Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'm just having a little fun with them. Please don't sue me. And a big thanks to George Lucas for creating Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Antithesis by SweetChi. This is a fun, yet also serious crossover of Star Wars and Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.
Recap: While routing out Imperial holdouts after the destruction of the second Death Star, Han found information that the Emperor had been hiding the location of an Alderaanian temple for years. Leia, Han, Luke, Chewie, and the droids, along with Han's Pathfinder team, took on a mission to find the temple and why the Emperor kept it hidden. After a lot of leg work, the team tracked the temple's location to the volcanic planet Shola in the Tammuz Sector of the Outer Rim Territories.
Through a combination of a surprise attack and some negotiations, the team gained access to the temple. Just as Leia started to uncover the secrets it held, the Imperials turned the tables temporarily, resulting in the death of one of the Pathfinders and minor injuries to Leia, Luke and others. Originally, it seemed Han was seriously injured, but he later seemed to be unharmed. Once the Imperials were secured, Leia revealed what she had discovered—the transformation rod of Sailor Alderaan.
A Soldier's Heart, A Princess's Destiny
by Mako-clb
Chapter 10: Revelations and Transformations
There was silence for a few heartbeats. Leia could sense Luke's curiosity, and she didn't even have to look at Han to know he was more than a little skeptical. Then Luke reached out tentatively with his flesh hand, his fingers brushing against the transformation rod. He pulled back as if he had been shocked.
"Is that thing dangerous?" Han asked.
Leia wondered how Han could go from completely doubting the truth of her story to suddenly worrying if the object she held, the one he didn't believe in and that she'd been in possession of this whole time, posed some kind of threat. Then again, Han was rarely rational, and even less so when it came to Leia. It was something she found both annoying and endearing.
"No, there's no danger," Luke was quick to answer.
Chewie let out a series of growls and grunts that Leia didn't completely understand. With all the time Luke and Leia had spent around the Wookiee, they had both picked up a bit of Shyriiwook, but considering much of the language was filled with euphemisms and cultural references, they often still counted on Han to interpret. Luke looked to Han now for help.
"He wants to know what you felt when you touched it," Han explained to Luke, though he kept his gaze on Leia.
"Nothing bad," Luke reassured again. "I sense something. It's hard to describe, like I'm feeling light and hope. But when I touched it, I could tell it didn't like it, so I pulled away."
"Really?" Leia asked, looking down at the transformation rod. "That's not how it feels to me. I mean, I understand what you mean about feeling light and hope, but it's like it's happy to be in my hands, like that's what it's always wanted."
Han was staring at Leia, an odd look on his face. Leia could sense worry, but also something else she couldn't place. The two were so busy evaluating each other's mood, they missed Chewie's question.
He had to repeat it, and Han interpreted automatically. "How does an inanimate object like or dislike people?"
"I don't know. That's just how it feels to me," Luke said with a slight shrug. "I'm more interested in why it feels different for you, Leia."
"Because Leia's the only woman around here," Han said. Everyone looked at him, a little baffled. "What? Didn't you say only girls could become those Pretty Soldiers or whatever? So it's gotta like girls more than guys, right?"
"That…actually makes sense," Luke said, looking at Han as if he had sprouted a second head.
Chewie growled something, to which Han responded, "Hey, I was paying attention. Just 'cause I don't believe this fairy tale don't mean I wasn't listening."
"It's not a fairy tale," Leia said.
"Kriff," Han said, running his hand through his hair, "I didn't mean it that way. I know it's an important Alderaanian myth, part of your culture. I just meant that it's just a story."
"What if it's not just a story?" Leia asked as she studied Han for his reaction. She knew he already worried about her potential to be a Jedi. It wasn't that he wanted to hold her back or control her. She knew he never would. She suspected Han just didn't like the idea that the Force, like being royalty, was an experience he could never understand or share with her. How would he react to this?
How would they all react? Luke clearly believed, but that didn't mean he would be happy about her new role. Luke had been hinting for awhile now that he wanted to train her as a Jedi. It wasn't something Leia wanted or ever thought she would want. But this, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. It had seemed so right before, but now she wasn't sure.
Leia barely heard Chewie's comment and Han's sarcastic response. She sensed Luke, but wasn't really concentrating on what he was feeling. Leia needed to know how she felt. She remembered that moment. She had said the words before, not knowing what would happen, just compelled by something she couldn't explain. That initial feeling had been wonderful. It happened so fast, and with everything that followed, Leia hadn't been able to place the feeling, but Luke's description was a good one. Leia had felt light and hope. She had also felt peace and absolution. That last one was the one she most wanted to feel again. It was a feeling she wasn't sure had been real, but she desperately hoped that it was.
Leia looked down at the transformation rod in her hand and realized there was only one way to know the answers to all her questions. She gripped the rod tightly and stretched her hand to the ceiling.
"Alderaan Power, Make Up!"
Leia didn't shout, but neither did she whisper. She spoke those words for the second time in her life in a clear, commanding voice, the voice she once used on the Senate floor, the one she still used with Alliance High Command when she wanted everyone's focus on her and what she had to say. And it worked. All conversation stopped, and all eyes in the room turned toward Leia.
What Leia didn't know was that all eyes would have turned to her anyway. The words Leia spoke released the power of the Alderaan transformation rod, which in turn triggered a power deep within Leia herself. For her the rest of the world fell away as she was encompassed by a white light and a feeling of hope and confidence.
SW-SM-SW-SM-SW-SM
As Han watched, Leia's body floated above the floor, her clothes dissolving into a soft white light and the hint of a smile gracing her face. A bright kaleidoscope of light flared from the transformation rod in Leia's outstretched hand, and when it faded Leia was wearing a white, skintight, body suit with short, blue gloves and matching high-heeled, knee-high boots. A blue sash hung low on her hips and a silver tiara rested on her forehead. Leia's eyes opened as she gently landed on the floor, her right arm still raised to the sky.
Han felt as if the entire scene had happened in no time at all, yet at the same time it felt like he had been watching it happen in slow motion. What Han noticed most was how beautiful Leia looked and how relaxed. For whatever time it took for the change to occur, Leia had looked truly at peace.
But Han didn't have long to enjoy Leia's new look. He grunted and swayed a little as a strange, warm pressure blossomed in his chest. Instinctively, he brought his hand up to rub the spot. It wasn't as bad as it had been earlier during the battle. At least this time he didn't feel panicky, didn't feel that desperate need to run somewhere, and there was no real pain this time, just that strange pressure.
Although he would never admit it, Han appreciated it when Chewie put an arm out to steady him even as the Wookiee mewled softly in concern.
Luke leapt forward, sensing Han's discomfort and a spike in his Force presence. Every living being had a Force signature. Sentients shone brighter than non-sentients, and Force sensitives were brighter still. At least, that had been Luke's experience, as limited as it was. Han's Force presence was brighter and stronger than many non-Force-wielders Luke had met, but nowhere near as bright and warm as Leia or as illuminating as Master Yoda. Now, Han's presence in the Force wavered, unsteady in its strength, though not because it was getting weaker. Just the opposite. It seemed to be pulsing in the Force.
Then there was Leia. From the moment she had spoken those strange words, Leia's Force presence had started growing exponentially. It was so bright, and the connection Luke shared with his twin made him feel it so strongly, that it almost overwhelmed him. He was forced to shield himself from her, so much so that it was difficult to tell how she was feeling about the change. Instinctively, Luke knew that the power wouldn't hurt him if he opened himself up to her fully, but he still felt like it might be too much for him.
When Leia had transformed, she hoped to find the answers to so many questions, most importantly how Han would react. His sudden attack drove those thoughts from her mind. Her only concern was Han and how she could help him. It was natural for her to reach for him. Since the flight to Bespin, they had learned they could find comfort in each other's touch, so Leia thought nothing of it as she reached out to Han, her gloved hand covering his own where he clutched his chest.
As soon as Leia touched Han, a soft, white light flowed out from the place where their hands met. As the light washed over Han, he underwent his own transformation, though it was nothing so dramatic as Leia's. Now Han was dressed as Leia remembered him when he rescued her on Hoth, although everything looked newer, sharper. The most noticeable differences were the short, white gloves and a small, white mask concealing Han's eyes.
As the light faded, the transformation complete, the pressure in Han's chest evaporated, and he felt better than he could ever remember feeling.
Han pulled away from Chewie and Leia as he did his best to take in what he could of his new appearance without the benefit of a mirror. Regardless of what he could and couldn't see, Han felt different.
"Am I going crazy?" Han asked, an edge of concern in his voice.
Though Luke didn't say it, he thought he might be going crazy, too. Luke knew a Force sensitive's presence could change over time. Yoda's had, as had his father's. The perceived presence of a Force wielder could also change depending on if they were shielding themselves or not. Luke had felt Leia's Force signature fluctuate before, though never to the extremes it had today. But his experience told him that the Force signature of beings without Force abilities fluctuated far less, so Luke didn't understand how it was possible for Han's presence in the Force to suddenly be so strong and bright. It was almost as if Han had suddenly developed Force abilities, but that shouldn't be possible.
"You're not going crazy." Leia clasped her hands and brought them up to her chest. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears, but she wore a soft smile that was anything but sad. Suddenly, Leia looked every bit the 23-standard-years young that she was, and Han thought she had never looked more beautiful.
"I had trouble believing it, too. But it's real. And it's the greatest gift I could ever ask for." Leia blinked away her tears before they could fall. "Thank you."
"I don't understand." Even as Luke said the words, he felt the Force practically singing. This was what he was meant to find, that much he knew for certain. But he still didn't understand.
Leia didn't take her eyes off Han as she said, "I am Sailor Alderaan."
Luke blinked in disbelief even as he knew Leia spoke the truth. Han's jaw literally dropped as Chewie roared something that only Han probably understood. Luke would have laughed if he wasn't equally shocked.
"And you," Leia said with a smile, "are my knight in shining spacer garb."
Chewie let out a loud, deep laugh that reverberated around the storage facility. He laughed so hard, he nearly doubled over. At first, Han just scowled at his friend, but then Chewie managed to say something between barks of laughter that made Han start to chuckle.
It took a few moments for the two to get their laughter under control, but when they did, Leia was still smiling. Han had to admit that she looked good, and it was nice to see her happy instead of stressed and worried, but it was time to get some real answers.
"Okay, that was a great joke. Is that thing some kind of fancy holo projector? I'm guessing the temple is filled with some advanced, ancient tech, like stuff from the Builders. Makes sense that the Emperor would want it and want to keep it a secret." Han had his arm out in front of him, twisting it around as he looked at his new clothes. "So how does it make these clothes? It even feels real."
"It is real," Leia said, reaching out to remove the mask from Han's eyes.
"So it's not a holo?" Han looked at the small, white mask that Leia now held. "It can, what, generate fabric out of light or something? I don't know how useful that is except at a fashion show or something. Unless it can make armor."
"I don't know what it's made out of exactly, but it is armor." Leia smiled as Han kept twisting and turning his arm to get a better look at his outfit. She turned to Luke briefly to see the half-stunned look on his face. "I don't really understand it myself. I only know what the legend says and what I feel. The transformation rod is a conduit and also a battery of sorts, letting a Sailor Soldier call on her planet's power."
"So it transforms your clothes?" Luke asked, still trying to understand what the Force and Leia were trying to tell him.
Luke reached out and ran both hands along the fabric of Leia's gloves from finger to wrist, careful not to let the exposed portions of his cybernetic hand catch on the fabric. It was clearly fabric, not just skin with a holo over it. It felt smooth and cool to the touch, but not cold, and it made his flesh fingers tingle just a bit like the sense he got when he touched an object imbued with the Force, but not quite.
"What is this?" Luke whispered, vocalizing what he was trying to glean from the Force.
"A uniform. Armor. A little of both," Leia said, assuming Luke was asking her. "It's a sign of being Sailor Alderaan. It just happens as part of the transformation. I didn't really decide what it would look like. Although, it is in the colors of the House of Organa. I wonder if the colors were chosen because of that or…" Leia paused as she thought about it. "No, more likely the House of Organa choose these colors because of Sailor Alderaan."
"Okay, but why this for me?" Han asked, finding it easier to wrap his head around what he was wearing rather than what all this Sailor Alderaan stuff meant. "And, yeah, I get it. It's real fabric. Kind of familiar too."
"Well, I'm guessing that the fabric is armor like mine, but I can't imagine why that specific look," Leia smiled, "although I do approve."
"Yeah, but I don't have one of those things," Han said, waving vaguely towards Leia's hand, which still clutched the transformation rod.
"No, but the power can also be shared, with other Sailor Soldiers but also with–"
The chime of Han's communicator startled everyone.
"What is it?" Han asked, the irritation clear in his voice.
"We've got an unknown fighter on the base," Sergeant Carlson's voice came through the comm.
"How the hell did the Imps get loose again?"
"Not one of the Imperials," Carlson said. "Totally unknown human-looking being in a weird outfit. Took out some Imps before we entered the base, then just disappeared. Literally. We can't find her anywhere, can't even track where she went."
"How do you lose someone?" Han asked. "It's not that big of a base."
"Probably easier to show than tell if you can spare a minute to come to the control room," Carlson said. "Is the Princess still with you? She might have some answers, too."
Han looked around the room, his eyes settling on Leia. "Yeah, just give me a minute to wrap up here. Make sure everyone's on high alert and nobody goes anywhere alone until we figure out what's going on."
"Already done."
Han tapped his comm to close the line before saying to Leia, "You can finish explaining as we head to the control room."
"No." Leia shook her head. "I'll try to explain later. Right now, I need to transform back, and so do you."
"Right. No way I'm going out in this." Han looked down at his clothes again. "It's comfortable, but it's so clean and perfect, it's more like something Lando would wear. At least it doesn't have a cape."
"I like it," Leia reminded Han. "But right now I don't want to have to explain this. We've got other things to worry about, and I want to understand all this better before we tell anyone else."
"So turn that thing off and let's get over to Carlson."
"Just give me a moment." Leia brought her hand to her chest and closed her eyes. She tried to remember what she was thinking and feeling the first time she experienced this. Leia frowned slightly in frustration when she couldn't figure out how to let it go. She took a deep breath and imagined just that, all of it just letting go, fading away and her just being Leia again. As soon as she thought about that, she felt the power fade, and she heard Luke make a funny noise.
Leia opened her eyes and looked down. She was back to wearing her white jumpsuit. She looked up to see Han looking at her with a dopey smile, and she turned to see Luke behind her with his hand held over his eyes.
"What's up with the two of you?"
"Is it safe to look now?" Luke asked, and Leia thought she detected a hint of a whiny tone to his voice.
Chewie laughed and growled something about humans being ridiculous about nudity when they all had the same hairless bodies.
"Leia looks great naked."
"I don't care. I don't want to see my sister naked."
Chewie laughed and then told Han he looked fairly decent naked for a hairless human.
"Hells, me too?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Your clothes just dissolved, and you were naked," Han explained. "And you can uncover your eyes now, Luke."
"I guess I didn't notice that last time." Leia shook her head. "We can discuss this later."
Leia led the way back to the control center, followed by Luke. Han took a few moments before he followed. Chewbacca asked his friend what was wrong, but Han just shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing's wrong, buddy. I just…I don't know, I felt really good for a bit, like I… Nah, never mind. Let's get this handled."
SW-SM-SW-SM-SW-SM
"Okay so we were watching the holos from earlier to figure out how the Imperials got free so we don't have a repeat performance," Sergeant Taron explained as he and Carlson cued up the footage. "Looks like a few of the stormtroopers stripped down and disguised themselves as research staff and had the staff put on their armor just before they surrendered. We used the binders on who we thought were the biggest threats and Major Dasson and Lieutenant Urr were focused on them, too."
Carlson sped through the holos as he said, "Neither noticed two researchers slip vibroblades from their shoes and cut the cables of their fellow troopers in disguise." The holos started playing at normal speed, and Leia watched it play out just as the sergeant described. "They got the drop on Dasson. He never had a chance. We're lucky Urr was only stunned. Then those bastards just waited."
The images sped up again, but Leia could make out the disguised troopers dragging Dasson and Urr away, freeing the others, and putting their armor back on. Leia felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Dasson was dead because they hadn't been careful enough. They had stripped the stormtroopers and Imperial officers of weapons and searched them all thoroughly, but they hadn't been as careful with the researchers. It was a rookie mistake, one they made because she was thinking too personally instead of professionally. They couldn't afford any more mistakes.
"This is where the Princess returns and gets captured," Taron said, interrupting Leia's self-recriminations as the holos slowed down to normal speed again. "You can see her here in the control room."
Leia knew what was coming next, so she reached for Han just as they all watched the moff strike her. She could feel Han tense in the same moment Chewbacca growled, but there was nothing they could do about what already happened, not to mention the fact that it was nothing compared to what befell Major Dasson. She was fine, had been fine, not that anyone would know from the slow, unsteady way she was getting to her feet in the recording.
"You can see the Princess fake them out," Taron said as the video showed Leia suddenly leap into action, diving behind a giant cooling unit. "Nice move, by the way."
Back in that moment, Leia had never been more grateful for her petite size, as there had barely been room for her between the wall and the cooling unit.
In the now, Leia steeled herself for everything to be revealed, despite not being ready for everyone to know about Sailor Alderaan just yet, especially the parts she hadn't had a chance to tell Luke and Han about.
"Then the cameras all fritz out for a moment," Carlson said as he pauses the playback just as the image turns to static. Then he brought up several more images in quick succession, each one showing more of the same. "All of them at the same time."
"They really don't trust anyone, do they?" Luke said. "Were they spying on each other with all those cameras?"
Han shifted. "I'm less concerned with why they've got security cameras everywhere than I am with what caused them all to go out like that."
"Well, not exactly all," Taron clarified. "Just the ones inside the control room, here. All the cameras outside and in the other parts of the base continued working just fine."
Taron gestured, and Carlson brought up several more images from the firefight at the temple and the barracks. Unlike the control room footage, the other images were crystal clear.
"And these are all time coded the same?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, we ran the footage a few times to be sure."
Leia turned to Luke, wondering what he was thinking, but before she could ask, Carlson said, "Princess, did you call out?"
"No."
"I mean on the holo. We played it a few times while we waited for you, and it sounds like you said something just before the cameras go out."
"Well, yes, but that's not important. I'll explain later. Right now, I'm more curious about this unknown fighter you mentioned. I didn't see anyone like that when I fought off the Imperials."
"Huh? I don't know how you could have missed her."
Carlson unpaused the recording. There was another moment of static, and then the image cleared to show Leia, as Sailor Alderaan, surrounded by stormtroopers, most of whom seemed more than a little shocked.
"Protected by Alderaan, the planet of beauty. The soldier of justice. I am Sailor Alderaan!"
Han snorted. Chewie guffawed. Leia lowered her eyes in embarrassment, not so much at the words, but at the pose. At the time, Leia had felt compelled to introduce herself and strike what she thought was some kind of battle pose. But now that she saw it on the recording, it couldn't be described as anything but silly. Although it did seem to throw off the stormtroopers because it took a few moments before they started firing.
The holo continued as Sailor Alderaan dodged a few blaster shots with a speed that seemed almost inhuman. But in those close quarters, she couldn't dodge for long. Eventually a blast hit her.
Leia placed a hand on her left hip at the same time that Han's, Luke's, and Chewie's heads snapped towards her.
"I'm fine," she mouthed to them, knowing they had seen what she had. A blaster bolt had hit her dead on. At the time, Leia thought she had only been grazed since she hadn't been killed or stunned, but it seemed the Sailor Alderaan costume provided better protection than she thought.
"Sunrise Flash!" The shout brought everyone's attention back to the holo in time to see a bright flash of yellow and orange lights like some type of strobe effect. When the lights faded, the Imperials on the holo seemed to be dazed, some swaying, some just standing unmoving.
On screen, Sailor Alderaan grabbed a blaster from the closest Imperial and proceeded to blast them until every one was lying on the ground, stunned. Then she turned and ran out of the camera's range.
"So that's our unknown fighter," Taron said. "Weird, right?"
"Unknown," Han said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Did the light show on the screen make you go blind? It's obvious who that is."
"Does obvious mean something different on Corellia?" Sergeant Carlson asked, looking at Han like he was the crazy one.
"Look, I get the outfit is weird, but you telling me you can't recognize that's–"
"Sailor Alderaan, the reason we're here," Leia said, cutting Han off. "They didn't hear the explanation I just gave you, so they don't know."
"Wait, she's why we're here?" Carlson shook his head. "I thought we were here for the temple."
"We are," Leia said. "Or at least that's why we thought we were here, but it's more than that. I promise to explain what I can once we're certain the Imperials aren't a threat. Secure the base. Strip every prisoner. Stun them if necessary to make sure they aren't a threat."
"What about this…?" Taron asked, gesturing to the image on the screen.
"Trust me when I say Sailor Alderaan is an ally, but that you're unlikely to find her right now."
"I don't like having an unknown on the base. We've had enough surprises," Carlson said.
"I know. And I'm sorry. We should never have lost Dasson." Leia looked Carlson in the eye so he could see how serious she was. "That's why I'm asking you to trust me on this one thing so we can focus on securing the base."
Carlson nodded, but it was Taron who answered. "We trust you, Princess. But I hope we get some answers soon."
to be continued
Author's Note: A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story. Reviews make me very happy and motivate me to keep going, even reviews that aren't 100% positive. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I also want to thank everyone who has followed this story, especially if you stuck with it after last chapter's big reveal and the long wait for this chapter.
And a big THANK YOU, as always, to my amazing beta knitzkampf.