Precipice by shadowsong26
Part 7: Milestones
Milestones: Chapter 1
Anakin and Leia were alone on the Waterfall for this trip-something that actually hadn't happened very often since he'd first brought her to Owen and Beru's farm, thirteen years ago.
Not that they didn't spend a lot of time together, one-on-one, because of course they did, it just…had worked out that it was usually on Tatooine, or after they'd all gone somewhere as a group and he and Leia split off for a private lesson or adventure on their own.
To be fair, none of them actually took Leia off-planet by themselves very often. They'd each done it before, on occasion-Ahsoka most of all-but probably four times out of five, at least two of them were along for the ride. It was safer that way, with more people to keep watch.
And, Anakin was willing to admit, doing things that way was probably better for him, as well as safer for Leia. He had a tendency to go a little bit overboard, when he thought his daughter might be in danger. It helped, having Obi-Wan or Rex or Ahsoka along with him, to keep things in perspective.
Still, it was nice to have this time together, just the two of them and Artoo and the swirl of hyperspace to keep them company. Enough so that he had to keep reminding himself how important this trip was, how serious it was, so he could focus on the task at hand and not the fact that he was taking a trip with his daughter, just the two of them.
With that in mind, while they'd spent the first part of the trip together in the cockpit playing dejarik (he'd let her win, of course), after their fourth hyperspace redirect, he'd sent her off to run through some meditation exercises, so she'd be prepared for what came next.
And, almost as important, so he could do the same in the familiar, safe environment of his cockpit, without any distractions. So he could make sure he had everything in perspective. Make sure he was ready for this.
Which he was, more or less. Or, at least, he'd talked himself around to this in the abstract. Then again, it was one thing to be ready in the abstract, and another thing entirely to be setting up for the last couple of hyperspace jumps that would bring them to Jedha, and the next stage in Leia's life.
But he'd had a couple of weeks to get used to the idea, ever since Ahsoka had first brought it up and he'd stopped short of his knee-jerk, instinctive reaction to shut it down, and they'd talked it through. There had been several days of back and forth, a trip to Dagobah so Master Yoda could weigh in, and finally the decision had been made. And it was the right one. Leia was ready for this. Anakin knew that.
Sure, they were making this trip a little earlier than he would have preferred, but…
They were stretched thin. Oh, they had a substantial network now-enough that the others were actually meeting up with Bail to finalize setting up their first actual semi-permanent base, at least for the dozen or so cells in this sector-but that wasn't exactly what he meant.
They were stretched thin-their core team, the people Anakin knew and trusted absolutely. There were too few of them, and none of them were getting any younger. Obi-Wan, at fifty-one, had noticeable streaks of silver in his hair and Rex…Rex was still shaving his head, but he'd decided a couple years back to grow out his beard, which was more grey than not, these days. A decidedly unfriendly reminder of the modifications the Kaminoans had made to him and his brothers.
And Leia was thirteen now. Old enough for active field work, for potential combat missions. Even under pre-war rules-as soon as she'd taken this last, important step. So, they had all agreed it was time.
Of course, if Anakin were honest with himself, a part of him would always feel like they were putting her out there too soon. No matter how long they delayed. He'd spent the last few hours meditating on that, so he knew it was true. He'd accepted that his perspective on this was flawed and always would be, and had once again talked himself into viewing this as objectively as he possibly could.
He'd managed, he was pretty sure, but it was still hard.
So, meditation. A lot of meditation. And sending Leia off to prepare herself for a leap into the unknown.
But that had been several hours ago, and he'd mostly gotten his head back on straight. He dropped out of hyperspace to do his last redirect, and felt Leia's mind brush against his briefly-checking to make sure he was ready for her to come back in; he'd maybe been a little too transparent about needing his own private meditation time-and then the door slid open with a faint hiss.
She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a quick hug from behind, then dropped into the copilot's chair. She looked...a lot like Padmẻ had, at that age-except that she had Anakin's more stubborn chin, and a little more of the shape of his eyes. But, rather than making Leia seem that much more adult, it just reminded him how young Padmẻ had been-how young they'd all been-back when they'd first met more than twenty-five years ago.
He closed his eyes, and let it all-the association, the nostalgia, the worry-dissipate as best he could.
"All set, princess?" he asked, shooting Leia a brief smile.
"Yeah," she said, tucking her legs up under her in a way that reminded him, in a strangely comforting way, of Ahsoka at that age. "Well, as much as I can be, without knowing what I'm about to do."
"We don't always have that luxury," Anakin reminded her. "Adaptability is an important trait, for a Jedi. For any sentient, really."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, and gave him a little smile of her own. "Still."
"I know, it's hard," he said. "Waiting is always the hardest part. For me, too."
"I hadn't noticed," she said, deadpan.
He rolled his eyes, which made her giggle and relax a little bit. Good, that was the point. Half the reason he'd waited this long to tell her where they were going-and why -was so she wouldn't get all tense and riled up with anticipation.
Or maybe that was just him projecting, remembering when he'd taken this trip, and how he'd been bouncing off the walls the entire time.
Thank you for putting up with me, Master, he thought, with a faint, fond smile for his absent friend. I don't know where I'd be without you.
"So, where exactly are we going?" Leia asked, peering out at the stars as he keyed in the final set of coordinates. "You said you'd tell me once we made our last jump. This is number six, are you really planning to make more?"
Which was true, he had. Adaptability and calm in the face of the unknown were valuable skills, but they weren't going to land with her still in the dark.
"Patience," he said, and smiled briefly at her. "Hasn't Ahsoka taught you anything?"
With that came a twinge of-not quite guilt, since it hadn't been his idea for her to stay behind, but it probably should have been Ahsoka doing this. Or, at least, she should have been here with them, even if he came along, too.
True, they were all teaching Leia-raising her-as a kind of team effort, but Ahsoka had taken over the majority of Leia's training the past couple years. To the point where, if they had to point out any one of them as Leia's Master, like in the old days, it would be Ahsoka. Because Obi-Wan had way too much on his plate, and Anakin…was wise enough now to know that there was no way he could be objective enough to do things right. Hence why he almost never took her off-planet by himself. And why Ahsoka did so more than any of the rest of them.
But there had been some kind of Incident, during the years before he and Rex had found Ahsoka, involving the sector's governor at her last posting, and a fire, and a herd of wild grekkt and maybe Ahsoka had gotten caught on camera…
"We probably shouldn't add another layer of risk to this," she'd said. "And Jedha isn't a great option, I know, but it's better than any of the others we've come up with, and I don't think we should wait too much longer on the off-chance we find someplace else."
Obi-Wan and Master Yoda had agreed, and so here they were.
"I've been patient," Leia insisted. "Have I asked before now?"
"No, you haven't," he admitted, pushing the lever and sending them into hyperspace one last time.
"So?" she prompted.
Here we go, he thought.
"We're going to Jedha," he told her.
There was a beat, while she mulled that over.
She frowned, and straightened up a little. "Jedha…that's…pretty heavily occupied, isn't it?"
"It is," he said. More so than any other planet they'd ever taken her to. There was greater risk, going to Jedha, than any trip she'd made since going to the Core to meet Padmẻ and Luke three years ago. But none of the alternatives were any better, and it was time.
"So, listen to me, and remember this, because it's important," he went on, taking his eyes off the swirling sky to meet her eyes. "This is not supposed to be a combat mission. We're not going to Jedha to liberate it. Not right now. We are going to keep our heads down as much as possible."
Not an easy task for either of them, but-well, maybe there was a lesson in that, too. About patience, and restraint, and making the right step at the right time.
Rites of passage tended to have that effect.
"Right," she said.
"And if anything does go wrong, you will do exactly what I say. Even if what I say is run and hide. All right, princess?"
"All right," she said. "I promise, Dad."
"Good," he said, and smiled at her to break the tension. "I don't think it will, but, you know." He paused, and, in his best imitation of Rex, added, "It's always best to be prepared."
Leia giggled. "He does not sound like that."
"Well, if you knew who I was mocking, then clearly he does." And, honestly, Rex being prepared had saved him, and Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka way more often than he cared to admit. Maybe all that grey in his beard wasn't just his altered genetics after all...
She rolled her eyes. "If you say so, Dad," she said. "So...if we're going in quiet, does that mean we're Maia and Joren Retak again?"
That was their usual cover, when they travelled somewhere sensitive together. And those names hadn't failed them yet, and he hoped they never would. But-
"No, not this time," he said. "Obi-Wan and I set up some new IDs, just for this trip. Ones that, if we get caught, can't possibly trace back to your mom and Luke."
Leia nodded. "Are we meeting a contact there, or something?"
"Not...exactly," he said. Though he'd try-if there was anyone there for them to meet, it would make the whole mission go that much more smoothly. He hoped. "We're going to land outside the city, make our way into the center, and break into the Temple there."
She blinked. "The Temple? …wait-"
He took a breath, and let it out slowly.
"I have something for you," he said, opening one of the false panels under his seat and pulling out a little box and passing it over to her.
She opened it, very carefully, clearly trying to demonstrate her self-control and patience even as she was all but vibrating with excitement. He didn't need to see her thoughts to know she'd already half-guessed what was in there, but it was one thing to guess, and another to actually see it all spill out onto her lap.
Because inside the box was some metal tubing, a power cell, assorted wires…everything she needed, except for the one key component that was hardest to source.
She looked up at him. "I'm going to build a lightsaber," she said.
"Yes," he said. "And for that, you need a crystal."
"So we're going to Jedha."
"We are going to Jedha."
Leia took a deep breath, and carefully replaced the components in the box and shut it neatly. "I'll be ready," she said, quietly; and he could still feel that jangling excitement running through her-now edged with just a hint of nerves, as the reality started to sink in-but she had it under control. Better control than he could manage at that age-and maybe even now.
He was so very proud of her in that moment.
"I know you will, Leia," he said, and smiled. "I know."
Original Author's Notes: Yay, we're back! The goal at this point is to update every two weeks, so fingers crossed! Thank you so much for your patience, and for sticking with me this long! ~3 shadowsong