I am not George Lucas and none of these characters belong to me. Sadly! I'm just a 17-year-old college kid, who enjoys playing in George's universe. Don't sue me, because I'm not making any profit out of this - and also because I really have nothing you want. Definitely not any money.

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Someone To Watch Over Me

Written with love by

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Chapter One

The little girl giggled. She and Teddy had really escaped this time! She gave a little tug on Luke-in-her-head – good, he was still sleeping.

She peered around the corner. There were lots of ships – and her eyes widened unconsciously. She loved ships, more than anything else in the world. Well, maybe more than anything else but Mommy and Luke. Not old Ben, she thought with a scowl. He didn’t let her play by the ships, in fact he hardly ever let her out of the house. And he scolded for the littlest things. He didn’t understand little girls.

Oh, there was a ship getting ready to leave! She watched in envy as a rather heavyset man yelled orders at some droids. How she wished she could fly on a ship, just once! She was 4 years old today, that was old enough. But Ben wouldn’t let her.

Thinking of Ben put her in a bad mood. Here it was her birthday and he hadn’t even said anything to her, just looked at her with the “funny look”. Well, she’d show him. She’d take a trip on this ship, that’s what she’d do, and have an adventure! The thought made her eyes brighten with anticipation.

She clutched Teddy a little tighter for luck and started walking across the hangar. I’m n’visible, I’m n’visible, she hummed to herself. It worked on Mommy, it should work on these people. Even if Ben scolded whenever he caught her doing it.

She skipped up the gangplank without being noticed. Now for someplace to hide!

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Chapter Two

“No,” Padme said. She sat completely turned away from Obi-Wan, gazing out on the city from her window-seat. “We’ve had this conversation before, and it’s ended the same way every time. I will not allow the twins to be separated either from me or from each other.”

Obi-Wan sighed, in a very tired manner. “Padme, remember to keep your voice down. They would require some sort of explanation.”

“Then I would tell them that Ben is paranoid and thinks it would be better if the family lived apart for a while, but that I would not allow them, ever, to be taken from me, so they don’t need to worry at all.”

“Padme, you’re not even being reasonable. Every year, they get a year older, and we have this argument again. But your argument gets weaker every year, and mine gets stronger. Sooner or later you’ll have to give in. I’m only afraid that by then it will be too late for the twins. Please, Padme, reconsider.”

Padme was silent for a very long time. Finally, Obi-Wan went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Padme?”

She turned her head slightly, and he could see, to his surprise, tears in her eyes. She had so far been the fierce mother-protector of the twins, ever since they were born. “This past year, I’ve been watching them carefully, and they’re growing up so quickly. Leia especially…she reminds me of myself at that age…except with an added precocity in the Force.”

“And that’s what endangering them,” Obi-Wan pressed. “Their precocity in the Force, most especially Leia’s precocity in the Force. I haven’t taught the girl a thing, and yet she has already realized the existence of the twin-bond, how to use it, and its significance. She uses the Force as if it was as natural as breathing.

“Padme, you know I’m shielding her from Vader’s Force sense. But that only guards against her normal, day-to-day uses of it. I live in constant fear that Vader will be near when she one day taps into it farther than ever before, bursting past my Force shield and bringing Vader down upon us.”

“Jedi aren’t supposed to feel fear,” Padme said idly.

His grip on her shoulder tightened in pain, then he took his hand away. She looked up to see him fighting pain. “I am one of the only Jedi left, that Vader hasn’t killed,” he offered in explanation. “It is bittersweet, to hear the Code thrown at me; it reminds me of all that we have lost…But you are right. That is why I fight the fear. But fear can also be a warning, and it is warning me that we are not long safe here.”

“They’re four!” It was Padme’s last plea, Obi-Wan could feel it. He felt like a cad for what he was demanding of her, but he knew it was the only way.

“Let me take Luke with me to Tattoine and have Owen & Beru raise him. Vader will never willingly revisit that planet, and I promise you that I will not train him until he is ready for the danger.”

“You certainly have this thought out,” Padme said, running her finger along the window pane. He wasn’t sure if there was bitterness in her voice or if she was simply stating a fact. Suddenly she raised her face again. “Wait – why are you taking Luke? You just said a minute ago that Leia is the dangerously strong one, Leia the one Vader will feel.”

“Leia is the twin more closely in tune with the Force, true. She is also the one more in control of the twin-bond. When I take Luke, I must sever the Force bond and put a Force-hampering shield around the twin that remains with you. I feel that it will be easier for her to recover from the psychological damage that will cause, if she is here with you. She will be in great pain, and she is more likely to make a full recovery under the influence of her beloved mother, than under that of scolding annoying Ben. Also, Luke looks so much like his father, that the more isolated he is, the better.

He sighed. “And this won’t make much sense to you, but I’ve seen a vision of us – Luke and I – on Tattoine together.”

“But visions like that are only visions of what the future could be.”

He smiled a little at her lecturing him on the nuances of the Force. “I just feel that Luke is the one whom I should take.”

She seemed to be taking it in, accepting it. “My little Luke…” she said in a whisper, fighting back tears. Obi-Wan felt uncomfortable. Jedi training did not usually teach one how to deal with crying females, especially those who had been the wife of your Padawan.

“Mommy?” Luke was in the doorway. “Leia said…”

“Come here, Luke,” Obi-Wan said gently. Luke came obediently. Padme turned and gathered him into her arms, burying her face in his small shoulder. For a four-year-old, Luke was very small. His baby-look was enhanced by the long curls his mother insisted on leaving long.

Obi-Wan moved toward the bedroom. “I’ll get his things,” he said softly.

Padme raised her head in shock, and hugged Luke closer to her. At that moment, Obi-Wan thought, she looked very young. “Today?” she whispered.

“It’s better to get it over with,” he said, and slipped into the bedroom the twins shared.

Seconds later he reappeared. “Padme, Leia’s gone.” He didn’t even try to get the apprehension out of his voice.

Luke’s head came up. “I was tryin’ to tell you. Leia just woke me up in my head and sayed “I on a spaceship, Lukie! I in space! It’s Cool!”

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Chapter Three

Leia woke with a start, clutching Teddy to her. At first she was horribly disoriented – where was Luke? And where was her bed, for that matter?

But then she remembered where she was, and snapped to full alertness. Her gremmel was telling her that someone was coming down the corridor towards the room where she was concealed.

Her gremmel was what she called the little guy who lived in her head and told her things and helped her do stuff. Like when Luke tried to sneak up on her, the gremmel would tell her. The gremmel also helped her get things from across the room without getting up, and she was fairly sure her n’visible trick was her gremmel friend’s work.

Lukie had a gremmel, too, but his slept a lot, and he didn’t really know it very well. But Luke had been the one to give the gremmels their name. He liked big words, and when Mommy had called him a little gremlin, he’d repeated the word (in his altered version) to Leia, who’d adapted it for the gremmels.

But anyway, her gremmel said there was somebody coming. She was starting to get homesick, and at this rate she might miss her birthday cake and presents!

The door opened, and a “big boy” stepped inside. He must have been at least ten! He was looking around for something, but when he saw Leia he stopped. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“I’m Leia,” she said, putting her “dorable” look on, as Mommy called it.

“Why are you on this ship?” the boy asked sternly. The dorable look didn’t seem to affect him much.

“I wanted to fly in space – cause it’s my birthday,” Leia said, hugging Teddy. “And now I want to go home!”

The boy looked at her for a long moment. Then he sighed. “Okay, kid, stay in here and stay out of sight. When we land on Alderaan I’ll smuggle you off, but after that you’re on your own, okay? Maybe you can stow away on another ship heading back the way you came. What planet did you come from, anyway? We’ve stopped at at least five on this trip.”

She just looked at him.

“Planet? Like…um, the stars are suns, which have systems of planets around them?” At her blank look, he sighed. “Where do you live? Do you know the name of the city?”

“I live with my Mommy and my brother Lukie…Luke,” she corrected, hoping that made her seem more grown-up. “And Ben. We live in a big city, but I don’t know what it’s called.”

He sighed again. “Sith. Well, I’ll give you directions to the government part of Alderaan’s capital. I’m sure they’ll help you find your family, or at least give you a home on Alderaan. But while we’re in space, you keep out of sight. The captain is not a nice character, and you don’t want him to find you.”

At the door he turned around again. “You must have had a reason to stow away in the first place, besides just wanting adventure, kid. Weren’t you scared?”

She looked at Teddy, then back at him. “Because I was mad at Ben, and because I love space. I’ve always wanted to fly on a ship, and fly a ship myself. So I wanted a ‘venture, and today’s my birthday so I decided to make one.” Then she came out of her reflective mood, and glared at the boy. “And my name’s Leia, not kid.”

His eyes had softened at the space-longing he heard in her words. “Okay, Leia, I’ll see you soon. Keep out of sight.” He got halfway out the door, then turned one last time. “Mine’s Han, and you’ll be fine,” he said, giving her a cheerful smile before disappearing.

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Chapter Four

Padme and Obi-Wan just looked at each other for one awful moment.

Then Obi-Wan made a decision. He pulled a chair over next to the window-seat and took both of Luke’s hands in his. “Luke, have you ever talked to Leia in your head?”

Luke blinked owlishly at him. He looked a little sleepy still. “Mostly Leia talks to me. Her gremmel is more fun than mine.”

“Her gremmel?”

Luke furrowed his baby brows, as if astonished that a grown-up wouldn’t know what a gremmel was. “You know. Leia can do fun t’ings with her gremmel. Like – oh, like she always win hide-and-seek, an’ she never loses things, an’ she can get toys from across the room.”

Obi-Wan, despite the seriousness of the situation, nearly laughed at the description of the Force as a “gremmel”. Padme did not appreciate the humor.

“I see. Could you possibly persuade your gremmel to talk to Leia’s, just this once, for me?” Obi-Wan asked.

Luke looked at him like he was stupid. “Gremmels don’t talk. I talk. The gremmel helps me. And I guess I can try.”

Do or do not. There is no try, Obi-Wan heard in his head, but he merely nodded. “Try, Luke.”

Luke closed his eyes, but a few seconds later he reopened them. “I can’t,” he said. “She’s too far ‘way. I can barely feel her.”

Obi-Wan looked down at Luke, who innocently thought that Ben could make everything right. He looked at Padme, who was rapidly approaching hyperventilation at the thought of losing one of her babies, but who on some level also believed that “Ben” could make everything right. For the millionth time since Qui-Gon’s death, he wished with everything in him that his old Master were here.

“I’ll go to the hangar,” he said finally. “I’m sure someone saw her get on a spaceship.”

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Two hours later, Obi-Wan returned to the apartment building where they lived.

Luke was in the ‘fresher, and Padme sat at the kitchen table, a holo-album in front of her.

He cleared his throat to alert her of his presence. She didn’t look up.

“Padme, no one saw her. She’s vanished.” Padme’s shoulders twitched, but she still made no sound. He braced himself for the rest of what he must say. “I think that at this point we’re going to have to accept the fact that Leia is lost to us.”

The rest of his carefully prepared speech died in his throat as Padme shot to her feet and whirled to face him, fire in her eyes. “As long as there is a breath in my body, I am not abandoning my daughter! And you are a pitiful excuse for a Jedi if you want to abandon a four-year-old child to the mercies of the galaxy!”

She glared at him for a minute – no, shot liquid lava at him more like – then continued. “If you don’t want to help me, I understand. I’ve been thinking it through all the while you were gone. If you want to take Luke to Tattoine now, I won’t stand in your way. It’ll be easier for them both now anyway, now that the twin bond has been dulled by distance.” She paused to catch her breath, hand still clutching the holo-album. Obi-Wan could see some of the pictures, and in particular one of Luke and Leia grinning at the camera from last Christmas. “But I am going to go planet-to-planet, city-by-city, home-by-home, if need be, and I will find my daughter!”

Obi-Wan simply stared.

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Chapter Five

Leia shifted uncomfortably in her hiding-place. This trip was much longer than any she’d ever taken before (besides being the first in space), and she was both tired and bored.

I wonder what Ben thought when he found out I was in space, she thought. Then, a stab of pain hit her as she thought, I wonder what Mommy thought.

In a sudden bout of loneliness, she reached out to Luke-in-her-head. She’d already tried several times in the last few hours, but he was too far away. But she kept trying, just out of habit, out of hope, out of hopelessness…

Luke?

LEIA!

She was amazed to find him answering, but even more amazed to find him grab the bond and hang on as if for dear life. His mind voice was nearly frantic.

Where are you? Ben and Mommy are yelling, and Mommy was crying, and Ben is going to take me away from Mommy and Mommy’s going to try to find you!

It was by far the longest mind-thought Luke had ever sent her. Actually, it was one of the longest things Luke had ever said to her, period. He was quiet and cuddly, not sassy and tomboyish like Leia.

But the bond was slipping in and out, despite Leia’s own desperate efforts to keep it in place, and Luke was already sort of staticky. She had to ask her gremmel for lots of help to keep the bond steady for her answer. I’m on a spaceship, Lukie dear. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be just fine. Tell Mommy I’m going to Alderaan, and tell her I love her and don’t worry.

The bond began to flicker more and more until Leia’s gremmel slipped and with Luke’s last desperate Leia!, the bond faded out.

Leia curled up tighter, as the strong façade she’d put on to reassure Luke crumbled, and cried herself to sleep in the middle of a storage room, en route to Alderaan.

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Chapter Six

Obi-Wan Kenobi, accomplished Jed knight and famous hero-general of the Clone Wars, had the distinct desire to turn around, head straight for his room, pull the pillow over his ears, and sleep for days.

Then again, perhaps even Master Yoda would have been tempted to find shelter when faced with Padme Amidala at her most determined. She still had her regal dignity and ice-straight posture, but her eyes smoldered and her lips tightened and her hands tensed up just the slightest bit, ready to tear the eyes out of anyone who dared oppose her. Obi-Wan was at that moment devoutly glad that they were on the same side.

And also, perhaps she would calm down if he backed off the “abandon Leia” decision. He hadn’t been able to meditate in the Force at all that day, and he could have made a wrong decision without its calming, centering effect. His emotions had been in a tangled mess all day. He had to admit, if only to himself, that he had become far too attached to the little bundle of braids and energy whom her mother had named Leia. Life without her seemed a very empty prospect, without giggles and chameleon looks and, yes, a million little harebrained schemes that Leia managed to get herself into every day.

Padme snapped him out of his mood. “Well?!” she demanded, setting her hands on her hips and glaring up at him. “Don’t just stand there, Jedi!”

“Padme, I’ve changed my mind. You’re right – it would be not moral in either your code of honor or mine, to abandon a four-year-old to her fate. We will find her, Padme.”

She relaxed, but only infinitesimally. “But what about my Luke? We can’t take him with us, all around the galaxy.”

“We’ll have to leave him with someone we can trust.” Obi-Wan had been contemplating a particular question for a while, and he had finally decided that sometimes pride was one thing, but stupidity quite another. Usually he would never sit while a lady was standing, but he was going to need all his strength for this needle-in-a-galaxy treasure-hunt. He sank into a chair. “Do you know any old contacts that come to mind?”

Padme sat on the edge of the table and set the holo-album down. She thought for a minute or two. “A lot of mine are on Naboo, but Vader’s always looking for me there…” She trailed off then looked up sharply. “My old bodyguard, Captain Panaka, his daughter lives on Alderaan, and I’m pretty sure Panaka lives with Rie and her family. Even if he doesn’t, I’d trust Rie. We’ll have to dye Luke’s hair, though, and try to make him look as little like Anakin as possible…”

“It’s settled then.” Obi-Wan thanked the Force for that. “Would you like me to get Luke’s things together, or would you?”

Her shoulders slumped a little. “I will, thank you.” She got down off the table, completely ignoring his politely offered hand, and turned towards the twins’ room, then gasped, her eyes wide.

Obi-Wan was out of his seat in an instant, hand to his belt. But it was only Luke, so white he looked like a reanimated corpse, and with huge blue eyes in stark contrast to his pale skin.

Obi-Wan caught his breath. The Force surrounded Luke more strongly than it ever had before. He’d never had to cloak Luke’s Force capabilities before, but he did so now as quickly as he could. He could only hope it had been quickly enough to camouflage Luke’s presence from Sith eyes.

Padme started forward, but she too sensed the change in her son, always so much more babylike and Mommy’s boy than his twin. “Luke, honey?”

He turned clear eyes to her. “Leia is perfectly fine, and says not to worry. She is on a spaceship and they are going to the planet Alderaan. She loves you, and don’t worry.” He looked at her with those eyes – so clear now, not soft baby blue – Anakin’s eyes, both adults realized at once – and then fainted dead away.

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Chapter Seven

Leia awoke with a start, her gremmel prodding her awake. “Someone’s coming,” she thought sleepily, stretching. Then, a second later, “It’s the Han boy.” She rubbed fiercely at her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t notice that she’d been crying. She couldn’t do much about Teddy, but she tucked him under her arm instead of clutching him to her, and stood as straight as her Mommy ever had.

The door creaked open and the boy came quickly inside. “Okay, kid.” At Leia’s glare, he added, “Leia," and continued, "We’re about 20 minutes from Alderaan. When I leave, I want you to hold tight to something that’s strapped down. The pilot’s not very good, even for this bucket of bolts.” He smiled. “When I grow up, I’m going to have the best ship in the galaxy and be the fastest pilot there ever was!”

Leia giggled. Han looked a little embarrassed. “See here, little girl, I’m not the one who stowed away on some rinky-dink ship with even knowing how to get back home!”

“I was laughing ‘cause that’s what I want to do when I grow up,” Leia explained, smiling. Her dimples showed. “So maybe you can only be the second-bestest pilot in the galaxy!”

Han laughed. “Whatever you say, kid. Now, when we land, you’ve got to wait until I come in here for you. Then you’ll have to make a run for it while the pilot’s back is turned. Then…”

“Can’t I just run off while he’s in the cockpit doing the after-flight things?” Leia interrupted, wrinkling her eyebrows.

Han stared at her. He could make any number of faces, Leia thought idly. “Well, that would solve the pilot seeing you problem, but then you’d have a stormtrooper seeing you problem. There’ll be a bunch of stormtroopers outside the ship when we land, and they’re real touchy about unauthorized persons coming on or off planet.” He lowered his voice, suddenly looking older. “The rebellion an’ all, you know.” Then he seemed to remember that he was talking to a four-year-old. “Anyway, no, you can’t sneak off as soon as we land. You have to wait till I come get you. Now, once you’re off, get out of the immediate vicinity. Walk to another hangar, or something. Then find a stormtrooper, look cute, and tell him you wandered off and can’t find your dad. With luck, he’ll point you to a Family Services place. They don’t like little kids wandering around. Oh, and if you cry that’ll help.”

Leia drew herself up to her full height, which wasn’t very tall considering she was only four and her mother was pretty short too. “I never cry.”

“Well, figure out how, little Princess Lady. You’ll get things easier that way.”

From a distance, the two children heard swearing and then “Boy, get in here!”

Han jumped up from where he’d been sitting on a convienent box. “Gotta go. Hold tight to something. I’ll be back for you soon.”

She grabbed his arm before he could leave. “I would like you to know that you have my deepest gratitude for your help.” That was what her Mommy always said, as near as Leia could remember. And then you shook the person’s hand. But Han’s was all grubby, so instead she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.

Han turned red and made another face, then scurried out the door.

Leia and Teddy grabbed onto a box and prepared for landing on the planet of Alderaan.

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Chapter Eight

Obi-Wan came out of his meditation with a start. Padme was shaking him, and not very gently. “Did you hear me?”

He looked at her, then glanced at the clock, then back at her, bewildered. “Padme, we’re still over an hour from Alderaan. Is something wrong with Luke?” The boy seemed to be sleeping peacefully not far from them, but perhaps he was ailing?

She sighed and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “No, everything’s fine. But, based on when Leia told Luke she was on a spaceship, she’s probably already landed on Alderaan. I thought you should be awake to keep track of her and…whatever might happen to her.”

Obi-Wan sat up a little straighter. “It doesn’t quite work that way, but yes, I’m glad you brought me out of my meditation.” He put a slight stress on the last word – Padme still seemed to confuse mediation and sleep. “I can sense Leia, a little, usually, but I’ve shielded her from Force-users, so…”

While he had been talking, Obi-Wan had reached out in his mind, to try to find Leia’s light – and had run into somebody quite different. He bit his lip, and looked at Padme. Did the poor woman really need this extra burden?

He tried to continue, as if he had never abruptly stopped. “So it’s hard to sense anything in particular…”

Padme interrupted him. “What was that all about? You sensed something, Obi-Wan, I know it!”

He looked away.

Padme sat in the pilot’s chair. “Sith!” Obi-Wan looked up in surprise at the curse word, especially the memory-laden one. “I hate it when men treat me like the little woman! Tell me!”

Obi-Wan looked up and met her eyes. “There’s someone else close to Alderaan. I don’t know if that’s where he’s planning to land. He could have any number of other destinations in mind, but I’m beginning to think that this whole thing is Force-planned, and I have the distinct feeling that Alderaan is where he’s headed.”

His eyes told her what his words only hinted at. “Ani?” she asked in disbelief.

“Vader.” Obi-Wan spat the word out, with unaccustomed vehemence. “Don’t ever forget it, Padme. He is no longer your darling Ani. He is a evil, horrible Sith Lord who kills Jedi for sport and would kill you as soon as look at you. You hold the future in Luke and Leia, don’t you dare forfeit it by falling prey to ghosts from your past.” His anger spent, he said more quietly, “I won’t let you.”

It was Padme’s turn to look at the man who’d been her and her children’s protector, these past five years. She swallowed hard, then took Obi-Wan’s hand in both of hers. “I would die for my children, Obi-Wan. You need not fear that I will have any mercy towards Vader, if meet we do. He means nothing to me any more – he killed my Ani.”

Obi-Wan had never heard it put that way before, but it fit. He raised his eyes to hers. Her eyes faintly swollen from crying, red-rimmed with exhaustion, now strong with determination and conquered memories.

He felt at peace, knowing his decision was right, knowing exactly what he must do. “Padme, you must stay on the ship. Before I leave, I will establish a training bond with Luke, as well as a strong Force shield. If he tells you to take off, you must do so. That will mean I have failed, and it will be my last goodbye to you and Luke before Vader adds me to his trophy list. If I die, the temporary protection I have put around Leia will fail, and he will find her. If that happens, you must take off, to protect Luke. He will be our last hope, then.”

He smiled, bittersweetly. “Padme, if I never see you and Luke again, may your days be long; may you find happiness; and may the Force always be with you.”

She forced a smile onto her face. For the first time since becoming Padme’s protector, Obi-Wan felt as they were truly friends, after all the fighting, all the disagreements, all the small crises. “May the Force be with us all, Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

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Chapter Nine

Only a few minutes until he reached Alderaan. Behind the mask, Darth Vader’s face crinkled in disgust. Paugh, Alderaan – the planet that always broadcast its peacefulness and weaponlessness. He knew there was something more to the lush, green planet. That quiet Organa, their ruler, he had more up his sleeve than just “peace and prosperity”. He would thoroughly enjoy choking the life out of Organa.

Unfortunately, his Master did not agree with him on that point…and he always did as his Master wished. So choking Organa was out of the question, no matter how the white-faced blathering idiot annoyed him.

Thinking of his Master made Vader’s thoughts turn brooding. Just last week, he had found another Jedi, skulking on an Outer Rim planet, training a young Force-sensitive in the now defunct Jedi Order. He’d killed them both, of course, which was nothing new; after all, he’d been hunting the Jedi for nearly five years now.

This particular Jedi, though…he had been one of the few Padawans whom Anakin Skywalker had considered a close friend. Vader could still remember his self-deprecating humor; his happy-go-lucky personality; the day they and Ainna got in such trouble because of the fountain/speeder escapade, and how Master Yoda had said…

Ainna. There was a name he hadn’t thought of in a while. Brilliant red hair, deep green eyes, radiant smile – and one of the few Padawans willing to cross lightsabers with him. She’d been his first crush in the Jedi temple, as well as a good friend, always ready for adventure. But the romance had never gone anywhere because they were both often away on missions with their Masters, and also Anakin had never been able to forget Padme…

Padme. The familiar pain caught at Vader’s heart. Beautiful, wonderful, loving Padme. Images flew through his head – Padme on Geonosis, telling him she loved him; their wedding day; Padme’s face as she told him he was going to be a father…

And now they were all gone. Padme and the child, dead at the hands of the Jedi, curse them. Ainna, sweet Ainna, dead on Geonosis. And Gian, dead by Vader's own hand, not a week ago.

Swearing profusely in Huttese, he began the landing sequence, hitting buttons savagely. He was coming up on Alderaan, and he had a mission there. These thoughts were weak, not befitting a Sith Lord.

“Darth Vader to Alderaan.”

“Alderaan to Lord Vader. You are cleared to land in Hangar 4. If there is anything we can do for you, Lord Vader, do not hesitate to let us know.”

Vader did not deign to give them an answer. He strove to focus his mind on the revolting image of Bail Organa and the mission ahead.

Behind the mask, there were tears in his eyes.

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Chapter Ten

Leia peered around the corner at the lowered gangplank. For the tenth time, she looked both ways, all around the hangar, then down the hallway towards the cockpit, where she could hear the pilot cursing someone quite loudly. Most likely it was the boy Han. She was sorry to leave without saying goodbye to him – for one thing, he’d been extremely kind to her, and for another, it just wasn’t polite. Although generally a hoyden, Leia had very good manners. But then, any girl privileged to be the daughter of Padme Amidala would have good manners.

She looked down the gangplank. I have a bad feeling about this. Her gremmel seemed to want her to leave the ship, and common sense dictated that she should, but another part of her just wanted to stay, with Han. He feels so…right somehow. Even if that doesn't make any sense. Even if he does think I'm just a kid.

But she knew that she had to go down into that hangar. And she knew that she couldn’t allow a silly little thing like fear to get in the way. She was a Skywalker, wasn’t she? Her father had been a great, heroic pilot, hadn’t he? She was going to be the greatest pilot in the galaxy, wasn’t she? So there.

Despite her self-lecture, that walk down the gangplank didn’t seem to be any shorter. She swallowed hard and hugged Teddy tight, for luck. Here I go.

I’m n’visible, I’m n’visible, I’m n’visible…

Once safely off the ship, she scampered across to the hangar wall, where she could stand and take in her surroundings, without being in danger of being trampled on. It was a much a bigger hangar than back home, and ships of all sorts were all around. There were a few humans, and a few aliens, and a lot of lifeforms in weird white suits. They felt …well, weird, but she didn’t quite know why. All the whitesuits were just standing around, waiting for someone, she guessed. Standing around in lines, with blasters. Hmm, maybe it was better to stay n’visible for now. Till she saw a nice-looking human who looked like he wouldn’t eat little girls for supper (she didn’t trust the whitesuits to do the same).

The mantra in her head picked up the pace, as her adrenaline began to spike even higher – for if she was a bit afraid, and a bit tired, she was also having the most fun of her young life – n’visible, I’m n’visible…

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Obi-Wan’s head jerked up suddenly, and Luke stirred, coming wide awake. Padme’s lips pursed, as she looked back and forth between them. “Is it Leia?” she asked. She had been very quiet since her conversation with Obi-Wan, but he could hear the sadness and resignation in her words.

“She’s fine, I think,” Obi-Wan hastened to reassure her. Before, it might not have mattered so much, that that be the first thing to be said. But now, now that he was about to leave her forever – for he knew Vader’s skills, and he knew that that was the most likely outcome – he had a slightly different perspective, and some things were changed, from before. “She’s using the Force, quite strongly, actually, for her age. I think all her emotions are most likely heightened, and thus she’s being forced to draw more deeply from the Force. Usually she would have to be trained to accomplish this, but it seems to come naturally to her…But the problem is, if Vader’s not distracted, he’ll most likely have sensed that, just as we did.” He turned around, avoiding Padme’s glance. “Luke, come here, please.”

Luke obeyed. “D’you want me to talk to Leia?” he asked, putting his head to one side inquisitively. Obi-Wan was once again struck by how much older he seemed, than he had been yesterday, or even that morning, and his heart ached for the growing up of the twins. The sooner they grew up, the sooner they must face the Skywalker legacy, and their own parts in it. That is, of course, providing they survive the day…

Obi-Wan shook the morbid thoughts from his mind, and concentrated on Luke. “Yes, Luke, I want you to talk to Leia. But we’ll have to be very careful, because there’s a bad man around and I don’t want him to hear you. Put your hands in mine…yes, that’s right. Now reach out to Leia.” Luke shut his eyes, and Obi-Wan concentrated very hard. With all his strength, he kept the cloak around his own presence. If Vader sensed that he was here, all might very well be lost…

“Now tell Leia what I say. Leia, we’ll be there in…” Obi-Wan glanced at the clock, irritated that he had not thought to do so before, “thirty minutes. Find a hiding place and stay there. Don’t move. And tell your gremmel to go to sleep. You can’t use him, Leia, he can’t talk to you, or help you do anything. There is a bad man and he’s trying to find you, Leia, and he can hear your gremmel. Don’t be afraid, Leia, Ben is coming to get you. Soon this will all be over.”

Luke’s eyes popped open and he regarded Obi-Wan with a solemn look. Then he closed them again, and Obi-Wan could feel him gathering his whole self to send this message to his beloved twin.

There were tears hovering at the edges of Obi-Wan’s eyes, as he threw everything in him into the task of keeping his charges safe.

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Vader made his last swoop above the spaceport. Apparently, it was a big day for trade freighters – just his luck. They’d all been told to get out of Lord Vader’s way, so that he could land immediately – but that hadn’t worked so well. First of all, not many were good pilots, and fear of the wrath of the dread Lord Vader had not helped matters, making them even worse pilots. There had been a bit of a mess.

Vader wished he could have just landed at the military base. That would have been a whole lot quicker, and the faster he got out of Alderaan, the better, as far as he was concerned. At least at a military base, incompetence was largely confined to the upper ranks…But Organa had wanted to meet him here, at the spaceport (it was much nearer to the palace), and having no reason to refuse, at the time…

Suddenly, he felt a strange disturbance in the Force. It was light, almost dainty, of no kind he’d ever felt before. It was hardly there at all, but what was there was definitely coming from the hangar he was currently approaching.

Even as he focused on the disturbance, interest aroused, another rippling disturbance came into being. Just as faint as the other, this was not on the planet, but nearby, and both were incredibly pure and filled with light. Either Yoda & Obi-Wan were nearby (hardly likely!), and being a little careless with their shielding(even less likely!) --- or perhaps he himself had grown stronger, also a possibility. He allowed himself a moment to gloat over that, but soon returned to his broken thought, focusing more closely on the disturbances – and then they flickered out, as suddenly as they had come into being.

But he knew all he needed to know. Discarding the Yoda/Obi-Wan theory, the only likely one left was that it was a pair of children. That theory itself had problems – they would have to be bonded, and they were too pure and too strong for children – but it was the only one left.

This mission was turning out to be more interesting than he had anticipated.

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Chapter Eleven

It had only been about five seconds since she had finished talking to Luke, but already Leia felt like she was either going to throw up or bawl.

Since neither was really an option, under the circumstances, she swallowed hard and looked around her surroundings yet again. The hangar seemed to very neatly organized and in the cleanest of conditions. There were no nooks or crannies big enough for a mouse to hide in, let alone a four-year-old. She hung on to her gremmel for dear life. She didn’t want the bad man to find her, but without her gremmel’s help the whitesuits would find her! Calm down, Leia, think grownup-ly.

Later she wasn’t sure if it was her gremmel or herself, that thought of it. But somehow, she suddenly saw the perfect hiding place. Across the hangar, five small fighters were parked inconspicuously along one wall. No one seemed to be paying any attention to them, and they were out of view of the whitesuits, which was a plus.

With the typical impulsiveness of a four-year-old, Leia dashed across the intervening space, dodging people and droids at full speed, trusting her gremmel to keep her invisible. Once she got to the fighters, she bounded up and in, huddled down in the pilot’s seat and told her gremmel to go to sleep, as Ben had told her. Hopefully the gremmel would understand.

It had been about half a minute since Luke had finished talking to her. She felt Luke-in-her-head go quiet, and then her own gremmel winked out. She felt very alone and began to feel very scared. Hurry up, Ben.

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Bail Organa stood in the hangar, surrounded by his Cabinet and a few bodyguards. Not that they’ll do much good against Vader, he thought glumly. The two never did get along well, and Bail hoped this wasn’t a “choke-the-Viceroy” mission for Vader. But if it was, Bail was prepared – his successor was ready to take his place, and his wife Soni was ready to explain to her all about Alderaan’s place in the Rebellion. Jophi, his neice, had her head on her shoulders and would make a good Viceroy.

His thoughts shifted, as he waited restlessly for Vader. He’d be landing any minute now, but would likely keep the receiving committee waiting to show them “who’s the boss”.

I wonder what having children would be like? he thought. Jophi was a smart, charming girl, and the closest thing to a daughter he’d ever have, since the doctors had told him and Soni that they’d never be able to have children of their own. But sometimes Bail thought about what it would be like, to have a child, a little one to raise through childhood and adolescence to adulthood…

A sudden breeze whipped by his cheeks, startling him from his thoughts. Getting drafty in here…must remember to tell the technicians to give this place a thorough cleaning. That is, if I live. He focused his thoughts firmly back on the upcoming meeting with Vader.

Vader’s ship landed, wind whipping Bail’s robes this way and that. He stood straight and proud, waiting for his fate.

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Vader set his ship down rather more roughly than he might have, had this been a normal day. But this had definitely not been a normal day! First, he’d had to deal with Skywalker’s weak thoughts and memories – why they’d chosen now to surface, he had no idea. And now, he couldn’t even track a child’s Force aura! It was somewhere in this hangar, he knew, but he just could not find it!

Fuming, he threw a tool across the cockpit, enjoying the crash it made. But then he tried to control his anger, biting his lip in an attempt to keep his frustration at bay. Powerful as anger might be to a Sith Lord, if he met Organa this way, he might choke him first and answer the Emperor’s displeasure later. And that was not a prospect to be braved simply for the relief of venting his anger.

He wouldn’t leave without finding the child, though. Oh, no. It was his job to find and kill all Jedi and Force-sensitives. He’d stay right in this hangar and conduct his Master’s business without letting the child out of the hangar. Then, when the other child arrived (with a grown Jedi, he had no doubt; perhaps the Jedi was raising a whole flock of child Padawans), he’d kill them all. Nice day’s work.

Ha. Hopefully Organa would try to interfere. Then he could dispose of him at the same time and yet avoid the Emperor’s wrath.

He got out of the fighter and strode toward Bail Organa and company, in a very good mood.

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Chapter Twelve

“Are you sure you can take the ship down by yourself, and take off again if necessary?” They were five minutes from landing, and Obi-Wan had suddenly thought of this minor point.

Padme smiled at him. “Well, I can try. This button makes you take off, and this one makes you land, and this makes you go faster. Right?”

Obi-Wan thought she was teasing him, but he wasn’t completely sure. How could he fight Vader knowing that Padme had no idea how to fly a ship? He couldn’t give her a crash course now – he mentally groaned at the bad pun – in five minutes. Oh, make that four.

His panic was interrupted by a hand on his arm.

“Relax, Ben. You think I could have been married to Ani and not know how to fly?” She laughed. “Ani taught me how to fly anything and everything, and pronounced me ready for the skies. I may not fly as fancily and fast as Ani did, but I think I can manage.”

She was laughing at him! He fought a smile of his own, despite the circumstances. “Well, if Ani taught you, I think I’ll just take Luke with me. He’ll be safer, anyway.”

Padme smacked his arm, and Luke giggled, not catching on to the joke, most likely, but enjoying the sight of his mother and Ben acting like kids. Then he caught what Obi-Wan had said, and started jumping up and down excitedly. “Can I come, Ben? Can I really come?”

Obi-Wan smiled down at him and ruffled his hair. “I was joking, Luke. I need you to do something more important.”

”What?” Luke asked, wide-eyed.

“Look after your Mommy for me?”

Luke scowled. “I’m not stupid.”

Oops. He squatted down until he was on eye-level with Luke. “Really, Luke. The bad man is trying to find her. If I tell you to, you have to take off and take care of your Mommy without me. Can you do that for me?”

Luke looked at him for a minute, thinking. Then, without warning, he threw himself into Obi-Wan’s arms, knocking them both backwards. Obi-Wan managed to put an arm back and catch them, and then he hugged Luke back fiercely.

“You take care of yourself, promise?” Luke asked. “Make the bad man go away, and bring back Leia?”

Obi-Wan heard Padme walk away, and hoped she wasn’t taking this too hard. He hated to leave her without a protector, both from Vader and from the hard worlds out there. Tattoine would be quite a new experience for the former Queen.

He turned his attention back to Luke. “Luke, I can’t promise you that I’ll becoming back. But I promise you that I’ll do my very best.” He hugged Luke one more time. “You will be a great man, Luke. Never give in to anger, never give in to fear, never give in to hate. Never.”

Luke looked up at him with eyes that were suddenly wise. “I promise,” he whispered.

Obi-Wan felt a bump, then realized that Padme had landed the ship. He put Luke on the ground gently, then stood up. They were by the gangplank door – once he pushed the door button it would be time to face Vader. Yet he hesitated.

Padme appeared from the cockpit. Her eyes were dark and tired, Obi-Wan noticed fleetingly. “Goodbye, Obi-Wan.” Luke went over to her; automatically, Padme’s arms went around him. There they stood, and he was leaving them to the whims and dangers of the galaxy. He felt a wave of despair flash over him; he was going to his death, and he had failed. Failed Padme and her family; failed the Jedi Council; failed Anakin in the last way he could – ensuring that his children grew up the way Obi-Wan should have helped Anakin grow up.

“May the Force be with you.” It was Padme’s voice, quiet amid the stillness, powerful.

A second later, Luke’s baby voice echoed solemnly, “May the Force be with you.”

Obi-Wan blinked back tears. They were right, of course – the Force would determine his path, as it would theirs. He could only hope that their path lay along happier roads than his.

“Goodbye, Padme, Luke.” He cleared his throat; it was a trifle hoarse for some reason. “May the Force be with you.”

He pressed the button for the gangplank.

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Bail Organa was very tense. Vader could see the veins tightening in his neck, his jaw clench, his eyes wary. Yet the man remained perfectly, unbearably polite, without seeming cowed in the least. Politicians, Vader sneered to himself.

“Are you certain that you do not wish to retire to the palace, Lord Vader? I am sure that you will be more comfortable there, than in this hangar.”

Vader reached out again with the Force, futilely trying to locate the child. When he completed his sweep of the hangar, he turned again to Organa.

“Viceroy, I believe I have told you that I wish to remain here. You will make things much simpler for both of us if you refrain from asking again.”

Organa inclined his head in a slight nod. “As you wish, Lord Vader.” He clasped his hands in front of him, a nervous gesture that somehow seemed graceful. “Shall we discuss the Emperor’s business, then, Lord Vader?”

Vader opened his mouth to reply, but a small ship flew in and landed near them, its engines cutting him off. Strange. I thought the freighters were to divert to the next hangar. This isn’t a freighter though – perhaps it has special clearance.

He waited for the engines to shut off, then continued. “Perhaps your bodyguard would be more comfortable standing over by my bodyguard, Viceroy.”

Organa looked startled. “This is my cabinet, Lord Vader. They advise me on major decisions…”

Vader’s hand slipped down and fingered his lightsaber.

Organa’s eyes followed his, and Vader thought his shoulders sagged a little. “My lords, if you would be so kind as to leave me alone with Lord Vader?”

They bowed silently and withdrew. Vader allowed himself a moment to smile at their fear.

Then he focused back on Organa. “Now, Viceroy…”

Suddenly he stopped. The Force had flamed, close by. Surely not the child…

Then he saw Organa’s eyes widen as if he had seen a ghost. And then a quiet voice in his head, across a bond that he thought he had long since broken. Vader.

Vader whirled, the snarl Obi-Wan both on his lips and projected across the bond.

At the bottom of the gangplank of the little ship, Obi-Wan stood, lightsaber lit.

Vader smiled and advanced towards him.

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Chapter Thirteen

As soon as Obi-Wan started down the gangplank, Padme turned to her son. “Luke, I want you to go sit in the co-pilot’s chair. If Obi-Wan talks in your head, yell for me.”

Luke looked up, not quite understanding why but trusting his mother. He nodded and walked quickly off to the cockpit.

Padme turned her attention back to Obi-Wan and Vader. She had no illusions about what might happen – and she blinked back tears, at the prospect of her husband killing her best friend. Now at least her baby son wouldn’t have to watch.

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When Vader snarled “Obi-Wan!”, Bail decided that it would probably be best to get out of the way as quickly as possible. He didn't especially want to get stuck in the middle of a lightsaber fight! He ran back to his Cabinet, who were still surrounded by stormtroopers. The stormtroopers seemed to have forgotten them, however, in their fixation on Vader and his adversary.

Bail blinked, trying to clear the cobwebs from his brain. Could that really be Obi-Wan? It definitely looked like him, but Obi-Wan had supposedly been dead for years.

Then the man’s eyes flashed over him for an instant and Bail knew: This was indeed Obi-Wan. He hoped fervently that his old friend was strong enough to rid the galaxy of Vader, once and for all.

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Obi-Wan was very calm. Although he was a little out-of-practice in dealing with life-and-death situations, he’d certainly been in enough, both as a Padawan and as a young Jedi Knight. The sticky trembling of young hands, the panicked racing of his heart, the sentimental “last thoughts” – Will this be the last time I see the sun, or smell the stars – all were far behind him now, distant memories. None of them lingered, to disrupt his concentration. He had never felt so sure of himself, so sure of the utter rightness of what he was doing.

Vader was walking towards him, even as Obi-Wan himself walked towards Vader. They would meet in the middle of the hangar, but neither seemed in any great hurry. Obi-Wan knew that Vader had been looking for him, to get rid of him once and for all, and most likely did not want to rush the moment, secure in his sense of victory.

But although Obi-Wan knew that his skills might be no match for Vader’s, he was not willing to give up yet. He fought for Leia, for Padme, for Luke – for his protectees, for his former Padawan’s family, for the future of the galaxy.

It was then that Obi-Wan realized what probably should have been apparent to him for a long time. He, the perfect Jedi knight, who had warned Qui-Gon about breaking the Code, who had lectured Anakin so many times on staying unattached - he had himself become attached.

I’m fighting for my … family, Obi-Wan thought, with a slight trace of wonder.

He smiled, a little inscrutable smile. Vader didn’t stand a chance.

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The bad thing about hiding on a fighter, at least the kind of fighter Leia was on, was that you couldn’t see behind you.

She stared at the blank wall in front of her and wished for the seventeenth time that she could see what was going on in the hangar. She just knew that there was something important happening, and all she could see was the stupid wall!

She twisted around in the big pilot’s seat, and got up on her knees. The clear plastic retractable roof thing was still too high to see out of, so she braced herself on some lever and somehow managed to get herself on eye-level with the glass.

Oh, wonderful. Now she could see the wall on the other side of the hangar, and part of the ceiling. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t get the right angle to see the hangar floor in between.

She plopped down on the pilot’s chair again, scraping her arm on something in the process.

“Ouch.” She stared at the blood on her arm. She felt like she was going to cry.

“I am not going to cry.” She stamped her little foot on the floor and rearranged her features in an attempt to look fierce. “I will find a way to see, and then I will know when Obi-Wan comes to get me, and then we will go home.”

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Today will be a day to remember. Obi-Wan will fall, and the last vestiges of my past will be eliminated. I will defeat both Obi-Wan and all that remains of Anakin Skywalker, my past. Then I will find Obi-Wan’s precious Padawans and destroy them too.

Yes, today will be a day long remembered, the consummation of everything that Darth Vader is, and everything that Darth Vader stands for. None alive will remember that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker.

You don’t stand a chance, old man.

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Han pressed his nose to the window and held tightly to the windowsill, entranced. Darth Vader and another dude were moving slowly towards each other, weird lightswords on. They were talking to each other, but Han couldn’t hear them. It didn’t matter – he had a front-row seat on what looked like it was going to be a good fight.

“Boy, come away from there. You want to get us all killed?” His master was huddled on the floor across the room. As soon as he’d seen the men, he’d collapsed into a terrified puddle, and refused to move.

“They’re not paying us any attention,” Han replied. He knew his master wouldn’t dare to come over and forcibly pull him away from the window. “I wanna watch.”

His master didn’t press the question any longer. He simply curled up more tightly and continued mumbling. All Han could make out were a couple of words – “Sith” and “Jedi”. Now Sith, considering his master’s frame of mind, was a perfectly legitimate word to mumble (although Han thought it a bit mild; he’d have used one of the stronger Hutt epithets, himself). But “Jedi”, that’s one he’d never heard.

Ah, well. He shrugged his shoulders. So his master knew a swear word he’d never heard before. So what? He turned his full attention back to the fighters. Now they were circling, but neither had made a move, and they seemed to be still talking.

“Wish they’d get to the fight already,” Han mumbled to himself.

His master moaned.

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Chapter Fourteen

Darth Vader smiled.

Finally, four years after being knocked into that infernal lava pit, he had the chance to face Kenobi and exact his revenge. It felt good.

He decided to rub it in a little. “So, Kenobi, it comes to this. Soon you will be smoldering in pieces on this hangar floor.”

Kenobi did not answer. They met in the middle of the hangar and stopped a couple of feet apart. Vader lit his saber, but let his arm hang at his side. He wanted to enjoy this, to prolong it. Kenobi was responsible for the destroyed shell of a body he inhabited, for the destruction of his whole life, for the loss of his love…

Thinking of her death made him angry, and he drew on the darkness eagerly, while shunning thoughts of her. He directed the anger at his former Master. “I wonder if I can get you to beg?” he said nastily, smirking behind his mask.

Kenobi looked at him with calm eyes that seemed almost sad. “Do not be so certain of your victory, Darth.” He too lit his lightsaber.

Vader took a moment to study his former master. Kenobi had aged much in these four years, he realized. The brown hair he remembered was liberally sprinkled with gray, and his face was heavily lined. He just stood there, relaxed, older, quietly contemplating Vader – and Vader thought of Qui-Gon.

The thought startled him into making full eye-contact with Kenobi. Not that Kenobi could know this, of course, because of the mask…or could he? A myriad of emotions passed through Kenobi’s eyes – calm, sadness, memory, regret –

And Vader put an end to it. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, her – all were past, all that existed was now, and his revenge. “I am no longer your darling Padawan, Kenobi. No longer the gifted boy that saved your incompetent self from getting blown to smithereens.” His voice was rising. “No longer the boy you ripped from his mother and home.” They were circling now, neither having yet raised his lightsaber. Kenobi remained silent.

Vader, on the other hand, was now shouting. “No longer the recalcitrant Padawan whom the Jedi spat out when he trespassed the Jedi Code. No longer the heartbroken…” He broke off, even now not trusting his voice to speak of her or her death. He savagely thrust aside the weakness. “No longer Qui-Gon’s sacred trust to you. After I kill you today, when you meet him in the hereafter, you can tell him just how horribly you failed!”

Kenobi’s eyes had never left his own, never broken their calm. “Perhaps you are no longer these things, Darth,” he said. “But then who are you? Every living being must have a soul, and the boy, the young man you are renunciating – he was your soul, Vader. Are you truly a machine now? Or is Anakin, my friend…” His eyes seemed to bore through the mask and bare Vader’s mind. “Or is Anakin still there, somewhere?”

Vader forced himself to focus, to control the thunderclouds of rage, to channel them into the Dark Side. If he truly lost control of himself, Kenobi might be able to find a loophole in his defenses. “Anakin is dead!” he screamed. “I am Darth Vader – your nemesis!”

He whipped his lightsaber up and swung it at Kenobi’s head. “Prepare to die!”

The two blades clashed between them.

Kenobi looked up into the mask, seeking something. He was keeping his composure somehow. “Darth, you may very well kill me here today. But I have one question for you, before you try.”

“What?” Vader spat. “A Dark Lord does not give answers to feeble old men.” And yet, as he looked down into Kenobi’s eyes, now so very sad, he felt his anger begin to ebb a bit. He was reminded of years ago, when he’d first come to Coruscant. Many nights he’d wake to find his master on the terrace outside their apartment, just standing there and gazing into the sky…it was never spoken of, but Ani had known that his master was grieving Qui-Gon.

“So much anger…” Kenobi murmured, drawing Vader out of the weak memory.

Their blades still hummed together in the space dividing them. Vader knew he should just strike now, but somehow he was curious as to what Kenobi wanted. “Your question, old man! Before I dispose of you!”

Kenobi just looked at him a moment, gaze gentle. He sighed. “What would Padme think, should she see you now, Anakin?”

Mistake, Vader thought fleetingly, as the rage boiled fiercely ever higher within him. “Never speak of her!” he screamed. Enough of this play-acting. Kenobi would die now.

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Chapter Fifteen

She blinked furiously yet subconsciously, her nails digging relentlessly into her palms, her teeth clenched painfully tight. Her stomach rose in revolt, and her head swam.

Yet despite her bodily weakness, Padme’s mind was clear. Thoughts, memories raced through, fractured, piercing, nearly overwhelming.

Ani, running after a bird that had stolen one of her hair ribbons…

Ani, smiling a roguish smile at her behind Obi-Wan’s back, raising an eyebrow…

Ani, braiding her hair…

Ani, tiptoeing into their bedroom on Naboo, on a surreptitious detour from a mission…smiling fondly, using his favorite Force trick to wake her up – drip, drop, drip, drop – one by one the drops of water sprinkled her eyes, her cheeks, her lips…and she opened her eyes to Ani’s laughing … “So, did you miss me?”

Ani, saying “I love you, Angel”…

“Mommy?”

She looked down, and Luke was there, tugging on her shirt hem. “Mommy?”

He looked so much like his father, standing there. In her mind’s eye…

Ani laughed, standing in the hallway behind Luke, evidently having just come from the cockpit. “Don’t bother your Mommy, Luke, can’t you tell she’s in one of those politician brown studies?”

Luke laughed and ran back to Ani, who swooped him up over his head, around and around…

“Mommy?”

“Yes, Luke?” Her voice trembled, but only slightly.

His blue eyes were afraid. He was looking to her for strength. Her. “Obi-Wan says to go now, Mommy.”

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Leia sat pouting on the pilot’s seat. She could not see out the stupid window, and she’d scraped her elbow and broken a nail trying. All that trouble she’d went to, getting into Mommy’s nail polish, and now it was wasted. This was starting to get scary and lonely. Where was Mommy? Where was Ben?

Suddenly she could hear Luke-in-her-head again. Her heart raced, and she frantically checked to see if her gremmel was still sleeping.

He wasn’t. He wasn’t talking, but he was definitely awake. Something was strange about this whole day. Something was very strange about the hangar. Something was going on.

Luke-in-her-head was worried, sad, upset…which was not like him. She shook her head and pursed her lips. Luke?

His response was immediate, scared. Leia?

What’s going on? Where’s Ben? Where’s Mommy?

He sniffled. At least, Luke-in-her-head sniffled. Ben’s fighting the bad man, but he’s going to lose, and he told us to leave! But when I told Mommy…Mommy won’t talk, she just stands here and looks funny!

You’re leaving me here!

We have to.

Leia hit the control panel hard, then watched disinterestedly as blood trickled down her cut hand. She would just have to take matters into her own hands…and fast.

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Padme stood frozen. Part of her had heard Luke’s words, part of her refused to understand them, but all of her remained motionless.

The images changed. Now they were imaginary, but just as horrible.

Mace Windu – dead.

Ki-Adi-Mundi – dead.

Yoda – dead.

The children at the Jedi Temple – dead.

Sabe, dead.

Over their dead bodies stood the dread Darth Vader. He laughed.

Her husband.

She turned and dashed past Luke, towards the cockpit.

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Chapter 16

Kenobi was tiring, and tiring fast. Vader smiled coldly and quickened his pace. Every blow, every parry, brought him closer to Kenobi’s death. To revenge. To closure…

Approximately four years before

His master stood at the window, looking out over Coruscant. Vader stood in the doorway, a trifle uncomfortable; his master was continuing to ignore him, despite the fact that he’d been there for five minutes already.

Finally, Palpatine broke the silence. “Lord Vader.”

“Yes, my master.”

“The Empire’s armies recently put down a Rebel base on Naboo. Are you aware of this, my apprentice?”

“Yes, my master.” The words were a little forced. He had forsaken that life only a few months ago, and it still haunted him sometimes. He had been trying to ignore the invasion of Naboo, and the memories it brought.

His master continued, still without turning around. “It has come to my knowledge that Senator Amidala was the ringleader of the movement.”

Vader was glad of the mask, as it hid his expression. Her…his master was probably the only person in the world who could speak of her so casually to him, and still live.

“We located her precise position, and I gave strict orders that she was not to be harmed.”

Vader was skeptical of that. But then, perhaps his Master wished to test his devotion to the Sith by confronting him with her…he inwardly hoped that was not the case. He did not know how he would resist the sadness, the pleading that was sure to be in her eyes…

He shook himself out of his thoughts. His master was waiting for an answer. “Was ... she secured, my master?” Hopefully his master wouldn't have noticed the painful pause.

His master was silent for nearly a minute. Vader began to feel apprehensive in a new way. Wouldn’t it have been more like his master to simply summon him and present him with a bound and defiant Pad…her?

“She and a Jedi were resisting our forces from a small house in the countryside,” Palpatine continued.

Not the lake retreat…Such memories there…But wait, a Jedi? Who?

“I believe the Jedi was an old friend of yours, Vader. An Obi-Wan Kenobi?”

Kenobi. Of course.

“They withstood attack for two days. Then the fire abruptly fell silent. When my forces entered, they found that Kenobi had escaped.” Palpatine’s head tilted to one side slightly. “He is strong in the Force, that one. But in the Light Side, the Weak Side as it should be called…”

“And what of the Senator, my Master?” Vader didn’t even realize he was interrupting, and wouldn’t have cared anyway. So Kenobi had saved his own skin…Ah well, no matter. He would just have to convince his Master that Lord Vader with her at his side would be more powerful than Lord Vader alone…

Finally, his master turned, and held out a holo.

Vader furrowed his brows, but stepped forward and took it nonetheless.

It was her. In her elaborate royal robes, a blaster clenched in her hand. Her beautiful hair tangled and mussed, flung half over her beautiful face and shoulders. Her lips twisted in an enigmatic smile.

A lightsaber wound in her chest.

His world came crashing down.

“Kenobi left a note pinned on her body,” Palpatine said, putting a hand on Vader’s shoulder. “It said ‘This one’s for you, Vader.’”

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Leia felt strangely calm and clearheaded. Now that her decision had been made, she felt quite grown-up and sure of herself.

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Padme felt strangely calm and clearheaded. Now that her decision had been made, it was up to the Force.

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Chapter Seventeen

The memory of her death had fueled Vader with yet more anger, rage, and hate. He pressed on, ever harder…and in a dizzying moment of exhilaration, Kenobi’s lightsaber went flying from his hand.

Vader raised his lightsaber high, and swung it at Kenobi for the death blow.

Who promptly ducked, tripped, and sat down in an ungraceful heap.

Had the situation been less grave, had Vader been Anakin Skywalker, had this been the Jedi Temple…well, it was none of these things, and Vader had not the slightest temptation to laugh. He simply stepped forward and raised his saber again. “You will die as she did, killer!”

Obi-Wan Kenobi made no move to resist. It was over.

“NO!”

All eyes in the hangar turned towards the voice. It was a female voice, shrill with disbelief, with anger, with shock. For a light-headed moment, Vader thought it was her ghost.

A little girl darted from behind a cargo ship, where she had evidently been hiding a moment before. She ran across the hangar in Vader’s moment of hesitation, and planted herself squarely between Vader and Kenobi.

“Don’t you dare touch him, you big…bully!”

Vader stared at the child in bemusement. About three or four, perhaps. Although she is very small and it is hard to tell at that age…probably three. Though quite articulate. When do children start to talk, anyway?

“Run, child! Run!” It was Kenobi’s voice. “Run as far away from here as you can!”

The child didn’t turn around. “No I won’t. The big bad man will hurt you. And I’m a grown-up girl. I don’t run away when I’m scared.”

Vader felt Kenobi try to reach out to the child’s mind. Probably going to try some kind of Force persuasion. Not that the girl would get far anyway.

Do you want her to die horribly, Kenobi? He sent the thought over the bond; for some reason he did not want the girl to hear his threat. Perhaps it was because she was very young. Why that would suddenly matter to him, he had no idea…he had slaughtered many young Padawans before.

“Why are you hurting Ben?”

He jerked his gaze back down to her face. She repeated her statement, with a scowl. “Why are you hurting Ben? You’re a mean man, to knock people down and talk to them in a mean voice.”

Kenobi was radiating all sorts of unpleasant emotions, although he did not try to project to the girl again. Vader quirked an eyebrow. This might prove interesting. “Aren’t you scared of me, girl?”

She looked up at him, hands on hips. A tendril of hair blew across her flushed face, and her brown eyes stared at him hotly. She reminded him of somebody…

“My name is Leia, not girl. And I’m not scared of you. I’m mad at you!”

“And why is that, Leia?” He enjoyed Kenobi’s discomfort – the Jedi remained frozen out of fear for the girl - but she herself was beginning to intrigue him. Ever since he had become Darth Vader, he had become used to the all-pervasive fear those around him radiated. This girl was a new sensation.

She narrowed her eyebrows, and again Vader felt like he had seen her somewhere before. “You made my daddy go away. I know, I heard Mommy and Ben talking about him. And Mommy cries at night because Daddy is gone.”

Vader suddenly realized where he had seen that expression before. It was Kenobi’s expression. The one he had used on his “very young Padawan” when said Padawan had gotten into some awful mischief.

Her lips trembled, however, something he was sure Kenobi's never had. "I think he's dead." Her voice quieted, and Vader thought he saw a tear in her eye.

Then she blazed forth again. "I think you killed him, you Sith-spawn. I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!"

Is it every child's nature to be so emotionally unstable, or just every girl child's nature?

The little spitfire continued. “And now we have to live with Ben because Daddy is gone. And Ben scolds and won’t let me do things and won’t…” Suddenly she turned around and threw herself into Kenobi’s arms. “I’m sorry, Ben! I really do love you! I’m sorry I’m such a bad girl all the time!”

Kenobi’s eyes met Vader’s.

Vader opened his mouth. “Child…”

The girl – Leia – twisted around to glare at Vader again. “You…you Sith-spit! Leave me alone!”

She continued ranting, but Vader was no longer listening. When she had turned, her dress had shifted, and a chain had fallen forward into view. Dangling from it was something that Vader had never thought to see again.

The japor snippet.

His mood changed in a moment. He had been quite pleased with his accomplished revenge, intrigued by the child, mildly amused by the rather interesting position his old Master was in - it wasn't every day Kenobi sat awaiting death while his Padawan screamed curses at his former Padawan, and then hurled herself crying into his arms.

But it was different now.

The girl continued to rage, hurling childish invective at him…Kenobi sat, haunted blue eyes still staring steadily at him…and her specter stood there beside them…mute, eyes intense, hands reaching out to him...

In a fit of weariness he knew that Kenobi could not have killed her.

He stepped one step forward and bent down to the girl's level. He reached his left hand out and snapped the chain, curling the japor snippet deep within his palm. He straightened back up.

The girl fell silent, amazingly. Her mouth was slightly open – Offended? Angry? Indignant? – but she made no move to take the trinket back. She looked steadily at him, unafraid, out of deep brown eyes…her eyes.

Padme, my love. I could not make you happy, could not even save your life. Can you hear me, in that other world…oh, Padme, oh my Padme… even in his mind his voice broke, on that beloved name, as he reached back across eternity to the memory of their time together, for the first time in years - as he saw her again, laughing, happy in her love for him, in their shared love. Oh, Padme, my love.

Ani. And time blurred, the boundaries between past, present, and future seemed to melt away. He reached for her hand, strained for it with every fiber of his being - and her hand slipped into his, her comforting presence soothed him. Ani, love.

I am Vader now. Darth Vader, Sith Lord.

You are still my Ani. Come back to the Light Side, back to the Ani I knew and loved.

He could not bear to tell Padme that there was no going back for him, that he was forever irreconcilably linked to the Dark Side of the Force. Already she slipped away from him, back into the spirit world.

I love you so much, Ani darling.

Oh, Padme, you cannot know how much I love you.

A whimper intruded on his concentration, and he realized that he was staring straight into the depths of the girl's brown eyes.

He reached out to Padme one last time. This girl has your eyes…let this be my last gift to you, Angel.

He blinked harshly. Whatever trance he had been in had abruptly ended. He was once again in a small hangar, facing down his mortal enemy and his enemy's Padawan. He was once again Darth Vader, Sith Lord.

Vader's soul ached. He would deal with that later, however, when he had time to meditate and re-immerse himself in the Dark Side of the Force. He would sorely need it - that weak Jedi Anakin had wreaked havoc in his mind today. But before he sought dark serenity, there was an unfinished matter to attend to.

He looked over the child's shoulder at Kenobi. “Get out. And take that brat with you.”

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Chapter Eighteen

Obi-Wan’s head jerked up in astonishment. Was Vader really letting them go? Just like that? After all the anger, the murderous lightsaber fight, the shouting – he was just letting them go?

He looked down at Leia, who still sat clinging to him. Did Vader suspect Leia’s identity? Why not just take her then? Was he going to trail them? Was he just being extra cruel to Obi-Wan – would he let them get halfway up the gangplank and then cut them down?

His doubts were interrupted by Luke’s Force-presence in his head. Ben! Mommy fell down and I think she hit her head! She won’t open her eyes, no matter how much I shake her!

Don’t shake her! Obi-Wan sent back in alarm. I’ll be there in a minute. Well, that put an end to doubts. Padme couldn’t fly away unconscious – although by all rights she should have already been gone. He distinctly remembered, that when he had started to lose the fight, he had had told her (through Luke) to take off right away.

But that was a discussion for later. Right now, he gently stood Leia on her feet, then stood up himself.

Leia wasn’t paying any attention to him. She was staring at Vader, who had whirled around after his last speech and now stood facing the opposite wall. Only his imposing back was in view.

“Come on, Leia,” Obi-Wan urged quietly. I don’t think I want to try to stretch my luck…

But she kept ignoring him. All her consciousness seemed focused on Vader.

Then suddenly she stepped forward to Vader’s side, and fearlessly slipped her tiny hand into his massive one.

Slowly, as if against his will, the Dark Lord turned his head and looked down at the little sprite of humanity.

She gazed up at him, unafraid. “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to make you sad. I thought you were going to hurt Ben and I was scared…” She trailed off, as Vader continued to stare at her.

There was a pause. Obi-Wan looked helplessly on. Vader was far too volatile for Obi-Wan to risk making any sudden moves toward Leia.

Leia asked very quietly, “Did you ever have a little girl?”

Obi-Wan was almost physically sick then and there. The nausea must have made him imagine that Vader shuddered slightly.

“My wife…we were supposed to have a little girl,” Vader finally answered.

Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what he should be more surprised at – at the fact that Vader had actually answered the question, or at the raggedness in the manufactured voice.

“What happened to her?” Leia asked innocently.

Obi-Wan could see Vader squeeze the little hand tightly, in reflex. Leia didn’t even flinch, just kept staring steadily at him.

Vader breathed in-out, in-out. “She died.”

Pause.

Then Leia tugged on his hand, presumably to focus his attention on her again. Vader responded by kneeling down so that he was more on her level.

“You loved her very much, didn’t you?”

There was a very long pause. Obi-Wan stood transfixed.

“Yes.”

And Obi-Wan heard in that one word, heartbreak and loss and guilt and love. And he wondered, for the very first time, if Anakin might actually still live in that monster somewhere.

Leia looked at the Dark Lord for a few more long seconds. It seemed as if this conversation had been going on for hours. Obi-Wan had the distinct impression that time was standing still, perhaps out of mourning for what might have been.

And then Leia put her arms around Vader’s neck, and held him close to her with all her four-year-old strength.

Obi-Wan’s jaw fell open when Vader quickly returned the embrace, holding her tightly to him, crushing her as close as possible without hurting her.

In a weird, aching sense of déjà vu, Obi-Wan felt as if it were years ago, and he kneeling, holding his dying Master, imploring the world not to take him away.

After what seemed like eternity, they drew apart.

“Go now, Leia,” the dread Sith said quietly. “Go and live, child. Be happy. Live.”

“And you? Will you be happy?”

He did not answer.

She lifted her hand and touched the cheek of his mask. “May you find true happiness and peace, and may they ever be by your side. May you live long and fulfill your dreams, and may the Force be with you always.”

The age-old benediction hung the air between them for some seconds. Then she stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek, or the cheek of his mask rather. “Goodbye,” she said, smiling at him.

“Goodbye,” he said.

She turned and walked back to Obi-Wan, and placed her hand in his.

They went up the gangplank and into the ship.

They took off.

Chapter Nineteen

She was in the garden, braiding Leia’s hair. The flowers were blooming, and the birds were singing; Luke was crawling around on his hands and knees, chasing a caterpillar and managing to get incredibly grubby in the process. Obi-Wan and Anakin were talking, over by the fountain, and as she watched, Obi-Wan threw back his head and laughed long and hard. Anakin followed with his deep chuckle, and she smiled. As if sensing her, Ani turned and smiled back.

Then he was there, kneeling beside the bench, looking up into her eyes. And she saw the love in his eyes, but there was conflict there, and pain…what was wrong with Ani? She tried to speak, but found she could not…And Luke and Leia and Obi-Wan had disappeared…And he reached for her hand, and she put her hand in his, joined forever, for eternity…And he was saying something to her, his eyes intent and agonized on hers, and she was answering…

And he was fading, and slipping away…and the garden was fading…and someone was calling her name.

“Ani, love?” The words came out at last.

“Padmè! Padmè, can you hear me?”

It wasn’t Ani. Her insides twisted.

“Padmè, open your eyes.” It was Obi-Wan, and he sounded panicked. That was strange. Obi-Wan never panicked. But she didn’t want to open her eyes and give up her dream…

“Is Mommy going to be okay?” That was Luke.

She opened her eyes. “I’m fine, Lukie, I’m fine.”

“Luke, go sit in the cockpit with your sister.”

“But I want to see Mommy!”

“No questions, Luke, do as you’re told.” Obi-Wan’s voice was unaccustomedly sharp. Luke looked hurt, and hurried out of the room.

She looked up at Obi-Wan. “You didn’t have to say it like that, Ben.” She made her voice lightly scolding, but not harsh. For some reason, she didn’t seem to possess the ability to be sharp or harsh right now.

He was looking at her with an inscrutable expression. “Padmè, I think Vader knows who Leia is.”

“What?” She didn’t seem to possess the ability to become excited or furious either.

He told her what had happened, quickly and in a few words. She closed her eyes, remembering, and somehow it seemed that she could see the events as they happened, as if she had actually been there.

He finished. “Don’t you see, Padmè, he stared at Leia for such a long time – and it was as if he was staring through her, not at her – he must have been seeing the resemblance between the two of you.”

“No. He doesn’t know who Leia is.”

“How do you know?” He was frustrated now. She had the feeling he would be relieved if she got up and threw something. It was more like her. This calmness must be unnerving him. But somehow, it was right…and more of the dream came back to her, and her heart began to race.

Let this be my last gift to you, Angel…

“I…Ben…I just know.” She looked away from him, her hands wringing back and forth, fidgeting together.

She could feel him looking at her. “Padmè, there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Yes.

“Ben…” Oh, Padmè, you cannot know how much I love you. Suddenly, inexplicably, tears were raining down her face, and she brought her hands up, sobbing.

She could feel Obi-Wan’s concern, his fear, his frustration…Wait. She could feel them? She put the thought aside, although it unsettled her.

“Ben,” she said through her tears, “Ben, I talked to him. I don’t know how…but I talked to him, Ben.”

“WHAT?”

“In my head, Ben. He was there…and he was himself, without the suit…”

“What did he say?”

She sniffled, trying to gather the cobwebs and weave them together into a memory. “He called to me, as if I was dead…and he loves me still, Ben, I felt it radiating through him, pain and love and loss…and he said that letting Leia go was like a gift to me, his last gift to me…”

Obi-Wan was very quiet, letting Padmè cry. Presently, she gained control of herself and wiped her eyes fiercely.

“Ben, please go get Leia for me. I need to talk to her.”

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He had no idea if it had been minutes or hours, since the ship took off.

Vader stood exactly as he had stood then. He was a massive black statue in the midst of a large gray hangar.

He was searching, searching for centeredness. Somehow, not only had he lost his centeredness while talking to the girl, but he had lost his connection to the Dark Side of the Force. Now both sides of the Force were yammering on either side of him, and he could not seem to latch onto the Dark Side.

He was beginning to grow tired, as he tried fruitlessly to find his center. He was due to report on Coruscant soon, and if he could not get a grip on himself the Emperor would not be pleased.

“Milord?”

A stormtrooper was standing nervously in front of him. Usually, Vader would have been irritated at the interruption, but he didn’t seem to be capable of being irritated right now. “Yes?”

“Milord. We were checking the hangar for any signs of further insurgents, and we found this, sir, in a fighter that is marked as having been grounded. I thought you would want it, milord.”

Vader stared at the man, and at the object he was holding. Suddenly, the situation seemed ludicrous, and he fought the urge to laugh. Once he realized that he was fighting the urge to laugh, however, it shocked him into his senses again. He held out his hand.

“Dismissed, trooper. Take your squadron back to their base.”

“Milord, that would leave you alone…”

“Are you questioning me, trooper?” It was a simple question, without the menacing overtone it usually had.

But the trooper didn’t seem to notice the difference. “No, milord,” he practically squeaked, and hurried off to relay the order.

Vader looked down at the object in his hand. A teddy bear?