Luke

For two days, Luke was kept locked up in his room. It was obvious they thought it was much too dangerous for Luke to be with Leia now, and Obi-wan was clearly scrambling to come up with a new plan now that Luke had ruined everything. On the morning of the third day, an aide came to bring Luke to breakfast, Bail, Obi-wan, and a woman present.

The woman looked warm and pleasant, a similar spark he had often seen reflected in Leia's eyes in this woman's. Her hair was a match to Leia's – probably part of the reason no one ever guessed that Leia wasn't their daughter before. In ways, she reminded him of Padme, except the gaze in his mother's eyes burned with a determination akin to stars exploding while this woman seemed more like a hearth softly burning. Of course, it had been a while since Luke had gotten a glimpse of his mother – in the past, he had managed to find a picture of her in an old textbook. Still, the Force had spoken to him of her character, and Yoda had on occasion offered a tidbit – a story here or there, a moment or memory he deemed worth remembering in his almost nine hundred years.

Realizing he had studied her for too long, Luke paused and bowed. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Luke." Bail greeted him as Luke entered.

"Good morning, young one." Obi-wan seemed more at ease; either he had figured out a plan, or decided that no one was chasing them after a couple of days of quiet.

That was possible – perhaps Sargent Kreel figured that it was just a lie or a rumor, and had given up trying to find him.

"Hello, I am Queen Breha Organa. I've heard much about you, young Luke."

"Good morning, your Majesty." Luke offered, sitting down quietly as the Queen laughed lightly in delight.

"Well, he has lovely manners, doesn't he?"

Obi-wan raised an eyebrow, glancing over Luke quickly. "What? No protests this morning?"

"Would there be a point in protesting?" Luke asked.

Chuckling, Obi-wan shook his head. "I suppose not."

Eating quietly, when their meal was finished, Luke finally asked. "So, what are you all going to do with me?"

Folding his hands neatly in front of him, Obi-wan made an expression that Luke couldn't quite place. "You have an Aunt on Naboo. She doesn't know we are coming, but hopefully she will be willing to take in the child of her sister."

Somewhat surprised, Luke hadn't thought much of his mother's side of the family. They hadn't really played a part in the previous timeline. Back then, he hadn't had much time to pursue his mother's side of the family once he learned who she was. "I see."

Bail tried to gap the awkward silence. "They are good people, Luke. I have met them before in the past – I am sure they will be thrilled to learn Padme's son lived."

"Yes, though they have tried to leave the political sphere after Padme, they are excellent people. I have met them many a time at banquets or tea parties, and I believe Leia has had tea with Pooja, Sola's daughter." Breha offered warmly.

Obviously, Bail and Breha were simply trying to comfort him.

"I...I shouldn't have left my Aunt and Uncle on Tatooine. I should have listened to you. I'm sorry, Obi-wan." Bowing his head, Luke felt a couple of tears slide down his cheeks.

Sighing deeply, Obi-wan reached over, patting Luke's head. "It's alright, Luke. It's natural to wonder about your family, but what's done is done. It's too late to go back. I'll make sure your Aunt and Uncle know that."

Nodding, Luke kept his gaze downcast. There was only one way left to play this: whenever they tried to move him to Naboo, he had to make his escape and disappear again. But it was unlikely that Obi-wan would let him slip away again so easily, so he had to pretend that he had given up on trying to reach his father.

"I thought about it last night, and I realized you were right. It was just a bad dream after all. There's no way someone like Darth Vader could be Anakin Skywalker and my father. And it's impossible to travel through time."

Rather than surprise, however, Luke felt guilt, from both Obi-wan and Bail. Breha simply conveyed curiosity. Perhaps it stemmed from lying to a minor? Or maybe Luke was just coming across as a little too pitiful. In any case, hopefully it worked.

A knock came at the door, drawing everyone's attention.

"Your majesties, a Major Hal Grettesen and Sargent Kreel is here." The aide that had been escorting Luke everywhere came into the room, eyes wide with worry though he tried to keep the tremble out of his voice.

"Take Luke back to his room at once. Luke, do not – for any reason – leave your room without Obi-wan or I present. Go, now." Bail ordered immediately.

Following the aide quietly, Luke glanced outside one of the palace windows to see Leia out in the garden having tea with some of her friends. Pausing, it was strange to think that at one point in time Leia spent her days having tea parties and socializing like any other princess. If it wasn't for the rebellion, Leia might have spent the rest of her life like this, but instead she had to watch her whole world destroyed before her eyes.

Then again, would someone like Leia have been happy spending her days having tea and diplomatic talks with other ladies her age?

"Luke?" The aide asked, confused as to why he stopped.

Swallowing, Luke pushed on, trying to pretend that nothing was bothering him.

There was only one way to save everyone else, but Luke already knew that. It was everyone else that seemed to be having a hard time swallowing that pill.

"You should let me speak to the men who are here." Luke stated as they reached his room. The difficult part was not remembering how to use the Force, but actually using it. Though he had thought Yoda somewhat insane before making him build up his stamina running all over Dagobah, now he had a better understanding as to why. It took a great amount of mental and physical stamina to use the Force in any capacity, something Luke's current, younger body was severely lacking.

However, if anything his will was doubled, Luke determined to accomplish his goal.

"That's against my orders. You heard the king – stay quietly here and everything will be fine." It was obvious the aide didn't believe his own words.

Digging deeper, Luke turned to meet the aide's eyes. "Take me to the Sargent."

"I should take you to the Sargent."

Turning as if a robot, the aide lead him back down the hall, all the way to the front of the palace where the Sargent and Major were waiting in a sitting room.

"Luke!" Hal stood up as soon as they entered, rushing up to Luke immediately. Sargent Kreel stood back, studying Luke with curiosity that could only be felt through the Force considering his mask. Seeing as this was the first time they were meeting in this life, Luke was curious as well as to see what Sargent Kreel would be like with Luke as a child rather than an enemy.

Blinking a couple of times to clear his head, the aide paled, looking around the room in confusion. "What? How...why are we here?"

Obi-wan rushed into the room, Obi-wan clearly having been tracking Luke's force signature and realizing he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

"Luke, I thought I told you to go back to your room." Obi-wan scolded, interrupting. "And what is this nonsense about Lord Vader arriving? Exactly where is he arriving, and why is both a Sargent and a Major here to accompany a single child?"

Sargent Kreel stepped forward towards them. Major Hal was keeping Luke beside him, not allowing Luke to step closer to either party.

"I don't question my Lord's orders. I apologize for the intrusion, but that is all the information I was given. Find the child going by Skywalker and remain with him until Lord Vader arrives." Luke had to give Kreel credit for his diplomatic skills.

Obi-wan was thinking quickly, and Luke realized immediately what the Jedi master was about to do.

"Sargent, Major, that seems to be the issue – young Luke here is not a Skywalker. His name is Luke Naberrie."

For a split second, Hal's gaze began to glaze over, but a couple of blinks and it cleared. "I'm not sure I understand – Luke says he is a Skywalker."

"That is incorrect. He's a Naberrie." Obi-wan tried again.

Once again, Hal hesitated for a moment before this time shaking his head as if to clear it. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to insist that I stay with him anyway and let my Lord confirm what he wishes."

Kreel stepped closer as well. "What are you trying to convince us of? This child is clearly the one we are looking for."

Swaying slightly, Luke stumbled into Hal, the man still managing to catch him despite being startled. "Luke? Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah...I'm fine…" Stopping both of Obi-wan's attempts at a Jedi mind trick had drained him much more than expected, especially to protect two men.

"We should return to your quarters to rest, and call for a medic." Hal turned to look at Obi-wan as if daring him to challenge his idea.

Obi-wan's eyes lit up in enlightenment as he realized what had happened, then turned into shock. "You...I must speak with Luke for a moment. Alone."

"That won't be possible, sir. My orders are to remain with Luke until Lord Vader arrives." Hal stepped in front of Luke.

"And I just told you, he's not a Skywalker. He's Luke Naberrie."

Hal frowned. "That will be for my Lord to clear up."

Surprised, Luke hadn't had the energy to try and block him again. That meant Hal was stronger willed than Luke realized.

A small twitch at the edge of Obi-wan's jaw was the only tick he showed that he was getting frustrated. "Commander!"

Guards flooded the room, separating Luke from Hal and Kreel. Clearly surprised, Hal went for his blaster when Obi-wan grabbed it with the Force. Looking the man straight in the eye, Obi-wan grabbed Hal by the shoulders. "Skywalker is not on Alderaan. You must report to your superiors at once that he's somewhere else."

This time, it stuck. Luke was too exhausted to block Obi-wan's attempt again, and Obi-wan poured all of his effort into this one..

"Skywalker is not on Alderaan. I must report to my superiors." Hal repeated lifelessly.

"What are you doing? Major, the child is being taken!" Luke sighed in relief – Kreel appeared to be immune to such tricks, or Obi-wan could only convince one at a time. However, he was overwhelmed by Alderaanian guards and could do nothing to help Luke either.

Gritting his teeth, Luke watched as Obi-wan guided the Major away. "Major, I'm sorry your search ended so uneventfully. Let me know if there is anything Alderaan can do to help."

"Of course. My search ended uneventfully." Hal was fighting the effects of the mind trick, but it was still clearly influencing him.

"Major!" Kreel was shouting, but the Major was already leaving the room, leaving Kreel behind, captured.

Grabbing Luke by the wrist, Obi-wan swung him up over his shoulder, leaving the room in a hurry.

"Put me down!" Luke growled out.

"Absolutely not. We need to leave – now."

"I can walk!" Luke protested, but Obi-wan would not be swayed.

Rushing through the palace, Luke watched as guards began to join them as they went. As they neared a hangar bay, Bail and Breha had caught up with them.

Finally setting Luke down, two guards stepped up to watch him.

"I've got the Major distracted for now and the Sargent locked up, but I'm not sure how long your mind trick will last."

"Bail, what are you thinking? The Major might have been tricked, but how are we going to justify locking up that Sargent? And now we have more shuttles requesting landing from the Devastator!" Breha protested, worry bleeding through the Force like a dam about to break.

Bail grimaced. "As soon as Luke and Obi-wan leave, we'll claim there was a mix up and apologize profusely. We weren't in the room; we can claim we had no idea that Obi-wan had a wanted child in the first place."

"And you think that will be enough? Vader's not just going to forget that we also helped that child get away, whether we "knew" or not!"

"Breha, should Vader get his hands on Luke, it will be the end of the galaxy as we know it. There will be no hope for the rebellion."

"And right now, there will be no hope for Alderaan!"

"Just let me go! If you let me go, I'm sure my father will be too distracted with finding me to think about anything else!" Luke argued only for Obi-wan to hold up a hand to silence him.

But Breha took his side. "I agree with the child – this is too much for Alderaan to cover up. We need to give them the child and help Obi-wan escape."

Grabbing his wife by the shoulders, Bail gave her a gentle shake. "Breha, think! If we give this child up, we might as well destroy the rebellion with our own hands. Then where will Alderaan end up? Destroyed, with the rest of the galaxy."

Trembling, Breha finally nodded. "Alright, alright. Just don't forget we have an obligation to the people of Alderaan as well."

Pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, Bail nodded. "Of course I won't. Everything will be fine, I promise. Go find Leia and leave for the countryside. You were never here today – you got back yesterday and went straight to our private estate with Leia."

Nodding quickly, Breha turned her teary gaze to Luke. "Child, I apologize that you've seen me this way. May the Force be with you."

Luke didn't say anything to the odd farewell the Queen offered him; it was a message he had received often in the rebellion from the older, founding members. Many of the younger generation did not even know what a Jedi was, let alone the traditions with which they were treated. Breha had just accepted him as a Jedi without pause, Luke wondering what her heart was truly telling her.

"Now what? I have a ship ready to leave, though it is a little short on supplies." Bail pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. If they are here, Vader is not far behind. We need to leave." Obi-wan groaned, running a hand over his face again. "I'm too old for this – how do I always find myself in these positions? And you...how did you know how to block me?"

"I told you – I came back from the past." Luke insisted. "Though, I'm not as strong as I remember being."

"Luke, that's not possible. Time travel – even with the Force – is not possible."

"I don't know what to tell you then! I have no other way to explain how I know what I know, okay? I died – the Emperor killed me and my father, but somehow I'm back here. And the only way I can think of to save everyone is to save my father first."

"And I told you – it isn't possible to save everyone, nor is that your job, Luke."

"This isn't the time for this. Like we said, if the Major and Sargent are already here, then Vader is not far behind, and Jedi force tricks are not going to work on him. We need a plan – Obi-wan, do you have an idea of where to go?"

"Yes."

"As soon as you are gone, I will have to release the Sargent and tell him I was tricked by you as well. I'm sorry, but I have to protect my people – I won't be able to openly welcome you here again."

Placing a hand on Bail's shoulder, Obi-wan smiled. "I understand. I can only thank you for how much hospitality you have already shown us."

"No! You guys have to let me get to my father – it's the only way." Luke tried to back away, but the guards held him steady.

"Luke, I have a friend that's going to help you with your dream, alright? Then I will deliver you personally to your Aunt on Naboo. But Vader is not your father. He will kill you if he finds you, don't you realize that?" Obi-wan knelt so he could look square in Luke's eyes.

But Luke shook his head. "No. There is still good in him – he won't hurt me. Not intentionally. He sent men ahead to protect me!"

"I'm sorry, Luke."

Sorry? For what? Alarmed and already exhausted, Luke was unable to stop the tendril of Force that Obi-wan sent his way. Falling forward, Luke barely felt the arms that caught him, nor did he hear the doors behind him bang open.