swinfinities

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Nineteen

The Star Destroyer Devastator (and its hapless stowaways) dropped out of hyperspace several, very tense hours later. The plan was unchanged, of course. Just that it was going to take place somewhere else in the galaxy they weren’t expecting.

“Do we have any idea where in the galaxy we are?” Padmé asked, looking out the wide viewport of the Ghost’s cockpit.

“The navicomputer is shut down,” Hera replied. “No way of knowing unless we get some kind of visual confirmation.”

“I don’t see anything out there but the blackness of space,” K-2 said.

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Padmé. “It means you don’t see an Imperial fleet waiting for us.”

“Okay. It’s now or never,” said Hera. “Chopper, go with K-2 and get the hatch open. Hopefully Ahsoka’s team has fared alright without us.”

*****

“Right on schedule,” Lieutenant Kirkaard said. The dagger-like shape of an Imperial Star Destroyer shot out of hyperspace directly in front of them.

“Six-point-three kilometers and closing,” her copilot called out.

“Quickly, transmit the signal to the Ghost before they have a chance to jam our comms,” said Kirkaard.

Her copilot hit a few switches. “Uplink complete,” he said. “The Ghost has sent confirmation.”

“Copy that. Beginning evasive maneuvers,” said Kirkaard.

“It won’t help,” the copilot said. “We’ll be within tractor beam range in moments.”

“You don’t want it to look like we were actually expecting them, do you?”

“Fair point.”

The ship suddenly shook violently. The hull creaked and the engines whined against the invisible force that had taken hold of them.

“Rebel UT-60D transport,” the intercom crackled. “This is the ISD Devastator. You are caught within our tractor beam. Shut down your engines and prepare to be boarded. Noncompliance will result in the complete destruction of your vessel.”

Obediently, Kirkaard switched off the ship’s engines. They began to silently drift through space toward the Imperial ship.

“Well, we’re really in it now,” said the copilot. “I hope there wasn’t anyone that was having second thoughts.”

There was some light laughter from the crew behind them.

Ahsoka got up from her seat and stood between the two pilots. She closed her eyes for a moment.

“He is here,” she said. “I can sense him.”

“Who?” Kirkaard asked.

“Darth Vader.”

“You mean… he’s here?” Kirkaard said. “On this ship?”

“Yes. And he has no doubt sensed my presence as well.

The two pilots shared a frightened look.

“Don’t worry,” Ahsoka said. “That just means that everything is going according to plan.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure I like any plan that involves moving towards Darth Vader,” said the copilot.

“Like you said. It’s too late to turn back now,” said Kirkaard.

The U-Wing was pulled steadily closer to the Star Destroyer. Eventually they passed into its massive shadow as they were drawn underneath, towards the central hangar bay.

They could see an entire platoon of white-armored stormtroopers waiting for them on the floor of the hangar.

“Too many to fight off,” said Kirkaard.

“A good Jedi always seeks to find an alternative to fighting,” said Ahsoka. “Sometimes the smartest move is to surrender.”

“We’ll follow your lead, Commander.”

Ahsoka stepped down from the cockpit to peer through the window on the side of the door in the crew compartment. A squad of stormtroopers was lining up in front of the hatch, weapons at the ready.

“Occupants of the rebel vessel!” A grey-suited Imperial officer shouted. “You are ordered to disembark from your craft with your weapons lowered and your hands raised! If you attempt to resist, I will order my troops to open fire!”

Ahsoka looked back at the handful of Rebel troops behind her. They all nodded, silently telling her to go.

Ahsoka pressed the key to open the door. The stormtroopers raised their weapons.

“We surrender,” Ahsoka said, raising her hands above her head. She stepped out of the ship and onto the deck of the hangar. The rest of the soldiers followed.

“Ah, a smart rebel,” the Imperial officer said, his voice dripping with contempt. “Who would have thought? Take their weapons,” he ordered the troopers. They began to snatch the Rebel’s weapons from them. One of them took Ahsoka’s lightsabers from her waist.

Ahsoka felt a sudden chill. It was a feeling she knew well. She had felt it many times before, surrounding Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress, and even General Grievous. Servants of the Sith. Of the Dark Side. It was an angry feeling. A hateful feeling. It felt like pure, unfettered rage. Like the perfect absence of love.

Now that feeling surrounded someone she never thought she would see again.

Especially not like this.

The tall, black figure of Darth Vader strode into the hangar bay. Each of his steps hit the ground with purpose. Though they were hidden behind that terrible mask, Ahsoka could feel his eyes directly on her.

She could sense the fear of those around her—not just her rebel companions, but the Imperials as well. Fear had always been a weapon of the Sith, Ahsoka knew. And Darth Vader wielded it better than anyone she had ever seen.

Lord Vader marched past his troops, stopping directly in front of Ahsoka. She met his gaze, trying to imagine the eyes of Anakin Skywalker behind the mask—but failing.

No one dared speak. The only sound in the hangar was Vader’s rhythmic, mechanical breathing.

“You are foolish to come here,” he said at last. His voice was low and booming.

The Sith Lord turned to his officer. “What of the Rebel base on the surface?” asked Vader.

The officer stammered for a few moments. “Er—the scanners have revealed several structures, but they appear to be abandoned. If the Rebels were here, they must have fled. However, I should note that the thick jungles make it difficult to get any accurate reading. I have a team standing by to travel to the surface to conduct a more thorough search.”

“Very good. Tell them to depart immediately. Report to me personally, Commander, if you find anything.”

“Y-yes my Lord. As you wish.”

The officer bowed awkwardly and marched off.

Vader returned his attention to the captured Rebels.

“Sergeant,” said Vader. A stormtrooper officer beside him snapped to attention. “This is their leader. Bind her, and deliver her to the brig. Execute the rest.”

“No!” Ahsoka said, stepping forward. “We have already surrendered ourselves to you! We are your prisoners!”

“You have your orders, Sergeant,” Vader said.

Ahsoka reached out with the Force, pulling her lightsabers from the hands of the Stormtrooper. They flew toward her open hands, but stopped midair. Vader’s own power kept them steady.

“Do not be so hasty, Padawan,” said Vader. “Even you must realize you are outmatched. Even if you try to resist, you will save no one. They were dead the moment your ship landed in this hangar.”

Ahsoka did not release her mental grip on the lightsabers. She strained with every ounce of her will to pull them into her hands. But it was no use.

“Ready your weapons,” Vader ordered. The stormtroopers raised their rifles, each aiming at one of the Rebels behind Ahsoka.

Ahsoka finally relented, letting go of her grip on the lightsabers. They both snapped into Vader’s gloved hands. She refocused herself and summoned a storm within the Force, pushing it outward and throwing the squad of stormtroopers off their feet.

“Go!” she shouted at the Rebels, ordering them to get back on the ship. But all six soldiers were dangling in the air, hanging by the invisible threads of the Force. They all clawed at their own throats, struggling to breathe.

Ahsoka heard the unmistakable snap-hiss of a lightsaber being ignited. A blinding red flurry shot past, whipping through the air and through the bodies of the soldiers.

Six dead rebels fell to the deck of Vader’s ship, charred and mangled. The Sith Lord’s lightsaber obediently returned to its master’s wicked hand.

“Now you see the true power of the Dark Side,” Vader growled. He turned back to the stormtrooper sergeant.

“If the base is abandoned, this Rebel group is likely only a diversion from some greater plot. Tell the captain to set a course for Scarif and depart with all possible speed. Ensure that all laser batteries are at high alert. If there are any more Rebel ships, I want them destroyed.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the stormtrooper replied.

“The rest of you,” Vader continued. “Will follow me and this Jedi to the brig.”

Ahsoka looked at the fallen bodies of her comrades. They had trusted her. Followed her into the belly of the beast. She had failed to keep them safe. She had fought a war before—this wasn’t the first time she had lost a soldier. But it never hurt any less. But now was not the time for mourning.

The stormtroopers quickly assembled themselves into a formation surrounding Ahsoka, with Vader at the head. He turned and started to leave, but suddenly stopped—the determination in his gait had vanished. His black helmet swiveled left and right, as if he were searching for the source of an unknown sound.

Ahsoka knew exactly why he stopped. A tremor in the Force. She had felt it too, the moment it had dropped out of hyperspace.

The Jedi were here.

Padmé was here.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Eighteen

He was always a bit of a shock to see if you hadn’t met him before. After all, more than a few Rebel soldiers had their share of unfortunate encounters with his type. And the stark white emblem of the Empire was something they had all learned to fear.

But once you got to know K-2SO, you knew there was nothing to be afraid of—as long as you didn’t do anything to upset him or Captain Andor. Still, even the seasoned veterans of the Rebellion sometimes had to do a double-take when he lumbered past. 

Everyone agreed, though, that having a reprogrammed Imperial security droid was incredibly useful… even if most of them preferred to keep their distance.

“Have you picked up any Imperial comm chatter, Kay?” asked Cassian Andor.

“Yes,” K-2SO replied, very curt. He was sitting at a computer console in a darkened corner of the Rebel base. Data was flashing across the screens at a speed only a droid would have been able to follow. “But it is all heavily encrypted.”

“I can have a decryption team sent over—” Cassian started to say.

“There is no need,” K-2 replied. “I can gather enough information with what I have. One hour after I sent the coded transmission containing Ahsoka’s name, there was a twenty percent uptick in Imperial comm chatter in the region. Many of the transmissions have also switched to using a different encryption key, which is reserved only for high-priority, emergency transmissions. It has never been broken, but it was known to be heavily used by the Imperial Inquisitorius.”

“So you’re saying our plan worked?” asked Cassian. “We’ve got Vader’s attention?”

“It would seem so.”

“Then we had better get ready. You go wait with Captain Syndulla’s ship. I’ll alert the others.”

*****

The tension was always high before a mission. They were fighting a war. There was always that you or the person you were sitting next to wouldn’t be coming back. But this mission was different. It was the mission. This mission would probably mean the end of the war. But that didn’t mean it was going to end in favor of the Rebellion.

No one really spoke as they boarded the battered, old U-Wing. There were a few silent, knowing nods, and then the Rebels strapped themselves into their seats. 

Most of the seats on the ship were still empty. There were four Rebel commandos aboard, and of course the pilot and copilot. Their most valuable passenger, however, boarded last.

“Welcome aboard, Commander Tano,” said one of the Rebels, offering a stiff salute. He was an older man, with greying hair peeking out from beneath his helmet.

“Commander isn’t necessary,” she replied. “You can call me Ahsoka.”

“It is an honor to be serving with you again… Ahsoka,” said the Rebel.

“Again? Have we met before?”

“Sort of. We never really met, but my name is Lor Parima, of Onderon. You and General Skywalker helped liberate my people during the Clone War.”

“Well then, Lor, it is my honor to be serving with such a brave soldier. I hope that your sacrifices won’t be in vain.”

“We’re fighting for freedom,” said Lor. “No sacrifice for freedom is ever in vain.”

“Well put,” said Ahsoka. “May the Force be with you, Lor Parima. And all of us.”

She turned toward the cockpit.

“Lieutenant? What’s the status with Captain Syndulla?” she called.

*****

Captain Hera Syndulla had been born and raised a rebel. Her father had fought against the Separatist occupation during the Clone Wars, and then continued to fight even when the Empire said the war was over. Hera hadn’t ever really chosen to join the fight. She just sort of… fell into it.

Like everyone else, she had lost people along the way. But that wasn’t going to stop her. She moved through the ship’s checklist quickly and silently. She could have done it in her sleep.

“Chopper,” she said to her squat, orange astromech droid. “Plug yourself into the navicomputer. I’ll need those coordinates ready to go as soon as we take off. Time isn’t exactly on our side with this one.”

The droid grumbled a reply, but obediently plugged into the computer socket. 

The ship’s engines roared to life, and a moment later the ship lifted off the ground. The massive Yavin temple shrank in the viewport until it disappeared behind the clouds and all the trees blurred together into a massive green blanket covering the moon.

“Captain Syndulla,” a voice came over the comm. “This is Lieutenant Kirkaard. What is your status? Over.”

“We’ve just broken atmo,” Hera replied. “We should be ready to make the jump in two minutes and counting. I’m not picking up anything on my scanners. You are clear to begin your ascent. Over”

“Copy that. Kirkaard out.”

Hera switched off the comm and sat back in her seat, letting the ship coast for a while. After all, there isn’t much to run into when you’re in the vacuum of space. She just listened to the familiar hum of the engines and soaked in the strange orange light from the gas giant high above them.

The door of the cockpit slid open and someone stepped inside. Hera turned to see young Luke Skywalker. Chopper mumbled something angrily. Luke looked a little embarrassed.

“Hello there,” Hera asked. “Did you need help with something?”

“S-sorry,” Luke said. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just wanted to see the cockpit.”

Hera motioned for him to sit in the copilot seat. Luke beamed. He took a seat and began to carefully run his hands over the control panel.

“It’s a VCX-100, right?” Luke asked. I’ve never actually seen one up close before.

“You’ve got a good eye, kid,” said Hera. “You a pilot?”

Luke shrugged. “I used to fly my T-16 up and down the canyons back home on Tatooine. Me and my friend Biggs… we used to have races. See who could thread their way down the narrowest parts of the canyon without clipping the wings. But I’ve never flown anything this big.”

“Well, maybe I’ll let you give it a try when we get back.”

“If we get back,” Luke said. It didn’t take a Jedi to sense that he was frightened.

“When,” Hera corrected. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared, too. Under normal circumstances, I would think this was a suicide mission. But now I have three Jedi on board my ship. That makes me think that maybe… maybe we actually have a chance of making this work.”

“Maybe,” said Luke.

“You hang on to that hope, Luke. It’s hope that built this Rebellion from nothing.” 

Hera turned back to the ship’s controls. “How’s it looking, Chop?”

The droid warbled a reply.

“You might want to strap in, Luke,” Hera said. She keyed the ship-wide comm. “All personnel, prepare for the jump to hyperspace.”

*****

The rebel soldiers were crowded into the ship’s cargo bay. They stood patiently and quietly, waiting to be addressed by their commanding officer standing on the platform above them.

Padmé Amidala leaned against the metal railing. She looked down at her troops, running the words back and forth in her mind, trying to make sure they were the right ones. She looked to either side; to her left stood Captain Syndulla and Captain Andor. To her right were Master Yoda and Master Kenobi. Close by were her two beautiful children. Suddenly they looked far too young. She felt an awful guilt that she was now leading them into battle. Obi-Wan gave her a soft smile, which renewed her strength somewhat. Padmé turned back to the waiting Rebels.

“You are soldiers,” she said. “You have all been trained for missions like this. Maybe not quite like this but… still, I wish I could say this was going to be easy. It isn’t. Even with the Force, with the Jedi on our side, this might be the hardest battle any of us have ever fought. The chances are slim, but I am willing to risk everything for the chance that it does work. And I am grateful, beyond what my words can express, that you are all willing to do the same.”

Padmé paused. She sighed, and drew a long breath. She pressed a few buttons on a nearby console. The holographic image of an Imperial Star Destroyer appeared in the air above the soldiers.

“We are currently sitting in deep space, less than half a light-year from the Yavin system. We’ve received confirmation that the other rebel transport has taken to the air; we expect that it will be intercepted by Imperial forces shortly. When we get the signal, we will jump back towards the system, using the coordinates that Lieutenant Kirkaard will send us. It’s going to have to be a very precise jump, but that’s why we have Captain Syndulla. Captain, are you ready?”

“Ready as I can be,” Hera replied. “I’ll drop the Ghost out of hyperspace as close to the Destroyer as possible.” Hera pressed another button. A red light appeared just behind the bridge tower on the image of the Star Destroyer. “Close enough that we won’t show up on their scanners. The U-Wing transport should be taken into the main hangar bay, here. We’ll use its position as a reference for the jump, so we’re relying on that assumption to get to where we need to go. 

“There’s a hatch on the aft side of the tower bridge, here. That’s our entry point. It’s normally used for dumping garbage into space. Chopper and K-2 will slice us in, hopefully without raising any alarms in the process. The U-Wing team’s primary mission is to serve as a distraction. With any luck, most of the ship’s security will be diverted towards the hangar. That should make it easier for us to infiltrate the bridge.”

“Remember that stealth is the key, here,” said Obi-Wan, stepping forward. “Don’t engage any Imperial troops if you don’t have to. And if you have to, do it quietly. Stay mainly inside the maintenance tunnels and away from the main corridors. If we trigger an alarm, it’ll make it that much harder for us to complete our mission.”

Padmé stepped forward again. “You all have your assigned fireteams, and you know where you’re headed. Move quickly and quietly. If all goes according to plan, we’ll see each other again on the bridge— 

Chopper suddenly burst into the cargo bay, grumbling wildly about something.

“They’ve made contact,” Hera translated. “With the Devastator. Vader’s here.”

“Then time it is, Captain,” said Yoda. “May the Force be with us all.”

*****

Hera had her hand on the hyperdrive controls. She didn’t want to switch it off—there were a million and one things that could go wrong. But either it was going to work, or it wasn’t. And if she hesitated and missed the window, then they’d all definitely be dead. Chopper gave her the signal. She deactivated the hyperdrive.

The massive, terrifying shape of an Imperial Star Destroyer exploded into view. It filled the entire viewport in an instant. Alarms and warnings flashed across the control panel. Hera only had a moment to react and maneuver the Ghost away before it smashed into the Destroyer. At that speed, there wouldn’t have been anything left of the ship or its passengers but a cloud of smoke. It was tricky business, trying not to crash but staying close enough to fool the scanners.

But she did it. Because she was Hera Syndulla. 

“Engage docking clamps!” Hera ordered. 

“Docking clamps engaged,” K-2SO replied from the copilot chair. 

“Main engine shutoff,” Hera said. “Reactor cooldown initiated. Switching life support to auxiliary power.”

“I am not picking up any activity that would indicate that we have been spotted,” said K-2. “We seem to have gone undetected.”

“Well, I don’t call this ship the Ghost for nothing.” 

Captain Andor came through the cockpit door.

“We’re safe?” he asked?

“As safe as we can be, hanging off the back of a Star Destroyer,” Hera replied, still working on shutting down as many of the ship’s systems as possible.

“Then you’re up, Kay,” said Cassian. “Let’s get that hatch open.”

“Wait,” Hera interrupted. “I’m picking up a massive power surge in the Destroyer. Their hyperdrive is coming online.” “What?” said Cassian. “Release the docking clamps!”

“No! We need to follow this destroyer to wherever it’s going, otherwise the whole mission will be a failure.”

“Is that possible? Can we hang on the back of a Star Destroyer moving at lightspeed?”

“Only one way to find out,” said Hera. “Chopper, divert as much power as you can to the docking clamps. I’ll try to reroute some power to the shields. But try to keep the power below eight-point-six. Any higher and we risk the Empire picking up on our energy signature.”

Hera clicked the ship-wide comm. “Everybody hang on. We’re going for a little ride.”

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Seventeen

No one really liked the plan. All of High Command knew it was a long shot at best. If they failed (which seemed the most likely outcome), then the Rebellion would be placed pretty firmly on the losing side. It would be beyond difficult to recover from that sort of loss. Still, if they succeeded... then the war was as good as over. It was high risk, but an even higher reward.

It had taken a lot of convincing. Months of squabbling had passed before Mon, Padmé, and Bail had managed to convince the rest of High Command to vote in their favor. But it wasn’t until Yoda and Obi-Wan began to argue that minds really started changing. After all, it is hard to disagree with the Grand Master of the Jedi Order.

All the while, Luke and Leia were kept safely hidden within the walls of the Yavin temple. Luke continued his training, at least when Obi-Wan wasn’t busy lending his expertise as a military advisor. Leia listened in on some of their sessions from time to time, but most of what they said was far beyond what she could understand. Yoda had promised, when all of this was over and the Empire destroyed, that she would be trained as a Jedi as well, alongside her brother and a new generation of Jedi knights. Sometimes, late at night, Luke would try to teach her some things, too, though not much more than a few simple meditative exercises. He even let her hold their father’s lightsaber once or twice. Leia always marveled at the power contained in such a small device—a power that seemed, somehow, not completely mechanical. As if there was some life to it.

But still, even being surrounded by thick walls of stone, guarded by trained soldiers and ancient Jedi, Leia felt a profound sense of unease. No matter how much she tried to meditate, to push it out of her mind, the feeling remained. A dark spot of dread in her heart that was slowly gnawing away at her sanity.

“It’s okay to be afraid,” her mother had said. “I’m afraid too. It’s okay if you don’t want to go on this mission. No one will think any less of you.”

No, Leia didn’t want to go through with this mission. But she still said yes anyway. Because it didn’t matter what she wanted. If she had a chance to do some good for the galaxy, that is what mattered. And she would do it standing side-by-side with her family, no matter if they lived or…

Or died.

Leia still had a hard time coming to terms with that part. She didn’t like thinking about it. She didn’t really even know how to think about it. The only thing she knew is that she felt scared.

But, somehow, the sound of the approaching ship, still just a little blip on the horizon, filled Leia with some long-awaited peace. It was as if the universe was trying to tell her that she was in the right place after all.

The ship approached the landing pad, making a soft descent and landing amid the sizable crowd that had gathered not only to greet the ship’s pilot, but to get a closer look at the ship itself.

“That’s an Eta-2 Actis-class Interceptor!” Luke beamed. “I’ve never seen one up close. They haven’t been in use since the Clone Wars! Heavy-repeating ion cannons… high-impulse, 118-megalight ion engines… Look! You can see how the reduced repulsorlift housing lets the ion impulse chamber gimbal up to thirty degrees for increased maneuverability. See, that was one of the big improvements over the older Aethersprite-class models—”

“You know that I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about, right?” said Leia.

Luke looked sheepish.

“It’s just… a really great ship, is all,” he said. “Master Kenobi says he used to fly one like this during the Clone Wars. So did dad. Except dad’s was yellow, not red.”

“Yes, it was,” said the woman climbing out of the cockpit. Luke immediately recognized her as the Jedi from his vision. Their mother’s friend and their father’s old apprentice, Ahsoka Tano.

“I remember,” she said. “It was bright yellow. It wasn’t very good for staying hidden but… Anakin was never very good at that anyway. He always dove in lightsaber-first to any conflict. It was probably foolish but… we won a lot of battles that way.”

Ahsoka jumped down from the ship onto the platform and walked up to Luke. She offered him a small bow.

“You must be Luke,” she said, smiling. “You look just like Anakin. I can sense that you have a lot of your father in you. The Force is strong with you, as it was for him.”

“Thank you,” Luke said, bowing in return. “It is an honor to finally meet you, Lady Tano. I’ve only ever heard stories about my father… but you actually met him. I just… I wish I could have met him, too.”

Ahsoka laid a gentle hand on Luke’s shoulder. 

“There’s hope for that yet, young Skywalker. And please, just call me Ahsoka.”

“Alright,” said Luke.

“And it’s wonderful to see you, too Leia,” said Ahsoka. “Although you’re quite a bit bigger than the last time I saw you. I guess I’ve spent too many years running around the galaxy, I missed getting to see you grow up.”

“A pleasure, as always,” Leia said with a kind smile, curtseying just as a princess was trained to do.

Ahsoka caught Luke trying to get another glance over at the ship behind her.

“So, you like the ship?” Ahsoka asked.

“Yeah,” Luke said, trying to hide his excitement. “I’ve never had a chance to see one up close before.”

“It’s been sitting in storage for quite a few years now. Figured I’d dust it off again for one last mission. Do you want to get an even closer look? The cockpit’s all yours.”

Luke’s eyes lit up.

“Can I?” he beamed.

“Be my guest,” Ahsoka replied. “Just be careful not to disengage the reverse power coupling. The actuator tends to flip if you so much as breathe on it.”

Luke excitedly jumped up onto the ship and dropped down into the cockpit, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, well this certainly looks familiar,”  said Obi-Wan, walking up to greet them. “A Skywalker in the cockpit of an old Jedi interceptor. That does bring up some memories. Unfortunately, not all of them are good. I think I’m even getting a headache on behalf of my past self.”

“Obi-Wan,” said Ahsoka.

“Ahsoka,” he replied with a curt nod.

“You can’t fool me with that stiff-as-a-board routine, Obi-Wan. I know you too well. There’s a big, soft heart somewhere underneath all that beard.”

“Me? Stiff?” Obi-Wan said. “I don’t know where you got that. I can be funny—”

Ahsoka practically ran up to Obi-Wan and wrapped her arms around him. It took a few moments for Obi-Wan to get over the shock, but he hugged her back, too. They just stood there for a while, letting the other soak up so many years of shared pain before they finally let go.

“I’m very happy that you’re alright, Ahsoka,” said Obi-Wan. “If only one Jedi could have survived the Emperor’s purge, I would have wanted it to be you.”

“I’m not a Jedi anymore,” said Ahsoka.

“Are any of us?” Obi-Wan replied. “There’s no Temple. No Council. No Order. What does it matter what titles we wear?”

“I suppose you’re right,” said Ahsoka. “What matters is setting things right again. Speaking of which, where is Yoda?”

“In a briefing. That we should probably get ourselves to as well, unless we want to incur the wrath of Senator Amidala. Luke! Come. We’ve got to get ready.”

*****

The briefing room was emptied, except for the select few who had been given the clearance to know about this mission—other than the Jedi, there were the members of High Command, a few intelligence officers and high-ranking pilots. Luke and Leia were there, too, but they stood uneasily towards the back, both feeling very out-of-place in a war room.

“Thank you all, again, for your willingness to volunteer for this mission,” Mon Mothma began. “I’m sure you understand the risk involved. This is not a mission I would have approved under normal circumstances but… I have known Senator Amidala for many years, and I know that nothing would have prevented her from attempting the mission anyway once her mind was made up, in spite of anything I could have said. So, I propose that we give them the best possible chance of success that we can. As such, I am appointing Senator Amidala to be the commanding officer of this mission. I will therefore cede the floor to her. Padmé, if you will.”

“Thank, you Mon,” said Padmé, standing and taking her place before the council. “Captain Andor, you have the latest intelligence reports?”

“Yes, senator,” said the Captain, stepping up to address the group. “The ISD Devastator was confirmed patrolling the space near Saleucami. Two days ago, it made an emergency jump to Korriban, where it has been reported to have picked up a single Imperial light shuttle. It’s not certain, but the reports highly suggest that Darth Vader is aboard. The Devastator then moved to Telos to support the Imperial fleet against our forces stationed there. As of 0900 this morning, it is still in orbit. There haven’t been any sightings of Vader yet, but analysis of the Empire’s offensive strategies on Telos suggest Vader’s hand is in the campaign. This is the first real clue into Vader’s movements that we’ve found for months. If we’re going to act, we need to act now or Vader is going to disappear off the map again.”

“Is your droid ready, then?” asked Padmé.

“He is,” Captain Andor replied. “He is in position and ready to leak the information when I give the signal.”

“ISB is going to know it’s a trap,” said General Draven. “I don’t believe that they will commit a significant force to investigate, let alone Vader’s personal destroyer.”

“Of course they’ll know it’s a trap,” said Ahsoka. “That’s why we have to make the bait as tempting as possible. Not only the promise of the Rebel base, but of a Jedi… there’s no way that Vader won’t come see for himself.”

“He’ll have backup,” said Draven.

“It matters little, how many ships the Emperor sends,” said Yoda. “For no rebels on this moon will he find. A single ship is all we need. Risk destroying the ship, Vader will not, lest his prize he destroy with it.”

“Captain, is your strike team assembled?” Padmé asked.

“Yes,” Captain Andor replied. “Twenty men, plus the slicer. Enough to get us inside and take out more than a few stormtroopers. And I’ve got a pilot who should be able to get us in and out of a tight spot.”

“Then get ready and have your ship standing by for further orders,” Padmé ordered. “General Merrick, how long will it take to have the evacuation underway?”

“I can probably have all non-essential personnel off-world by 2200 tonight. It’ll take a little longer to get the equipment and munitions, but we can probably have the base cleaned up in two rotations.”

“You have one,” said Padmé. “Anything that isn’t boxed and shipped by tomorrow night is getting left behind. It’s not ideal, but time isn’t on our side. You are authorized to use any and all ships and crew you might need to assist in the evacuation. Getting these people out of the system is our number one priority.”

“Then it sounds like we’re committed to this,” said Obi-Wan. “The more I think about it, the more I wonder if this plan isn’t as crazy as I thought it was.”

“No, it’s still crazy,” said Ahsoka. “But just crazy enough that it might work. After all, my master was the expert in crazy schemes.”

“Yes, I suppose you did learn from the best. Well then, I suggest we all begin preparing. Tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day, no matter which way it turns out. May the Force be with us all.”

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Sixteen

Padmé took a long, deep breath. It had been years. Long, heart-wrenching, war-torn years. A long time ago, she had been a senator and a diplomat. Negotiation and diplomacy had been her weapons of choice. Now, somehow, she was a general, coordinating attacks and deploying troops, waging war against the most hated man in the galaxy—a man that she had once considered a mentor and a dear friend.

Padmé had only begun to realize that she shouldn’t be so surprised by where she had ended up. Her entire life had been war. Even as a newly-elected queen, war had found its way to the peaceful world of Naboo. She had hardly been a teenager then. She often wondered then if she was really ready for such responsibility. She still wondered.

But it didn’t matter now. The past was the past. The only thing she had the power to change now was the present. And now it was time for action. It was time for her son to come home.

Home. She wasn’t sure where that was, anymore. It had been Naboo. But now that was only a world tainted with sad memories. She hadn’t been back since the Clone War ended. After a while, Padmé just sort of accepted that she was now someone without a home. Like a Purrgil, drifting amid the stars.

But Luke had a home. At least, Padmé hoped Luke would still treat it like his home. For all its faults, Tatooine had kept her son safe for years. Hopefully it would again.

Until they all jumped right back into the danger.

The battered old Corellian YT-model freighter thundered down from the sky, kicking up a miniature sandstorm as it came to rest on the sand.

“It’s a wonder that thing still flies!” coughed Owen Lars.

Padmé’s reunion with the Lars family had been a much sweeter one than she had anticipated. In spite of the way that she had left things, running off in the middle of the night with their nephew and that “crazy old wizard.” They hadn’t spoken in years. For all they knew, Padmé and Luke were both dead, or left rotting in some Imperial prison.

But, as always, Owen and Beru brought Padmé back into their home with open hearts and tearful eyes. And Padmé forgot why she could have ever expected anything different.

When the dust had cleared and the roar of the freighter’s engines died off, Padmé’s heart leaped when the first pair of feet came strolling down the boarding ramp.

She hardly recognized him. She remembered leaving behind a little boy, blonde-haired and starry-eyed. Scared, but ready for adventure. He had returned now a young man, with a strong body and an even stronger resolve shining in his blue eyes.

He was dressed in Jedi robes, the long brown cloak flowing in the wind, his blonde hair shining in the light of the suns—his father’s lightsaber hanging at his waist.

Padmé broke down into tears. Because he looked just like Anakin.

Luke held his mother, and she let herself melt into his arms. The two wept together for a while, happy to just be together again.

“Oh, Luke,” Padmé sobbed. “I can’t believe I ever let you go.”

“It’s alright,” Luke said. “It’s okay. It was supposed to happen. It… well, this was my destiny.”

Padmé had never really understood the Force, at least not in the way that a Jedi did. But she had often heard them speak of destiny and the will of the Force. Now she prayed—to the Force, if it would listen—that destiny wasn’t going to lead them into disaster.

After a few minutes, Obi-Wan Kenobi exited the freighter, followed closely by the diminutive figure of Master Yoda.

Padmé finally pulled herself away and dried her tears, freeing Luke to greet his aunt and uncle. 

“Obi-Wan,” said Padmé. “It’s good to see you again.”

“And you as well,” he said, bowing slightly. “I was hoping that at least a few tears would be shed on my behalf, but—”

Padmé laughed. “I’m glad the swamp didn’t do much to weaken your sense of humor.”

 “That remains to be seen,” Obi-Wan replied. “But I am glad, at the very least, for a dry pair of boots.”

Padmé smiled down at Yoda, leaning on his gnarled wooden cane.

“Master Yoda,” she said.

“Your Highness,” he replied.

I am a queen no longer, she thought to reply. But she knew better than to argue with one as wise as Yoda. After all, she hadn’t lived for nine hundred years. So, she was just glad to let the warmth of his smile soften her war-hardened heart for a short, happy moment.

“Not too poorly, the war has treated you, I hope?” Yoda asked.

“As good as any war can treat someone, I suppose,” Padmé sighed. “There are worse days, and there are less worse days.”

Padmé laughed softly, but it was a sad laugh.

“But I don’t need to tell you that,” she said.

“Mmm,” Yoda grunted in reply, shaking his head. “A terrible thing, this war is. Much death have I sensed. Yes, and pain. Much pain still to come, I fear.”

“Well, if your plan really does work, Padmé, hopefully we stop this war before it really gets started,” said Obi-Wan.

“We’re going to need all the help we can get,” Padmé said. “Even three Jedi may not be enough. Which reminds me… Luke?”

He spun around, turning away from his embrace with his Aunt Beru.

“There’s … someone you need to meet,” Padmé said.

She walked up to her son, placing her hands on his shoulders, which were already almost too tall for her to reach.

“This may be hard for you to hear, and… I know you’re probably tired of so many secrets. But it was so important that this was kept a secret, even from you. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, I promise you. But it was the only way to keep the two of you safe.”

“I don’t understand—” Luke started to say.

“There is…” Padmé said. “There is another Skywalker.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed in confusion. Or was it surprise?

“What?” he gasped. 

Padmé looked toward the entrance of the old Lars homestead—the one that had been their home for more than a decade. She motioned for someone to come.

A young woman stepped out from the shade. She was dressed in a simple white robe, her hair done up in two elaborate buns on either side of her head. A white hood was draped gently over her head to shield her porcelain skin from the garish sunlight.

“Luke,” Padmé said. “This is your twin sister: Leia Organa, Princess of Alderaan.”

*****

“You know,” Luke said. “It’s funny.”

“How’s that?” Leia replied.

“How you got picked to be Princess of… what is it? Alderaan. And I got shipped off to Tatooine of all places, living on a moisture farm. You know, there’s not a kid in Mos Eisley that wouldn’t kill for a chance to set foot in a palace, let alone live in one.”

“Living in a palace isn’t really as glamorous as you think it is,” Leia said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure it’s really hard waking up to the butler bringing you breakfast in bed every day. I can’t even imagine how difficult it must be to step out of bed and wonder ‘which balcony shall I sit on to sip my tea today?’.”

Luke tried (rather poorly) to mimic the snooty sort of accent that he had heard many of the core-worlders and Imperial-types use.

Leia socked Luke in the arm. They both laughed.

The long-lost siblings sat alone together in one of the small cabins of the ship that was speedily carrying them back towards the fourth moon of Yavin. It was quiet, except for the dull vibration of the hyperdrive echoing through the cold, metal walls.

Leia sighed and shook her head.

“All this time,” she muttered. “I never knew I had a real family. I mean… my parents—”

“You mean Her Royal Highness, Queen of Alderaan?” Luke tried the accent again.

Leia shot him a look.

“My mom and dad,” she corrected. “Are my real family, of course. But I always thought my birth parents were dead. Then, a few years ago, I met Padm—er… my real mom. Our mom. But I had no idea who she was. Still, I always had this weird… feeling when I was around her. I don’t know... I don’t know how to describe it.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” said Luke.

“And then… I started getting involved with the Rebellion,” Leia continued. “My dad didn’t like it, but… it was where I belonged. I’ve been lucky enough to see behind the Imperial curtain, so to speak. I know what really goes on in the Empire. And I decided a long time ago that I can’t sit around and wait for someone else to stop it. Anyway… I saw mom around the Rebel base on Yavin a lot, at least whenever I was allowed to be there, which wasn’t often. I knew she was someone important. She hardly ever showed her face to anyone outside of High Command. Only a few people knew her name. It was only a couple weeks ago that I found out why. My dad just sat me down with her one day and explained the whole thing. That Padmé was my birth mother. That she was Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo. That I have a brother. That my father is—”

Leia choked on the words.

“Anakin Skwalker,” Luke finished for her. “Jedi Knight. That’s who our father was. Darth Vader is… something else.”

Leia sighed. “I cried and cried for days after that. I don’t know if it was happy or sad, or sometimes both. I was so excited to have this new family, but just so sad that I missed out on it all before. Eventually, I ran out of tears to cry. And now… now I just don’t know how to feel.”

Luke placed his hand on hers.

“Afraid,” he said. “That’s how I feel, anyway.”

“I thought Jedi weren’t supposed to be afraid,” Leia said.

Luke looked down at his feet, sheepishly. “Fear begets anger, anger begets hate, and hate begets suffering. It is natural to feel fear. It’s what you do with it that matters. Do you turn inward or do you turn outward? At least… that’s what Obi-Wan always says.”

“I’ve heard lots of stories from my dad about Master Kenobi. It’s kind of crazy that the hero from my old bedtime stories is sitting in the next cabin over.”

“And I never even knew he was a Jedi. All my life, he was just the old hermit that lived on the edge of the Dune Sea. Then, all of a sudden, he is a Jedi Master, and I am supposed to just leave everything behind and become a Jedi, too.”

“I’m sorry,” said Leia. “I really can’t imagine what that must have been like. Being so alone for so long…”

“Don’t be sorry. I guess I was scared for a while. And then I was angry for a while after that. But I wasn’t alone, not really. Obi-Wan and Yoda helped me. They made me into who I’m supposed to be.”

“You think it’ll be enough?” Leia asked.

“Enough for what?”

“Enough to win.”

“I… don’t know.”

The Skywalker siblings were quiet for a while.  The silence made it easy for the weight of everything that was about to happen start to sink in.

“Do you… do you think we’re going to make it through this?” Leia asked, clearly forcing back tears.

Luke didn’t say anything for a long time.

“I’ve been taught that I shouldn’t fear death,” he said at last. “That I should… how does Yoda put it? ‘Rejoice for those that transform into the Force.’ But… somehow… I know that we’re going to see dad again. And that’s all that matters.”

“How can you know?”

“A feeling.”

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Fifteen

Luke had long ago learned to tune out the noise of the swamp around him—the chittering birds and crawling things winding through the mud. He had learned to tune into the deeper sounds of the forest. The sound of the Force. The whole world resonated with it, beating loudly like a heartbeat. As he meditated, even his own essence melted away into the music of the Force. He was no longer an individual, but a part of the great universal Whole. He could sense things moving in and through the same Whole, giving him glimpses of the creatures in the forest, the trees and the rocks. Even the planet and the sun, and the other worlds of the system. As he let himself sink further into the Force, he began to see beyond the system, seeing the entire galaxy itself. He had never been this deep before. An almost overwhelming array of images and ideas passed through his mind, of people and things happening on thousands of different worlds. Fear began to boil up, a fear of being lost without an anchor. But he steadied himself, focusing in on one image in particular. He could see… his mother. She was with someone. A Togruta. The Empire was there. There was a fight. Danger.

Luke’s heart began to race. The images started to fade. He felt like he was falling, slipping down through the towering trees of Dagobah, failing to catch hold of any of the vines to stop his fall.

The vision broke. Luke slipped back into consciousness. The rocks and pebbles that had been orbiting around him suddenly dropped, forming a ring of stones around him. Luke fell to his knees, clutching his chest and trying to steady his breath.

“I’m sorry, masters,” Luke said through panting breaths. “I let my fear control me.”

“It’s alright,” said Obi-Wan. “Take control again. Calm yourself. Refocus your mind.”

Luke sat back again, folding his legs. He took a few long, deep breaths and tried to get back into his meditative trance. It wasn’t as deep as before, but he could still feel the currents of the Force surrounding him.

“What see you?” Yoda asked. 

“I see… my mother,” Luke said. “And another woman. A Togruta. I see a world of white. White and… red. Red crystals? My mother and the woman… they in danger. I sense… I sense pain. Fear.”

Luke’s heart began to race again. But this time he managed to calm himself.

“The… the danger has passed. The fear is gone. They… they are safe.”

Luke opened his eyes.

“You have done well, young one,” Obi-Wan said. “Your instincts serve you very well.”

“The other woman,” Luke said. “I could feel the Force very strongly in her. Is she a Jedi?”

Yoda and Obi-Wan shared a glance. Obi-Wan bowed his head.

“Lady Tano,” Yoda said, an air of reverence in his voice.

“Who is that?” Luke asked. “I thought that the two of you were the last Jedi in the galaxy.”

“A Jedi she is, no longer,” Yoda replied. “A painful memory of the failings of the Jedi. A lesson we must learn from her. Yes, from our failures.”

“I don’t understand,” Luke said.

“Ahsoka Tano,” said Obi-Wan. “Was the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker. Your father. The two were inseparable. She was very strong in the Force, and became a very powerful Jedi, even for her young age. She and her master were often… headstrong. They would often disobey my orders or the orders of the council. The two of them got in a lot of trouble in their day.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes sparkled, and a thin smile appeared beneath his scruffy beard. No doubt a lifetime of memories were running through his mind.

“But they always did well. They both saved my life multiple times. And together saved many worlds from falling into the hands of the enemy.”

“So what happened?” asked Luke.

“In the last months of the Clone War, someone planted a bomb in the Jedi Temple. During the investigation, it started to appear that Ahsoka was responsible. Eventually she was tried by a Republic tribunal and found guilty. The Council… agreed with the verdict. We had her expelled from the Jedi Order. Your father was furious, to say the least. He continued to investigate, against the wishes of the Council. But his efforts turned out to have paid off. He eventually found that another Padawan, Barriss Offee, was guilty of the crime. Ahsoka was aquitted, of course, but the damage was done. She refused our offer to return to the Order. She left. Your father was never quite the same after that. He never truly forgave himself. Or the Order.”

“Remember you this,” Yoda said. “The greatest teacher, failure is, my young Padawan. Perfect, the Jedi were not. Are not. Look at the mistakes of the past. Criticize them, do not. Learn from them. Do better. Old have we become. Beyond us, you must grow. Make better the future. A better Jedi you must be.”

“I could never be a better Jedi than you, master,” Luke said. Yoda reached over and rapped Luke on the head with the end of his cane.

“No. Better you must be. Your destiny this is. But worry not, young one. The Force is your ally. And a powerful ally it is. Your strength it will be.”

“Continue to trust in the Force as you have, Luke,” said Obi-Wan. “It will guide you. Shape you like a piece of clay. You only need to make yourself moldable. But you will become a great Jedi, if that is what you desire in your heart. To bring balance to the Force.” 

Look stood, squaring his shoulders.

“More than anything.”

Obi-Wan smiled. He put a friendly hand on Luke’s shoulder.

“Good,” he said. He closed his eyes. Luke could feel Obi-Wan entering his mind, and then withdraw after only a few moments.

“You are ready for your trial.”

*****

“I feel… cold,” said Luke. The dark opening of the cave seemed to open wide before him, trying to swallow him whole. A cold wind blew up from the unknowable depths of the cave, but the chill was more than just wind. It was something deeper. Something living. 

“I sense death,” Luke whispered.

“That place,” said Yoda, pointing with his cane as he sat on a fallen log. “Is strong with the Dark Side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go.”

Luke looked back into the maw of the chasm, then back to his master. He could feel something inside. Some kind of unknowable presence, hidden in the shadows.

“What’s in there?” Luke asked.

“Only what you bring with you,” Yoda replied.

Luke wasn’t quite sure at first what he meant. But he had grown used to Yoda’s cryptic sayings. He looked back to the cave, then down to his belt, where his lightsaber hung. The soft song of the kyber crystal inside whistled sweetly at him through the Force. 

Luke ran his hand along the warm, living metal of the weapon before pulling it off his belt and offering it to Yoda. The old Jedi took it. It looked almost comically large in his small hands. He set it down gently on the log beside him, almost like he would a child. Yoda nodded softly. It was time.

Luke stepped forward, beginning his climb down into the cave, gripping the vines and tangled branches to avoid slipping on the damp rocks. It grew darker and darker as he descended, the chill more and more bitter. Every second, fear tried to break its way into his heart. But Luke had trained for this moment. He had felt the Dark Side before. He had beat it then. He would beat it now.

He reached the bottom of the cavern. He could see virtually nothing with his eyes, but little more even with the Force. The presence of the Dark Side was so strong it was blinding.

He felt another presence approaching, and then he saw him, stepping through the mist. It was a tall, handsome-looking man, dressed in traditional Jedi robes. His hair was long and fell elegantly over his shoulders. A small scar cut across his right eye.

“Who are you?” Luke asked. But then he looked down at the man’s belt, at the lightsaber that hung there. A lightsaber he knew well.

“Father,” Luke said, a lump forming in his throat. He stepped forward, moving to embrace the father he had never met. But Anakin put up a hand to stop him.

“Not yet,” he said in a kind voice.

“I don’t understand,” Luke said.

“There are things you need to know first.”

“What things?”

A sudden sadness passed over his father’s face. A sadness that transformed into fear and then finally into anger, all within an instant. The Dark Side presence Luke had felt surrounded his father until it had completely consumed him. 

Anakin’s face burned with rage. The cave itself seemed to glow red with the light of fire and brimstone. Anakin’s stance shifted to into a fighting posture as he drew his lightsaber. 

“Father?” Luke’s voice trembled. 

Anakin said nothing. He activated his lightsaber. Instead of the familiar, blue glow, the cave filled with a bloody, crimson light.

Luke didn’t know what to say. He felt only fear and confusion.

Anakin ground his teeth. He charged forward, lightsaber raised to strike. Luke reached for his own to defend himself, but his hand found only an empty belt loop.

“No!” he screamed, covering his face with his arms. His father was upon him now, his lightsaber buzzing loudly as it cut through the air. He prepared himself for the burning blade to cut through him, too. But it never did.

Luke looked up. His father was gone. The presence of the Dark Side was receding, but never left entirely. Somewhere in the distance, an evil, whispery cackle echoed through the cave that made Luke’s blood freeze colder than ice.

He waited for something else to happen, some other apparition, but none came. Something compelled him to leave. He knew there was nothing else for him here.

Luke clambered back out of the cave, grateful for the light and warmth, trying to process everything he had seen and heard, and not quite sure he wanted to accept what it all seemed to be telling him.

When he emerged, a little muddier now, his two masters were waiting for him, expectantly. But something in their faces told Luke that they somehow knew everything that happened.

“Is… is my father…” Luke started, but his words stopped in his throat. It couldn’t be. It simply couldn’t be true. It was impossible.  

Luke drew a breath and steadied himself.

“Darth Vader,” he said. “Is my father.”

*****

Luke almost spent more time in those next few weeks in meditation than he had in the previous four years he had lived on Dagobah. It wasn’t deep meditation. His mind could never find enough focus, his heart could never free itself of conflict.

Why did they lie? 

Luke couldn’t stop the question from playing over and over in his mind. He had trusted them. But they lied. So many times he had to quench the sparks of anger that had begun to ignite within himself. But most of the time the void was just filled with disappointment. 

Did my mother know? Did she lie to me?

Luke finally gave up. It was clear that meditation wasn’t going to happen today. He opened his eyes and stood, surveying the Dagobah swamps from his perch high above on the branch of one of the largest trees. This had been one of his favorite places to meditate for a long time.

He used the vines to let himself down onto the muddy forest floor and began the trek back towards Yoda’s hut. A small stream of smoke poured out from the chimney, and the round windows glowed with a warmth that offered an inviting respite from the mugginess of the afternoon.

But Luke stopped just before the door. He couldn’t bring himself to go inside. It wasn’t quite home anymore.

“We are sorry, Luke,” said Obi-Wan. Luke had been so distracted that he hadn’t sensed his master approaching.

Luke turned over his shoulder.

“Why?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Luke turned around to face Obi-Wan after he didn’t receive an answer.

“You told me that Vader betrayed and murdered my father.”

Luke could see the regret in Obi-Wan’s eyes. The old man sat down on a nearby log.

“Your father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force,” Obi-Wan said. “He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I have told you was true... from a certain point of view.”

“From a certain point of view?” Luke scoffed, incredulous.

“Luke,” Obi-Wan continued. “You’ll find that many of the truths we cling to depend entirely on our point of view. But I don’t blame you for being angry. If I was wrong, it wouldn’t be for the first time. It is as Yoda said. Even the Jedi are imperfect. You are meant to grow beyond us by learning from our failures. And… Darth Vader is one of mine.”

Obi-Wan sighed sadly.

“Anakin was a good friend. When I first met him, I and my master were amazed at how strongly the Force was with him. After Qui-Gon was killed, I took it upon myself to train him. I thought I could train him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong. I was no match for the anger growing within Anakin. By the time I realized what was happening… it was too late. He had already destroyed everything. Including himself.”

“In my vision…” Luke said, “I saw Anakin first. Not Vader. Does that mean there’s still good in him?”

“I don’t know,” Obi-Wan said. “He’s more machine now than man. Twisted and evil. But I believe that you are meant to face him. Yoda agrees. This is your destiny.”

Luke shook his head.

“I can’t kill my own father,” he said.

“Then… I fear the Emperor has already won. You were our last hope to defeat the Sith.”

Luke wasn’t sure what to think. His negative feelings had, thankfully, seemed to dissipate. But the conflict was still there. He had felt the kindness within Anakin. It had been consumed by hatred, but still there was some part that had survived. He had felt it. It was only a vision, but surely that meant something.

“There is good in him,” Luke said. “I will face Darth Vader. But I will see Anakin Skywalker again.”

[swinfinities]

Updates

I don’t know who actually cares anymore since it’s been forever since I’ve posted anything here. But here’s Part 14! Enjoy! 

Also I just finished my degree! So I should have time to write a lot more regularly from now on.

Long Live the Queen is close to reaching its resolution (I think). My plans right now for the next story is one I’ve been working on under the title As Father and Son, in which R2-D2 and C-3PO never make it from the Tantive IV to the surface of Tatooine. Luke Skywalker never encounters his sister’s call for help. He ends up joining the Empire and training as a pilot at Skystrike Academy and is eventually reunited with his father he long thought dead.  I’ve also got plans to include Grand Admiral Thrawn in this one in a somewhat minor role.

I haven’t started writing any others, but I have some ideas for other upcoming installments: 

Qui-Gon Jinn survives the duel with Darth Maul.

Mace Windu murders Darth Sidious, and Anakin never becomes Darth Vader.

Obi-Wan is defeated on Mustafar, and so Darth Vader never ends up in the suit.

I’m also open to suggestions for story ideas! I’m pretty sure there’s a way to do that through the blog, or you can just message me.

Hope y’all keep enjoying the story!

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Fourteen

Padmé eased the shuttle out of hyperspace. She, R2-D2, and C-3PO were her only passengers. Far below them lay a whitish orb—the mineral planet Crait. It was a barren wasteland that had been turned into a remote mining outpost, that had later been abandoned and used as a base by one of Bail’s secret rebel cells. That base had been abandoned, too, and now Crait was back to being a barren wasteland. The perfect place for a secret meeting, thought Padmé.

Padmé carefully guided the shuttle towards the coordinates that Mon had given her. With some help from R2, of course. The craft zipped over the featureless, white surface. Nothing but endless blank fields of salt, as far as the eye could see. Padmé wondered for a moment if she hadn’t received the wrong set of coordinates. No, there it is. A dark mountain range appeared on the horizon. As they approached, Padmé could see a gap at the base of one of the mountains—a great chasm carved out of the stone years ago. It was partially covered by a massive, rusting door that was, other than the handful of dusty turrets protruding from the salty plains, the only line of defense against any would-be intruders into the long-forgotten mines.

But there was no one here to guard it now. The whole planet was silent. Padmé eased off the throttle. The shuttle slid gently under the narrow gap beneath the shield door. A small pack of crystal-furred creatures scampered away at the sudden noise of the shuttle’s engines echoing through the man-made cave.

“Watch after the ship, 3PO,” said Padmé as the ship settled down onto the floor of the mine hangar. “R2, you’re with me.”

The mines were drier than bone, and smelled thickly of age. Rusted computer consoles and tangled wires and pipes winding up and through the many tunnels gave the impression that the mines had been abandoned quickly and hastily. The rebels’ operations here hadn’t been extensive—they had used the mines for storage of ships and equipment, and tried to monitor the Empire’s communications throughout the Outer Rim. But Imperial forces had come dangerously close to discovering their outpost, and so were forced to abandon it. At least, that’s how Bail explained it. It had been years since Crait had been left to gather dust once again, before Padmé had begun to get involved with rebel affairs.

The only sounds within the cave was the whistle of wind through the open door and the soft tinkling of the crystalline foxes retreating into their holes. R2 whistled nervously. 

“Do your scanners pick up anything?” Padmé asked. R2 bleeped a reply and turned down into one of the branching tunnels, lined with sparkling, red crystals. The droid led them into an old storage room, still packed with long-forgotten crates of goods.

Something stirred in the shadows. Padmé’s hand went to the blaster at her hip. The shape of two pointed horns appeared from behind a stack of crates. Ahsoka Tano stepped into the dim light.

Padmé breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad you could make it,” said Ahsoka. “I’m sorry for all the cloak and dagger. But people like us… well, let’s just say that there’s a lot of people in the Empire who want to see us dead.”

“No, I understand,” said Padmé. “This place just gives me the creeps. It reminds me too much of the catacombs of Geonosis.”

Ahsoka nodded, not needing to tell her about the horrors that they had both witnessed there, on the planet that had first set the galaxy ablaze in war.

“It’s good to see you again, Padmé,” said Ahsoka. “It’s been too long. I wish we could see each other more often.”

Padmé smiled. “Just like old times. It seemed like the Clone War would never let us stay in one place for more than a day. I guess things haven’t really changed. But at the same time… everything has.”

“So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?” asked Ahsoka.

Padmé sat down on one of the crates. She thought she had prepared for this conversation. Now she wasn’t so sure if she was ready or not.

“Our rebellion has been growing more bold. But so has the Empire. With every small victory we win, the Empire is right behind us to steal it back. With Anakin—sorry, with Darth Vader’s appearances growing more frequent, I can’t help but think that we need to change our strategy if this rebellion has any hope of survival.”

“What do you propose?” said Ahsoka. “And why talk to me alone? Why not to Mon or Bail?”

“Because what I’m thinking isn’t something that they can help us with. This is something that you and I can do. And Luke. And Leia.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that we turn the Emperor’s greatest weapon against him.”

“Surely you don’t mean—”

“I do.”

“Padmé,” Ahsoka said. “I want to see Anakin come back as much as you do. But from everything that we’ve heard, I… I just—”

Her voice trailed off.

“Anakin Skywalker is dead,” said Ahsoka. A tear rolled down her cheek.

“No,” said Padmé. “I can’t believe it. There is good in him. I know it. There has to be. And we are the only ones that can remind him of that.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Ahsoka said gravely. “He will kill you. He will kill your children.”

Padmé paused in silence for a while. “I died fifteen years ago on Mustafar,” she said finally. “I can’t make this choice for you. I won’t make it for my children, either. But I need to face Anakin again. I only ask that you help me get close to him. To give me a chance.”

Ahsoka sighed. “Of course I’ll help you. But I can do more than that. There’s no way I’m letting you face the most dangerous man in the galaxy without some help. I’ll go with you.”

R2 buzzed. His head spun around wildly.

Padmé shot to her feet. She saw Ahsoka reach for her lightsabers.

“What is it, R2?” Padmé asked. The droid whirled around and sped out of the storage room and back towards the main hangar.

Padmé pulled out her comlink. “3PO? What’s going on?”

“Sensors indicate that are several ships approaching from the south,” came the reply. Padmé’s heart stopped.

“Imperial?” she asked.

“Too difficult to tell, m’lady,” 3PO answered. “The sensor signal is having trouble getting through the walls of the mine.”

“Well, let’s hope that works to our advantage,” Padmé said. Shut everything down. Go totally quiet. Get out of there and find somewhere to hide with R2. No more using the comlink. Totally silent, alright? Let’s hope whoever it is leaves us alone without digging too deep.”

“I doubt it’s going to be that easy,” Ahsoka replied. “One of us must have tripped a hidden sensor or something coming in.”

“It could just be a routine patrol,” said Padmé, hopeful.

“Either way, we’re likely in for a fight. You have your blaster?”

Padmé drew her weapon from its holster.

“I think the last time I left home without it, I was still queen of Naboo.”

Ahsoka smiled. “It really is like old times, then.”

“Yes. Except back then, the white armor was on our side.”

“We’d better get hidden,” said Ahsoka, snapping back into battle mode. “I think I saw a control room that overlooks the main chamber. That might make a good sniper nest. I’ll find somewhere to hide in the hangar. The element of surprise will probably be our best weapon.”

“Why don’t we try to shut the blast door?” asked Padmé. 

“That would trap them out, sure,” Padmé replied. “But we’d trap ourselves inside, too.”

“So it looks like we fight,” said Padmé.

“Just like old times.”

*****

Padmé waited silently in the control room, overlooking the thin opening of the blast door and their shuttle, parked in the middle of the hangar. Ahsoka was down there somewhere, waiting to spring on whoever it was that was coming. 

The sunlight streaming under the door was suddenly broken by something approaching. The sound of a ship’s engine rumbled through the air, followed by the scream of Imperial TIE fighters.

Padmé cursed under her breath. She had hoped—foolishly, maybe—that it had just been pirates or smugglers looking for a place to land. At least with them, there might be a chance they could talk their way out of it. But not with Imperials. There was no way that this wasn’t ending with a fight.

More shadows appeared under the door. Long and slender ones. Two… three… five shadows total. The chatter of Imperial stormtroopers echoed around the cave.

Padmé steadied her hand, and focused on her breathing. At least she had the advantage of lighting on her side—she was hidden in shadow while the stormtroopers would be perfectly outlined by the bright sunlight behind them.

The first pair of Imperial boots hit the surface of the deck, followed by the rest. The squad of troopers swept the points of their blasters around, searching for any sign of movement.

Padmé lined up the sights of her weapon. She put her finger on the trigger, but didn’t fire. Not yet. When, though? She could kill one, maybe two. But then her location would be revealed. Should I wait for Ahsoka? 

The stormtroopers noticed Padmé’s shuttle. Two of them followed their commander’s orders and broke off to inspect it. 

She saw more movement down in the hangar. It wasn’t Ahsoka, though. There was a brief glint of light off a metallic dome. 

R2-D2! What are you doing? She wanted to scream. That droid was going to give them away! She ducked back down behind cover and pulled out her comlink. But any words she tried to say were drowned out by an explosion of noise within the hangar. Padmé jumped back up. The shuttle’s engines had been lit, spewing smoke and red-hot exhaust.

Two of the stormtroopers were knocked off their feet. The other three opened fire, throwing a fusillade of blaster fire at the shuttle. The shots popped and pinged off the hull, bursting in showers of sparks.

Padmé realized that the troopers’ backs were turned to her. She lifted her weapon and lined up the sights.

R2, you clever droid, she thought to herself. She took a shot. The stormtrooper commander crumpled to the ground. The troopers to either side of him suddenly turned their attention to their dead commander. Padmé wished she could see the looks on their faces. 

“Contact rear!” one of them shouted, searching for the place where the shot originated. Padmé fired again, dropping another trooper. She fired again. The shot glanced off his shoulder armor. 

“Up there! In the control booth!” a trooper exclaimed. Suddenly, Padmé had three rifles aimed straight at her. She ducked downward just as a dozen blaster bolts buzzed over her head. 

She was pinned, with no way to move. It wouldn’t take long before the troopers found their way to the control booth entrance. They were probably already on their way. Staying low to the floor, Padmé crawled her way over to a rusty computer console covered in a layer of red dust, putting the console between herself and the doorway. She crouched low, holding her weapon high, ready for the stormtroopers to come running around the corner.

Suddenly, the unmistakable snap-hiss of an igniting lightsaber echoed through the mines. The barrage of blaster fire though the window stopped, and a dozen voices started crying out. A low vibration thrummed in the air, buzzing with electric energy and cutting through the screams and bursts of blasters.

Padmé gathered up enough courage to crawl back toward the window, peeking over the console just enough to get a glimpse of the hangar below. The bay was ablaze with light—red streaks of blaster fire from the stormtroopers crissed and crossed every which way around the hangar, bursting in flashes of flame against the walls and floors, filling the air with dust and smoke and ozone. Mixed somewhere in the middle of the crossfire were two blades of blinding white—the lightsabers of Ahsoka Tano. The blades twisted and spun through the air, blocking the laser bolts or cleaving straight through the Imperial soldiers. The former Jedi moved with a grace and precision that, from Padmé’s perspective, could only be described as supernatural. She was so engrossed in the performance that she never even thought to raise her own blaster to help. Only a few minutes later, with a downward slice of one of Ahsoka’s sabers, the last stormtrooper was down. She still stood poised to strike for a few more moments. She checked over her shoulder, making sure that no one was left to shoot at her.

“All clear?” Padmé shouted.

Ahsoka deactivated her lightsabers and returned them to her belt. She waved up at Padmé in the booth. Padmé stood and holstered her weapon before running back down into the hangar bay to join Ahsoka. They both stayed to one side, hiding in the shadows from anyone still inside the Imperial shuttle parked outside. The angular shadows of TIE fighters weaved across the salt flats, in pursuit of Padmé’s shuttle, piloted by R2-D2. The droid was a good pilot, Padmé knew, but she knew that he wouldn’t be able to outmaneuver the TIEs for long in an old, sluggish cargo hauler. 

“Any ideas,” Padmé asked.

“One,” Ahsoka replied. “But I make no promises about it being a good one.”

“Right now, I’m not sure we have the luxury of being picky.”

“Well, these TIEs don’t have hyperdrives, which means there must be some kind of carrier in orbit. Probably just a small one. If can get to my ship, I should be able to outrun the TIEs and head straight for the cruiser. The TIEs, or at least most of them, should be ordered to fall back to defend. That should give R2 enough time to come back and pick you up, and then we can make the jump back to base once you’re in the air. Sound like a plan?”

Padmé nodded, and Ahsoka ran off down one of the corridors. A few moments later, a slender, dagger-shaped shadow joined the TIEs in the sky. The Imperial shuttle raised its ramp and took off into the air after it.

“Heads up,” Padmé said into her comlink. “It looks like the shuttle’s following you.”

“Even better,” Ahsoka said. “Two of the TIEs will need to stay behind as an escort. Imperial protocol. That’s two fewer TIEs shooting at us.”

“R2,” Padmé called again. “Can you swing down to pick me up?” The droid whistled a nervous reply. 

The familiar rumble of the shuttle’s engines started to roar louder and louder. It was coming in fast. Suddenly it was there at the opening of the blast door, the retro-thrusters and repulsorlifts straining to slow it down and keep the ship from slamming into the ground. One of the pursuing TIEs wasn’t so lucky—its starboard wing clipped the ground, snapping the joint free from the cockpit before exploding in a bloom of fire. 

Padmé sprinted toward the open boarding ramp, not even bothering to get all the way inside before she yelled at the droid to take off. She threw herself into the pilot seat, pushing the throttle to its maximum. Alarms blared in her ears. The scanner still showed three TIE fighters in close pursuit. Emerald laser bolts streaked past the forward viewport, occasionally scoring a hit, making the craft shake and shudder and lighting up a whole new set of alarms across the console.

“I’ve got three on my tail. My shields are down to forty percent” Padmé called to Ahsoka. “What’s your status?”

“Just like I guessed. An Imperial light cruiser. I don’t have enough firepower to do much real damage, but I can at least outrun their turbolasers until you get here.”

“If I ever make it there. My port-side engine is about to blow.”

“Just… hold on!” Ahsoka cried back.

If Anakin were here, Padmé thought, he could have out-flown these TIEs in a heartbeat. But she was no Anakin Skywalker. She wasn’t even a descent fighter pilot. She veered to one side and the other, trying desperately to avoid the barrage of laser fire coming from behind. R2 buzzed something about the shields dropping below 25 percent.

“I don’t want to hear it, R2,” she said through clenched teeth. “Get ready, though. I think I have an idea. Get the cannon ready. I’m trusting you to aim. Ready.”

R2 chirped.

“Here goes nothing!” Padmé cried, grabbing the throttle and pulling it all the way back. Her stomach did a flip as the ship started falling, not flying, through the air.

The TIE fighters shot past. One veered suddenly to the right to avoid colliding with the shuttle, but his wingman didn’t veer with him. The two ships collided and disintegrated into fire and ash, peppering the shuttle’s viewport with bits of shrapnel.

“Now, R2!” Padmé ordered.

The droid took control of the shuttles single, low-powered laser cannon and opened fire on the last remaining ship. Even this little cannon was enough to tear through the shield-less TIE’s hull. One of the wings sheared off, sending the ship spiraling out of control. It disappeared out of view, and eventually flickered off of the scanner as it collided with the ground, far below.

Padmé pushed the throttle back forward, and the shuttle started powering upward again towards the blackness of space.

Padmé sat back in her seat and let out a long breath.

“That… went better than expected,” Padmé said.

R2 whistled and bleeped.

“I realize that it was dangerous, but I didn’t see you offering any better ideas,” Padmé replied. “You still there, Ahsoka?”

“Just having the time of my life,” she replied, her voice coming through crackled and full of static. “The coordinates for the jump are ready when you are. Sending them over now.”

A light chirruped on the console of the shuttle. Another screen displayed the hyperspace coordinates. R2 chimed happily.

“Whenever you are,” Padmé replied, “Punch it.”

The pinprick-lights of the stars spread out as the hyperdrive activated, leaving Crait and the Empire light-years behind.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Thirteen

                                                                                              Four years later

Padmé gently daubed the sweat from her forehead with a white handkerchief. She still wasn’t used to the humidity of the fourth moon of Yavin. After a decade in the thin, dry air of Tatooine, this jungle should have seemed like an oasis. But it felt more like drowning with every breath. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever really been dry since she arrived here.

A small hovercraft sped by, on its way back into the ancient temple that this fledgling group of rebels had converted into their base. Most of the soldiers on the transport offered a stiff nod toward Padmé as they passed. Some of the younger ones gave awkward salutes. It made Padmé cringe inwardly, but she kept a smile on her face and nodded back to her troops. She didn't like salutes. She never wanted to be seen as a military leader. She was, first and foremost, a diplomat, not a warrior. But as a leader of this rebellion (or whatever it was that you would call a bunch of fed-up farmers, bankers, and engineers with guns) acting as a general instead of a senator was unavoidable. Some of the other leaders—Dodonna, Raddus, even Senator Organa—weren’t as afraid to get their hands dirty, and Padmé was thankful for that. And of course, there was Ahsoka, known to all but a very select few as Fulcrum. She was always off somewhere, fighting unknown dangers and finding those who were willing to speak up against the Empire. Padmé had nothing but respect for her old Jedi friend but certainly did not envy her. Padmé’s place was here, serving among her people, not on a battlefield.

Soft footsteps approached from behind. Padmé knew those steps—each footfall was deliberate, calculated, but so smooth it was as if the feet simply glided over the pavement like a boat over water. It was the product of a lifetime of practiced poise and elegance.

“Senator Mothma,” Padmé greeted the fiery-haired woman as she approached.

“Good morning, Padmé.” Mon Mothma replied. More than anyone else, Padmé knew, this woman carried the weight of this rebellion on her shoulders. It showed. She always put on a strong face (and, indeed, she was strong) but in her eyes, a deep-seated sadness and pain had begun to show. Already, there had been so many losses and so few victories.

“Any news from Lothal?” Padmé asked.

“Yes,” Mon replied. “But it isn’t particularly good news. According to Fulcrum’s reports, our friends on Lothal have been forced to flee. Governor Tarkin has ordered a blockade of the entire system. I’m afraid we are shut out of that sector for the time being.”

Padmé sighed heavily. “You’re right. That isn’t good news,” she said. “Were there many losses?”

“Blessedly few, considering our opponent.”

“What do you mean?”

“Darth Vader.”

The air around them suddenly turned from stifling heat to ice cold.

“Vader? Vader was on Lothal? This is his first appearance in months and he attacks Lothal? Does Ahsoka know?”

“She does. She was able to successfully direct a rendezvous between the Lothal group and Phoenix Squadron. But yes, Vader’s appearance is… unexpected. But I prefer to think of it as something of a good sign. It means that our actions are starting to draw the Emperor’s attention. It means that he is beginning to see us as a threat.”

“It also means that the fighting is only going to get worse from now on.”

“It will. But someday, perhaps, all the fighting will mean something. Until then, we must keep pressing on.”

Padmé was silent. She shook her head softly. She just couldn’t push the images out of her head—images of Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, a noble warrior, and a decorated general. Her husband. But now he was out there somewhere, murdering children, burning villages, and decimating armies of soldiers that Padmé herself had sent to their deaths. Maybe there was something she could have done, some words she could have said to stop him from going down this path. Would Anakin still be here if she could only have loved him just a little more?

No. Padmé stopped such a dangerous thought before it could really begin. Every so often, these sorts of thoughts would try to creep in, trying to lay hold on her mind like the choking roots of a noxious weed. But she was always able to pull them out before they did any damage.

So far, anyway.

“I want to talk to Ahsoka,” Padmé said.

“Of course,” Mon replied. “I’ll have Bail set up a call—”

“No. No calls. No more secret transmissions. I need to see her in person. We need to talk.”

“About what, may I ask?”

Padmé paused. A plan—or at least the beginnings of one—was forming in her mind. To what end, she didn’t yet know, but she knew it could lead to something important.

“About Anakin,” she said.

The corners of Mon Mothma’s lips turned up slightly, the closest thing anyone could call a smile from the senator.

“My dear friend, you do not answer to me. You may do as you wish. I only ask that you travel in secret. We cannot risk you being discovered. Not after everything we’ve built. Not after we just got you back. Frankly, it’s a miracle that the Emperor hasn’t discovered you yet. If he were to find out you are still alive—”

“You needn’t remind me, Mon.”

“I’m only asking you to be careful.”

“I will. I’ll wear a disguise. I’ll have Reymus take me in his old Starhopper. We’ll be invisible.”

“Of course. I’ve learned by now to never doubt you, Padmé. Fare thee well. And may the Force be with you.”

“And may the Force be with you, Senator Mothma.”

*****

There is no emotion, there is peace.

A stone coming at chest. Swing left. Block.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

Another stone, coming at head. Swing up. Block.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

From behind now. Swing. Block.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

Two stones. Duck one. Swing down. Block.

There is no death. There is only the Force.

Luke Skywalker repeated the mantra in his head. He was blindfolded, yet he could see through his mind’s eye the stones flung in his direction. His father’s lightsaber felt alive in his hands. The weapon swung effortlessly, hanging on the invisible eddies of the Force. Back and forth it swayed, the vibrant blue blade meeting each stone midair, cleaving them in two.

There is no death, there is only the Force, Luke repeated in his mind. Around him, everything was alive, singing aloud with the same voice, the same harmony that rang throughout the universe. It was the song of the Force. He had learned to hear it. He was just now beginning to learn how to sing with it.

And yet there was something else drumming behind the song. Not singing, no. Something discordant. Chaotic. Less a pleasing hymn and more a scream of agony. It was the Dark Side. Luke had felt it before, creeping through the Force like a dank fog.

Luke thought he could see a figure emerging through the mist. Something tall and broad, like a lumbering monster. The thing was steeped in the Darkness—it dripped with it, oozing hate and anger from every pore of its miserable body.

“V-Vader,” Luke said, through trembling lips.

He opened his eyes. The song of the Force fell silent as his concentration is broken. A large stone hit him right in the gut. Luke doubled over in pain. He could see Yoda drop his head in disappointment.

Again.

Obi-Wan walked over to him, helping Luke up out of the mud. Luke stood. He was taller now. Nearly as tall as Obi-Wan. He had grown broader, too. Stronger. His face was now less than that of a boy, and more of a man.

“You saw him again?” Obi-Wan asks, but it isn’t much of a question.

“More and more now,” Luke replied. “Sometimes it almost feels like every day.”

“It is a troubling time for you, Luke,” said Obi-Wan. “Your strength in the Force is growing. The Dark Side is beginning to tempt you. Every day, it will try to pull you in, to bend you to its will.”

“So how do I defeat it?” Luke asked.

Yoda chuckled at that.

“Defeat it?” Yoda said. “Defeat the Dark Side, you cannot. Defeat yourself, you must.”

“But Master Yoda, what does that mean?”

Yoda shook his head softly.

“Explain this lesson, words cannot. Learn through the Force, you must.”

“What are you saying, Master?” Obi-Wan asked. “Do you think he is ready?”

Yoda closed his eyes, meditating for a few moments.

“Ready, the boy may never be,” Yoda said, opening his eyes and looking at his student. “But time it is.”

“Time for what?” Luke asked.

“For your trial,” answered Obi-Wan. “The final trial on the path to becoming a Jedi knight.”

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Twelve

“So, when do I get to start learning how to use a lightsaber?” asked Luke.

“In time, young Skywalker, in time,” replied Yoda. The two of them slowly meandered down a muddy path that led deeper into the swamp. The myriad creatures of Dagobah chirped and chattered all around them.

Eventually Luke could see far enough through the fog to make out that they were coming up on a small clearing. The floor was flat and bare, other than a thin blanket of dead, wet leaves. A small pond sat at the other end, the green water burbling softly.

“Now, sit,” Yoda said when they had reached the middle of the small glade. The diminutive green alien plopped himself down on the ground, sitting cross-legged with his hands in his lap.

“Sit?” Luke asked.

“Sit!” the Jedi repeated.

Luke slowly sat himself down across from Yoda, crossing his legs like his teacher.

“Now what?” Luke asked.

“Mmm,” Yoda grumbled. “Patience, my young Padawan. Soon, all things will become clear.”

“But I don’t even know what that is supposed to mean—”

“Mean? Mean? Seek for meaning in all things, must you? Hm. Many things simply are. There is no why. This is the way of things. The way of the Force.”

“Okay… but—”

“Wish you to become a Jedi, young Skywalker?”

“Yes.”

“Then listen, you will.”

“Y-yes, master. I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. Only listen.”

Luke was quiet now. Luke wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to do, other than not talk. So that was all he did.

As they sat in silence, Luke’s mind started to wander, imagining as he always did that he was in the cockpit of some sleek racer, flying through the clouds and leaving the other pilots behind in his exhaust. Then he was masterfully dodging left and right, narrowly avoiding death as he zipped through a dense asteroid field. Now he was flying through the explosive plume that used to be an enemy starfighter that he had just blasted—

Yoda softly grumbled to himself.

“Heard you not what I said, young Skywalker?” he said.

“You said to listen, master,” Luke replied. “But you never said anything.”

“Listen to me, did I say? No! Just listen, said I. To the Force, you listen.”

“Okay… teach me how,” Luke said. Yoda smiled.

“Teach you this, I cannot. Close your eyes. Listen. Let the Force teach you. The Force knows all things. This old man… knows little does he.”

“Okay,” said Luke. “I’ll try.”

“No!” Yoda interjected. “Try not. Do—or do not. There is no try.”

Luke was still confused, but he thought he might as well try—or… do? At any rate, he closed his eyes again. He tried not to let his mind wander, but just to listen. First he focused on the sounds of the swamp around him; the squawks of the birds, the burbling water, the hissing snakes. A soft breeze came through that rustled the damp leaves of the trees. Somewhere, aways off, water slowly dripped from a branch, making a quiet pitter-patter against the mud.

Then everything changed. The sounds he heard were no longer just noise but somehow turned into images in his mind. He heard the quiet scuttle of dead leaves on the ground, and suddenly he could see the image of a lizard scurrying away under a rock. The image wasn’t quite clear, but more like a thought or an idea that vanished as quickly as it appeared. When he heard the call of a bird, he could see the color in its feathers, and even the eggs in the nest where it was softly roosting. When he heard the wind in the trees, he could somehow see the air itself, moving back and forth, flowing and ebbing like a living creature.

Luke tried to take a mental step back, to get a view of it all from above like the way he could view his uncle’s moisture farm from the cockpit of his T-16. He tried to focus less on the individual sounds and noises, and more on the picture that all these sounds painted. When he did, for a brief moment, he thought he could see the whole swamp—no… the whole world? He could see every tree, every nesting bird in its branches, every leaf and every drop of dew and every stone and every insect. This whole world pulsed like a beating heart, waxing and waning between life, death, birth, and death again. The noise of it all was almost unbearable. This whole world screamed with a noise that Luke heard not with his ears, but with some deeper sense, buried somewhere in his soul.  

The picture that he saw continued to expand, growing larger and larger until the planet Dagobah and its parent star were just a tiny point of light, indistinguishable from the other millions of stars in the sky. The voids between the stars seemed to pulse with the same energy as before, as if the universe itself were alive and breathing, the countless souls of countless worlds seemed to breathe with it, moving smoothly and endlessly between light and dark, life and death. And between it all… was balance. A Force.

But the images were fleeting. The vision started to fade quickly as his newfound senses struggled to find a grip. His body felt like it was falling, further and further downward as reality came back into view.

Luke’s body tensed in pain as metaphysical senses dulled and physical ones took control. The sights, scents, and sounds of the swamps of Dagobah suddenly flooded Luke’s mind, struggling to comprehend it all at once.

When Luke finally came to, he was looking up. Some branches of trees swayed lazily through a thin layer of fog. Luke sat up and rubbed his head. Yoda was still sitting in front of him, smiling like he knew something that no one else did. Obi-Wan had arrived, too, and was standing over Yoda, hands tucked into the muddy sleeves of his robes.

“What was that?” Luke groaned. Now the vision seemed like little more than a strange dream, already fading now that he was awake.

A faint smile twisted the edges of Obi-wan’s greying beard.

“Your first steps into a larger world.”

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Eleven

Four months. She counted every day. Four long months since Padmé had left Tatooine. Four months away from her son. Four months of seclusion within the walls of her chamber in the palace of Alderaan. While the room was large and luxurious, especially compared to what she was used to on Tatooine, and she could never say that Bail and Breha did not do everything in their power to ensure she was comfortable and taken care of, after so many days alone, her room began to feel much more like a prison. Every day, she was forced to hear the sound of her young daughter laughing and playing all through the palace, and never once was she allowed to see her. While Padmé herself agreed that it was best to remain unseen, to her this was the worst kind of torture there was.

Someone knocked on the door. Padmé forced herself out of the bed and looked through the small peephole to see who it was.

Her heart jumped when she saw that was Bail. He was a rare visitor to her chambers, even when he was home on Alderaan. She understood, perhaps better than anyone in the palace besides his wife, that his duties as viceroy and senator left little time

“Did you find her?” Padmé said, throwing open the door. “Well, good morning to you, too,” said Bail. “I thought you would like some tea. My wife picked the herbs this morning.”

“I’m sorry. Please, come in.”

Bail stepped inside, carrying a silver tray on which sat a steaming kettle and two ornate tea cups.

“No need to apologize. How have you been, Padmé?” Bail asked as he set the tray down on a small wooden table and began pouring the tea.

“Feeling a little… anxious, if I am honest, Senator,” Padmé replied.

“I’m sorry to hear that. But I understand. It’s not easy to sit still for so long.”

Bail handed her the cup of tea, and Padmé took a sip.

“Senator—” she started to say.

“You’re going to ask me if I found her yet,” Bail said with a knowing smile. It was the same question she asked every time he visited.

“Have you?”

“For once, I have some good news. She has made contact”

Padmé sighed in relief. She had waited so long for him to say those words.

“You have? Where is she?”

Bail chuckled a bit. “She wouldn’t even tell me. She never lets me know exactly where she is, especially when she knows she’s going to be out of contact for a long time. It’s for the best. All I know is that she was out somewhere in Wild Space. But I can say she was ecstatic to learn that you had survived. We’ve arranged a meeting aboard the Tantive IV, which is currently parked in deep space. If it’s alright with you, we can have a shuttle ready to bring you to the rendezvous point later this afternoon. Captain Antilles will fly you. You can trust him. He will keep our secrets safe.”

*****

The shuttle dropped out of hyperspace and into the middle of nowhere. No planet, no star, no space station within a dozen light-years.

The only sign of life was the shimmering hull of a ship, hardly more than a point of light in the distance.

Captain Antilles keyed the comms.

“This is Regal One to Tantive IV, how do you read?”

“Loud and clear, Regal One,” came the reply. “You are cleared for docking. Welcome back, Captain.”

As smooth as a boat drifting on calm waters, Captain Antilles piloted their shuttle around and coupled it with the docking port. When the familiar clank hiss told them that the latch was sealed, Padmé unstrapped herself and stood.

“Thank you, Captain,” she said. He replied with a nod, and she walked through the hatch into the polished, white halls of the Tantive IV.

“Senator Amidala,” an Alderaanian guard said to her as she entered. “We’ve been expecting you. Please, this way.”

Padmé couldn’t believe her eyes when the door slid open. Yet there she stood, like a ghost from Padmé’s past, brought back from the dead.

“Ahsoka,” she said. The two were wrapped in each others’ arms before Padmé even had time to think about what was happening.

“It’s been a long time,” said the former Jedi.

“Yes, it has,” Padmé replied. She took a step back. When she last saw Ahsoka, her face had been that of a child. Now she was grown. But it was still the face of her old friend, even if a new sadness could be seen in her eyes. Padmé expected that Ahsoka saw the same in her.

“For eleven years, I’ve wondered if you were alive or dead,” said Padmé. “Ever since the day the clones attacked the Jedi temple. It was the worst day of my life. Everything we worked for… gone in an instant.”

Ahsoka placed a hand on Padmé’s shoulder.

“Perhaps not gone forever,” she said. “We still have hope. And as long as we have that, the galaxy might still hope for a future without the Empire.”

“Yes… Bail told me that you were working to build some sort of rebellion,” said Padmé.

“Well, we don’t know what it is quite yet. It’s certainly not large enough or organized enough to call a rebellion. But we have a list of people and groups across the galaxy who have no love for the Empire. Some of them are already fighting, some of them not. With some help, we believe that these pockets of dissent can grow. Should we add your name to the list, senator?”

“Please, just call me Padmé. I’m no senator anymore. But, yes. I will help you in whatever way that I can. I only wish…”

Padmé had to force back tears as she remembered Anakin. He had been such a kind and loyal husband, and the most noble and brave Jedi she had ever met. A part of her really wished that he had died on Mustafar, because that would be better than whatever it was that he had become.

“Anakin…” Padmé choked out. “I just wish he were here, too. The Anakin I knew would never have hesitated to fight against so great an evil.”

“I know. I miss him too. And I’m very sorry. I know that you two were… close.” Padmé laughed. “You have no idea.”

“I may have been young during the War,” said Ahsoka. “But I wasn’t blind. It was easy to see that the two of you were—”

“I had his children,” Padmé interrupted.

Ahsoka was caught off guard. She didn’t know what to say, or even if she was supposed to smile or laugh or cry for her. What came out of her mouth was somehow a mix of all three.

“Oh, Padmé!” said Ahsoka. “You have children? And you never wanted to introduce them to their Aunt ‘Soka? Where are they?”

“It was twins. Luke and Leia,” Padme replied. “I took Luke to live with me and his family on Tatooine. Leia went to go live with Bail on Alderaan—”

“Leia!” Ahsoka suddenly exclaimed. “Leia is your daughter?”

“You mean you’ve met Leia?”

“Not in person, no,” said Ahsoka. “But Bail has told me all about her. From all that he’s told me about her… well, let’s just say I can’t believe that I never guessed that she was your daughter before.”

They both laughed. But the laughter died out like the last bit of a candle’s flame when the reality of their sad situation sunk in.

“Ahsoka,” Padmé started. “There’s a reason that I came out of hiding.”

“I guessed as much,” said Ahsoka. “It doesn’t take a Jedi to sense the turmoil in your mind. Are you alright?”

“I… I don’t know yet,” Padmé replied. She turned to face the viewport and stare out into the blackness of space. “What do you know about Darth Vader?”

“The Sith?” Ahsoka said. “Not much, I’m afraid. Like everything with the Dark Side, he is shrouded in darkness and mystery. I tried tracking him for a time—”

“He is Anakin,” Padmé interrupted.

“What?”

“Anakin Skywalker. My husband. Your master. He has gone to the Dark Side. He is Darth Vader.”

Those words seemed to drain all the life from the former Jedi in a single blow. Ahsoka collapsed, falling to her knees, letting her hands hang limply at her sides.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Ten

The first thing Luke noticed when he stepped off the ship was the smell. The next thing he noticed was the mud, which swallowed his boots whole with a sickening squelch.

“I think… I think I’m stuck,” Luke said, struggling in vain to pull his feet free.

Old Ben just chuckled, wading his way through the slime towards Luke. The old Jedi’s robes were already caked with a fresh layer of mud. Luke could have sworn that actual moss had started growing in a few places in the man’s grey beard and wondered to himself if the planet truly wasn’t trying to eat them.

“Up you go,” Ben said, grabbing Luke under the arms and plucking him out of the mud and dropping him on his shoulders.

“We’ve got a little bit of a hike ahead of us,” said Ben, starting to walk forward through the overgrown swamp. “Are you up to it?”

“Sure,” Luke replied. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to see a man named Yoda.”

Luke snickered.

“What’s so funny up there?” Ben asked.

“Yoda,” Luke replied. “That’s a funny name.”

Ben laughed with him this time.

“Yes… I suppose it is.”

“Is he a Jedi, too?”

“Yes, he is,” Ben replied. “One of the greatest who ever lived. And the wisest being I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He is going to teach you the ways of the Force, and train you to be a Jedi, just like he trained me, many years ago.”

“Okay. So I get to learn how to lift rocks with my mind and stuff?”

“Being a Jedi is much more than lifting rocks, Luke. It requires commitment of the highest order. You will need to have a strong mind and an even stronger will. You must learn to listen to the Force, learn to interpret its instructions. Only then will you find balance within yourself.”

“Okay… so when do I learn to use the lightsaber?”

Ben laughed and rolled his eyes.

“I can already tell that Yoda and I will certainly have our work cut out for us.”

*****

The little hut, made out little more than mud and sticks, wasn’t exactly the sort of dwelling Luke would have pictured a Jedi Master to be living in. When his mother used to tell him bedtime stories about the Jedi, they always included a description of the grand Jedi Temple of Coruscant, with its gleaming halls and towers. None of the stories included nearly this much mud and certainly didn’t involve any wrinkly, green goblins that hobbled about on canes.

“Young Skywalker…” the short, green-skinned creature said as he stepped out of his home. His long, pointed ears perked up as the thing made what Luke assumed was his species’ version of a smile.

“A long time for this moment, have I waited. But first, young Skywalker, I am wondering, why are you here?”

“Because Ben brought me here, I guess—”

Luke started to say, but the green Jedi knocked him on the forehead with the end of his cane before he could finish.

“Wrong!” Yoda exclaimed. “Wrong! Heh heh!”

The old alien tapped his cane on the ground as he chuckled to himself.

“Brought you here, Obi-wan did not,” Yoda continued. “Again, I ask: why are you here?”

Luke sighed and rubbed the sore spot on his head.

“I am here because I want to be a Jedi,” he replied.

“Hmm…” Yoda said, stroking his chin with three stubby fingers. He stared at Luke, squinting slightly as if he weren’t looking directly at him, but past him, or somehow through him. “Nearly correct, you are. In time, the truth we will uncover. But first, we must eat! Come, eat!”

Yoda laughed again and then hobbled back toward the entrance to his hut, stopping for a moment to smile and wave for Luke and Ben to follow, and then disappeared through the round, muddy door.

Luke looked back at Ben, giving him a confused glance.

“It’s alright, Luke. Even a Jedi master must eat his supper. Come. I am sure you are hungry from our long journey.”

As it was, Luke was indeed very hungry. Just not for… whatever it was that Yoda poured into his bowl. Still, trying to be polite, Luke sat down next to the slab of stone that served as a table and took a bite. The soup was thick and oily and tasted like no meat or vegetable he had ever eaten. But at least it was warm, and his empty stomach was so desperate for food that he didn’t care so much how it tasted. He even went back for a second helping.

“Mmm, good food, good food,” Yoda would occasionally squawk as they ate. Obi-wan, however, sat still and silent, crouched under the low ceiling in a dark corner of the hut, buried in his own thoughts.

When Yoda had finished eating, he sat back and let out a long, contented sigh, rubbing his full belly.

“Master Yoda, I must tell you why we are here,” said Obi-wan, breaking his silence at last. “It would appear that—”

Yoda lifted a hand to stop him.

“From the boy, I wish to hear it,” he said, turning back to Luke. “Again I ask, why are you here?”

“I… I  already told you, master,” said Luke, confused as to why the question was being asked, but perhaps even more confused as to why he didn’t know the answer. Why was he here? To become a Jedi? Because his mother had sent him? Or was it something deeper? Luke suddenly remembered something his mother had told him, only a few years ago. They had taken a short trip to Anchorhead to buy some supplies. Luke noticed a building draped in bright, crimson flags and surrounded by soldiers in white armor. At first, Luke was excited. They looked like the same soldiers he and his friends would watch in the holo-dramas. But Padmé had pulled him aside and said: “Those flags and the Empire they represent are a symbol of evil, Luke. A very wicked man is in charge of the Empire. He wants nothing more than to hurt others.”

“Why doesn’t somebody stop him?” Luke had asked.

“Without the Jedi, it is hard to fight against someone so powerful. But even though the Jedi are gone, Luke, hope is not gone from the galaxy. That is something the Emperor can never destroy. That is what your father believed, and I believe it, too. If your father were still here, he would never stop fighting against evil. I know that because he never stopped fighting it during the Clone War. Someday, when you are old enough to join the fight, I hope you will remember him. I could never be happier if you grew up to be just like your father.”

Luke pulled his mind back from Tatooine and to the small, cozy hut where he sat.

“I’m here… because of my father, I guess,” Luke told Yoda.

“Guided you here, the Force has,” said Yoda, finally nodding in approval at the boy’s answer. “And trust in the Force, we shall. What know you of your father, young Skywalker?”

“Not much…” Luke said, trying to remember all he could. “I know he was a Jedi. One of the best Jedi that ever was. Or at least that’s what mom always said.”

Luke noticed Ben’s eyes shift down toward the floor. An even more sunken mood settled over his face.

“Always noble, and never cowardly,” Luke continued. “That’s what mom always used to say about him. And even in the middle of a war, he never forgot to be kind. My mom always said I will grow up to be just like him.”

“Mmm… powerful Jedi was he,” said Yoda. “Powerful Jedi.”

“You knew him?” asked Luke.

Yoda nodded. “For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. Watched them rise, I did. Watched them fall, also.”

“Master Yoda,” Obi-wan chimed in. “Do you believe it is time? Is it time to make our move against the Empire? Is Luke to be trained?”

Yoda closed his eyes. For a moment, he seemed to leave his body, his mind drifting to some higher plane while his physical form was left nothing but an empty shell. As silently he had left, his mind drifted back and he opened his eyes.

“Impossible to see,” said Yoda. “Always in motion, the future is.”

“If we are going to act, we must act quickly,” Ben said. “Master Yoda, I’ve learned a terrible truth. Darth Vader survived.”

It was Yoda’s turn now to look downcast.

“Know this, I do,” he replied.

“You mean you knew?” Obi-wan asked.

“Sensed him, have I. A wound in the Force, has your old apprentice become.”

“I don’t understand,” said Luke. “Who is Darth Vader?”

Ben and Yoda shared a knowing look, but Luke couldn’t guess at what it was about. Yoda shook his head softly.

“Darth Vader was a Jedi knight, once,” Ben explained. “And a pupil of mine before he turned to evil. He helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered your father.”

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Nine

Padmé shivered as she pulled the sheets in closer. Compared to the never-ending heat of Tatooine, she felt like she might as well be trying to sleep in an ice box. There was a time when she would have preferred the cold. She always said it helped her clear her mind and keep it focused. But that was long ago, before politics and war had left little room in her life to worry about such trivial matters. Decades ago, now… she thought to herself. Like another life… long past…

Padmé rolled over. Moonlight streamed through the single window over her bed. A few bright stars managed to outshine the glow of the capital city. In her past life as a queen and a senator, she had traveled the galaxy, visited dozens, if not hundreds of inhabited planets, seen everything that the galaxy had to offer. No matter how much she traveled, it still amazed her how those enormous, unstoppable orbs of pure, fiery power could be reduced to obscure points of light, silently twinkling in the sky. She still remembered the first time she had gone off-world on a vacation to a planet called Taleth with her parents and sister. The first night they were there, the family took a long walk over the black sand beaches that the world was famous for, just to watch the triple sunset over a blue-green ocean. When the suns had set, their father pointed to a constellation towards the north, one that the natives of the planet said represented a seven-fingered hand, extending down from the sky to give life to the world. He pointed toward the thumb of the hand, toward the bright star at the very end. He told the girls that star, smaller than the point of a pin, was their homeworld of Naboo. That star, the very same sun that the girls had played under for their entire lives, was now no different from any of the other trillions of stars that filled the sky. Little Padmé had been so awestruck that she hardly slept at all that entire night.

So, it that way, not much had changed at all. Padmé sighed and sat up in her bed, finally giving up on trying to sleep. She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the small datapad that Breha had given her. She pulled up a file of Alderaanian star charts and did a search for Dagobah. Padmé’s heart sank when a little message popped up on the screen that read: “no results.” She hadn’t really expected the planet to be visible all the way from Alderaan—Dagobah was nearly on the other side of the galaxy, after all—but she was hoping for… something. She didn’t know quite what. Some little light of hope on such a dark night. Something to tell her that her son was okay. To tell her that her daughter would be kept safe from the Empire. That her husband, whatever it was that he had become, would finally come home.

She looked back out the window. Somewhere out there, Sheev Palpatine, her old friend, was sitting on his filthy throne, one that was built on the bodies of millions of innocent lives. She imagined him looking out the window of some Coruscant palace, surveying the very same stars she was, smiling to himself over all the worlds he’s conquered. Padmé knew exactly the smile he’d be wearing; equal parts smugness and pride, with just a little bit of playful mischief in his eyes. She’d seen that smile a thousand times while he had served under her as Senator, and a thousand times again during his tenure as Chancellor. Back then, she had found the smile endearing. She saw it once more when Palpatine gave his final address as Chancellor and vowed to reorganize the Republic into the First Galactic Empire. Then his smile only made her stomach turn. It hadn’t stopped turning since.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Eight

Luke had watched the shiny space cruisers and massive freighters that thundered through the atmosphere as they left Mos Eisley Spaceport or as they returned from some voyage across the stars, carrying people and supplies hailing from countless worlds. To his ten-year-old mind, it wasn’t difficult to imagine that these freighters were filled with the sort of rough-and-tumble, spice-smuggling, scruffy-looking scoundrels he had seen in the holo-dramas.  

He always watched from a distance, of course. His mother never allowed him to get anywhere near the city. That is, until the day she decided that they were leaving. Luke had been nothing but excited. He wanted to see what there was outside the small acreage of his aunt and uncle’s moisture farm and what lay beyond the thin blue line of Tatooine’s atmosphere. His excitement only grew when his mother told him that they would actually get to ride in one of the starships that he had seen flying in and out of the spaceport. His excitement dropped a bit when he saw that the ship wasn’t nearly as shiny as he expected, but it came with a cocky smuggler pilot who was every bit as scruffy-looking as the holo-dramas told him to believe.

It all seemed like a wonderful adventure until the moment that he had to say goodbye to his mother.

Then everything became real.

Luke rode the Millenium Falcon with the man her mom had called Ben Kenobi out to another spaceport. Ben bought another ship there, one that was much smaller and somehow in even worse shape than the Falcon. Ben flew that ship until they had reached their destination. It was a tiny green planet with a silly name: Dagobah. Luke never said a word the entire trip. As much as he wanted to explore the galaxy and learn magical powers, he just wanted to go home. Space was just too cold.

As the ship descended through the green mists of Dagobah, all Luke could think about was playing with his toys and sleeping in his comfortable bed and getting a goodnight kiss from his mom and his aunt and his uncle.

When the landing gear touched down in the mud with a sickening slurp, Luke realized that he wouldn’t be seeing Tatooine again for a very long time.

The ship’s boarding ramp lowered, letting in a wave of dense, wet air. It smelled like mud and rot. Luke had to cover his nose.

“Stay here for now, Luke,” said Ben. “I’ll be back soon.”

Luke heard the hatch close behind him. He was alone now. For the first time in his life, he was really alone. His uncle or aunt or mother were always just down the hall or right outside the door. All he needed to do was call, and someone would be there?

Luke shivered. He wrapped himself in an old, wool blanket that Ben had brought along.

“Mom?” he called softly. The only response was the echo against the cold, lifeless walls.

“Aunt Beru?” he called again.

“Uncle Owen?”

But the ship was still silent.

Little Luke curled up tightly in his blanket and cried until he fell asleep.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Seven

An escort of armed Alderaanian guards was there to greet them on the landing pad. That was to be expected, of course. If it had been any other world besides Alderaan, the planetary defenses would have blown the Millenium Falcon into spare parts before it got within a kilometer of the palace. But this was a peaceful world, and its ruler did not delight in bloodshed.

“You are trespassing,” one of the guards said, training his blaster on them as the crew walked onto the landing platform. “By order of Her Highness the Queen of Alderaan, you are under arrest.”

Without slowing down, Obi-wan marched up to the guardsman and looked him straight in the eye.

“This woman needs to speak with the Queen and her Viceroy at once,” he said. “Top priority.”

“She needs to speak with the Queen and her Viceroy at once,” the guard repeated to his entourage. “The rest of you?”

“Our pilot is to be paid a sum of fifteen thousand credits. We will then be allowed to leave the system at once.”

Again, the guard repeated Obi-Wan’s words nearly verbatim.

“How did you do that?” Luke asked.

“The Force can be a powerful ally, young Luke,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Will you teach me how to do that, too?”

The old Jedi nodded.

“When?” asked Luke.

“All things in time. Be patient, my young friend. Now, we must go. Say goodbye to your mother, Luke. We haven’t much time.”

Luke looked back at his mother, then back to Obi-Wan.

“Now?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. We really need to be leaving.”

Luke turned back to his mother and ran into her arms.

“I’ll miss you, mom,” Luke said. “Will I ever see you again?”

“Of course you will,” Padmé replied. “I will be waiting right here when you get back.”

“When will that be?”

“A very long time,” she said. “But don’t count the days. It will be over before you know it. You are doing a good thing, Luke. Give this your all. I want you to commit to this one hundred percent. The next time we see each other, you will be a Jedi Knight. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Do you still want to do this, Luke? Remember, this is still your choice. You can go away with Obi-Wan, or you can stay here with me.”

Luke was silent for a few moments.

“I want to do it,” he said, nodding.

“Then I will see you later, my little Jedi,” she smiled. “I love you very much.”

“I love you too, mom.”

She leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, wetting his hair with her tears, saying softly: “May the Force be with you, Luke Skywalker.”

After a long embrace, both of them turned to walk away, neither one turning back to see what they had just left behind.

                                                            *****

The halls of the palace of Alderaan were filled with towering marble archways, intricately carved statues, and glistening stained glass windows. To Padmé, this was just like home. Her mind was filled with memories of the gleaming halls of Theed Palace on Naboo, silently wondering if it was still as beautiful as when she had left it.

She breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling comfortable again after so many years of waiting in the desert.

“This is Queen Breha’s office,” the guard said at last, reaching a tall, oaken doorway flanked by two more royal guards. “She is not used to being disturbed unannounced.”

“I’m certain that she will understand,” Padmé said.

“Yes, m’lady,” the guard said, before ordering the door to be opened.

It revealed a wide, luxurious office, although the decorations were not overly ornate. Several woven tapestries hung from the stone walls, and bright scarlet draperies framed the stained glass window, on which was centered a large wooden desk.

“Not now, Reymus,” the Queen said without looking up from her work.

“Yes, your majesty,” the guard said. “She insisted—”

Breha looked up from her desk. Her demeanor instantly changed when she saw Padmé. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost.

“Leave us, Reymus,” she said. “I will speak with her privately. No one is to enter this room, you understand? No one. Not you, not even Leia. Especially not Leia.”

“Yes, your highness,” the man answered. He left the office, and the doors sealed behind him.

“I can’t believe you are here,” said Breha, wrapping her arms around Padmé. “You are taking an awful risk just by traveling. This close to the core, doubly so.”

“I know the risk,” Padmé replied. “But I couldn’t sit still any longer. Something needs to be done.”

“I agree wholeheartedly. How is the boy? Luke, wasn’t it? Is he here with you?”

“No. He left with Obi-Wan to seek help from Master Yoda. Luke is to be trained as a Jedi knight. What about Leia? How has she been?”

“She is doing wonderful,” Breaha replied. “She is very happy. Every day she looks more and more like her mother.”

“I wish I could see her…” said Padmé. “But it would be too dangerous. For us all.”

“I know. These are dark times, Padmé,” Breha said. “I know you probably never saw much of it on Tatooine, but the Emperor’s army grows more and more ruthless every day. Millions of systems are suffering under his fist, and we are powerless to stop him.”

“And what of the Senate? Certainly, there are some brave senators who are willing to speak on behalf of justice and freedom.”

“There are, but we are but few and growing ever fewer. My husband is one of them. Mon Mothma is another. Senators Pamlo and Vaspar are also on our side. But the Emperor has also grown very efficient in silencing those voices who oppose him.”

“Your husband. Where is he? Is he here?”

“No. Unfortunately, he is away on Coruscant. He will not return until next week. What about you? How long will you be staying on Alderaan?”

“I hope not long. The longer I stay in one place, the more likely it is that the Empire will catch up to me. The only problem is that I don’t know where to go from here...”

“We will help you as long as you need, Padmé. We would do anything to keep you safe.”

“I appreciate the hospitality, Breha. But I really can’t stay long. I will only need a place to stay until I figure out what to do.”

“At least stay until my husband comes home. He would want to see you. I’m sure that he will have some things he wishes to discuss.”

“Of course,” Padmé said.

“Which reminds me… my husband has been in contact with a mutual friend of yours. I’m sure you will be happy to know that she has survived.”

“Who?”

“Young Ahsoka Tano, although I understand she is not so young anymore. She has been traveling the galaxy in hopes of gathering allies to our cause.”

“Ahsoka? She is alive?”

“Alive and very well, from what I understand. She and my husband rarely meet in person, but they are often in contact with one another. I hope that they could arrange a meeting for you.”

Padmé sat back in her chair. The mere mention of Anakin’s old padawan released a flood of memories, ones she had long thought were forgotten.

“I can’t believe that she has been alive all this time,” said Padmé. “When all the Jedi were executed, I thought that she was killed with them.”

“It would appear that there are other survivors across the galaxy, too, though not many. And with Luke off to train with Yoda, soon we can add his name to the list.”

“List… you said that Ahsoka is recruiting people to your cause. What cause? Are you organizing a resistance movement?”

“Something like that,” Breha said, waving her hand. “Honestly, we aren't sure what it is yet. For now, all we are doing is gathering people to create a unified voice of opposition against the Emperor. We want to show the galaxy that there is hope for change in the future, and hopefully become the instigators of that change.”

“Then I believe I may be able to help you and your cause, although it probably is not in the way you expect. Breha, I have just learned a terrible truth. Anakin Skywalker—my husband—is alive. He has become the Sith Lord called Darth Vader.”

“I… Padmé. I know. I have always known.”

“What? You have? And you never thought to tell me or Obi-Wan?”

“Bail told me of Anakin’s new moniker shortly after he returned with Leia. We, like you, had assumed he was dead. It was only a month or so later that we began to hear his name over the holo-net. I wanted to tell you… you don’t know how many times I wanted to contact you over the years. But my husband and I agreed that it was best for us to never be in contact with each other.”

“It’s alright, Breha,” Padmé said. “It hasn’t been easy to live in such isolation, but it has kept me safe. But now that I know the truth, I can’t sit still anymore. I have to put an end to all this.”

“What do you mean? Are you… are you going to confront Vader?”

Panic began to surface in her voice.

Padmé nodded. “I have to.”

“Padmé, you can’t. I will not allow it. It is too dangerous. The moment that Vader learns that you are still alive, he will stop at nothing to find you. He will destroy you, and he will destroy your children.”

“That is why they are well-hidden.”

“Only because the Emperor does not know they exist. If you betray their secret—”

“Breha. I know the dangers. But I might be the only person left in the galaxy that can save Anakin from what he has become.”

“And if you fail?”

“Then our only hope will be with our friends, the Jedi.”

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Six

“Alderaan, huh?” the man said. He was a gruff-looking smuggler—typical of the riff-raff that cycled in and out of Tatooine’s seedy bars and spaceports. Places like these were hives for their sort.

“Yes. One way,” said Obi-wan.

“Cargo?” asked the smuggler.

“Only passengers. Myself, the woman, the boy, and no questions asked.”

The smuggler chuckled.

“Alderaan’s a pretty easy jump. Especially for a ship like the Millenium Falcon.”

“Is it a fast ship?” asked Padmé.

“Fast ship?” the smuggler said, looking dumbfounded. “You’ve never heard of the Millenium Falcon?”

“Should I have?” Padmé said.

“She’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. She’s fast enough for you, beautiful. What’s the matter? Trying to get off-world in a hurry? Some kind of local trouble?”

“Let’s just say we want to avoid any Imperial entanglements,” said Obi-wan.

“Well, that’s the real trick, isn’t it?” the smuggler chuckled. “And it’ll cost you extra. Ten thousand. All in advance.”

“Ten thousand!” Padmé exclaimed, probably a little too loudly. “If you had any idea who you were dealing with—”

“Quiet down, Padmé,” said Obi-wan, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We will pay you two thousand now, and an extra fifteen when we reach Alderaan.”

“Seventeen?” the smuggler said, sitting back in his chair. “Alright, you have yourselves a deal. Meet me in docking bay ninety-seven.”

“Ninety-seven,” Obi-wan repeated.

*****

Padmé dragged what little luggage she had up the Falcon’s boarding ramp. Luke followed closely behind, his hand gripped tightly in hers. When she stepped inside, she once again found herself missing the luxuries of her royal Naboo cruiser.

“Mom, this ship smells,” Luke said. She turned to him and placed a silent finger over her lips.

Somewhere in the ship, they heard a Wookie yell.

“That would be my copilot, Chewbacca,” said the smuggler. “Don’t mind him and he won’t mind you. And… don’t say anything about the smell.”

Padmé shot Luke a glance. He turned his face down in embarrassment.

“But I’m a bit anxious to put some space between myself and this planet, so if you’ll just strap yourselves in, I’ll make the preparations for takeoff.”

The man indicated a small leather sofa situated against the far wall across from the navicomputer station. The three of them sat down and fastened the restraints across their waists. The smuggler and his Wookie disappeared down a hallway, walking towards what must be the cockpit.

“Well, I’ve been in less comfortable places,” Obi-Wan said, trying to lighten the dreary mood inside the freighter.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Padmé said. “I thought that our stay on Geonosis was pretty enjoyable. Or perhaps you were talking about that business on Cato Neimoidia?”

Obi-Wan shuddered and smiled. “Oh, don’t remind me,” he said.

The ship shuddered and tipped to one side. They could hear the noise of the engines working to lift them off the ground. In only a few minutes, the ship would be free from Tatooine’s gravitational influence and they could make the hyperspace jump towards Alderaan.

“Mommy, where are we going?” Luke asked.

“I already told you. It is somewhere far away. It’s another planet, called Alderaan. That’s… that’s where I will leave you. Ben will take you someplace else. Someplace safe.”

“But I don’t want to leave you, mom.”

“I know. I don’t want to leave you either. But this is the only way. Remember? I told you that you were important. You’re the most important little boy in the whole galaxy. You’re going to go help so many people. You are going to become a Jedi, like your father. You will learn about the Force.”

“The Force?”

It was Obi-Wan’s turn to speak.

“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It is an energy field that exists inside all living things. It surrounds us and binds us and… holds the galaxy together.”

Luke seemed very uninterested.

“It… er… it also lets you do tricks like this,” Obi-wan said.

He held out his hand towards the pile of luggage in the corner. One of the bags began to move. It lifted itself off the ground, hovering in midair as if held aloft by invisible hands.

Luke’s eyes grew wide.

“You’ll teach me to do that?” Luke asked.

Obi-wan nodded.

“And so much more. The Force is the pathway to unlocking unimaginable power. But you must always remember to use it for good. Never to hurt. Only to help.”

Luke nodded.

“Which reminds me,” Obi-Wan said. “I have something for you.”

“A present?” Luke asked.

“Yes. Something like that. Come here, I’ll show you.”

Luke and Obi-Wan unfastened their seat belts. Obi-Wan opened his own luggage and began to rummage through it. After a few moments, he pulled out a long, metal cylinder.

“What is it?” Luke asked.

“Your father’s lightsaber. It is the weapon of a Jedi knight—not as clumsy or random as a blaster. It is an elegant weapon… for a more civilized age. Take it. It is yours.”

“Ben! You aren’t giving my son a weapon. He is hardly ten years old.” Padmé protested.

“Relax, Padmé,” said Obi-Wan. “I wasn’t much younger than he was when I constructed my first lightsaber. And that was after I had spent the better part of a day alone in the frozen ice caves of Ilum, searching for a crystal. Anakin did the same. So has every Jedi from the beginning.”

Before his mother could protest any further, the cabin of the Millennium Falcon suddenly echoed with the crackling hum of electrified plasma. The beam of a lightsaber cast a soft blue glow over the faces in the room. Luke was absolutely awestruck by the magical weapon he held in his hand. He swung it back and forth, listening to its power as it hummed and sliced through the air.

“Looks like you’ve found yourselves a pretty little toy,” a voice said. The smuggler was suddenly standing in the entryway to the cabin, leaning casually on the wall.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one of those. Couple of years, at least,” he said. “Are you folks looking to make some quick cash? I know a fella named Grakkus. He goes nuts for that old Jedi stuff. Don’t ask me why. That guy’s about as sane as a rabid loth-cat.”

“I’m afraid we won’t be selling the lightsaber,” said Obi-Wan. “And don’t think about trying to steal it from us, either, or your hand might just come with it.”

The smuggler raised his hands in mock surrender, but his face kept that same sarcastic smirk it always did.

“Alright, I won’t get any ideas,” he said. “I’m just the pilot, after all. Speaking of which, we’re about to make the jump to lightspeed, so make sure you’re sitting down and your tray tables are up and all that good stuff…”

He turned and disappeared back into the cockpit. A few moments later, the engines whined and the ship shook subtly. They were on their way to Alderaan.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Five

Someone knocked on the door. Which was odd, Padmé thought to herself. In eleven years, they had never once had a visitor come to their home.

Owen made it to the door first. Whoever it was, he wasn’t happy about it.

“I’ve told you not to come by here anymore,” Owen said. The anger in his voice wanted to boil into a shout, but he kept it just over a whisper so that no one would hear. Or so he thought. “You aren’t welcome. Leave before someone sees you here. It isn’t safe.”

Padmé turned the corner to see who it was.

“Ben?” she said. She hardly recognized the face of the old man who stood in the doorway. His hair and beard had greyed, and there were more wrinkles under his eyes than she remembered. But she realized that Obi-wan probably could have said the same thing about her.

“Padmé,” Owen said. “You shouldn’t be seen together with him. It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s alright, Owen,” Padmé said.

“Who’s that?” Luke said. His mother gasped when she saw him standing there behind them.

“Just an old friend,” she said, trying her best to not look scared.

“Hello, friend,” Luke said, waving.

“Hello there,” Obi-wan replied.

“Come on, Luke. Let’s go get that old speeder up and running, eh?” Owen said, running over and grabbing Luke by the hand.

“But…” he protested. But Owen had already whisked him away.

“We need to talk, Padmé,” Obi-wan said, motioning for her to step outside with him. Padme wrapped her shawl around her head to protect herself from the light of the burning suns.

“It’s been years since I’ve seen you, Ben,” she said. “I was starting to worry.”

“No need to worry about me,” he replied. “Luke has… grown. I’d hardly recognized him.”

“I know. He’s getting so big. There’s so much of his father in him.”

“That’s… what I am afraid of.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I didn’t want to tell you this, Padmé, but I feel you have a right to know.”

“Tell me what?”

“It takes a long time for any news to reach Tatooine. The Empire has little presence here, and the locals care nothing for galactic politics.”

“Stop stalling, Ben. What do you have to tell me.”

“I have heard rumors… of a man named Darth Vader. They say he is a warrior in black armor who uses a red blade to slaughter his enemies.”

“The Sith? The Emperor’s new apprentice?”

Obi-wan nodded. “You have never heard the name Vader before?” he asked.

“No. Of course not,” replied Padmé.

“I have. I first heard it on Coruscant at the end of the War. It was the name that Palpatine used to… he called…”

“What are you getting at, Ben?”

“Anakin is alive. He is Darth Vader.”

Padmé couldn’t believe those words. She sank to her knees. Every emotion seemed to surge through her at once. First there was anger, but it quickly melted away into fear. Finally, everything gave way to hope.

“I need to see him,” she said.

“Absolutely not. He will kill you—”

“Obi-wan. He is my husband. I know Anakin. There is still good in him. I felt it when I last saw him.”

“That was more than ten years ago, Padmé. The time is not yet right.”

“When will it be right, Ben? Next year? Ten years? A hundred? We cannot let the tyranny of Darth Sidious hold this galaxy captive any longer. I am tired of waiting. You knew me during the War. I was never one to sit and wait for things to happen. Neither were you. Neither was Anakin. We can’t wait for the galaxy to fix itself. You know that we can’t. We need to act.”

“I understand how you feel, Padmé. I don’t like this situation any more than you do. But I don’t think you comprehend the danger of what you suggest. Anakin has chosen the path of the Sith. You, your son, and your daughter are the last reminders of Anakin Skywalker’s past life. I believe that he will stop at nothing to erase you from existence. He and his master must be destroyed. It is the only way to end the Sith.”

“I disagree. There is good in him. I won’t say that it isn’t a risk. But so was everything that we ever did during the War.”

“I can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

“You are Obi-wan Kenobi. You are a Jedi master. I’ve never known you to be afraid.”

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong. I’ve been afraid of a lot of things. I suppose you’ve just never been around to see it.”

“Then show me the Obi-wan that I knew during the Clone War. Train Luke in the ways of the Jedi. Take me to confront Anakin. Either we will turn him back to the light, or we won’t. The choice will still be his. I have been living my life here on Tatooine thinking that Anakin was dead. Now you tell me that he is still alive. If there is even the slightest sliver of hope that I can have my husband back, I am going to take that chance. Are you going to take that chance with me? Wouldn’t you do the same? What if you were in my position, and we were talking about Satine?”

Padmé bit her tongue, instantly sorry for bringing up something that must still be sore for the old Jedi.

Obi-wan bowed his head and sighed.

“I will go with you,” he said, finally conceding. “If it is the will of the Force that we succeed, then we will. If we fail, we fail. All is as the Force wills it.”

“The Force will be with us, Obi-wan. It always has been. And it is with Luke. I know nothing of the mysteries of your religion, but even I have felt it in him.”

“The Force is strong with him. It is with his sister, as well. She must still be kept secret for now. If our plan fails, we will still have her.”

“I understand,” she said, although she did not want to dwell on the thought of losing Luke, so young as he still was.

“So, what do we do now?” Padmé asked. “I have no more allies in the galaxy. I don’t know where to go.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, Padmé. I think that many of your old friends in the Senate would be happy to see you again. Bail Organa helped us before. He will help you again without a second thought.”

“What about you? Where will you go?”

“To Dagobah. To Yoda. I will take Luke there to teach him the ways of the Force. If… that is alright with you, of course.”

“Take him. Make my son a Jedi.”

“It will take many years. It is not an easy path. Even if he succeeds, it is a hard life.”

“Train him. Nothing would make me more proud.”

“What of Owen and Beru?”

“I hate to leave them… but we cannot disrupt their lives here. They are happy. Maybe it is best if they don’t know where we are going. For their own safety and ours.”

“Very well. I will go into Mos Eisley tomorrow to secure passage off-planet. Meet me at Chalmun’s Cantina before noon. I will be waiting for you there.”

“Alright. I will be there. Thank you for your help, Ben Kenobi.”

“Thank you, Padmé. I hope, for all our sakes, that this plan of ours works.”

“May the Force be with you, Obi-wan,” Padmé said. He bowed and walked away into the dark of the night.

[swinfinities]

Long Live the Queen: Part Four

It had been years since the War had ended. Padmé had lost count of just how many. Time on Tatooine seemed to pass so slowly that it might not be passing at all. There was no familiar change of seasons such as she knew on Naboo. There was only the rising and setting of the suns and an ocean of burning sand all around her.

The only thing keeping her from giving up and simply withering away to join the dried bones buried in the endless desert was watching her son grow up.

Already, she knew that he was so much like his father. Part of that made her sad to remember someone that was gone forever. Part of it scared her. Another part made her love him even more.

Luke was sitting in the garage with his uncle, Owen. He had been trying to get that old speeder bike running for more than a year, now, in spite of his Aunt Beru telling him to give it up more times than Padmé could count. This time, Luke had offered to help.

“This here is called a torque wrench,” Owen said, showing Luke the tool. “It’s got a ratchet inside that only lets it spin one way. See? Here, see if you can use it to get this bolt off.”

Padmé smiled as she watched her son wrap his tiny fingers around the metal handle wrench. It nearly too heavy for him to even lift. But with Owen’s help, he managed to get it fitted over the head of a rusty, old bolt.

“Now twist,” Owen said. “No, the other way.” He chuckled. Padmé laughed, too.

Luke and Owen both turned. They hadn’t noticed her watching.

“Well, look at that. I guess your mom wants to help, too,” said Owen.

“Oh, I think I really would just get in the way,” Padmé replied. “You two keep working. I’ll go fix some supper.”

“Please don’t make any more Bantha, mom,” Luke pleaded.

“Why not? Bantha is good for you,” said Padmé.

“I don’t like it. It tastes like poodoo.”

“You watch your mouth, Luke, or you’ll get nothing at all for dinner. Alright?”

“Alright, fine. Sorry, mom.”

“I’m going to make dinner now. You be good for your uncle, you hear?”

“Fine,” Luke said, already distracted again with trying to dislodge the rusty bolt.

A silly, boyish grin exploded over his face when it finally came free with a metallic pop. That grin beneath his blond mop of hair made him look exactly like Anakin had. Luke wasn’t much younger than his father was when Padmé had first met him. Now that day seemed more distant than the capital city of Coruscant—hundreds of lightyears away. She blinked away a quiet tear, and turned to go fix her son his dinner.