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Ahsoka's new position as Fulcrum usually meant she was doling out the orders and missions, not pursuing them, but when she'd gotten wind of a force-sensitive child and the empire's potential knowledge of such a child, she took it upon herself to ensure its safety. The hunt for new blood was not a new idea for the dark side. Children were very susceptible to environmental models of the force in their early years and it was imperative that they be exploited as early as possible. The very thought disgusted Ahsoka to her very core and was predominantly her reasoning for propelling herself on such a mission so soon after her duel on Raada. She shouldn't risk exposure, but this was important.
Her other motive was a budding concern over the life of the rebellion's organizer, Bail Organa, who'd recruited her. She knew they had to keep secrets and trust each other anyway, but what really prickled at her was the fact that this report was from Bail's home planet of Alderaan. She could tell from meeting him again that he was exhausted over juggling the various roles he currently held. To the empire he was an ally and a senator, to his wife a husband, to his daughter a father, and to the rebellion, an organizer or leader. She knew he worked relentlessly hard to maintain his place in all of his worlds and that a domino effect would ensue if just one fell apart.
She barely knew him during the Clone Wars as anything other than a friendly face and as someone Padmé Amidala trusted with her life, but that had to be enough.
Until she found herself outside of his palace walls, calculating just how she was planning on covertly scaling them. Did he know a force child lie so close to him? If so, why hadn't he asked her to protect it sooner? She suggested to him on numerous occasions that they establish a protection unit for force-sensitive children. It was too dangerous to train them in this ugly blemish of history, but that didn't mean they should be left completely alone for the Sith to grab whenever they see fit. Sure, the handful of dark side wielders that resided in power was terrible, but an entire army of trained Siths was so much worse.
She quietly lifted herself through the window. The palace, like everything else in Alderaan, was absolutely stunning but not ostentatious. She'd had plenty of time to observe it and the sights around her while she climbed. She was careful not to disturb any security in place and was pleasantly surprised at the level of intense security that was at play. Only a skilled force-wielder could potentially enter if they knew what to look for.
Her boots touched carpet when her feet soundlessly hit the floor. The room was full of light and bright colors that seemed to illuminate at the touch of sunlight. It didn't take many skills of deduction to figure out this was a baby's room. Toys were littered everywhere in walking distance, acting as unaccountable landmines for the former Padawan learner. She'd never really played with toys outside of the games the younglings engaged in after studies at the temple. A brief moment of levity washed over her and it reminded her of an emotional manifestation of the room she currently stood in.
She reminded herself of the severity of her mission and persisted across the sea of toys and stuffed animals. She closed her eyes and felt a powerful tug through the door. It didn't physically move her, but it'd been the first time she was able to connect through the force in a long and unbearable amount of time. She knew she missed the connections she once felt, but didn't truly understand it until she'd experienced it so briefly with the signal of the child. This was a toddler, no older than 3, whom she'd never even met, but she could already tell that the bond with the force was there.
Cautiously, she opened the door and slipped into the grand hallway that hid behind it. The child was very close and she could feel it.
"Daddy, I want to go swimming!" She heard a young voice down the hall.
"In a little bit, sweetie. Daddy has some work to do first." Bail was heard next and even though she couldn't see him, he already sounded distracted. She wondered what position distracted him now.
With an expert-level of finesse, Ahsoka pressed herself against the wall and moved towards the direction the force guided her. She stopped in front of a doorway and while the child couldn't see her, Ahsoka had a clear view of the small little girl. She was small in stature, but had round chubby cheeks that were white as snow in contrast to her chestnut-colored hair, which still donned full baby girls that were just starting to grow out. Her eyes were big and full of wonder at the display before her. She sat in front of a gigantic fish tank that enamored her to the fullest extent a toddler could be captivated. At first, she didn't think much of the sight and was about to express confusion in her senses, but then something peculiar happened.
She raised her small hands to the glass and pressed her forehead against it as well, an odd act for a baby, but not completely unrealistic on its own. However, when every sea creature in the tank immediately swarmed to her contact to the glass, Ahsoka had to bite back a gasp. The fish didn't move a muscle until the young girl pulled away and then they carried on like nothing magnetically pulled them together at all. Bail certainly didn't notice the action. She didn't exactly blame him. For all the time he spent with Jedi, that didn't mean he knew how to decipher force subtleties.
Most people expected to see their kids telepathically flinging household objects around with their minds and while that was sometimes a prominent symptom, everyone had different innate strengths when it came to the force. Ahsoka always had the specialty in trust and being able to read people's true intentions. With training, these initial skills fade a bit since the focus is place on other areas as well. Had she never joined the Jedi order, it was very possible that Ahsoka would have been able to tell Barriss's intentions from the start of her deception. However, had she not joined the order, she probably would have been sold into slavery eventually.
She shook off the memory and focused on the task at hand. It was obvious that Bail Organa's own daughter was a child of the force. Said child was incredibly gifted too, by the looks of it, and this assumption was heightened when the curly head of hair turned and looked right at the doorway.
"Daddy, I think someone's here."
"No one's here, Leia." Bail mumbled from behind his work.
"Actually..." Ahsoka decided if there was ever a time to make her presence known without scaring anyone half to death, now was the time. She walked from beyond the shadows and into the forefront of the room. Half of it was taken up by the glorious fishtanks that previously engaged Leia and the other half consisted of filing cabinets and computers in front of the entrance to a balcony.
Bail's eyes widened and jumped from his desk. She couldn't gage whether he was angry or simply just surprised at the visit. She knew he couldn't have been overjoyed at her dangerous presence in his home, with his daughter around, but the situation had become a lot more grave than what Ahsoka initially assumed. She didn't have time to worry about hurting people's feelings and instead had to focus on saving lives.
"Hello!" Leia chirped.
Her eyes flickered to the toddler and a smirk formed at the edge of her lips. There was no doubt the little girl was adorable. Her big brown eyes were full of a familiar wonderment and hope that somehow struck a chord. She'd never seen anyone like Ahsoka before, because she was inspecting her as a scientist makes a discover on an unknown object. She didn't mind the inspection, because one of the beautiful things about children was their curiosity and how open and honest they were about it.
"What are you--" Bail sounded like he was trying to preserve a tone for the sake of his daughter, but Ahsoka held a hand up before he could continue.
"We need to talk."
His mouth was left agape and he considered his options for a moment before shrugging. After going through various physical reactions. It was obvious he'd realized that Ahsoka would only turn up in his home, endangering his family and precious ecosystem of lifestyles, if she felt the situation truly warranted it. "I'll go find one of the sitters..."
"This involves her." She said quietly enough for Leia to ignore.
By the dread that fell across his face, Bail knew exactly what she was referring to.
"Okay. Close the door."
Maybe he didn't know his daughter possessed the force, but it had clearly been a prevalent fear for quite some time. Why, though? Yes, almost anyone could have a gifted child, but this presented the symptoms of a realized worst-nightmare that he'd been expecting. Ahsoka remembered Anakin to suffer from awful nightmares at times. His were always expectations of grandiose failure and loss that were painted in a way so realistic that it physically hurt. This was what Bail Organa looked like, only that it was actually happening. Unless Leia's birth parents were notoriously force-sensitive, how would he know to fear this on such a real level?
Despite his change in demeanor, Bail still offered her tea and Ahsoka accepted out of politeness. She sat stiffly across from him in a hard chair that reminded her of days where she'd gotten into trouble with the Jedi counsel and was waiting for her punishment.
Leia was clearly ready to be as much of a public personality figure as her parents, because she didn't display any indication of shyness. She'd already crawled into Ahsoka's lap and played with the ends of her lekkus. She marveled at how she knew to be gentle with them, especially at her age. The child didn't display any glaring sides of the dark side, but then again, people weren't born evil. They had to be corrupted at some point down the line to submerse themselves in darkness. Leia, on the other hand, lived in a very empowering yet kind world that taught her that the two things could be inclusive.
She picked Leia up so she was standing on her lap and smiled at her. "It looks like you're more than ready for the interaction-part of being a princess."
She giggled and Ahsoka's heart soared at the purity behind it. In a galaxy so convoluted with despair and destruction, it was important to find parts that weren't, no matter how small.
"You're very gifted." She observed and meant it in numerous ways, but Bail's sagging face indicated he understood.
"She is." He sighed. "I knew she would be."
"You didn't tell me." She mused and never took her playful gaze off Leia.
"I wasn't 100% sure and even if I was... I don't want it getting out."
It was a shame what used to be considered a beautiful gift was now an ugly mark, but she understood his logic.
"Were her parents..." She paused to reword her question. "Were her birth parents gifted?"
Even though her direct gaze wasn't on him, she could see he swallowed a knot in his throat. "One of them was, yes. They both were in their own ways, but I'd always hoped... I'd always hoped she'd take after the other."
"While any child can be born gifted, a blood lineage is always more powerful."
Leia seemed a lot less interested in the present conversation and crawled off of Ahsoka to go and find some scattered toys to present. She'd brought over a picture book and opened it on her lap. Ahsoka went with it and gently her hair. She was always enamored by hair, perhaps because she never had any of her own, but knew baby hair to be the softest to the touch. Leia wouldn't have it forever just as she wouldn't be a child forever, but she hoped she'd always have a softness no matter how strong she got.
"How do you know?" Bail spluttered. "That she's... Is it easy to detect?"
"She's incredibly alert and already has an empathic bond established. It's not so much in outward signs with her, but with what's inside. If we don't figure something else out, I won't be the only one."
"What can we do?" In this moment, it dawned on Ahsoka that Bail didn't seem like any of the roles he'd juggled on a daily basis except for one: the father. He was all of those incredibly crucial people to everything else he was involved in, but the most important, the one that took precedence to all of them, was being a good father. Right now he just sounded like a man that would do anything to keep his baby girl safe.
"Removing her from this place would only raise suspicion." She knew she was assuring him in saying that Leia shouldn't be taken away. Though she knew if it came to that, Bail would comply if that's what it took.
"I think hunters are looking in the shadows, because that's where we've been hiding these kids away from them. It's been all about being as discrete as possible when it comes to the force, but I think you're best bet with her, given she hasn't displayed anything physically damning, is to hide her in the public eye. No one will guess an incredibly intelligent and savvy leader is gifted when her gifts enhance her awareness, intelligence and connection."
"And for now?"
"For now..." Ahsoka picked Leia up and placed her in her lap. "We're going to keep a local-based team on call in case anything comes up, nothing too close or ridiculous to cause any unwanted attention. I, myself, will personally see to her protection."
"Fulcrum... I can't thank you enough." He admitted. "I should have told you of my fears sooner."
"We all have our secrets, Senator." She nodded and glanced down to the child again and really looked at her this time. Her brow was currently furrowed in frustration as she attempted to understand the words on the page. There was an obvious familiarity to her that she was just recognizing. She'd seen that look before countless times many moons ago and it was unmistakable.
"She's Padmé's, isn't she?" Her voice was small and vulnerable at the thought of the death of her old friend. Of course, thinking about Padmé Amidala also made her think about Anakin, whom she'd been good friends with. She wasn't sure why be she always mentally connected the two together as a unit, even if they did seem to bicker like a married couple. It was always very important to Anakin that she and Padmé got along. She spent so much time together with them that she'd grown accustom to meeting at Padmé's place or having her along for the ride if they were on diplomatic business. Other than her close friendship with Anakin, Ahsoka never knew her to be incredibly close with anyone else inside the order outside of maybe Obiwan. Padmé died in childbirth around the events of Order 66, a truth Ahsoka didn't unfortunately discover until she reached the outer rim and saw it on a holonet. It was never revealed whether the baby survived or not, but she'd always assumed it didn't. However, here was Leia, the exact age of a child that would have been born during that terrible timeline, adopted by Bail Organa, who was universally known for being trusted by Padmé, and looking like the spitting image of her.
The father was still a mystery to her, but obviously he'd been a Jedi and obviously he was dead just like the rest of them.
Bail pinched his nose in what Ahsoka could assume was an attempt at blocking an overload of emotion. He'd been harboring this secret for a while now and she could tell it was cathartic for her to know.
"You did right by her." She gently played with Leia's little hand. "She would be so happy to know how loved she is, Bail."
He smiled, but she could tell it was through a fighting sob. He cleared his throat and Leia took notice to her father's sadness.
"What's wrong, Daddy?"
He wiped his face to try and plaster on a different emotion, but it wasn't fooling anyone. "Nothing, sweetheart. Daddy is just very tired."
Leia still didn't look convinced, but accepted this answer anyway. "Go to sleep then."
"I will. Why don't you go pick me out a storybook first?"
She slipped off Ahsoka's lap again and began sifting through her pile of picture books.
"She's strong." She said quietly. "Stronger than anyone will ever know."
"I just hope Vader never finds her." And for a moment, his words felt like a test for her. She didn't quite understand the context or the answer, but she just nodded in agreement. She'd heard plenty of gruesome tales about the Frankenstein-like Sith that trolled around the galaxy, slaughtering Jedi by the thousand. He was an ugly shadow that Palpatine utilized as his weapon. She couldn't even imagine the empty soul it took to kill younglings, but that was just it, Vader didn't possess a soul. It's what made him so good at being bad.
"If you're worried about her becoming... Corrupted... She won't."
Bail raised an eyebrow at her as Leia returned with a book for him. "Oh no?"
"Nope." She smiled lightly. "She's got too much of her mother in her for that to happen."