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Leia sat in the command center, idly going through ship manifests for all incoming and outgoing craft for the day when a craft’s name caught her eye. The Candor was coming to dock today. Amilyn’s star cruiser.
Leia flipped screens, pulling up arrival and departure times, scanning for her best friend’s ship. 1125 Galactic Standard Time. She checked her chrono. 10 minutes ago.
She knew she should wait. Go back to doing her job. Amilyn would be here when her shift was done. But Goddess above, she wanted—needed her best friend. Cassian was dead, Alderaan was gone, her parents perished with the planet. There was no one, save for Mon, that seemed to hold any affection for her anymore. Well, except maybe Luke, but there was too much enthusiasm, he was too enamored with her for her to be completely at ease, no matter how well they got along and she enjoyed his company.
But Amilyn…Amilyn loved her like no one else did. She was her best friend. Her closest confidant. Her reminder not to take herself too seriously. “Fuck it,” Leia muttered, pushing away from her desk.
“I’m going to take my break now,” she announced to General Rieekan, walking past his station and offering a smile.
“Of course, Princess. See you later,” he said, inclining his head, a knowing twinkle in his eye. If she didn’t know better, she might say he had something to do with this sudden arrival.
Leia straightened her spine and squared her shoulders as she strode the hallways of Home One to the hangar bay. Once there, she tried not to be too obvious in her search for her friend. Tried to maintain her air of authority.
But that was all thrown out the window when Amilyn tackled her, nearly dropping them both to the ground. “Starshine!”
“Ami!” Formality be damned, her best friend was here. Leia wrapped her arms around Amilyn like a vise.
“It’s so good to see you,” Ami said, her breath tickling Leia’s scalp as she buried her face in Leia’s braids, her arms equally as tight. “When I heard about Alderaan, no one could seem to give me a straight answer whether you were alive or not. Is it true about your parents?”
Leia’s stomach crashed to the ground, tears springing to her eyes. “It is. They’re gone. The whole planet’s gone. I watched them do it. Oh, Ami, I saw it all,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Fuck. I was hoping it was all Imperial propaganda. I’m so sorry, Starshine.” Amilyn tightened her arms, like she was holding all of Leia’s breaking pieces together.
“I am too.” Leia squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears to go away. If she started crying now, she’d never stop. “How are you?”
“Well, uh, I might have had to command the Candor when our captain died after coming under attack by a Star Destroyer. And then ordered the ship to fly through it.” Amilyn pulled away slightly, a half grimace, half smile on her face.
“Excuse me? It sounded like you just said you flew a ship through a Star Destroyer.”
“Because I did say that.”
Leia tipped her head forward, resting it against Amilyn’s chest. She breathed deep. Thanked the Goddess she hadn’t lost her best friend too. When she felt she had gathered her emotions well enough, she looked back up at Amilyn. “Why do you get to have all the fun, huh?” she asked, playfully shoving her shoulder.
Amilyn shrugged, her expression shifting into a smile. Then her comm link chirped and a tired voice informed her that General Rieekan was requesting to see her in his office. She grimaced. “I have to go. But I’ll see you later?”
“Of course. And Ami?”
“Hmm?”
“Will you help me with something?”
“Sure thing, Starshine.”
***
Two days later, the women found themselves at the asteroid field that used to be Alderaan. They’d taken a tandem X-wing, with the permission of General Rieekan.
They flipped a few switches before Leia spoke, addressing the astromech. “Maintain position, Tee-For.” She unzipped a compartment of her flight suit, pulling out a compact datapad. “I’m sending you a data packet, Tee-For. I need you to hard code it into a capsule and then eject it for me.”
She checked the short eulogy she’d written beforehand before handing the datapad to Amilyn.
Her fingers hovered over the screen before she began typing.
Leia looked out at the asteroids floating by, idly wondering if any of them were pieces of Appenza Peak. The Winter Palace. They certainly didn’t look like it.
A tear rolled down Leia’s cheek.
“Done,” Amilyn said softly, handing the datapad back to Leia. She didn’t read it, just quietly asked Tee-For to eject the capsule.
Leia closed her eyes, bid her voice not to shake. “For the collective memory of those we lost, and we who continue with them in our hearts,” she said, holding onto an image of her mother and father, sharing a smile over the dinner table as they held hands under it.
Amilyn’s hand found hers, gave it a squeeze and didn’t let go. The tears flowed freely down her face now, memories flashing through her mind, grief crashing over her. She let herself cry, let herself sob. For she was safe with Amilyn here, her hand in hers. She didn’t have to pretend. She didn’t have to be a princess or a leader. She could just be.
Eventually, her sobs quieted, her tears slowed, her grief lessened, even if it still hung heavy around her neck. It was still a little lighter, the weight shared, rather than carried alone. She squeezed Amilyn’s hand back, finally cracking her eyes open and looking at her companion.
Amilyn’s bright pink hair peeked out of her helmet, clashing horribly with the orange of her flightsuit. Her blue eyes were soft and paradoxically warm despite their icy color.
“Thank you, Ami,” Leia whispered, giving her a watery smile.
“Always, Starshine,” she said, lifting Leia’s gloved hand to her cheek. “Always.”