Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Star Wars movies, shows, books, comics or games. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not for sale, or rent. The Mobile Armors, and later Mobile Suits mentioned in the story are inspired by the various Gundam shows. They obviously belong to their respective creators, and, or copyright owners.

Chapter 9

=FG=

Part 3

=FG=

7.5 ABY

Home One

Coruscant System

Ahsoka peered at a young woman who was supposed to be a grown-up version of Leia. There was some resemblance she could see. At least her Leia hasn't gotten into this much trouble yet. The Togruta shifted her gaze to the scoundrel leaning on a nearby wall, who looked warily between her and the unconscious Force Adept.

"General Han Solo? Any relation to Admiral Jolee Solo?"

"Never heard of him. I'm an orphan. So you are the expert on Luke's space magic?"

"That's one way to put it," Ahsoka's answer came out drier than she intended. "Tell me precisely what happened."

The Imperial Knight listened to Solo's explanation of his interactions with Leia since returning to this ship. She didn't like the picture the tale painted, but at least it confirmed what she suspected.

"First things first. We need to get her out of here and find some peaceful and quiet place. Ideally, without many people around, she wouldn't have to deal with their emotions on top of everything else."

"Their emotions?" Solo asked.

"With proper training and a strong enough connection to the Force, most Force Adepts can sense the emotions of the people around them. That shouldn't be a pressing concern," Ahsoka nodded at Luke, "but Skywalkers. They're built differently, so I'm not making any assumptions about what can worsen the situation."

"I usually need to focus on someone or let myself submerge deep in the Force to sense emotions," Luke admitted. "It slowly becomes easier to do."

"Experience sure helps," Ahsoka nodded. "We need to learn the basics of various techniques, but mastering them is on us from then on. There is no substitute for training and experience."

"I am not sure her worshipfulness will want to take a vacation," Solo pointed out.

"Choking people is usually not conducive to getting things done as a politician or diplomat. Unless you're General Veil, but he's a Sith, so that doesn't count."

Zash didn't need to choke people. The way she effortlessly played with their minds was far worse.

"What's with your people and Sith?" Luke shook his head.

"The leaders of the Jedi Order messed up in a galaxy-shattering fashion, and we needed Sith to save the day. No one was happy about it," Ahsoka grumbled.

"Sith, don't save the day," Luke protested. "The Emperor only made things worse!"

"Ours sure do, and they make a good case that Dooku and friends were heretics by proper Sith standards," Ahsoka shrugged. "We aren't here to debate Jedi, Sith, or Imperial Knight philosophy, but to deal with the problem at hand," she waved at Leia. "I think she's about to awake."

"Should I stun her again?" Solo asked warily. His right hand reluctantly fell upon the butt of his blaster.

"Not unless you absolutely have to. We need to talk with the woman so I can figure out exactly how much of a headache this is going to be," Ahsoka explained. There were at least two Skywalkers involved. This was going to be a pain to resolve like usual. Hopefully, they wouldn't need to fight their way off the ship for once.

Leia stirred, and the Force proved to have a very strange relationship with everything Skywalker. Luke's comm beeped insistently at a most inopportune moment. Skywalker grimaced but hurriedly picked it up from his belt and switched it on.

"I'm accepting only emergency calls right now," he whispered.

"Luke, where are you?! We've got a problem. Someone uploaded a video of Leia choking General Madine like she's Vader! News and rumors that you two are Vader's children are spreading like wildfire!"

"Wedge!? What are you talking about!? What video…" Luke blurted.

"Skywalkers," Ahsoka bemoaned.

"Ah, you've got experience with them?" Solo perked up, though didn't look away from Leia's stirring form.

"Their father was my Jedi Master. I'm still friends with Skyguy and his wife, Padme."

"Get to a terminal and check the newest news and messages! Everyone got a link to the video in question! What happened, Luke!?"

"I've been training Leia to be a Jedi, and I karked it up spectacularly," Luke admitted. "I'm handling it, I think…"

"Sithspit, Luke! Call if you need help. I'll gather the squadron… I just… What is it, Wes?"

"I just heard that Madine resigned, and he might not be alone," a different voice came over the comm. "What's happening? Is Luke all right?"

"I don't think so, Wes. Luke, I'll check up on you later. Call if you need anything."
"Madine? That traitor?" Leia hissed and slowly raised on one hand, looking bleary around. "Where is he!?"

"She's like an angry kitten. It's almost adorable," Ahsoka hummed, looking at the young woman through the Force.

"There's nothing adorable about this! Leia is not like that!" Luke waved his hands in Leia's direction in exasperation

"That's the Dark Side influencing her. Anger and hatred are easy with it. They make your pain and fear go away. It sounds like a good bargain on bad days, doesn't it, Leia? It's a relief, and you don't want to go back," Ahsoka crooned in a soothing voice.

Leia froze at those words. She shook her head as if trying to clear up her thoughts, then looked up through messy strands of hair. A pair of softly glowing eyes met Ahsoka's gaze.

"Who are you?" She asked in confusion.

"General Ahsoka Tano, former Jedi and Imperial Knight in service of the Federated Empire. I'm here to help you with your Dark Side problem, Leia."

"I don't have any Dark Side problem!" Leia snapped. The glow in her eyes intensified due to the Dark Side feeding on her anger.

"Sure you don't," Ahsoka cheerfully agreed. "So you make a habit of being angry all the time and choke people with the Force like that Vader fellow? You know, the evil, stupider counterpart of Skyguy?"

"Madine!" Leia hissed again.

"Why is she so angry at that man?" Ahsoka inquired.

"He's an Imperial sympathizer at best and a traitor at worst!" Leia snapped.

"From what I gather, your Imperials went stupid evil, just like Skyguy's counterpart," Ahsoka noted.

Leia blinked in confusion and shook her head again. It was clear that the side-effects of the stun still affected her, and she wasn't trained enough to make them go away faster with the Force.

"They're all evil, yes!" Leia nodded firmly, obviously happy someone agreed with her.

"Leia, you know that once upon a time, before I saw the light and became the amazing smuggler I am, I was an Imperial too, right?" Solo really didn't help his case.

Leia's eyes narrowed at him, and the Dark Side surged through the compartment.

"You!" Leia growled. "You stunned me! You're against me too, Han!" her voice broke at the perceived betrayal, and the Dark Side howled in glee.

"It's not like that!" Solo protested while Luke looked utterly lost.

"Leia, you know that's not it! Han will never betray us, much less you!" Luke spluttered. "I might not be the most sharp guy around, but I'm not blind! I can see how he looks at you and how he talks about you…" Skywalker shook his head in frustration. "Han will never turn on you!"

The Dark Side and Skywalker family drama. What did she ever do to deserve dealing with this again, Ahsoka wondered.

"I've been there, done that, and have the combat footage to prove it. You are angry, hurt, and feel betrayed," Ahsoka grumbled, fighting her temper. The Dark Side swirling around didn't make it any easier. After all, it kept whispering sweet promises to make all this frustration disappear. "Your anger is a safe space. When you are angry, no one can hurt or betray you again. Can you feel the Dark Side, Leia? It is right here, swirling around us, offering empty promises if you completely surrender to it."

Leia opened her mouth to interject, then closed it and glowered at everyone. However, her eyebrows had a thoughtful tilt, and her burning anger felt a bit less scorching. While Leia glared at Ahsoka, Solo gave Tano a thumbs up, looking imploringly at the Togruta.

"That's right!" Luke earnestly butted in. "You don't want to be like Vader, right? Letting your anger guide you leads to being Vader!"

"I'm nothing like Vader!" Leia snapped and recoiled at the very thought.

"You are acting like him at his worst, Leia!" Luke countered. "This unthinking anger is not like you!"

"What do you really know, farmboy!?" Leia aimed her ire at Skywalker. "You knew no parents for the Imperials to murder! Tatooine is still there for what's worth it!"

"You know, I don't really care about that Hutt-infested rock!" Luke grumbled. "The Imperials murdered my aunt and uncle; you know that, Leia!" Ahsoka could hear the pain in Luke's voice at the low blow.

Where's a damned Sith when you need them to deal with something? No, Veil, or worse, Zash, would make things so much worse somehow!

"That's enough of you, girl. We don't need a Darksider out of control running around, much less someone in your position," Ahsoka's patience frayed, and she struggled to rein in her temper. This was a case where fighting fire with fire would be counter-productive. "Your anger is blinding you. You are not thinking straight. I should know I've been in your shoes. Without training and experience in dealing with such negative emotions and the Dark Side, you'll become little more than its puppet, causing chaos and misery until someone puts you down. That is not you, Leia Skywalker!"

Leia went paled further at those words. Sheer shock doused the flames of her anger, giving Ahsoka a window of opportunity to bring the young woman out of her funk. The only issue here was finding the right words to make things better instead of worse.

=FG=

Part 4

=FG=

7.5 ABY

Home One

Coruscant System

Admiral Ackbar ponderously went to a cabinet holding various drinks for special situations and medicinal purposes and poured himself a glass of strong Dak spirits. Gial drained it all in one go, relishing the burning of the alcohol going down his gullet. While he wasn't someone who enjoyed drinking to drown his sorrows, there were moments when a stiff drink could help take the edge after an impending disaster.

The last time Gial felt he needed a drink this badly was when the seas cleared after the destruction of the second Death Star. No matter what excuses people could make about faulty intelligence or having no other acceptable alternative, the truth was that Ackbar was the Admiral in charge of the Rebel fleet. He brought virtually all ships the Alliance had into the trap.

Today, he felt no differently. Due to his position as the Admiral in command of all New Republic naval forces, Gial often rubbed shoulders with the political leadership of the fledgling nation. He knew the people at the highest echelons of power well enough. Ackbar had served with some of them for years and worked with many others for as long, if not longer.

Gial knew the Jedi of old, like few still alive. He also knew the kind of pressure Leia was since she was a slip of a girl, and things never really got better. So, part of him wondered if he should have seen this coming.

Ackbar knew he was doing his best to avoid making certain calls he was duty-bound to do. Given her position, Leia snapping in such a fashion could be catastrophic even without her Vader impression. At the very least, Mon Mothma needed to know that her protege couldn't be relied upon for the foreseeable future. Then there was General Madine, and it was anyone's guess what that man would do now.

Gial sighed deeply, rumbling like a beast from the abyss deep below the ocean, and poured himself another drink. That was a conversation he really wasn't looking forward to. This would blow up into a political circus at a time when the New Republic could scarcely afford it.

The Admiral glowered at the drink in his webbed hand and put it back, then slowly shuffled to his desk. He switched on his terminal and made an emergency call to Mon Mothma's office.

=FG=

Another emergency call interrupted the tense conversation. Luke groaned but accepted it.

"Luke, what is wrong with Leia?! Is she all right!?" an oddly familiar voice came from the communicator.

It took Ahsoka a few moments to place it. That sounded like Padme's friend, Senator Mon Mothma.

"Ah, Councilor…" Luke stammered.

"Admiral Ackbar informed me about what happened just before Borsk Fey'lya demanded Leia's arrest for attacking one of our highest-ranking officers!" Mothma sounded rather peeved off. "I just got a message with General Madine's resignation letter, and we can't contact him. "Explain what's wrong with Leia right now, young man!"

"There's nothing wrong with me, Mon!" Leia shouted.

"There's a recording circulating around the ship, and it might be already on the holonet claiming otherwise, Leia." Mon Mothma's tone was familiar as well.

It was identical to what Padme used to do with Ahsoka's little Leia or Anakin when he messed up.

"I am surrounded by traitors and Imperial sympathizers!" Leia huffed. "Even Han shot me in the back before I can deal with Madine!"

"That's the only thing that might help us salvage something of this situation, Leia! You should be thanking General Solo!"

Said General cringed at the praise, which redirected Leia's attention at him, complete with a murderous glower.

"I must officially suspend you from your New Republic's Council position. You'll be wanted for questioning about what happened, but seeing that you're clearly in Jedi Skywalker's custody, that can buy us some time. Unfortunately, the news that he is your brother is out in the open, so that won't work for long. Fey'lya and others are eager to see you out of the way, Leia. After what Luke did, there are many who will take advantage of this to discredit him as well. I can shield you only so much. Someone will tell me what the problem is and how we fix it!?" Mothma demanded.

Luke looked lost at that and gestured to Ahsoka, imploring for help.

"Councilor, I am Imperial Knight Ahsoka Tano. Jedi Skywalker requested my expertise on the manner through Knight Anakin Skywalker," the Togruta introduced herself.

Meanwhile, Leia was stewing in her anger, trying to digest Mon Mothma's words.

"Anakin's former Padawan. I know who you used to be on our side," Mon Mothma noted.

Luke and Leia perked up at that, which made the raging whirlwind of emotion radiating from the young woman even more confusing.

"I'll be shot and to the point. Jedi Skywalker began training Leia in the Force, and due to not knowing better, messed it up. All his training did was open her to the Force and make her vulnerable to the Dark Side. The pressure she has been constantly under due to her position did the rest. The only surprise here is that Leia didn't snap earlier," Ahsoka explained.

"Luke claimed that he managed to bring back Vader himself. Can he do the same with Leia?" Mothma asked, with desperate hope lacing her voice.

"She hasn't fallen for good. I've been there, and I'm reasonably all right. However, she needs time and space away from any kind of pressure to sort out her head. After that, she needs peace and quiet, alongside proper training to learn how to handle the Force in general and the Dark Side in particular. My expert opinion is that she should be away from the pressure of politics for the foreseeable future."

"I take it that an inquisition before the New Republic Council will be counter-productive?" Mothma inquired.

Luke and Han winced at that while Leia bolted to her feet.

"I've done nothing wrong!" the angry Skywalker snapped. "No one has a right to accuse me of doing what I must! The Imperials are all evil and need to go!"

"That sounds like a recipe for disaster. The way Leia is right now, she is liable to lash at someone with the Force at the first provocation," Ahsoka pointed out.

At that, the Force surged around Leia, telegraphic what she was about to do. Luke also blanched and drew on the Force, though he was unsure what to do.

The Imperial Knight weaved a barrier of Force energy around her just in time to intercept an uncontrolled wave of power that rippled from Leia and slammed at her. Luke managed to shield himself with a crude wave of telekinesis. The baby Force Adept growled when her efforts were for naught and flailed, grasping for as much power as possible. Before Leia could send another unfocused attack, Ahsoka struck, binding her in place with a field of Force energy.

A pale Luke lowered his hand before raising it up a gain to rub his face. At the same time, Han drew his blaster and stunned Leia, who remained frozen where she stood, still bound by the stasis field.

"Luke? Leia?" Mothma asked warily.

"Leia just proved that an interrogation would be a spectacularly bad idea," Han Solo answered. "She just lashed against Tano, thankfully for no effect. Kriffing space magic…" he grumbled darkly.

"Luke, you are our resident Jedi. What do you think is best? I must leave for an emergency Council meeting momentarily. I am sure Fey'lya would want Leia detained and interrogated if not brought directly before the Council. That's clearly out of the question, but given the circumstances, I can stall only for so long."

"We'll get her off this ship and away from all this," Luke decided. "I'm not yet sure where we'll go. I don't think proclaiming this Jedi business will help?" he asked hopefully.

"Back in the Republic, it might have. It often did. Now? It will make everything worse. I am sorry, Luke. You did the right thing, but now you must pay the price for it, I am sorry to say," Mon Mothma confessed.

"That's politics," Ahsoka interjected.

"I am not sure you'll be safe in New Republic space for now," Mon Mothma added.

"I can speak with Skyguy and Padme. We can get an asylum request for Leia fast-tracked. Padme should be able to make the call," Ahsoka glanced at Luke. "You might have to take one for the team. I am sure the narrative that we need to clean up another Jedi mess will help. And you did mess up. She might not be our Leia, but she's still Leia Skywalker."

"Organa," Luke pointed out. "The Organas were the only parents she knew."

"Ours are very much alive. Speaking with them might help, I think. Though, to be sure, I need to know a lot more about what happened to this woman."

"That might work…" Mon Mothma trailed off. "I might try to write you up as a goodwill ambassador to the Federated Empire. I can trust your integrity; you will be uniquely suited to divine the truth behind their claims. That should buy us some time and provide you with some political cover if thin. This way, I might be able to keep our warmongerers at bay for as long as possible."

"I'll have Chewie prepare the Falcon," Solo suggested. "Either way, I am not leaving Leia alone," he glanced at Ahsoka. "Besides, I want to hear more about this Admiral Solo of yours."