"True love is best measured in the sacrifices one is willing to make for its sake."
- Jedi Master Vima Sunrider, from her notes on the Qel-Droma epics.
The engines of the Twin Suns hummed softly as the ship made its way across the Galaxy through the hypnotic tunnel of hyperspace. But in spite of her initial fascination with faster-than-light space travel, Kye eventually found herself growing bored of hyperspace after being cooped up in the ship for more than six hours. Although she did do her best to project patience, considering it was apparently a cherished Jedi virtue and this was possibly her first Jedi mission.
Then again, she wasn't sure if she even was a Jedi apprentice yet. Skywalker continued to teach her some of the basics of philosophy and meditation, but the Tholothian still felt a lack of commitment from him. She would've expected to have spoken some oath by now, or for him to have proclaimed her to be his student in some fancy way. Instead, the Jedi had just…..kept her around. And sure, he was an interesting company to keep, and she liked some of the stuff he taught her, but she hated the feeling of uncertainty.
The door to the cockpit swished open, and Kye swiveled in her co-pilot seat to face the Jedi. "There you are, Captain. You're still looking a little grim, you know." She said, half-jokingly. Skywalker was often difficult to read, but she'd never seen him with such subtle tension, not even when they'd been surrounded by Black Sun thugs in that warehouse on Nar Shaddaa.
"Well, it's a grim mission we're about to walk into." He said seriously as he settled into the pilot seat, drawing a confused frown from the Tholothian. Why would a Jedi fear a simple relief mission to some groundquake-struck world in the mid rim?
Kye hummed for a moment as she fidgeted with the tip for her jacket. "Are you sure taking this ship is a good idea? It's gonna stand out, you know." she noted. The Twin Suns was probably the nicest ship Kye had ever seen or been on, and as a fancy J-type 327 Nubian starship, she was bound to be a strange sight among the relief convoy.
Luke just shrugged. "She's fast, and will get us and the supplies there on time. Also, I didn't have anything else on Yavin IV and the people of Minas III couldn't exactly wait for Han to send us something else." he countered.
"Point taken." She said before returning to humming and fidgeting. They sat together in companionable silence until she decided to break it. "What was it like?" she asked. "Your own training, I mean. With the old man and the weird little alien."
He smiled sardonically at her descriptions. "Well, Ben mainly taught me a little less than what I taught you. Just the basics of Jedi meditation, two philosophy lessons, and some katas really." He explained. "I later trained for around two months on Dagobah, and Yoda taught me a lot more about philosophy, fighting, and how to wield The Force. But even then, there was a lot that he didn't have time to show me."
"Hence why you're a little self-taught." she noted again. "Sounds like you skipped a lot of the boring stuff the Jedi of old had to sit through."
"Which isn't something I'm happy about, believe it or not." Luke half-muttered somewhat ruefully before a playful grin came to his face. "Although I am glad that I skipped the braid."
"Jedi wore braids back then?" Kye asked with some amusement.
Luke nodded, "Padawan learners wore their hair in a braid until they were knighted. It was a reminder that their training was not yet complete." he explained.
"What about species that didn't have hair?" She said, playing with one of the fleshy head-tendrils extruding from her scaled skullcap.
"Silka beads were usually used as an alternative." He explained again, before fiddling with something in the monitors.
The comfortable silence briefly returned, until Kye spoke once again. "So…were your teachers tough on you?" She asked, swiveling in her chair again to face him. His expression seemed to turn nostalgic at her question.
"Ben wasn't, although it's possible that he just never got the chance." he said, somewhat wryly. "Master Yoda was definitely tougher on me. He'd had to push me hard because our battle was a race against time back then, and praise had been rare from him. It took me some time to understand a lot of what he said and did. We butted heads a lot, but I still loved him dearly. And looking back, I don't think I'd have my training go any differently, even with its hardest parts."
"Hey, I'm just trying to get some hints about my own future training." Kye said playfully, drawing a smirk from Skywalker.
"I figured as such. But don't worry. As tempting as it can get, I won't make you stand on your head for two hours to soften it." he joked.
"Your master made you do that?" she asked, already loving the little green alien. Skywalker just nodded again.
"And believe me, that wasn't even the strangest thing he did while teaching me." he said as his expression turned grim once more. "We are about to exit hyperspace. You might want to brace yourself."
A confused frown came to her face as he reached for the hyperspace lever, and the swirling vortex of hyperspace faded to reveal the star-filled open space and a blue-and-green small planet that didn't look too different from Yavin IV. For a moment, she remained confused about what she was supposed to brace herself for.
Then a wave of pain, loss, and despair washed over her.
It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She could feel mothers mourning dead children. Children looking for missing parents. Anguish both physical and emotional from a thousand different sources. Loss of loved ones and homes and security–
Skywalker's hand on her shoulder brought her back to the Twin Suns. "It's okay. Take a deep breath and center yourself. Use what I taught you to filter what you're sensing." He said with some concern. She ran through the mental exercises she knew with a nod, gradually regaining control. And the Tholothian wondered if Skywalker had to do the same each time he did this sort of thing.
"You knew this was going to happen?" She asked somewhat accusingly as she finally understood why he'd been so tense.
"You're starting to explore your connection to The Force." He calmly explained. "That means your connection to all living things, including those people down there. It's normal to be overwhelmed at first."
"Let me guess. You know what it feels like." she asked, half-mocking. And if Skywalker took offense, he didn't show it. "I do, actually. Being connected to all life wasn't fun in combat situations when I could feel every death and injury. It took me a while to figure out how to filter what I'm sensing." he said before turning his attention to a large ship orbiting the planet near its equatorial.
"That's the head of the convoy. They should be expecting us." He explained as he reached for the comms panel. "Healer 7, this is the Twin Suns carrying supplies and a pair of volunteers for the relief effort. Care to send us the landing coordinates?"
"Good to have you around, Twin Suns." a feminine voice came over the comms a minute later. "Sending coordinates your way. The people in that region need all the help they can get."
"And we're happy to provide what help we can." Luke said somewhat tensely as he received the data. "Thank you for the coordinates. Hope to see you planetside. Over."
The navicomputer charted a path to the received coordinates, and Skywalker expertly led the ship towards the planet. It didn't take long for a ruined city to manifest outside of the transparisteel viewports, and the sight unexpectedly twisted Kye's heart. She could see the tents and hastily erected buildings of the relief program, and it was getting harder and harder to shut out the pain and anguish of the victims. Droids went around transporting provisions from the ships to the tents, while relief workers transported the dead and injured on hover-stretchers. It was a chaotic scene, but Kye could almost sense the patterns in it somehow.
The ramp descended with a hiss, and Kye followed Skywalker to the ground with tightness in her stomach. A female Mon Calamari approached them with a datapad in her hand, and she seemed both anxious and hopeful. "Glad to have you here, Commander." she said hastily. "We're gonna need the manifest for your cargo and –"
Luke held up a hand to interrupt. "My astromech will send that to your droids. Just give me one minute, please." He said before running past her towards some nearby ruins.
Kye frowned. According to what Skywalker had told her on the way to Minas III, extracting survivors from the debris was a complicated process. The relief workers usually relied on droids to scan for survivors, which often took some time due to the interference from the metal debris. They then had to carefully and slowly remove the debris to avoid collapses and accidental deaths. It was a nerve-wracking process where any mistake could lead to loss of life, and the survivors didn't always make it.
As thus, the Tholothian was surprised to see Luke close his eyes, and reach out with his hand towards the ruins. Her mouth opened up slightly and her eyes went wide as pieces of the debris began to levitate and be cast to the side, until an unconscious human woman appeared among the ruins. The medics quickly rushed to raise her into a hover-stretcher and Skywalker turned towards them with a sad smile.
Kye couldn't believe it. Somehow, he'd known which pieces to move and in which order to get to the woman safely. He'd done in a few minutes what should've taken nearly an hour. Everyone was staring at him with awe, and he didn't seem to notice or care.
"There's two more in that building, and one more in that one." He said to the Mon Calamari, gesturing at the various ruins. "Should I take the one on the right and you the left?" He asked, deferring to the mission's leader, who was as gobsmacked as everyone else.
"Er, yes, of course, Commander. I'll assign some people to you right away." She said, gradually snapping back to reality.
Skywalker simply nodded and turned to the Tholothian. "Come on. We're gonna need all the help we can get."
Kye's legs seemed to move of their own accord.
As the administrative capital of the New Republic, Starlight City was a sight to behold largely because it had to be one. With its architecture coherently combining styles from over two dozen prominent worlds, it was the pride and joy of the Nubian artisans, architects and engineers who'd designed and built it. But beneath the glamorous exterior, existed the strife of a nascent government and the political battles fought in the senate's halls.
Battles that Leia, as head minister, often had to pacify or guide.
Sitting inside her small office, Han knew that his wife often felt overwhelmed during those working hours in their apartment. Bill after bill was being passed recently, alongside two suggested amendments to the constitution. And so every day, a dozen crises would be brought to her attention, each one involving lives that she very much felt responsible for. Han would often tell her that she couldn't save everyone. Couldn't help everyone.
And he knew that she understood that. But he also knew that she would never give anything less than all that she had for the service of those people. And as much as he hated how her responsibilities took so much time away from them, he knew that he wouldn't have it any other way. Because taking away Leia's devotion to the people would be like taking away a piece of her soul, and a big part of why he'd fallen in love with her so deeply in the first place.
'Although I still can't wait for our retirement' he thought sardonically as he entered her office, with a tray that carried a mug of caf and some pastries. Leia looked up from her work with a bright smile that seemed to warm his very soul.
"I was just about to send for Threepio to bring me some caf." she said, and Han simply snorted.
"It will be a dark day before I'm outperformed by Goldenrod in the caf department. I may not feel the Force like you do, but I sure don't need it to know what you need at any given moment."
"Just one of the many reasons I love you." Leia said playfully before nibbling on one of the pastries.
"Any word from Luke?" He asked as he took a seat in front of her desk. The kid had gone and volunteered for the relief effort on Minas III, which was only the latest in a long line of stunts that made Han proud of him.
"Last I heard from him, He'd picked up the supplies from the base on Kantorr. He should be near Minas III by now. I wanted to go there too, you know, but…"
"But you had important work here." Han finished for her. "You can't be everywhere, Leia."
"I know, it's just that….I miss being on the ground. Seeing the people I'm fighting with and for." Leia said wistfully. "Being stuck here, running things from afar most of the time,...it can be hard."
Han smiled sadly. They'd always been on the move during the war, and Leia was used to running things from the front, not from behind a desk. Nobody wanted to go back to those days, but nostalgia was a strange thing.
"You'll have your chance to be out there again. In the meantime, you can't take care of anyone if you're collapsing from the workload. So you either take care of yourself, or I talk to her Mothma-ness about your vacation days again." he warned playfully.
"I married a mother hen." Leia said with a playfully exaggerated sigh.
"I mean, I can dance way better than one of those, Your Highness." He said as he got up and extended his hand. "Care to let me demonstrate?"
Leia simply grinned, had her data terminal play the Alderaanian song Mirrorbright, and practically launched herself at her husband. Then for the next few minutes, they were alone in the world as they swayed together to the rhythm of the song. And for the millionth time, Han thought of how lucky he was to have this woman of fire and love for a wife.
Until the sound of a commlink's ping interrupted them.
Han scowled as Leia turned off the music. "I hate whoever that is." He said gruffly as he pulled out his commlink to answer it, and the small hologram revealed the caller to be an old friend. He was a cyborg wearing a blue jumpsuit, with exposed augmentations where half of his face was supposed to be.
"Beliert Valance as I live and breathe." Han said with a grin. Valance was an old acquaintance from the academy days. And even though they hadn't gotten along very well back then, the two did eventually become good friends.
"Solo. Princess." Valance greeted. "You two are still married? Because personally, I can't believe you haven't ditched him yet, Leia."
"Well, I can't believe you're still alive, so that evens it." Han teased back as Leia giggled. "How are you doing, you old pirate?"
"Better than usual. But I'm afraid this isn't just a social call." The cyborg said seriously. "I have an important message to deliver."
Han frowned. "What message?" He asked, for he knew that Valance was a man of few words most of the time, and would rarely call if it wasn't important.
"I was on Corellia when I got a tip that something may be worth your time." He said. "Unmarked shipments are apparently being shipped from there deeper into the core. Some bribing involved, I think. And they don't seem to be landing on Coruscant where they should be. Figured this might be of interest to the New Republic."
Han's frown deepened, and he could practically hear Leia's concern. "Any idea what's in these shipments?" She asked, her mind likely racing to analyze the situation as usual.
"No clue." Valance admitted. "I'm gonna be honest and say that my source is far from reliable. She approached me at a Casino in Coronet City and ..."
Han raised an eyebrow at the pause.
"Her name is Qi'ra, Han. I know she was the head of Crimson Dawn during the war. She said you two know each other. That it was important for me to tell you this."
Han's heart skipped a beat.
He hadn't seen her since that day on Savareen. He would later learn that she'd ended up replacing Dryden Vos, and he knew that Crimson Dawn had sold intel to the Alliance during the war, before Lando led the campaign to capture their leadership after Bakura. Only Qi'ra hadn't been among the leaders because she'd disappeared around Endor. He'd thought her to be dead; assassinated or disposed of by her successor. And he was surprised that a small part of him was relieved to discover that she was alive.
"Did she tell you anything else?" He asked sternly.
Valance rubbed the back of his head. "Only that she would be at the Temple of the True Vine in three days at noon. She has more to share, but only with you."
Han simply nodded, while Leia put on her best diplomatic face. "Thank you, Beliert." she said. "If you're ever near Naboo, don't be a stranger. You're always welcome, you know."
"Thanks, Princess, but that may not be a good idea given my good looks." He joked, and Han was glad that his friend seemed to be finally coming to terms with his cybernetics. "Let me know if you need backup Solo, and I'll maybe consider lending a hand. Valance out."
"Well, he certainly hasn't changed." Han muttered after the hologram had faded, largely to mask the fact that his own thoughts and emotions were like a storm.
"You don't have to go, you know." Leia said sympathetically, likely reading his thoughts without even using The Force. "We can send a team of operatives to handle things."
Han snorted and shook his head. "I know Qi'ra. She won't talk to anyone but me. And if there's one place I know, it's Corellia. I have to do this... but I'll take the Rogues for backup anyway." He said seriously before flashing one of his famous lopsided grins. "Besides. Don't tell me you're afraid that my ex is gonna steal me from you."
Leia smirked. "I'm not afraid of petty larceny, Laserbrain." she said before leaning in to kiss him.
Kye sat on a luxurious couch in the hold of the Twin Suns, with a small child sleeping in her arms. She was a toddler Zabrak, no older than two years, with pink skin and thin, delicate lines covering her small face. She no longer had any parents thanks to the groundquake, but one of her aunts was thankfully okay and ready to take custody of her.
Kye wondered what the child's fate would be as she stroked her barely-existent horns. They'd both lost their parents at the same age, but at least this little girl would have someone in her life to care for her. Kye hoped it would be someone kind.
The last week on Minas III had been….an experience. And Kye wasn't sure if it was the hardest or the most rewarding one she'd ever had, although she supposed it could be both. They'd barely slept, her and Skywalker, as they worked day and night with the relief workers. Following the third day, the vast majority of the bodies had been pulled from the ruins, and Skywalker helped greatly in that process. But, strangely enough, so had Kye. With some guidance from Luke, she'd begun to sense the presence of survivors as well, eventually. And she'd been reliable enough that the relief workers had turned to her when Skywalker wasn't around.
They'd come to her for guidance. Relied on her, even. She'd saved lives and received more "thank you"s than she could count. It had been difficult seeing all the pain and loss and despair, even with her experience growing up on Nar Shaddaa, where such things weren't uncommon. But she had also seen joy and relief and hope among the survivors, and so many of them had looked at her like she was some kind of hero. Skywalker had awed them with the Jedi's return, and they'd looked at her like she was a future Jedi herself.
Like she was Skywalker's apprentice.
The following days had been somewhat easier, admittedly. With no more people under the debris, their role had shifted to providing aid, food and supplies to the survivors. It had felt good seeing the rebuilding process begin as some buildings were restored, and Kye hoped that it wouldn't take long for life to return to that city. Its people were resilient, and they deserved to stand again.
The sound of the ramp opening rang in her ear, and Skywalker walked into the hold with a tired smile. "Glad to see Mira's still asleep. Her aunt should arrive to pick her up any minute now."
Kye felt a pang of sadness as she stared at the toddler snuggling against her chest. She'd comforted a few of the children during her time on Minas III, but Mira was her favorite, probably because she was so young, she couldn't speak yet. So Kye simply nodded at Skywalker as he sat next to her.
"This was a test, right?" She asked Skywalker, almost accusingly. "You brought me along because you wanted to see if I could be a Jedi." Kye said with just a small hint of pleading. And she hated how desperate she was to pass.
Skywalker simply smiled more and shook his head as he sat next to her. "There's no need for me to test you. I'm willing to teach you as long as you're willing to learn from me. I brought you along because I wanted you to see what being a Jedi truly means." He paused for a few seconds "How did it feel to help those people?"
"It was hard. And it hurt….a lot of the time." she admitted. "But…sometimes it felt good. I mean, we saved lives here. Made a difference."
Luke nodded at that. "And you felt all of that because you had to step outside of yourself to care about the well-being of others. And sometimes caring hurts. Being a Jedi is a hard life because it's about caring for everyone, and giving everything, even our lives if needed, because we care. I wanted you to understand that before you made your choice." He said as he pulled something from his pocket.
It was a string of Silka beads.
"So what will it be?" he asked as he offered them to her "Will you choose to walk this path, even though it won't be easy?"
Kye simply smiled and reached out for her new padawan braid.
Author's Note:
Well, let's just say that I have mixed feelings on this chapter, but I do hope that you guys like it. The events of the Post-TESB comics are largely non-canon to me, but there are a few bits that I accept. As thus, any references to that period will likely be somewhat vague and I might toy around with canon a bit.
This story might take a brief hiatus as I work out the finer details, but trust me when I say that your detailed thoughts get the next chapter here much faster because they motivate me. So please share your likes/dislikes/thoughts…..it will mean the world to me.