Medical leave was going to drive him mad. The first few days hadn't been that bad. He'd been aboard the Aeres with his own medical staff that knew better than to bother him unless it was necessary. His father had stayed onboard and had even behaved relatively well considering his close proximity and lingering hatred for Mara. For a few days, Luke had had a little peace and quiet, the two people that meant the most to him near. He was even able to enjoy it. The Rebel would take the message back to Organa's people and it bought Luke time to relax and breathe for just a moment.

Then they'd arrived at Coruscant.

He'd been feeling better by that point. Treatment and bacta therapy had stitched up the holes that shrapnel had left in him when the bomb had detonated. Burns and broken bones were also well into the healing process, urged along by the medical staff. He'd wanted to stay on the Aeres. It made no sense why he had been shuffled off to the capital's medical personnel that checked in on him far too often for the lesser treatment he received. The only fragment of an answer that they had given him as to the why had been that the orders had come down from the Emperor himself. It was meant to appear as if he'd taken a special interest in young Natus' care. As far as Luke had ever seen, Sidious did nothing that didn't benefit him personally on a variety of levels.

So he'd been put on leave until he recovered, which was taking longer there than it ever would have on the Aeres. Father had been sent away. Mara had been sent away. Luke remained a prisoner in his own apartments within the palace and he was ready to snap the neck of the next medic that was just checking on him.

He had to get out of there. It was a good thing he had perfected the art of sneaking out when he was young.

Soft-soled boots that made for quieter footsteps as he hit the permacrete beneath the window of his apartment and Luke swallowed a grunt of pain at the twinge that radiated up his left leg. He flexed his foot at the ankle, still feeling it, but was more confident as he set it down and rocked forward, relying on his dark robes and awareness through the Force to get him past the guards that patrolled the palace grounds.

In his youth, he and Mara went deep down into the bowels of the city-planet, but that had been because he had been forbidden to leave. No such explicit orders had come down this time - though the implication had been strong - so he started for the city center. He didn't have a destination in mind, but his feet seemed to be aimed in a specific direction.

As he walked, his leg ached, and he used the pain as fuel for his own stubborn determination to get… somewhere. It was strange. There was an overwhelming feeling that he should be moving. That much he was sure of. He followed that feeling down streets and through crowds. It was late, but not so late that people had returned home. Instead they were out in droves. Dinners and parties and productions. Politicians and government officials mingled with military brass to make sure that enough palms were greased that their particular locals were taken care of.

Then he felt it. A familiar presence. He turned to see her on the steps of the opera house. Leia Organa was dressed in white, her dress simpler than her companions', though no less elegant. Her smile looked genuine, her laugh unreserved. Then, without him taking a step forward, she seemed to sense him as well, even if he'd wager she had no idea that she had. A real smile of his own tugged at the corners of Luke's mouth as she excused herself, stepping away so that he could make his way over without being bombarded by the crowd. "Senator."

"Lord Natus," she greeted, thankfully using the name the rest of the galaxy knew him by. "We do seem to stumble across each other when we're both on planet."

"It sounds like there may be an accusation in there somewhere," he teased lightly and her smile grew.

"I imagine you're well enough acquainted with accusations that you know when you're at the receiving end of one." Her brown gaze traveled up and down, the smile fading a little as she took him in. Interesting. Standing still as they were there was nothing that should give away that he'd been injured.

Leia pursed her lips together and, instead of addressing what was on her mind, she turned back to the gaggle of feminine faces that likely made up a chunk of the sporadically-active senate. "If you'll excuse me," she offered to the gaping onlookers. "There are some trade routes that Lord Natus keeps promising me he'll speak to the Emperor about."

Giggles followed from the crowd as she turned, looping her arm through Luke's own, and it was her momentum that started them forward.

He quirked an eyebrow. "You know they don't think we're going to discuss trade routes, don't you?"

"They don't think much at all," the princess huffed. "Not that the men of the senate are any better on whole. They're all here for wealth and power, but it's helpful to know who is looking for what and where the rare alliance might come into play."

"Look at you. Already running circles around them."

"I'm not here for my own entertainment. I'm here for Alderaan." He could feel that gaze fix on him again, even if neither of them turned to fully face each other as they walked. "And the betterment of the galaxy. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. You're limping."

She looked genuinely concerned by that and Luke couldn't help the twinge of guilt. "Come on. Let's get out of the crowd." No reason to risk saying something that would land both of them in front of an execution squad.

They moved off the street and he led her back a ways. She followed, never questioning until they reached the lift that would take them to the lower levels. She shot him a look before motioning at a dress fit more for the show she'd just taken in than the lower levels.

Okay. She had a point. Luke shrugged off his dark cloak and handed it over to her before unclipping his newly-visible lightsaber from his belt and moving it to a secondary clip under the flaps of his tunic. No reason either of them should draw attention.

"Do you carry that everywhere?" Leia asked, as she pulled the cloak around her shoulders, the garment swallowing up her petite frame.

"Yes."

"I guess it didn't help you in whatever fight you found yourself in," she murmured as they stepped into the newly opened lift.

Luke punched a button to signify the level and, once the doors shut, they were sent plummeting to the bowels beneath the city. "It didn't do much against an explosion," he offered with a shrug. "We'll be able to talk more freely down here. Palpatine has eyes and ears above, but they're fewer below."

"You sound like you've spent time down here."

"Mara and I used to sneak out and come here, yes."

That got her attention. "Mara?"

He caught her watching out of the corner of his eye. "A friend."

"The friend you told my father about?"

The unmaintenanced chime signaled their arrival and the doors split open. Luke ducked his head a little, willing the truthful "Yes," from his lips as he stepped out and into a very different crowd. Where everyone topside was watching every move, folks down there were desperate to mind their own business.

Leia followed. "She must be more than a friend if you're willing to risk asking her to come with you." He offered only a grunt in response and the petite woman at his side picked up her pace. "It's strange. Somehow I feel like I've known you forever, but then I realize that I know very little about you. It's good to know you have someone that you care about and that cares." There was a beat as they moved forward and he could feel her studying him. "Do you love her? I mean, are you able to?"

Luke turned a surprised look on her. "Why would I not be able to?"

"Isn't the whole thing about Siths that they only use the Dark Side?" He opened his mouth and she waved him off. "I know, I know. You're not a Sith yet. The question still stands. Can they?"

"Of course." The words tumbled out with such confidence that they left little room for argument from someone who knew little about the ancient order that drew their power from the Dark Side. It was more complicated, of course, but he didn't know how to explain it. His father loved him, Luke knew that much. He would burn the galaxy for him if it would protect him, but that love came tinged with jealousy and paranoia. He had never let himself linger on what becoming a Sith might do to the love he felt for Mara. He supposed that didn't matter a lot now.

"Were you hurt because you let Andor go? "Leia asked softly, the question cutting through his thoughts.

"Was that his name?"

"You didn't get his name? How did you know he was with us?"

Luke gave an amused snort. He wasn't used to people questioning where his hunches came from. Especially when they were accurate. "I just knew."

Her expression darkened, fear ringing the edges. "Do they know about him? Should —"

He threw his hands up in mock surrender. "No. No one does. It's fine."

"But that's where you were hurt?"

He stopped midstep and turned to look at her. "You think I didn't do anything between then and now?"

"Depends how badly you were injured. A few days of travel and to Coruscant after it? That either means you're here on whatever constitutes medical leave for someone like you or someone suspects something. Though you wouldn't exactly be out and about if it was the latter, would you?"

Luke swallowed down the thought of his late night sneak out and offered her a half smile instead. "So he did make it back with the information I sent?"

His mother's daughter nodded. "He did. We're following down some leads and comparing them with other intel that's come in."

"Good to know it was helpful," Luke murmured. "I want them to know I'm serious about this. My price may be steep, but I can deliver equal value."

Leia pursed her lips. "You do have a vantage that few do," she acknowledged softly. "Speaking of… I'm glad we connected tonight."

Luke felt his spirits rise. He wanted to know her. This woman he didn't dare refer to as his sister. Bright, driven, and unwavering. He wondered if their mother had been the same.

"If you will, I'd like you to put me in touch with Captain Solo."

And just like that they plummeted. "Solo?"

They turned down a new path and dark eyes peered up from under his own cloak. "That's his name, isn't it? Your smuggler?"

"Why?"

"Because I'd like to see Jedha for myself."

Dark blond brows shot up at that. "You want to see the crystals?"

"And the mining of them. And the state of the people. Aid may be needed, and Alderaan is always ready to help those in need."

"It's an Imperial dig site for a mineral fueling a top secret 'll never get in."

"That's why I need your smuggler."

"He can only get you to port. Then what?"

Offense worked its way into every muscle in her face. "I can handle a few stormtroopers once I'm there."

"There are protocols for these kinds of sites. Protocols that were never provided to the Senate."

She stopped and put her hands on her hips. His aching leg thanked him as he halted his own forward motion to meet her glare with crossed arms and a quirked brow. They stood there for a long moment, squared off and neither giving way, before she rolled her eyes at him. "Fine. Then come with me."

Luke blinked at her, startled by what she seemed to think was a compromise. "To Jedha?" he managed. "I can't go with you to Jedha. I'm being watched too closely as it is."

"So that is why you're here?"

He opened his mouth, shut it, and repeated the action as he tried to find a way to explain it. "I don't know," he finally admitted softly.

"My father always said the Force led the Jedi, not fear."

"I'm not a Jedi."

"But you're not a Sith either," she pointed out with a shrug. "I'm just saying…. I imagine the Emperor keeps you busy, but you seem to have the time. Maybe if you listen, the Force will tell you if you're supposed to go or not."

He quirked an eyebrow. "You think I should."

"You're the one that pointed out all of the issues I might run into. I'm willing to face them with or without you."

Her voice was so certain. So sure. In that moment, Luke wondered if she heard the Force without realizing it. And if she did… maybe he should listen a little closer.

The crowd broke around where the two stood and Luke sighed, letting his eyes flutter closed. He pulled in a breath through his nose, letting his senses reach out as he released it out his mouth, and the steady buzz of the market around him faded.

And for just a moment he could have sworn he was standing in front of a temple. Larger and more ornate than the one that had been destroyed by the Death Star's test. It too lay in ruins from decades of neglect, but from beyond the doors that had been shut perhaps longer than he'd been alive, he heard a ghostly whisper.

Luke.

Luke's eyes flashed open and he found Leia staring at him, her brows knit and the corners of her mouth pulled taught. Her hand was resting on his biceps, more tentatively than he'd seen her approach anything.

"I'm okay," he breathed.

"Who's Ben?"

"What?"

"You said a name: Ben."

He had, hadn't he? It had been his voice, same as it had been after the explosion. He'd reached out the the Force and, somehow, it had been Kenobi that had reached back.

"We should go."

There was a beat of silence before she nodded, her shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "Of course. Do you know where Solo is or will you just let me know when you make contact."

"I'll give him a place. Do you have a transport you can fly? It's a lot easier if we leave separately."

Dark eyes blinked at him. "You're coming?"

"Looks like I am."

—

The comm came in over a secure channel halfway through the Kessel run with a full cargo hold. Chewie had warned him not to take it, but no. Han hadn't bothered to listen. He'd had reason enough not to. If it had been Jabba looking for an update and Han hadn't answered, it would only be so long before the Hutt assumed the worst and put a bounty on him. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd done that to a smuggler and likely not the last either. The gangster paid exceptionally well, but a missed delivery simply wasn't an option.

But the comm wasn't Jabba. It wasn't one of his minions either. Instead Han found himself staring at a hooded figure that he'd hoped had somehow forgotten he existed. So much for hope.

"Captain Solo," Luke greeted, sharp and direct. "I'm in need of your ship."

Chewie let out a loud roar from the co-pilot seat and Han snorted a laugh. The only thing that left him bold enough to say it was the near-certain chance that an Imperial didn't speak Wookie.

"It'll be a few days."

"No, you'll need to meet me at the coordinates I'm sending you in two standard days' time."

"I'll be in the Outer Rim by then." He glanced down at the coordinates scrawled across his computer screen. "Give me four days. Maybe three and a half, depending on how chatty my current employer turns out to be while I'm dropping his shipment off."

"I'm your only current employer," the younger man answered darkly.

"You don't get it. This guy doesn't accept delays."

"Neither do I."

Han swallowed hard, the clear threat looming. He glanced at the coordinates and back to Luke, avoiding his grumbling companion's gaze like his life depended on it. "Okay. Alright. I get it. Just you or —?"

He didn't get an answer as the communication ended and Chewie bellowed in his ear.

"Hey, you weren't the one nearly choked to death on Alderaan," he snapped back. "That kid's tougher than he looks. Just…. Send a message to Pyr at the cantina. He's slow, but it'll get back to Jabba eventually. Hopefully buy us some time."

Chewie growled out a demand.

"I don't know! Something vague. If we're lucky, we'll come out of this with two deliveries instead of just one. A whole lot richer too."

His co-pilot huffed.

"Let's hope not," Han answered, keying in the new coordinates. "Dead is what we're trying to avoid."

—

Mara stood in the hidden hallway of an escape tunnel, the soft purple glow of her lightsaber illuminating the bodies of her mark's guards at her feet. They had tried to stop her or, at the very least, give him time to escape through the far door that he'd never made it to. Now the bureaucrat-turned-traitor stood with his back pressed against the wall and Mara's humming lightsaber close enough to his throat to strike quickly if he so much as twitched a muscle.

"I was coerced," he managed to squeak out. "I would never betray the Emperor willingly!"

"Is that why you sent your guards to kill me?" Mara deadpanned. "Little good it did you."

"I didn't know who you were."

"Clearly." He was lying about his lack of betrayal at the very least. She could feel it. "You'll stand trial for your crimes."

The bureaucrat paled several shades at that and Mara was reminded of Los' declaration: There are no fair trials in Palpatine's Empire. Well, she'd have to make sure this one actually made it and wasn't gunned down by a Rebel sniper.

A familiar spark in the Force gave her a fraction of a second's warning before her Master's voice followed.

My child, your skills are needed.

She frowned, green eyes flickering to her trembling captive. I will deliver Moff Tantum to your authorities shortly, My Emperor.

He will be dealt with. Time is of the essence.

There was a beat as she studied him, then another, before she finally withdrew her blade just enough so that when his shaking knees gave out that he didn't lose half his face. Behind her, a small platoon of stormtroopers finally caught up and she withdrew entirely.

Who is the target, my lord? she asked over her bond with the Sith Master.

There was a flicker of dark delight that accompanied the name: Senator Leia Organa. I trust you will unravel any lies she is weaving.

Mara's blade snapped back to the hilt as the troopers took their traitorous Moff into custody. Of course, my Master, she answered and turned, leaving them to it. Any intel she required would be waiting on her shuttle, and if Palpatine felt it was urgent enough to pull her away before she'd fully wrapped the Tantum case up, time must truly be limited on this one.

TBC

Notes: That first scene ended up a whole lot longer than I anticipated. Oops. You'd think I like tossing the Skywalker twins together or something :P

Next Time: Luke, Leia, and Han arrive on Jedha.