they were through. "Come on," he said. "Let's see what we can find, princess, okay?"

"Right behind you," she promised.

They went up and up and up a series of stairs, cut into the cliff face, and came out into a crowded market square. The place was full of beings of all kinds of species, arguing in more languages than she could identify, and buying and selling food, clothing, jewelry-all from a mishmash of cultures; some native and some not.

It all sang together, in the Force and along Leia's ordinary senses; even with the tension lingering just under the surface, it was all so full of life.

If this were any other day, Leia would've slipped away from Dad to try exploring.

But she had a mission here; in the Temple at the center of the city, that was humming in a too-quiet counterpoint to the crowd.

She just had to get there.

"May the Force of others be with you," a voice cut through the crowd.

Leia blinked, and just barely stopped herself from outright turning in that direction, even though everything inside her wanted to. Instead, she glanced up at Dad, who was smiling slightly.

"Follow me," he said, and started moving-but he didn't head straight towards the voice. He picked his way across the crowd in a wide circle and Leia didn't know how he could stand it. Because those words were still echoing in her ears, and she knew that was who they were supposed to talk to.

"Patience," Dad murmured, stopping at a stall to examine some wirework sculptures. And then Leia caught sight of how much his hands were moving, with barely-suppressed tension. "See the troopers?"

And it wasn't like she'd forgotten those white shadows, skulking around the edges of the crowd, just...

"Right," she said, taking a breath and letting it out slowly, in the hope that her nervous tension would dissipate with it. Don't give yourself away. Don't put that person, whoever they are, in danger.

Finally, finally, they finished their circuit, and Dad drifted to a halt, dropping a couple coins into a bowl held by a blind man who was maybe as old as Uncle Obi-Wan, or maybe closer to Dad's age. Leia couldn't quite tell.

"May the Force of others be with you, friend," Dad echoed.

The blind man smiled. "It's been a long time," he said.

"I know," Dad agreed, softly. "I wasn't sure we would find anyone."

"Yes," he said. "I'm Chirrut Imwe."

Dad nodded. "I'd give you my name, but…"

"The soldiers, I understand," Chirrut said, then fell silent, tilting his head in her direction.

Leia glanced up at Dad, who shrugged one shoulder, leaving it up to her.

"I'm Leia," she said.

Chirrut smiled. "Welcome, little one."

"Thank you," she said, smiling back.

"Can we talk here?" Dad asked. He was leaning against the wall, eyes scanning the crowd.

"We could," Chirrut said.

"But it might be better to wait," Leia finished for him.

"There is a right moment for all things," Chirrut agreed. "Meet me by the fountain, three blocks over. At sunset, when the patrols have their shift change."

"We'll be there," Dad promised.

"I look forward to it," Chirrut said, with another grin, then turned his focus back to the crowd.

Chirrut was waiting for them, as promised, by the fountain square at sunset-and he wasn't alone. He was with a big man, about his age, with long hair and hard eyes and an enormous gun.

"My friends from the market," Chirrut called softly.

Dad bowed, and Leia copied him. Chirrut's friend didn't quite scoff, but the general distrust spilling off of him into the Force was almost physical. It wasn't directed at them, exactly, but he wasn't all that happy about the situation as a whole.

Hopefully, they could win him over. Somehow.

"I want to thank you," Leia said, "for agreeing to help us."

"Why are you here?" the stranger asked. "It's been a long time since Jedi came to Jedha. Only dreamers and fools stay here now."

"Baze says these things," Chirrut said, "without entirely believing them."

"You don't know what I believe."

"I can't answer those questions for you," Dad cut in. "And I'm not here to stay, though I wish I could."

Chirrut nodded, his face turning serious for once. "We have always had our place here. You and your Order took a broader view of things. But all things are as the Force wills it. We may be the only Guardians left, but we are still your friends."

Baze, Leia noted, didn't actually scoff at that.

"You didn't answer my question," he said instead. "Though I think I can guess."

Dad nodded to Leia, who took a breath, and searched the Force for the right words.

"I seek a crystal," Leia said. "And request your permission to access your sacred site to find one."

Chirrut nodded. "The task of the Guardians has always been to protect the Temple, and the crystals inside," he said. "If the kyber cannot stay, better for it to be in the hands of Jedi than the Empire."

Baze studied him for a moment, then turned to Leia. "Fine. We will help."

"Thank you," she said, and bowed again.

"But if you're going to try the Temple," Baze said, "it should be tonight."

Dad nodded. "The sooner, the better," he agreed. "The longer we're here, the more we risk exposure. Which would be bad for all of us."

"Yes," Chirrut said. "And it's a good night for it."

Leia could feel the truth of that as soon as he said it. And Chirrut knew this place and this Temple in a way that even Dad or Uncle Obi-Wan or Aunt 'Soka couldn't, so she trusted him.

"Is there a way in?" Leia asked. "Past the troopers, I mean."

"It won't be easy," Baze said, then his eyes flickered over to Dad. "But Chirrut can guide you to an entrance, if we draw the soldiers' attention away."

"Right," Dad said. "Did you have something in mind?"

"A few things," he said. "Some that might even keep you from getting caught, if you go where I tell you."

"I think I can manage that."

"Good."

"And Baze can draw you a map of the Temple itself," Chirrut said. "There are still a few places in there the Empire hasn't reached yet."

Wordlessly, Dad pulled out his flimsi pad and ink pen, passing both to Baze.

Baze raised an eyebrow at him.

"Long story," Dad said.

"All right," Baze said, and started sketching. "But pay attention when you're in there. The soldiers may have gotten deeper than we think."

"I will," Leia said. Between the Force and her ears and other mundane senses, she was pretty sure she could avoid any soldiers who were in there.

"What about extraction?" Dad asked. "I may be speaking out of place, but I remember that timing on Ilum was hard to predict, and didn't...always feel the same inside the cave as outside. I know it took me longer than my apprentice, when I took her there for her second crystal."

Chirrut smiled slightly. "That can be the case here, too," he said. "But getting out will be much easier than getting in. The Force and the crystal will protect and guide her."

Dad didn't look entirely convinced.

"Here," Baze said, circling a spot on his sketch of the Temple, before handing it to Leia. "There's at least one door I know of that can only be opened from the inside. We will wait for you there."

So if she needed extra help, or there were troopers too close, the others could draw them away again.

"Thank you," she said. "Both of you. For everything."

"Thank us when you leave," Baze said, then turned to Dad again. "Are you ready?"

Dad nodded. "Lead the way."

Baze moved faster and more quietly than Leia would've guessed, given his size and the massive gun he carried; but she blinked, and he and her father had disappeared into the deepening shadows of Jedha's evening.

Chirrut sighed. "Baze will come around," he said. "He is bitter now, but I have faith that he will recover his hope and his faith one day."

"I hope he does," Leia said.

Chirrut smiled at her. "Come on, this way," he said, then took off down a side street, his staff held loosely in his hands.

Leia slipped after him, trying to move as quickly and as quietly as he did, relying on her size and keeping to the shadows to go unnoticed, just like Aunt 'Soka had taught her. Even if she'd never tried it anywhere it mattered quite this much before.

They wound through narrow alleys, even cutting through an empty apartment building once, until, as abruptly as he'd started, Chirrut held out a hand for her to stop.

They were here.

The kyber Temple loomed above them, its history and presence and pain leaning over Leia like a physical weight; the wall was cracked and pitted in places from being so long under siege.

"There's an old garbage chute," Chirrut said, softly. "It should be right across from us. Do you see it?"

It took her a moment, before she could see a faint depression, probably about at eye-level for her if she was standing right in front of it.

"Yeah," she said.

"Good," he said, with a brief smile. "That's where you go. You have your map?"

She nodded, and started to say something else, but he put a finger to his lips and tilted his head, listening.

Two troopers rounded the corner, making a regular perimeter patrol. Leia pulled back just a little bit further into the shadows-

And then, from the other side of the Temple, an explosion ripped through the air.

"What the-"

Both troopers turned towards the sound.

Come on, Leia said. Come on, go investigate…

"Come on," one of the troopers said; the other nodded and they started back the way they'd come, picking up speed.

Leia let out a breath, waited until they were out of sight, then counted to ten for good measure before darting across the alley, with Chirrut half a step behind her.

The chute was sealed, but Chirrut felt his way along the wall beside it. He found some mechanism she couldn't see, and the rock wall slid open with an audible crunch.

She winced, and glanced up at her guide.

"Don't worry about it," Chirrut assured her. "If they come back, I'll handle it. Go."

She nodded, and hauled herself up into the chute, which was just wide enough for her to fit; it continued upward at a steep, but still climbable, angle.

"Good luck, young Jedi," Chirrut murmured, just as Leia heard the sound of running footsteps heading their way.

"Thank you," she said. "May the Force be with you."

He grinned, and hit the mechanism. She scrambled back half a pace, to make sure nothing got caught as the rock started grinding shut again.

"You again-" Leia heard one of the stormtroopers say, before the panel slid back into place, leaving her alone in the dark and silence beyond.

She took a breath and let it out slowly. "Here we go," she whispered, and started to crawl.