Chapter Text
Leia didn’t wait for Luke, she knew that he wouldn’t be far behind. She stumbled over sandy dunes, each footfall clumsier than the last as the sand gave away. The door to the staircase seemed impossibly far, but Leia forced herself to focus on the ground beneath her feet and put one step after the other.
When she finally reached the base platform, her lungs heaved in relief at the air that finally came easily. Leia didn’t stop, she sped down the steps, hoping that she could get to Han and Din before it was too late. Behind her, she could hear Luke’s ragged breathing as he forced his body to keep going. Her legs started to burn as she rounded on the third landing, her knees weak as if they would give out on her on the next step.
The dread set in, there was no way they would be able to make it. She nearly collapsed into a heap when she finally reached the landing, but she stumbled through the antechamber as her limbs burned.
“To the left,” Luke shouted after her when he reached the landing. “I think they’re in a room in the hallway on the left!”
Leia took off in the vague direction that Luke gave her. Her heart beat against her rib cage as she tore down the hallway, worried that she would find a massacre.
One beast her husband could manage to evade; a room full of the same creature Luke and Leia had barely killed together was an impossible set of odds, even if Han and Din were able to work together. She passed by doors on either side without bothering to peer in, instead heading straight for the door at the far end of the hallway where flashes of light peeked out from underneath the door’s edge.
Leia shot the panel on the last door and screeched to a halt in the room to find Din and Han awkwardly standing around scrutinizing their work. Around them was an assortment of the same creatures in different stages of development that were lifelessly crumpled at the base of each tube.
“Han!” Leia shouted in relief, “How—”
“I don’t get why they would put a kill button,” Han gestured to their surroundings.
Din tilted his head at Leia scrutinizing her before she spoke, “Where’s Luke?”
Leia panted and crouched over to put her hands on her knees to recover from her ultimately pointless dash to the laboratory. Leia waved her hand behind her, trying to wordlessly explain Luke’s whereabouts while her body recovered.
“He’s coming,” Han translated before he walked over to put a hand on her back. “What the kriff happened to you?”
Leia glared daggers at him, “We thought you guys were going to die!”
“Thank the Force,” Luke gasped when he came into the room and fell into a heap on the floor beside Leia. Din moved to help him up, but Luke held up his hands, “Give me a minute.”
“Well, we’re not dead.” Han drawled and patted the control panel on the wall behind him.
“I noticed,” She looked around at the room, a slow horror dawning upon her as she gave the room another look over. “They’re cloning.”
“Cloning?” Luke echoed, his eyes flitting toward Din.
“What could they possibly want with a clone of this thing,” Han’s stray boot kicked against the edge of the tube.”
“Maybe it’s a test, a trial run before something bigger.”
Luke grimaced, “If the creature was able to access the Force…”
Leia felt her eyes widen as she came to the same conclusion as Luke, “Can they do that? Engineer clones with the capability to use the Force?”
Din stepped forward and reached out an arm to pull Luke up, “If this is what they wanted Grogu for, then there has to be a source for their power.”
“Well, let’s get a move on we have a rescue mission to complete.” Han rested a hand on Din’s arm. “You’re welcome, by the way, for finding the kill switch.”
Din’s helmet turned to face Han. Han sheepishly raised his arm in mock surrender, “And luckily, our Mandalorian friend picked the right button.”
“Pretty lucky,” Leia grumbled but stood up once the burning subsided to a dull ache. “Stumble across anything else?”
“As a matter of fact,” Han grinned before tapping lightly on the floor beneath him. The sound came out louder than Leia expected. Han reached down to find a barely noticeable crack in the floor, his fingers ran along the edge before he pressed down on the spot. A latch swung open at the pressure and a gap large enough for a human was revealed. Leia got closer and peered into it, but there wasn’t enough light to see all the way down.
Leia grimaced as she reached into the port and found a ladder just below, she didn’t bother to glance at the rest of the group before she leveraged her way inside and began moving down the ladder.
“I was going to be brave and offer to go first, but ladies first, I guess,” Han grumbled, and the ladder groaned at the weight of another being climbing down.
“Not bad for a smuggler, Solo,” Din’s said above her. The ladder shifted as it supported the weight of two more beings. Leia braced against it as she waited for it to still, the thing felt ancient and rusted beneath her fingers, but it was too late to think of that now.
“Sniffing out the best hiding spots is a part of the trade,” Han dismissed the compliment too easily, a practiced wind-up for a punchline. “It’s a gift, those of us not fortunate enough to be born with it end up in the bounty hunter business.”
“Is that what you call it?” Luke muttered directly above her, “I thought that was just some habit you picked up from dodging Jabba’s lackeys.”
“Ohh, laugh all you want Skywalker,” Han called back down, seemingly indifferent to Luke’s comment. “But I remember quite a few times my gift saved your life. Seriously, you need to remind me to tell you all about the first time we were on Hoth, Din.”
Leia was relieved when the ladder ended. She put a foot out tentatively, searching for a moment, confirming that she wouldn’t unknowingly fall into an abyss. When Leia’s foot tapped against solid ground, she hopped off the ladder and landed evenly on her feet.
“The floor’s not too far once you reach the end,” Leia whispered back up before she stepped away from the landing so she wouldn’t be trampled. Three bodies tapped down to the ground in the darkness and the soft glow of Luke’s ignited lightsaber painted the space a soft green.
The three of them dispersed, searching while Luke held the light steady for them. Leia’s eyes went wide when she found a panel requesting biometrics. Silently, Leia waved over the rest of the group.
Din crouched down to get a good look at the panel before reaching into his utility belt to pull out a set of tools. Leia nearly reached over and grabbed the lightsaber from her brother’s hand so she could pierce through the door herself, but stilled her own nerves. There was no telling what lay waiting behind the door.
Leia held her breath while she waited for Din to carefully slice through the wiring on the door. There was a soft click and Din turned to give Luke a nod. Luke stepped forward, hand extended. Something in the air shifted, and the door slid open.
Leia glanced at the rest of the group before she took a step forward and pulled her blaster from its holster. The fluorescent light was harsh on her eyes after spending so much time in the bellows of Vader’s fortress. Leia squinted to see through the blinding light.
When her eyes finally adjusted, the sight before her took her breath away. In neat, confined rows, twin sets of metal cots lined the room. The soft burbling of children filled the room, and Leia rushed over to a cot to find a set of innocent eyes staring back at her. Leia immediately tucked the blaster back into its holster.
“It’s…” Leia started as she stared down at the tiny being, almost entranced by the set of wide eyes staring back at her that made Leia’s mouth feel clumsy. “It’s a child, Luke.”
“Four children,” Din corrected her as he walked between each cot, checking each for an inhabitant.
“Four children,” Leia repeated as she stared transfixed at the child before her. It seemed so wrong, Leia thought simply as her mind dredged up the atrocities the Empire had committed against her, that even the course of a life so innocent and new had already been marred by the dead regime. Leia faltered when she reached down to pick up the swaddled child and they flinched away from her touch. A fear that was not her own sunk deep into her bones and she recoiled at a confusing but all-consuming pain. It subsided after a moment and Leia didn’t bother glancing at her brother for the answer to her unasked question, she knew that this child was force-sensitive. The trusting freedom of childhood was already robbed from them though they couldn’t have seen more than a year pass by.
“I won’t hurt you,” Leia whispered. Her voice, soft and sweet, was familiar. Teardrops prickled at the corners of her eyes and threatened to spill over in recognition, she had heard the same voice throughout her childhood as her mother had coaxed Leia into the safety of open arms. Slowly, Leia lowered her hand to rest upon the infant's curled-up hand and willed the force to convey her pure intentions. “I’ll never hurt you.”
When she said it, she knew it to be true. There was no space within her to succumb to the dark side. Leia was the light.
When the child didn’t recoil from her touch, Leia reached down and moved to pick up the infant. For a moment the world seemed to settle, the complexities simplified and the troubles tucked away, as Leia moved to pick up the small being wrapped in blankets.
She had scarcely lifted the toddler from the crib when a loud alarm blared into the room and an obnoxious red light began to flash in the room.
Somewhere behind her Han groaned, “I got a bad feeling about this.”
“Get the children,” Leia barked out the order, she shifted the weight of the toddler to one arm before jogging towards the door they had entered through. “We gotta get out of here before whoever’s being summoned gets here.”
When she got to the ladder, Leia stepped aside and watched as Luke handed a child to Din before quickly pulling himself up the ladder. Luke disappeared from sight for a second before his outstretched hand reappeared and an invisible force carefully pulled a child from Din’s arms. When the second child was pulled from Din’s arms, Din wasted no time before he moved towards the ladder and scaled it quickly.
Han expectantly lifted the child in his arm upwards towards the port, but when the child was not immediately lifted his face grew sour. There was a loud banging noise coming from the room with the cribs, Leia only caught the briefest glimpse of white plastoid armor before she handed the child in her arms to Han and pulled the blaster out from where it had been strapped to her hip.
“Uh, could we pick up the pace a little lovebirds,” Han called up and shot an annoyed glance at Leia. “We’ve got unwanted guests breathing down our neck. ”
“We’re trying, Han,” Luke called back in aggravation but a hint of worry made its way into his voice. When the third child was pulled from Han’s arms he pulled out his own blaster and stood beside Leia, carefully peering out from behind the panel to pick off the stormtroopers as they made their way into the nursery.
“I did not miss these guys,” Han grumbled under his breath when he narrowly missed a lucky shot from a trooper.
“Chewie is not going to be happy that he got to stay on the ship,” Leia pressed herself flat against the edge of the door. “Did you tell him we need a quick pick-up?”
Han shook his head, “They must be jamming the signals, I’m only getting static back. You’re gonna have to take the kid and go, Leia. I’ll cover you.”
“You go,” Leia shot back as she quickly peered around the corner and took aim before letting a few blaster bolts fly. “I’ll head up as soon as you’re clear. We need someone to get to Chewie as soon as possible and you’re the best chance.”
The thought of protesting and demanding she take the kid seemed to briefly cross his mind, but it quickly passed. Han let out a soft huff of annoyance as he reached into his pocket to pull out his comm, “Chewie, get the Falcon in the air. We’re going to need a quick exit.”
When Han got a series of trills in confirmation that the Wookie had gotten the message he turned to peer back at their oncoming assailants, when there was a pause in the blaster fire Han ran past the opening of the door and joined at Leia’s side. The weight in her arms was pulled from her grasp and Leia redoubled her focus on picking off the seemingly never-ending stream of ‘troopers as they stomped into the nursery.
When Han cleared his throat, in a clear attempt to gain her attention, she glanced back from target practice to look at her husband.
“As soon as I’m clear, you make your way up,” Han warned, brows pulled into a stern furrow. “No surprises.”
Leia shook her head in disbelief at his concern and gave him an annoyed sigh, a sure sign that it would be okay. When she turned back to glance inside the nursery, she found only a sea of white and black armor. Some ducked behind equipment while others tried to rush forward and overwhelm their shooter in the short reprieve.
Leia set her jaw and raised her blaster, “I got it, Han. Now go before this fight gets any more difficult and we all end up trapped here.”
They were getting close. The growing reek of charred plastoid and singed wounds started to pollute the air as the stormtroopers fell. Leia let out a string of curses as a particularly lucky stormtrooper lunged out of his hiding place and wildly fired in Leia’s direction. Leia tried to duck, but one grazed by her ear. The alarming smell of burnt hair let her know that she hadn’t been quick enough.
Still, it was a price she could live with paying. From a low crouch, Leia took some joy in putting a blaster hole in the white armor of the stormtrooper who had caught her off guard. From the ground, the ‘trooper clung to his arm where the bolt had hit and groaned in agony.
“Clear!” Luke yelled from the port.
“Not a moment too soon,” Leia called back up as she pulled one of the detonators that Din had given her from a pouch on her hip. She thumbed the trigger before rolling it into the room with the stormtroopers. As it rolled it collided between the cots of the children, it’s path winding. Leia didn’t wait to watch its path but turned on her heel and ran towards the ladder. As she pulled herself up the rungs of the ladder, the tell-tale sound of the detonator beeping rapidly accelerated. When Leia made it through the port of the landing, several hands gripped her arms and her body, pulling her up the rest of the way.
“Close the port!” Leia said hurriedly.
Eyes wide in confusion, Luke leaned over and kicked the latch shut just as a loud boom shook the room. Well practiced in this situation, each of them braced against the floor. Luke and Han carefully used their bodies to shield the children who lay curiously quiet on the floor as they waited for the shaking to stop. It seemed to go on forever and Leia vaguely wondered if the ground would open up to swallow them whole. The idea of being permanently marooned in Vader’s fortress was not going to fly with her and so Leia ignored every lasting crumb of field training and pushed herself to her feet.
“Everyone up,” Leia called over her shoulder as she searched the room for anything heavy enough to block the entrance to the port. It wouldn’t hold them off forever but it would be enough to buy them some time. When she found a dense, heavy observation desk, Leia immediately began to work on pushing it into place. It was slow work as the observation desk stubbornly protested, but gloved hands appeared beside hers and Din helped her move the desk above the port.
“Force, Leia…” Luke grumbled as he followed her order. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and pulled Han up next. “I forgot what it was like to be in the field with General Organa. What did you do!?”
“I thought the whole place was going to come down on us,” Han chimed in as he nestled a child into the crook of his arm and turned to look at Leia, expectantly waiting for orders.
“I didn’t think the detonator was going to work that well,” Leia admitted as she reached down to pick up a child as well. Jokingly Leia turned to face Din with a sour expression on her face, “You could have warned me.”
Leia could’ve sworn she heard a faint huff of a laugh escape the filtered helmet, but maybe the blast had affected her more than she had expected.
“If we’re done passing on blame,” Luke interrupted before Leia could interrogate Din to make certain of what she heard. He turned to hand Din the smallest bundle of blankets before reaching to his belt and unhooking his lightsaber. “I think it’s time to go.”
Beneath their feet, the rumble of troopers picked up again.
“Yeah,” Leia agreed before heading towards the door, “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome.”
She didn’t bother gathering them together but headed out the door confident that they wouldn’t be far behind. They had scarcely made it a few feet before Han let out a startled sound.
“Wait!” Han yelled and startled the group on their silent, tentative trek through the fortress. He turned on his heel and sped back towards the tiny room. He called over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back.”
Illuminated by his ignited lightsaber, Luke shot Leia a curious look but she could only shrug in equal confusion. The silence seemed to bear down upon them as they waited for Han to return, like sitting ducks awaiting the ire of their hunters.
It was only a few seconds more before Han reappeared, furiously waving a data stick in his hand as if to wave away their questions. When he was close enough he pressed it into Leia’s empty hand. She gripped the stick like a vice and looked at him questioningly.
“For the New Republic,” Han explained before moving to walk in front of her. “When they have questions about why you came, you show them this.”
“My good influence is finally rubbing off on you,” Leia grinned and tucked the data stick into her pocket before moving to match Han’s proud stride down the corridor.
“Don’t be so proud of yourself,” Han rolled his eyes, but the slight smile that lingered on the corners of his lips betrayed him. “Just making sure my wife has someone in her corner when the New Republic goes nuclear.”
They settled into a tentative silence, the patter of their careful footsteps and a dull thud coming from the room with the creatures filling the halls. Leia was almost certain that they only had to worry about the troopers from the bellows of the fortress, but she didn’t dare speak it into existence so that the Force would take it upon itself to prove her wrong.
Leia nearly jumped out of her skin when the comm in Han’s picket emitted a muffled roar. She heard the faint snap and fumbling of Han trying to pull the device from his pocket.
“Say it again,” Han whispered sternly.
He was met with a series of aggravated trills and Han huffed out an unbelieving laugh at the Wookie on the other end of the comm.
“Well I’m a little busy trying not to die,” Han started in an aggravated tone, but when the baby in his arms cooed, he sighed like a dam breaking. Left with none of his fire, Han cleared his throat and tried again, “I couldn’t hear you, you’ll understand once we’re all back on the Falcon.”
Seemingly accepting Han’s offer in place of an explanation, the Wookie went on.
“For kriff’s sake,” Han groaned. Leia turned to face him, her eyebrows immediately raised in silent question as Han listened to the Wookie rumbles and trills. “Stay sharp, don’t engage with the New Republic unless you have to. Same for the Imps. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”
Han let out a deep sigh as he tucked the comm back into his pocket, seemingly unaware of the expectant stares of Luke and Leia as he withheld whatever update Chewie had dropped upon him.
“So?” Luke asked impatiently when Han brushed past Leia and the group resumed their trek back to the mouth of the fortress.
“Keep it moving, Skywalker,” Han called back over his shoulder. “We’re going to have to be quick if we’re expecting a pickup. Apparently, the New Republic and the Imps are so busy in a dog fight with each other that they haven’t even noticed the Falcon.”
Leia felt herself sigh in relief; she hadn’t been aware that she had been holding her breath.
“Force,” Luke sighed. An elbow hit Leia’s shoulder when Luke got close enough to her. Tilting his chin to gesture to Han, Luke mumbled, “He hasn’t changed, has he?”
Leia rolled her eyes but a slow grin was already pulling at the corners of her mouth, “Not at all. I swear, he gives me a heart attack at least once a week.”
“You guys never… trained him?” Din asked when he reached Luke’s side, his helmet tilted toward Han. “In the New Republic.”
“Oh, he was trained in the Rebel Alliance,” Leia assured Din. “It’s whether or not he decides to use that training that’s the issue.”
“It’s a mixed bag,” Luke added with a fondly irked eye-roll. “But usually he only does it if there’s no immediate risk.”
“You just have to learn to live with it,” Leia nodded sympathetically to Din. “It drives you less crazy than trying to fix it.”
Up ahead, Han peered around a corner seemingly surveying the corridor before disappearing around the bend. Leia paused, waiting for the all-clear sign or to hear the unfortunate sounds of Han “dealing” with whatever problem he got himself into.
“Are you guys coming or what?” Han grumbled when his head peeked back out from around the corner.
Leia shot Din and Luke a telling glance before shaking her head and following Han around the corner. Any trepidation about Han’s role as leader was quickly tucked away when the open maw of the front door of the fortress came into view.
Leia sighed in relief, the light at the end of the dark and warped tunnel of this mission finally in view. She hurried her next few steps, brushing past Han on her way to the entrance of the fortress. Close enough to peer outside, she pressed herself against the exposed edge and steeled herself for a moment in preparation of what lay waiting for them outside.
The familiar sounds of war already trickled into the fortress — the whine of engines pulling off evasive maneuvers and the finality of blaster bolts hitting their mark. It kept Leia paralyzed in her spot, on the precipice of action, stalled by a pain buried too deep within her. The child in her arms burbled softly and Leia knew she had no choice but to push past her own worries, for the sake of getting these tiny beings from the clutches of the fading empire. Drawing the child close to her chest, she hazarded a look outside.
The permanent twilight of Mustafar had never seemed serene, but now the last soldiers of a long-gone war made the planet nearly unrecognizable. A generic hellscape for the familiar scene of war. Across the sky, a TIE followed an X-Wing, a spay of blaster closely following the ranger's movements. Leia felt her heart falter as a lucky bolt struck the hull of the starfighter and the ship began to plummet rapidly towards the ground. Where the starfighter crashed, lava bubbled and shot up from the ground broken from the impact of the crash.
“Another complication,” Leia muttered to herself while scanning the sky for any sign of the Falcon.
She finally found it weaving through the littered spray of blaster bolts that missed its mark. Too far to make it on foot, Chewbacca would have to make it through the dogfight and at least meet them halfway. She felt Han lean against her side, the flat press of his body against hers as he pressed in to crane his neck over her head to glance outside.
Leia let out a loud, exhausted sigh before jostling him in the ribs. Above her, Han groaned and used his free hand to clutch his side.
“Careful!” Han groaned before pulling back into the fortress, his free hand clutching his side. “Precious cargo here and I’m not just referring to the kid.”
Leia rolled her eyes and gestured toward his commlink, “He’s going to have to get within a few klicks of the fortress if we’re going to make it work. See if it’s feasible.”
“He’ll make it through,” Han assured her as he reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his commlink. When he pressed the commlink closer to his mouth he stepped away, “Hey fuzzball…”
Leia refocused her attention back on the warzone outside
“It looks like they haven’t made it far east enough to spot your ship, Din,” Leia called over her shoulder.
When Din was close enough, Leia stepped aside so he could peer outside. Leia watched as Din carefully scanned the region just beyond the fortress. He pulled back and wordlessly shifted the bundle of blankets in his arms so he could tuck away one of his blasters and pull out a slightly larger one.
Luke carefully observed him, the group settling back into the eerie silence of the fortress only broken by Din’s movements. Leia shot Luke a confused look but he only de-ignited his lightsaber in response. He hooked it to his belt loop when Din straightened out with a blaster in hand and reached out to settle an open palm on his arm.
“You’re going after the Crest.”
It wasn’t a question, but a measured statement. Din’s helmeted stare lingered on Luke’s hand, on his arm before he nodded curtly.
“I’m going with you,” Luke moved to the opening and looked toward the east, searching for something. “It shouldn’t be too hard, as long as they stay to the west.”
“This planet has a temper of its own,” Din hesitated before moving to join Luke, a hand pressed into the small of his back. “I’m not sure how much more of this assault it will tolerate without lashing out in vengeance.”
Luke turned his head to the side, gloved hand reaching up to catch the edge of Din’s helmet in his hands to bring their foreheads together.
“We’ll have to be quick then,” Luke mumbled.
Leia averted her eyes and busied herself with locating Han in the darkness. She didn’t have to search long when the thud of running footsteps filled the entrance hall as Han bolted back in to join the group.
“Troopers! And a lot of them!” Han shouted, before pushing past the rest of the group and bolting out the door.
So much for planning things out , Leia groaned internally before sharing an uneasy glance between Luke and Din.
“We’ll get up in the air as soon as possible,” Luke reassured her as he pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it.
Leia glanced between the two of them, “See you on the other side.”
She let them go first, a small courtesy as they raced outside, straight into danger. Though danger also lurked behind them in the darkness. Leia wasn’t sure which choice was an advantage. Din and Luke darted out of the opening just as the first blaster bolts of the oncoming troopers scored the walls.
Leia didn’t dare look back, she couldn’t worry about the odds if she didn’t know how terribly they were stacked against her. Han had taught her as much, it had kept them out of trouble. Most times.
The child remained silent in her arms as Leia scrambled across the terrain, darting between the odd outcroppings of rock for cover. Only a klick in front of her, Leia followed Han’s path.
She wondered if the child in his arms was as silent as the one in hers. It was an unsettling silence that only spurred Leia to go faster. The Empire would not take this life once more.
A lone TIE seemed to have noticed their efforts on the floor. It detached from the flank chasing after an X-WING and swooped low toward Han. Leia’s mouth flew open to shout a warning, to scream for cover but Han beat her to it. He skidded to a halt and dove for cover behind a laccolith.
The TIE arched back up toward the sky, Leia carefully watched its ascent back into the atmosphere. When it faded into the darkening sky, Leia took off in Han’s direction.
“Han!” Leia barked out worriedly as soon as she was close enough to see the slow stir of Han’s limbs as he pushed himself up from the group. Leia rushed over but uselessly stood by as Han righted himself, her own hands already occupied with the child nestled into the crook of her and the blaster in her hand. She wasn’t green enough to naively tuck the blaster away to lend a hand. “You scared me, you nerfherder.”
“You’re acting like I taunted the damn thing,” Han bit back, he winced as he rolled back his shoulders. “That hurt more than I care to remember.”
“You’re not as young as you used to be,” Leia retorted immediately.
“Don’t remind me, I wasn’t all that young to begin with,” Han gave her a sour look before tucking his blaster away. “Cover me.”
With a quick hand, he pulled his commlink from his pocket and raised it to his lips. “Chewie, tell me you have good news.”
Leia could hear the raucous roar loud and clear of the tinny output of the device.
“What? Yea, now would be great!” Han snarked into the comm, his eyes nearly rolling back into his skull. An irritated growl came in response, overhead the Falcon looped and whorled as it tried to evade a lone TIE on its tail. “Just set her down enough for us to get on board!”
“It won’t be that easy, Han!” Leia yelled and pointed to a small squadron of TIES joining the ranks behind the Falcon. “We’re going to have to find another way.”
Han shook his head, eyes trained on the Falcon, “No, we’re not going anywhere. Chewie can do it.”
There was no doubt that Chewbacca could outmaneuver any TIE pilot but to take on a squadron alone was a tall ask.
Leia’s head whipped around to follow the trajectory of the Falcon and the trail of TIES that followed in its wake. As the Flacon reared to escape the spay of fire from the TIES on it’s tail, a silver assault ship joined the chase.
One by one, TIES plummeted from the sky. A stream of smoke marked the ship’s rapid descent towards the planet’s surface. It was only right before the ship made contact with the ground that Leia remembered Din’s whispered warning.
“Run!” Leia screeched and took off in the direction following the direction of the Falcon. The world seemed to fracture, in slow motion. As they frantically ran, Leia tucked the child further into the crook of her arm. She skidded to a halt when the fracture came out in front of her and lava jumped from the ground. Stuck Leia turned around to see Han still running toward the Falcon.
He could make it, Leia felt it in her bones.
Han would be able to get to the Falcon, while she pieced her own way through this growing minefield.
“Han!” She called frantically. When he turned to glance at her, Leia focused on that small bit of control she had felt in the force earlier and pushed the child out toward Han. He caught the child easily and looked at her in concern. “Get to the Falcon first, then you can worry about me!”
He seemed to falter but thought better of it and went back to running toward the Falcon as it settled down waiting expectantly for them.
Leia didn’t wait to see Han and the two children safely board the Falcon, she knew it would happen. As if it were the will of the Force itself to see them to safety.
Leia recoiled as the fractures continued to web around her, the ground growing increasingly unstable as she hesitated to take another step in any direction.
A sharp burn bloomed on her arm and Leia crumbled to clutch her arm, the pain too fresh and new to ignore. But the dull thud of troopers behind her forced Leia to right herself and push through the pain.
The last man on a battlefield. Leia knew it was solely on her to make it out alive this time.
Leia had hoped she would never feel this terror again, the rush of blood in her ears as time seemed to slow down so Leia could make decisions that would decide if she would get to live or die. The stormtrooper that had broken from the flank of ‘troopers was still after her. Miscalculated bolts from their blaster whizzed past Leia. When the trooper started after her at a sprint, Leia turned on her heel and bolted. At least assured that she could outrun the clunky jog the trooper had started behind her.
Leia threw out her arm with the blaster in a desperate attempt to get rid of the assailant on her tail, she was vindicated by a sharp yelp. But the blow only seemed to spur the stormtrooper on in the name of vengeance and the blaster fire doubled, with some coming far too close for Leia’s comfort.
Overhead the Falcon dipped back into view, cutting through a line of oncoming TIE Fighters toward a space clear enough to land only a few klicks in front of Leia. Leia squinted to get a good look at the TIE Fighters that screeched as they flew overhead with a spray of green fire directed at the New Republic ships instead of the Falcon or Leia. It seemed too good to be true, a lucky break after a series of pitfalls. Leia was only a click away when the tell-tale screech of oncoming TIES grew as they neared. She could only chance a glance behind her, but Leia thought she could see the outline of two on the horizon.
Leia saw the hurl of volcanic rock begin to ricochet from the ground as a spray of fire from a TIE screeching overhead made contact with the ground. She had scarcely managed to recoil from the danger a sharp pain in her shoulder sent her straight to the ground. The debris rained over her in a storm and colored the world black.
***
It took Leia a few tries to open her eyes.
The first time had been a complete failure, after only a few seconds of persistently struggling against the oppressive grogginess it had won over. The second time, she had managed to force her eyes open enough to get a thin slice of the world and a blue entity moving closer towards her before the sheer exhaustion of the action won over. Her heart beat resounding like the steady beat of a drum within her own mind before she got pulled under once more. The third time brought her back fully, the white sterile light of a medbay so blinding that Leia could only see the vague blurs of shapes in the room.
In the closest corner, a heap of blues and creams stirred and moved closer to her. Leia swung out an arm in defense, but the movement was too slow – unnaturally slow – and whatever her arm collided with caught it and held it firm.
“Hey, hey!” The blob murmured to her and after a few breaths, she realized the grumbly voice had to belong to Han. “You’re safe, Leia. Take deep breaths or you're gonna bring the med droid in here again.”
Leia squeezed her eyes shut, the underwhelming surroundings dropping away instantaneously so she could focus on her breath, When her pulse slowed and the need to fight subsided, Leia opened her eyes again. Sighing in relief when the world was more recognizable than the first instance.
“Luke? Din?” The names felt clumsy and rushed as they came out of her mouth, there was a kind of soreness that Leia could only attribute to lack of use.
“Safe. Actually, I have to go get your brother,” Han grumbled, eyes rolling in mock annoyance but the crinkle in the corners of his eyes showed his hand. “He made me promise I would get him the second you woke up.”
Leia nodded and tugged her arm stubbornly out of Han’s grasp so it could settle back down beside her, “How long, Han?”
“Ohh, not so long. Just 24 hours I think, they gave you the good stuff. So you were knocked out even after your arm had healed. Luxuries of being a senator, I guess.”
Leia rolled her eyes and pressed her head back into the pillow, willing for the loopiness she felt to be expelled from her mind. The idea of Luke going through this on a routine basis made her sick, her mind felt dull. This was her personal hell.
“Some luxury,” Leia muttered under her breath.
“That’s the spirit,” Han leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before pulling on the jacket forgotten on his chair. “I’ll be right back. The med droid might stop by, just try to get rid of them. We’re trying to get you cleared to leave in the next hour.”
“Kark, any news from the New Republic?”
Han hesitated, mouth open as if to speak before bolting out the door. The annoyed calls of droids reminded all that there was “no running allowed” outside the door to her room.
“Typical,” Leia muttered before reaching out for the white cloth parcel that surely contained her personal belongings. She reached, carefully trying to leave the sensors undisturbed so that she could enjoy the time before her brother's arrival to collect herself. The bag was just out of reach, fingertips just missing purchase on the bag. With a deep breath, Leia felt herself reach toward something she thought didn’t belong to her. Deep within she reached, pulling the bag closer to her and it moved infinitesimally towards her as if it wanted to fall into her hand but couldn’t.
With a frustrated sigh, Leia threw her head away from the corner of the room and came face to face with a hazy apparition of Anakin.
“What do you want?” Leia’s eyes narrowed as the specter of Anakin became more solid, seemingly deciding to stay. With all of her anger, Leia couldn’t find herself to get the venom into her words. As the question hung in the silence, it sounded tired and even a bit routine. As if this man who had shattered Leia’s life to bits had redeemed himself to her.
Anakin looked startled, as if he hadn’t intended to appear before her but it had happened nonetheless. Leia wished anyone else would keep pestering her – Obi-Wan would be a welcomed guest. Force, even Master Yoda, whom she had only heard outlandish stories about, would be better – but she only had Anakin who followed her around. Anakin who died younger than her. Anakin who shared the darkest parts of her because she had inherited them from him. Luke had never understood her hesitance because that volatile darkness had never burdened him, it was her birthright.
“I don’t want anything,” Anakin looked sourly off the side, probably side-eyeing someone who had chosen not to appear to her.
Leia gingerly pushed herself up into a sitting position, still mindful of the sensors and buttons. “Sure,” Leia sighed, “You only ever come to me with a reason, what is it this time?”
Anakin turned his eyes downward, “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I think this time you called me.”
A quiet rage burned within her at the suggestion that she had summoned Anakin and went silent in an attempt to not let him know exactly how she felt. But behind that anger, she knew that he was right. She had called for him with her anxiety over Luke’s impending question.
Will she train in the ways of the Jedi with him?
“Oh,” Leia said thickly, the pain suppressants were too strong and sapped away all of her rage and anger before she could act on it. Leia had hated the monster that Anakin become, had rejected the legacy that Luke had presented to her, and – after all the careful explanations that Luke had given her– had resented Anakin for all the terrible things that he reminded her of. But who else could she ask so candidly about her fears if not Anakin?
After a few breaths, shaky with remnants of the anger she was unable to feel, Leia turned back to face the ghost.
“You’re right,” Leia grimaced. “I did call for you, I need your help.”
Anakin perked up, moving closer to sit beside her, “What can I do?” His deep voice was eager and sure in a way that Luke often likened her to, brimming with competence and kindness. It made her head spin a little trying to think about this voice commanding the death of Alderaan. But that was the point; this man was as unmarred by the Empire, both spiritually and physically.
Leia took a deep, steadying breath before turning back around to face Anakin’s ghost, whom was now only a few feet away from her spot on the bed. “Luke wants me to go train– Force, I want to go learn the ways of the Jedi. The trial on Mustafar was horrific,” Leia shot him a dirty look, so he knew exactly who she blamed that on. “But something about it just felt so right, I think for the first time I felt at peace. Like this part of me, I didn’t know was broken was finally set back into place and I could heal…”
Anakin waited patiently, nodding solemnly at the words not yet spoken.
“Luke is always telling me it’s my legacy, our shared legacy, to uphold but I’m worried about inheriting the dark side.”
Anakin sighs, blue hands scrubbing over his face in a way that Leia knew all too well. “No, that’s an understandable fear.”
“That was very comforting, thank you.” Leia bit back sardonically, hands flying to push back her hair as if the movement could clear her mind of the stress.
“If you wanted comfort, you wouldn’t be talking to me.” Anakin matched her tone, Leia stilled as she realized that this she must have gotten from him as well.
This was undoubtedly true, talking to the ghost of Anakin Skywalker was speaking to all the horrors that had been committed against her and the galaxy. Her and her long-gone family. But this wasn’t the point, for today at least. Leia was sure that conversation would have to happen in time, depending on what path she chose.
“I shouldn’t train, then.” Leia was surprised at the sinking feeling in her stomach as the chance to develop her connection to the force dimmed. “If it’s a probability, then I can’t go down that road.”
“I never said that,” Anakin rushed out, exasperated. “Turning towards the light is a choice, Leia. It’s a choice to continue to believe and put faith in the galaxy despite the horrors.
“It’s not easy,” Anakin continued. “But you already turn to the light every day despite… what I took from you. You’ve suffered more loss at your age than people feel in an entire lifetime, if anyone had an excuse to consider the dark side it would be you. But every day you step into the light, you walk so determinedly that it doesn’t seem like a choice, but something permanently written on your soul.”
Leia shook her head, slowly to the side. “No, you’re wrong. Luke is that way, I have always loved and admired that in him but it’s not me. I don’t have that.”
Anakin leaned forward, “No. Leia, Luke has struggled with the dark side. Had to process his own fury and hatred into something acceptable in the light. And that’s okay because it’s the determination to be in the light that makes a Jedi worthy of their name.”
Leia still bristled at the hint of her loss coming from the perpetrator himself, but it quickly subsided as she considered his words with more energy. The decision towards Luke’s coming question solidified as Anakin’s words turned her resolve over and over in her mind, grinding down her fears until all that was left was an earnest yearning to follow the call of the force.
“Okay,” Leia mumbled. “Okay, thank you. I hate to admit it but this was… helpful.”
Outside the door, she heard the faint conversation of Luke and Han, the two voices playful and in jest. Leia flung her head to the side to look at Anakin. “Would you be able to go before Luke comes in? I’m not ready for that conversation. Not yet.”
In response Anakin faded away, the room looking as empty as ever. Leia tossed her head back in the pillow, squeezing her eyes shut as her breath picked up as an attempt to calm her nerves for the news she would have to deliver.
The raucous conversation just beyond her door broke off abruptly into laughter and the panel to her room slid open to permit just one visitor. Luke looked positively brand new, free of the grime and ash that had covered them on Mustafar. Any signs of a battle or skirmish had been washed away. Though Luke had changed into a new set of black robes, the gifted armor sat comfortably atop. A stark contrast of the white armor was affixed across her brother’s body, Leia found herself wondering when she would get used to seeing her brother as a Mandalorian just as she had grown to see him as a Jedi Knight.
“You scared me– you scared us all pretty bad.” Luke walked into the room, brows drawn in tightly before quickly dispersing without any prodding from Leia. “Just when I think I can’t admire you any more than I already do you turn around and do something so selfless and brave. Never do it again.”
“Consider us even,” Leia muttered under her breath, she didn’t doubt that one of them would sooner or later do something to disrupt their settled score.
Luke paused in the same spot Leia had last seen Anakin before he had faded back into nothingness. It was a little jarring to see how easily Luke fell in line with where Anakin left off, but she supposed that this was the force’s will. Besides, Luke was nothing like Vader. Despite what Anakin had told her, to her Luke was the embodiment of the sun. His commitment to the force radiating off of him in waves, nearly tangible even with Leia’s inexperience.
“I would hardly call it brave or selfless, Luke.” Leia rolled her eyes, “You would have done the same for me.”
“That doesn’t make it any less brave,” Luke retorted.
Leia sighed in resignation, “How are the kids?”
“They all made it safely to Mandalore.” Through his composure, Leia could see the tight line of concern in his shoulders. “The New Republic has been hounding the Mandalorians for a transition of custody. For now Bo-Katan is fending them off, but we’re gonna need some more allies in the arena if we’re gonna be successful.”
“About that, Luke,” Leia started, thrilled at the prospect of making an allyship with the Mandalorian political forces.
“I know, it’s a risky move, Leia-”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say, Luke. Let me finish!” Leia chastised, eyes rolling in mock annoyance as she tried to desperately deliver the answer Luke had been begging her to give for years.
Luke threw his hands up in apology and remained silent, eyes wide and waiting in eagerness to fight Leia on whatever she had to say.
“I’m ready to train, Luke.” Leia smiled up at him tentatively, the response on Luke’s end was slow and well-earned. The grin slowly spread from his mouth to his eyes, crinkling in the corners from the force of his unabashed joy. “I would love to support Mandalore in their efforts, as long as they understand that it’ll be in between my training.”
Luke beamed and rushed in to give her a hug and Leia resisted the urge to playfully bat him away, instead throwing her arms around her brother's neck and allowing herself to be drawn into a hug. “If anyone would understand dedication to a creed it’s the Mandalorians. You don’t know how happy I am Leia.”
“Well, I think I have some idea.” Leia joked.
“This makes this so much easier,” Luke breezed past her joke, breaking their hug to dig into the pouch attached to his utility belt. He brought out a tiny parcel, brown fabric rolled to protect its contents. Carefully, Luke unfolded the material to reveal a clear shining crystal inside. Dumbfounded Leia stared at the kyber crystal.
“This is what I went to Mustafar looking for. I didn’t want to tell you I risked my life for something you didn’t even want.”
“Oh, Luke.” Leia reached out the crystal, carefully bringing the tiny object up to her eye so she could see it properly. “You absolute nerf-herder. When do we start?”
“As soon as you can make it over to Yavin.”