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Chapter Text

Luke/Leia/Galen - age 4.
Obi-wan Kenobi had long resigned himself to being a bystander in the events of the war between the Republic and whatever factions chose to fight back against the tyrants who ruled the galaxy. He had set himself up as the protector and silent guardian of Anakin's son, Luke. He would stay just far enough away that Luke would not see him, yet remain close enough to know if Luke needed him. And, someday, when Luke was ready, he would tell him all about Anakin, he would give Luke his father's lightsaber, and he would train Luke until it was time to send him to Dagobah. Yoda would complete his training. There were still a great many things that Obi-wan had yet to master, and he would not repeat his mistake of thinking he was equal to the challenges of training a Skywalker.

Despite all of his preparations, resignations, and fears, Obi-wan found himself aboard a small ship, heading to a planet he never thought he would see again. A young wookie had sent word to a mutual friend, at a small, thriving cantina on Takodana, about needing help protecting a child who would have been a great Jedi. It seemed the child was able to command the Force so naturally and so easily, that he was sure to attract the attention of the Empire. Such a child could not be allowed to die, or worse, be turned to the Dark Side. Obi-wan only hoped that he would arrive in time to protect this one. So many Jedi had already been lost. He had felt many of them. Like strings out from his soul, stretching out into points all over the galaxy. Each one searing him to the core with a raw, terrible pain as their lives were prematurely snuffed out.

Obi-wan tried to concentrate on his meditations. He kept seeing yellow, angry eyes as they stared back at him from a ruined face. He had failed Anakin, and Padme, and so many others. He could not fail again. Not with Luke, Leia, or this child he had yet to meet. If he could save just these three, perhaps they would grow up to be a real threat to the Empire. Palpatine would be a very aged man at that point, facing three Jedi in their prime, with Yoda and Obi-wan to back them up. And, if they were extremely lucky, there would be others born with the same connection to the Force, who could be located and trained. An army of young Jedi. Obi-wan smiled, despite the pain that had taken root in his chest for over four years now.

"Sir?"

Obi-wan turned, looking up from his seat on the small shuttle. One of the crewmen stood there, somewhat greasy and looking impossibly young. Obi-wan briefly thought of Anakin's looking much the same whenever they had a few days off and there was something for Anakin to tinker with to keep him busy and out of Obi-wan's hair for a few hours.

"Yes?"

"We're docking in a few minutes. You'd best collect your gear and be ready to depart."

Obi-wan nodded and watched the young man take off. He only had a small bag, with his lightsaber hidden inside. The less attention he drew, the better. Within ten minutes, they had docked and he was on the solid ground again. He had to get to a small cantina, where the wookie would be waiting for him. Hopefully the wookie and his charge would be unharmed and the Empire's spies would be completely unaware of their presence. Unaware of their existence would be even better.

Nearly an hour later, Obi-wan was inside the cantina he had been instructed to go to. He rarely left Tatooine. He did not wish to leave young Luke unattended or unprotected. Baru was a wonderful woman and Owen a good man. Neither were any match for Darth Vader or a handful of storm troopers. Obi-wan could not protect them, lightyears away, on another planet.

Obi-wan felt someone bump into him. When he turned to look, there was a slim, sickly looking man swaying on his feet, near Obi-wan. Obi-wan moved out of the way just in time not to be covered by the contents of the sickly man's stomach. He had not loved his new desert home, yet he would gladly take it over this abominable place. It was crowded, sticky, badly lit, and filled with scum. Not the sort of place he pictured spending his retirement. Not that he had pictured retiring. He looked about, till he spotted a wookie. In the back corner with a fantastic view of every exit and entrance, as well as leaving the minimal places for someone to be able to watch him without being obvious. A smart wookie. Obi-wan made his way over to the furry warrior, able to tell by the wookie's bearing that this wookie was well capable of tearing apart every man in the cantina.

It didn't take more than four steps before the wookie's attention fell on him. He could feel the eyes lingering before he looked up to confirm it, giving a single nod before continuing his approach. Once he was within 10ft, he spotted a small bundle of cloth by the wookie's hip, sitting atop the bench the wookie was leaning on. The high table and a bag the wookie had hanging from his shoulder, had hidden the bundle before. Obi-wan could tell it was a child, curled in a bulky jacket meant for someone larger. The wookie watched Obi-wan all the way till he reached the wookie's table.

"You have a very young charge.", Obi-wan commented quietly. The wookie nodded.

"Have you need of a safe haven for him, away from...", Obi-wan checked around them as he leaned a bit closer, "prying eyes?"

The wookie responded, in his own tongue. Obi-wan nodded. The wookie then proceeded to explain the child's sad story. It was not terribly unlike Luke and Leia's origins. A pair of Jedi who broke the rules, falling madly in love with one another. They carried on a secret affair and soon learned, the hard way, that secrets had a way of coming out. They were expecting. Fearing for their child if their secret came to light while they were both still serving at the Temple, they fled. The lady bore her son, naming him Galen Marek. She died soon after, defending wookies on their homeworld, against the Empire's tyranny.

The father had kept the child close, moving from place to place, doing his best to stay one step ahead of the Emporer's dark apprentice. Finally, knowing he was soon to be caught, the father had given the child to a wookie his late wife had trusted with her life and whom she had fought beside many times before order 66. The wookie had taken the child to the only person he knew who would be able to find any remaining safe places for a Jedi to hide out, and while there with her, the wookie learned that Darth Vader had caught up with the boy's father and killed him. No one had told the child yet, only sticking with the father's story he had crafted for the boy that the boy was going on an adventure and the father was going to find the boy's mother then he would send for the son when it was safe.

Looking at the small boy, whose head barely stuck out from the oversized jacket he slept curled inside of, Obi-wan felt the same thing he felt every time he heard a snippet about Alderaan. At least Luke was with family. Extended family, yet family. Kin of his late grandmother. Leia was to be raised by a friend of her late mother's, and his devoted wife, on a planet not her own nor that she had any real connection to. This little boy, so small and all alone, would also be raised by strangers on some world that would not be his own.

Once they had an understanding, the wookie woke the small boy. The boy, it seemed, understood the wookie with more ease than Obi-wan could claim. The wookie explained that Obi-wan had been a friend of the boy's father and of the wookie, and that he would be taking care of the boy for a while. The boy looked frightened. Obi-wan could hardly blame him. Being passed from your father, to a stranger, then to another stranger, had to be frightening to a small child. Anakin had a clear plan to go home and knew exactly where his mother was the whole time, and yet it had been hard for him to go from Shmi to Qui-gon, then to Obi-wan. Perhaps if Qui-gon had not perished on Naboo.

Obi-wan shook his head from the thoughts of What If, and turned his attention to the task at hand. Protecting another of his kind. The last of the Jedi. Crouching before the child so as to be eye level with the boy, he offered the friendliest smile he could. The boy's eyes were so dark that they were nearly black, as was his hair, though his skin was so fair that he could not have been from a desert world nor a tropical one.

"My name is Ben.", he told the boy.

"I'm going to take you back to my home. I know someone, a very nice lady, who will cook you something nice for dinner. Every night."

The boy's eyes widened a bit. Obi-wan could tell the child was hungry. He had spent enough time watching Luke, from a distance, to recognize it. He also had recalled some of the fosters saying that they could bribe younglings into nearly anything, if they waited till the children were hungry and offered them food. He offered his hand to the boy, only for the boy to look to his wookie protector. The wookie nodded. So the boy moved to allow Obi-wan to collect him in his arms, his cloak covering most of the boy as Obi-wan stood. With a nod, he thanked the wookie, and then he left. He felt the child wave to the wookie, before burrowing into Obi-wan's cloak.

During the entire ride back to Tatooine, the child had slept against Obi-wan's side. He wondered if the boy might be ill or if he had simply been shuffled about to frequently to get any real sleep. It also occurred to Obi-wan, if the child had traveled as much as it sounded, to avoid detection by the Empire, that he was probably more at home aboard a ship than he was on solid ground. Obi-wan envied such a trait. He was never that acclimated to being aboard a ship or shuttle. Anakin was.

Again, the agony of seeing his former padawan's face, eyes flashing betrayal. Sometimes he wondered if he would ever stop seeing them. Other times, he feared that he would forget them, replaced with the sight of Darth Vader in his full battle suit. Obi-wan had heard the reports. So far, he had yet to see this suit and he hoped to never see it. Anakin's twisted, burned, ruined form crawling in the dirt was torture enough.

Beside him, the young boy shifted and whimpered in his sleep. Once Obi-wan cleared his own mind, the boy also calmed. He could already sense the strong bond the boy held with the Force. It appeared the child was also a natural at picking up what was going on within those around him. Something Obi-wan would have warned Baru and Owen about, in another lifetime. But in this one, as things stood, Galen would have to be as Luke and Leia were. Left without any knowledge that they were Jedi, no training to guide them, no Temple to educate them, no masters to train them. Only a few trusted people to love them.

They landed and the child was awake, looking around curiously. It was clear the child was intelligent. Perhaps too much so. He would likely attract attention for such and he would probably be the curious type, always asking questions and day dreaming. There was nothing for it. Obi-wan helped the boy up from their seat, and kept a hand on him to guide him through the station. Feeling the rough fabric of the jacket and the warmth coming from the small, wiry boy, Obi-wan's mind flashed back to another time he guided a small boy through a crowd, under sad circumstances. The celebration of Naboo's victory, at the cost of Qui-gon's life. Anakin had been itching to get back to Padme, the only other person he had formed any attachment to at that point.

It took a while to get to Baru and Owen's farm, and the boy had fallen asleep halfway there. Obi-wan did not mind. It allowed him to think without worrying about schooling his features or keeping the child out of trouble. He simply let the boy sleep in the passenger seat of the rented speeder, as he took a few minutes to gather his plan. He hoped that he had timed it well. Owen should be in town, taking a delivery of some parts he needed for the evaporators, leaving Baru alone with Luke, who would probably be down for his nap following his lunch. Baru would be cleaning up and starting dinner in order to have it on the table when Owen returned and finished installing the new parts.

Obi-wan had been fortunate, finding that Baru was alone and Owen was gone when Obi-wan arrived. He scooped up the child, carrying him up to where Baru was hauling out the trash for Owen to take off for her when he returned. She spotted Obi-wan and gave him a friendly smile, before her eyes landed on the child he held. She waved him inside, giving the scene around them a once-over. He was not entirely sure what she was looking for. Possibly Owen.

Inside, Baru gestured for Obi-wan to place the boy on a small bench she had leaned against the wall, below a little window. He put the boy there, then joined Baru in the kitchen. She passed him a drink and poured a second for herself. She looked as nervous as Obi-wan felt. Despite her lack of Force-sensitivity, Baru had an uncanny ability at reading people.

"Did Anakin have other children?"

"No."

She nodded.

"His name is Galen Marek. His parents were both Jedi and are both deceased."

Baru's eyes went wide and instantly teary, before they moved to the sleeping little boy. There was a tenderness in her gaze that reassured Obi-wan that he was making the right choice.

"I do not bring him here lightly. I understand what I already asked of you and your husband, taking in Luke. Yet, I would ask you to take on another young Jedi child. One who will grow to have the power to rival the Emperor, the power to take on an Empire."

She nodded.

"How old is he?"

"He is three months older than Luke, I'm told."

She looked back up at Obi-wan.

"You did not know his parents?"

Obi-wan shook his head.

"I met his mother once, briefly, some years ago. I would not have recognized her if I spotted her again later. I have heard she died protecting wookies from slavers."

Baru's eyes went sad again as they drifted to the child.

"If you do not wish to undertake this, I will find somewhere else for him."

Baru's eyes snapped back to Obi-wan, a steel appearing in her.

"He'll stay."

"Are you sure? I do not wish to overburden you."

She waved him off.

"It will do Luke good to have another child around, and as Owen and I cannot give him a cousin to play with, nor are there children near enough to play together every day, this would be one way. And it would not do for Galen to be alone somewhere. You are already here, protecting and keeping watch over Luke. What is one more child? Owen and I have room for another child and he could be just as happy here as Luke is. Please, let him stay here?"

As if on some sort of cue, Luke came shuffling in, wiping tired eyes. Obi-wan had not been this close to him since the night he handed him to Baru, still in his swaddling. His eyes were bright and blue, just like clean water. His hair was unruly and like spun gold, sticking up from his head at odd angles. Chubby fingers wiped a plump little face.

"Vru? Vru, who is this?"

Baru knelt down a bit and ran her hand through the child's hair.

"This is my friend, Ben. He has found a little boy who needs us."

Luke looked at her, confused. Baru pointed at where Galen was still sleeping on the bench. Luke looked at him, curious now.

"See the little boy over there?"

Luke nodded.

"His mommy and daddy went away, and he is all alone. He needs us."

Luke looked up at her.

"Like my mommy and daddy?"

Baru nodded. Luke looked back at Galen, then tilted his head a bit, as if considering something important and complicated. He then walked over to Galen, as Galen began to stir. By the time Luke had reached the bench, Galen was sitting up and wiping the sleep from his own eyes. The boys could not have appeared any different. Where Luke was of a healthy peach color with a bit of tan on his cheeks and hands, his face round, hair light, eyes of bright blue, and a bit short for his age, Galen was lean, tall for his age, dark eyed, black haired, and as pale as the face of Naboo's moon. They looked at each other for a long moment, during which neither adult dared breathe. Then Luke spoke up.

"Wanna play?"

Galen's eyes went wide and he smiled, before nodding. The two boys then took off outside, Luke leading the way. Baru let out a deep breath. One Obi-wan understood as his own heart raced beneath his ribs.

"Kenobi, please allow Galen to stay here? I promise, I would care for him with as much devotion and love as I do for Luke. I would not allow for him to want for anything. He would have a bed of his own, clothes, food, education, love, safety, and he would grow up beside Luke. It would give them each a companion, in years to come."

Obi-wan could not have hoped for better. For either child. Smiling, he answered Baru.

"I agree, it would be best for Galen to stay here, with you, Luke, and Owen."

Baru's eyes went a bit wide.

"Do you believe Owen will not allow the child to stay?"

Obi-wan felt his heart constrict. He should have known better than to allow himself to hope. Hope was so easily squashed in these dark days. But Baru looked more determined than a battle hardened wookie.

"No, Owen will accept Galen. It may take a bit longer for him, but he will come around. I'll see to it."

Obi-wan smiled, then stood. Baru smiled and let him see himself out, as she watched through her small kitchen window. Luke and Galen were chasing each other, making noises like they were speeders, racing through the desert. Obi-wan permitted himself one moment to watch them. Baru came up beside him to watch the two boys playing.

“I think he’ll be happy here, with Luke.”

Obi-wan nodded. He watched the two boys continuing to smile and play as no Jedi younglings would have been permitted at that age. Once he was sure of his choice, he thanked Baru. Then he walked off to his rented speeder.

Just as he arrived, he spotted a figure walking from a second, parked speeder, towards Obi-wan. He was sure his lightsaber was just under his outer robe, yet knew he would not need it. The figure belonged to Owen. And while Owen did not appear happy to see Obi-wan, he would not commit or attempt violence against the Jedi.

"What has brought you back, Kenobi? Come to collect Luke? I won't let you take him. It would kill Baru to lose him."

Obi-wan shook his head.

"No. Luke is not to leave, nor would I take him from your care. I brought another child, another Jedi child. He is also orphaned and in need of safety, a home. Baru said that you would be willing to take him."

He could tell Owen was aware it had been Obi-wan's intention to get Baru to take the new child into her care. Neither man was unintelligent nor unaware how desperately Baru had wanted children. She was unable to have any children of her own and had rejoiced in being able to raise Luke, to have a child of her own to love and shepherd into adulthood. Bringing a second orphan near her and laying out his sad story, was like waving bait before a starving animal. Irresistible and with predictable results. Owen stepped closer to Obi-wan, clearly intending to intimidate the Jedi.

"I'm warning you, Kenobi. We're not an orphanage for all your little Jedi babes. I will not deny Baru the chance to have another child nor would I deny Luke a sibling. I'm well aware what a comfort siblings can be, later in life, and I can appreciate that being an orphan, family'll be hard to come by for Luke once he's grown. But this is it, Kenobi. You find any more, then you had better find someone else to look after them. I won't have the whole Empire bearing down on my farm because there's a gaggle of children with Jedi powers, slinging around sand in the desert. Are we clear?"

Obi-wan nodded. Despite his distaste for Owen's reaction, he could not say that he blamed the man. He was, after all, raising and protecting the child of his step-mother's son, whom he had only met once many years ago. And he did have his wife to think about, knowing she would take in every stray that came along if he let her.

"The child's name is Galen Marek. He is powerful, just as Anakin was and Luke will be. His father died recently, his mother shortly after giving birth to him. He and Luke seem to already have become fast friends."

Owen nodded.

"Luke is a sweet boy. Everyone takes a quick liking to him."

Obi-wan smiled. It was good to know that Luke had inherited at least one of Anakin's better traits. Owen stepped back, allowing Obi-wan space to get back into his rented speeder. With a nod, he took off. He needed to meditate a while, with Qui-gon’s instructions on how to deal with this new development. Just as with training Anakin, it had been Qui-gon’s idea to make sure Galen stayed near Obi-wan. Sometimes having his master around, even as a Force spirit, was a great comfort to Obi-wan. Other times, it felt as though he were still a young padawan in need of constant looking after and reminding of daily chores. Not that Qui-gon had been that kind of master. Compared to most, he had been very relaxed and allowed Obi-wan quite the rope to hang himself with if he wasn’t careful. Though Qui-gon had always been a shout away, ready to save Obi-wan if needed.

Needing to make a few random circles so as to throw off the rating of his speeder when he returned it, Obi-wan took the scenic route back to town. He did not wish for anyone to be able to easily track him and find either Luke or Galen. He would go back to being their guardian, off in the shadows. Always watching, always waiting, always ready, but never seen or heard.

Chapter Text

Luke, Leia, & Galen - age 17

Luke stood, watching the horizon. Soon, Uncle Owen would be picking up some new droids to help around the farm. Their last two workers had left to join the Rebellion and the droid Uncle Owen bought when he first took over the farm, had finally gotten beyond the point of repair. It wasn't even worth taking parts off of for other droids. Luke shook his head. Uncle Owen never let him handle that droid, for some reason, and he was not half the mechanic that Luke was. Luke was about to let himself slip off into daydreams about flying X-wings, when he felt something hit the side of his head.

Turning to look, Luke saw that it had been a tiny bolt the size of the nail on his pinky finger. Looking up to trace the path of the bolt, he spotted his brother, Galen. Galen was bent over a power converter, but with his head turned to look at Luke. And he was smirking.

"You gonna help, or are you planning to sit there daydreaming all afternoon? Owen's going to yell your ears off, if he catches you loafing about today."

He was right. Owen had been particularly frustrated with Luke lately. Luke kept pointing out how all the boys he had grown up with, aside from Galen, had left for bigger things than repairing power converters, evaporators, and antiquated speeders. Luke had not seen a real protocol droid in years and he was tired of being stuck on this desert planet. Galen, however, seemed to be just fine with it. As Luke moved closer, bringing Galen a tool he was about to need, he spoke up.

"Come on Galen, you can't be happy here. We do the same repairs every week, almost the same every day. All our friends have already left."

Galen took the tool, then ducked back under the machine. As usual, he was covered almost like one of the sandpeople, rather than dressing as Luke and Owen did. Luke was never sure how Galen got so pale, but Galen burned easily under the suns of Tatooine, so he always wore some sort of hood, long sleeves, fingerless gloves, and usually kept a light weight shirt below his long sleeved one, just to make sure he did not get another sunburn on his chest.

"It isn't that bad. You make it sound like we can predict our lives down to the moment."

Luke let out a long sigh, then counted off, and just as he got to ten, they heard Uncle Owen calling for them to come help him with getting new droids. Galen looked up at Luke, waving a grease-covered finger at him.

"You and I both know we can predict him, even on a crazy day with weird stuff happening. He's easy to predict."

Luke just smiled.

"Come on, before he takes us by the ear and drags us."

Galen nodded, leaving his tools and wiping his hands as best he could on one of the rags he kept laying around. The stain of the oil and grease was nearly constantly staining the tips of Galen's fingers, far worse than it did Luke's skin. Then again, Luke's might have looked just as bad if he were snow-blind pale, as Wex used to put it.

They walked, seeing Owen in the distance. Luke really did not want to do this. He was supposed to have been in town, with a couple of his last few friends who were still on Tatooine. Galen bumped his shoulder lightly as they walked.

"Wipe that look off your face before Uncle Owen starts on you again about your daydreaming."

Luke knew that Galen was right. So he tried. He smiled over at his brother, leaning in to tell him something he knew would get a reaction.

"At least in town, there would be girls."

Galen scowled at him, easily outdoing even the angriest of Uncle Owen's scowls. Luke just grinned. He was well aware Galen was pretty awkward around girls. Not that Luke was the poster boy for smooth operators, however Galen made him look like it by comparison. Which was why Galen was still scowling a bit as they reached Uncle Owen, just in time for a couple Jawas to come out with their wares.

There were all sorts of droids. Luke and Galen looked them over, as Owen and one of the Jawas were negotiating prices and types of droids. Galen noticed one of the droids, an R2 unit, with a restricting governor on it. He hated those things. The very idea of being controlled and held captive, even on a droid, made him shudder.

Aunt Baru’s voice came through the air, causing both boys to look over at her, calling their names.

“Luke! Galen!”

Luke answered her first.

“Luke, tell Uncle that if he gets a translator, be sure it speaks Batchi.”

“Doesn’t look like we’ll have much of a choice, but I’ll remind him.”, Luke called back.

Galen nodded and walked past the first couple droids, with their governors attached to them, making them slaves. No matter how many times they went to the Jawas for parts or droids, it never failed to upset Galen to see them like this.

He looked over and saw that Luke was inspecting some little droid that was white with red and gold on it, a few years older than the R2 unit Galen had been looking at. Owen, over to their left, was working on acquiring a gold-colored protocol droid. Galen smiled a little. Protocol droids were very good with languages, given their job. Perhaps it would be able to talk to all the junk and clunky equipment at the farm.

"Luke!", came Owen's call. Luke, of course, looked up at hearing his name.

"Take these two over to the garage. I want them cleaned up before dinner."

"I was going to go to town, to pick up some power converters!"

Galen spoke up.

"I can take them, Uncle."

"No. You both can take care of. And Luke, you can waste time with your friends AFTER your chores are done."

Luke opened his mouth to protest. Then Owen fixed them both with a look. Neither needed any more instructions. They needed to get the droids back to the house, cleaned up, and put to work. They both moved to escort the droids. Luke walked beside the protocol droid while Galen walked a step behind the little red one, his attention drifting back to the unfortunate R2 unit. The governor looked bolted in and the droid's legs were all bound together, and it appeared to be trying to follow them. He felt as if he were looking at a hobbled animal rather than a droid. Shaking his head, Galen turned just in time to see the little red droid blow it's top. Literally.

"You tried to sell me a defective unit?", Owen asked two of the Jawas. Galen watched Owen, as Luke came over to look at the fried droid beside Galen.

"This is really bad. I think he's done for.", said Galen.

The golden droid spoke up, surprising them all.

"Excuse me sir, but that R2 unit is in prime condition. A real bargain."

Luke nodded.

"What about the blue one?"

Owen nodded, then began negotiating with the Jawas. Galen smiled. The Jawas had clearly met their match in negotiations. Soon they were concluded and a spry Jawa came with a remote to remove the R2 unit's governor and to unhobble the little guy. The droid made a series of cranky peeps, amusing Galen. This droid had spunk. Leaning down, he spoke directly to the droid.

"Hello little fella. Welcome to Tatooine."

It chirped back at him in greeting.

"Well I'm glad you're here too. And don't worry, Luke and I won't put governors or hobbles on you, or your golden friend over there."

The droid beeped his appreciation, then rolled beside Galen as they headed over to where Luke and the golden droid were standing to wait for them. Galen moved up to walk beside Luke, who was griping under his breath, as they headed back. Despite Luke's griping, Galen could still hear a bit of the conversation going on behind them, between the droids.

"You had better be grateful. I could have just stayed quiet and left you behind there."

The R2 unit beeped back, having a very different opinion on the matter.

"Well next time I'll just leave you. I won't stick my neck out for you anymore."

Galen smiled. They sounded just like he and Luke, or sometimes Uncle Owen and Aunt Baru.

------

Luke sat on back, toying with one of his various models as the golden droid was lowered into an oil bath, to help clean and lubricate him.

"Oh, thank the maker!", came C3-PO's excited thanks.

“This oil bath is going to feel SO good!”

"I'm glad you like it, C3-PO.", Galen said, as he searched for the tool he needed to work on that governor. It had been deactivated and yet had not come off the way it was meant to do upon deactivation. It was possible to remove them without damaging the droid's casing, if one had the right tool. Right now, Galen wished he kept better track of Luke's using his tools. Luke was forever leaving them where he used them, while Galen had a place for everything.

"Where'd you work on that last kitchen thing, for Aunt Baru?"

"On the counter, to your left."

"Thanks."

Pulling out the tool, he went over to the little unit whom, they had learned, was named R2-D2. He ignored Luke’s griping about how Biggs had been right that Luke and Galen would never get out of Tattooine, as well as C3-PO’s despair over how much sand had gotten into his gears. It seemed the protocol droid and his dreaming brother had found their matches in the Griping and Moaning department. Galen went over and kneeled in front of the R2 unit, speaking to the little droid again.

"I'm gonna try to get that governor off for you, alright?"

The unit chirped happily at him, making Galen smile. He worked carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was dent or scratch such a fine little droid.

"You two must have been through a lot together."

C3-PO answered their new master.

"Yes, Sir Luke."

"No, I'm no master. Just Luke."

“Oh, well. Yes. We have seen a great deal together. Especially these last couple years with the Rebellion.”

Galen wanted to groan as Luke practically flung himself up from his seat, model forgotten. He had that wide eyed, wonderstruck look he always got whenever someone mentioned the Rebellion. When Galen looked, he found Luke moving towards C3-PO, excited as a child on their birthday.

"The Rebellion? You two are with the Rebellion?"

"Yes. With all we’ve been through, sometimes I’m amazed we’re in as good a condition as we are. We were owned by a passenger who was one of the leaders of the Rebellion. Though I do not know what became of her when our ship was attacked. Though R2 says a friend of hers placed some information into him, then she went to hide and the ship was boarded. We escaped through one of the pods and landed here."

Luke's head whipped back and forth between the droids, making Galen nervous. If he had caught that part about information in the droid, he was sure that Luke hadn't missed it either.

"Does he still have the information?"

C3-PO held up his arms, as if doing his impression of a shrug.

"I do not know. We were separated for a while by the Jawas."

Luke came rushing over, looking R2-D2 over. Galen pretended to ignore him and continued working on the battle-tested droid. Hearing that it had escaped the Empire and crash landed on Tattooine, only to be taken by Jawas and so poorly treated, it was no small wonder that the droid was so dusty and dirty. Galen smiled, patting the little droid.

"Don't worry. I'll have you good as new and shining like a star, by the time I'm done."

R2-D2 purred.

"Have you found where the passenger put the info yet?", asked Luke.

"No. I'm still trying to get this governor off. They must have really been intending for this droid to never function quickly or properly, the way they've got this stuck on here."

He finally was able to get the right angle, yanking the governor clear and sending himself backward onto his butt. Luke smirked at him before turning his attention back to the brave little droid.

"Can you tell me where that info is now?"

Suddenly, the droid spun it's dome-shaped head around and one of the little pieces on the front lit up. A hologram appeared not 6 feet away. The hologram stood a few inches high and showed a beautiful dark haired woman with big, dark eyes, a beautiful face, and wearing a hooded white gown with a gleaming belt. At first, she just held her arms out while her mouth moved soundlessly, and then she appeared to lean forward and press a button. Presumably, she was ending the recording of her hologram. This repeated twice more before Luke began fiddling with the little droid.

"Wait, here it is. They added a little something else here."

C3-PO walked over to the little droid as it began to chirp loudly.

“With all we’ve been through, this little droid has become a bit eccentric. He says we belong to someone named Obi-wan Kenobi.”

He pulled out a small card and then the message went out. Galen let out a sigh. This was not going to go over well.

“Where’d she go? Play back the whole message!”

The R2 unit beeped in confusion and C3-PO translated for Luke, though Galen did not really need the help.

“He says he doesn’t know what message you’re talking about.”

The golden droid struck his hand across the top of the little droid’s domed head.

“The message you’ve just been playing! The one you’ve been carrying inside your rusty innards!”

Galen decided to interrupt before someone did the smaller droid harm, or before Luke decided to go off on some crusade that would have Owen pulling him by the ear, back to the garage, to work until dark. It would hardly be the first time.

“Obi-wan Kenobi? Why does that name sound familiar?”

Luke looked at him, then tilted his head to think.

“I don’t know any Obi-wan, but he could be related to old Ben Kenobi.”

Galen nodded. C3-PO looked up at them, his abuse to and frustration with R2 seemingly forgotten.

“Ben Kenobi? Who is Ben Kenobi?”, asked the protocol droid.

Luke filled him in.

“Old Ben lives out beyond the Dune Sea. He’s kind of a strange, old hermit.”

They heard Baru calling for them before Luke or Galen could investigate or ponder any further, leaving the droids both hanging. Moving to the door, they called they would be right back to the house. Luke turned to C3-PO and handed him the tool Luke had been using.

“Here. See what you can do with him.”

With that, Luke and Galen headed off, though Galen could still hear a bit of the conversation inside the garage. C3-PO was claiming the two new masters, and he himself, did not like the little R2 unit. Galen smiled as they headed back up to the house. These two new droids promised to be interesting.

Up in the house, they found Owen already digging into his plate and Baru smiling up at them as she poured drinks for the two of them, then herself. Luke tucked right in to Owen’s right and across from Baru. Galen went to the sink to clean his hands, before taking his seat beside Baru and across from Owen. Baru gave him a small smile as he began to eat. She always appreciated that Galen had to clean his hands before he ate from her table.

As Galen tucked into the food, Owen was muttering about chores to be done and Luke was paying almost no attention. He was probably listening just closely enough to know when Owen stopped talking or asked a question. Galen just wanted to eat in peace. He was about to down half of his drink when he felt Baru’s gentle hand against the back of his wrist. Looking up, Galen saw her kind look. A reminder for him to slow down. It was joked about, among their friends, that Galen always ate like someone was going to come by and take the food away from him if he didn’t inhale it. Baru had been trying to teach him to slow down and enjoy his food for almost as long as Galen could recall. He smiled back, and made sure to slowly sip his drink and then to chew more slowly, and thoroughly, before swallowing each bite.

“You know, I think that R2 unit we bought might be stolen?”, Luke posited.

“Oh. What makes you think that?”, Owen asked.

“I stumbled across a recording while I was cleaning him.”

Galen arched an eyebrow and cleared his throat. Luke didn’t notice or pretended not to, and Baru just smiled at their brotherly antics. Luke continued his story, undeterred.

“Says he belongs to someone named Obi-wan Kenobi. I thought he might’ve meant old Ben. Do you know him?”

Owen shook his head.

“Maybe he’s related to him somehow.”, Luke suggested.

Owen cut the theorizing short, as Galen knew would happen.

“That wizard is just a crazy old man. Now tomorrow I want you to take that droid to Ankerhead and have its memory erased. It belongs to us now.”

“What if this Obi-wan comes looking for him?”

“He won’t. I don’t think he exists anymore. He died about the same time as your father.”

Galen wanted to groan, but stopped at seeing the worry in Baru’s eyes.

“He knew my father?”

Baru reached under the table, giving Galen’s hand a squeeze. Somehow she knew, without looking up at Galen, that it still hurt to hear Owen and Luke going back and forth about Luke’s father. Unlike Galen, at least Luke knew his father’s name, background, and what happened to him. All Galen really knew was that one day he had been with his father, whom he barely remembered, and the next thing he had been playing in the yard with Luke on Tatooine.

“I told you to forget it. The only concern is to prepare those two droids for tomorrow. In the morning I want them up there on the south ridge working on those condensers.”

“Yes sir.”, Luke answered. Galen knew this was nowhere near the end of it.

“I think those new droids are gonna work out fine. In fact I…uh.. was also thinking about our agreement. About me staying on another season. And if these two new droids do work out, I want to transmit my application to the Academy this year.”

“You mean the next semester, before the harvest?”, Owen returned.

“Sure, there’s more than enough droids.”

“Harvest is when I need you the most. It’s only one season more. This year we’ll make enough on the harvest that I’ll be able to hire some more hands, and then you can go to the Academy next year. You must understand, I need you here, Luke.”

“But it’s a whole ‘nother year.”

“Looks, it’s only one more season.”

“Yeah, that’s what you said when Biggs and Tank left.”, Luke groused as he got up from the table, his food barely touched.

“Luke, where are you going?”, Baru asked.

“Looks like I’m going nowhere. I have to go finish cleaning those droids.”

Luke walked off, leaving Baru looking at Owen with a look Galen couldn’t quite decipher, yet Owen clearly could and was not happy about what it meant. Galen quickly picked up his plate with his food and utensils in place, then picked up his drink, and stood. Baru gave him a questioning look, and he shot her a small smile.

“I’m going to go help Luke. But I’m hungry, so I’m taking my food with me.”

Baru poured him a refill on his drink and placed two more pieces of meat on the plate before letting him go. She likely knew he would force Luke to eat from the plate too, before they were done working on the droids. Galen swore the woman knew everything.

Looking across the table at her husband, Baru shook her head. Sometimes she wished she were a Jedi like Anakin had been, so she could use the Force to make Luke and Owen sit down, be quiet, and let her translate for them.

“Owen, he can’t stay here forever. Most of his friends have gone. It means so much to him.”

“I’ll make it up to him next year. I promise.”

“Luke’s just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Galen found Luke standing outside, near the garage. As expected, he was staring at the twin sons as they lowered themselves in the sky. It was one of the places he could most often be found after a dinnertime fight with Owen. Coming up to stand beside Luke, Galen handed him a piece of meat off the plate. Luke took it without looking at Galen, and Galen continued to eat his dinner in silence beside his brother.

------

Luke and Galen headed into the garage, the plate having been returned to Baru after she asked both of them if they wanted any seconds, before returning to work. They had barely taken two steps in when Luke’s hitting the opener for one of his cabinets, startled C3-PO from behind a piece of equipment in the back. It only took a minute for C3-PO to explain why he was hiding and what had happened to his companion.

Luke was looking around like a madman and Galen found he could only stand and watch. The R2 unit had run off during dinner. According to C3-PO, the little guy had started babbling about Obi-wan Kenobi and the Rebellion. C3-PO had followed him for a bit before some sand caused his joints to stiffen and left him unable to continue on. That's when the R2 unit left him behind, citing that he had to continue his mission.

"We have to find him and get him back, or Uncle Owen will have our heads!"

Galen could hardly argue against it.

"We'll need to take Uncle Owen's speeder. There's no way the two of us plus two droids, will fit in yours. And we don't have the pull anymore to drag anything behind us."

Luke nodded.

"Alright. I'll go get some supplies. You grab anything you think we'll need, then we'll head out. Hopefully we find him before any Sandpeople do."

Galen added, "Or before Uncle Owen realizes he took off."

They planned to go at first light, knowing Owen would be shutting down the power in a few minutes. Neither slept well, both worrying about when Owen inevitably found out about the little droid running off and how they had removed his governor so he could roam about freely. And at first light, they got up, said goodbye to Aunt Baru, then headed out in their separate speeders.

Galen opted to have C3-PO ride with Luke and to follow them in Uncle Owen's speeder. Luke loved the older, bigger speeder since it went much faster, but if he piloted it, he would leave the newer, smaller one in his dust. Galen would be too far away to help Luke if something happened. This kept Luke going at a speed where Galen couldn't lose him too.

It took them nearly an hour to find any sign of the little droid besides his tracks. And when they did, it was in a bad place. Perfect for ambushes from Sandpeople and in an area where they would not be able to signal home if they needed help. Galen hoped they would not be there long.

Rounding a turn in one of the small canyons between rock formations, Galen spotted the shine of R2's blue, silver, and white body. He was fallen over and it did not appear any of his lights were on. That was a bad sign. Luke pulled up closer, then got out. Galen pulled up behind him and got out, but not without making sure he had one of his sticks. Lots of small creatures that could sting or bite you, loved to sneak into their garage or cuddle up to the evaporators at night, and Galen always took one of his sticks with him to make sure they did not bite him or sting Luke because they used their hands to remove the creature. All of his sticks were tall enough he could use them as canes if he wanted, and all with heavy, metal butts at both ends.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Luke."

Luke nodded, already pulling the little droid out of the sand. C3-PO began yelling at the little unit about worrying them and running off from his new master, guilt tripping his companion about how their new masters could have simply abandoned him and how they should have for his lack of gratefulness. It all sounded a little too much like the people in town who lectured Galen and Luke about how they ought to be groveling before Owen, to show their gratefulness in his taking them in when they both lost their parents during the rise of the Empire. The R2 unit beeped in warning at C3-PO.

There was a sound, and Galen looked up just in time to see a sandperson coming at him. He raised his stick and shouted for Luke. However, all he heard in return was the wild calls of the sandpeople around them and the shrill noises coming from the two droids. Two of the sandpeople came at Galen, so he reached quickly for a second one of his ticks, positioning them at the ready. The first sandman struck at him and Galen deflected the blow, knocking his attacker off balance. The second came at him screaming. Galen sidestepped and left his foot out to trip the second sandman.

Just as the second one fell, the first came at Galen again. Galen continued moving to the side and brought his one stick down across the sandman's back, sending him flying onto his belly in the sand. A third sandman joined in. Galen deflected several blows with one stick, then quickly spun backwards to gain some momentum and be harder to catch, before swinging the second stick across the back of his attacker.

Stepped back, away from the three he had fought so far, Galen found the first getting back up and coming running at him, letting out a battle cry. Galen screamed back at it before launching himself upwards and coming down with both sticks in downward strikes to the sandman's shoulders. The sandman collapsed into the sand with a crunch of bone. Galen stood, readying his sticks again, when there was a great roar. All the sandpeople around him stopped dead in their tracks, then turned to look.

A cloaked figure appeared from between two rocky formations, and the sandpeople all took off. Whoever he was, they were very much afraid. Galen turned to face the man. He was unsure who or what this cloaked figure was, but anyone who scared a whole group of sandpeople was not someone you should let your guard down around.

The sandpeople had fled and the figure strode over to the speeders, where Luke lay on the ground, unmoving. Galen's heart stopped. Luke. Running, he came down to where Luke was laying and the cloaked figure was crouching over Luke.

"Get away from him!", Galen shouted.

The cloaked man straightened to turn and look at Galen from beneath his hood. Then R2 began squealing and the cloaked figure turned to face the droid.

"Do not be afraid, I have not hurt your master. He is well."

Luke sat up, groaning. Rather than deal with their cloaked figure, Galen moved to Luke's side, his sticks still in one hand as he reached for Luke.

"Luke? Are you alright?"

Luke nodded, rubbing his head.

"What happened?"

"The sandpeople caught us out here."

The cloaked figure reached, slowly, and removed his hood. Galen looked up quickly. The man was older than Uncle Owen by some years, with a white beard and hair to match, but all neatly kept. He wore the tan and beige robes that one might expect of a man his age, on Tatooine. However there was something more regal about how they were done, as though they were cared for with military-drilled precision and worn with an air of mystery, like someone out of a legend. R2, again, beeped and chirped at the cloaked man.

"I do not remember owning two such droids."

Luke looked up.

"Are you Kenobi?"

The man nodded.

"Ben Kenobi? Boy am I glad to see you."

"The Jundland Wastes are not to be traveled lightly, young Luke. What brings you this far?"

Luke pointed to R2-D2. Galen was still wary of the stranger, and kept silent by Luke's side.

"This little droid. I think he's searching for his former master. I've never seen such devotion in a droid before. Ah, he claims to be the property of an Obi-wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours? Do you know what he's talking about?"

The way the old wizard's eyes changed did not go unnoticed by Galen. Whatever the history between R2 and this man, he was hiding something and that unsettled Galen.

"Obi-wan Kenobi. Obi-wan... Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time.", came the wizard's answer.

"I think my uncle knows him. He said he was dead."

"Oh, he's not dead. Not yet."

Galen had a bad feeling about this.

"You know him?"

"But of course I know him. He's me."

R2 chirped in surprise and happiness.

"I haven't gone by the name of Obi-wan since...oh, before you were born."

He reached out to Luke.

"Those raiders may come back, we had best not be here when they do return. We had better get indoors, before they come back, in greater numbers."

Galen helped Luke up before R2 shot off, moving to where one of C3-PO's arms was sticking out from the sand. The sandpeople must have dropped him from the rocks above when they heard that roar. Galen and Luke moved over to pull C3-PO out, then helped him to Owen's speeder. Obi-wan got into the speeder with Luke and C3-PO, while Galen helped R2 into Luke's speeder, then got in to follow them to wherever Obi-wan was directing Luke to go. R2 chirped at Galen.

"I know you need to deliver the message to him, R2, but I don't trust this. Something is wrong. I can't put my finger on it, but I can feel it. There is something really wrong going on."
R2 beeped, questioning.

"I'm not saying that this Obi-wan is going to lure us into a trap and sell us to slave traders under the Huts. I'm just saying that I've got a gnawing feeling in my gut, that Luke and I are in for something bad before the day is out. Something worse than what will happen when Uncle Owen realizes we sneaked out this morning and took his speeder without asking, as well as lost two of his droids."

R2 beeped his apologies.

"I know, little guy. I'm not mad at you."

-----

Inside Obi-wan's home, Galen found himself looking around at the things on the walls and any available flat space. Parts for different speeders, moisture farm equipment, droids, and a few things that might normally be in a blaster. The place felt like one part garage, one part museum. Meanwhile, Luke was sitting with Obi-wan and the droids in the living area.

"Come join us, young sir."

Galen turned to look at them, finding Luke smirking up at him.

"You live alone?", Galen asked. He wanted to know, yet he felt he already knew the answer. From the look on the older gentleman's face, he appeared to be aware of Galen's guess already.

"Yes. I do, and have since I came here."

There was something familiar about the man's voice. Galen could not recall having met the wizard before. He had only ever heard people whisper about the old wizard, Ben Kenobi, who lived in the Jundland Wastes. Everyone considered him some loon who had come to Tatooine to dodge the Clone Wars.

Galen came over, moving to sit where he could see the door, Obi-wan, Luke, and both droids. He also declined the drink he was offered, unlike Luke. They did not know this man and he could honestly intend them harm. Yet Luke already trusted him like an old friend. Of course, so did R2.

"My uncle said you knew my father."

Obi-wan nodded.

"I did."

Luke just had to be curious. Galen wanted to throttle him.

"What about Galen's father? Did you know him too?"

Obi-wan's eyes came to rest on Galen, with a sad look that Galen didn't like in the least.

"No, I'm afraid I did not. I did hear only the best things of him. He was a brave man, loyal to his friends, and he was a good father, by all accounts."

Galen barely remembered his father. Aunt Baru and Uncle Owen had not known Galen's parents, so it was odd to hear someone speak of his father.

"No, I knew Anakin during the Clone Wars."

Luke shook his head.

"You must be confused."

Obi-wan arched an eyebrow.

"Why is that, do you think?"

"My father wasn't part of that."

"He fought in them."

"No, my father didn't fight in the Clone Wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter."

Obi-wan crossed his arms, letting out a sigh. He could not believe how much Owen had twisted Luke's background and Anakin's story. Not that Obi-wan would imagine anyone gleefully explaining the true story of Anakin, to either of his children.

"That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals; he felt he should've stayed here and not gotten involved."

Judging by the looks on Luke and Galen's young faces, they were seeing that the Owen he knew did not differ from the one they knew.

"You fought in the Clone Wars?", asked Luke. He was as curious as Obi-wan remembered Anakin being at that age.

"Yes. I was once a Jedi knight, the same as your father."

"I wish I'd known him.", came Luke's glum reply. Obi-wan felt the familiar clench of his heart within his chest. All the things Anakin threw away because of the Emperor’s empty promises. He still wished he had known and that he could have changed what happened to Anakin. To Padme.

"He was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I understand that you've become quite a good pilot yourself."

Luke didn't answer and his face looked as if Obi-wan had just delivered a blow rather than giving him some great piece of information about Anakin.

"And, he was a good friend."

That perked Luke up, and for a brief flash, Obi-wan could see Padme's wide smile that she greeted Anakin with every time they came back from a successful mission. Despite being more like Anakin in coloring, Luke had most definitely inherited Padme's smile. Glancing over, he saw that Galen was watchful and seemed ready to pounce if he thought Luke needed him. A brave boy, willing to take on someone he knew to be dangerous, with nothing but his fists to protect him. That reminded Obi-wan.

"I have something for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did."

Luke and Galen both looked up at him, but only Luke questioned him.

"What is it?"

Obi-wan reached into a trunk and retrieved the most precious thing he possessed. Handing it to Luke, he watched as the boy pointed it right at himself, in a way that would have burned a hole in his brains if he had ignited the saber. Obi-wan tilted it to indicate the controls.

"Your father's light saber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generation, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times... before the Empire."

Galen sat up.

"R2, play the message."

Luke looked over at Obi-wan.

"This droid said he had a message for you, from a leader in the Rebellion."

R2's projector lit, and once more, a hologram of a beautiful young woman in a fine gown, appeared a few feet away from the droid.

"General Kenobi. Years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack, and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

"You must learn the ways of the Force, if you're to come with me to Alderaan."

Luke and Galen both looked at him as if he had grown another head.

"Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan. I've gotta get HOME. It's late. I'm in for it as it is!"

"I need your help, Luke. She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."

He also knew that he needed to rescue Leia. She was not only vital to the Rebellion, she was Luke's sister. Anakin's daughter. Padme's spitting image.

"Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire- I hate it. But there's nothing I can do about it right now... It's all such a long way from here."

Obi-wan could have bitten through battle armor.

"That's your uncle talking."

Looking over at Galen, Obi-wan had an idea.

"Bring Galen. You've been friends for years, it will be an adventure fit for two young men such as yourselves."

Galen shook his head.

"I go with my brother, Obi-wan. And Luke's staying here. Keep the droids. I'll explain to Uncle Owen that we found information in them saying they belonged to you and that we returned them. He'll be angry, but once we promise we're done and our business with you concluded, he will send us off to work and it will be forgotten."

Luke got a horrible look on his face.

"He's going to kill us."

Obi-wan sighed.

"Perhaps I ought to go with you both, allow your uncle to take out some of his anger on me. I can also pay him for the droids, if you all would prefer they stay with me. If not, we can have them wiped and then I will go to Alderaan with the information from the R2 unit, and deliver it to Bail Organa, myself."

Galen nodded.

"You can ride with me and R2-D2. It'll give you a chance to retrieve the information out of him before we have to talk to Uncle Owen."

As they were walking out, Luke asked Obi-wan another question.

"How did my father die? My uncle never told Galen or I about our fathers. Except what they did for a living."

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."

Luke and Galen both gave him confused looks.

"The Force?", asked Luke.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together."

Galen nudged Luke's shoulder.

"We best be getting home, and let’s not go past those rocks where the raiders were waiting."

Luke nodded, a small grimace on his face.

"Right. Come on 3PO, you're with me."

Obi-wan walked over, beside R2-D2. The droid had held up far better than he had, these last 17 years. As they got into the speeder, waiting for Luke to help C3-PO, Galen spoke in a calm, quiet tone that held plenty of warning.

"Do not lead him into further fights with Uncle Owen. They are at odds enough as it stands now. I do not wish for any more discord between them, and this is sure to hurt Aunt Baru. She has shielded us both from the brunt of everything she could and now Luke is holding his father's old weapon, bringing his father's old friend from the war, with a wild story about a princess and some plans for the Rebellion."

Obi-wan found that he liked this young man, despite the young man's distrust of him. So different from the boy who slept against his side on the way to Tatooine. This young man was distrustful, willful, and watchful. The child had been quiet, shy, and trusting of relative strangers who claimed to have known one of his parents some years ago. Obi-wan decided, as they rode off, to make the most of the time in the speeder.

"I knew your mother, Galen Marek. Mallie. She was very kind and the most loyal Jedi I ever met. She was from the Wookie homeworld and she spoke their language fluently. And she died protecting a group of them from slavers, which is how your father came to be left alone, to raise you. She did not believe in glory or becoming a legend in her own time, and she was skilled with a lightsaber."

Galen looked over at him quickly.

"I thank you, Obi-wan. I had not known her name or anything of her, but I am not one of your Jedi, out to take down the Empire. I just want to take care of my brother and take care of my aunt, the farm, everyone. I'm not a soldier."

Obi-wan smiled, despite himself. He could sense the Force's connection to the boy beside him, even more than he could in Luke. Though neither young man was aware, they both tapped into the Force without knowing they were doing it. Unlike Luke, who seemed more to rely on it for his ability at the helm, young Galen appeared to tap into it more for reading those around him and knowing when something bad was on the horizon.

Soon, Obi-wan could smell smoke, hot metal, and burning flesh. Not since the attack on the Temple, had he smelled such a noxious odor. The speeders rounded a rock outcropping and there, burning in the sand, was a Jawa vehicle with dead, burning Jawas strewn about. All over, there were wrecked droids and scattered parts.

Luke got out first, having parked his speeder close by. Galen pulled beside him, and then hopped out to stand beside his brother. These were the same Jawas that had brought R2 and C3-PO. Both droids could easily have been on this transport when it was hit. The destruction was horrifying. Galen held no love for Jawas in general, and seeing them like this made him want to run far away and try to burn the memory from his mind. But there was something else about it, too. Something familiar. Something that made his heart clench and his stomach churn even more than the smell already had done. Somehow, Luke found his voice.

"It looks like the Sandpeople did this, alright. Look, there's gaffi sticks, Bantha tracks. It's just... I never heard of them hitting anything this big before."

Obi-wan appeared at their sides.

"They didn't. But we are meant to think they did."

Galen looked at the older man, anything to take his eyes away from the bodies and ruined droids. Luke was still looking at the transport as it burned in places.

"These tracks are side by side. Sandpeople always ride single file to hide their numbers."

"These are the same Jawas that sold us R2 and 3PO."

Obi-wan nodded.

"And these blast points, too accurate for Sandpeople. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."

Galen felt that tightening feeling, worsening as his heart pounded. Surely this had nothing to do with R2 and C3-PO. The Jawas had simply wronged the worst bounty hunters or some such group, or they had angered one of the Huts.

"But why would Imperial troops want to slaughter Jawas?"

Luke looked over at Galen just in time to see Galen fall to his knees, clutching his stomach with one hand, his head with the other, a horrible grimace on his face. Luke did not have to question it, he knew what was setting Galen off, though he had never seen it hit his brother quite so hard before.

"If they traced the robots here, they may have learned who they sold them to and that would lead them back..."

Galen finished with a painful syllable, "Home."

Luke moved quickly to pull Galen to his feet, then both rushed off for the speeders, Galen’s strength appearing to come back to him with every step.

"Luke! Galen! It's too dangerous!"

Neither heard him as they took off in their uncle's speeder, racing for home. When they were close, they both saw the smoke billowing out from where they knew the house was. Their home. When they pulled up close enough, they saw the true horror. Luke jumped out, running over to where Uncle Owen lay on his back, arms out, having fallen back into some of his own equipment. Galen ran for Aunt Baru. She laid face-down, just at the top of the stairs of the house, beside Uncle Owen. Galen fell to his knees. Owen and Baru. They had always been there, like night and day. As constant as the drift of sand.

Neither of them noticed Obi-wan or the droids until they heard Obi-wan speaking.

"Luke? Galen?"

Luke turned to face him, tears streaming down his face. Galen, however, was still on his knees and staring at the charred, smoldering remains of the only parents he had ever known. Just that evening, Owen had been cross with them, sending them out to work with orders to get the droids wiped in the morning. And Baru, with all her usual kindness and tender care, had tried to make him understand. Galen had heard her, as he and Luke were walking out. She had been trying to explain that Luke was no farmer. That he was not meant to stay here forever and live the life Owen had chosen. That he was too much like Anakin.

Galen felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking, he saw Luke's hand grasping his shoulder, and following it, he found Luke's face absolutely white with tears streaming down, fat drops coming from his chin. He looked as broken as Galen felt. Neither spoke. Neither could. This was their home and when their aunt and uncle were dying, they were off chasing droids in the Jundland Wastes and talking to an old Jedi about Luke's father and Galen's mother. Daydreaming about their biological parents when their only real family lay dying in the sand. Galen felt the wind go completely out of him, as if someone had let all the sand out of a bag, and he sank to the ground. His face landed in the sand and he did not move from there. Not even as Luke moved to sit beside him, leaning against Galen's back, his own tears staining Galen's shirt and skin as Galen gasped and shook, his pain too great for his tears.

Galen could see flashes of it, playing across his eyes. Owen had heard something and gone running first. Baru had followed him. Baru was hit first. Owen moved towards her. The Storm troopers had walked past them, as if they were nothing. They destroyed the place while looking for something.

-----

They buried Aunt Baru and Uncle Owen beside each other, in a spot tucked back behind the house and the garages. The graves marked with simple metal sheets that they had engraved the names, dates, and a few words onto. They couldn't allow the graves to go unmarked. Within a couple weeks, someone would come to the farm to speak to Uncle Owen or one of Aunt Baru's old childhood friends would come, and they needed to know where to come pay their respects.

Galen headed into the house to wash up and to collect his things. He could not stay there. No matter how he cleaned, he would never erase that smell from the house. Looking around, he saw the breakfast Baru had prepared and the tools Owen had been cleaning. A snapholo of a regular morning at their home. The home he had grown up in. The table where he celebrated his birthday and where he and Luke kicked each other under whenever they had a disagreement. Touching Baru's favorite vase, Galen felt the first tears. It was only a little metal vase, with simple engraving in the Wookie tongue. An old blessing he could remember, from a time before he could remember, about the love of mothers. It had been one of her most prized possessions because it had been made by one of her boys as a gift for her birthday. Galen took it, removing the few little flowers she had in it, and tucking it into one of the two small bags he was packing.

He then went back into Baru and Owen's bedroom. There was something else he needed to take. Luke would not think of it now, but he would later, and he would regret having left it behind. There, on the small stand beside her bed, as a second little vase. This one had been rendered by Luke from spare parts, and she kept more flowers there to make her room smell nice. Removing the flowers, Galen slipped the small, golden colored vase into his bag. In years to come, these might well become the only reminders they had of home.

Galen collected both sets of flowers before he walked out, both bags slung over one shoulder. Neither were half so large as one of those helmets the X-wing pilots used and would not seem like enough for them to be traveling far. Just some credits, some traveling food, a few small tools they might need, a change of clothes, and the two vases, neatly tucked into the clothing bundles. He found Luke standing by the graves, and handed him half of the flowers. Luke recognized them, fresh tears falling down his cheeks. After a moment of silence, they placed the flowers between the two graves.

"I wish we had been here.", Luke said.

"There was nothing either of you could have done, had you been there. You'd have been killed too, and the droids would now be in the hands of the Empire."

Luke turned to face him.

"I want to come with you to Alderaan. There's nothing for me here now. I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi, like my father."

Galen sighed. He had known this was the path Luke would choose. He was about to volunteer for this suicide mission when Luke turned to him.

"But only if you'll come with me."

Looking back at his brother, Galen was surprised. He had expected Luke would want to cut and leave as quickly as possible. That Galen would be an afterthought.

"I'll need my brother with me. I can't take on a rescue mission by myself. And you can't stay here."

Galen agreed to that all.

"I'll come with you."

Obi-wan watched these young men and was proud of them. The future of the Jedi was secure in these two. When Luke, then Galen, looked back at him, he decided to make it clear that young Galen was welcome.

"Your mother was a Jedi knight too, Galen, as was your father. It was the tradition for a Jedi Knight to take on only one apprentice at a time. However, seeing as there are two of you and only one of me, I would be happy to take you both on as my apprentices."

Luke nodded. They moved to the speeders. Obi-wan offered to take the slower one along with C3-PO and to let the Luke and Galen take R2 on their uncle's speeder. They needed to make haste, but he knew they needed a chance to say goodbye. R2 would not intrude or worry over them the way 3PO would, and they needed each other more than either of them needed Obi-wan right now.

Soon, they were on the outskirts of Mos Eisley. Obi-wan got out and went to the edge of a cliff in order to take a good look at the spaceport. It was just as run down as ever, if not more so. Ships gathered around the outside of it and stormtroopers waited just inside the front and rear gates. This would be fairly simple, though far from safe. Galen and Luke came to stand by him, both looking at the city. Despite having cleaned up and wearing some ponchos to hide Galen's backpack and the sling bag Luke wore, they both were clearly just farm boys. Children, in a spaceport full of the worst low-ranking villains in the galaxy.

"Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Luke nodded, but Galen was intent on one of the ships. It was large and somewhat plate-shaped, with a large dish attached near the cockpit that was off to the far right side of the ship. It was beautiful in an ugly sort of way. Probably built more for function and cargo space, than for speed or agility. However, he had found that smuggler ships were often the opposite of their appearances.

They returned to their speeders, and Luke followed Obi-wan in. When they reached the gates, both of them spotted the stormtroopers. Galen could sense Luke's anger before he felt his own, and he reached for Luke's wrist as Luke's hand sneaked towards where one of Galen's varmint-beating-sticks was situated. He whispered to Luke.

"Not here. You're outnumbered and inside walls."

Luke retracted his hand, putting it up onto the helm as they eased in behind Obi-wan. One of the stormtroopers leaned in to speak to Obi-wan. Galen could hear him, vaguely, as he asked for the info on the droids. Obi-wan smiled and waved his right hand slowly as he said something Galen could not hear. Then the stormtrooper stated that he didn't need to see information for the droids, that they were not the droids his team was looking for, nor did he need to see any identification for Obi-wan or the men in the speeder behind him. They were then waved on, and allowed inside. Obi-wan parked nearby, helping C3-PO out of the speeder while Luke hopped out and Galen moved to get R2.

"We'll need to hire someone to take us to Alderaan. We will have to sell the speeders."

Luke sighed.

"Not like we're ever coming back here again."

Galen could not have agreed more.

Luke looked back at the storm troopers, then back to Galen and Obi-wan.

“What I don’t understand is how we got past those troops.”

“The Force can have a strong influence on the weak mind.”

“You really think we’re going to find a pilot here that’ll take us to Alderaan?”

“You’ll find that most of the best freighters are in places like this. However, we must be cautious. Things in these cantinas can be… a bit rough.”, Obi-wan cautioned.

“I’m ready for anything.”, Luke muttered at he followed the older Jedi. Galen followed behind, with C3-PO and R2. Luke was not ready for anything. Galen just knew he was going to have to pull Luke out of something before they saw daylight again, so he made sure he had both of his sticks with him. Just in case.

Inside, it was almost comical to watch Luke’s face as he looked around. Galen, for some reason, was never as taken aback by the appearance of any alien as Luke was. And if not for Galen’s nagging worry and the weight of his new grief, Galen might have laughed at his brother’s face. He looked almost like a small critter, venturing out for the first time, only to panic when it realized it had lost track of its’ mother.

Obi-wan had gone in ahead of them, while Luke and Galen hung back near the entrance with the droids. And it did not take long before Obi-wan appeared to have made a friend at the bar. A wookie with a shoulder-strap across his body that held gear and likely at least one weapon. Luke took a couple steps forward, and Galen came right behind his brother.

The bar keep called out to them, getting their attention quickly.

“We don’t serve their kind here!”

Luke and Galen both looked in confusion at who the bar keep could have been referring to.

“Your droids! We don’t serve their kind. They’ll have to wait outside.”

Luke turned back to them while Galen considered giving the bar keep a good walloping.

“Why don’t you wait out by the speeder? We don’t want any trouble.”

“I heartily agree with you, sir.”, came C3-PO’s calm reply. Luke patted the droid’s shoulder before coming to stand beside Galen.

“Try not to look so intimidating Galen, or else someone in here might actually try and fight you.”

They headed over to the bar, to stand beside Obi-wan. When the Bar keep seemed insistent on ignoring them, Galen was content to let him do so. Not Luke. Luke reached out like a bored child, and tugged the man’s tunic to get his attention. Luke asked for one of whatever the man had been pouring, and the man turned away to pour it, then served it to Luke. Galen was not sure he liked the look of anything served in this establishment. It probably would give them some intestinal parasite.

Again, Luke was looking around like a kid turned loose for the first time. Galen almost snorted a laugh. They were kids turned loose for the first time. No Owen to keep them in line, no Baru to remind them of their manners, and no Biggs to keep Luke from finding trouble so easily as he regularly did.

An alien whose race Galen was unfamiliar with, shoved Luke’s shoulder and spat its language at him in a way that made it clear he was upset about something. Luke, being as ignorant of the alien’s language as Galen was, just turned back to his drink and pretended to ignore the alien. Galen was about to check on Obi-wan’s progress when he saw another alien approaching Luke to tap his brother’s shoulder.

“He doesn’t like you.”, the new alien said while gesturing to the first alien. Galen reached for one of his sticks. He had a bad feeling about this. Luke just tried to turn away. But the second alien wasn’t having it.

“I’m sorry.”, Luke quietly said as he turned his attention back to his drink, trying to be as unobtrusive as he could be. The alien tugged Luke’s shoulder to make him look back again.

“I don’t like you either. You just watch yourself. We’re wanted men. I have the death sentence on 12 systems.”, the man announced as though it were an accomplishment worthy of the bragging. Galen moved to stand closer to Luke, protecting his brother’s prone back.

“I’ll be careful then.”, came Luke’s response before he made the mistake of taking his eyes off of the wanted men.

“You’ll be dead!”, the second alien shouted in Luke’s face, as he tugged Luke with both hands. Obi-wan stepped between Galen and the alien, effectively cutting Galen off from bashing the alien’s skull.

“This little one’s not worth the effort.”, Obi-wan said with a smoothness to his voice that sent bumps across Galen’s flesh. It was as much a threat as it was a suggestion to leave Luke alone.

“Come, let me get you something.”, Obi-wan suggested.

The man shoved at Obi-wan and Galen shoved Luke behind himself, pulling both sticks out to protect them as Obi-wan stepped forward and gave the alien a shove that sent the man into a nearby table. The Bar keep hit the floor, screaming about a fight, as the alien pulled a blaster. Obi-wan pulled a lightsaber, much like the one he had given Luke, and Galen could tell Obi-wan was keeping them to his side where he could see and protect them.

The second alien moved forward while the first held his blaster at the ready. Obi-wan made one swift movement with the lightsaber, the blade making the most odd noise, that was also incredibly familiar to Galen. Then there was a scream and several patrons rushed away. When Galen and Luke looked down, the second alien’s arm and blaster lay on the ground beside him.

The alien moaned at his injury while everyone seemed frozen, staring at the old man with his lightsaber ignited. Obi-wan looked every inch the old warrior, standing ready to defend himself and with total confidence in his ability with the weapon in his hands. No one dared test him for a second round. Switching off the weapon, he turned back to Luke and Galen, finding Luke still on the floor and Galen still holding his sticks at the ready.

The moment passed. One alien returned to his smoking while the band began to play right where they left off before the ruckus. Obi-wan looked around while Galen slid his sticks back into his bag and reached to help Luke onto his feet. Obi-wan leaned closer and Luke nodded.

“I’m alright.”

Obi-wan gave a quick nod, then leaned closer to speak to them both. The wookie he had been speaking to earlier, loomed behind him.

“Chewbacca here is first mate on a ship that might suit us.”, he whispered as he gestured for them to follow him. And follow him they did. The band switched to a livelier tune as they were greeted by the Captain of their new ship.

“I’m Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon. Chewie here tells me your looking for passage to the Alderaan system.”

“Yes indeed. If it’s a fast ship?”

Galen wanted to laugh at how insulted the Captain looked. Clearly Obi-wan knew nothing about the smuggler ship this Solo captained. Galen only knew of it from eavesdropping on a few conversations in town. Ones Luke had been too busy goofing around or listening to news of the Rebellion, to have picked up on.

“Fast ship? You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon?”

Obi-wan shook his head and Luke seemed a bit confused.

“Should I have?”

“It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.”

Obi-wan shot him a look as though he believed the smuggler were bragging over something that was so impossible that it was amusing to listen to someone say they had done it. Like a fairytale someone was claiming was true.

“I’ve outrun Imperial starships. Not the local bulk cruisers, mind you. I’m talkin’ the big Corillian ships now. She’s fast enough for you, old man. What’s the cargo?”

“Passengers. Myself, the boys, two droids and No Questions Asked.”

“What is it, some kind of local trouble?”, the smuggler asked with a wide smile.

“Let’s just say we’d like to avoid any Imperial entanglements.”

“Well, that’s the real trick, isn’t it? And it’s gonna cost you somethin’ extra. 10,000 all in advance.”

Galen saw Luke’s jaw dropping even as Obi-wan kept the cool, calm face of an expert negotiator. Granted, Galen had heard just enough of the old Jedi to know that they had once been considered good moderators and middle men for negotiations. So it had probably been part of the training, before the Empire’s rule.

“10,000?”, Luke questioned. “We could almost buy our own ship for that!”

Obi-wan and Galen exchanged a look. It was clear Obi-wan understood Galen’s frustrations of dealing with Luke’s tendency to speak without stopping to think about it.

“But who’s gonna fly it kid, you?”, questioned the smuggler.

Luke took the bait, leaning forward to answer the challenge.

“You bet I could. I’m not such a bad pilot myself.”

Turning to Obi-wan, he added, “Come on, we don’t have to sit here and listen”.

Obi-wan reached out to steady Luke with a hand to his arm, keeping him rooted in his seat at the small table. Looking back up at the Captain, he continued the discussion as if Luke had not interrupted.

“We can pay you 2,000 now and plus 15 when we reach Alderaan.”

The smuggler seemed interested, though he clearly was no dummy. There had to be a reason someone was willing to pay that kind of money for a relatively short and easy trip.

“17 huh?”

Oni-wan nodded.

“Okay, you guys got yourselves a ship. We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. Docking bay 94.”

“94.”, Obi-wan confirmed.

Galen felt something, as if a cold piece of metal had been smoothly inserted up his spine. Turning to look, he saw trouble. The smuggler also seemed to notice the trouble.

“Looks like someone’s beginning to take an interest in your handy work.”, he commented as Luke and Obi-wan turned to see where the Bar Keep was telling two storm troopers about the incident a moment ago, and he gestured to where Obi-wan, Luke, and Galen were sitting. Galen and Luke both looked over at Obi-wan, since he was pretty clearly the leader on this mission. The older man appeared to already have the wheels in motion.

He gestured for them to follow him, but once they were up on their feet, he pushed them out ahead of him. Galen saw that Obi-wan was waving his hand again as he had done earlier with the storm troopers.
Whatever it was he was doing, it seemed they had no idea the three of them were sneaking out the back. They simply walked to the table where Obi-wan, Luke, and Galen had been a moment earlier.
Walking back in, Galen held onto the bag with the credits they had gotten for the speeders while Luke walked ahead with Obi-wan. Galen found himself looking around much the way he used to do when Wex, Biggs, and Luke used to get into trouble, and Galen would have to help get them out of it. Luke had always been smaller and less inclined to violence than the rest of them as a child, so it made him easier pickings.

“If the ship’s as fast as his boasting, we ought to do well.”

Somehow Luke did not seem to find this all that comforting. Galen was glad of the older man’s honesty about Solo’s boasts, however he had a nagging feeling that something was off. As if someone were watching them, remaining just out of Galen’s sight. He would be glad to be out of Mos Eisley, even on a rickety bucket of bolts.

Coming through some doors, they were greeted by Solo’s imposing co-pilot, Chewbacca. Galen found the wookie seemed familiar. Not for the first time, he wondered if it had something to do with why he understood and could write in the wookie language and why he had understood the few who passed through Tatooine’s trading posts.

When they came around the corner, they were greeted with the sight Galen expected upon hearing Solo’s boasts. That plate-shaped ship he had noticed before. Up close she was imposing and looked as though she had been upgraded several times by her Captain.

“What a piece of junk!”, came Luke’s assessment. Galen wanted to smack his brother.

“She’ll make .5 past lightspeed. She may not look like much but she’s got it where it counts, kid.”

Galen smirked at the smuggler’s defense of his ship.

“I made a lot special modifications myself,” he added as he gestured for Luke and Obi-wan to head up towards the gangplank into the ship, “but we’re a little rushed, so it you’ll just get on board, we’ll get out of here.”

Galen walked with the droids, following Obi-wan and Luke up into the ship, then over to an area with seats. Chewbacca headed up to the cockpit as Solo appeared to be doing last minute checks before take-off.
Galen couldn’t shake the suspicion that Solo and Chewbacca wanted off this planet just as much as they did, and they wanted to leave with as much speed as possible.

The sound of blaster shots alerted them that something was wrong. Luke turned, looking ready to go outside and see what was wrong. Obi-wan stopped him with an arm across Luke’s chest, barring him from moving forward. Galen pulled out his sticks, moving to use the wall at the corner to protect him so he could whack anything that came through the hall before they had a chance to fire at he, Luke, Obi-wan, or the droids.

Then they heard Solo shouting.

“CHEWIE! GET US OUT OF HERE!”

Obi-wan shoved them towards where they had left the droids strapped in for the journey. Luke made it to the seat first, Galen and Obi-wan still working on getting into place. They heard Solo running for the cockpit as the engines came to life within the Falcon.

“Oh my. I’d forgotten how much I hate space-travel.”, came 3PO’s comment.

Galen looked over at Luke and Obi-wan, not sure what would happen if they were caught. Sure, against a couple thugs who wanted to get at Luke for his smart mouth, Galen could take them. He might even be able to take a couple storm troopers if he could get the drop on them before they shot anyone. A whole imperial cruiser’s worth of men was beyond what any old Jedi or a Tatooine mechanic to protect Luke and the droids.

Luke shot up and ran for the cockpit, Galen and Obi-wan exchanging a look before the elder followed Luke. Galen shook his head. He wasn’t going up there to annoy their ticket out of this place. He was going to sit quietly with the droids.

Obi-wan could tell Han Solo was nervous and not as confident as he pretended, that they would evade capture. He gave orders to his co-pilot as Luke walked up between the two seats.

“Why don’t you outrun them? I thought you said this thing was fast?”

“Watch your mouth kid, or you’re gonna find yourself floating home.”

Obi-wan wanted to growl that the two of them could try to figure out who was the better pilot later, when they did not have two imperial cruisers on their tail. It seemed Luke had inherited some of Anakin’s less-than-desirable traits along with some of his best.

“We’ll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyper-space. Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We’ll lose ‘em.”

Obi-wan liked this pilot, no matter how cocky he came across upon their first meeting. The man knew his ship and he knew how to make it do his bidding in ways no other pilot could have done at her helm. Clearly a man who loved his ship.

“This is where the fun begins.”, Solo said with a smile, reaching for one of the controls.

“How long before you make the jump to lightspeed?”, Obi-wan inquired.

“Take a few moments to get the coordinates from the nav-computer.”, he answered as he plugged in some more information for the onboard computers.

“Are you kidding, at the rate their gaining?”

Solo turned back to face Luke, his tone particularly biting.

“Travelin’ through hyper-space ain’t like dustin’ crops, boy! Without precise calculations, you we could fly right through a star, or bounce too close to a supernova, and that’d end your trip real quick, wouldn’t it?”
“What’s that flashing?”, Luke indicated with his finger pointed towards a light on the dash.

“Go strap yourselves in! I’m gonna make the jump to lightspeed.”

Obi-wan tugged on Luke’s arm, indicating that they needed to return to Galen and the droids.

Chapter Text

Having successfully evaded capture by the Imperial cruisers, most everyone was now able to relax. Granted, it seemed that Obi-wan’s idea of relaxing was different than Chewie or Galen’s. He had retrieved some sort of sparring droid, set it to floating in the air in front of Luke, and told Luke to battle it with his new lightsaber. Galen, meanwhile, sat between the droids and Chewie, as R2 and the wookie played a strategy game.

Galen watched as Luke trailed the sparring droid with his eyes and kept the lightsaber sticking out in front of him almost like a child holding a too-large tool to ward off a bully. Without any experience in fighting with them, Galen could only compare Luke’s hold and stance to Obi-wan’s from the cantina, and still he knew that Luke wasn’t holding it right. Why Obi-wan hadn’t corrected him yet, Galen had yet to discern.

The thing shot at Luke and Luke dodged well enough, using the lightsaber to block one blow. Galen smiled a little, then he felt it. The constricting of his chest, akin to what happened by the Jawas’ slaughter, but this was…different. He did not smell the ruin of his home or hear the screams of Baru and Owen. This time, he heard thousands of screams and he felt a sudden impending dread. Then nothing. A blank space that had once teemed with so much light. It was a hollowness that burned white-hot in his chest while his blood felt as if ice ran through it.

He was pulled out of it by Luke’s calling Obi-wan’s name, the older man having gone from standing to watch Luke’s progress to easing himself into a nearby chair as if someone had cut his strings. Galen reminded himself to breathe. In. Hold. Out. Hold. In. Hold. Baru had gone over it with him many times when he woke up from nightmares he only remembered vague details and impressions of in the morning light, and after he would fall to the ground screaming about things he couldn’t understand. Luke would always sit near him, trying to hold Galen’s hand or shoulder, making sure no one bothered Galen until he was recovered. But Baru was the one who reminded him to breathe.

“Are you alright? What’s wrong?”, Luke asked, looking back and forth between his brother and Ben. Galen looked like he was about to be ill and was clearly doing Baru’s breathing exercise. Ben looked as though the wind had rushed out of him, leaving him deflated.

“I felt a great disturbance in the Force… as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced.”, came Ben’s answer.

As he looked up at Luke, he added in a haunted tone, “I fear something terrible has happened.”

He recovered quickly, rubbing at his forehead with his thumb as if in some old, unconscious gesture. Luke kept glancing back and forth between the old Jedi and his brother, who still looked a bit green.

“You’d better get on with your exercises.”, Ben urged before glancing over Luke’s shoulder to check on Galen. Even Chewbacca appeared a bit concerned about the dark-haired farm boy. Obi-wan wondered if Chewie remembered the boy, or if the wookie was just a bit more empathically inclined than his career choice would imply.

Luke stepped back and was about to pick up his lightsaber for another round with the battle-sparring bot, when Captain Solo appeared in the hall, his step as cocky as his banter. Obi-wan was momentarily reminded of Ahsoka.

“Well, you can forget your troubles with those imperial slugs. I told you I’d outrun them.”, the last bit clearly being directed at Luke. From the look on Galen’s face, Obi-wan knew Galen had expected Luke to place his foot within his mouth, when he went up to talk to their new captian.

The Captain settled into the seat next to Obi-wan as everyone else turned their attention to Luke’s igniting his father’s lightsaber. Obi-wan let out a small sigh. He needed to work on Luke’s footing and where his shoulders were pointed.

“Don’t everybody thank me at once.”, Han groused from his seat, pretending not to be interested in Luke’s lightsaber. Obi-wan could sense the man was a bit unsettled by the three of them and their use of lightsabers, yet he was hiding it quite well.

“Anyway, we should be at Alderaan in 0200 hours.”

Obi-wan nodded, briefly sparring Chewie and R2’s game a glance. It seemed the little droid was as reckless as Obi-wan remembered him being, and was soundly beating the wookie. This would not end well if someone did not stop the droid.

“Now be careful, R2.”, 3-PO warned.

The smaller droid just chirped at him, not even bothering to look over at his companion as he continued to beat the wookie in front of him. The wookie protested his loss when it inevitably came.

“He made a fair move. Screaming about it can’t help you.”, the golden droid reasoned with the wookie.

“Let him have it. It’s not wise to upset a wookie.”, cautioned the Captain.

“But sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid.’

“That’s ‘cause a droid don’t pull people’s arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookies are known to do that.”

The golden protocol droid looked back and forth between the Captain and the First Mate, with the wookie seeming to almost purr in satisfaction at how unsettled 3-PO clearly had become.

“I see your point, sir.”, 3-PO said to Han before turning to lean in closer to R2 and adding, “I suggest a new strategy, R2. Let the wookie win.”

Obi-wan decided he liked this Captain and First Mate. They were rough, the Captain a bit arrogant, and the ship a bit ragged, though all three were true and steady. He could sense it. Returning his attention back to Luke, he saw the boy was settling into his new weapon.

The boy blocked one shot, then continued to trail the sparring bot. His eyes were on the thing, focused as a laser. The lightsaber lagged a bit behind Luke’s eyes in trailing the bot’s movements. It was a common problem with the younglings when they first learned to deflect with their lightsabers. Even when they were four or five coming to their training, sometimes younger, they still relied too heavily on their eyes and not enough on the Force.

“Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.”, Obi-wan offered.

“You mean it controls your action?”, Luke questioned.

“Partially, but it also obeys your commands.”

The sparring bot chose that moment to shoot Luke in the hip, causing him to dance about. Han laughed loudly while Galen tried to stifle his own chuckle at Luke’s discomfort. Obi-wan shot the darker haired boy a look that did little to silence his mirth.

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

Obi-wan shook his head at the Captain’s reasoning. Luke turned off the lightsaber and once more turned on his sarcastic tone while addressing the smuggler.

“You don’t believe in the Force, do you?”

Obi-wan found this an interesting question, coming from a boy who had never heard of the Force until yesterday.

“Kid, I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I’ve never seen anything to make me believe there’s one all-powerful force controlling everything. There’s no mystical energy field controls my destiny. It’s all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.”

Obi-wan smiled, even as some of those were digs aimed at him. If only the man beside him knew how touched by the Force his life truly was. Obi-wan decided not to tell the smuggler. It would be far more entertaining to let him find out on his own.

“I suggest you try it again, Luke.”, Obi-wan said as he reached for a helmet.

“This time, let go of your conscious self, and act on instinct.”, were his instructions as he placed the helmet upon his new padawan’s head, blinding the boy to the bot and his surroundings.

“With the blast shield down, I can’t even see.”

Galen sighed over off to the side as Obi-wan stepped back to give Luke room.

“How am I supposed to fight?”

“Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.”

Luke took up his stance, blind to the bot as it shot him.

“Stretch out with your feelings.”

Luke successfully blocked the next three shots from the bot.

“You see? You can do it.”

Han chose that moment to chime in.

“I call it luck.”

Obi-wan turned and spoke over his shoulder.

“In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.”

“Look, good against remotes is one thing, good against a living is something else.”

A beeping interrupted them, drawing the smuggler’s attention.

“Looks like we’re coming up on Alderaan.”

He got up and walked out, while Luke came over with his helmet under his arm, an introspective look on his face.

“You know, I did feel something. I could almost see the remote.”

“That’s good,”, Obi-wan patted the younger man’s shoulder, “you’ve taken your first step into a larger world.”

Obi-wan then turned to Galen.

“Now, young sir, it is your turn.”

Galen shook his head, holding up both hands as he still sat between 3-PO and the wookie.

“I’m no Jedi and I don’t have a lightsaber, so I think I’ll sit this one out.”

Obi-wan shook his head, then reached into the bag he had nearby. During the night, as the two boys had grieved, Obi-wan had returned to a craft he had not touched in many years. Lightsaber building was something he had done a lot of, back in the days before the Empire.

Stepping forward, he handed the two newly made lightsabers to the younger man. They did not match, due to having mismatched kyber crystals. One was yellow, the other green. The colors once meant something, however those days were gone. Now you used what you could find.

“I noticed that you were adept with a pair of your ‘varmint sticks’ when you fought off the sandpeople and later in the cantina. I thought you would do well with a pair.”

“People fought with two?”

“Yes. In fact, a young woman trained by an old friend of mine, was rather deadly with a pair of lightsabers. I knew a few who preferred the use of twin lightsabers over a single, or even that of a double-bladed saber. Here. Let us see how you fair against a remote sparring bot.”

Galen took the sabers, testing their weight in his hands before Luke smirked at him and placed the helmet on his head, blaster shield pulled down. Luke had started without the blaster shield, though it seemed he was going to get his brother back for laughing when Luke was hit with a small shot from the bot.

Taking his stance, he held one saber ignited and the point behind him, and in his left hand he held the lightsaber out as Obi-wan and Luke had. This was how he had learned to use his sticks to defend himself, back in town when he had to defend Luke from whomever he, Biggs, Wex, and the others had annoyed. He heard the bot begin its movements in front of him.

The remote took one shot, and Galen dodged it entirely, the shot hitting the floor behind him. Another shot missed his shoulder by a hair. He waited as the bot circled him. He reminded himself to keep his breathing even and to not worry about what he could not see. He understood what Luke had meant though. He felt as though he could almost make out the outline of the remote, feeling the hum of it as it processed plans of attack.

He deflected the third and fourth shots, and sent the fifth back at the bot, causing it to short circuit. The bot fell uselessly to the ground as Luke almost had his jaw fall beside it. Galen switched off his lightsabers and moved his right one into his left hand, allowing him to then take off his helmet. He looked at the bot first, then at Luke and Ben.

“How did I do?”

Luke still seemed shocked. Ben Kenobi smiled.

“Very well. Your ability to sense your surroundings is advanced, for someone with no training. We just need to work on your technique with the lightsabers. You are a bit, shall we say… erratic.”

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Han worked to make sure he was getting them correctly situated as they came in, ready to greet Alderaan space.

“Stand by, Chewie. Here we go. Cut into sublight engines.”

Flipping a few more controls, Han and Chewie found themselves dropping out of lightspeed and into a debris cloud. Or at least, it appeared to be a debris cloud or an asteroid belt.

“What the…?”

The ship rattled as Chewie complained.

“We’ve come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision. It’s not on any of the charts.”

Luke and Obi-wan arrived into the cabin, Galen standing back a bit in the hall behind them.

“What’s going on?”, Luke asked.

“Our position’s correct, except no Alderaan.”

“What do you mean? Where is it?”

“That’s what I’m tryin’ to tell ya, kid.”, Han answered, “It ain’t there. It’s been totally blown away.”

“What? How?”

Obi-wan knew.

“Destroyed, by the Empire.”

Han looked back at the old man, unable to comprehend the idea of a weapon that could obliterate an entire planet in one go.

“The entire Starfleet couldn’t destroy the whole planet. It would take 1,000 ships with more firepower than I’ve”, a beeping interrupted Han’s rebuttal. A warning beep.

“There’s another ship coming in.”

“Maybe they know what happened.”, Luke suggested.

Without reading the controls or understanding the beeps coming from the dash, Obi-wan knew who the other ship belonged to.

“It’s an imperial fighter.”

“IT FOLLOWED US!”

“No. It’s a short-range fighter.”, Obi-wan identified it for his young companion.

“There aren’t any bases around here. Where did it come from?”

Galen had to agree with the Captain, he was more concerned about how close they must have been to Imperial ships for a small fighter to be able to float around out here in the debris field.

“It sure is leaving in a big hurry. If they identify us, we’re in big trouble.”

“Not if I can help it.” Han answered Luke’s worried trail of thought.

“Chewie, jam its transmissions.”

Chewie began following the order as Obi-wan interrupted.

“It would be as well to let it go. It’s too far out of range.”

“Not for long.”

Galen shook his head. Something about this wasn’t right. And it appeared Ben agreed with him on this.

“A fighter that size couldn’t get this deep into space on its own.”

“He must have gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something.”, Luke suggested.

“Well, he ain’t gonna be around long enough to tell anybody about us.”

“Look at him. He’s heading for that small moon.”

Again, Galen suspected there was far more to this. Especially considering how Alderaan seemed to be scattered around them in small chunks of rock.

“I think I can get him before he gets there. He’s almost in range.”

“That’s no moon.”

There was something about the older man’s tone that made the hairs at the nape of Galen’s neck, stand on end and a chill run down his spine.

“It’s a space station.”

Glancing over, Galen could see Han, Chewie, and Luke were similarly affected, although Luke most-so. Han was still struggling to believe it.

“It’s too big to be a space station.”

“I have a very bad feeling about this.”

Galen spoke up.

“Me too.”

“Turn the ship around.”, Obi-wan ordered Han.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. Full reverse! Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power.”

Chewie growled, but there was no change in direction and the ship began to shake, as if being rattled like a child’s toy. Han repeated his last command to Chewie. Luke began to panic.

“Why are we still moving towards it?”

“We’re caught in a tractor beam. It’s pulling us in!”

“There’s gotta be something you can do.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it, kid. I’m at full power. I’m gonna have to shut down. They’re not gonna get me without a fight.”

The tractor beam continued to pull them in, the lot of them powerless against it. Galen could sense how disquieting Han found this, the mix of fear and anger from Chewie at being pulled into an Empire’s ship, as well as Luke’s absolute panic. Obi-wan, however, still seemed calm. There was something the old Jedi knew that the rest of them were blind to.

“You can’t win. But there are alternatives to fighting.”, the old Jedi advised.

The tractor beam continued to reel them in.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Popping up from under the floor plates, they had once more evaded capture by Storm Troopers. They knew time was of the essence, the trick could only last so long.

“Boy, it’s luck you had these compartments.”, Luke commented as he and Han eased out of the first hidey-hole.

“I use them for smuggling.”, he added as he looked around, “I never thought I’d be smuggling myself in ‘em. This is ridiculous.”

Obi-wan and Galen emerged from their compartment. Galen almost wanted to chuckle at Luke’s blowing a big breath out, his relief a bit funny, despite the seriousness of their situation.

“Even if I could take off, I’d never get past the tractor beam.”

Obi-wan looked up at their pilot.

“Leave that to me.”

As he lifted himself out, Han groused, “Damn fool, I knew that you were gonna say that.”

“Who is more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?”

Galen really just wanted to go home, momentarily forgetting he nolonger had one. Chewie stuck his head up from where he had been hiding with Han and Luke, expressing his displeasure at their situation. Han just affectionately rubbed the large wookie’s head as he peered around the hall, looking for any sign of Storm Troopers.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Once they were ready, they waited for that scanner crew to come. They did not have to wait long. Unfortunately, it was only two men and neither in a uniform that hid the face from view or that could fit any of the three younger men. Han smiled wickedly.

“I got an idea.”

He moved closer to the galley opening while Galen and Luke dragged the now unconscious Imperials into the hidden compartments they had all been using a moment ago.

“Hey, down there! Could you give us a hand with this?”

Sure enough, two storm troopers fell for the trick and came up the galley. A second later, they fired shots at Galen, only for Chewie and Han to overtake them, knocking both men out. Now they had two uniforms they could use to hide within. The first fit Han pretty well, the second was a bit too long for Luke, leaving him uncomfortable as he had to stretch his neck up as far as he could to see through the bottom edge of the lenses on the helmet. Galen found it comical, despite knowing he shouldn’t.

A message came through the helmet on Luke’s head, asking for its owner to respond with an explanation as to why he was not at his post. They waited, not entirely sure what to do until Han gestured to Luke. Galen and Luke both understood. Moving to the edge of the galley, Luke faced the area that looked like where the officers might keep an eye on the hanger below.

Luke looked up to see a man in a black uniform looking out a glass window, down towards the Falcon. The man looked angry and like he had no sense of humor at all. The Empire’s perfect soldier. Luke gestured to his helmet, hopefully indicating it was a bug with the electrical unit inside. The man in the window responded in the affirmative, seeming to understand.

A few seconds later, Galen watched as the man in the black uniform was seized by Chewie, as he opened the door in an attempt to check on the scanning team. Han and Obi-wan came in behind Chewie, the droids behind them. Han beat the second man to the draw on a blaster, clearing the path for their little group.

Galen came in right behind Chewie, Obi-wan following with the droids, and Luke arriving in the hallway behind them. Han went over to check on the man he had shot, making sure the Imperial soldier was dead.

Galen watched as Obi-wan went over to a control panel and began working at it, the little droid rolling past him to work elsewhere. As Luke entered, Galen could feel his brother’s irritation rolling off the man in waves. This was not going to be good.

Luke closed the blast door behind him before removing his helmet. He looked angry enough to bite through rock, and Galen turned his shoulder to him, instead focusing on watching Obi-wan.

“Between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it’s a wonder the whole station doesn’t know we’re here.”, Luke griped.

“Bring them on! I prefer a straight fight, to all this sneaking around.”

Obi-wan considered this another interesting statement, given the job description of a smuggler. Then again, he also had a sense that Captain Solo was not a smuggler because sneaking, lying, cheap tricks, and cheating came naturally, so much as he had likely been pushed out of legitimate work a good pilot could find. He almost reminded Obi-wan of Mallie, but with Anakin’s mouth.

“We’ve found the computer outlet, sir.”, 3-PO informed them.

“Plug in. He should be able to interpret the entire imperial network.”, Obi-wan commanded the droid.

R2 went to work on getting through the system, determined to find their Princess. It did not take him very long to find the main controls, which 3-PO relayed to everyone in the room. Galen understood the little droid well enough on his own to have been smiling before 3-PO’s announcement. Then 3-PO began explaining that R2 had also narrowed down the central hub for the tractor beam that had them stuck in the large, moon-like ship they were currently trapped in.

“Power loss at one of the terminals, should allow the ship to leave.”, he finished off with. Galen watched Obi-wan’s eyes. The man was formulating a plan. And not one with a happy ending, Galen feared.

“I don’t think you boys can help. I must go alone.”

Han looked unimpressed.

“Whatever you say. I’ve done more than I bargained for on this trip already.”

Luke jumped, like a puppy, towards Obi-wan’s side. Galen readied his lightsabers.

“I want to go with you.”

“Be patient, Luke. Stay and watch over the droids.”

“But he can, “, Obi-wan interrupted him, “They must be delivered safely, or other star systems will suffer the same fate as Alderaan. Your destiny lies along a different path from mine.”

Obi-wan opened the door, checking down the hall quickly before speaking again.

“The Force will be with you, always.”

Galen stepped forward.

“I’m coming with you, and don’t argue. If you’re doing what I think you’re doing, you’re going to need some back-up.”

Obi-wan shook his head.

“No, what I intend to do requires stealth, not muscle. You had best stay with your brother.”, he added with a smile, “As you said, where he goes, you do.”

Galen nodded at the older Jedi, giving Obi-wan leave to disappear down the hall, Luke’s eyes following. Galen had an overwhelming sense that this would be the last they would see of the old wizard. He knew Luke felt it too.

With the doors closed again, Chewie growled about their predicament. Galen understood the wookie so well that again, he wondered why it was that he knew the language of wookies as well as their Captain Solo appeared to.

“You said it, Chewie. Where did you dig up that old fossil?”

Galen bristled, though not as badly as Luke.

“Ben is a great man.”

“Yeah, great at getting us into trouble.”

“I didn’t hear you give any ideas.”

“Well anything’s better than just hangin’ around waiting for ‘em to pick us up.”

“Who do you think,”, Luke’s tired was stopped by R2’s chirps.

“What is it?”

3-PO translated.

“I’m afraid I’m not quite sure, sir. He says, ‘I’ve found her’ and keeps repeating ‘She’s here.’.”

“Well, who… who has he found?”

“Princess Leia.”

“The Princess? She’s here!”, Luke exclaimed.

Han was confused, Chewie appeared to be no less so.

“Princess?”

Luke ignored them both, focusing on 3-PO instead.

“Where? Where is she?”

Han was still insisting, “Princess? What’s going on?”

R2 spoke up, through his chirps, informing Galen and 3-PO what was going on within his search of the Imperial computers.

“Level 5, Detention Block AA-23. I’m afraid she’s scheduled to be terminated.”

“Oh no!”, Luke responded. “We’ve got to do something!”

“What are you talking about?”, Han was still several steps behind, Obi-wan having never explained about who sent he, Galen, Luke, and the droids on this fool’s mission.

“The droids belong to her. She’s the one in the message. We gotta help her!”

“Now look, don’t get any funny ideas. The old man wants us to wait right here.”

“But he didn’t know she was here.”, Luke explained as Han deflated into a nearby chair. Galen could sympathize. Dealing with his brother when his brother was in an excited, idealistic sprint, was no easy or relaxing task. Galen moved to sit with his back to the wall, over by Chewie.

“Just find a way back into that detention block.”, Luke instructed 3-PO and R2.

Han protested.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“They’re gonna execute her. Look, a few minutes ago you said you didn’t want to just wait here to be captured. Now all you want to do is stay?”

“Marching into the detention area is not what I had in mind.”

“But they’re gonna kill her!”

“Better her than me.”

Galen watched as Luke seemed defeated and annoyed for a moment, then it shifted. Luke got a gleam in his eye. One Galen knew very well. Han was about to meet Owen’s protégé in fenagling and negotiating. Jedi mindtricks might be a wonderous thing, although Owen’s knack for making a deal could certainly rival it.

Luke leaned in close, just over Han’s shoulder. Even 3-PO appeared to be curious how Luke would turn Han to seeing things his way.

“She’s rich.”

That perked up Han’s ears, although Chewie had a bit more skepticism.

“Rich?”

“Mh-hmm. Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be…”, Luke trailed off.

“What?”

“Well, more well than you can imagine.”, came Luke’s answer. Galen groaned.

“I don’t know. I can imagine quite a bit.”

“You’ll get it.”

“I better!”

“You will.”

“Alright, kid. You better be right about this.”

“Alright.”

Galen let out a sigh, already able to see the wheels in motion within his brother’s blond head. Luke went over, rubbing his hands together in a gesture so much like Owen that it was a bit painful to Galen.

“What’s your plan?”, asked Han.

“Um….”

Luke looked around, his eyes landing on something useful.

“3-PO, hand me those binders there, will you?”

The droid handed Luke the requested item.

“Okay.”, he turned to Chewie, “Now I’m gonna put these on you.”

Chewie roared with displeasure and Galen found himself between the tall co-pilot and Luke, with Han also stepping up to get between them.

“Here, Han. You put these on.”, Luke said as he shoved the binders into Han’s hands. Galen could not believe Luke still had both arms. Han was far more smooth in handling Chewie, his body language letting Chewie know he didn’t need to feel threatened.

“Don’t worry, Chewie. I think I know what he has in mind.”

Chewie permitted Han to place the binders on him, though Han made no move to adjust them so they would clasp shut, leaving Chewie able to free himself whenever he might please.

“Master Luke, sir, pardon me for asking but what should R2 and I do if we’re discovered here?”

“Lock the door.”

Han added, “And hope they don’t have blasters.”

Chewie growled an agreement, still chaffing a bit at his binding, while Galen finished pulling a black uniform over his sleeveless shirt. He didn’t like this plan any more than Chewie did.

“That isn’t very reassuring.”, 3-PO said to their backs as they exited.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

A few minutes after leaving the room, they encountered a small droid. Galen was pretty sure they were meant for making sure there were no spills or people lollygagging around, though he was not entirely sure. When the little thing came up to Chewie, even as the co-pilot was bound, it made a noise Chewie did not like, eliciting a roar from the taller creature. The little droid skittered away, beeping unhappily all the way.

They continued forward, walking down a different hallway than the one the small droid had exited through. Further onward, they began to encounter other officers from the Empire. All in white, black, and grey, not a single bit of color to be had. It gave Galen a chill.

Eventually, they came to a lift they needed to use. A few people milled about, many walking right past them without so much as a quick glance. A black protocol droid limped past them with an odd gait, earning Chewie’s attention for a few seconds.

Luke commented to Han as they entered the lift, mostly to complain about not being able to see. Galen barely resisted a jibe about Luke being so short. Han just gave a curt nod as they stood in the lift.

When another officer, in a similar uniform to Galen’s, tried to enter, Han gave him a hand gesture to stop before motioning to Chewie. The officer nodded, then moved to another lift. This was almost too easy. It was making Galen twitchy.

Meanwhile, in another part of the station, Obi-wan was still intent on switching off the power to the tractor beam, so everyone could get away. Complicating matters was Darth Vader, who was seemingly patrolling the station. If Obi-wan were to get too close to him, or worse, be spotted by the dark lord, it would be the end of this rescue mission.

He saw Darth Vader approaching, and he hid. Vader passed him by, seemingly totally unaware of Obi-wan’s proximity. Obi-wan almost shuddered. His former friend and apprentice, reduced to a walking hunk of bolts with no heart. Though it was good for Luke’s sake, that Vader was no better at tracing people through the Force than Anakin had been.

Back in the lift, Han was playing with Chewie’s restraints. They had gotten looser and now did not even look like they were clasped.

“This is not gonna work.”, he muttered as he tried to wrestle the binders into a better position to hide the gaping opening.

“Why didn’t you say so before?”, Luke whined.

“I did say so before.”

Galen decided if they survived this, Han and Luke would end up the best of friends. If they survived. The doors opened, giving them access to the detention level. The door opening on the backside of the lift was a bit unsettling, though Galen thought they had covered it well.

Han was first through the door, the large blaster in his hands held as the stormtroopers did when walking at ease. Luke came out with Chewie, Galen following closely behind while making sure to hold himself at his full height, acting as haughty as he could.

A man in a black uniform, his insignia being smaller than what was on Galen’s jacket and so likely he was of lesser rank, came up to them with his hands behind his back. He was arrogant and self-important. Galen already hated him.

“Where are you taking this…thing?”, the uniformed officer asked.

Luke answered quickly.

“Prisoner transfer from Cell Block 1138.”

“I wasn’t notified. I’ll have to clear it.”

Galen decided to try his hand at Luke’s new found skill of lying his arse off and making people think something other than the truth. Stepping forward, he addressed the man in the black uniform.

“Officer, these stormtroopers have informed you that they are here for a prisoner transfer. Your job is not to question orders but to obey them and to make sure these things go smoothly. Now step to it before I report you to Lord Vader.”

The uniformed officer did seem worried, though he did not back down.

“The rules dictate that I must clear it. Vader has a very sensitive prisoner here and he would not take it well if I were to allow just anyone in here.”

The officer gestured for his two fellows to come stand guard over the prisoner. Both men came forward, blasters drawn and ready. Luke was nervous, Han was calculating, Chewie was ready to follow Han’s lead, and Galen just tried to remember to breathe.

Chewie ripped free of his bonds, then flung his arm, sending the one guard flying. Han shouted from his headset, “LOOK OUT! HE’S LOOSE!”

Han then handed Chewie his large blaster as the uniformed officer began pushing buttons behind his desk, and Luke started shooting. Galen grabbed a blaster from one of the guards, helping Luke out.

“I’ll get him!”, Luke shouted.

Between them and Chewie, they were able to clear the room of Imperial soldiers, guards, and officers without taking any hits themselves. They also began taking out all the surveillance and door controls. One soldier nearly got a shot at Chewie, but Han called out a warning before shooting the soldier dead.

Once they were sure they had cleared the space, Luke headed over to the control panels and pulled one of the dead men from it as he watched the halls leading to the prisoners. Han came over and began working the desk, as Chewie and Galen moved closer to the mouth of the hall, armed and ready to cover Han and Luke.

“We gotta find out which cell this princess of your is in.”, Han informed them as he worked.

“Here it is—2187. You go and get her, I’ll hold them here.”

Luke took off, Galen following him as a beeping sounded in the background. Han took off his helmet, figuring if he was going to be suicidal and stupid, he would at least be comfortable. Besides, the helmet was giving him a migraine.

Finding the call button, he answered the beeping he had head, “Uh..uh, everything’s under control. Situation normal.”

“What happened?”, they asked from the other end.

“Had a slight weapons malfunction, but uh… everything’s perfectly alright now. We’re fine—we’re all fine here now. Thank you. How are you?”

He cringed as Chewie pretended to look at the ruined security systems around them. Han liked to think of himself as being charming, smooth, and always the best able to talk himself out of a situation. Chewie knew better. Han was a good-hearted man who had landed himself on the wrong side of the law because of that very heart.

“We’re sending a squad up.”, came over the radio.

“Uh, negative! Negative! We have a… a reactor leak here uh, now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Uh, a large leak! Very dangerous.”

“Who is this? What is your operating number?”, the voice demanded.

Han looked around, seeing his blaster and taking hold of it. He then began firing it at the control panel he had been talking into, turning the thing to ruined metal.

“Boring conversation anyway.”, he muttered.

Then he yelled down the hall to Luke and Galen, “Luke, Galen! We’re gonna have company!”

Galen shoved Luke’s shoulder, urging him to move faster. The oversized uniform and poor visibility did nothing to help Luke, though Galen was more focused on covering his brother than in counting off the cells to find the Princess. Luke stopped at one, pressing a few keys at the lock.

Inside, a beautiful woman sat almost lounging on a hard bench that must have been meant to be used as a bed. Clearly no one intended prisoners to be anything like comfortable. The woman assumed a cocky pose, raising her chin as she spoke condescendingly to Luke in his Storm Trooper uniform.

“Aren’t you a little short for a Storm Trooper?”

“Huh?”, Luke asked. “Oh, the uniform.”

Pulling the helmet off to reveal his mop of blond hair, Luke looked back at the dark-haired princess.

“I’m Luke Skywalker, I’m here to rescue you.”

“You’re who?”, she questioned as she sat up to face him.

Galen wanted to roll his eyes. They did not have time for this.

“I’m here to rescue you! I’ve got your R2 unit here, I’m here with Ben Kenobi.”

“BEN KENOBI! Where is he?”

“Come on.”, Luke ordered, as he ushered the Princess up the stairs to where Galen stood.

They heard a noise at the door. Chewie was about to investigate when Han shouted at him.

“Behind me! Get behind me!”

Storm Troopers blasted through the door, firing as they emerged. Han and Chewie returned fire even as they backed down the hall where Luke, Galen, and the Princess waited. They ran back down till they encountered the other three, Han giving a report as he kept an eye out for anyone following behind he and Chewie.

“Can’t get out that way.”

“Looks like you’ve managed to cut off our only escape route.”, the Princess responded.

Galen almost smiled at Han turning back, clearly annoyed, to growl at the Princess.

“Maybe you’d like to get back in your cell, Your Highness.”

Blasts overhead broke up the oncoming fight, sending their party further up the tunnel. Each of them picked a place to hide behind the scant cover. Luke had an idea. Pulling up his comm, he radioed to 3P-O.

“CS-PO! CS-PO! Are there any other ways out of the cell bay, we’ve been cut off?”

More shots came down the hall, striking closer and closer. A static-filled response came, unintelligible under the noise of the blasters. Galen and Chewie each fired around Luke, the Princess, and Han.

“What was that? I didn’t copy.”

“I said all systems have been alerted to your presence, sir. The main entrance seems to be the only way In, or Out. All other information on your level is Restricted.”

Luke put the radio down, firing another shot down the hall as he explained to the rest of them, what they had already concluded.

“There isn’t another way out.”

They continued to exchange fire until Han hit home, taking out one Storm Trooper. One down, several hundred more to go.

“I can’t hold ‘em off forever. Now what?”, he growled over to Luke and Galen.

“This is some rescue!”, the Princess sassed.

“You came in here, didn’t you have a plan for getting out?”

“He’s the brains, sweetheart.”, Han informed her with a glare at Luke before he went back to shooting at the Storm Troopers.

Galen shook his head, then checked his blaster. He would not be able to stay in the fight much longer as the blaster was on it’s last bit of energy. He looked up in time to see the Princess taking Luke’s blaster as Luke gave very little protest. She then fired a shot into the vent beside Han’s leg.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Somebody has to save our skins.”, was her only explanation before standing, firing a couple shots at the Storm Troopers, then moving to stand over the hole she had made as she gave orders.

“Into the garbage shoot, flyboy!”

Tossing the blaster back to Luke, she dove straight down.

Chewie was next, moving to come behind the Princess. He did not appear as foolhardy as she had been about the prospect.

“Get in there!”, Han ordered him.

Chewie protested, informing Han of the worrisome odor. Galen wasn’t sure how Chewie could smell anything over the noxious smell of the garbage.

“I don’t care what you smell! Get in there, you big furry oaf!”

Again, Chewie asserted his desire to stay away from the thing he smelled. Han shoved him with his foot as he ordered Chewie to go anyway. Galen shoved Luke over next, worried that Luke might not get a chance to go if he kept waiting for everyone else to get through.

“Wonderful girl.”, Han shouted over to Luke as Luke hovered by the garbage vent.

“Before I was gonna kill her, but I’m beginning to like her.”

Galen could see his brother’s eyeroll.

“Get in there!”, Han ordered just before Galen could.

Luke dove down into the shoot, leaving only Galen and Han to continue laying cover fire. Han looked over, questioning. Galen nodded towards the vent.

“Right behind you, Captain.”

Han turned, looking a bit reluctant, then diving almost head-first down into it as he shouted. Galen took a deep breath, fired twice, then ran for the vent. Galen landed right behind Han, chest-deep into trash. Not just any trash. Trash floating in the nastiest, filthiest, most disgusting liquid Galen had ever encountered. Looking up and around, he found Chewie banging at the door, trying to knock it loose for them to escape. The Princess was shoving on the opposite wall from Han and Galen, as if trying to find a weak point. Luke was moving around opposite Chewie, as if trying to find a third option for escaping the room.

“Escaping down the garbage shoot was a really wonderful idea!”, Han groused as he wiggled up into a standing position. “What an incredible smell you’ve discovered.”

The Captain moved his hand to his nose as if to close it off from the smell, before realizing his hand smelled of the same odor everything in the room smelled of. The Princess shot him a dirty look as she stumbled around in her own section of the trash, Chewie and Luke both still trying to find a way out. Galen let out a long breath and carefully stood up.

“Let’s get out here. Chewie, move away from there.”, Han ordered as he fired a shot at the door.

The shot ricocheted around the room, bouncing off the walls and nearly hitting them before disappearing into the garbage. Han had moved to fast for Luke’s warning to stop him. Now, Luke was letting loose.

“WILL YOU FORGET IT! I ALREADY TRIED IT! IT’S MAGNETICALLY SEALED!”

“PUT THAT THING AWAY! YOU’RE GONNA GET US ALL KILLED!”, the Princess screamed.

Galen and Chewie looked back and forth between their bickering comrades and each other. The wookie appeared almost ready to dive into the garbage and hide to wait out the storm brewing. Galen wasn’t far behind him.

“Absolutely, your Worship! Look, I had everything under control till you lead us down here. You know it’s not gonna take ‘em long to figure out what happened to us.”

“It could be worse.”, the Princess tried to reason.

Just then, a foreboding noise echoed in the garbage container. Everyone looked around, attempting to spot the origin. Galen and Luke exchanged a worried expression.

“It’s worse.”, Han pronounced.

“There’s something alive in here.”

“That’s your imagination, kid.”

“Something just moved past my leg.”, Luke commented as he moved around, trying to pier down into the murky liquid.

The wookie tried to cover his nose and bear his teeth at the same time. Galen attempted to spot the source of Luke’s discomfort while the Princess appeared to be trying to subtly climb a little higher on the trash heap to her right.

“Did you see that?”, Luke pointed off to Han’s side.

“See what?”

Chewie banged at the door and the Princess moved further, almost backing up into the trash heap as everyone else looked where Luke had indicated. It got very still as they all held their breath, waiting.

In a blink, a fleshy tentacle wrapped around Luke’s leg and yanked him beneath the surface. Han and Galen both dove for him, shoving around in the water, trying to find Luke. The Princess screamed for Luke and Chewie charged at the center of the room.

“Kid!”

“Luke!”

He surfaced, the tentacle now wrapped around his neck and torsoe, with his arms pulling at it to try to free himself. Han grabbed at him, trying to keep up so at least he could breathe. Galen got between the Princess and Luke, trying to figure out where the thing’s body was so he could shoot it. The Princess pulled a tube from the heap behind her, holding out to Luke.

“Here! Luke, grab hold of this!”

“Kill it! My gun’s jammed!”

“Where?”

“ANYWHERE!”

Han and Galen both fired on it, hoping they would hit something vital that was not Luke. Han was able to pull Luke up onto his feet as Galen continued to fire at the thing under the water. The thing then pulled Luke back under. Han dove for Luke as Galen ceased firing for fear of hitting his brother. Both men shoved debris around, trying to locate the blond.

Everything went eerily still again. The water’s surface lost all ripple. Han and the Princess exchanged a look. But not Galen. He dove back at the water, shouting Luke’s name. Then, there was a clatter of metal. A second later, Luke shot up out of the water.

“Help him!”, the Princess commanded.

Galen and Han each grabbed a shoulder and hauled Luke up.

“What happened?”, she asked.

“I dunno! It just… let go of me, and disappeared.”

Holding his brother as he coughed, Galen looked up at Han. It seemed they both had the same thought. Whatever had scared off the tentacle garbage-creature, it could not be good.

“I got a bad feeling about this.”, the smuggler commented.

“Me, too.”, the dark-haired farm boy concurred.

The metal around them continued to make noises as they all looked around. Chewie growled about his own bad feeling. The walls began to literally close in on them, increasing the noise level.

“The walls are closing in!”

“Don’t just stand there! Try and brace it with something!”, the Princess ordered.

Everyone tried to find something. The Princess picked up a long, metal pipe to try to use. Han found another pipe, Luke attempted to help place the one end of what the Princess had found. Galen and Chewie found another, shorter pipe, and tried to shove it at the seem between the one wall and the floor, hoping to jam the wall into place. No matter what they did, it had no effect. Even as Han and Luke tried to help the Princess with her brace and Chewie worked beside Galen on another.

“Wait a minute!”, Luke said as he began searching his belt.

“3-PO! Come in, 3-PO!”

Nothing. The radio remained silent.

“3-PO! Where could he be?”

For another long minute, the radio was silent even as the room around them shook and rattled as it shrank in on them. It seemed their friends had abandoned them or had been captured. Either way, it did not bode well for the five of them.

“3-PO! 3-PO! COME IN, 3-PO!”

Han tried to shove the Princess higher on the garbage heap in some desperate hope to keep her from getting crushed by the compacting debris they stood in. Galen and Luke were fighting to maintain their footing as the garbage shifted around their legs.

“One thing’s for sure. We’re all gonna be a lot thinner.”

Galen wanted to growl at the man that he was not being very helpful. Yet, he had to admit the Captain was right. They were likely going to die in the next minute or so. It was already so tight that Galen could almost touch both side walls with his outstretched hands, and it was getting ever smaller. Turning, Galen put his back to one wall and moved to put his feet against the other. It was futile, he was sure, yet he had to try.

“Are you there, sir?”, came 3-PO over the comm.

“3-PO?”

“We’ve had some problems.”

“Will you shut up and listen to me? Shut down all the garbage smashers, on the detention level, will ya! SHUT DOWN ALL THE GARBAGE SMASHERS ON THE DETENTION LEVEL!”

Galen looked over to see Han and the Princess doing the same as him, shoving with their feet and backs to try to slow the smashing walls as they encroached further. Chewie had found a sturdier, shorter piece of metal and was attempting to wedge it between the two side walls. Luke was unable to stay on his feet and was sliding about as he ordered 3-PO to shut down the smashers.

“Do you copy? Shut down all the garbage smashers on the detention level!”

They all continued to struggle, shoving and pressing till they heard another clatter. Like metallic thunder rolling through the room. When it stopped, so too did the motion of the walls. The five of them took turns looking at each other and the walls, before erupting into euphoric, hysteric laughter. They weren’t dead! The walls had stopped!

Luke began shouting, almost intelligibly, into the comm as Han hooted and hugged their Princess. Chewie let out his own holler and Galen could not stop himself from joining in the fray. They were elated! They would live!

“WE’RE ALRIGHT! We’re alright! You did great! HA-HA!”

Luke reached over to Galen, grabbing his brother’s hand and giving it a shake. They smiled, glad to be alive.

“Hey,”, Luke shouted into the comm, “open the pressure maintenance hatch on level… Hey, where are we?”

Chewie relayed their level information to Luke so he could give the coordinates to 3-PO. With any luck, they would be out of there in a couple minutes and able to get back to the Falcon. Hopefully, while they had been collecting the Princess and nearly being killed in a garbage shoot, Kenobi had been able to get the tractor beam taken out.

Chapter Text

The five of them worked to sort themselves. Luke yanked his boots back into place, the Princess appeared to be trying to straighten imaginary wild hairs, Chewbacca checked his weapon, and Galen hooked his belt as Han began laying out a plan. Luke and Galen were just farm boys, and Galen figured Han knew well enough to recognize two kids out of their depth.

“If we could just avoid any more female advice, we outta be able to get out of here.”, he said.

“Well, let’s get moving.”, Luke answered before the Princess could start a fight.

A sudden siren-like noise startled all of them. Chewbacca was especially distressed as he rose, weapon ready, calling out a warning. Galen’s hand went to where he still had a Storm Trooper’s blaster attached at his waist.

“Where you goin’?”, Han asked his co-pilot.

With no answer, the smuggler turned to fire into the garbage compactor, growling all the while. Galen found he liked the man’s general distaste for this adventure.

“No wait! They’ll hear!”, the Princess shouted, too late.

Han ignored her in favor of his friend.

“Come here, you big coward.”

The Wookie shook his furry head. Galen turned to look at Luke. His brother was far less amused by this than Galen was. Galen suspected it was due to his desire for them to find Obi-wan and the droids, then get back to the Falcon as soon as possible.

“Chewie, come ‘ere!”

“Listen,”, the Princess started sharply, “I don’t know who you are, or where you came from. But from now on, you do as I tell you.”

Galen watched as Han sought Luke’s aid, getting only the same look Luke gave Uncle Owen every time he got on Baru’s bad side. His brother may not have been the smoothest character in the galaxy, though he knew well enough when to stay out of an argument with a woman.

They all started walking, the Wookie included, with Galen and Luke bringing up the rear.

“Look, your worshipfulness, I take orders from just one person. ME.”

“Hm.”, she said with amusement, “It’s a wonder you’re still alive.”

Looking to Chewbacca as she tried to pass him, the Princess got snotty.

“Will someone get this big, walking carpet out of my way?”

Passing him, the Princess stormed down the passage without them. Han groused beside Chewbacca. Galen wanted to growl at the Princess. Yes, she had been through a lot as he understood it, being captured and possibly interrogated by the likes of the top Imperials, then nearly killed with them in the compactor. However, none of that was any reason to be so mean towards Chewbacca. The wookie had done nothing to her, had barely even paid her any mind at all.

As they made another turn, Galen was struck with a sudden, uncomfortable feeling. He felt as if he were high up and paranoid, his hands holding something cold and metallic. When he looked up, he did not see brother or the Wookie. He saw a giant room, almost too large and dark to see the floor he knew to be many, many feet below. He could feel the heavy material of his robes and the comfort of the weapon on his hip. An old weapon, from a more civilized time.

Luke’s hand on his arm roused him. His brother looked very concerned, his blue eyes brighter under the harsh white lights of the station’s interior. Galen tried to wave him off, smiling to show he was fine.

“I don’t believe you. What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. It was like with… back home, when the Storm Troopers attacked and we were at the Jawa’s ruined ship, but… different. More detailed.”

“You felt Ben?”

“I could see what he was seeing. He’s worried about being caught, whatever he’s doing. In some huge room. I think he’s up on some sort of platform or walkway. Something high up.”

Luke nodded. They jogged to catch up to everyone else. It only took them a few minutes to get to a hall that had an observatory window into the bay where the Falcon was. Sure enough, Han went right to it to check on his ship. Galen didn’t blame him. It was more than the Captain’s means of work, it was his home.

“There she is.”, Han commented before looking around to make sure they were still safe.

Everyone spread out, with the Princess staying still to look at the ship and bay. Chewbacca moved to check one direction, Han a second, Galen a third, and Luke the fourth. Pulling out his com, Luke contacted C3-PO.

“3-PO do you copy?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you safe?”

“For the moment. We are in the main hanger, across from the ship.”

“We’re right above you.”, Luke confirmed to the protocol droid, “Stand by.”

Galen noticed the Princess pull on Han’s arm as the Captain passed. Pointing down to his ship, she asked, “You came in that thing?”

At his look, she continued, “You’re braver than I thought.”

Galen found her reaction a bit similar to Luke’s. Instantly seeing the ship touted to be the fastest in the galaxy, but the small amount of rust and denting had both his brother and the Princess thinking it was nothing more than a hunk of junk not fit for crop dusting.

At the Captain’s signal, they left their little hall and ran around the corner. It didn’t take long for them to find trouble. A squad of Storm Troopers greeted them in a hall. Han fired first.

“GET BACK TO THE SHIP!”, he called over his shoulder, as Chewbacca ran after him to chase the squad.

“Where are you going?”, Luke asked. “COME BACK!”

“He certainly has courage.”

“What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?”

Galen looked over at Luke, somewhat unable to believe his brother had just said that.

“We’d best head down towards the droids.”, Galen offered.

Luke reached for the Princess’s elbow.

“Come on.”

The three of them passed down some corridors, vaguely able to hear the Storm Troopers running and Han screaming. Galen found himself reciting a prayer he only vaguely remembered saying whenever his parents would leave him alone in their hut. He hoped they would all make it out of here, back to the Falcon, so they could return the Princess and her vital information to the Rebellion, then go… wherever they would when this was over. Galen had not thought much on what they would do next.

A shot went over their heads as they rounded the next corner. Turning back, Galen saw another squad of Storm Troopers following them.

“RUN!”

They took off, attempting to outrun the pursuing Troopers through unfamiliar, identical corridors. The Princess ran in the lead, Luke to the middle, and Galen bringing up the rear. Luke and Galen took turns stopping here and there to provide cover fire at turns in the halls. They ran until they went up a ramp and the three of them nearly toppled over the edge of a broken walkway. They now stood in a situation similar to what he felt of Obi-wan, with no connecting bridge to get them from the doorway they stood at to the next, and a horde of Storm Troopers rapidly approaching from behind.

“I think we took a wrong turn.”

The echo was freaky, though they had no time to ponder that as the first shot from a Trooper barely missed Luke’s leg. Luke fired back beside Galen, as the Princess hit the button to shut the door.

“Good thinking.”, Galen offered to the Princess.

“There’s no lock!”

Luke took her hand and traded spots with her, firing into the control panel as they all looked the other way to avoid any debris flying into their faces.

“That outta hold them for a while.”

“Quick, we’ve got to get across! Find the controls that extend the bridge!”

“Uh, I think I just blasted it.”

“They’re coming through!”

Luke, Galen, and the Princess all looked around. Galen was trying to figure if there was a way to hot-wire the bridge to come up or across, and if he could do it fast enough to get them out of there. Luke looked up, then over to Galen. Before either could say anything, more blaster shots whizzed past them, causing them to seek the meager cover in their alcove.

Luke fired back, over the Princess’s head as she ducked down. Galen crouched low, firing more towards the bellies of the Troopers up at another open alcove. Thankfully, their alcove also had no bridge or the three of them would have had no cover at all to get away from the Troopers’ shots.

Luke took out one Trooper, and Galen’s next shot took another. The Princess appeared to be trying to make herself as small as possible and stick to the alcove’s side as closely as skin. Turning to his brother, Galen knew he had an idea. One Galen probably was not going to like.

“Here, hold this.”, Luke ordered the Princess as he handed her his blaster.

Taking something from his utility belt he took from the Storm Trooper earlier, Luke ventured out to the edge of their little alcove. Galen and the Princess provided cover fire as Luke took the grappling hook, with the attached chord, and readied to throw it. The door behind them moved, allowing the Storm Troopers at their backs to be able to shoot under the door. Galen stomped the first hand that came through, then fired under it. The Princess continued to fire at the Trooper up to their right.

Luke cast his hook high up and caught on the first try. Checking it was secure, he then wrapped an arm around the Princess’s waist. She gave him a quick kiss on the check.

“For luck.”, she rushed before burying her head in his shoulder and letting him swing them over to safety.

Landing, she fired back at the Troopers who had laid down to shoot under the door, while Galen pulled his own grappling hook out. He turned, firing two quick shots at the space below the door, then risked stepping out to throw his hook. It hit home, wrapping quickly. Galen let out a breath and jumped. The Princess moved back, giving him space. Space he didn’t quite make it to, as his feet were just a bit too far from the ledge until he felt Luke’s hand wrap around his ankle, yanking him. Galen let go, trusting Luke to pull him. They both landed and rolled down the ramp with the Princess firing over their heads at the Storm Troopers on the other side of the hall.

“Come on! Let’s get out of here!”, the Princess called as she ran.

No one needed to tell Galen or Luke twice. They jumped up and ran after her. Pulling out one of the two lightsabers, he handed his brother the blaster. It didn’t sit well with him that Luke seemed entirely unarmed as they headed off into these halls.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

A while later, they rounded a corner to find Han and Chewbacca hiding near a doorway. Neither appeared injured. Galen could not shake the feeling that something terrible was happening, though at least with them all being unharmed, he assumed that it was either something with Obi-wan or it was something that had not yet occurred. Luke tended to be better at that than Galen, though Luke didn’t appear apprehensive.

“What kept you?”, Han asked them as he appeared to be checking the number of Storm Troopers by the Falcon.

“We uh, ran into some old friends.”

“The ship alright?”, Luke asked.

“Seems okay, if we can get to it. I just hope the old man got the tractor beam out of commission.”

The mention of Obi-wan caused a slight burning in Galen’s chest, right under his ribs. He did not care for the feeling at all.

“What do we do next?”, Luke asked.

“We wait for Ben.”, Galen answered.

No one argued. For a long, tense moment, they continued to watch the Troopers. Then, the Troopers all seemed to notice something on the other end of the hanger. A breath later, they were all walking away from their posts.

“Now’s our chance! GO!”, Han ordered in a harsh whisper.

The five of them took off, making a mad dash for the Falcon. Luke and Galen spotted the droids coming out as well. Within the next minute, they would all be able to hide on the Falcon until Obi-wan could reach them. Surely, no one would think to look there for them.

“We’ll just have to wait for,” Galen started before turning to see Luke walking away from their group.

“Ben?”, his brother softly called.

Galen looked between his brother and the old Jedi. The old man, having been facing off against what Galen assumed was Darth Vader, stood in a ready battle pose. Storm Troopers crowded around the opening to observe the duel.

For a second, Obi-wan turned his attention to Luke, then Galen, then Han and the Princess on the ramp, before a tiny, knowing smile formed on his bearded face. Once more facing his opponent, Obi-wan raised his saber straight up and closed his eyes as he stood tall. Darth Vader took his opening and cut the old Jedi down. The brown cloak and deactivated lightsaber both fell to the ground as if the man had never been holding them up.

“NOOO!”, Luke cried out.

The Storm Troopers turned, firing on their group as Luke stood there, unmoving. Han and the Princess returned fire as Galen clung to the wall for support. He felt cold all over and panicked at Luke’s just standing there. The Captain and the Princess continued to lay down cover fire, with the Princess shouting for Luke to run. Luke did move, but only to raise his blaster and begin shooting blindly towards the Storm Troopers. Taking a deep breath, Galen sprang forward. His shoulder landed in Luke’s side, knocking some of the wind from both of them even as Galen forced Luke up onto the ramp so that the Princess could reach him. She pulled as Galen shoved.

Han shouted about the door before firing on the mechanism controlling the blast doors behind the Storm Troopers. He hit it on the first try, effectively cutting off the next wave of Troopers, as well as Darth Vader. Luke continued to struggle, calling out for Obi-wan as the Princess helped Galen manhandle Luke up the galley. Then, suddenly, Luke stopped struggling. He inclined his head as if listening to something. Luke shook his head, seemingly clearing it, and took hold of his blaster to send out one more shot before pulling the Princess by the arm to guide her up into the Falcon, Galen right behind them.

Han and Chewie were up in the bridge, getting the Falcon out of range. Galen and Luke drifted to the recreation room on the ship. Both men slid into the booth with Luke almost sinking onto the table. The Princess strode in behind them, a pair of blankets in her arms. Where she found them, Galen was unsure, though he appreciated her thoughtfulness. She placed the first over Luke’s shoulders then moved to Galen. He took the blanket in his hands, nodding his thanks to her.

The Princess moved to sit beside Luke, gently rubbing his back and trying to keep the blanket over his shoulders. For his part, Luke seemed lost. Galen could feel the echoes of his brother’s emotions almost as clearly as he could feel his own inner churnings. They had only just met the wandering wizard and the Wastes, yet he had become quite important in the short time they had known him. Especially to Luke, whom he had bonded with over shared stories of Anakin Skywalker and the battle against the Empire.

“I can’t believe he’s gone.”, said Luke.

Reaching, Galen gently ran his fingers over the twin lightsabers that Obi-wan had gifted him with only hours earlier. Somehow, Galen suspected the old Jedi had known he would not be around to complete the training of his two new apprentices. That the Jedi had shared what he knew of Galen’s parents, told Luke enough about Anakin to show Luke the truth about his late father, had imparted enough of Jedi ways and lightsaber usage, and then gifted them with their lightsabers, all because he knew how short his time with them would likely be.

“There wasn’t anything you could have done.”, the Princess offered kindly.

Looking up at Galen, she added, “Either of you.”

They all raised their heads to look up at the source of bootsteps. Han slid into the room, a concerned look on his face.

“Come on buddies, we ain’t out of this yet.”

Both brothers rose from their seats to follow after the Captain. He led them down a hall to where a pair of guns waited, one upward and the other below the hall level. Han moved to the higher one while Luke climbed down. Galen followed the Princess up to the bridge to join Chewie.

“You strapped in, kid?”, they head Han over the radio.

The Princess moved to the co-pilot’s seat beside Chewie, while Galen moved into the seat behind the Wookie. The Princess gave a warning over the radio to alert the Captain and Luke of the incoming Tie fighters.

“Here they come.”

The Tie fighters were quick, Galen could see as he tracked their flight. The first fired on the Falcon, causing the lights to flicker inside. Two more fired on them before Galen could see any sign of Han or Luke’s firing back.

“They’re coming in too fast!”, Luke called out loudly enough that they almost didn’t need a radio to hear him.

“We’ve lost lateral controls.”, the Princess reported over the radio to the Captain.

“Don’t worry, she’ll hold together.”, they heard him respond.

Galen wasn’t sure who the Smuggler was trying to convince, them or himself. Yet the intense standoff continued, with Han and Luke returning fire against the Tie, trying to take them out even as the Tie fighters attempted to do the same to the Falcon.

Han took out the first, his triumphant laugh heard over the radio just before Luke took out a second Tie fighter.

“I got him! I GOT HIM!”

“Great kid, don’t get cocky!”

The Princess leaned to use the radio again.

“There’s still two more of them out there.”

A few more volleys were exchanged before Luke shot the third Tie fighter. Now only the last remained, dodging and weaving about the Falcon. When it turned to make another pass, a couple blasts went past and then Han’s next shot hit home.

“That’s it! We did it!”, Luke called.

The Princess excitedly stood, offering her own jubilations as she launched over to hug first Chewie, then back to Galen. Once he disengaged from her, Galen headed back to check on the droids. It was not as if they had been strapped down for the skirmish.

A moment later, he found 3-PO in a tangle of wires and smoke, R2 standing nearby, unharmed. The little droid almost seemed annoyed at his companion’s protests that he was dying.

“3-PO, it’s alright. You’re not dying.”

He moved down to the droid’s side. Carefully, Galen picked through the debris and wires to free the golden protocol droid under the watchful eye of R2. Once he had freed the protocol droid, he lead them both back to the recreational room. He wanted to check on them, after their adventure, to make sure they were operating properly and that there weren’t any concerning issues in need of addressing.

“Master Galen?”

“3-PO, my brother already went over this with you. It’s just Galen.”

“Oh, yes. I apologize. Are we to land soon? I think Princess Leia will need to get the information in my companion, to the leadership of the Rebellion, as soon as possible.”

“Leia, that’s her name, huh? Well, from what I gather, she’s gonna steer us to her people so they can get that information off R2 here, and make use of it. Guess when we land, we’ll find out where we are.”

3-PO nodded.

“It will be good to be back on solid ground again.”

“I know, you hate space travel.”, Galen tried to tease.

He tried to smile, yet he felt a hollow ache in his chest. Not like when he sensed Obi-wan’s death. This was the ache he sometimes had woken up with, after fuzzy dreams of faces he could not remember once he was fully awake. Dreams of lullabies and prayers in languages he barely remembered, uttered by a soft voice he instinctually knew to be his mother’s, accompanied by the deeper voice of his father. Now, that ache accompanied thoughts of Owen’s grouching about Luke’s thirst for adventure and Baru’s patient, warm smile as she allowed Luke to play with his models of various ships. Even with what had transpired, Galen found he wanted to run into the house to ask Owen and Baru to talk some sense into Luke, as if the past day had been only a wild story Luke had dreamed up and was recounting to Galen as they worked on a power converter or an evaporator.

“Galen?”

He looked up to see Luke standing in the doorway. Neither spoke. Galen stood and Luke stepped forward, the two meeting in the middle, embracing each other tightly. He could feel it. Luke’s echo. He had been thinking of Owen and Baru, as well as Obi-wan, and his biological parents.

“I miss them, too.”

“I wish we could go home.”

“So do I.”, Luke muttered.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Soon, they arrived on a planet the likes of which Luke had never seen. Being that Luke had spent all but the first couple days of his life on Tatooine, he had no idea what lush jungles looked like. Galen, however, could recall the smell of rain and the feel of leaves under his hand. Watching Luke’s face as he looked out the window of the bridge to see the wild, vibrant green world below, was a treat. His blue eyes wide, mouth agape.

“I never realized how green a place other worlds could be.”, Luke whispered.

Galen looked over to see Leia giving a look that likely matched his own. They smiled a bit at each other before both looking back to Luke’s face.

“Wait till you see some of the other planets out there, kid.”, Han called from the pilot’s seat.

A moment later, their codes from Leia were verified and they were given landing instructions. Han followed them to the letter, touching down on the tarmac soon after they had been cleared. Leia offered instructions that they should follow her out, the droids directly behind her, then everyone else. She would explain to the party that would likely greet them, and ensure that Han, Chewie, Luke, and Galen were not hauled off someplace unpleasant.

They followed the Princess, exiting the safety of the Falcon. The air outside was crisp, as if it had rained the night before and might rain again after dark. Several guards in their uniforms, came rushing over to the group along with someone who seemed to be of rank. The ranking man came straight to Leia, his men forming a semi-circle in front of the seven of them.

“Princess Leia, we heard you had been captured?”

“I was. These men came to my rescue. I need to get this droid inside. He has vital information about the Empire’s new weapon.”

The man’s eyes went wide and his posture changed, making him seem less a threat and more an excited, overgrown child.

“Right this way, Princess.”

He took off, Leia following right behind him. Galen exchanged a look with his brother before they gestured for the droids to follow Leia. The seven of them made their way inside the mountain, which hid a large station inside. Galen found the design rather ingenious. Nothing about it stood out greatly to advertise the inhabitants or the purpose of the base.

Some sort of cart was brought, allowing them to ride the rest of the way in. The ranking officer offered his hand to Leia though she ignored it in favor of letting Luke help her into a spot. Han jumped on beside her, then Chewie on his other side. Luke helped a guard get R2 in place while Galen aided 3-PO. For a couple minutes, they rode and Luke looked about as if his head were on an old swivel. There was so much green, and so many people. It was nothing like Tattooine.

They were taken inside the mountain and into what appeared to be a hanger bay with dozens of ships waiting, being worked on, or left to refuel. A man came into view, clearly with a mission in mind. Leia jumped from the little vehicle before it had come to a full stop, a smile on her face as she moved into the waiting embrace from the other, distinguished looking man.

“You’re safe! When we heard about Alderaan, we feared the worst.”

“There is no time for our sorrows, Commander. You must use the information in this R2 unit to help plan the attack. It’s our only hope.”

Looking over, Galen saw R2 trying to shuffle on his two front legs once he was offloaded from the little vehicle. Galen had been busy trying to keep 3-PO falling over. The little guy was certainly determined.

Leia stopped, turning to Han, Galen, Chewie, and Luke. She seemed almost ashamed. Galen figured either she was about to kick them to the curb after their service, or she had recalled something terrible that she needed to ask of them.

“I assume none of you have had a decent meal since sometime before you came to my rescue, am I right?”

Luke nodded. Han seemed uncomfortable. Chewie and Galen were greatly interested. Leia turned to one of the uniformed guardsmen who had escorted them in.

“Take these men to the cantine, and make sure they are given a full meal and something to drink.”

“Yes, your Highness.”, the man answered before turning to the four of them.

“Please, follow me. It might be a bit picked over, since we’re soon heading into a fight, but we should be able to make sure your plates are full even if there isn’t much variety.”

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Luke and Galen soon noticed that everyone was gathering for the pre-battle conference near the mess. Galen had never seen so many pilots in one place. All these orange and white uniforms, moving without the precise military discipline he had seen of Imperials. Some joked, some looked somber enough for a funeral, while others covered nerves with smiles. Luke was clearly curious about it all. Galen bumped his brother’s shoulder.

“You want into that room, don’t you?”

Luke ducked his head, but he did not deny it.

“Go.”, Galen indicated with his chin.

Luke looked over at him.

“I can’t go. I’m not one of their pilots.”

“I’m sure they’d be more than happy to find you something with wings and a blaster, if you offered. They’ll need everyone they can get going against the Empire’s fighters. They’ve got frigates, Tie fighters, and this new death machine. These guys have what, a few dozen pilots in a bunch of used X-wings and some little A-wings?”

Luke took two steps before stopping to turn and face his brother. Galen, who had followed him to meet Ben, helped him bury their Uncle Owen and Aunt Baru, who defended him in the cantina, went with him to rescue a Princess they didn’t know, and had saved him back at the Death Star. His brother. As different from him in appearance as he was in manner, yet it had never stopped Luke from thinking of them as brothers. Blood or no, he would never see Galen as anything less.

“What about you?”

His brother shrugged slightly, shoving his hands down into his pockets as he looked down to Luke’s shoes.

“I’m no pilot. I’m not bad, just not good enough for this. You are though.”, he added the last bit as he looked up with a put-on smile.

“Where does that leave you?”

“On the ground, fixing things.”

Luke waited, not sure he wanted to leave Galen behind. He had never left Galen in all their lives.

“Go, Luke.”

Nodding, Luke turned and walked towards the meeting. Watching, Galen noticed Captain Solo and Chewbacca entering a minute after Luke. Princess Leia was already inside, speaking with two men in robes that suggested some rank. 3-PO and R2 soon followed, going off towards where Chewbacca and Solo had headed to in the room. Galen moved to the edge, not entirely comfortable being completely out of the loop.

He listened as the older man explained the weakness of the Star Destroyer. A small shaft that could only be hit with a one-man fighter getting into a small niche to deliver a precise shot. Galen smiled grimly. Luke could make such a shot blindfolded.

“Then man your ships. And may the Force be with you.”, the older man concluded.

The pilots and other fighters rose to their feet, a quiet rumble going through as people spoke to one another about the oncoming battle. Galen stepped back, fading into the shadows as the soldiers came out and headed to their stations or ships. He saw Luke leaving, still talking with two of the pilots who had been seated near him during the briefing. He should have looked like a farm boy lost in a sea of soldiers. Instead, he seemed in his element. He was one of them. Galen smiled, allowing the shadows to swallow him so Luke did not see him before Galen slipped down a different hallway.

A few minutes later, Galen came around a corner to find Solo and Chewbacca loading boxes onto a transport. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. He had been paid, handsomely, for saving and returning the Princess to her Rebellion allies. Now, he was packing up in order to get out before the battle started and he was stuck with the rest of them.

“Captain Solo!”, Galen called.

Solo turned to face him, his face shifting from surprise to gruff.

“Look, I don’t need to explain any of this.”

Galen shook his head.

“No, you don’t. You got paid and now you’ll go pay off some debts and live your life as far from this Rebellion stuff as possible.”

The Captain looked almost sheepish, as if a little embaressed to have been so succinctly read.

“I did save a Princess, and delivered her back to her people. Shouldn’t I get a reward?”

“Didn’t say you shouldn’t.”

“You’re just insinuating I should stay and get killed with the rest of these lunatics with a cause? That’s all.”

“No.”

“Then what are you saying?”, the Smuggler demanded, hands on hips and teeth clenched.

“I was going to wish you luck.”

“I thought you Jedi types didn’t believe in that?”

Galen offered a smile.

“I’m just a farm boy from Tattooine, Solo. I don’t have such lofty ambitions.”

The Captain smiled, his body languages relaxing instantly.

“You know, you are pretty good in a tense situation. Ever considered smuggling?”

“When I was a little younger, maybe. Mostly because Luke wanted to be a pirate sometimes.”

“He’s gonna get killed if he goes up with these guys, you know?”

“He won’t.”

“What makes you say that?”

Galen grinned slowly.

“I know my brother. And I always get a bad feeling when someone I care about is going to suffer.”

Solo nodded skeptically.

“If you say so. Well, I’d best get back to loading up. Good luck, you and that brother of yours.”

“Thank you, Captain Solo.”

Galen stepped off as Solo went back to loading the transport.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

After his conversation with Han, Luke wanted to punch the older pilot. To think that he would just take his money and leave, after seeing what the Rebellion was up against, it infuriated Luke. Looking up, he saw that Princess Leia and the gentleman who gave the briefing were walking towards him. He also spotted Galen waiting right beside the X-wing that had been assigned to Luke for the battle.

Princess Leia moved away from her group and came to stand in front of Luke. She was so beautiful, he thought as she offered a small smile before it dropped. There was also something… familiar. He felt as if he had known Leia somewhere before, yet it was impossible.

“What’s wrong?”, she asked.

“Oh, it’s Han. I don’t know. I really thought he’d change his mind.”

Leia shook her head, seemingly almost more disappointed than Luke felt.

“He’s got to follow his own path. No one can choose it for him.”

For a second, Luke thought how much she sounded like Baru, arguing with Owen about how Luke wanted to be a pilot rather than a farmer or how Galen was too smart to leave him to fixing dusty old evaporators for the rest of his days. A pang of sorrow wrapped firmly around his chest, constricting at him for a moment.

“I only wish Ben were here.”, he confessed.

Leia leaned up with a smile, leaving a small kiss on his cheek before walking off with her advisers. Luke followed her with his eyes for a moment before he felt Galen standing next to him. Turning, he looked at his favorite brother.

“What?”

“I just came to wish you luck.”

“Ben said a Jedi doesn’t need luck.”

Galen nodded.

“Not like you completed your training, so I’ll wish you luck anyway.”

Luke nodded. He was right, Luke had not come close to finishing his training. He had not even two days of training to work with.

“Galen, if I don’t come back,”, Galen stopped him, a hand firm on Luke’s arm.

“Don’t talk that way, Luke. I’m pretty sure if you were going to die, I’d be writhing on the floor by now.”

“You think it works that way?”

“Yes. Let’s pretend that’s a guarantee that you won’t die- at least guarantee enough for you not to say something foolish. But forget I said it once you get out there, I want you to fly carefully.”

“In a battle?”

Galen smacked him.

“If you die, I’ll kill you.”

Luke smiled.

“Thanks.”

He moved to embrace Galen, feeling his brother’s heart racing through the equipment of his flightsuit. He did not think Galen had hugged him so tightly since they were kids and Galen would wake Luke after having a nightmare where Luke, Owen, and Baru had left without him and he had been alone on the farm.

“You take care out there, you hear?”

“I will. I promise.”

“Good. Cause I will kill you if you die.”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

Galen let him go, stepping back to give Luke the space to get to his X-Wing.

“I’ll see you at the celebration when we win this.”, Luke added.

His brother just smiled, his eyes watery. Luke had to force himself to turn and walk past his brother, up to his X-wing where they were lowering R2 into place. Biggs came around the corner, speaking with Luke for a moment, even vouching for him with an officer.

“Hey Biggs, I told you I’d make it some day.”

“Nothing can stop us now.”, Biggs returned before pulling his helmet on and walking off.

Luke moved to the ladder, seeing the tech helping guide R2 into position on the X-Wing. He would be Luke’s co-pilot. A vital part of operating this fighter.

“This R2 unit of yours looks a bit beat up. You sure you don’t want a new one?”

“Not on your life. That little droid and I’ve been through a lot together. You okay, R2?”

The droid chirped it’s eager reply.

“Good.”, he responded as he climbed into the cockpit for the first time.

3-PO and R2 had a last conversation as Luke put on his helmet and readied his fighter. Looking up, he saw Galen standing a little ways off. He was dressed in the overalls like the techs and mechanics, grease already staining his fingers and a streak across his lower jaw. Luke offered a quick salute that his brother returned. Letting out a breath, Luke looked back down at the dash. This was it. He was going to fly an X-fighter into battle against the Empire. He only hoped his father, Aunt Baru, and even Uncle Owen, could be proud of him now.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Galen found the Princess, stopping her with a quick wave and a plaintiff look. She left her detail and came over to where he stood.

“Yes?”

“Princess, if it isn’t too much to ask, there’s nothing left for me to fix and I was wondering if… If I might have someplace to be, where I could hear the goings on out there?”

She nodded, her look suggesting she understood.

“Come with me. I’m heading to the war room. You’ll be able to hear everything.”

Galen thanked her, then fell into step with her fellow commanders. As he stepped into the room, he could hear all the color-coded leaders checking in as they readied for the first run. Leia moved to a spot where she could follow a battle map, as well as reports about the Deathstar coming into position to fire upon them.

He heard Luke coming onto the radio as the one leader was announcing plans and positions.

“This is Red-5, I’m going in.”

“Luke! Pull up!”

“Are you alright?”

“I got a little cooked, but I’m okay.”, Luke answered.

Galen let out a breath, though he was still tense. For all his saying to Han and Luke that he had not felt the sickening feeling to suggest he was going to lose Luke, he was not quite so sure of it. Maybe telling Luke that had been enough to cause things to change.

Looking down at the battle plan, he could see Red-5 had taken out some sort of canon on the Deathstar. Galen looked up to see a very tense look come across the face of one of the scanners. The man pulled up his mouthpiece to advice the fighters.

Squad leaders, we’ve picked up a new group of signals. Enemy fighters coming your way.”

“My scope’s negative. I don’t see anything!”, Luke protested.

“Pick up your visual scanning, here they come.”, ordered the Red-Leader.

Looking around, Galen noticed that everyone seemed edgy and tense, yet remained focused on whatever task they were set to. Then, he felt it, a stir before a voice that he was sure only he was hearing.

“Trust your brother, Galen.”

Ben. He looked around. No one else appeared to be trying to place a disembodied voice. He let out a breath. Perhaps the old Jedi still had a few tricks up his sleeves.

Another ship was lost as a Tie fighter came up from behind. Luke shouted a warning to the others as Galen gripped the edge of the table with white-knuckled fists. This was not looking good. Not at all.

Soon, Luke was indicating he was coming to the rescue of another fighter. While that was very much like Luke, Galen couldn’t help but worry. Then, another fighter announced Luke had someone on his tail. It seemed the chatter indicated he had been hit and the others were having trouble keeping track of Luke.

“Blasted, Biggs. Where are you?”, Luke answered.

“Good shooting, Wedge.”

Galen let out a breath. He was going to pass out at this rate, if Luke kept endangering himself. Before Galen could check the maps again, he heard the Red-Leader ordering the move to targeting computers and tight formation. They were making a run for the weak spot. And they were anticipating an attack from the rear.

The Red-leader gave Luke and two others the order to cover and stay back while they tried a second attempt at the run. The first group had all been killed and Luke’s group were trying to make sure this second group had a clearer path to make their run.

“IT’S AWAY!”

“It’s a hit!”

“Negative. Negative. It didn’t go in. Just impacted on the surface.”

Luke offered to cover, but the Red-leader gave different orders before he was shot from behind by a Tie fighter. Galen could sense Luke’s fear. They both knew how slight their odds were, and Galen could hear the reports from the computers. They had a minute or so before the Deathstar could fire on the base.

“Biggs, Wedge – lets close it up. We’re going in full throttle. That ought to keep those fighters off our back.”, Luke’s voice ordered.

Galen looked up to see Leia step closer to her one officer, the man who had hugged her when they arrived. Now, the man reach over, putting a fatherly hand on her shoulder. It seemed she was as worried as Galen.

“Right with you, boss.”, Wedge answered.

“Luke, at that speed, will you be able to pull out in time?”, Biggs questioned.

“It’ll be just like Beggars Canyon back home.”, he answered.

“No, it won’t.”, Galen groused. “No one was chasing you in a Tie fighter back in Beggars Canyon.”

He watched on the battle map as the three remaining X-wings went into formation, going down into the trench. Luke lead the way, the other two flanking him. They successfully made it past the first canon, dipping down into the trench at great speed.

“We’ll stay back, far enough to cover you.”, Biggs explained.

Wedge added, “My scope shows the tower, but I can’t see the exhaust port. Are you sure the computer can hit it?

Another canon tracked them, continually firing in an attempt to hit them. Galen muttered an old prayer in a half-remembered language.

“Watch yourself. Increase speed, full throttle.”, Luke ordered.

“What about that tower?”, Wedge questioned again.

“You worry about those fighters. I’ll worry about the tower.”

Galen could see the canons were still making their best efforts to take out the last three fighters, with Biggs and Wedge covering Luke from behind. Knowing Biggs, Galen was sure the other man had skill enough to be a real threat to the Empire’s fighters and to cover Luke’s back. Wedge, however, seemed apprehensive about their plan and their chances. Galen didn’t blame the pilot, though he did not like that this was half of his brother’s protection out there.

“R2, that stabilizer’s broken loose again. See if you can’t lock it down.”

Looking over, Galen could see Leia’s eyes widen. Even if the woman had no experience with piloting, she had to know this was not good. It seemed everyone in the room was aware how bad that could be.

Three Tie fighters appeared behind their X-wings. The middle one was different, seemingly more agile and a bit smaller than the two in its wake. Deep down, Galen felt a cold pooling in him as he focused on that middle Tie fighter. There was something particularly sinister about that fighter. Or the pilot. Yes, definitely the pilot. Galen tried to remember to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

“Be careful, Luke.”, he whispered as he watched the screen.

“Fighters, coming in, point three.”, Wedge announced.

It was a race. A three-way race to see if the X-wings could reach the end of the trench and exploit the Deathstar’s weakness before the three Tie fighters could catch up with them and blow them out of the sky, or before the Deathstar could blast the Rebel base into oblivion. The Tie fighters appeared to be gaining on the X-wings as they all barreled down the shaft.

“I’m hit! I can’t stay with you.”

“Get clear, Wedge. You can’t do any more good back there.”

“Sorry.”, Wedge called before pulling out and heading back for the Rebel base.

“Hurry, Luke! They’re coming in much faster this time.”, Biggs warned.

Galen looked over to check how long they had. The Deathstar was closing in as Luke and Biggs continued to evade the Tie fighters while trying to take out the Deathstar. Galen prayed to himself, for Luke and for all of them.

“R2, try and increase the power.”

Tracking the movements on the screen, that smaller Tie in the lead was gaining on the X-wings. This was not good, was all Galen could think.

“Hurry up, Luke. Quick!”

Galen wanted to growl at Biggs. Of course, Luke needed to move quickly, there was no need to yell.

“Come on, Luke.”, Galen muttered as he ran a hand down over his face.

They all leaned closer, watching as the three Tie fighters moved in on the two X-wings. They were getting closer to the Rebel fighters as the Rebel fighters drew nearer to the target, and the Deathstar was almost in range. The lead, small Tie fighter fired and in an instant, Biggs was gone. Galen felt his knees buckle as he felt the echo of Luke’s pain mixing with his own at losing their old friend.

A soft hand came to his shoulder. Looking, Galen met Leia’s own brown eyes. She gave his shoulder a small squeeze as a tech announced they would be in range of the Deathstar within 30 seconds.

“Luke will make the shot.”

Leia nodded.

“Of course.”

She did not sound convincing. Galen didn’t blame her. She didn’t know Luke the way he did. Standing, Galen moved to look back at the map. Leia stood beside him, her hand covering his for a moment.

“His computer’s off.”, another tech said as Luke approached the target.

“Luke, you switched off your targeting computer. What’s wrong?”

Galen looked over at Leia.

“He’s going to do it on his own.”

Her jaw dropped slightly.

“Nothing, I’m alright.”, Luke’s voice came over the com.

Everyone appeared to be looking around at each other in disbelief. Galen wanted to laugh at them. Turning, he looked at the computers and maps. Luke had this.

The lead Tie fighter took another shot at Luke’s X-wing. Red lights flashed and Galen knew it had taken a hit but he could feel it, Luke was alive. He worried, knowing the ship had been hit, yet he knew Luke was fine for the moment.

“I’ve lost R2.”

Glancing at 3-PO, he could see the golden droid’s distress over his companion’s condition. A voice announced that the Deathstar had cleared the planet. They were in range.

Galen watched the scans and maps. Luke was doing a good job of dancing around in the trench, making it harder for someone to lock onto him and fire their blasters. However, he would have to steady himself a bit to fire on the target. He would be vulnerable the moment he started aiming at the Deathstar’s weak spot. Then, another shape appeared on the maps just a second before it fired on one of the Tie fighters, blowing it up.

Everyone looked around and at the different maps in confusion. Who else was out there? The rest of the fleet had been destroyed or recalled due to damage. Luke was supposed to be alone out there.

“YA-HOO!”, a familiar voice hollered over the coms.

Galen and Leia turned to each other and said it unison.

“Han.”

His next shot took out the second Tie fighter, who bumped into the leader, sending him spinning out into the black. The Falcon flipped back around to watch the trench as Han radioed out to Luke.

“You’re all clear, kid. Now let’s blow this thing and go home.”

Luke fired into the shaft and it went in. Everyone waited, unmoving. The readings said the Deathstar was gearing up to fire and hopefully, Luke’s shot would start that chain reaction in time to stop the Deathstar’s ability to power up their weapons. The Falcon lead Luke’s X-wing and two other damaged ships back to base as everyone else stared down at the scans.

Just as the scans indicated they were going to be fired upon, the deathstar erupted. A shockwave flew out from the blast, the fleet narrowly avoiding any damage from it.

“Great shot, kid! That was one in a million!”, Han called out.

Galen turned, and like everyone else, exchanged hugs with everyone who was jumping around jubilantly in the command room. The Deathstar was gone. The leadership of the Empire had taken a major hit. The Rebellion had won the day and it would be a long while before the Empire would have another such large-scale weapon available to use against another unsuspecting planet.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Galen and Leia ran ahead of the others to the hanger, barely waiting at the doorway while Luke parked the X-wing. As his done came up, they sprinted for him. Luke stood and removed his helmet, practically vibrating as he descended the ladder.

“LUKE!”

“GALEN! LEIA!”

Leia rushed up to hug Luke first, her smile as wide as a Tattooine skyline. Luke spun her around, the two of them laughing like kids on their birthday. Once he released her, Luke launched to hug Galen. He pulled his brother off his feet, hugging Luke so tightly that he probably popped his brother’s back.

“Hey!”

They all turned to see Han and Chewie running towards Luke. Han released Galen to face Han as they also embraced.

“I knew you’d come back! I just knew it!”

Galen had suspected the smuggler would, but had not mentioned it to Luke. No need to get his hopes up, in case Galen had been wrong.

“I wasn’t gonna let you get all the credit and take all the reward.”, Han responded.

Leia moved over to hug Han tightly about his middle, her smile widening even further.

“I knew there was more to you than money.”

The sound of the rigging pulling R2 out, drew all their attention upward. The little droid was half fried and barely functioning at all.

“Oh, no.”, Luke said as he moved closer to the little blue and white droid.

3-PO stepped closer, his worry clear in his voice.

“Oh me! R2, can you hear me? Say something. You can repair him, can’t you?”

Everyone helped the techs get R2 down onto a transport. Once he was on the ground level, Galen could see that R2 had taken quite a lot of damage.

“We’ll get to work on him right away.”, the tech offered.

“You must repair him!”, 3-PO pleaded, “Sir, if any of my circuits or gears will help, I’ll gladly donate them.”, he offered to Luke.

Luke tried to comfort the protocol droid.

“He’ll be alright.”, he said as he turned to Galen.

“Can you make sure they take care of him?”

“Of course. Come on, 3-PO, let’s go put R2 back together.”, he said as he threw his arm over the droid’s metal shoulders.

Meanwhile, Luke headed off with Han and Leia, all of them smiling and laughing in triumph. Galen walked beside 3-PO, his mind on Biggs and the others, as well as worrying for the little loyal droid, and what would come tomorrow. It seemed he and his brother were officially part of the Rebellion, now.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Two days later, Galen stood with Luke. Han had let Luke borrow some clothes, not informing Luke that it was Han’s putting-away outfit for special occasions. This had meant the Smuggler had only his regular clothes to wear while Luke would be dressed up. Chewie had declined to receive a reward, due to an old Wookie custom he did not elaborate on.

“How does it look?”, Luke asked.

“You look good.”

Luke nodded, his eyes downcast.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just wish Ben could be here, and Baru, and… Uncle Owen.”

Galen understood.

“They would be proud of you, ya know.”

“And of you.”

“I fixed some droids and some ships. You took out the Deathstar.”

“You helped.”

“How?”, Galen genuinely wondered.

“When I was flying, I heard Ben’s voice again, just like back at the Deathstar when he told me to run. I was about to look through the computer and let it do the shooting, when I heard him saying to trust the Force. I hesitated. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing or what he wanted me to do. Then, weirdly, I could hear you. Not as clearly, but still. I could hear you saying that I would make the shot.”

Galen didn’t know what to say. He had been sure, down in his marrow, that Luke would make the shot. With or without the computer’s aid.

“I know how good a pilot and gunner you are, Luke. I never doubted you would make the shot.”

“I know, but I did. Then, I could hear you and Ben, and that’s when I knew I could do it.”

They embraced again, until they heard the swell of the music meant to indicate Han and Luke were supposed to step out to receive their awards. Leia had found Galen a clean set of clothes and given him a small medal at a little ceremony the night prior. Luke, Chewie, Han, and a posthumous Ben Kenobi, had all received the small pin meant to thank them and remind others of their saving Princess Leia of Alderaan and bringing the vital information about the Deathstar to the Rebellion.

“Go on. Don’t trip.”

Luke turned back to Galen with a sarcastic smile.

“Thanks.”

Galen watched as Luke stepped out with Han, Chewie a couple steps behind as they headed down a long isle with soldiers, mechanics, technicians, officers, and other assorted Rebels at attention on either side. Princess Leia waited on a stage at the front, flanked by other leaders with a beautiful backdrop of enormous stone columns and ivy strands.

Everyone turned on their heels to face the proceedings once the trio had reached Leia at the front. The combined clack of their shoes was nearly deafening. Galen stood tall, watching from the back as the three ascended the stairs to stand before the Princess, in her stark, beautiful white gown.

Galen watched as the Princess first placed a medal around Han’s neck, their height more even with the Captain standing a couple steps below her. He could see Luke’s attention turn quickly to the side, where R2 waddled out to stand beside 3-PO, who was now gleaming fresh from a cleaning. Next, she took the second medal to bestow upon Luke’s neck. Han, Chewie, and Luke all turned, as they had been instructed to do earlier, allowing everyone to see their new medals. The crowd erupted with applause, whistles, and shouts of excitement.

After a long moment, Han took the first step to come back down the isle. Chewie and Luke followed closely behind. Many at the edge of the crowd moved to shake hands or clap the backs of the newly recognized heroes. Han, if possible, seemed more uncomfortable about it than Luke did as they headed down, with Chewie using his intimidating figure to get Han some space as they moved.

When they reached the end, Luke moved to hug Galen again. They stood there a long moment, finally able to breathe. They were alive, they had completed Ben’s mission to save the Princess and deliver the information, and now they were both here, together and alive. Whatever tomorrow brought them, they would face it together, as brothers.

“Come on.”, Luke offered.

Galen didn’t have to be told twice.  

Chapter Text

Juno Eclipse, Captain in the Black Squadron Elite, stood shaking in her temporary quarters. Due to an injury on her latest run, she had been confined to a room in Medical to recover. She was healing well, her right arm already functional enough for her to do basic maneuvers in the cockpit. Everything was on track for her to be back in action by the end of the week.

Except these nightmares.

“Come on, Eclipse. Buck up.”, she chastised herself as she tried to force the shakes to stop.

The Bombing of Callos had been days ago. Almost a month had passed since she had followed Lord Vader’s order. Along with the others, they had attacked the already beaten enemy forces and driven them to ground. Then, they had wiped the planet clean of all life. Everyone, all of the planet, dead.

Juno had questioned the order. A terrible move for her career, no doubt. Yet it had seemed too ruthless, even for Lord Vader. When he reiterated his order, she followed it. Her father had desired a loyal Imperialist and she aimed to be one. Despite having written off her father, after one too many times that he failed to show up for her, she was now just Juno Temple, Imperial Officer. She had no home, no family. On the Empire and her fellow soldiers.

And still, her hands shook as images bombarded her mind of the firestorm she had helped bring down on a defenseless civilization that she had a hand in destroying. They opposed the Empire and deserved to be punished. To be taught that it was wrong to question their Emperor. But to wipe them completely from the map?

Turning, Juno barely reached the commode in time as her stomach contents erupted from her. She could feel her pulse at her temples as her hands shook, a cold sweat covering every inch of her skin, and her body shivered on the cold, metal floor of her room in Medical. Tightly fisting her hands, Juno pulled herself up onto her knees. Two deep breaths, and she forced herself to stand. At first she swayed, though she was able to right herself with another breath and a burst of effort.

She was Captain Eclipse of the Black Squadron. She followed orders and she was the best pilot in the Imperial Navy. What was needed was her to recover from her wounds then get back into the pilot’s seat and lead her next mission to victory for her Squadron. No one needed a shaking, terrified heap on the floor.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Leia/Luke/Galen – aged 20

Galen watched as Luke put together supplies to take back to Hoth. He didn’t like that he and Luke weren’t going together, but Galen was set to go with a resupply convoy in a week. Perhaps, by then, he and Luke could sit back with some snacks and watch Han and Leia as they finally figured out what was going on between them. The two had been dancing around each other since the destruction of the Death Star and had yet to figure out what exactly was going on between them. Galen didn’t need to be a Jedi or a genius to figure it out. Even Luke, who had a strong connection with Leia, had stepped back from any attempt at perusing a relationship with her beyond their deep friendship.

“Aw, come on, Galen. We’ll be back on Hoth, with Otto, Stibbs, and Rena, riding the Ton-tons all over the place. Don’t look so glum.”

Galen growled slightly under his breath before hefting another crate up onto the lift. Once it was full, an operator would move it onto Luke’s ship.

“I don’t like the idea of not being able to see the trouble coming up behind you, brother.”

“I know. I don’t like it either. But it’s only a week. I’m sure I can make it through a week without getting into too much trouble.”

Galen fixed his brother with a Look.

“You know what Baru used to say about your promising not to get into trouble?”

“She used to tell me that she wished I would just promise not to get hurt too badly, rather than making a promise she knew I wouldn’t be able to keep.”

He nodded, agreeing.

“She was right, Luke. You have always been a magnet for trouble.”

Moving closer, Luke put a hand over Galen’s shoulder and offered a smile.

“I promise to try to stay out of trouble, and if I can’t avoid it, to try not to get hurt too badly. Alright?”

“Alright. But I still don’t like it.”

“Noted.”

They continued to load the last few crates for the operator to have, until the task was complete. Once they had, it would be time to say goodbye. Though he would not admit it to Luke, he had a terrible feeling gnawing at the pit of his stomach. One he couldn’t shake. And it was growing as Luke’s departure drew nearer. Galen was pretty sure Luke knew something was up him. He hadn’t left Galen’s side all day. His brother was not usually so clingly. At least, not anymore. For the first few weeks they had been members of the Rebellion, after losing Owen, Baru, Ben, and friends from back home in the run on the Death Star, Luke had been nearly glued to Galen’s side. He would not even sleep in another room at night. He insisted on sleeping where he could look up and see Galen and he worked almost always within arm’s reach.

The two of them walked up to the ladder that would allow Luke up into the cockpit. Neither appeared overly enthusiastic about Luke’s departure. Both looked around, kicked dust with the toes of their boots, shifting their weight from one side to the other as they avoided the Goodbye.

“Look after yourself, alright? You don’t have me or the droids here to keep an eye out for you.”

“Try to keep 3-PO from being too hard on R2, will you?”

“I’ll try.”

“May the Force be with you.”, Galen offered.

Luke smiled up at Galen, as happy as ever.

“Same to you.”

With that, he was quickly ascending the ladder as Galen moved to steady it. Once Luke was in place, Galen moved the steps back out of the way, clearing the takeoff space. He watched as Luke put on his helmet, readied his computers, then turned to offer Galen a quick salute. Galen returned it and offered a small smile. He was still worried about that gnawing feeling at the pit of his stomach.

The announcement came over for everyone to leave the bay to allow the ships a clear takeoff. Galen exited with the mechanics, operators, and other personnel. Moving over to one of the windows on the station, he watched the ships as they each made the jump to hyperspace. One of the mechanics, of a diminutive race Galen could not pronounce the name of, turned a green face to Galen with a worried expression.

“You seem troubled Lieutenant?”

“I have a bad feeling about their return to Hoth.”

“Is it the same kind of bad feeling your brother, the Lieutenant Commander, sometimes gets just before we get attacked?”

“Very much.”

The alien let out a sort of whistling sound.

“I will light an extra candle in my prayers, for the base and for our squadron bringing the supplies.”

Galen nodded.

“Thank you, sir.”

“That fleet needs to arrive safely for it all to work at the Hoth base. I have rather selfish reasons for wanting all to go smoothly. My mate is stationed on Hoth and I would hate for them to endure any hardship or pain without me there to offer protection or care.”

“Just the same, sir. Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome, young Lieutenant.”

The alien left Galen to his thoughts and the windows. Muttering a Wookie prayer of safe travels and warm arrivals, Galen willed Luke to be safe in Galen’s absence. He had already lost his parents and his adopted parents, he could not bear to lose his brother as well.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Galen raced from the plank, not allowing it enough time to make contact with the landing strip before he was already off the ship. He had to find Luke. He had sensed for hours the confusion, pain, sorrow, fear, and cloudy thoughts of Luke. Then, when they were not far from the planet, a special transmission had been sent to his ship directly from Leia. Luke had gone missing while investigating a larger meteorite and then Han had gone out to look for him. She had been forced to allow them to close the blast doors to keep out the cold and protect the whole base, while still waiting for Han and Luke to return.

It took him only a few minutes to find Leia as she stood in the middle of one the monitoring rooms. She was watching something on one of the maps Galen didn’t recognize. He had never been to this part of the Hoth station before, yet it had taken almost no time to find her.

“Princess!”

She turned, her shoulders dropping as she made eye contact. She said something quickly to one of the officers, then made her way through the maze of monitors and personnel to come over to Galen.

“He woke up this morning. Come on, I’ll take you to his bunk.”

Galen followed the Princess through a series of hallways and intersections until they reached what he assumed to be the Medical wing. The door opened to reveal Luke, in a fitful sleep on a bunk on the opposite side of the room. Galen didn’t have to be issued any orders, he rushed to his brother’s side, a hand moving to Luke’s shoulder.

“Luke? Luke?”, he called.

He could see that Luke’s right eye was swollen and bruised, with cuts on the right side of his nose, his right cheek, and a bit on his lower lip. He could sense there were other injuries, too, and he would assume possibly damage from the time spent in the elements.

“Luke, wake up. It’s a dream, Luke!”

Blue eyes shot wide as Luke lunged forward, gasping for breath. Galen held Luke’s shoulders, keeping him from toppling over the edge of the bed and onto the hard floor. Luke grasped Galen’s arms tightly, panting for breath.

“Ben!”, he gasped between ragged breaths.

“It was a dream, Luke. Just a dream.”

“I saw a tree, an old tree. And there was moss on everything, strange creatures. A voice I didn’t recognize, far away, saying something about… balance and… emotions. Then I saw a city in the sky with a dark cloud descending on it.”

“It was just a dream, Luke.”

“And the feeling you had before I left was just indigestion.”

Galen let out a breath. Of course, Luke had known that Galen had a bad feeling.

“I thought you promised not to get too badly hurt. I wouldn’t call needing a whole day in the bacta-tank after having to be rescued from a man and ton-ton eating creature, and spending hours walking around in the frozen wastelands of Hoth’s dunes, is not what I would call playing it safe to keep your promise.”

“I’m sorry. I was just going to check on a meteorite and this… thing attacked me and my ton-ton.”

“I know. I heard.”

“How?”

“Leia. When she was able, she sent a message to me on the ship as I was on my way here.”

Luke nodded, then finally allowed himself to sit back, his breath having returned to normal. Galen pulled the blankets back over his brother. Luke seemed to settle and Leia moved closer, offering a hand to Luke.

“I’m just glad Han found you, and that you’re both alive.”, then she turned to Galen, “And that you’ve also been delivered safely with all our supplies.”

Galen nodded. He and Leia had not become so close as she had with Luke or as the brothers had with both Han and Chewie. It seemed only 3-PO, Luke, and Han had really been able to make much of a connection with her. Galen hoped, in the future, that he and the Princess might learn to better get along. For Luke’s sake, if nothing else.

“Thank you, Princess.”

“It’s Leia.”

“Sorry.”

She offered a stiff smile before leaving. Once she was gone, Galen went back to fussing over his brother. Once he had Luke tucked back in, Galen was curious.

“Tell me about your dream?”

Luke let out a sigh.

“It fades whenever I’m awake for a while. I mostly remember a tree. A very old tree. I feel this need to go to it and…I don’t know. But it seems very important.”

Galen nodded. He wasn’t sure what it meant, though he understood the feeling. He had also been having his own strange dreams.

“I’ve dreamt of a ship being pulled from the water by an unseen hand, and then there’s a city in the sky with a man in a helmet dragging something behind him. Something important. I see myself running, then nothing. I know there’s more to it, but like you said, the longer I’m awake, the less I can recall of it. The details dissipate.”

Luke looked over him and Galen nearly winced. The semi-healed cuts on his face gave Galen a sympathetic headache.

“I think I’ve seen you in this sky-city, brother.”

Galen tilted his head, considering. He had never noticed, or at least he did not recall, Luke being specifically in this city in the sky. He sometimes thought he saw a pilot standing on or near the ship being pulled from the water. But it could have easily been another blond, humanoid male. It may not even have been a blond. There was a fog in his vision. He was sure these were visions, not simple nightmares. Both of them had enough nightmares to be able to tell the difference.

“Rest up, Luke. I’m going to go see to my quarters and get us something to eat. Don’t think your physicians will mind my sharing a meal with you. Eating alone is unhealthy.”

Luke just smiled as Galen headed out.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Galen was helping Han atop the Falcon, with Chewie inside the cockpit, as everyone around them scurried with the goal of evacuation. The Falcon wasn’t ready for such a trip. Between the last mission Han and Chewie had been on, and the effects of the bitter cold, Galen was a bit amazed that the ship was in as good a shape as it was.

“Still glad you left that nice, warm, twin-sun planet, now, kid?”

Galen smiled as he turned upside down with Han holding his ankles securely, to allow Galen to work on the underside of the front of the fastest ship in the galaxy. He was cold enough to be wearing several layers with only his fingers and face exposed, with a scarf tied around his ears, neck, chin, and closing the gaps in the front of his jacket. Even his feet had several layers. Yet, Galen would not have traded places with anyone. Like Luke, he had found a home and a new purpose here in this Rebellion.

“Still glad you took us on and came back for Luke?”

He heard Han let out a noise akin to a growl.

“Alright, all done.”

Han helped him up and kept a hand on Galen’s shoulder till he was sure the change in bloodflow wouldn’t cause Galen to get dizzy and fall from the ship.

“Alright Chewie, try it!”, he called to his first mate.

The Wookie flipped some switches, setting off an eruption of flames across the section Han had been working on before he came to hold Galen’s legs. Both men raced over to fight the flames as Han ordered Chewie shut everything on.

“Well, that’s just great.”, Han groused as he looked over the damage.

Galen nodded.

“Fixable. Here, pass me that silver thing.”

Meanwhile, Luke finished putting on his flightsuit as the Medical Droid seemed to be disapprovingly staring him down. Luke wasn’t sure how that worked. Perhaps too much time around 3-PO had him assigning more personality to the faces of droids.

“Sir, it will take quite a while to evacuate the T-47s.”

“Well, forget the heavy equipment. There’s plenty of time to get the smaller modules onto the tranports.”, he commented as he added another layer.

The droid turned to face him.

“Take care, sir.”

“Thanks.”

With that, he grabbed the last of his gear and headed out for his speeder. He wanted to say goodbye to Han before the smuggler left, and to check on Galen again to ensure his brother was going to stick to the plan. It took a while to get to the Falcon, where Luke found Chewie working on the underside of the Falcon.

“Chewie,” he called out to the Wookie, “take care of yourself, okay?”

Reaching, he gave the large, furry fellow an affectionate scratch on the shoulder as he checked over his shoulder for Galen, Han, or Leia. Half a breath later, he felt himself being pulled backward into a great hug. Sometimes he forgot how affectionate the Wookie could be.

“Okay, okay.”, he said with a chuckle as he hugged the arm across his chest.

Chewie wished him well as he released him. Luke walked forward, hearing the sound of Han and Galen up atop the Falcon. For a moment, Luke just watched. At first, it sometimes bothered him when Galen worked beside Han and Chewie. He had such an ease with them, more so than Luke had enjoyed when they first joined the Rebellion. And Galen proved himself so quickly as a superior mechanic that Han had no trouble letting Galen mess around on the Falcon. Galen, like Han, had a tendency to ask for ‘the long thing’, or ‘the brown giggery over there’ rather than using the proper name for the tool needed. It made it rather amusing to watch them.

“Hey kid!”, Han called just as Luke was about to interrupted the conversation up top.

They were interrupted by a droid with another issue in the Falcon’s mechanical array. Han gave it an order before turning back to Luke.

“You alright?”

“Yeah.”, Luke said, then he started to add more before thinking better of it.

Han waited, then smiled. As usual, the man seemed to understand. Luke smiled with a nod, but Han stopped him.

“Be careful.”

“You, too. Both of you.”

Han gave a twi-fingered salute before turning back to the droid. Galen, meanwhile, did a backflip off the edge of the Falcon almost to show off. He and Luke had been practicing for a long time. He successfully landed in front of Luke with a grin.

“Leaving without a goodbye?”

He shook his head.

“No, but I figured you’d come down to see me off.”

“You know me too well, brother.”

“Only all our lives.”

They stood for a moment, both with much to say and not a clue how to word it. Finally, Luke stepped forward to hug his brother. They stood for a long moment, both trying hard not to think too closely on the situation they sat in. The Empire’s might was bearing down on them, Han would be leaving with Chewie, the Rebellion would be losing one of their best- if harshest bases, and overall things were not looking great for the Rebellion.

“Don’t die.”, Galen whispered.

“Don’t get trapped here when the Troopers come.”

“Leia made sure I had a slot I’ve been ordered to.”

Luke smiled.

“She is a bit bossy, I know.”

Galen nodded, stepping back.

“May the Force be with you.”

“May the Force be with you, too.”, Luke echoed before stepping away.

Both were growing accustomed to the feeling of impending doom whenever they separated before a battle. Luke off to fly with the other fighters, Galen to work beside the mechanics and droids at the base. And so, again, Galen watched his brother walk off to join the front point of a fight against the Imperial Forces.

A large hand rested on Galen’s shoulder. Turning, he saw the furry fingers as they curled over his shoulder. Chewie uttered a small prayer for protection of warriors facing greatly superior foes. Galen muttered the response to it. Exchanging a look with the Wookie, Galen moved back to help Han finish the Falcon. He needed something to keep him busy until it was time for his evac.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Seeing the battering all around them, Han made a quick decision. Galen was finishing placing a plate over the last bit they had finished working on while Chewie was working on a piece of landing gear that had frozen up so it could not be retracted. It was time to get them out.

“Galen, when you get that plate in, go find your transport.”, he bellowed to the young farmer.

“Chewie, get this thing ready.”

He had barely turned when Chewie called after and Galen turned to the Wookie to explain Han’s thinking.

“He’s going for the Princess, Chewie.”

Chewie’s sarcastic comment was ignored by Han as he took off looking for Leia. From what he hard overheard from the radios on the men as they moved around, Luke’s gunner had not survived and R2 was bringing an X-Wing out to the young Jedi. With the little droid to look after Luke, the kid would be fine. Galen had enough sense to follow the plan and go to the transport Leia had arranged for him- only Leia herself didn’t have the sense to get out while the getting was good. She would do the noble thing and try to be the last to leave, to ensure no one had been left behind.

Knowing where she would be, it took almost no time at all to locate her. She was handing out orders to the last few soldiers who had opted to stay to the last possible moment. Han was blown away by that fire, loyalty, selflessness, and devotion to her cause. At the same time, he also wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her for risking her own life this way.

“You alright?”

“Why are you still here?”, she asked with enough anger to scare off a rancore.

“Was the command center hit?”

“You were cleared to leave.”, she said with her back turned.

Han cleared some junk out of his way, moving up over it to where her Worshipfulness was leaning over a soldier to look at their viewscreen. 3-PO stood nervously by her side, loyal and shaky as ever.

“Oh, I’ll leave. First, I’m gonna get you to your ship!”

“Your Highness,”, the protocol droid intervened, “we must take this last transport! It’s our only hope!”

Han wanted to growl as Leia dodged around him and slipped under his arm to head to the other side of the command center. She was barking out orders, as usual, while he stood barely resisting the urge to scream at her. Then, a chilling message came over the comm.

IMPERIAL TROOPS HAVE ENTERED THE BASE. IMPERIAL TROOPS HAVE ENETERED THE BASE.

That was it. Han righted 3-PO back to his feet from where another hit had tilted him backward, and ran over to Leia. She could fight, kick, scream, cry, or order all she liked, it would do no good. Han would throw her over his shoulder and carry her like a bad kid if he had to.

“Come on!”

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Galen waited with his transport, his twin lightsabers in hand as he waited. Once they opened the doors to let the final ground fighters in, they would be vulnerable. Galen had been set to go out with these guys and he intended to make sure as many of them as possible were able to come with him. He watched and waited. Behind, an officer began a countdown.

“Opening doors in 5…4…3…2…1. NOW!”

Galen rushed forward ahead of a couple medics to help cover them as they dragged men in towards the transports. As expected, they were being fired upon somewhat heavily and many were barely able to move through all the snow to reach safety.

Galen spun his twin sabers in the air, deflecting any shots within his reach. A few he was able to bounce back at the Empire’s fighters. Even when the first AT-AT opened fire on them, Galen was able to defend them with his lightsabers. He and Luke had done much the same thing a few months ago. That was how he knew the lightsabers would take an AT-AT’s firepower.

Moving further out, Galen sliced down through the weapons and armor of several Storm Troopers. Their suits may have protected them somewhat from Hoth’s freezing temperatures yet they did nothing to deter Galen’s blades. Spinning backwards, then sideways, and switching back and forth between his left and his right sabers, Galen made himself a difficult target while narrowing the odds back into the Rebels’ favor.

Once he had cut a swath, Galen ran back to his former position, deflecting shots in defense of their ground fighters. Many were hauling each other up into the final transports. The less injured piloted and the uninjured held the badly wounded close to make sure they did not fall or get left behind.

“Marek! Get out of there! We’re all clear!”, their commander called suddenly.

He didn’t have to be told twice. Rushing back, Galen deflected a couple more shots before jumping into a spot on the transport. Soon, they would rocket out Hoth’s atmosphere and be gone. Once he was in the ship, he allowed himself to reach out first to Luke, then further to sense Han, Chewie, and Leia. All four were alive. Galen sank back into his seat. All alive.

“May the Force be with us.”, he breathed.

Chapter Text

Luke walked in the snow, heading towards the staging area where the X-wings were waiting. He knew R2 was already there, readying their ship. A noise drew his attention backward. Turning, he spotted the Falcon swooping over the frozen landscape and taking off into space. Luke smiled. Leia wasn’t supposed to fly out with Han, yet Luke could feel it. Everyone, except he, R2, and Galen, was aboard the Falcon and were safe.

“R2!”, he called out, “Get her ready for take-off.”

The little blue and white droid chirped in a cheerful affirmative. Luke rubbed his arm where it was sore from landing on it during his crazy shot at the Walker. He was glad Galen and Leia hadn’t seen it. They would have taken turns killing him.

“Luke!”

Turning, he saw Galen standing there. While the other pilots were so wrapped up that you could hardly tell who was who if not for the decorations on their helmets and the badges of rank on their uniforms, Galen stood in a pale gray mechanic’s uniform with a scarf tied about his head, a small pair of goggles, and no jacket.

“You’re going to freeze out here!”, Luke hollered as he moved towards Galen.

Galen smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m not the one who decided to stay in the fight after my shuttle was taken out of commission.”

Luke sighed. Galen may not have known the full details, but he knew enough.

“I thought you were going straight to the rendezvous point?”, Luke questioned as the two walked toward R2 and the X-wing.

“I was, but they had too many wounded on the ship I was supposed to be on, so I came out here to catch a ride. Somehow, I felt it was important I come here.”

Luke let out a quiet growl.

“The dreams?”

Galen nodded, his face grave.

“Alright. Get yourself something you can fly that they won’t miss too much, and we’ll go take care of this errand for Ben, and then we can get back to Leia, Han, and everyone else after.”

“Good plan. I’ll go find a ship.”, Galen pointed a finger at Luke’s chest, “Do NOT leave without me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”, Luke sassed.

The two separated to go to their ships. Luke climbed right up into the X-wing he would be piloting. R2 instantly began chirping at him.

“Alright, alright. We’re going. Just give Galen a minute to find a ship.”

The droid happily chirped. Sometimes Luke had a sneaking suspicion the droid preferred Galen’s company to his own. Granted, Galen had been the one to get the governor off R2’s casing when they first got the droids.

A few minutes later, Galen was in a smaller ship, meant mor for transporting small amounts of equipment. Galen flew over to hover near Luke. Luke gave his brother the thumbs-up sign, with R2 already powering the X-wing up for take-off.

The three of them took off into the air, soaring high before breaking through the atmosphere and out into the black. Luke began punching in the new coordinates and relayed them over to Galen. R2 beeped in question.

“It’s alright, R2. I’m just punching in the new coordinates.”

He was met with an unhappy string of noises.

“We’re not going to regroup with the others.”

R2 inquired why.

“We’re going to the Dagobah system.”

More beeps.

“Yes, R2?”

R2 asked his question.

“That’s alright. I’d like to keep it on manual control for a while.”

“Luke, you take the lead. I’ll be right behind you.”, came Galen over the radio.

“Alright. To Dagobah.”

The two brothers continued to fly for a few hours. Soon, they came in sight of the planet they had broken away to. R2 chirped in question.

“Yup. That’s it. Dagobah.”, Luke answered.

R2 let out a concerned set of beeps that both Luke and Galen heard.

“No, I’m not gonna change my mind about this.”, Luke answered.

“I’m not picking up on any cities or technology.”, Luke read from his scanners.

“Nor am I.”, Galen answered as he peered down at the readings on his own console.

“Massive life-form readings, though.”, came Luke’s response, “There’s something alive down there.”

He heard Galen huff into the mic.

“Yeah, lets just hope it doesn’t have Rebels on the menu.”

R2 chirped. Galen smiled.

“Or droids, yes R2.”

R2 beeped again, causing Luke to chuckle.

“Yes. I’m sure it’s perfectly safe for droids.”

Almost immediately, they hit a fog so thick it almost felt solid, causing serious drag on their ships. R2 beeped in warning and not a little worry. Galen found himself maneuvering away from Luke a bit, for fear of bumping into his brother’s ship as they were battered by the fog. He could her R2 and Luke over the radio.

“I know! I know! All the scopes are dead. I can’t see a thing.”

“Same here. Do we land or pull back?”, Galen asked.

“Just hang on. I’m gonna start the landing cycle.”

Galen took a deep breath and also began his landing cycle. His ship was smaller and lighter, seeming less impeded by the fog than Luke’s X-Wing. There were what appeared to be branches and vines in the path as Galen moved to land. He felt the jolt as his ship’s gear descended and then a sharper one that would have sent him into the front shield if not for his harness, as the ship landed.

The landing didn’t feel right. Galen was not a great expert, though he had flown enough times and landed on enough different planets, stations, moons, and asteroids, to know when something didn’t feel right. Carefully, Galen opened the hatch and began climbing out. He had his lightsabers and a small blaster hooked to his utility belt, in case he had a need of them. Having landed, he finally got a look at the surface of Dagobah.

Swamp. Fog hovering over the ground, strange dark trees that looked as ancient as some of the temples Galen had seen in his last three years. An odd, wide creature flew by quickly overhead, seemingly paying Galen and his craft no mind. He liked it that way.

Galen hopped out and as he landed on his feet, he understood why it had felt odd when he parked the ship. The ground was so welt it squelched with his every movement and tried to suck the boots from his feet at every step. Then, a new disconcerting observation. He couldn’t find Luke’s X-wing. It should have landed right next to his own ship.

Galen rushed around, making a circle about his own ship, his eyes cast outward to look for Luke. He could not have gone far from Luke. They barely had a few yards between their ships as they hit the fog. Surely, Luke had to be very close.

There was a noise. A sort of gurgle. Galen looked to find the X-wing, nose-first in a fog-covered bog, with the canopy coming up and R2 chirping. Luke appeared out from under the hatch, then walked out onto the bit of the nose still above the water line. R2 made his unhappiness known.

“No, R2. You stay put, I’ll have a look around.”, Luke answered.

Galen was about to wave his brother over when the entire X-wing wobbled. R2 teetered over, screeching as he disappeared on the other side of the ship. Luke and Galen both moved, Luke climbing around the X-wing and Galen running backward in order give himself the running start he needed to leap over onto the X-wing.

“R2! R2! WHERE ARE YOU?”, cried Luke.

Galen carefully moved around, trying to see any sign of the little droid. There was a silence as they listened, hearts thudding, breath paused. Suddenly, the periscope from R2’s dome, shot up through the fog and R2 let out a chirp. Both brothers sagged with relief.

“You be more careful.”, Luke warned.

R2 gave a sarcastic reply that had Galen grinning, despite the panic of the last several minutes. Luke telling someone else to be more careful was pretty rich. The droid had to stop to ask for directions and Luke pointed ‘that way’ for him, before turning and jumping straight into the bog himself. Galen groused under his breath as he realized he would have to also swim back instead of running or jumping as he had done to get onto the X-wing.

As the two brothers stood drenched on soggy ground, they began looking around. Both of them had an uneasy feeling. Luke looked back to see some sort of creature following closely behind R2. Before he could shout out a warning, the creature lunged forward in the dark water and straight for the droid.

“R2!”

Galen spun, finding Luke with his blaster drawn and eyes wide. Whatever it was in the water, it had swallowed their companion. Galen reached, pulling out his own blaster. Until they could see the monster move again, there would be nothing to aim at without risking hurting R2 any further.

Just as the began to edge into the water, ready to try to find their companion, there was a guttural growl from the water. Followed by a high-pitched squeal as R2 was jettisoned from the water, over their heads, and further. Luke and Galen turned on their heels and ran for R2.

“Ah no.”, Luke groused as they found the little guy upside down, his legs propped against a fallen tree. Or perhaps a large root? It was hard to tell as they held R2 and righted him

“Are you alright?”, asked Luke.

R2 beeped out his response.

“You were lucky to get out of there.”, Luke tried to joke as Galen worked to get some debris out of the little guy’s one leg.

“Anything broken?”

“No.”, Galen answered as he continued to look the little guy over, “Guess the creature didn’t care for the taste little blue and white droids.”

R2 beeped.

“If you’re saying coming here was a bad idea, I’m beginning to agree with ya.”, Luke commented as he stood, looking around.

Galen cleaned up the worst of the muck on R2, allowing the little droid freer movement and lesser risk of gumming himself up. Luke sat back down on the bones of some disturbingly large animal, his head still on a slow swivel as Galen found himself double-checking the weapons and other gear on his person.

“What are we doing here? It’s like… something out of a dream or… I don’t know.”

Reaching, Luke helped clean a bit of the scum from R2’s one lens.

“Maybe I’m just going crazy.”

R2 seemed to make his opinion on the matter known as he spewed a couple pints of black, thick swamp water from a port on his dome. Luke and Galen exchanged a half-amused look. The droid was clearly unhappy with their choice to come here, dragging him along for another one of their adventures.

~*~*~*~*~

As they dried out, they had decided it was not a good idea to leave R2 alone. Galen offered to stay with R2, and get him cleaned up while Luke went back to his X-wing to get as much gear as possible. Once they were dry enough, they changed into the medium-gray uniforms and let their other gear hang over some limbs. Galen intended to start a fire once Luke got back, which would hopefully dry their clothes the rest of the way.

As Luke returned from his most-recent trip, R2 chirped to let them know his power was running low. Luke teased back and forth with the droid for a minute or so as he got the droid hooked up. Galen left them to it, in their little base camp, and headed for his own transport. He was sure it had some of the things they might need to build a shelter of sorts. He had just finished pulling out the box with the tent material in it, when he heard voices. Luke’s and someone else’s. Galen pulled his blaster and walked slowly with the box, careful not to make any noise as he approached their little camp.

Luke was between Galen and whoever was talking, but he could hear the conversation easily as they talked in the camp. Galen stayed just outside of the camp, listening. R2 was plugged in and the light from the charger illuminated the area well.

“Hey, that’s my dinner!”, Luke protested as he bent and reached.

Galen caught a small glimpse of a big green ear at about the level of Luke’s knee.

“How you get so big, eating food such as this?”, the other person questioned.

“Listen, friend, we didn’t mean to land in that puddle and if we could get our ships out, we would. But we can’t, so why don’t you just”, Luke’s venting was interrupted by the littler alien as it crawled into one of the bits of gear Luke had dragged into the camp.

“Aw, cannot get your ship out.”

“Hey! Get out of there!”, Luke yelled, his food forgotten.

Luke yanked a piece of gear away from the little alien, grousing about how the little guy could have broken it. The alien was very small, almost small enough to easily fit in a go-bag a pilot would store under their seat. His ears were large, shooting out horizontally from his green head. He wore an old robe that looked somewhat tan or brown, with three-fingered hands and three-toed feet, large nails on each digit. The next thing Galen knew, the small alien was tossing bits and bobs over his shoulder with no regard for how delicate some of it was or how much Luke, Galen, and R2 might need it later.

“Don’t do that. No, oh. You’re makin’ a mess.”, Luke grumbled as the little creature played with a light he had found.

R2 began chirping at the smaller alien, fussing about how the green guy needed to put down Luke’s stuff. The green guy either didn’t understand, or did not care to heed the warning of a droid.

“Hey, give me that!”, Luke demanded as he reached for the light.

The little alien tucked the light close to his chest, leaning away from Luke’s looming form. It was odd to think of Luke as looming, yet Galen had no other word for it.

“Mine, or I will help you not.”, the green being informed Luke.

“I don’t want your help. I want my lamp back. I’m gonna need it to get out of this slimy, mud hole.”

“Mudhole? Slimy! My home, this is.”, the other guy protested as R2 sneakily reached out his one appendage, the claws opening to grab the lamp.

Galen just smiled, shaking his head at the scene. He probably should have intervened, but at present it was too entertaining watching Luke struggle to get the little green guy to understand their predicament.

The green alien realized R2 was trying to take the lamp back and hummed a noise, pulling back to try to keep the lamp. R2 beeped in annoyance, doubling his effort to yank it back. Luke tried to reason with R2, but the droid was perhaps even more stubborn than Luke. The green guy reached, getting ahold of little cane and striking R2.

“Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!”

Luke ordered again and R2 released his grip on the lamp. The little guy chuckled before poking at R2’s door that covered where he retracted his arm to.

“Now will you move on, little fella? We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“We?’, the creature asked. “No, no. Stay. Stay, and help you I will. Find your friend.”

The little guy turned to Galen, looking at him for a long while before turning back to Luke.

“I’m not looking for a friend. I’m looking for a Jedi master.”, explained Luke.

Galen wanted to growl. They didn’t need to go about announcing they were looking for a Jedi master.

“Ohhh. Jedi master. Yoda.”, said the little guy. “You seek Yoda.”

That got Luke’s attention as he crouched by the little guy. Galen carried the rest of the gear into camp, barely paying them any mind as they continued to talk. Soon enough, the little alien would talk Luke into going back to the little guy’s home with him, he would either actually help them or send them on a wild womprat chase, and there was nothing Galen could do about it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Galen had come back to the camp to find R2 angrily recounting Luke’s order to “stay and watch the camp” before Luke had taken off after the little alien. Being that R2 was attached to the charging unit, he had been unable to follow. Galen had quickly unhooked R2 and began tracking Luke in the mud, keeping slow enough to allow R2 to follow along easily enough.

They had arrived at a little hut that was surprisingly warm and nicely lit, against the cold and foggy scene. R2 had refused to go inside, even as a bit of rain drizzled down on them. He insisted on watching to make sure it wasn’t a trap and no one would sneak up on Luke and Galen. Galen couldn’t fault the droid’s thinking and agreed.

“Look, I’m sure it’s delicious. I just don’t understand why we can’t see Yoda now?”, Luke called from his bent-over position in the living area of the hut.

Galen have given up trying to interfere or stand up, and had moved to sit cross-legged by the fireplace the little guy was cooking over.

“Patience, for it is time for the Jedi to eat as well.”

Galen had a sneaking suspicion that this little guy was somehow related to the Jedi. Perhaps not in the sense that Luke and Galen were related, so much as the way the droids had been related to Obi-wan. He seemed so confident in everything he said of the Jedi Master, just as R2 had of Obi-wan.

Luke moved to his knees, walking on them over to where a creature slithered over some of the items on the dining table. That had been another reason Galen was avoiding the table area. Those things looked like some of the worst creatures he had encountered back on Tattooine and he had no desire to avoid being bitten while waiting for foreign food.

Luke handed Galen one of the little bowls and Galen moved to dip up some of the soup. The little alien warned him.

“Hot.”

Galen put a second small ladle’s worth into the bowl and passed it to Luke as Luke handed him a second bowl. Galen only put half a ladle’s worth in his own bowl. He wasn’t hungry and he wished to avoid food poisoning. He watched Luke first sniffed the spoon and then took one sip from the bowl before pulling quite a face. Galen sipped the bowl and found the spice so hot that he was sure that must have been what made the building so warm rather than the fireplace. Apparently, the warning of ‘hot’ had been more to do with the flavor than the temperature of the soup.

“Good food! Hmm, good! Hmm?”, their host asked.

Galen nodded, taking another sip of the liquid. There was something vaguely familiar about the spicy flavor. Their host seemed quite amused at Galen’s enthusiasm for food, though more amused by Luke’s reticence. Luke put his soup aside.

“How far away is Yoda? Will it take us long to get there?”

“Not far. Yoda not far.”

Now Galen was sure their host was more connected to this Master Yoda, than Luke seemed to believe. The little guy came over to stand in front of Luke.

“Patience. Soon, you will be with him.”

Luke scooted over to allow their host closer to the cookpot.

“Root leaf, I cook. Why wish you become Jedi, hmm?”

“Mostly because of my father, I guess.”

“Ah, father. Powerful Jedi was he. Hmm, humm. Powerful Jedi.”

“Oh, come on. How could you know my father? You don’t even know who I am.”, Luke said as he nudged their host’s shoulder.

Then, he saw Luke’s mood shift as his frustration got the better of him. Luke tossed the empty bowl aside, his voice rising as he protested that they were wasting their time. Galen moved forward, reaching to put a hand on Luke’s forearm.

“I cannot teach him.”, their host said seemingly to the table in front of him. “The boy has no patience.”

Luke and Galen exchanged a look as they heard Obi-wan answer, “He will learn patience.”

“Hmmm.”, their host seemed to muse before turning and setting his eyes on Luke.

“Much anger in him, like his father.”

“Was I any different when you taught me?”, Obi-wan countered.

“No. He is not ready.”

Luke finally seemed to be putting the pieces together.

“Yoda.”, he whispered.

Their host nodded. Luke looked up where Yoda had looked when talking to Obi-wan, then back to Yoda before looking back towards the Obi-wan space.

“I am ready! I am… Ben- I can be a jedi! Ben- tell him I’m ready,”, Luke cut himself off as he rose too high and knocked his head against the ceiling.

“Ready are you? What knows you ready? For 800 years have I trained Jedi. My own council I will keep on who is to be trained.”, Yoda explained as he moved between Galen and Luke. Looking directly into Luke’s eyes, he continued, “A jedi must have the deepest commitment, hmm?”

Luke nodded.

“The most serious mind.”, he added before looking towards the space they had seemingly assigned to Obi-wan.

“This one, a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away, to the future, to the horizon.”

Galen reached over, giving Luke’s arm a comforting squeeze. Much of what Yoda was saying of Luke was true. He did always look to the future and to adventures in far-away places. Leaping before he looked, that was Luke. But Galen knew a lot of it was because Luke had a heart too big to be held back. He cared in great measures, not small ones. Galen knew this, though it seemed to have escaped Yoda’s vision, but not Obi-wan’s.

“Never his mind on where he was.”, Yoda said as he poked his cane into Luke’s space for emphasis, “Hmm? On what he was doing. Hmph! Adventure! Ha! Excitement- Ha! A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.”

“So was I, if you remember.”, came the disembodied voice of Obi-wan.

“He is too old!”, Yoda directed at Obi-wan before turning back to Luke, “Yes, too old to begin the training.”

“But I’ve learned so much.”, Luke tried to reason with Master Yoda.

Yoda appeared to ponder over the situation for a moment. Galen looked between his brother and the small Jedi master.

“Will he finish what he begins?” Yoda sked of Obi-wan.

“I won’t fail you. I’m not afraid.”

“Ohhh, you will be.”, Yoda nodded then leaned further into Luke’s personal space, “You will be.”

Turning to Galen, Yoda seemed to study him for a long minute. He nodded.

“And this one, a Marek. Your father, I remember. Glory and adventure was all he sought. Till… your mother.”

Galen was confused. He had not introduced himself, nor had Obi-wan spoken of him.

“She was loyal, patient, stubborn.”, Yoda said before poking his cane into Galen’s shoulder, “In you, Millie, I see. Yes.”

“You knew my parents?”

He barely felt Luke’s hand on his shoulder, though he knew his brother was there.

“Obi-wan knew very little of them.”

Yoda nodded.

“They were younger than him, further behind in their training.”

“He said my mother died protecting the Wookies on their homeworld and my father shortly after. I remember him, her less-so.”

Yoda lowered his cane.

“You are too old to begin your training.”

“We were apprenticed to Master Obi-wan, so if you’ll forgive my ignorance of the proper customs, I believe that means our training has already been started. We are in need of someone to further it, to help us complete our training.”

Yoda narrowed his eyes at the dark-haired man. Kento had been brash, prideful, and impatient. Everything a Jedi was not supposed to be. Some had called the young Jedi a glory-seeker. He wished to be a legend in his own time. Millie had been another story altogether. Wise beyond her years, fluent in many languages- especially that of the Wookie, caring, and loyal to a fault. She only wished to be of service, to give more than she took. She was exactly what a Jedi ought to strive for.

Then, Millie and Kento had met. Many had hoped she would have a tempering influence, and she had. Only the influence had not been one-way. Kento made her bolder and less obedient to the stricter codes of the Jedi Order. She had begun to be more outspoken and questioned her masters. One day, they had simply failed to return from a mission. The two clone soldiers who had been with them on that mission, claimed the two had walked off and never returned.

Looking at Galen, Yoda could see both Kento and Millie. He had Kento’s height, build, protective nature over those he cared for, and his skill for fixing things. Millie, however, was a stronger presence in the young man before him. Her ink black eyes that did not miss a thing, her unobtrusive way, loyal to a fault, deeply caring, diplomatic, and fiercely protective of those deemed in need of the protection, as well as those to whom you had formed an attachment. Yoda was glad to see it, even if it did pain him to know where such a combination had lead before.

“Begun your training, Obi-wan has. Finish it, I will.”

Chapter Text

Juno growled as she let her forehead fall to the wall in front of her. She had not intended for her small smuggling vessel to get stuck on Cloud City, with her in need of parts and low on credits. Of course, she had not ever intended to be a renegade defector or smuggler, so it should not have surprised her that nothing was going according to plan.

“Miss, we can discuss payment plans or perhaps a barter-trade?”, offered the alien whose species she didn’t recognize. Short, pink, mostly human-looking was about as far as she got.

“Listen, I can’t afford the parts. I can barely afford to park here for a few days. I’ve got some cargo I’m on my way to sell and I’m going to try to rearrange to get my client to come here and buy his stuff so I’ll have the credits. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll find someone else to sell the goods to. Those are my options right now.”

The alien man nodded his little head.

“Alright. For now, that will work. You are paid for the next three days. I will come back in two, in order to assess.”

“Fine.”

“Is there anything else I can be of assistance with, miss?”

“Absolutely not. I have some minor repairs to see to, so if you didn’t mind, I prefer to lock up when I’m working.”

He nodded again, only seemingly vaguely annoyed by her tone.

“Alright. Good tidings and good fortune in your business dealings, miss.”, he muttered before turning and leaving.

Juno let her shoulders drop and a long breath escape. By all rights, she ought to have been dead. She supposed she should be more grateful just to still be breathing. Accepting her fate was not something she had ever been good with. She always fought to be the best, to make the best, of whatever she did.

Grabbing her tool box, Juno headed down to her thrusters. They were not going to fix themselves and there was nothing else for her to do while she waited for return message from her client. If Holdo wanted these parts, she was just going to have to bring her violet-haired self to Cloud City and bring all her credits.

Juno looked out the view port, double-checking that her pink friend had really cleared off, when she noticed a ship. A ship she knew well enough to know trouble was coming. The kind of trouble that would preclude Holdo or any of her rebel friends from coming anywhere near Cloud City. Imperial trouble.

“This is not good.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Galen watched Luke running through the paces again and again. Master Yoda on Luke’s back and the two of them running with the Master offering his own brand of encouragement and Luke grousing. Galen was fairly amused. He had mostly been practicing lifting objects with his eyes closed, as he had been instructed to do.

Deciding to take a small break in order to keep an eye on Luke, Galen leaned against a tree near R2. They both worried, though for slightly different reasons. R2 seemed more concerned that Yoda would harm Luke, Galen was more worried that Luke would run himself into the ground trying to prove himself to Yoda.

R2 beeped a disgruntled comment. Galen smiled.

“It’s alright, R2. I won’t let that happen.”

They watched as Luke climbed a vine, then used another to swing over the area he had been running in. Yoda must have enjoyed punishing training sessions with students back at the old Temple he and Obi-one spoke of. In fact, Galen was sure Yoda must have missed it badly and was enjoying every minute of the process he was putting Luke through.

“Yes. Run. Yes! A Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression – the dark side of the Force are they, easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. But once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will! As it did Obi-wan’s apprentice.”

“Vader.”, Luke panted as he stood with Yoda still on his back.

Galen’s ears perked up. The name had not come up since they arrived, yet now was being used as a cautionary tale.

“Is the dark side stronger?”, Luke asked.

“No, no. No. Quicker, easier, more seductive.”

“How do I know the good side from the bad?”

“You will know when you are calm, at peace, passive.”

Galen arched an eyebrow. None of those were Luke’s strong suits.

“A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense. Never for attack.”

“But tell me why I can’t,”, Yoda cut him off.

“NO, NO. There is no why. Nothing more will I teach you today. Clear your mind of questions.”

At that, Galen nearly laughed, earning him a warning look from Yoda before the master turned his attention back to Luke. He muttered a couple calming notes, though to Luke or himself, Galen was not sure.

Luke helped Yoda down and out of the backpack that helped him stay in place when Luke was doing spins and flips through the air. R2 informed them of the results of his latest few scans of the area. Galen looked around them, feeling an unease that had not lifted all day.

He had awoken that morning feeling almost as if a weight had been placed over his chest and shoulders. Luke had not needed to confirm he was feeling it too, as his body language spoke volumes. He had been rolling his shoulders and rubbing a hand across the center of his chest all morning before going to work with Yoda.

“There’s something not right here.”, Luke cautioned as he put his jacket back on.

Yoda was drawing nonsense symbols into the muddy ground, sitting on a log, his eyes a million miles away. Galen could tell, whatever it was, they would not be facing it with Yoda at their side.

“I feel cold… death.”, Luke whispered to Galen, his bright eyes widening.

“That place,”, Master Yoda pointed with his walking stick, “is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is.”

Looking up at them, he added, “In you must go.”

Galen could sense it. Master Yoda was… sad. Regretful.

“What’s in there?”

Galen wondered the same.

“Only what you take with you.”

So much for clarity, Galen thought. Luke and Galen moved forward, with Luke already strapping his utility belt on with his blaster and lightsaber attached.

“Your weapons… you will not need them.”

Luke looked between Yoda and Galen, then clicked his belt into place. They had taken only two more steps before their Master spoke.

“Only one at a time, may go.”

Without asking, Luke went straight ahead. Galen paused, his hands itching to yank Luke away from the tree. Within a few steps, his brother had disappeared into the ancient, dark, twisted tree.

“Is that why you stayed here, of all places? You guard this place?”

Yoda fiddled more with his walking stick, never looking up at Galen.

“No, no. Only a watcher am I now. I do not guard.”

“You would have let anyone go in, then?”

“Brought you here, the galaxy has. Your path clearly this is. Interfere I will not.”

Galen knew he would not get any further with the green Jedi. He decided to sit and wait for Luke to come out. However, if he heard or felt Luke call out for him, Yoda would not stop him from going to his brother’s aid.

He listened and reached, as Yoda had been teaching them to do. Luke found it surprisingly easy to reach out to Leia and to his pilot friends, while Galen mostly found it as easy as breathing to reach out to Luke and to Chewie. He could feel Luke’s ill-ease and some fear, then suddenly a shock.

Yoda’s hand fell to his knee. He looked down to see the Jedi master shaking his head.

“He needs me.”

“He needs himself.”

“Is this some kind of test?”

The Jedi gravely nodded.

“Yes.”

Galen took a deep breath. Then another. R2 shivered and beeped in distress for Luke. Galen didn’t like this. He was almost ready to shove Yoda aside and go in for Luke when Luke emerged from the hollow of the tree.

Luke looked as if he might faint. Galen moved to his brother’s side, helping him walk over to sit next to Yoda on a fallen log.

“Are you alright?”

Luke gave a small nod, his blue eyes moving up to meet Galen’s black.

“I saw Vader, but when I… struck him down… it was my face in the helmet. It was me.”

Galen looked over at Yoda, who appeared saddened by this revelation.

“Go, you must.”, their Master reminded.

“And will I find Vader in there, wearing my face?”

“That which you seek, inside you will find.”

Luke grasped Galen’s hand.

“Don’t go in there.”

Galen let out breath.

“I’ll be right back. I promise. Then we’ll get some dinner. Some hot food will do you good.”

Luke gave a sad smile.

“You sound like Baru.”

Galen returned the sad smile, then walked off. He dropped his weapons, remembering Yoda’s warning to Luke moments ago. At the hollow of the old tree, he reminded himself to breathe, just like Baru used to tell him when he woke up from one of his nightmares. This certainly had the same clawing sense of dread his nightmares often had.

At first, it was not so bad. It was much larger inside that he epected, with vines and roots everywhere, a fog thickening as he drew further inside. An assortment of animals moved about, making their noises, some with glowing eyes, others with forked tongues. It was… unsettling.

Then, Galen saw a small boy. A familiar child. Tall for his age, with close-cropped dark hair, and ink black eyes. A woman was holding him close. She was in all white and looked like a Jedi. She faded like a mist as a man walked quickly into the room.

Galen looked closely at the man. He was also familiar. Tall, dark hair, a nose Galen knew from the mirror. His father.

The man moved over to the child, crouching low in front of him. He seemed sad. No, heartbroken.

“Galen?”, he spoke in a soft voice, thick with emotion.

“Yes, Papa?”

“I have to go away for a little while, to go look for your mother.”

“But I don’t want you to leave, Papa!”

His father shook his head, gently shushing Galen.

“No, son, I must. But a very good friend of your mother’s is going to take care of you for me, alright? He has been her friend almost all her life, and he will keep you safe until we come back. So you’ll need to listen to him.”

His father rubbed little Galen’s head with a large hand with wide palms and muscular fingers. A bleak smile bloomed on his face. Galen was sure the man was about to cry. He would see wetness in the older man’s eyes.

“You look so much like her.”

“Like Mama?”

“Yes. Especially your eyes. They look just like hers.”

“Will you bring her home, Papa?”

“Yes. But until then, you’ll need to listen and be mindful to be kind, be quiet, and don’t attract attention to yourself, alright? And you stay clean. Your Mama always taught you to be clean like the Wookies.”

Little Galen chuckled, then moved forward to wrap his little arms fiercely around his father. The older man rubbed a meaty hand up and down Galen’s little back. Galen could almost feel it as he stood, idly watching. And then the scene faded like fog that had been disturbed.

Galen fell to his knees. His parents. His father knew he wasn’t coming back and had tried to keep Galen from having a bad final moment. He made it seem like everything would be alright. Just like Baru, always looking after Galen. Fresh, hot tears ran tracks down Galen’s face as he panted for air.

Somehow, he got to his feet and moved to the entrance. The fog came at him, threatening to drown him in all that he was feeling. Guilt, pain, loss. Everyone who ever loved him, who looked out for him, ended up dead and for what? To protect a half-trained Jedi mechanic? He shook his head, holding his hands over his ears as he ran.

The mist moved away and Galen found himself falling forward, hands still clamped over his ears. He was almost going to land face-down in the mud when two arms gripped him, pulling him into a mud-splattered lap. Bright blue eyes, a familiar voice.

“Galen! Galen!”

“Luke?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s me. You’re out here, you’re safe.”

Luke looked over to Yoda, an anger flaring to life in him.

“What did you do to him?”

“What he has seen has already happened, forgotten he had. Found it, he has. Years of grief and loss have caught up with him. Rest. Rest, he will need. And his brother.”

Galen reached, getting ahold of Luke’s shoulder. His brother looked down at him.

“It’s alright, Luke. Not his fault.”

“What did you see?”

“My parents.”

Fresh tears.

“He said I have my mother’s eyes. My father thought the same thing. I have his nose. His hands.”

Luke smiled down at him, his own eyes glistening.

“That’s good.”

Galen nodded. He had forgotten what they looked like, what his father’s voice sounded like. Now he remembered it all. His mother’s lullabies, the Wookie celebrations, his father’s lessons on hiding. Everything.

~*~*~*~*~

Yoda had let them rest all evening and not bothered them through the night. However, he had been there bright and early in the morning for Galen and Luke to go to training. Galen had worked on clearing his mind and trying to visualize things to interact. Using the Force to lift things he was not looking at.

Luke, however, was currently standing on a single hand, upside down, while Master Yoda balanced on one of Luke’s feet. It had been meant for Luke to be as uncomfortable as possible, multi-tasking, as he also used the Force to lift rocks and make stacks of them.

“Use the Force.”

R2 let out a warning stream of beeps. Galen diverted a bit of attention to the droid’s source of distress. The X-wing.

“Now, the stone… Feel it.”

Luke stacked one more stone as R2 shrieked. Both Galen and Luke turned their heads to look just in time to see one last chunk of the X-wing’s starboard wing, sunk into the murky water. Galen fell backward, letting himself lay flat. Luke fell, sending Yoda flying as he reminded Luke to concentrate.

Climbing back onto his feet, Luke headed over to the edge of the land. R2 beeped a warning not to go any further.

“Oh, no. We’ll never get it out now.”

“So certain are you.”, Yoda lamented with a sigh.

“Always with you what cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?”

Luke shook his head.

“Master, moving stones around is one thing.”, he said as he gestured to the submerged X-wing, “This is totally different.”

Galen let out a sigh, wondering how long before his own shuttle sunk down. What was solid-ish ground yesterday was now a couple inches below the water. The ground shifted a good deal here near the water.

“No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Luke nodded.

“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”

Galen groaned before Yoda corrected Luke.

“NO. Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

The brothers looked back at each other, Galen offering a smile.

“Go on, lift your ship.”

He had faith Luke could do it. Luke nodded, then turned back to face the X-wing. Closing his eyes, he reached a hand out just as Yoda often did. Galen looked back and forth between the ship and his brother. Luke had taken on the Empire’s most awful weapon, surely he could handle a little lifting of a ship.

The water rippled, the ship shook. It was rising! Galen sat up, watching with wide eyes as Luke was beginning to lift the ship from the brackish water.

The shuttle then began to sink back down, completely hidden in the water’s depth. Luke sunk backwards, defeated. Falling to his butt next to Yoda, Luke panted for breath.

“I can’t. It’s too big.”

“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hhmm? Hmph! And well you should not, for my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow.”, Yoda said as he looked about.

Continuing, Yoda turned back to Luke, “Its energy surrounds us… and binds us. Luminous beings we are. Not this crude matter.”

Yoda pinched at Luke’s exposed shoulder for emphasis.

“You must feel the Force around you, here- between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes. Even between the land and the ship.”

Luke stood, his attitude no better.

“You want the impossible.”

Galen watched as Luke walked off, dragging in his tiredness. Shaking his head at Luke’s poor attitude, Galen walked off. He had no desire to watch Luke behave this way or to sulk about the state of the X-wing.

R2 beeped and shrieked, calling them both back. Galen ignored it. Yoda would warn them if it was something dangerous. Galen just wanted to walk a while and be left alone to his thoughts.

He walked for over an hour before turning back. It did not do well to leave Luke alone when he was in a bad mood. A little bit of time allowed his brother to think things over. Too much time made him beat himself up and the bad mood turn worse, and inward.

Nothing could have prepared Galen for what he would see when he came back into the clearing where he had been training earlier. Luke’s X-Wing. It was sitting up, out of the water, parked safely inland, moss and muck clinging to it from the watery grave it had been lifted from.

Luke stood nearby, staring at the ground. Galen could feel a churning of emotion from his brother and yet his own excitement bubbled up. Luke had done it! He had mastered this new lesson.

“You brought her up!”

His brother looked up at him, eyes solemn and lips in a flat line.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then how… Master Yoda. He lifted it to prove the point.”

Luke nodded as he turned away. Galen did not follow. He knew where Luke was going and that R2 would be close at hand, ready to send up the alarm if need be.

“Brave, stubborn, proud. Like his father, he is.”

Turning to their diminutive master, Galen wished he could argue.

“He’s brash sometimes, and he can be almost reckless too at times, but… Master Yoda, there is a lot more to him than those traits.”

The old Jedi almost seemed amused for a brief moment, before the clouds of grief returned to his old eyes.

“Like someone else, you sound. Always defending the Skywalker, always seeing the good, the light. But blind you are not. Not as she was.”, Yoda trailed off.

Galen didn’t need a map to make the connection. Luke got compared to his father a lot, but he had a mother. A mother who must have overlooked Anakin’s various faults and loved him enough to have made an impression on all who knew him, as well as having birthed Luke.

“Master Yoda?”

“Hmm.”

Galen let out a breath, trying to talk himself into asking his question.

“Did you know my parents? Or only Luke’s?”

The old master looked up at Galen, a half-smile appearing on his wrinkled face.

“Mallie. Kind, brave, caring, empathic, strong with the Force was she. A credit to the Jedi Order. Skilled with a blade and powerful of will, though gentle. I knew her. Her master, my friend was she. Her pride in Mallie was great.”

Galen smiled.

“I saw her, or a bit of her I suppose, in that tree.”

“She loved you.”

“I could feel it.”

Yoda nodded.

“They left upon learning of impending parenthood. Loved you, they did, enough to risk the wrath of the Jedi Order.”

“Was what they had really so forbidden?”

“A Jedi cannot afford distraction. Marriage, children, families, homes, national allegiances, these are distractions. Vader was turned by his fear of losing that which he loved most- a bride, not the Jedi Order. Love turned to fear, fear turned to anger, and anger to hate, and hate leads to suffering. The dark side waits for such a fall.”

“They never would have taught Luke or I, back in the day then. Our attachment to each other- I would break any rule to protect him, and he would do the same for me.”

Yoda nodded.

“Trained separately, you would be. Kept apart.”

“Perhaps there was a reason the Order fell so swiftly then. When the building and the Elders were gone, what else did everyone have to stand and fight for?”

He walked away, heading to find Luke. No matter how much they might argue or even growl at each other, Galen never doubted that they would always have each other’s backs. They were brothers, first and foremost. It came before being in the Rebellion, before being Jedi.

~*~*~*~*~

Luke and Galen both stood on their hands, feet in the air, Yoda overseeing their attempts to lift various objects. Luke had lifted the larger boxes up, as if proving that he had gotten Yoda’s point that there was no difference between a pebble and an X-wing. Galen was working on getting all seven of the rocks he had picked up, to float evenly in the air at the same height as Master Yoda’s head.

Luke hefted R2 up with the Force. The Droid protested, loudly. Galen rolled his eyes behind his lids.

“Luke, knock it off. You know he doesn’t like it.”

He heard Luke chuckle before putting R2 back down.

“Good. Calm. Yes. Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future. The past… Old friends, long gone.”

Galen was sure Yoda had lapsed into his own thoughts again. Probably an easy and old habit after living as a hermit for so long.

“Han?... Leia?”

Suddenly, everything Luke had been levitating, slammed back to the ground and Luke along with it all. Galen concentrated, reaching out. Chewie was easier for him than Han, or Leia. He reached till he could sense Chewie in the clouded images of the future.

A city, clean and white. Storm troopers. People screaming and scrambling. Leia ahead of Chewie, blaster in hand and anger all over her. Han, confused and… cold, pained. The Falcon, but missing a piece.

Galen came out of his haze to find himself flat on his back, Yoda reprimanding Luke for his lack of concentration.

“I saw… I saw a city in the clouds.”

Galen looked over, remembering how he and Luke had both been having odd dreams for weeks with them walking in a city up in the sky.

“Hmm. Friends you have there.”

“They were in pain.”, Luke panted out, his eyes wide.

Galen could feel their pain and his brother’s panic.

“It is the future you see.”

“Future?”

Luke rose, his mind whirling. Galen sat up and tried again, to reach out and get a sense of something. Anything.

“Will they die?”

“Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.”

“I’ve got to go to them.”

Hearing that, Galen rose to his feet. There was packing to be done, courses to chart, and then they would have to rescue Han, Chewie, 3PO, and Leia. Or stop them from walking into a trap. Whatever this Cloud City offered.

“Decide you must how to serve them best. If you leave now, help them you could, but you would destroy all for which they have fought and suffered.”

Glancing between his brother and their master, Galen was sure he knew the choice Luke would make. He figured Yoda did, too.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Luke came down the ladder from his X-wing under the steady eyes of Master Yoda. With his flight suit on, Luke knew he left little room for Yoda to hope he had changed his mind. And with Galen doing some last-minute prep on his own ship, it was clear he would lose both apprentices in one day.

“Luke, you must complete the training.”

“I can’t keep the vision out of my head. They’re my friends, I gotta help them.”

“You must not go!”

Luke spun, growling back at his master.

“But Han and Leia will die if I don’t!”

“You don’t know that. Even Yoda cannot see their fate.”, Obi-wan interjected as his ghostly image appeared beside Yoda’s more solid form.

“But I can help them. I feel the Force.”

Obi-wan answered firmly, “But you cannot control it.”

Galen moved closer, though Luke knew his brother would likely remain silent in this argument. Luke almost wondered if Galen would stay, if not for Luke’s insistence on going to help Leia, Han, Chewie, and 3PO.

“This is a dangerous time for you,” Obi-wan continued, “when you will be tempted by the dark side of the Force.”

“Yes! Yes! To Obi-wan you listen. The cave- remember your failure at the cave.”

Galen did step in then, his anger bright enough for Luke to feel it.

“Failure? What part of seeing your face in your enemy is a failure? That seems like empathy to me, and that’s one of the traits you two preach is a boon to a Jedi.”

Luke laid a hand on Galen’s arm, quieting Galen’s temper somewhat.

“But I’ve learned so much since then. We both have. And I was alone in the cave. I won’t be alone this time.”

Neither Master appeared to be convinced.

“Master Yoda, I promise to return and finish what I’ve begun.”, Luke said as he finished a couple checks on the X-wing.

“You have my word.”, he added as Yoda looked defeatedly down to his feet.

“It is you and your abilities the Emperor wans. Both of you. That is why your friends are made to suffer.”

Luke pulled his head out of the wing to look back at them.

“That’s why I have to go.”

His brother looked to their Masters.

“We can’t leave them to suffer because we know they are bait. That’s not how this works.”

Obi-wan tried one last plea. Luke could tell it was the last-ditch attempt to talk sense into him.

“Luke, I don’t want to lose you to the Emperor the way I lost Vader.”

Smiling slightly, he made a promise.

“You won’t.”

“Stopped they must be. On this all depends. Only a fully trained Jedi, with the Force as his ally, will conquer Vader and his Emperor. If you end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil.”

Luke wasn’t fast enough to stop Galen from moving to be between Luke and their Masters.

“You don’t know that. Said it yourself, the future is hard to see and constantly in motion.”

“We have seen it before.”, Obi-wan pointed out.

“You saw what happened to Vader, not to Luke, not to me. My parents defected and went and lived their own lives, and they didn’t fall. Not everyone to steps away from your rules, turns into Vader or one of the Emperor’s lackies.”

Luke moved up to his brother’s side, a hand to Galen’s shoulder.

“Patience.”, Obi-wan tried.

“And sacrifice Han and Leia?”, Luke challenged.

“If you honor what they fight for… yes.”

“If you choose to face Vader, you will do it alone.”

Luke felt as if he had been sucker punched. Not only did they have no faith in him, they would not help him if he did have need of it. This was not what he had expected when he pledged to be Obi-wan’s apprentice to learn the ways of his father and Obi-wan.

“He won’t be alone.”, Galen reiterated, “He’ll have me.”

“I cannot interfere.”, Obi-wan added.

“I understand.”, Luke answered, feeling Galen’s anger move up another notch.

“R2, fire up the converter.”, Luke ordered as he made his way up the ladder.

Galen stepped away, moving back to their masters again. Luke did not hear what was said, though he could tell it only made Obi-wan and Yoda look more disappointed while Galen seemed to have let off a bit of steam.

“LUKE! Don’t give in to hate. That leads to the Dark side.”

“Strong is Vader. Mind what you have learned. Save you it can.”

“I will.”, Luke promised.

Both Masters seemed to turn their attention to Galen as he strapped himself into the ship he had arrived in.

“Remember, a fight against Vader will never be a fair fight.”

“Mind your bond, bind you it does.”

Galen gave a single nod before pulling his helmet over his head. Luke watched for a second before finishing the take-off sequence. Obi-wan and Yoda watched as their young padawans powered up their ships and readied to take off. Soon, they would be gone off to face Vader, barely any training to their credit and no masters at their sides to guide or shield them.

As the two ships took off, Yoda let out a sigh. Obi-wan knew what was coming.

“Told you, I did. Reckless is he. Now, matters are worse.”

“Luke felt he had to go.”

“Where one goes, so two must the other.”

“Those boys are our last hope.”

“No. There is another.”

“She is no more trained than they, and less aware of her connection to the Force than Luke ever was.”

“Yes. Her training is not a Jedi’s, but a politician’s. Bail would have made an excellent Jedi, his training has saved her before. It could again.”

“He was a fighter, and he was good at inspiring people.”

“Missed he is, his legacy is alive and well in his daughter.”

“She is not an Organa.”

“But she is trained like one. That will make the difference.”

Chapter Text

A short while later, they were at their destination. Galen could see it looming ahead of them as he flanked Luke’s X-wing. The sense of doom from his dreams, permeated every thought as Galen flew. Cloud City, just like he and Luke’s dreams.

R2’s chirps came across the comm, as did Luke’s response.

“No, 3P0’s with them.”

More chirps.

“Just hang on, we’re almost there.”

After Dagobah, with all the brackish water, swampy ground, and permanently overcast, then the time out in the black, Galen was almost blinded by Cloud City. Puffy, bright white clouds set against a pale blue sky, the gleaming city itself, and glowing sunlight were a stark contrast to Dagobah.

The pair landed a couple minutes later. As they got out of their ships, Galen felt it. A presence. Dark, angry, pained. It was seeking something, or someone.

Luke walked over, as a lift was pulling R2 down, his flight suit tied at his waist. Galen pointed to the bright orange of it.

“Might want to lose that. If we have to hide, that won’t help.”

“Good point.”

As Luke shucked out of the suit and yanked his boots back on, Galen kept watch. It was too quiet. Too still.

“Why hasn’t anyone come out to meet us?”

“It was odd that no one came to check us out when we were flying in. Maybe this is like other places Han has flown us into, stays under the radar, doesn’t exactly vet clientele.”

Galen shook his head.

“That’s not it. There should at least be a droid come out here to offer to work on our ship, or collect a fee for us parking here.”

Luke looked around as his hand drifted to his blaster.

“You’re right.”

R2 rolled over to them, chirping a report that there were no droids anywhere nearby. No life forms either.

“That confirms it. This is definitely a trap.”

Galen nodded his agreement.

“Alright. We just walk until we have to make a choice about where we turn. Got your blaster?”

Reaching into the small pack on his back, Galen retrieved a blaster a bit larger than Luke’s sidearm. His was more like what the Storm Troopers carried.

“I’ll go first, you keep an eye on our back, and R2- you stick between us. Let us know if you pick up anything.”

The droid gave an affirmative beep. They began their trek towards what the schematic said was the center of the city. Just as they rounded a corner, Luke heard footsteps. He fell back, his blaster ready, his other arm waving to R2 and Galen. He looked. It was a bounty hunter in some kind of armored suit.

Luke looked back to Galen, mouthing the words BOUNTY HUNTER to his brother. Galen arched an eyebrow. It made sense if the place was what Han’s few friends tended to be found at, though with the Empire there to lay out a trap for Luke, it seemed like unnecessary overkill to have bounty hunters there when they had their Storm troopers.

Looking back around the corner, Luke watched the short procession. Something frozen in carbonite was being steered as it hovered, by two Imperial Officers, followed by a pair of storm troopers. Whatever the cargo was they were taking must not have been too valuable to the Empire, or it would have been much more heavily guarded. Or, Luke supposed, they found he and Galen more worthy of whatever forces were in the city.

Once it was clear, he waved for R2 and Galen to follow again. They had to find Leia, Han, Chewie, and 3P0. And they needed to find them quickly. Luke wasn’t sure how long he and Galen’s luck would hold.

R2 beeped quietly, drawing Luke’s attention from the backs of the storm troopers. Luke waved the droid off, not wishing to hear the admonishment about how bad an idea this was. Just as Luke looked up, the bounty hunter was standing where the storm troopers had been, firing at Luck.

“So much for a quiet entry.”, Galen groused as he hid from the blaster shots.

“Yeah.”

Luke fired back once quickly.

“Any plans?”

R2 beeped. He had picked up Leia, Chewie, and C3-P0 with some others. They weren’t far away, if they could just get past the bounty hunter shooting at them.

After a long momnt without being shot at, Luke and Galen nodded to each other, then moved into the hall. They tried to use the scant cover as best they could, R2 swiftly rolling between them as they followed the direction the bounty hunter went.

R2 directed them down a hall, to the left of where the bounty hunter had gone to. Both moved as instructed. Luke saw a man in blue, followed by an Imperial officer. A second later, Luke was falling back to avoid blaster fire.

Galen and Luke both made runs, weaving back and forth through the hall’s curves to pursue the group. They were determined to get their friends back, no matter how many officers or storm troopers they had to get through. Galen could hear Chewie warning them off, that Han was gone and they needed to run. Leia too began screaming.

“Luke! Luke, don’t, it’s a trap! IT’S A TRAP!”

The group disappeared behind another door, leaving the hall silent. Galen had a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling. The brothers exchanged a look, then began moving towards the door their friends had been taken through.

Luke took the first step through the door, R2 right behind him as Galen turned to check their backs. It wouldn’t do for them to get backshot before they got to Leia and everyone. R2 let out a distressed chirping as Galen heard a hiss. He turned to see the doorway shutting right in front of R2.

Galen moved, slamming his hand against the door. It didn’t budge. He called Luke’s name, receiving no answer.

“R2, you work on the door, I’m gonna see if there’s a way around.”

The droid chirped in the affirmative, his arm already moving out to connect to the city’s computers.

~*~*~*~

Luke turned around as he was brought up on the lift, to what appeared to be a packing room. He could smell the dry, cold smoke of carbonite machines. The room had an eerie glow to it, despite how dimly lit it was. Luke didn’t like it.

What he liked even less, was that the door closing and the lift pulling him up here, had cut him off from Galen, and R2. He was unsure how to get to Leia, Chewie, and 3-P0, now that he wasn’t on the same level.

The lights came up, creating an orange outline of everything around Luke. He put his blaster down, already able to sense who was in here with him. Then, he heard the tell-tale mechanical breathing hissing in the darkness.

“The Force is with you, young Skywalker.”

Vader.

“But you are not a Jedi, yet.”

Luke walked up the stairs to where Vader stood aloft on platform nearer to the carbonite machine. The hum of machines, the hiss of Vader’s breathing, and Luke’s steps were the only sounds. No workers, no fighting. The trap had been sprung.

~^~^~^~

Galen turned the corner, still trying to locate either Chewie with his group, or a path to Luke. Instead, he found an armed woman with nearly white hair, aiming her sidearm at Galen’s temple.

“Who are you?”

He turned his head slightly, to get a better look. She was beautiful, though what struck him was the sense he got from her. Fear, determination, and confusion.

“You’re not Security?”, he asked.

“No, and neither are you, in that outfit.”

He wore the basic gray uniform of the Rebel forces. Due to how often he moved, repaired his suit, or even traded when his were too badly damaged, he had no rank or other insignia on the jacket. It was as plain as Luke’s, with a little more engine grease staining the cuffs.

“I’m looking for my friends. They were captured by Imperials. My brother and I came to rescue them.”

“Where’s your brother?”

“We got separated.”

She seemed to consider him and his words. Then she lowered her weapon and took a step backward. She was out of his arm’s reach. Smart woman.

“I’m smuggling parts to Holdo, one of your Rebels. When Vader showed up, I sent her a coded message warning her off. Your friends must be the ones Vader is here for, if you ignored the message.”

Galen hadn’t known about the message, though he decided to play along.

“Yes. We want to rescue them before he takes them out of the City.”

The blonde considered.

“They already took one, the bounty hunter Boba Fett came for somebody, and I already spotted him leaving. He had somebody encased in carbonite.”

“That should have killed a person.”

“I could see life signs on the side of the slat. Whoever they froze, they’re still alive, technically.”

Galen figured it couldn’t be Leia, even if he hadn’t seen her. It wasn’t Chewie or 3-PO, so it had to be Han. This Fett would take him to the Huts for the sizeable bounty on Han’s head.

“Will you help me find my brother and rescue our friends?”

“My ship’s out of commission. I help you, you’ll fly me out of here?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t even know who I am.”

“If you help us, I don’t care who you are.”

She nodded.

“Alright. Go back down the hall you came out of, I know a way to get around to the docking bay where they’ll probably take your friends to. Once we get them out, we can find your brother.”

Galen agreed. If he had Chewie and Leia, along with this woman, the four of them stood a much better chance of getting Luke out of whatever trouble he might have found himself in. Then, they could get Han.

The woman followed Galen back to R2. The droid growled in his beeps about not being able to find Luke and that Han was already gone. Galen ushered the droid to follow along. The droid asked about Luke.

“I promise, we’ll get him back. First, we need Leia and Chewie.”

The three of them moved quickly, with the blonde giving directions non-verbally as they moved. Then, as they came around one last corner, they found Chewie hastily moving down ahead of them, with 3-P0 in pieces, strapped to the Wookie’s back.

R2 chirped at his golden friend while Galen ushered the blonde to come with him. They had found their friends and they had no guard.

“R2! Where have you been, I’ve been looking all over for you!”, 3-P0 shouted.

Chewie paused, looking around to see R2, Galen, and their new friend. Galen waved for him to keep going and the Wookie did. 3-P0 grousing the whole time as they followed Leia and the guy in blue.

They finally came to a door at one of the platforms. The man in blue punched in some codes, getting the door to open in time for them to watch the bounty hunter’s ship flying away. The hopelessness of their situation did not deter Chewbacca from firing several shots at the retreating ship.

“OH NO! CHEWIE, THEIR BEHIND YOU!”, 3-P0 warned as shots came at their group.

Everyone took cover except R2 and Galen. The little droid moved towards a connecter while Galen deflected shots with his lightsaber. Chewie ushered Leia past, while the man in blue fired shots around Galen and the blonde woman ran beside Leia.

They kept running till they reached a lift that the man in blue typed something into. Galen suspected the man was a higher-up at Cloud City, and had some kind of override he was typing in for them to use. Chewie and the man in blue both pushed Leia behind them, Galen pushing R2 and the blonde woman in ahead of him. The seven of them were tightly packed as the lift took them away from the storm troopers they were evading.

At last, they reached where the Falcon was docked. The man in blue typed in his codes, then growled.

“The security code’s been changed.”

“R2!”, 3-P0 shouted, “You can tell the computer to override the security systems.”

While R2 went to work, the man in blue typed something at another panel, prompting a small comm device to pop out. The man sighed before speaking into the device.

“Attention, this is Lando Calrissian. Attention. The Empire has taken control of the city. I advise everyone to leave before more Imperial troops arrive.”

He no sooner finished than the city’s computer fought back against R2, blasting him with a strong, electrical shock. Chewie and Galen yanked R2 away, the little droid’s head spinning wildly as he cursed at the computer.

Lando looked over at them, his face grim.

“Follow me.”

They all ran after him without pause or question. R2 beeped angrily at 3-PO, the two bickering a bit while the party ran. It was clear that they were not moving with the same goal as the people around them, as they were swimming upstream whilst everyone else went the opposite way, in full panic and terror. Lando had to dodge and weave a path, the rest of them following along.

Troopers caught up and began firing. Galen blocked with his lightsaber and Chewie fired back, keeping as close to Galen as he dared with a lightsaber in motion. The blonde woman kept close to Leia as they moved to shield R2, who was once more plugging into the city’s computer.

Despite all that was going on around them, Galen could still feel Luke through their bond. Fear, anger, confusion, and pain. Whatever was happening to Luke, it was like the terror Galen had felt in his dreams for weeks now.

R2 got the door clear, despite his worries over the hyperdrive on Han’s ship, allowing them all a path to the Falcon. Galen ushered Chewie and the blonde woman on, shielding them with his lightsaber as they ran. Lando went for Leia, who was still shooting down the one hall towards the second set of troopers.

Galen and R2 were the last to leave, with R2 leaving a cloud of smoke to obscure the vision of the troopers. Their helmets would not be equipped to see through the smoke, only to filter it so they could breathe. Galen deflected the wild shots fired through the fog as he backed towards the Falcon and R2 paced him.

Lando shouted for them to hurry. Galen couldn’t disagree. Using the Force, he yanked the blast door down to cut off the storm troopers. Once that was done, he took off running for the Falcon, R2 rushing beside him.

Chewie and the blonde ran inside, towards the cockpit, Galen and Lando shoving Leia ahead of them. Once Chewie put 3-P0 down, R2 began caring for his golden friend and Leia joined Chewie at the helm. Lando, Galen, and the blonde all stood to the back of the cockpit.

As they took off, Galen felt a searing pain at his right wrist, knocking the wind from his lungs. Lando just did catch him before he hit his knees. As he panted for breath, he noticed that Leia shook her head, a grimace on her face as if she had just seen or smelled something disgusting.

“You alright?”, Lando asked.

Galen tried to nod.

“Luke’s in trouble.”, he barely got out.

Chewie growled back. He wanted to go for Han, but he wouldn’t leave Luke behind.

“I know, Chewie.”, Galen offered.

Lando and the blonde helped Galen straighten. Leia and Chewie piloted them off, trying to figure out where Luke might have ended up and how they would get him. Lando had suggested they hang close, and Luke could meet up with them once he had left the city, as Lando guessed when Luke couldn’t find anyone, he would leave. Leia suggested they stick close, but would need to stay just out of scanner range for the City itself.

As Chewie was moving towards where they intended to hover close, Leia went rigid and Galen mirrored her, both of them whispering in unison.

“Luke.”

Leia turned back, looking at Galen.

“Luke?”

He nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Leia and Chewie changed the heading.

“We gotta get Luke.”, she said to explain to Lando and the blonde.

They turned, moving back to the city. Soon, Lando and Leia were scanning the city’s exterior, looking for Luke. Galen had already gone to the plank, waiting for someone to let him out so he could retrieve his brother.

“Look, there’s someone up there.”, he heard Lando say.

“It’s Luke. Chewie, slow down. Slow down, and we’ll get under him.”

Galen was confused. What was Luke on if they had to get under him? Had his brother gotten to the edge of a landing platform, but not to one that had his X-wing or another workable ship on it?

“Lando, open the top hatch.”, Leia ordered.

Galen moved, catching Lando halfway to the hatch.

“I’ll go up, you take the controls?”, Lando asked.

Galen nodded. As bad as he had been swaying on his feet before, being closer to Luke was making the sensations more intense. It would not be good for him to be half-hanging out of the top hatch. Leia didn’t need to try a double rescue.

Galen could hear the tie fighters just as Luke fell into the hatch with Lando. It had been a rough landing by the sound of it. Galen hit the button to bring them back down and close the hatch behind them.

“Lando?”, came Leia’s voice over the comms.

“I got him. Let’s get out of here.”

Galen was glad Lando did not sound like he was in a panic, yet there was a grim touch to the other man’s voice that worried Galen. When the lift came down out of the hatch tunnel, Galen was finally able to see his brother. He was huddled into himself, his jacket torn up and face beaten.

Lando helped Luke step out of the lift and into Galen’s side. Luke was unsteady on his feet and when he reached to catch something, to stabilize himself, his right hand was… gone. A cauterized stump remained where once a healthy wrist held a hand.

Galen felt sick. He knew what left that kind of mark. Lightsabers.

Pulling Luke into his side, he walked with Lando to get Luke up front. Lando, from what Galen overheard at some point during their escape, was familiar with the Falcon and Leia would no doubt want to see Luke. Lando grabbed a blanket to throw over Luke’s shoulders and back, the time spent outside hanging to the underside of the city, had left him chilled through.

When they reached the cockpit, Leia turned to see Luke. Trading with Lando, she reached to hold Luke.

“Oh, Leia.”

“Luke?”, she said as she held him close.

They walked Luke back to the small medical area of the Falcon. Galen helped get Luke into the cot while Leia grabbed the gear to hook Luke up. The ship bounced and bucked, the sound of incoming fire from the Tie fighters, all serving to remind them of the fight they were still in.

Leia leaned, kissing Luke on his cheek as they bounced, “I’ll be back.”

She nodded to Galen. He was no great pilot, but as a mechanic he knew about hooking up machines, and his time in the Rebellion had given him some chance to learn a little field medicine. He worked to finish getting Luke taken care of, starting with Luke’s stub.

As Galen was putting a monitor on Luke for his heart rate and other vitals, they heard the sound of the warp drive trying to engage, then puttering out. The brothers exchanged a look.

“R2 did try to warn us.”, Galen said as he finished with the monitor.

“Go.”, Luke urged Galen.

Galen shook his head, but Luke said it again.

“Go.”

Luke was right, they needed a mechanic. Luke was hooked up and there was little else they could do for him till they got someplace that had real medical staff. Galen growled, then rushed off, meeting Chewie as Chewie was pulling back floor panels to get at the guts of the Falcon.

As Galen moved down in, he overheard R2 and 3-P0 arguing. R2 reiterated that there was an issue, though this time he was more specific. The hyperdrive had been deactivated at Cloud City. Galen moved, knowing exactly what he and Chewie needed to do in order to avoid the tractor beam from the Imperial cruisers.

Chewie worked at the one end, Galen uptop. Together, they were working as quickly as they could to undo what had been done to the Falcon. R2 rolled over, coming to a third spot, and reaching with his arm to dig into the wiring. He twisted something and they all heard the engine engage as R2 fell backwards with a shriek.

Galen moved, helping Chewie get the little droid out of the hole Chewie had been working in. Over, standing on one leg, 3-P0 cheered for R2. Their relationship reminded Galen so much of Beru and Owen at times.

Once they had R2 taken care of, Galen moved to the cockpit. Leia was standing at the doorway, helping keep Luke on his feet while Lando and the blonde woman appeared to be at the helm. Luke had looked pained and tired before, now he looked… broken. Leia appeared to have noticed as well.

“Ben… why didn’t you tell me?”, Luke whispered so quietly Galen had to lip-read him.

“I got him. Get the blanket.”

Galen helped hold Luke up, guiding him back to the medical area as Leia pulled the blankets back and helped settle Luke in. He fell asleep almost instantly once he was warmer under the blankets. Galen and Leia exchanged a look of concern.

Stepping away and over to the results from the monitors, they spoke in hushed tones to avoid startling Luke awake.

“What happened to him?”, Leia asked.

“I think he confronted Vader alone.”

“What?”

“His hand was removed with a lightsaber blow, and his lightsaber is gone. It was his father’s, he wouldn’t have dropped it carelessly.”

She looked back at Luke.

“The medical unit in the convoy will be able to help him. Maybe a prosthetic hand to replace the one he lost. I’ve seen them do it before.”

“This whispering and his eyes, they concern me more than the loss of his hand.”

“He whispered a couple times for Ben, and asked why Ben didn’t tell him, but he didn’t say what it was Ben didn’t tell him.”

“Ben and Yoda warned us before we left that if we came for you, they wouldn’t help us. That we would be on our own.”

Leia reached, grasping Galen’s hand. Galen couldn’t recall such a gesture from her before to him.

“We’ll take care of him. We’ll get him to the convoy, we’ll figure out where they took Han, and then we’ll rescue Han, Luke can take some time to recover, and we’ll figure out our next step.”

Galen nodded.

“I’ve got him. You look wrung out, Galen. Why don’t you get some rest? It’ll be a couple hours before we catch up with the convoy.”

“I’ll go check on our new friend, first.”

“Juno.”

“Pardon?”

“Her name is Juno. Holdo has mentioned her a few times and I recognize the scar on her left hand from the crash that left the Empire thinking she was dead, as well a her general description. Holdo leaves very little to the imagination when speaking of new friends she’s found for herself, or the Rebellion. I think she wants us all to be able to hunt down anyone who betrays us, even if Holdo isn’t there to ID the person.”

“Makes sense.”

“She’s been selling stuff to Holdo for a while, for the Rebellion to use. Info, parts, weapons, medicine, even the occasional spy.”

“Why?”

“She used to be an Imperial pilot. Best of the best. Top of her class, served with distinguishment. Then, she had to help kill millions in one fell swoop. Shortly after, she and her crew were left for dead after a crash. She became a smuggler, her two crew members that survived the crash, have both since ended up dead by the hands of bounty hunters.”

“Her ship was grounded, that’s why she was in Cloud City.”

“She’s had a few ships, since she left the Empire. Always been good at cleaning her records so anything she had was scrubbed. She never came to our basis, always met Holdo somewhere, in order to help shield the locations of our bases.”

“She sounds like a good ally.”

“After today, she’s probably going to have to be a full-time member. Her ship’s gone, her favorite spot to meet Holdo is compromised, and she’s helped us pretty openly. Someone may have seen her and been able to identify her back to Vader.”

Galen nodded, then looked back to Luke. His brother was still muttering a bit in his sleep, his face contorted as he did so. Leia let out a breath.

“We’ll get him to the convoy. Even Han wouldn’t disagree, we have to take care of Luke first.”

He nodded. She was right.

“Get some rest, Galen. I’ll wake you when we reach the convoy.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you for coming to get us.”

Galen took two steps before Leia stopped him.

“Galen?”

He turned back to face her.

“You said you spoke to Obi-wan and Yoda. How did you speak to Obi-wan and who is Yoda?”

“Obi-wan manifests himself to speak to Luke and I. Usually, we can only hear him. He’s been helping Master Yoda, an older Jedi on Dagobah, to train us while we’ve been gone. Luke and I had visions of what was going on with you at Cloud City. They tried to caution us that Vader was waiting, it was a trap, that you all were bait to bring us in, that the Emperor wanted the two of us, and that if we went, neither of them could help us. We went anyway.”

“You should have left us.”

“No.”

Galen turned back and walked out of the room. He headed out to the sleeping area. He did not count on getting much rest, though he would try.

~^~^~^~

Galen watched as Luke had the final bits of the connection done between his new prosthetic and his wrist. Leia and Juno were at the bay window, watching. Lando’s voice came through on the comm, alerting them that their friends were ready.

“Luke, we’re ready for takeoff.”

“Good luck, Lando.”

Chewie called his own wishes for Galen to look after Leia and Luke.

“When we find Jabba the Hut and that bounty hunter, we’ll contact you.”

“I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point on Tatooine.”

“Princess, we’ll find Han. I promise.”, Lando once more assured Leia.

Galen glanced over to see her hovering near, having come over to better hear the comm and perhaps check on Luke again.

“Chewie, I’ll be waiting for your signal. Take care, you two. May the Force be with you”

Galen, Leia, and Luke all smiled as Chewie wished for the Force to be with them, and to stop worrying. Leia moved back over to the window, with Juno sitting at the corner watching and Leia standing in her bright white gown against the black of space.

The medical droid checked Luke’s ability to sense pressure and pain in his fingertips and palm. Luke passed, then wiggled his fingers on his new hand while the droid closed up the hatch on the wrist area. Galen knew they had needed to remove the tip of the stump to get as living tissue for the prosthetic to join with. He was mostly glad Luke was not in pain.

Luke hopped up from the chair and moved over to Leia’s side. Galen followed. The four of them watched as the Falcon moved from her docking spot out into space.

R2 and 3-P0 moved to join them, R2 offering that he wished Lando and Chewie luck. 3-P0 gently patted his friend’s dome. Luke put his arm around Leia’s shoulders, the two leaning on each other. Galen was propped against the far-left edge of the window, Juno sitting at the bottom-right. Together they watched as the Falcon launched into hyperdrive.

~^~^~^~

A bit later, Galen heard footsteps approaching as he worked on repairing a small, agile ship. For bringing their Princess and the only two Jedi known to still breathe, back to the Rebellion, Juno had been given a small ship as payment. It needed a bit of work before she could smuggle with it. Galen had offered to do the work while Luke waited and recuperated.

“Leia said you’re doing the bulk of the repairs on my ship.”, Juno Eclipse said as she moved to crouch next to Galen.

He turned his head to offer her a nod. He still thought she was beautiful. Like the angels Beru used to talk about when he and Luke were little.

“You helped me save my brother. It’s the least I could do.”

“I helped you find your party, that was it. Hardly seems worth a whole ship.”

“You helped bring back their Princess, who is kind of a figurehead around here, a symbol of hope for the whole rebellion. Plus, they have a thing about Luke and I, since we’re Jedi.”

“Jedi, like Vader?”

“Not exactly. He’s a former Jedi, he fell to the dark side. Luke and I are Jedi-in-training.”

“If you two are the last ones left, who is training you?”

“That is a complicated, highly classified answer, I’m told.”

“I figured I would just get a ‘none of your business’, so that’s an improvement.”

Galen smiled over at her.

“Sure you don’t want to stick around? Be a full-time member of the Rebellion?”

“I’m sure. I’ve already been a part of the bigger picture, the military might of a political organization. I’m done with that now. I like being my own person.”

From what he had heard over the past two days, Galen could not say that he blamed her.

“How did you and your brother end up working with the Rebellion, or is that also classified?”, she asked with a small smirk to indicate she was teasing a little.

“An old Jedi, our uncle had purchased two droids who were convinced they belonged to this old Jedi, and there was a message from Leia to this old Jedi. The older Jedi, Obi-wan, he asked Luke and I to come with him to save her. He said he couldn’t do it alone, that he was too old and without help, so we came with him. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Juno handed him the tool he was about to need, letting him trade out, so she could put his other tool away.

“You two don’t look much alike.”

“No.”

“You’re taller, thicker, paler, with dark hair and eyes to his blond and blue ones. Honestly, if I just saw halo shots of each of you, I wouldn’t even peg you for cousins.”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to say that.”

“What’d you take after mama and he took after papa?”

Galen let out a small sigh. Perhaps it would be good to talk to someone, even a smuggler he was rarely see again.

“Our uncle and aunt weren’t really related to either of us. Luke’s grandmother was married to our uncle’s father for a time, and when Luke’s father and mother died, Obi-wan took Luke to our Aunt and Uncle and asked them to raise Luke. Four years later, when my father died and my mother was already gone, Obi-wan brought me to our Aunt and asked her to raise me with Luke, since we were the same age, we were both Jedi, and he thought it was do both of us good to have another child around rather than being so alone, plus, it was easier for him to protect us if we were together. So we grew up together. I barely remember anything before coming to live with Beru and Owen, and Luke was only a few days old when they took him in, so he didn’t have any memories of anyone but them.”

Juno was quiet for a long moment.

“Explains why the two of you don’t look alike. Seeing the two of you together though, there’d be no denying the two of you are brothers. Not to mention how you reacted when he was injured and almost died, although Leia seemed aware too, of his position.”

Galen nodded.

“They are close.”

Juno arched a thin, pale eyebrow. It appeared she didn’t buy it any more than Galen did, that it was as simple as Luke caring a great deal for his friend. Galen had his suspicions that Leia was also Jedi. Her ability to tell when people were lying, her sense for when something bad was about to happen, that she resisted the droid that tried to interrogate her with torture and drugs back on the death star, and now her knowing Luke needed them.

“How do you know if you’re a Jedi?”

Galen shrugged.

“I didn’t know till Obi-wan told us, and even then, I wasn’t entirely convinced.”

“Why not?”

Again, Galen shrugged.

“I was just a farm boy and mechanic on Tatooine. Jedi had been great warriors, diplomats, and bodyguards to royalty.”

Juno gave him a small smile.

“Sometimes greatness comes from humble beginnings.”

“Sometimes, but it didn’t feel that way for me. When the storm troopers killed Beru and Owen, Luke and I had nowhere else to go, so Luke leapt at Obi-wan’s offer to train us and for us to come with him to rescue Leia. I came along because there was nothing left for me on Tatooine and I couldn’t let Luke do something so foolish by himself.”

“You’re a good brother, then.”

“I have my days.”, Galen said with a small smirk.

Juno nodded, then rose back onto her feet and walked away. Galen really liked this woman. Letting out a sigh, he returned his attention back to the ship he was working on.

Chapter Text

Luke/Leia/Galen - Age 21

Galen looked at the maps and chart in front of him. It didn’t look good. The bounty hunter that took Han, had jumped around enough to make it nearly impossible for Lando and Chewie to track him.

Luke, as Galen had expected, felt guilty over the whole thing. He was the one Vader wanted, he was the first to voice concern with Yoda and Obi-wan, he had gotten himself separated from Luke, and Leia had to abandon the rescue mission for Han in order to come save Luke instead. No matter how much Leia tried to convince him otherwise, no matter what Chewie and Lando said, and no matter Galen’s objections to Luke’s logic, the man still blamed himself entirely.

“Lando says he only has one more place to look, and if Han’s there… To say it will be complicated would be an understatement.”

“Where?”, Galen asked as he looked up at Leia.

As usual, she was dressed in white and moved about with the authority of someone accustomed to giving orders. In the months they had been looking for Han, Galen and Leia had grown somewhat closer. They still had lightyears to go before they approached how close Leia was with Luke or Galen was with Chewie.

“Tatooine.”

“Pardon?”

Leia sighed.

“Jubba’s palace, to be more specific.”

Galen cursed in Shyriiwook. Leia let out a sympathetic sigh.

“I know. This isn’t what either of us wanted to hear.”

“No, it isn’t.”

He stepped away from the table and crossed to the port hole. The floating station they were currently waiting for Lando on, had an amazing view of the stars. Usually, looking up at them gave Galen some measure of comfort. Not today.

Leia moved to stand beside Galen. Not for the first time, he was struck by how small and almost fragile she seemed at first glance. Her hands were not aged and work-roughened like Aunt Baru’s had been, she was not as stout of Luke’s one mechanic friend Neesi, nor did she have the dangerous air about her Juno could claim.

“We’ll get Han back.”

Galen nodded.

“Sooner or later, yes. I’d just prefer sooner.”

“I feel the same.”, Leia agreed, before turning and leaving the room.

It had been almost nine months since they had last laid eyes on Han, frozen in carbonite. As guilty as Luke felt, Galen worried a bit more for Leia. She had been trying to be strong for everyone, especially Luke, all the while she had also been leading the Rebellion.

A beeping alerted Galen that someone wanted to speak with him. He went to the door only to find Juno Eclipse casually leaned against the doorframe. She had healed up from her last mission, a small, faint bruise on her neck being the only sign he could still find of her almost-capture. Her smirk, however, was more attention grabbing at the moment.

“What if I told you that I’ve got a few crates full of the most delicious java you’ve ever had, and I just need some help unloading it?”

“I’d say you must be Juno, and you must be looking for some strong, muscled person to help you unload your cargo.”

Her grin widened.

“Smart Rebel.”

Galen walked with her, asking of her latest trip to get intel for Leia and the Rebellion, with the heavily caffeinated beverage being the cover for why she was in the system she was in. After a couple minutes, they reached her ship, and Juno seemed to be done with the topic of her latest mission.

“How goes the search?”

He let out a sigh. Juno reached, a pale hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him, her eyes searching his face. Galen knew that interpersonal interactions weren’t Juno’s strong suite.

“Still no sign of him. We’ve got a lead, probably our last one.”

“If Fett took him, and you’ve already gone through the Big Three he might have taken Han to, it’s time to check the Hutts out.”

“We checked them out first, but there was no sign of Fett’s ship and from what Lando could sneak, bribe, threaten, and trade for, no one had seen Boba Fett in almost a year on Tatooine.”

Juno nodded as she started to undo some of the clasps holding her cargo in place.

“He could have ducked someplace, held out for a while, till he was sure you all had finished scouting Tatooine. Once he was in the clear, he could come right on in without the least bit of worry that you might be waiting for him.”

Until she said it, Galen hadn’t thought about it that way. He wondered if Leia or Lando had. Chewie was a smuggler with Han, though deviousness didn’t come naturally to the Wookie the way it did to Han, Lando, and Juno.

“Lando and Chewie are doing one last look, so they should find him… unless he’s been moved, like you say.”

Juno nodded as they finished getting her cargo offloaded to a hovercart. A mechanic came over, offering to take the cargo of caffeine away to the mess. Juno smiled as she told the guy to go ahead and take it for her.

“You like being back, on the base with us Rebels.”

Arching a pale eyebrow, Juno regarded him with an unreadable expression.

“What makes you say that?”

“Your smile.”

Even as she looked away, Galen was sure he detected a hint of a blush. Now he was sure he had been right. Galen smiled as they made their way to meet with Leia and the other top brass of the Rebellion. If Juno was going to go for another run, Galen would need to know if her ship needed any work done to outfit it for the job.

~^~^~^~^~^~

Lando excitedly ran through the halls. He had to reach Leia and Galen immediately. Chewie jogged behind him, easily able to overtake Lando’s top speed if the wookie wished.

Chewie let out an exclamation Lando recognized. He was not so fluent as Han was at understanding the Wookie’s growls, purrs, whines, and groans, but he understood enough. Looking up, he spotted Luke rushing towards them.

“You’ve found Han?”

“We’ve found Han!”

Luke excitedly received Chewie’s exuberant hug of greeting and excitement at the prospect of getting Han back. Lando just smiled as he caught his breath. He wasn’t sure he had actually drawn a decent breath since learning where his old friend was.

“Leia’s in her quarters. Come on.”, Luke said before turning to leave.

Lando and Chewie followed. As expected, Leia’s rooms were not the largest or most lavish on the base. Luke opened the door and as they all piled in, Lando almost wanted to shake his head. Everything about Leia’s room practically screamed, ‘Practical’. It was near enough to both the landing pads and the central hub for her to get into a fighter or plan a battle, within five minutes of waking from her bed, utilitarian furnishings, a window just big enough for her to probably escape through if she had to but too small for a storm trooper to get in, and the box that held her personal gear could have fit into one of the backpacks Luke favored.

“You’ve found Han.”, Leia said, already waiting as they scooted into her room.

The way she, Luke, and Galen would just know things, would never stop freaking Lando out. Chewie claimed that a person got used to it after a while. Lando wasn’t sure he would.

“They did!’

Leia turned to Lando and Chewie, her face expectant but her eyes… fearful. Lando hadn’t expected that. Sometimes he forgot just how much the Princess seemed to care for the old smuggler who had stolen the Falcon.

“He’s on Tatooine.”

Leia and Luke’s eyes went wide. The petite brunette reached, the blond’s hand moving to take it.

“Is he alive?”

Lando nodded at her question.

“Frozen in the carbonite. Boba brought him recently. They must have had Boba take him someplace else first, or Boba was doing an excellent job of dodging us until he thought we weren’t going to pay any attention to the Hutt territory anymore.”

Chewie added his thoughts with a growl.

“Yeah.”, Lando agreed, despite only getting about half of the Wookie’s statement.

“We’ll get him back, Chewie.”, Luke promised.

“Where’s Galen and his smuggler?”, Lando asked.

Leia seemed unamused at Lando’s term for Juno, though Luke seemed wryly entertained by it.

“He was helping her unload some cargo earlier. The new mission she’s going on tomorrow, requires some added work on her deflector shields. Galen’s probably fixing those up for her.”, offered Luke.

“He practically lives hanging off her every word.”, Leia groused.

“Jealous?”, Luke teased before heading out of the room fast enough not to let Leia’s hand make contact when she swatted at him.

“Luke’ll find him and bring them both in. Come on, we’ll need to start planning how we get Han out of there.”

“I have an idea.”

The Princess looked up from a chart she had pulled up, her dark eyes narrowing at Lando.

“Why do I have a feeling I’m going to dislike this plan?”

“Oh, I have a feeling you’re going to hate it.”

She sighed.

“Should I wait for Luke to help keep you calm?”

“No. Tell me.”

“We pretend to be mercs, thieves, bounty hunters, and that ilk, and we don’t go all at once. Two of us go in together maybe, perhaps Luke and myself. Then Chewie could come in, a day or two later so as not to arouse suspicion. You and Juno could come in as a team, or separately over the next couple days. Then, once we’re all in place and we know where the weaker spots are in Hutt’s security, we scoop Han up, we run for the ship, and we fly out of their as if our tails were on fire.”

Leia nodded, considering.

“It could work, although I don’t know that we could sneak Luke in there now. Maybe a year or so ago, but not now. Boba Fett knows his face after Cloud City, not to mention the general bounty on it from the Empire. He might have to go last, and sneak in as stealthily as possible. Perhaps you and Chewie could get in first, and be least likely to be noticed. Many can’t tell the difference between one wookie and another, especially out there where many haven’t seen a lot of wookies to have any idea about how different they can be one to another. Then, Galen and I could sneak in shortly after, Luke could come in last, and Juno would be out get-away pilot ready to fly us out as soon as we got Han back?”

Lando smiled over at the Princess.

“I like the way you plot.”

Her face looked ever so slightly pained for a quarter of a breath, before she smiled. He could tell she had been raised to be an exceptional politician.

“You sound like Han, sometimes.”

“Sorry.”

Leia waved him off.

“It is nothing to apologize for.”

The slight scratch of the door alerted them to Luke’s return, with Juno and Galen in his wake.

“What is the plan for the retrieval?”, Juno asked as she moved to hoist a hip onto the edge of a seat.

Galen moved to stand next to Luke, who was directly across from Leia. Lando suddenly felt Leia’s room was all the tinier, now that six bodies occupied it rather than three. He then noticed the slight smile on Leia’s lips as she addressed the other woman in their group.

“How do you feel about being a get-away pilot?”

Chapter Text

Leia/Luke/Galen – Aged 22

Galen looked around Jabba’s so-called palace. In theory, he was not as-recognizable as Luke, since he did not make as much of a show of himself in battles, most of the time. And like Lando, he wore a disguise so as to cut down on the chance of being recognized.

Dressed as a raider, with his head wrapped and goggles over his eyes, not a bit of his face, neck, head, or hands was visible. At most, you could tell he was humanoid and of slightly above average height. Galen had even hidden his Jedi weapons and wore jetpack on his back.

He had arrived after Chewy and Lando, cutting off all radio contact shortly before he landed on Tatooine. Leia knew the plan, so did R2, Luke, and Juno. 3-PO, however, had been left almost entirely in the dark about the plan. They all would trust the droid with their lives, but not their secrets or plans.

From his vantage point in the far edge of the room, Galen could see the Hut enjoying a libation of some sort as 3-PO and R2 entered the hall. The plan was now fully in motion. All that was left, was Leia’s play – and if that did not work, Luke’s backup plan.

After a short exchange, R2 brought up a holo message from Luke. Behind his wrappings, Galen smirked at his brother’s message. Luke was sucking up to Jabba, even going so far as to offer the two droids as a show of good will. His time around Leia had made Luke more savvy when it came to talking his way into or out of things.

Jabba’s slimy advisor did not buy Luke’s act, from what Galen could see and sense of him. That did not bode well. Jabba appeared to dismiss the man.

“I will not give up my favorite decoration.”, Jabba laughed to his advisor, as many eyes turned to an item on the back wall, under a spotlight, “I like Captain Solo where he is.”

Since arriving, Galen had found the sight unsettling at best. Han, frozen in that terrible, painful moment of the flash-freeze, the bright light above him highlighting the twist of agony on his face. It turned Galen’s stomach.

He could feel an echo from Han, almost like when someone was having a nightmare, when they were at the most terrible point just before they woke. Sometimes, Galen almost felt as if his own limbs were solid and his breath caught. Jabba’s awful laughter did nothing to dispel the sickening feeling.

As everyone laughed at their ruler’s cruel joke, Galen sought out familiar faces. He had not seen Chewy since arriving, and had only just spotted Lando for the first time, two days ago. Now on the other side of the room, situated between two of the singing girls, Lando stayed in the shadows in his own disguise.

Lando sent a discreet nod to Galen. Galen returned it. They both knew the final piece was on the horizon. Then, it would be time to liberate Han and escape. Galen just hoped their luck held out that long.

`^`^`^`

Galen heard screams from outside. Rushing back in, he could hear shouting and blaster shots. Perhaps Luke and Leia’s plan was falling apart, or a completely unrelated bit of madness had struck. Either way, Galen had a bad feeling.

He arrived to find a Ubese bounty hunter holding a chain around Chewy’s neck. Galen smiled, despite the situation. Leia. She had picked her disguise and was smuggling Chewy in.

Seeing 3-PO having to work for Jabba, translating, was oddly amusing. As he knew that this was part of the plan and Chewy’s life was not being bargained over while the poor droid did not. He was sure R2 also found the plot amusing.

When Jabba did not give in to Leia’s steep price, she pulled a card from her sleeve to bring a swift end to the debate. Seeing Leia’s bluff of a thermal detonator was pretty impressive. Her father and Obi-wan would have been proud.

Galen did notice the bounty hunter, Boba Fett, in the corner. The Mandalorian bounty hunter did not seem all that frightened of Leia in her disguise and appeared ready to fight her until Jabba laughed and gave into her demand. Jabba admitted to liking the bounty hunter Leia was pretending to be. Galen supposed, in another life, Leia might have been quite the fierce and feared bounty hunter.

As if this happened every day, the room went back to the drinking and dancing, with the music resuming right where the musicians had left off. Galen supposed this kind of thing did happen often enough not to be noteworthy to most of those assembled. Galen looked over to see Boba Fett giving a nod to Leia and her nod back. She had earned the Mandalorian’s respect.

He let out a slow breath. Now that Chewy and Leia had arrived, all that was left was for Leia to rescue Han from the carbonite. Juno was to wait with a ship, ready to pilot them out of there at a moment’s notice.

This was the end of Plan A. If it worked, Luke would never need to come in and it was up to Galen to get the droids out, Lando would get Chewy, and Leia would get Han out. If it didn’t work, then it all fell to Luke.

`^`^`^`

When Galen did not hear any alarms go off, nor get a message from Leia or Juno to bring the droids back to Juno’s ship, he knew that Leia’s rescue attempt hadn’t succeeded. Coming into Jabba’s main hall to find Han missing from the wall and Leia by Jabba’s side in the costume for the entertainment slaves, served only to confirm Plan A had failed. Galen kept Lando and Leia in his line of sight for the rest of the morning as they waited.

It was eerily quiet in the small hours of morning, at Jabba’s palace. The afternoon and night full of drinking, gambling, dancing, and jockeying for Jabba’s favor, left them all worn out by the first light of the first sun. As such, many lay passed out on any flat surface or soft body, they had found.

Galen, having quietly stood in a corner or walked outside during those hours, was less tired. In fact, his anticipation left him jittery for Luke’s arrival. He did not have to wait long.

Everyone was resting or outright sleeping, yet Galen could feel the familiar stirring. Luke had arrived. Leia woke, looking up in the same direction Galen was. They both knew it was Luke.

The black-clad and robed Jedi took center stage, all eyes falling on him. Galen could see Luke was using his Jedi Mind Trick on the advisor, getting him to be Luke’s mouthpiece. Unfortunately, Jabba realized the same thing.

“He’s using an old Jedi mind trick!”, the Hut exclaimed before tossing his advisor aside.

Luke stepped forward, pushing his hood back in a move that instantly made Galen think of Obi-wan.

“You will bring Captain Solo and the Wookie to me.”, came the tone Galen knew went with the use of a Jedi Mind Trick.

Jabba laughed in Luke’s face. The two continued their back and forth, all the while, Luke pretended not to recognize Leia or anyone else in the room. 3-PO tried to warn Luke but was cut off by Jabba’s jeering.

Galen’s bad feeling came to fruition as Luke reflectively reached for a weapon from a nearby guard, using the Force to bring the blaster into his hand. He took aim at Jabba and was set upon by another guard. Everything happened at once, Jabba struck a button on his rolling throne, the blaster fired into the ceiling causing sparks to rain down as Luke and the guard fell through one of the trap doors, down to the rancor pit.

Lando moved to Leia’s side, the two exchanging a quick look. Luke had made them all swear, no matter what, they would not interfere. Seeing the rancor coming for Luke and the guard, Galen wanted to pull the bars away and take a lightsaber to the rancor or pull Luke up to safety. He could tell Leia wished to do the same.

First, they all watched as Luke took up some thigh bone to use like a stick. The rancor scooped Luke up, bringing him to the disgusting row of sharp teeth as if Luke were a snack. Except, at the last moment, Luke put the bone into the creature’s mouth to keep it propped open. The beast dropped Luke and Galen’s lungs burned with the breath he had been holding.

“Come on, brother. Get out of there.”, he whispered to himself in Shyriiwook.

Galen could see it in his mind’s eye as it occurred to Luke. The lock. A skull. The gate. One good throw and he could bring the gate down on the rancor.

Luke quickly enacted his plan. In a blink, the beast was dead. Jabba was angered by this and ordered Solo and the Wookie brought to him.

The only relief Galen had was that one of those who had brought Luke up, bound, was Lando in his disguise. Luke called out to the smuggler as both were dragged before Jabba. Han was joking a bit with Luke, before asking where Leia was. Galen noticed another guard pulling Chewy along behind Luke and Han, so at least no one would have to plumb the depths of the dungeons below to find the wookie.

“His high exultedness, the great Jabba the Hut, has decreed that you are to be terminated immediately.”, 3-PO was forced to translate.

Han tried to joke, “Good. I hate long waits.”.

Luke, standing between Chewy and Han, looked entirely unimpressed and unconcerned. That alone should have scared Jabba.

“You will therefore be taken to the Dune Sea and cast into the Pit of Carkoon. The nesting place of the all-powerful Sarlacc.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad.”, came Han’s usual bravado.

“In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over 1,000 years.”

Chewy made his displeasure clear for all the room to hear.

Han answered Chewy, “On second thought, lets pass on that.”.

“You should have bargained, Jabba.”, came Luke’s cool, calm, vaguely threatening addition.

Jabba thought Luke was funny. Galen watched as Lando and some of Jabba’s real guards, ushered Han, Luke, and Chewy from the room. Smiling, Luke added one last shot at Jabba.

“That’s the last mistake you’ll ever make.”

`^`^`^`

Juno did not like this. Not at all. She had been sitting on the ship since they dropped Leia and Chewy off the day before yesterday.

Luke had stayed with her the first day, awaiting any word from Leia or Chewy. When they heard nothing by dawn, Luke gathered up and left. He was Plan B, after all.

For almost a week, she had waited while Galen was gone. He had left shortly after Chewy and Lando were in place, with Chewy waiting for Leia and Lando going right in. Galen wasn’t a spy or even an active soldier for the most part- he was a mechanic. Juno worried about him going in deep to help with Han’s retrieval.

Once more, Juno reminded herself that Luke and Galen had their freaky Jedi-Brothers thing going on. They were so in tune with one another that sometimes it was almost as if the two shared a brain. They moved in sync and perfectly together, two halves of a whole.

She checked again. No transmissions. If Juno still had some sort of faith, she would have prayed.

There was a Plan C. She and Leia hadn’t told Luke about it. There was a deadline that if Juno hadn’t seen them or heard from them by that point, she was supposed to let loose with a beacon that would call the Empire down on Jabba’s head.

Jabba would have to either go out to meet them or run from them. Either way, in the chaos, Leia hoped she could gather the team and escape with Han.

Juno wasn’t so keen on hope. Hope was for suckers. She was working with a group of mostly skilled, determined people, who had a solid plan of attack. However, Juno would admit to wishing them luck.

`^`^`^`

Galen rode on the wind barge, with Jabba, Leia, 3-PO, and R2. Despite having spent nearly his whole life on this planet, Galen felt out of a place on an alien world. This was nothing like the life he and Luke had inhabited with their Aunt Baru and Uncle Owen. The life of a peaceful moisture farmer compared to the hive of scum that Jabba’s world was.

Movement drew his gaze away from the view out the windows. Leia was being dragged by her neck chain over to Jabba, his advisor holding her from behind to keep her from escaping Jabba’s reach as the disgusting worm leered at the Princess.

“Soon you will learn to appreciate me.”

As the beast licked his lips and eyed Leia’s body, she recoiled and wrinkled her face in disgust. Galen could not disagree with her. No matter what Luke said, if that worm went to harm Leia, Galen was going to blow the plan.

Luke and Lando could take care of Chewy and Han, but Leia was chained to a giant slug, unarmed, and surrounded by enemy combatants. They had thought, if Leia was caught, she would be thrown into the prisons with Chewy down below. Luke’s plans had not included the Rebel Princess was being groomed as a pleasure slave for Jabba.

The caravan came to a halt as they reached the Sarlacc pit. Galen ventured to look out the window at this pit. Tentacles came out from a mouth with layers of fangs in concentric rings, from what looked like a hole in the ground. It was not quite what Galen expected.

As 3-PO made the announcements, and both Luke and Han gave their answers, Galen moved up to the top deck of the ship. This was the plan. R2 and Galen were supposed to go up top and await Luke’s signal.

A guard shoved Luke out onto a gangplank above the pit. First, Luke gave a nod to Lando, then to Galen, and finally to R2. They stood upon a knife’s edge. Either this would work or they would all be digested for 1,000 years.

Jabba shouted a command and Luke was shoved. Galen watched as Luke jumped, spinning in the air to catch himself on the edge of the plank, and use the Force to fling himself up into the air. R2 shot Luke’s new lightsaber out and Luke caught it as he landed to face those who had been bullying him into the Sarlacc pic a moment ago.

Luke let loose with his green saber, working to keep Chewy and Han safe while Lando made to move and get them undone from their binds. Galen pulled his own mismatched lightsabers from the spot where they were hidden under what looked like a jet pack, and he moved to keep anyone from shooting Luke with the large canon aboard, or any of their small blasters.

His new addition to the plan, was to get both the droids and Leia off the barge. Three guards came at him, firing five blasters among them. Galen deftly dodged and deflected, directing three shots back at the men. More guards came and Galen flipped over their heads to land behind them, striking two down with his sabers.

All around him, chaos and confusion erupted. No one had taken on the Huts in such a direct manor. Especially not a Jedi from Tatooine and his band of Rebel friends.

Before long, Galen met Leia and R2 coming up a service lift. She still wore part of her chain about her neck while R2’s serving tray had been removed. Leia shoved at Galen to go back over towards the large phaser canon.

R2 rolled away as Leia began giving orders. Galen nodded, moving to protect her back while she got the canon turning in order to help Han and the others.

“There’s Luke!”

Galen followed her direction, seeing Luke once more flinging himself through the air. This time, Luke landed on the edge of the ship, holding onto a seam in the metal to stay in place even as Jabba’s men pointed weapons out the little port windows.

“Get him! Get him!”, Leia shouted.

He rushed over, putting his green lightsaber away and offering Luke his hand. Luke took it, allowing Galen to pull his brother up and over the railing. Luke instantly had his lightsaber ignited and was repelling three guards.

Leia aimed the canon, firing on two of the ships that were trying to get Han and Chewy’s boat. Galen could see Lando down in the edge of the Sarlacc pit, with a tentacle wrapped around his legs. He also spotted Han was hanging upside down with Chewy crouched to hold his friend’s feet, while Han was using one hand to hold a stick out to give Lando something to grasp onto, his other hand aiming a blaster for the Sarlacc. Galen hoped Han could see, as blindness was a chief symptom of carbonation sickness.

“Leia!”, Luke shouted from where he held one of the various ropes coming from the vast barge ship.

Leia moved to his side as Galen turned to check on the droids. R2 shoved 3-PO off the ship before diving off after his golden friend. Galen grabbed a second tubing line, and waiting for Luke and Leia to make their swing.

Luke kicked the lever to shoot the canon into the ship it was anchored to, then he and Leia made the jump for the ship Han and the others were on. Galen swung behind them, landing just next to Chewy, who reached to catch Galen’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Chewy.”

Leia instantly moved to Han’s waiting arms, the smuggler holding her close, blinking his eyes in a way that showed he was still suffering from the carbonation sickness. Lando, meanwhile, was piloting them to safety. Galen knew Juno was likely fuming by this point.

As Galen noticed both the sun and the state of Leia’s attire, he quickly pulled off the short cloak he wore to help hide his lightsabers. Reaching, he slid it around Leia and Luke helped tuck it around her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

Galen gave a nod.

“Felt like the Death Star escape, all over again.”, Leia tried to tease.

“I had nearly forgotten about that swing.”, Luke answered with a small smile.

Galen had not forgotten. Nightmares about all the ways that could have gone wrong, had haunted him for weeks after. Many included Luke falling when the chord couldn’t hold two people, him being shot mid-swing, landing only to fall backward without Galen or Leia being able to catch him. Many terrible scenarios.

“I’m just glad it worked.”

Lando called from up front, “Same here!”

“Let’s go home.”, Han told them, still holding onto Leia.

`^`^`^`

Juno looked out from the gangplank to see a shuttle of sorts, sailing over the dessert towards her ship. She could make out several figures aboard, including one shiny gold protocol droid and one shining blue and white astromech. She smiled. Her team was back.

Pulling a good grump over her features, Juno crossed her arms and waited. She had no intention of letting them know just how much she had worried or how close they had cut it to her enacting Leia’s Plan C. She especially did not want Galen to think she was too happy to see them.

Lando brought the ship over to park it beside her own ship, the thing letting out a worrisome noise. Juno sure was glad she didn’t have to worry about flying that thing after her friends landed.

From the looks of it, Leia was having to guide Han a bit as they disembarked. Juno could guess. Galen had researched about hibernation sickness and carbonation sickness for weeks prior to the rescue to know what to expect to find in Han once they defrosted him. Blindness had been one that seemed to pop up even with those who barely had any symptoms.

Juno moved aside to let Han and Leia pass, Lando and Chewy right behind them. R2 and 3-PO bickered as they moved through, Luke following them with a fond smile on his face.

“Hello, Juno. Sorry we’re late.”

She arched an eyebrow at the Jedi.

“Was about time you showed up. I thought I was going to have to raise the funds to bribe or buy your way out. Should have only taken three or four hundred years.”

“Better than the 1,000 years of pain and suffering we were promised.”, he added with a wink, before moving to help Leia get Han to the medical area.

Juno turned to Galen, still mostly wrapped in his sandpeople-like attire. He pulled the goggles to reveal his midnight eyes. Chewy walked past them to move up with Lando.

“Sarlacc pit.”

“A what?”

“Sarlacc pit.”, he repeated before unwinding the wrapping to once more show his pale face, “Jabba promised it would take 1,000 years to digest us in it’s belly, during which apparently he believed we would remain alive and conscious enough to realize we were being slowly digested.”

Galen hit the button to retract the gangplank and close the port, before turning back to Juno with a shrug.

“Guess he was unaware of how pitifully short the human lifespan is compared to a Sarlacc.”

“No big deal, he was just going to feed you all to a Sarlacc.”

Pointing, Galen indicated Han and Luke.

“Han, Luke, and Chewy were scheduled for the Sarlacc pit. Leia was… in worse scrapes. Me and Lando were doing just fine.”

Galen leaned in, his next sentence for Juno’s ears only.

“But it’s nice to hear you worried about me.”

Juno swatted the back of his head, turned on her heel, and moved up to the cockpit. She didn’t have to take the sass from any Jedi. Let alone a rebel mechanic.

Up at the helm, Lando was plugging in some coordinates and checking the fuel. Juno had seen him do it countless times before any takeoff, regardless of whether or not Lando was actually going to pilot or not.

“What happened to Leia?”, she asked, mostly referring to Galen’s comment and the Princess’s attire.

Lando gave a small shudder.

“She got caught trying to rescue Han. Got him defrosted alright, but then Jabba and the others discovered her, so Han got thrown into the dungeons with Chewy and Leia was made an entertainment slave for Jabba’s pleasure.”

That gave Juno a shudder of her own. The very thought was revolting enough to nearly bring up her breakfast.

“How’d you escape?”

“Luke and Galen busted out lightsabers, Han took on Boba Fett- while blind with Hybernation sickness, I might add. Leia got loose somehow, killed Jabba, and got the droids up to where we could get them out. Then Luke blew Jabba’s ship to help cover our tracks.”

“Good thinking.”

“Kid’s smart.”

On that, Juno could not disagree. She slid into the Captain’s chair and started up her ship from what Lando had already pre-programmed for her.

“Did you get a chance to check on Galen?”

Juno didn’t even look up from the controls.

“He seemed fine. Walked in on his own steam.”

“Kid was stuck for a week in there with me, hiding in plain sight. Good thing he wasn’t in the room when they killed one of the slave girls. I doubt he could have maintained Luke’s orders to not interfere.”

That got Juno’s attention.

“They killed a slave girl? Where was Galen, where were you?”

“Galen was outside. Every once in a while, Jabba would have a more exclusive party and many of us who hadn’t been there long and didn’t have friends to speak up for us, were ushered out for hours at a time. That’s when it happened. Not sure what she refused to do, only that he fed her to the rancor.”

Juno swore under her breath. She had never seen a rancor personally, though she knew enough from stories she had heard of warlords serving the Empire, who kept them as some sort of monster gladiator and fed spies, enemies, former lovers, and all sorts to these rancor beasts.

“Galen seemed upset by it. You could see it even through all the goggles and wrapping.”, Lando added before slipping out of the cockpit.

`^`^`^`

Two former guards, drunk on Jabba’s libations, watched as a strange woman strode into the main hall. Even in their inebriated state, they recognized the air of danger about her. A crackling of power with a tinge of madness that made any sentient being give her a wide berth.

She wore a dark, hooded cloak with a single red curl peaking at her right temple, her light armor covering a dark purple shirt and pants, her booted feet making not a sound. Neither man was sure if she was a spy, assassin, bounty hunter, or an old enemy come to gloat. No matter what she was, the two men did not care to come close enough to ask. They scurried away as she came to stop in front of the throne chair.

“Hm.”, she whispered as she looked about the room.

According to her intel, the Rebels’ Princess and her rag-tag band of misfits had come to rescue a former smuggler from Jabba’s clutches. Among her group, there was a former Imperial pilot, the former head of Cloud City, the two droids that had been used to smuggle the Death Star’s plans, and a pair of young Jedi brothers- Luke Skywalker and Galen Marek. Lord Sidious greatly desired both to become his apprentices, though he held slightly more interest in the Skwalker than the Marek.

To her, they were both half-trained and just dangerous enough to be interesting quarry. They were more dangerous together. This would be an interesting hunt, at least.

There were large bounties on the heads of every one of the rag-tag bunch, even the droids. She had plenty of competition for them and she was eager to beat them all. For her Emperor.

The group had taken on the court of this Jabba the Hut, and it appeared that they had won. It was almost like a bad joke. She had hoped to get to the palace in time to find them getting ships to leave on or raiding the hordes of goods that Jubba was reputed to have stashed away.

Unfortunately, she had arrived too late to collect her prey and bring them back to her master. Sidious would be angry yet she was sure her master would permit her to continue her hunt. He wanted the Jedi badly and he sent his very best apprentice to do the job. She would not fail.

Chapter Text

With the coordinates set, Han rescued and in recovery with Leia, Lando asleep in the co-pilot’s seat, and Chewy working to get 3-PO’s eye back in the socket, Juno found the ship oddly quiet. If she was alone, she would play music. If she wasn’t alone, the ship wasn’t quiet.

Juno slipped from the Captain’s chair and made her way to the back section of her ship, between the heart of the ship and the cargo bay, where the two little bedroom areas lay. The plan had been for Leia to bunk with Juno, and for Luke, Chewy, Lando, and Galen to squeeze into or take turns using the second. She figured Luke and Galen had to be in the one back bedroom space, either getting some rest or going over a plan.

To Juno’s surprise, she spotted Galen in the heart of her ship, patching up some cables near the shield generator. He looked deep in contemplation. When Juno moved closer, he lifted his head to offer a small smile.

For the little over a year Juno had known Galen, there was one thing about his face that struck her every single time he smiled. His eyes. They always sort of brightened when he would smile. An odd thing, considering both that his eyes were midnight black and that Juno wasn’t given to noticing such things.

She crouched beside him and looked him over quickly before looking at where he was working. He was mending a few of the cables that handled the back-up life support system. She had been meaning to tend to this herself for almost a month now.

“Thanks.”

Galen nodded.

“Thanks for waiting for us.”

“Hey, how often does a person get to be a getaway pilot for a Princess and her motley crew?”

“More often than they think, when they join the Rebellion.”

She snorted a short laugh. He wasn’t wrong there.

“What’s on your mind, Juno?”

Galen had promised her, unless it was a matter of saving a life, he would never try to read her thoughts with his Jedi powers. He hadn’t even laughed when she brought it up to him a few months ago. Still, the way he could read her at times was as bad as using his Jedi powers.

“Lando said a few things about the days you spent waiting for Luke and Leia. Sounds like it got a little rough in there. Now you’re sitting here working on my ship again, instead of enjoying a moment of peace with your brother.”

“You see too much.”

“Not the worst thing I’ve been accused of.”

That earned her a small hint of a smile from Galen. She waited a moment while his roughened fingers deftly mended her auxiliary life support system. Given enough time and space, Galen would talk.

Galen fixed a couple more things before she saw the stiffness in his shoulders beginning to release a little. Her patience was about to be rewarded.

“Luke and I aren’t going back to the rendezvous with you.”

“What? Why not?”

She watched as Galen let out a slow breath.

“We made a promise. We’d finish our training, once we had rescued our friends. It’s been over a year since we left Dagobah. Master Yoda may have moved on, or may think we will never return.”

“I doubt it.”

Galen looked over, his dark eyes searching her face.

“I mean, from what you’ve said, the little guy doesn’t seem to have left home in years. Can’t imagine why he’d leave now, when he’s got reason to expect more company than old Jedi ghosts.”

He shot her a bit of a look over her ghost-crack. Juno continued, undeterred.

“And if he’s half as perceptive as you gave him credit for when you first left, he’ll know that both of you meant what you said and that you will keep your word. He won’t have given up on either of you.”

Galen reached, taking Juno’s hand in his own. They were so much thicker and rougher than hers, with blunt nails and knuckles that had clearly been busted a number of times from his work inside engines. She would never tire of noting all the little windows to Galen that his hands represented.

“I’m sorry we won’t go with you.”

Smiling, Juno shrugged over at Galen.

“You’ll catch up. I don’t see Luke being able to stay there for too long, at a stretch, and I don’t see either of you abandoning the Rebellion.”

“Luke’s determined. It may be months before we leave again.”

She nodded.

“You’ll come back eventually.”

Galen smiled a little bit wider and with less guilt in his expression. He still seemed worried and as if he still held something back. Juno had gotten that impression for a while now, that there was something Galen was holding back. He wasn’t much for secrets, so whatever it was either had to be of great importance to the rebellion or something he was still kicking around in his head.

Before Juno or Galen had a chance to say anything else, Luke stepped out from the bedroom area. He was carrying a small bag and had his orange flightsuit slung over his arm. He looked as if he knew he had interrupted a conversation that would end with him hanging nearby.

“How’s Han?”, Luke questioned.

“Lando said he was good, then plopped down in my co-pilot’s chair and fell fast asleep. He snores.”

They all shared a light laugh over the image, before Luke headed back up to medical area, leaving Juno and Galen alone.

“You’ll come back.”, Juno said as she stood.

“I have faith.”

Galen smiled at her back. 

`^`^`^`

Galen and Luke left, each in their own ship. Luke had his X-wing while Galen was in a smaller ship meant for handling small cargo. The Falcon took off one way, the two of them in the opposite.

“I’ll meet ya back at the fleet.”, Luke commed.

“Hurry, the Alliance should be assembled by now.”, Leia answered.

“I will.”

“You too, Galen.”

He smiled.

“Hey Luke, Galen- thanks. Thanks for coming after me.”, offered Han, “Now I owe you one.”

Galen heard Luke’s quick chuckle, before R2 offered his own input.

“That’s right, R2. We’re going to the Dagobah system.”

R2 wasn’t entirely convinced as to why they had to return to the planet where a bog creature nearly devoured the little guy.

“We have a promise to keep… to an old friend.”

Moving to have Luke’s back, Galen checked his controls again. He did not pilot nearly as often as Luke, Juno, or Leia did, and as such he often caught himself double-checking everything when he did fly.

“You sure about this, Luke? He’s waited this long.”

“It’s a feeling. Like we need to be there, soon. We can stop in, see him, train a little, then come back for the meeting and plan from there.”

“If you’re sure.”

“As sure as I can be.”

R2 beeped.

“Don’t worry, R2. We’ll keep you close once we land.”

`^`^`^`

They arrived on Dagobah to find it not quite as they had left it. The fog was not as heavy, the mud not as thick, and Yoda nowhere to be seen. Galen had half-expected the old Jedi to be waiting for them with a smug look on his green face.

“Do you see him?”, asked Galen as he climbed down from his little ship, aways from Luke’s X-wing.

Luke, already on the ground with his gear in hand, shook his head. Galen moved up to stand beside Luke, the pair of them continuing to look around for any sign of their master.

“Maybe he’s at home, having a snack of that spicy soup?”

Luke sighed.

“Good as place to start as any. Glad I brought my own rations though.”

The two of them headed off. R2’s beeping interrupted their progress.

“You stay here. You’ll be safe with the ships.”

The droid protested Luke’s command, and his statement about the droid’s safety.

“If anyone comes around who isn’t us, or Yoda, pull up the shields and call for help.”

R2 gave an annoyed grunt of a response with his beeps, though he made no move to try to exit the X-Wing. Galen gave the little droid a nod of thanks before hurrying to catch up to Luke.

“You don’t suppose something happened while we were gone?”

“Such as?”, Galen inquired while still looking around for Yoda or roots they might trip over.

“The Empire could have sent someone. Darth Vader is always on the hunt for Jedi, and Master Yoda is a pretty powerful, old Jedi. I’m sure he’d be high on the list of people Vader would want.”

“I’m sure he would be, but… I don’t know. I feel like he’s here.”

“Gut feeling or Jedi-feeling?”

“Both.”

Luke sighed discontentedly. This was going to be a long afternoon. A very long afternoon.

It took nearly an hour for them to make their way to Yoda’s modest home, having been over a year since they walked the barely-familiar path on the strange, foggy, marshy world. As soon as they were close enough to see the lights from the windows, Luke felt a lead weight in the pit of his stomach. Judging from Galen’s change in expression, he felt it as well.

“Something’s wrong.”

Galen shook his head.

“No. Just something we won’t like is about to happen.”

“No, Galen. I feel it. Something is wrong.”

They hastened to the hut, finding Master Yoda looking as if he had aged decades in the time they had been gone. His movements were sluggish yet he smiled in greeting upon seeing the pair of them. Yoda gestured for them to sit as he started over to his fire.

Galen watched as the old Jedi almost seemed to limp across the space. The year away had not been kind of their Master.

“That face you make,” Yoda said as he looked to Luke, “look I so old to young eyes?”

Luke looked away, though to hide his expression or gather his thoughts, Galen wasn’t sure. His own had slowed, focusing on how they could make Yoda comfortable. There would be no more training on Dagobah for them.

“No, of course not.”

“I do.”, the Jedi teased back as he moved closer, “Yes, I do.”

Luke busied his hands while Galen smiled at the Jedi’s teasing. He had missed this in the year they had spent looking for Han. Only Chewie and Juno had really done much joking in that year.

“Sick have I become. Old and weak.”, he trailed off for a moment before regaining a little fire and looking back to tease with the pair of them.

“When 900 years old you reach, look this good, you will not- hmm?”

Despite the heaviness of the scene, Galen laughed a little. He and Luke would be lucky to see their 40^th birthdays at the rate they were going. Luke was trying to smile for their master and the green Jedi moved towards his bed that now sat across from the fire instead of in another room, as it had last year.

“Soon will I rest. Yes. Forever sleep. Earned it I have.”

“Master Yoda, you can’t die.”, protested Luke.

“Strong am I with the Force, but not that strong.”

Galen sighed. Some of the reading he had done, between bouts of researching about Han and carbonation sickness, he had found a few things about the old Jedi and their enemy, the Sith. The Sith had an obsession with maintaining a long life span, of avoiding death at all costs. He had not shared this with Luke, though he figured Yoda was well aware of it all.

Despite his time running thing, their Master tried to impart a final lesson to Luke. Yoda had accepted that his time had come and appeared to need Luke to also accept that.

“But we need your help. We’ve come back to complete the training.”

“No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need.”

Galen could tell, even from over Luke’s shoulder, that Yoda’s breathing had grown labored. It would not be long now. In the time with the Rebellion, Gale had spent enough time helping with the wounded to know the signs of death.

“Then I am a Jedi.”

“Oh!”, Yoda started before a rasping cough interrupted him, “Not yet. One thing remains… Vader. You must confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be.”

Yoda’s large eyes turned to Galen and he sighed.

“You, learn to let go you must, of the past. Of the fear of loss.”

“Master Yoda, you will confront Vader with us. Together, the three of us can take him on.”, Luke tried.

“Confront him, you will.”

“Master Yoda,” Luke started with a tone that Galen recognized, “is Darth Vader my father?”

Galen’s head nearly whipped clean from his neck as he turned in shock. Then, it began to sink in. To make sense. The thing Luke had whispered about at Cloud City, wanting to know why Ben hadn’t told Luke.

Galen looked between his brother and their Master. Surely there had to have been some mistake. Luke could not have been any relation to the cold blooded killer, the Emperor’s attack dog.

“Rest, I need. Yes. Rest.”

The Jedi turned in his bed, facing away from them. Luke was undeterred.

“Yoda, I must know.”

The old Jedi was quiet for a moment. Galen knew before the answer came.

“Your father he is.”

Galen moved his hand to Luke’s shoulder, giving his brother a firm squeeze. He would not let Luke fall into any sort of darkness. Luke would not become like Vader, not as long as Galen was alive to do anything about.

Luke slid away from Galen and Yoda. His eyes were wide, shocked. His mind clearly racing behind those bright eyes.

“Told you, did he?”

“Yes.”

“Unexpected this is. And unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate that I know the truth?”

“No!”, cried their master before he painfully rolled over to face Luke, “Unfortunately that you rushed to face him, that incomplete was your training. That, not ready for the burden, were you.’

“I’m sorry.”

Luke’s tears began to fall as the hurt, anger, fear, betrayal, and weight of sadness from the past year, and the years before, burst through his tightly held shell. Galen’s own vision blurred as he kept an arm around Luke’s back.

Baru and Owen had known, yet never told Luke. They had not wished to burden him with such knowledge. Nor had they shared it with Galen so as to keep him from sharing the burden of lying to Luke. It seemed that Yoda and Obi-wan had shared a similar hope, to keep it from Luke long enough to make sure he was ready for the burden before he was forced to carry it on his own.

Galen looked over to Yoda and hoped that the old Jedi understood, through all Luke’s rushing thoughts and all the upheaval. Galen would never allow Luke to take on his burdens alone. Brothers did not abandon their brothers.

“Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware, anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”, Yoda stopped as he gasped for air, as if trying to press out the last bit of warning he could for them before his time ran out.

“Luke… Luke… Do not… do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your father’s fate you will.”

Again, their master fought for breath, for just a little more time.

“Luke… Galen… when done am I, the last of the Jedi will you be. The Force runs strong in your families. Pass on what you have learned.”, he said before looking directly at Luke and gasping his name, “There is… another… Sky… walker.”

With that, the Great Jedi Master Yoda passed from this world. The air was still as the rain fell and the fire crackled. Luke drew back, his face frozen in the shock of revelation. Galen moved around his brother to do as he had done hundreds of times after battles with the Empire, pulling the scratchy blanket over Yoda’s peaceful face.

Despite the silence, Galen could hear the questions swirling in Luke’s mind. Many spiraled in his own. There was one bit of stillness in Luke’s mind, an image that Galen had seen so many times when he occasionally shared Luke’s dreams or thoughts.

A woman, with dark hair and a white gown. Asking for help from an old Knight who could see traces of an old friend in the dark hair, the bearing, the slim build, and the commanding tone. The same tired eyes looking up at Luke and seeing traces of a brother long gone, the sandy hair, the bright blue eyes, the open expression, the thirst for adventure and daring.

Then, just as Galen was about to ask Luke of these memories and thoughts, he saw a look of shock coming over his brother’s face. Turning to look where Luke’s gaze was pointed, he watched Yoda… disappeared. The little Jedi’s body faded into nothingness, just as Obi-wan’s had done on the Death Star years ago.

Luke and Galen exchanged a look. Neither quite knew what to say. Luke stood, taking off quickly while Galen lingered.

Without Yoda, the hut felt cold. Hollow. Galen moved to the fireplace and gently stubbed out the fire. Quietly, he moved about, snuffing the candles to darkness.

In the dark, with only a single candle still burning, Galen took in the hut for the last time. For over two decades their master had dwelled on Dagobah. Waiting. Hoping. Preparing.

It did not seem to amount to much. A few cups and pots, some blankets and tools, a few dozen candles. It felt empty, like a hideaway rather than a home.

Not for the first time, Galen wondered what Master Yoda’s life had been like before the rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi. Had he lived in a grand palace or temple? Had there been scribes, attendants, and such who handled the various needs of Jedi Masters? Or had the Jedi Masters lived simply, in modest homes, surrounded by other Jedi?

Galen carefully blew out the remaining candle, then turned and walked out. Luke would need him and they would have to return the Rebellion soon, to meet with the other leaders and plan what they hoped would be the final large-scale battle with the Empire.

\/\/\/\/\/

Luke walked beneath his X-Wing, his mind racing and his heart galloping in his chest. Vader was his father. He had not lied to Luke in Cloud City.

Luke flexed his right hand. His own father. Darth Vader.

R2 chirped in greeting. Then in concern.

“I can’t do it, R2.”

R2 beeped in concern.

“I can’t go on alone.”

“Yoda will always be with you.”

Luke knew that voice. Turning, he spotted a familiar face in a ghostly form.

“Obi-wan.”

His former master strolled through a break in the trees, his body giving a faint glow that stood out in the fog and darkness. He looked as he had the day they escaped from the Death Star.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Luke needed to know. He had to know. He was sick of secrets.

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

“Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed.”

He could almost imagine it. His father, looking much like himself, fighting beside a younger Obi-wan against the forces of the Dark Side. Then, searing in his mind’s eye, Vader with his red lightsaber aloft, ready to strike Luke down.

“So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.”

“A certain point of view?”

To Luke, it was not an issue of perspective. It was an issue that everyone was aware of his parentage and yet never felt the need to share it with him.

“Luke,”, Obi-wan started before sitting down as if weary from standing all day despite his ghostly form, “you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view. Anakin was a good friend.”

Luke moved to sit nearer to Obi-wan, despite the urge to run until his legs gave out. He needed answers.

“When I first knew him, your father was already a great pilot, but I was amazed how strongly the Force was with him. I took it upon myself to train him as a Jedi. I thought I could instruct him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong.”

He could sense Obi-wan’s pain, disappointment, regret, and fear.

“There is still good in him.”, that much Luke knew to be true, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

“He’s more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.”

“I can’t do it, Ben.”

From the treeline, Galen had overheard enough to know what his brother referred to. He hoped Obi-wan had some alternative solution.

“You cannot escape your destiny. You must face Darth Vader again.”

“I can’t kill my own father.”

Obi-wan almost appeared to sigh.

“Then the emperor has already won. You were our only hope.”

“Yoda spoke of another?”

“The other he spoke of is your twin sister.”

“But I have no sister.”

“To protect you both from the emperor, you were hidden from you father when you were born. The emperor knew as I did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is the reason why your sister remains safely anonymous.”

The images flashed through Galen’s mind again. A woman in white, imploring Obi-wan to come to her aid, a young Jedi watching from the sofa, neither aware of their connection to each other, to Vader, or to a former Queen on a distant planet. Obi-wan had known the secrets were soon to come out and had been powerless to grant Luke and Leia more time.

“Leia!”

The old Jedi gave a slight nod.

“Leia’s my sister.”

“Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the emperor.”

“No.”, Galen pronounced as he appeared from the trees, “They couldn’t. Not Luke.”

Obi-wan looked over at Galen and seemingly let out a long sigh.

“You don’t know that, Galen.”

“I do. I know my brother.”, he said before looking to Luke and then back to Obi-wan, “He won’t fall.”

“Luke is not the only one who needs to bury his feelings. Vader will use them against you. Both of you. The emperor will do the same.”

“Vader won’t take Luke, and neither will the emperor.”, Galen asserted emphatically.

“Luke’s feelings for his sister, for you, for the others, they’ve been used against him before.”

“And he’s learned from that. We both have.”

Obi-wan shook his head, an invisible weight pulling down at his shoulders.

“Ben?”, Luke asked.

The old, ghostly Jedi turned to his former apprentice.

“I won’t disappoint you. Neither will Galen.”

The sad smile on Obi-wan’s face sent the hair at Galen’s nape on end.

“Your father once said that he wouldn’t disappoint me, or Yoda. Let’s hope you fair better than he did.”

/\v/\v/\v/\

Luke and Galen walked into the back end of the meeting hall, where all the leadership of the Rebel Alliance were currently assembled. The battle planning had begun. They could hear the tail end of the report as they hovered, just out of sight.

“..while the fighters fly into the superstructure and attempt to knock out the main reactor. General Calrissian has volunteered to lead the fighter attack.”, Ackbar planned.

“Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”

The brothers turned to grin at each other, hearing Han’s input. Then one of the other generals continued with the plan, explaining it to the leadership.

“We have stolen a small imperial shuttle. Disguised as a cargo ship and using a secret imperial code, a strike team will land on the moon and deactivate the shield generator.”

Galen leaned towards Luke, whispering, “Ten credits says Han volunteered.”

Luke shook his head, unwilling to take that bet.

“General Solo, is your strike team assembled?”

“Uh, my team’s ready. I don’t have a command crew for the shuttle.”

Chewbacca, unsurpringly, was the first to volunteer. Galen smiled at the Wookie’s protest that OF COURSE he was going.

“That’s one.”

Next to volunteer was Leia. Luke stepped out from the spot they had remained in.

“I’m with you, too.”

Galen watched as Leia embraced Luke, his memories of Dagobah rushing back through his mind. He caught Han looking up at him, taking in if he or Luke were injured.

“General, you might need a mechanic.”

Han smiled up at Galen, then turned to Ackbar and the other leaders.

“That’s four.”

“Five.”

Everyone turned to see Juno, who stood a few feet to Galen’s left.

“If you’re going into imperial territory, might help to have someone who looks good in the uniform.”

As everyone else milled out, prepping and sharing intel, Juno moved over to Galen’s side. He felt her warm, work-roughened hand move to his wrist, then slide down to hold his hand. He gave hers a small squeeze.

Below, Leia seemed to be checking in on Luke. With the revelations of Dagobah, the connection between the two made so much more sense. They were twins. More than that, both Jedi. Of course they were almost telepathically linked at all times, no matter the distance or the chaos around them.

Chewie and Lando came up the stairs to meet Galen and Juno, both pleased to see Luke and Galen back with the Rebellion. Galen moved forward, instantly engulfed in one of Chewie’s massive hugs. Lando patted Galen’s shoulder.

“It’s good to see you, and Luke. Wasn’t sure you two’d get back in time.”

“We would have come back for this.”

Lando tilted his head, looking concerned.

“Something happen on that backwater planet?”

Chewie let Galen go, his face mirroring Lando’s distress. Beside him, he could sense the worry rolling off of Juno.

“After this is all over, maybe we’ll have to get some drinks and talk things over. Right now, we have a battle to prep for.”

Lando clapped Galen’s shoulder again.

“Han’s in good hands, got the best mechanic in the Alliance, a former imperial, General Leia, and Chewie over here.”

“Plus the droids.”

The former head of Cloud City chuckled.

“Of course, them too.”

One of the generals called for Lando, and with a final hug, Chewie walked back over to Han, Leia, and Luke. Galen let out a slow breath. For the entire flight back to the Alliance, he had a gnawing feeling at the pit of his stomach. Something bad was ahead of them, something that would hurt them. He just couldn’t put his finger on who among them, or what exactly the calamity would be.

“Galen?”

Juno’s pale eyes locked on his face, freezing Galen on the spot.

“Sorry.”

“What have you got to be sorry for? Just seems like you’ve got a lot on your mind, plus this battle to look forward to.”

Galen nodded, a hand moving to rub the back of his neck, where the gnawing feeling was creeping to. Juno reached, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“You sure you’re okay to go?”

“Yes.”

“You sure? Cause you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I have, actually.”

“What?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you when the fight’s over. Come on, I’m sure Han needs us down there to fill us in on the grand plan.”

<*><*><*><*><*>

Galen, Leia, and Juno sat in the back area with 3-P0, R2, Luke, and Chewie were already up front in the cockpit to wait for Han. Galen could hear Han and Lando’s conversation at the end of the gangplank. Han had already told Luke and Leia that he hoped Lando would take the Falcon, to lead the charge.

It made sense, as Galen figured. The Falcon was the fastest ship in the fleet, possibly in the whole of the galaxy. With Chewie and Galen having been working on her, she was now the most reliable ship in the fleet as well. Lando had been the former owner of the old smuggling ship, and would be the only other person who might fly her as well as Han did. Plus, if Han didn’t come back, Lando would take care of the Falcon.

As Han passed them, Leia looked up to the smuggler. Galen didn’t need to be a Jedi to read the worry on her face. It didn’t take but three seconds for her to follow Han up to the cockpit, 3-PO directly behind her. Juno and Galen moved to stand in the doorway as Han guided the shuttle out of the Alliance hanger.

“Remember the plan, if they ask what your purpose is?”, Leia asked.

“Parts and technical crew.”, Juno prompted at Han’s arched eyebrow.

“Right.”, the smuggler nodded, “Parts and technical crew for the forest moon. Got it.”

“They drill on wording. They don’t want to make it easy to do just what we’re doing.”

“Makes sense, until a few of you get out.”, Leia said as she scooted back into her seat.

“Yeah. Guess they don’t plan on that many of us leaving, or surviving for long if we do.”

Just before the jump, Juno moved to sit with her feet propped against the pilot-side and her back to the co-pilot side of the doorway. Galen mirrored her. He could sense how the return to the imperial territory was churning Juno up inside. Reaching quietly, he took her hand and offered her a small smile when she looked up at him.

Han gave the warning, and they made the jump. Galen took a deep breath and attempted to clear his mind. He wished to meditate for at least a few minutes before they had to start in at the moon of Endor.

A short time later, they arrived at the station where this would either go smoothy or they would be blown out of the sky before they even had a chance to touch the moon. Everyone was tense as Han prepared to use the codes the Alliance had gotten for this mission.

“If they don’t go for this, we’re gonna have to get out of here pretty quick, Chewie.”

Chewie roared in agreement. He was ready to make the jump, if they had to.

“We have you on our screens now.”, came an imperial guard’s voice on the comms, “Please identify.”

“Shuttle Tydirium requesting deactivation of the deflector shield.”, Han answered in a calm, even, almost bored tone.

“Shuttle Tydirium, transmit the clearance code for shield passage.”

“Transmission commencing.”, Han answered before shutting the microphone off.

“Now we find out if that code is worth the price we paid.”

Galen and Luke shared a look. Both of them were aware of a greater danger than the shield the team was to take down.

“It’ll work. It’ll work.”, Han tried to assure them in a tone that meant he was mostly reassuring himself.

“Vader’s on that ship.”

Leia turned to look at Luke with an expression that made Galen wonder if she too had felt the presence of the dark lord.

“Now don’t get jittery, Luke. There are a lot of command ships. Keep your distance though, Chewie, but don’t look like you’re trying to keep your distance.”

Chewie growled about the specifics of how he was supposed to do that.

“I don’t know. Fly casual.”

Galen was sure Han took Luke’s warning seriously, even if he tried to assure everyone of the unlikelihood of that. The gnawing feeling in Galen’s stomach and at the base of his skull, told him that Vader was here and that Vader’s presence meant something very bad was soon to unfold.

Juno squeezed down at their still-joined hands, pulling Galen out of his own thoughts. He looked up to see he forced smile of encouragement. He had forgotten they were still holding hands. He wondered if she had forgotten.

“Shuttle Tydirium, what is your cargo and destination?”

“Parts and technical crew for the forest moon.”

There was a long pause after Han answered. All of them holding their breath, waiting.

“I’m endangering the mission. I shouldn’t have come.”

Han wasn’t having it.

“It’s your imagination, kid. Come on, let’s keep a little optimism here.”

This mission was highly dangerous, Han knew, and having Luke getting his Jedi stuff to play tricks with his head wasn’t going to help. He trusted the kid, though sometimes he wondered if all this stuff with the Force made Luke give more credence to the worries in the back of his mind, than he ought to have.

After waiting another minute, Han was growing truly concerned. Clearances didn’t take this long unless there was a problem. He started to prepare to run.

“They’re not going for it, Chewie.”

Chewie didn’t disagree.

“Shuttle Tydirium, deactivation of the shield will commence immediately. Follow your present course.”

Han smiled as he turned back to face his shuttle crew.

“Okay! I told you it was going to work.”

Chewie’s sarcastic comment did not deter Han’s cheer.

“No problem.”

Looking over his shoulder, Luke watched the command vessel. He was sure of it. Vader was there.

Galen had mentioned, as they were packing their gear for the mission, that he had been feeling something bad was on the horizon for them. Something that gnawed at him. Luke wondered if it was a warning of the showdown Yoda and Ben had mentioned- Luke facing his own father.

If Vader was here and could sense Luke, or even Leia, the way Luke could sense Vader, Leia, and Galen, they were in trouble. Vader was better trained and with decades more experience than Luke or Galen. He just had to hope they could get in, get the job done, and Luke could get away from his friends and Galen, before Vader caught up with him.

><><><><><>< 

Galen looked around, unable to help himself as they first stepped out of the shuttle. The trees were like giants towering over them. He had never seen such trees. Beside him, Han nudged his shoulder.

“Quite a sight, huh?”

Galen nodded without taking his eyes off the massive columns. He heard Han walk off, moving to lead the group currently disembarking from their stolen shuttle. Galen had been surprised how many of them could actually fit on the thing as they had been loading up.

Luke, Leia, and Chewie moved up to the front with Han. Galen lagged back a bit with 3-PO and R2. He figured in a pinch, if he had to, he could Force-lift them out of the way of danger.

“Ready for this?”

Galen turned to see Juno walking up to he and the droids. Below the jacket much like the one Han wore, Juno sported the solid black uniform of her former squadron, right down to the fist-sized cluster of ribbons for her decorated service to the Empire.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. You?”

She shuddered slightly.

“I don’t miss this uniform.”

Galen smiled, despite the situation.

“You were right.”

“Pardon?”

His grin widened as he leaned closer.

“You do look good in uniform.”

Juno shook her head with a light laugh.

“Come on, wrench jockey.”

The group all walked carefully through the thick forest. None counted on their camouflaged gear protecting them completely from discovery. They needed to be quiet, careful, and watchful.

Han, Luke, and Leia gave hand gestures for everyone to get low and be quiet. Galen and Juno carefully slid up to be close enough to hear what passed among the three leading this mission. They might need Juno to go up and order people around, or for Galen and Luke to create a distraction.

“Should we try and go around?”

“It’ll take time.”

“This whole party will be for nothing if they see us.”

Chewie offered his two credit’s worth on it.

“Chewie and I will take care of this. You stay here.”, Han ordered.

“Quietly. There might be more of them out there.”

“Hey, it’s me.”

Leia and Luke clearly exchanged some kind of look as Han and Chewie made their way down. Juno moved into Han’s former spot, pulling her blaster up. Galen reached for his lightsabers.

It took a couple minutes for Han and Chewie to get down to the two storm troopers below. Galen watched around Juno’s shoulder as Chewie went one way, Han the other. The two nodded to each other, then stepped out behind the second Trooper. It was all going according to plan, until Han snapped a trig under his boot.

Suddenly, the Trooper backhanded Han off his feet as the other Trooper turned back. The first Trooper jumped onto his speeder and Han was attacking the second one. Everyone began to move, including Chewie, who shot the first trooper off of his speeder.

“Over there! Two more of them!”, Leia called out.

“I see them. Wait! Leia!”

Leia had already taken off and was climbing onto a speeder. Luke jumped on behind her. Galen ran, Juno on his heels, as they went for the second speeder that had been left behind. Juno flung a leg over it and Galen jumped on behind her, aware she was the pilot.

The four of them followed the storm troopers in a high speed chase through the trees. Leia pulled her speeder up, slamming sideways against the one storm trooper. Galen lagged behind, keeping track.

He watched in horror as Luke leapt over onto the trooper’s speeder. After a scuffle, Luke threw the trooper from the speeder, the vehicle swaying for a moment before Luke brought it under control.

“Your brother’s insane!”, Juno called over her shoulder.

The chase continued, three to one. Before Juno and Galen could catch up, two more speeders slid between them and where Luke and Leia were still chasing the lone trooper in front. Luke seemed to notice and slid off, Leia still in pursuit of the trooper who could give away the location and number of Rebels on Endor.

Luke dropped back to Juno and Galen’s row, gesturing to the weapons on the speeders. Juno nodded. The pair began firing at the storm troopers while Galen hoped that Leia didn’t get hit by a stray shot.

One trooper was hit, causing him to go off course and straight into a tree. They watched as Leia adjusted her own speeder to go higher, rather than faster. If the trooper looked back now, he would not see her, just the pair of speeders currently trying to blast the other trooper off his vehicle.

Leia moved around, executing a movie Galen recognized as one of Han’s favorite maneuvers. She fired from an angle at the trooper, then slid around to be beside him again. Juno whipped to the side, to avoid a stand of trees, causing Galen to fall from the speeder.

He heard Luke shouting something, before Juno turned her speeder and came back to Galen. As he moved to stand, he felt a throbbing at the back of his head and in his back. His vision remained clear and he heard no ringing, so he was fairly sure he was not seriously harmed.

“Galen!”

Juno parked the speeder, nearly falling over it in her rush to reach him. Galen held up a hand.

“All good. Come on, let’s go.”

She seemed unconvinced, but stopped, letting Galen walk back over to her. Juno gave him a quick once-over before climbing back onto the speeder. She offered him a hand to help him over. As stoved up as he felt, he couldn’t deny the assistance.

Once he was securely on, Juno took off to follow Luke and Leia. As they finally caught up, Galen nearly had a heart attack as he helplessly watching Luke flip backwards off his speeder, letting it crash a few feet ahead. The storm trooper turned around the tree and came back at Luke, firing the speeder’s weapons.

A green blade ignited, deflecting every shot. Galen heard Juno fire two shots over Luke’s head, attempting to keep the trooper back aways. Instead, the trooper swooped low and came at Luke. With a quick motion, Luke sliced the steering rig clean from the speeder, sending the trooper spiraling to crash into a tree.

Juno came over, parking near Luke. Galen slid back, running to his brother. Luke looked as sore as Galen felt.

“Are you alright?”

“You fell first.”

“I’m fine.”

“Same. Where’s Leia?”

“I thought she was with you?”

Juno cut the engine, effectively quieting the scene enough for them to listen for more speeders. They could hear nothing but the critters and the light breeze.

“Once she finished with her guy, she would have returned to the team’s location.”, Juno reminded them, “Standard operating procedure.”

Turning, Galen could see Luke wasn’t entirely convinced.

“She’s right. Come on, we’ll see if this thing can hold three.”

“It can, just won’t run very fast.”

“Faster than walking.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

When they returned, Han and Chewie were leaned against one of the massive trees. The rest of the men milled around quietly, a few clearly on guard for imperials. Juno sat the speeder down gently, aware both men riding with her were more than a little sore.

Han ran over to meet them, “Luke!”

The general looked at the three of them, his face growing concerned.

“Where’s Leia?”

“She didn’t come back?”

Galen swayed a little on his feet. Juno reached, catching his elbow. His eyes looked clear, so she was assuming this was a Jedi thing and not a head injury thing.

“I thought she was with you.”

“We got separated.”

Juno cut in, “She rode out ahead of us, we couldn’t hear or see her, so we thought she had swung back here.”

“We better go look for her.”, Luke added.

Han turned to Sargent Bar’su.

“Take the squad ahead. We’ll meet at the shield generator and 0300.”

“Come on, R2, we’ll need your scanners.”, Luke ordered the little droid.

“Don’t worry, Master Luke! We know what to do.”, 3-PO assured.

Behind them, R2 and 3-PO groused with each other as R2 began his scans. Juno checked, seeing a small trickle of blood coming from Galen’s ear. She reached, shoving his helmet away in order to look at it.

“What?”, he asked.

“Your ear’s bleeding, you could have a skull fracture.”

She had to shove his hand away as she looked. Luckily, she spotted a small pair of cuts along his ear. He must have scraped himself when he landed as the blood was from them, and not his inner ear.

“Your good. Just scratches.”

He nodded.

“Thanks.”

“Come on, let’s get our princess back.”

Chapter Text

Looking to his right, Galen noticed Luke going around a tree with his eyes focused on something on the ground. Galen moved to follow, Juno right behind him. They came around to find Luke holding up a helmet. Leia’s helmet.

“Luke! Luke!”

The three of them ran for where Han was hollering for them. They came to find what had freaked Han out so badly. Two destroyed speeders.

Chewie moaned out his concern at the sight. Galen didn’t blame him. Luke held up Leia’s helmet as he spoke to Han.

“There’s two more wrecked speeders back there. And I found this.”

Luke tossed the helmet to Han. The look on the smuggler’s face was enough o have everyone know how he felt about their Princess, assuming they had not already figured it out from the kisses, lingering glances, and bickering.

“I’m afraid that R2’s sensors can find no trace of Princess Leia.”, C3-PO informed them.

“I hope she’s alright.”

Juno looked up at the old smuggler, seeing the worry in his expression. After her time spent waiting for all of them when they went to rescue Han from Jabba’s palace, she understood how it felt to sit back powerless and waiting to learn the fate of the person you cared about more than you would ever admit.

“We’ll find her.”, Galen offered.

Luke reached, a hand moving to Galen’s shoulder. Chewie hollered, then took off ahead of them, Han growling as he followed behind his friend.

“We’d better follow them.”, Luke groused.

Chewie stopped in a clearing, almost purring to Juno’s ears as he pondered a piece of meat left hanging on top of a dead looking tree. Juno had a bad feeling about this.

“Yeah, I don’t get it.”, Han said as he looked over the same meat and tree.

“It’s just a dead animal Chewie.”

In an instant, Chewie was reaching, Luke moved to try to stop him, Han jumping to help. Before Juno could jump away, a large net scooped Chewie, Luke, Han, Chewie, R2, and Galen, with Juno’s foot caught on the outside of the net, leaving her to hang upside down from her ankle while everyone else was smooshed together inside the trap. To make matters worse, the whole thing was spinning a bit, making it harder for Juno to get herself moved to get her leg out.

By Juno’s estimation, they were 10 feet in the air and hanging from a single thick rope. She didn’t see anyone coming yet. That was good, as it gave them a window to get free.

“Nice work.”, Han growled.

Galen listened while Chewie sniped back at Han. It wasn’t helping matters, though Galen tried to ignore them as he looked for a way to get out, his one hand reaching out to grasp Juno’s ankle. He didn’t want her to fall on her head.

“Great, Chewie. Great. Always thinking with your stomach.”

“Take it easy. Let’s just figure a way to get out of this thing.”, ordered Luke.

“Juno, you alright?”

Galen heard her scoff.

“Practically perfect, ‘cept for the blood rushing to my head.”

“Here, bend and reach for my hand.”

He held her foot with his left arm, reaching as far as he could with his right to try to offer her help. Once he had her in place, he would think of using the Force to try to get them out of this, by Force-lifting them or something.

“Han? Can you reach my lightsaber?”, Luke asked.

“Yeah! Sure.”

R2 whistled before Galen heard a buzzing. He knew what R2 was doing an urged Juno. She swung, lifting the top half of her body till her hand could touch his outstretched one, allowing Galen to let go of her ankle and pull her flush against him just before R2 cut through enough rope to bust them out of the trap and send them crashing into the ground below.

Galen fell back-first to the ground, Juno landing against his chest. Beside them, Han and Luke landed side by side, while R2 and 3-PO rolled off a bit, and Chewie landed face-first between Luke and Galen. Galen groaned. Juno rolled off of him and began checking him over again.

“You alright?”

Nodding, Galen forced himself to a sitting position. As the group looked, they realized they were not alone. They were now surrounded by a party of furry, half-pint beings with primitive weapons aimed for the group. They almost made Galen think of short wookies with tall ears and shorter fur.

“Hey! Point that thing someplace else!”

Galen turned to see Han shoving a spear away from he and Luke. When the critter tried again, Han got angry and pulled his blaster. Luke stopped Han from creating a bigger incident.

“Han, don’t. It’ll be alright.”

Another of the critters took Han’s weapon while two others moved for Chewie’s. Luke and Galen assured Chewie it would be alright if he were to hand it over. Juno handed hers over to another one of the little locals while shooting Galen a look to let him know she did not like this at all. Truthfully, Galen wasn’t thrilled about it either.

3-PO rose, remarking about his head. Suddenly, all the little locals began chattering to each other before falling to their knees and bowing to 3-PO while chanting in unison. Galen didn’t speak their language but even he could recognize a religious practice when he saw or heard one. Han looked rather confused and Luke seemed to be holding back a chuckle.

“Do you understand anything they’re saying?”

“Oh yes, Master Luke! Remember that I am fluent in over six million forms,”, Han interrupted their golden friend, “What are you telling them?”

“’Hello’, I think. I could be mistaken, they’re using a very primitive dialect. But I do believe they think I am some sort of god.”

As 2 sputtered his disbelief, Luke and Galen exchanged a look, both fighting back their laughter. Han, Chewie, and Juno were not nearly so amused.

“Well why don’t you use your divine influence and get us out of here?”

“I beg your pardon, General Solo, but that just wouldn’t be proper.”

His brother clearly had no intentions of hiding his amusement at this point, while Galen still bit his lower lip as Han continued to argue.

“PROPER?”

“It’s against my programming to impersonate a deity.”

“Why you!”, started Han as he dove for 3-PO.

The little locals and Luke all moved to stop Han. Faced with about a dozen spears in his face, Han’s anger cooled.

“My mistake. He’s an old friend of mine.”

Luke and Galen exchanged a look. This was not going to end well.

~*~*~*~*~*~

An hour or so later, they were all brought into the village of these beings- whom 3-PO called ‘Ewoks’, all trussed up. Only 3-PO remained unbound, riding in a chair that several Ewoks took turns carrying into the village. Juno and R2 were each tied with their backs to a flatter bit of wood, while Chewie, Han, Luke, and Galen had been hung from posts with their ankles and wrists bound.

Horns blew to herald their arrival. It seemed to bring a lot of joy, though Galen wasn’t sure if they were happy about prisoners or the arrival of their golden god. Then, as Han and Galen were placed over fire pits, Galen started to get an idea of why they had been roped up the way they had.

“I’m getting a really bad feeling about this.”, Han groused under his breath.

Across the way, 3-PO and a striped Ewok in an impressive headpiece, appeared in a somewhat heated discussion. Galen had a feeling 3-PO was trying to reason with the Ewok about cooking and eating 3-PO’s friends. Technically, Luke and Galen could stop this at any time, though Han and 3-PO appeared to have forgotten that.

“What did he say?”

“I’m rather embarrassed, General Solo, but it appears you are to be the main course at a banquet in my honor.”

Chewie and Han both made their displeasure about that known. From the look Juno was shooting Galen, she was contemplating murder. As drums began beating, a chatter fell over the Ewoks and a figure emerged from hut off to the side. Leia!

Luke and Han each noticed her, both happy to see the woman they had been looking for when they fell into the Ewok trap. Galen wondered if the trap was meant to catch creatures the Ewoks could eat, or if it was meant for the storm troopers in the area.

“Your Royal Highness!”, greeted 3-PO.

“But these are my friends.”, Leia tried to reason with the Ewoks, 3-PO, tell them, they must be set free.”

He tried to follow Leia’s order, to no avail. It was clear they were still expected to be on the menu for the festivities. From the look on Luke’s face, Galen knew his brother had formulated a plan.

“3-PO, tell them if they don’t do as you wish, you will become angry and use your magic.”

“But, Master Luke, what magic? I couldn’t possibly.”

“Just tell them.”

3-PO made another attempt, with a dramatic flare no less. It made no dent. As Luke made eye contact with Galen, Galen got an impression and grinned, nodding to Luke to let him know he understood.

“You see, Master Luke? They didn’t believe me, just as I said they wouldn’t.”

Luke closed his eyes, tilting his head back as he relaxed his body, focusing his mind. Galen closed his eyes and followed suit. Concentrating on 3-PO, Luke raised the protocol droid up into the air, his handmade throne chair slowly spinning above the Ewoks’ heads. Galen, meanwhile, made various items around them float above the Ewoks, just out of their reach.

All around them, Galen could hear the Ewoks as they panicked. They did not understand what was going on around them. They had found someone they believed to be their god, tried to honor him, and now they had seemingly angered their god and made him fly and raise items around them.

As 3-PO freaked out from his perch, the striped Ewok began giving orders. Soon, other Ewoks were moving into place to cut the party from their bonds. Galen noticed R2 chasing after one, zapping the Ewok’s behind as he rolled along, giving chase to the Ewok. Seeing the Ewoks’ compliance, Luke placed 3-PO gently back onto the ground.

Galen looked up in time to see Leia rushing to Han and the smuggler lifted her, kissing the Princess as he spun her around. The kissing did not stop even after Han put Leia back onto her feet. Beside him, Chewie let out a low chuckle. Luke let out a sigh, though Galen could tell his brother was relieved to see Leia and amused at the romantic reunion that seemed straight out of a storybook Aunt Baru might have read.

Galen shoved Luke, then jutted his chin towards Leia. Luke smiled and walked off to go hug his sister. Juno shook her head.

“What?”

She shrugged.

“Two minutes ago, we were all Ewok Chow. Now those two are swept up in their powerful lovestory, Luke is hugging up on her like a long-lost relative, 3-PO’s a deity to these people, R2 is disturbing the peace, and the three of us are over here in the gallery. Just another day in the Rebel Alliance.”

Galen snorted as Juno walked off and Chewie gave Galen a look.

“Oh, move it.”, he groused to the wookie, earning a deep chuckle in response.

A while later, after night had fallen, they all sat in a large hut with their furry hosts, listening to 3-PO regale the Ewoks with the story of how they came to land on the Ewoks’ home. Thanks to his being a protocol droid, he had wonderful sound effects to add of the ships, battles, and even Darth Vader’s distinctive breathing. Galen and Luke stood together listening from the doorway, Leia tucked into Han’s side, and Juno sitting over with Chewie. When one of the littler Ewoks cuddled into Han’s side, Luke chuckled and Galen bit his lip to hold back a bark of laughter.

“What’s going on?”, Han asked quietly as 3-PO concluded the tale and the Ewoks began to chatter amongst themselves.

Galen leaned over to Luke, “Thinking what I’m thinking?”

Luke nodded.

“Wonderful!”, 3-PO pronounced, “We are now a part of the tribe.”

Instantly, Han and Leia were attacked by affectionate Ewoks. A few on the other side of the room gave a similar attack to Juno and Chewie.

“Just what I always wanted.”, Han came back sarcastically, but with no real bite.

Galen was about to comment on how even R2 appeared to have made a friend among the Ewoks when he noticed Luke moving away. He could feel the churning within his brother. Luke felt drawn to a more personal mission, torn between his loyalty to Leia and the cause, and his need to save the man who had once been Anakin Skywalker.

He did not move to stop or delay Luke. This was something his brother had to sort out without Galen, the Ewoks, or the Rebellion getting involved. Galen was about to duck out and head away from Luke when Leia walked up to him.

“Where did Luke go?”

“He has some thinking to do.”

“Thinking? About what?”

He didn’t want to lie to her, though he knew it was not his place to tell her what was on Luke’s mind. Not the revelation about Anakin, nor of Leia’s true connection to Luke.

“You’d have to ask him.”

Leia gave a nod, then followed her twin into the night. Galen moved after her, but hung far enough back not to intrude too much. He could not hear thw Skywalker twins discussion, though he could sense them and see them well enough to know. Luke was going to tell Leia the truth, all of it.

Galen watched from the shadows. He could feel Luke’s loneliness, his heartbreak over knowing Anakin’s fate, and his fear that Vader would hurt everyone else in his hunt for Luke. And then, his fear of telling Leia why Vader could sense him and why Luke and Leia were so deeply connected by both the Force, and their connection as twins.

Galen could feel the exact moment Luke shared the full truth with Leia. He could feel an echo of her through Luke, her acceptance of the truth and their bond. He saw Leia stand, her tone louder as she argued with Luke and he stood to meet her. Galen almost wondered how he had not seen the similarities between Leia and Luke sooner.

Luke walked off, leaving Leia alone. Galen did not bother to move, knowing Luke would have to find him first before he left.

“How much did you hear?”

“Very little, almost nothing actually. You told Leia the truth, she’s your sister. Your twin. That you both share a connection through the Force and through your blood. That your shared father is the same man who interrogated her and held her still while her homeworld was destroyed in front of her, who froze her lover in carbonite and cut your hand off, yet now you are off to confront him in an effort to save your father.”

“Galen?”

“She’s strong, Luke. She can handle it.”

“Galen!”

Finally, he stopped talking and looked up at Luke.

“Leia may be my sister, but twin or not, that does not make her more important to me than you are. She is my twin, my sister by blood, but you’ve been my brother for as long as I can remember. You’ve saved my life, even before we left Tatooine.”

Stepping closer, Luke reached, his flesh hand grasping Galen’s lower arm.

“No matter what happens, you are still my brother, Galen.”

“I know that.”

Luke seemed momentarily confused.

“You can sense the conflict in Vader, I can sense how you are being tangled up and tugged in 50 directions, all at once. Of course, you want to save your father if you can. If I had a chance to save either of my parents, you would not have begrudged me that, you would have done everything in your power to help. And you want Leia to know the truth, because you worry you won’t come back, and because you want to have a moment with her where she understands things the way you do, in case you don’t come back.”

“Of course, you understand.”, Luke said with a sad smile, “Aunt Baru always said you never missed a thing.”

Galen and Luke both leaned in, hugging each other tightly. Both were aware there was a chance Luke wouldn’t come back or that tomorrow might be Galen’s last mission. Reluctantly, they drew back.

“Take care of them.”, Luke said as he tilted his head to where Leia now stood encircled in Han’s arms.

“You know I will. Take care of yourself.”

“May the Force be with you.”, Luke said as he backed off.

“You, too.”

He watched as Luke walked off, disappearing into the darkness like a phantom. Galen let out a long breath, fighting every urge to follow Luke and fight off anything or anyone who threatened his brother. For the first time since they left Tatooine, Galen felt lost. Even when he and Luke had been half a galaxy away from each other, on different missions for the Rebellion, Galen always had a pretty strong sense that they would see each other again and that soon enough they would be working side by side. Tonight, he felt adrift with no clear sense of what tomorrow would bring he or Luke.

“Where’s he going?”

Juno. Galen watched the space Luke had disappeared into.

“He’s going to confront Vader.”

“Alone?”

Galen nodded.

“Why didn’t he take you? Why did you let him go? Does Leia know he left?”

“Because he has to do this alone. Because it’s personal. And, yes.”

Juno moved to Galen’s side.

“Ever since you two came back from Degobah, there’s been something you aren’t talking about. Something haunting the two of you.”

Turning, Galen looked straight into Juno’s eyes and decided to tell her the truth.

“What I’m about to tell you, can’t be shared with anyone until Luke and Lei are alright with it being shared.”

Juno nodded, her expression worried.

“Before he was Darth Vader, he was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker, and he was married to a woman who died in childbirth. Their twin children were taken far away and separated, ensuring Vader and the Emperor could never find them.”

“Luke and Leia Skywalker.”

Galen nodded.

“Wow. I did not see that coming but…. Somehow, it makes sense. The two are always on their own wavelength, and I saw a halo of Bail Organa with his late wife, she looked nothing like them aside from having dark eyes. Granted, she doesn’t look all that much like Luke, either.”

The same thought had occurred to Galen, of Luke and Leia’s appearances.

“Luke thinks he can save Vader, bring him back to being Anakin. I’m not sure he’s right, but I can’t deny him this, in case he is right. He told Leia before he left.”

“Now I get why he asked you to take care of everyone. He isn’t completely sure he’s coming back.”

“Or that I will. Tomorrow’s mission will be dangerous, any one of us could die tomorrow. We all know that.”

“True. It’s the chance you take when you join any cause, no matter which side of it you’re on.”

Galen was about to argue when he noticed Juno’s one hand moving to the edge of his jacket where it hung open. Before he could say anything, her second hand had moved to mirror the first, her hands having a good grasp on his jacket as they stood facing each other. Not for the first time, he was struck by how beautiful Juno’s eyes were, so bright like stars. She was also a head shorter than him, more noticeable now with her close enough for their breath to comingle.

“Do you really think you might die tomorrow?”

“There will be fighting in the air and the on the ground. And Luke won’t be there for us to fight together… I think it’s very likely a lot of us won’t make it through tomorrow.”

“In that case, I won’t have to live this down.”

Juno tugged at his jacket, pulling him down to her level as she stretched up until her warm lips pressed against his own. Juno kissed him as if she also believed she would never get another chance. Galen moved, cupping her face in his hands as he deepened the kiss. Her hair was so soft under her hands, her skin warm. They broke for air, Galen having no shame in admitting that he panted for air.

“Juno?”

“No. I don’t want to talk anymore, wrench jockey.”

She smiled up at him, a teasing mingling with fear in her gray eyes.

“Either kiss me or walk away, but no more talking about tomorrow or what we just did.”

He nodded slightly as he reached to tug her into him, slowly moving to kiss her. A small hope burned within Galen, though he dared not speak of it for fear of snuffing it out. For now, he was content to be wrapped up with Juno, attempting to let her know how he felt without speaking it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, early under the dawn’s light, they gathered together with the strike team to move in on the shield generator. Juno strapped herself back into her uniform jacket overtop the white sleeveless shirt she wore beneath it, as she walked into the area where Chewie and Galen had slept. Galen was hooking his mismatched lightsabers onto his utility belt, his gray mechanic’s uniform already on. It was the first time she had ever seen him with any stubble.

“Ready to battle the Empire?”, she asked as she entered.

Galen looked up, a soft smile touching his lips despite the tightness in his posture.

“Are you?”

“Blasted no.”, Juno admitted as Galen stepped into her personal space.

Not for the first time, she was entranced by his jet black eyes. They were so dark and yet so full of light and life. She swore a person could almost read Galen’s mind if they paid close enough attention to his eyes.

Galen reached, his hands falling to her waist. No matter how she had kissed him last night, his hands had only ever strayed to cup her cheeks, his fingers to her hair, or both hands lay at her waist as they had kissed. It seemed now, on the eve of battle, he was no less restrained.

“How’s Luke?”

He let out a slow breath.

“He’s alive but… I think he’s trying to shield himself from Vader or the Emprer and that makes it harder to know as much as I’d like.”

“But he’s alive and not in any obvious distress.”

“Yes.”

Juno tilted her head, offering a small smile up at Galen.

“Focus on that, then.”

He leaned, bumping the tip of his nose against hers. For a moment, they just stood there. They were interrupted by Chewie at the hut entrance, calling out that everyone was gearing up to go.

“Better get going.”, Juno started, “Shield to take down, Ewoks to rally.”

“I’ll be right beside you today. Leia and Han adjusted the plan, since Luke left. They are a team, we’re a team, Chewie is supposed to help keep an eye on R2 and 3-PO.”

She nodded. Galen grabbed his pack and Juno threw her own pack over one shoulder. She was carrying a handful of detonators and she wanted to be able to drop them in a hurry if she had to and run away. Galen had an extra blaster, some tools, and the like.

For the next hour, they carefully moved from the Ewok village to the Empire’s shield generator. When they reached it, everyone quietly hid among the trees while Han, Leia, Chewie, and Juno formulated the plan.

“The main entrance to the control bunker is on the far side of that landing platform.”, Leia read off to them from the scanner she held.

“This isn’t going to be easy.”, she cautioned.

“Hey, don’t worry. Chewie and me got into a lot of places more heavily guarded than this.”, assured Han.

Chewie remarked that it had only been the two of them sneaking in during those incidences. Then, the Ewok Wicket began talking to 3-PO, the rest of them forced to wait for them to finish so 3-PO could fill them in.

“He says there’s a secret entrance on the other side of the ridge.”

“Well then,” Leia said with a small smile, “let’s try that. Tell him to lead the way.”

Wicket and two other Ewoks lead the way, the Rebels following along. As they walked, Juno leaned to speak quietly with Galen as they moved amongst the trees.

“Did 3-PO ever say why the Ewoks are helping us? Do they know the danger they are putting themselves in?”

Galen was aware what was nagging at Juno. She had told him about the battle that haunted her nightmares so frequently. The Bombing of Callos.

“3-PO said that Storm Troopers have killed Ewoks for sport. That’s why they started having all their traps and are spending so little time on the ground. None of their children are permitted to leave the village, for fear they’ll encounter soldiers of the Empire.”

Juno shook her head. It didn’t surprise her at all. The Empire did not attract kind people, nor did they encourage such a trait in those under their command. Galen looked over his shoulder and offered a small smile.

“They are using our help to kick out an invasive hunter species.”

Despite their situation, Juno allowed a small chuckle at the joke. It would be good to help the Ewoks take out the trash on their home. Perhaps, in some way, it would help balance out the impact of her life in this galaxy.

They arrived at the back-end of the shield generator site, as promised by the Ewoks. Han, Leia, Chewie, Galen, and Juno all crouched to the Ewok height, as a brown Ewok in a gray headdress explained to them where they were.

“A back door, huh? Good idea.”, Han concurred.

Wicket and two more Ewoks talked among themselves while Han began planning who would go where. Galen noticed Wicket jabbing a furry hand against 3-PO to get the Ewok deity-impersonating droid to translate.

“Oh! Oh my! Princess Leia!”, 3-PO started before Leia moved, shoving a hand over his mouth and nose region.

“Shh!”, she reminded him.

“I’m afraid out furry companion has gone and done something rather rash.”

Chewie and Leia said simultaneously in their respective tongues, “Oh no.”

Galen had to agree.

“There goes our surprise attack.”

From up on the hill, they watched as the gray-headdress wearing Ewok climbed onto a speeder-bike and began fidgeting with the controls. The little guy successfully got the engine started, drawing the attention of the half-dozen storm troopers who stood guard at the back door. The Ewok zipped off and instantly, the troopers were moving to give chase. Han looked impressed as he turned back to the group.

“Not bad for the little furball, there’s only one left.”

Pointing to 3-PO, “You stay here. We’ll take care of this.”

3-PO headed over to Wicket and R2.

“I have decided that we shall stay here.”

“Well, at least he isn’t arguing.”, Juno quipped to Leia.

Han directed one group to move off to the right-side of their current position on the back-door, to lay in wait while Han drew the remaining guard away. Galen still had his nagging feeling and the ease of which they were getting this close, was doing nothing to make that feeling dissipate. Leia went down with Chewie, Juno and Galen remaining behind with a smaller group of Rebels, to help cover Leia’s team’s backs. As they watched Han go down to sneak up on and distract the remaining trooper, Galen felt a weight in his stomach, as if he were in a ship whose engine blew and he would now have to make a gliding-crash landing.

“You alright?”

He nodded to Juno.

“Luke’s plan isn’t going according to plan.”

“How bad?”

Galen closed his eyes and focused on the invisible tether between he and Luke.

“He’s alive, but still shielding. He’s with his father and… the Emperor.”

Without thinking, Juno’s hand shot out to Galen’s.

“If he’s not panicked, that’s good. The Emperor likes mind-games. He’s probably giving Luke a front row seat to something he thinks will upset Luke. Or, he’s just talking to him which… for anyone else, is probably worse but for you and Luke, I think either of you could handle it, same for Leia.”

Galen nodded.

“Come on, we’ve got a team to watch.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Luke listened to the Emperor’s rantings, a preditor drawing prey into the trap. Luke forced himself to think of Obi-wan and Yoda’s warnings, of Leia and Galen’s faith in him. He would not fall into the trap.

His father handed Luke’s lightsaber over to the Emperor. The Emperor cooed over it, marveling at the make of it and what it meant for Luke’s aptitude and training.

“A Jedi’s weapon, much like your father’s. By now you must know your father can never be turned from the Dark Side. So will it be with you.”

“You’re wrong. Soon I’ll be dead, and you with me.”

The Emperor laughed. The sickening sound of it turned Luke’s stomach.

“Perhaps you refer to the imminent attack of your rebel fleet.”

Luke was not as shocked as he should have been.

“Ah yes. I assure you, we are quite safe from your friends here.”

“Your overconfident is your weakness.”, Luke asserted.

“Your faith in your friends is yours.”

Luke barely restrained himself from correcting the Emperor. They were his family. Han and Chewie, Lando like the cousin he had always wanted, Leia his long lost twin sister, and his brother Galen. And it was not entirely his faith in them, so much as feeling their faith in him. He couldn’t fail them. He wouldn’t.

“It is pointless to resist, my son.”

Luke steeled himself, keeping his shields up as he stood there in the Emperor’s lair. From his dark throne chair, the Emperor gloated.

“Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design. Your friends up there on the sanctuary moon are walking into a trap, as is your rebel fleet. It was I who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops awaits them. Oh… I’m afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.”

Luke wanted to scream. To run. To warn them. He wanted to kill the Emperor, he wanted to crash the ship, he wanted to do something.

There was nothing for him to do. He had to trust Leia and Galen’s instincts, for them to know they were walking into a trap. Leia and Galen were Jedi, Leia’s training under Bail had served her well to hone some natural gift of being a Jedi, and Galen was as trained as Luke. They were the Rebellion’s best hope.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Inside the shield generator station, Han, Leia, and Chewie lead a squad into the heart of the base. Leia worked on the system while Chewie kept the soldiers in place and Han started placing the charges. It was a familiar procedure they had all done with Imperial ships, bases, and equipment at some point in their time with the Rebel Alliance.

As they worked, suddenly an officer burst into the room, shouting at Han. Han’s reaction was to throw a toolbox at the officer, sending the man dropping down into the generator. Before Leia could finish trying to send a message to the fleet and before Han could set all the detonators, Storm troopers and officers flooded the area, all aiming blasters at Han, Leia, Chewie, and their team.

Leia moved to fight and Han held out a hand, reminding her to stop. They had planned for this. Juno had suspected a trap, as did Galen. Their back-up plan was to let any small group go in and capture three generals and the small squad, and when they came out, Galen, Juno, the droids, and their Ewok allies would come to the rescue.

They were lead out to where more Imperials awaited. This was a lot more than they had assumed would be there. Leia looked around. This was a trap, just as she feared and both Galen and Juno had suspected.

Leia knew what this meant. If they were this prepared for them at the field generator site, where they knew likely only a small handful of Rebels would be, Leia could imagine what awaited the fleet when they arrived, expecting the generator to be down. She hoped Lando and the others would realize in time to avoid complete annihilation.

“I say, over there! Were you looking for me?”

The Imperials all turned to look at 3-PO on the hill with R2. The droids were hard to miss as they stood up, directly between two trees, with 3-PO waving his shiny, golden arms about as he projected loudly.

“Bring those two down here!”, shouted an officer.

A squad of Troopers moved up the hill towards 3-PO as he fretted to R2. As the Troopers came up, ordering the droids to be still as they were surrounded, Galen smiled. Wicket let out a sharp cry and a wave of Ewoks overtook the squad. Another Ewok blew a horn from up in a tree, calling everyone to their part in the plan.

The Ewoks invaded the area below, two squadrons of Rebels scattered among them, all with one goal- taking down the Imperial Forces on the sanctuary moon. Galen held both his ligthsabers ignited, back to back with Juno. She fired as troopers and officers while Galen deflected shots, bouncing several of them back at the Imperial forces. All around them the Ewoks battled with their spears, crossbows, various traps, and sheer numbers.

The Rebels with Leia moved, jumping the troopers around them to get their weapons back. Leia took out one of the Walker’s pilots while rows of Ewok archers took down significant numbers of the Storm Troopers. Galen pushed Juno down as three Ewoks sung overhead to tackle five storm troopers.

Aloft, several Ewoks took flight in gliders to drop stones on the storm troopers below. Others pulled heavy ropes among the trees to trip the Walkers. Galen had to admit he was greatly impressed by the Ewoks.

“Over there!”, Juno called.

Galen looked. One Ewok had fallen in his glider and was about to be crushed under the feet of a Walker. Galen stretched his hand out towards the AT-AT and concentrated. Using the Force, he crumpled the Walker so badly that it could not move.

Juno stood, firing at two storm troopers who were moving on one of the Ewoks’ trebuchets. The Ewoks cheered towards her before reloading the trebuchet and sending a large stone into the side of another AT-AT. Over the comm, Galen heard Leia call for R2.

“We’d better cover him!”, Juno shouted as she took off towards the droids.

Galen followed right behind Juno, shielding her back as she fired shots to cover R2 and 3-PO. Once the droids reached the bunker, Juno and Leia exchanged a nod and Juno turned, going back to where the Ewok trebuchets were tucked into the hillsides.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Luke looked out from the Emperor’s observatory. A few times, he swore he could see the Falcon dodging and weaving expertly among the Imperial fleet. No doubt Lando would have made her dance while everyone else barely stumbled through such a complicated battlefield.

He wanted desperately to reach out, to feel for Leia, Galen, Han, Chewie, and Lando, but he dared not try. To open himself up to them would mean dropping his shields against the Emperor and Vader, which he could not afford to do. Obi-wan’s warning had not fallen on deaf ears, even if the old Jedi had felt that way. Luke had to keep himself walled off in order to protect himself from the Emperor.

“As you can see, my young apprentice, your friends have failed. Now witness the firepower of this fully-armed and operational battle station.”

The Emperor reached with a pale, withered hand to press the comm, giving the order to use the full power of the station. Luke instantly felt ill. Helpless.

Luke felt the station vibrate ever so slightly before a bright green light shone. The green light shot out from the Deathstar and struck one of the Rebel ships, destroying it in a blink. Luke almost fell to the ground, barely staying on his feet as he felt the echo of their brief panic and the shock of the Rebels around them.

Taking a deep breath, Luke tried to remind himself that Leia and Galen were down on the moon. They knew their job and they had the Force as well as the two people who loved them most, besides Luke. Han and Juno would make sure Leia and Galen lived to get the job done. They would bring down the shield generator, Lando and the others would take down the Imperial fleet and the Deathstar, and his friends, his sister, and his brother would live to see a galaxy free of the Emperor.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Galen did not like the look of things. The Ewoks were doing well, but Leia and the group were trapped at the door, seemingly unable to get inside to take down the field generator. From what they had overheard on the comms of a couple officers, the Emperor had planned this and it was a trap set to take down the Rebellion in one fell swoop.

“R2’s been hit!”

Galen turned to look, seeing R2 as he reacted to being fried in some way. Han moved to try to hotwire the doors and Leia moved to cover him. Their plan had officially gone up in smoke.

Hearing a cry he assumed to be an Ewok, Galen ran forward. As he and Juno came over a hilltop, they found smoldering plantlife and a brown Ewok mourning over the body of a black and white Ewok. Galen could sense the Ewok was gone, killed in the battle.

Galen turned, heading back for the shield generator bunker. Juno ran behind him. He had an idea. If it worked, they would get in and if it didn’t, they would be no worse off. He had to end this sooner than later.

As soon as he was in sight of the bunker, he put his lightsaber away. Juno stood beside him, shooting to cover him.

“What are you doing?”

“Opening that door.”

Han was crouched over Leia. From the looks of it, she had been injured and Han was trying to attend her wound when several storm troopers cornered them. Leia quickly fired around Han, taking out three of the Troopers. Juno shot the other two.

Again, Galen reached out towards his intended target and concentrated. He thought about the doors and the gears as he closed his eyes. A simple mechanism. With a mental push, he could hear the doors groan and they opened by means of the Force.

Opening his eyes, Galen could see he had shoved the doors open far enough for Leia and Han to easily run inside with the charges. Both dove in to complete the mission. Galen heard Juno let out a cry.

Turning, he saw her holding her side with a bloodied hand while gritting her teeth and firing her blaster. Galen could feel the panic and anger of the Ewoks, the confusion and fear of the Imperial forces, the fear and determination of the Rebels, an echo of Lando’s grit and his faith in Han and the team below, as well as of Luke. Wherever Luke was he felt… helpless. Defeated. Barely clinging to his hope.

Galen grabbed Juno by the elbow and helped her move to a more protected position. Her side was bleeding badly enough to really worry Galen, but she was still holding to her blaster, ready to fight.

“Just stick me someplace good, and get back to fighting.”

“Not happening.”

“Galen, that was an order!”

“Court martial me.”

Galen ripped the sleeves from his jacket, tying them together to get a long enough strip to wrap around Juno’s waist and tie it over the wound. Juno gritted her teeth, almost hissing through them as Galen tightened the knot.

“Sorry.”

Juno waved him off, then pointed to his lightsabers. Galen sighed.

“Get back out there, wrench jockey. Battle’s not over yet.”

“I can’t leave you here.”

“Won’t have to. I’ve got my second wind. Let’s go!”

Galen helped her up to her feet and instantly had to pull a lightsaber to deflect a shot from an AT-AT. Juno fired at a weak spot between the Walker’s hip joints, causing the legs to freeze up. Galen deflected the next shot to land between the two eye-socket like windows, blasting the cab.

Mentally, Galen tried to push a thought to Luke the way Luke had done to Leia back at Cloud City. He tried to think of how Leia was alive, that they were about to complete their mission. Lastly, he focused it into one sentence. May the Force be with you.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Luke watched helplessly as the battle raged around him, the Rebels outgunned and on the evasive, the shield’s being up a clear indication that Leia and Galen’s part of the mission was not going well.

“Your fleet is lost,” the Emperor taunted, “and your friends on the Endor moon will not survive.”

He desperately wanted to refute the Emperor’s taunt. With all his might, he wished he could reach out and feel Galen, Leia, Lando, Han, to know that they were alive and about to finish the mission.

“There is no escape… my young apprentice. The Alliance will die… as will your friends.”

Already assuming Luke had turned, that he would fall into the Emperor’s clutches. It made Luke’s skin crawl and his blood burn. And all the while, his father stood there, motionless, cold.

His eyes fell to his lightsaber. It was just out of reach by hand but by the Force… he could easily take it.

“Good.”, rasped the Emperor, “I can feel your anger. I am defenseless. Take your weapon. Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the Dark Side will be complete!”

Luke considered. Lando and the others would target the Deathstar once the shield generator went down. Luke would probably not survive. If he fell to the Dark Side, he would not live long enough to become a threat to anyone he cared about, only the Emperor and Vader.

He turned his back to the pair of Sith, but his eyes found all the Rebel ships desperately trying to stay alive and in the fight until the shield went down. They were so outgunned that there was no reasonable hope of the Rebellion surviving the day, let alone winning it.

In a blink, Luke spun and reached, using the Force to draw his saber into his outstretched hand. He ignited the saber, moving to cut down the Emperor only to be blocked by a familiar red lightsaber. The Emperor cackled as Vader kept Luke’s own lightsaber from removing the Emperor’s head.

He had fallen for the Emperor’s trap. Obi-wan had warned Luke and yet, here he was, inches from committing murder. Luke stepped back, moving to keep both the Emperor and Vader in his sight. Vader moved to challenge him, striking at Luke with his saber.

Luke deflected and dove, attempting to dodge rather than take on his father. He needed to keep them both busy long enough for Leia’s team to take down the shield generator and Lando’s group to take down the Imperial Fleet. Vader struck down hard. Luke blocked, though it took every bit of strength he had to push Vader off and move to kick his father, sending Vader flying down the stairs.

“Good! Use your aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you.”, instructed the Emperor.

Luke turned back to his father as Vader walked towards the stairs. Looking down them, he found Vader did not look so intimidating or looming. He almost seemed resigned, as if neither of them expected to live to see the dawn.

With a flick, Luke turned off his saber. He did not want to kill his own father, nor fight him. He wanted to save him. To bring his father back to the good side.

“Obi-wan has taught you well.”, Vader complimented.

“I will not fight you, Father.”

Vader moved calmly up the stairs, his lightsaber held off to the side as the mechanisms hissed in their efforts to keep Vader alive. Luke was not stupid enough to believe Vader would let him go and as such, he backed up as his father ascended the stairs.

“You are unwise to lower your defenses!”, he called out before striking out at Luke.

Luke ignited his lightsaber just in time, blocking every blow. He matched his father, move for move, their weapons crackling as they stayed together, Luke and Vader locked in battle and in their gazes.

As Luke got the high ground, Vader moved at him again. Luke blocked. Vader struck harder and Luke had to work to stay on his feet as he deflected the strikes.

Finally, he got the chance and backflipped to a control panel. As Vader turned, Luke was able to leap up to be out of Vader’s reach. It would not protect him from being Force-choked or any of Vader’s other favorite tricks though it would keep him from being able to use his lightsaber.

He could feel Vader’s conflict within himself. His pride in Luke’s ability, his relief that Luke had gotten away from him, his fear of the Emperor, his anger at Luke being there.

“Your thoughts betray you, Father. I feel the good in you, the conflict.”

“There is no conflict.”

“You couldn’t bring yourself to kill me before. I don’t believe you’ll destroy me now.”, Luke said as he walked the plank above Vader.

“You underestimate the power of the dark side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny.”

Vader threw his lightsaber in the air, nearly slicing Luke’s ear off as the blade passed by his head and Luke ducked out of it’s path. The blade sliced through the supports on the plank, sending Luke crashing to the floor below, showered in a cascade of sparks and hot, metal shrapnel.

The Emperor taunted as Vader moved about, calmly stalking his prey. Luke knew it now. No matter the conflict within his father, the Emperor’s grip was too strong, too much entrenched within Vader to allow Vader any chance of escape. Luke could hear Vader’s suit and his lightsaber as Luke kept hidden behind a large pilar below the Emperor’s perch.

His mind whirled. Leia had told him to run away. Obi-wan had questioned if Luke was ready to face Vader. Galen had been absolutely sure Luke could take on Vader and win. Han thought Luke’s willingness to believe in the Force made him too prone to listening to the little voice of doubt in the back of his mind.

The Rebel Fleet was being destroyed by the Imperial Deathstar. Below, Galen and Leia’s teams were likely fairing no better. The Emperor’s trap had worked. The Rebellion would fall in a single battle and Luke would die without saving his father, the Rebellion, or his loved ones out in the fight.

“You cannot hide forever, Luke.”

“I will not fight you.”

“Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save your friends.”

Images flashed in front of Luke’s eyes. Han at the helm of the Falcon with Chewie at his side. Lando playing cards at the Rebel base. Galen working under Juno’s ship as he joked with Luke, and Leia as he told her about their mother, Vader, the Force, and being twins.

“Yes.”, Vader said with a sickenling pleased tone, “Your feelings for them are strong, especially for… brother and… sister. So, you have a twin sister. Your feelings have no betrayed her too.”

Luke wanted to scream. He had not meant for his shields to slip and now Vader knew all about Leia.

“Obi-wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will.”

“NEVER!”, Luke cried as he ignited his lightsaber.

He would never allow Vader to touch Leia. She would not fall and Vader would never come near her.

Vader and Luke fought, their blows harder than ever before. Luke did not care if he died, he would not allow Vader to come near enough to Leia to see her face. He had to protect Leia, and Galen, from the monsters who would take them into the Darkness.

Luke charged forward, striking again and again. Vader fell and Luke kept at the fight until he sliced through Vader’s wrist and the safety rail. Seeing Vader prone, his fried wires showing where his right hand had been a prothetelic, his lightsaber falling down the tubes below, Luke felt a phantom pain in his own right hand.

The Emperor drew closer, laughing as he praised Luke. Vader still lay prone, panting into his machinery as Luke stood over him, his green saber humming and ready.

“Your hate has made you powerful. Now… fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side.”

Luke moved his right hand away from his lightsaber, seeing where the glove kept the break in his artificial skin covered. Flexing his hand, he could still feel the horrible, searing pain of his father’s lightsaber slicing off his hand and cauterizing the wound instantly. And now here he stood, lightsaber in hand with Vader on the ground, hundreds of feet in the air over exhaust tubes, missing his right hand.

Luke turned, deactivating his weapon as he tossed it aside. He faced the Emperor, determined.

“Never. I’ll never turn to the dark side. You failed your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”

For a long moment the Emperor glared at Luke.

“So be it, Jedi. If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed.”

Suddenly, the Emperor blasted Luke with Force-lighting. It seared Luke from the inside out, his skin feeling as if it were all that held him together, his muscles twitching and burning. Luke screamed as he writhed.

Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Luke gasped for breath, every muscle in his body hurting, even his teeth from clenching his jaw so hard. He saw Vader rise to his feet as come over to the Emperor’s side.

“Young fool.”, lamented the Emperor, “Only now, at the end, do you understand.”

Again, the lightning came. The Emperor drew closer, still gloating and taunting Luke between bouts of lightning.

“Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side. You have paid the price for your lack of vision.”

Luke begged, “Father? Please? Help me?”

He was defenseless. There was nothing to do but call out for his father, his only hope. He thought of Galen and Leia, hoping they had survived the battle below.

Miles away, Galen fell to the ground, screaming as he thrashed and flailed. Beside him, Juno sat on her knees, holding her bleeding side and still shooting her blaster. Leia and Han had called for reinforcements over the comm. Above them, the battle raged with the Rebels losing. Galen could feel as something tried to burn the life from Luke and Luke despaired.

“Get down!”, Galen ordered through gritted teeth.

Juno flattened herself without question. Galen concentrated, feeling all the fear and pain and determination of those around him, focusing until he could feel the Force thrumming in the trees, the ground, the bodies around him, the air and space between each living thing and the next. With a pulse of energy, he leveled the AT-ATs and Imperial soldiers within a 50 foot radius as he screamed.

He concentrated on Leia and Luke, using every bit of strength he had left to reach out to them. Leia and Han were running, having set the charges and needing to get out before they blew, Han landing overtop of Leia to shield her as the building blew up behind them. Above, in the Deathstar, Luke still lived but the agony echoed down to Galen, paralyzing him as Juno knelt beside him, her blaster in hand to defend him.

Up in the Deathstar, Luke writhed and convulsed. Everything was searing pain. He caught a small glimmer. Galen and Leia. They lived. The shield generator was down.

“Father?”

“Now, young Skywalker… you will die.”

Luke tried to breathe before he was hit with another round from the Emperor. It was ripping him apart.

“No. NO!”

The pain stopped and Luke moved. His father had lifted the Emperor and was carrying him away as the Emperor’s Force-lightning continued to crackle out, frying both himself and Vader. Vader moved to the edge of the platform and threw the Emperor from it as the dark lord screamed.

Luke could see the effect the Emperor’s lightning had left in Vader. The old Jedi leaned heavily on a crate, panting for breath as smoke and gas floated around him from the explosion below as the Emperor’s lightning blew something down below.

As fast as he could, Luke dragged himself to his feet and half-crawled to his father. He then helped Vader fall back into Luke’s chest. He had to get them off the Deathstar soon. From what he felt from Galen, the shield was down and that meant Lando would be going for the Deathstar’s one weakness.

As everyone rushed to abandon the destroyer, no one paid Luke and Vader any attention. No one offered to help or tried to stop them as Luke half-carried, half-dragged his father down the halls of the star destroyer. All around them was a flurry of fear as men who believed their ship to be invincible now fled as it was about to blow.

Soon, Luke could nolonger bear the bulk of Vader’s weight and Vader seemed unable to assist or keep his feet under him. He fell and Luke guided his father to the ground, then dragged him over to a ramp for a shuttle being left behind. Luke could only assume no one had wanted the ship because it was a slower model and very small.

He hauled his father up onto the platform, trying to help him be more comfortable. Pulling Vader into a sitting position, he could tell the life support system that had kept Vader going all these years, was starting to fail from the damage the Emperor had inflicted upon it.

“Luke, help me take this mask off.”

“But you’ll die.”

“Nothing can stop that now. Just for once… let me look on you with my own eyes.”

He did not wish to hasten his father’s death, though he understood that Vader was right. There would be no escaping death this time. Carefully, Luke began removing the helmet and mask one piece at a time. In truth, he was curious to see his father’s face as well and knew this would likely be his only chance.

As he removed the last piece of the mask, he saw his father’s face for the first time. Light eyes much like his own but with purplish-bruised skin below them. A horrible, ragged scar creased along the top of Vader’s hairless head. Another set of scars ran along the apple of his left cheek. The man in front of him looked nothing like the man in Luke’s childhood dreams of a dashing young freighter pilot.

“Now… go my son… Leave me.”

“No. You’re coming with me. I’ll not leave you here. I’ve got to save you!”

“You already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister, you were right.”

The old Jedi smiled, his eyes sliding closed as he sank backward. Luke moved, trying to hold him up.

“Father! I won’t leave you!”

Unbeknownst to Luke, Yoda and Obi-wan stood silently and watched as their former apprentice and friend drew his final breath and passed in his son’s arms. It seemed both so long ago and yet only a short while ago that Anakin had been the young apprentice forced to watch his only living parent pass in his arms. While that experience had ended up being the first true step towards Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side, both could sense Luke was still firmly as a Jedi.

Obi-wan’s heart broke at the scene. Years ago, he had been forced to the same position as he watched Padme beg Anakin to come back to her, to give up the Emperor and leave with her to raise their family in peace, away from all the fighting. When Leia’s message had played for him, Obi-wan had been struck dumb momentarily by her resemblance to Padme yet her attitude, her fire, her defiant nature had been every inch Anakin all over. The boy before them now, with his father’s light eyes and fair hair, had Padme’s heart, her desire to keep everyone she loved safe, her ability to take the weight of all the galaxy on her shoulders.

A battle raged outside and yet Luke looked at his father’s body, still and silent. No hiss of mechanical breathing, no modulated voice, no groan of armor as the man walked. The hanger was empty except for the two of them. Luke sank down, his tears flowing hot down his cheeks. Anakin was gone. His father was gone.

Quickly, Luke forced himself up and hauled Anakin’s body into the little shuttle. He moved to the cockpit and piloted the small shuttle away from the Deathstar. A few years ago, he had only dreamed of flying an Imperial shuttle or taking part in a battle. This was not what he had dreamed of when he pictured a battle and flying in space.

Back down on Endor’s moon, Galen rolled onto his back. Juno panicked as she looked him over, still unsure what had sent him to the ground screaming and writhing in the first place. She could see no wound and knew that Leia and Han were fine, so there was nothing he should have seen to send him to the ground in agony.

Galen whispered something. Leaning, Juno got close enough to his lips to hear him as he said it again.

“They did it.”

Juno pulled out her comm, turning it up. The message had been relayed. Lando had taken down the Deathstar. Looking up, she could see the explosion in the sky, like the brightest fireworks she had ever seen. The Imperial fleet had been destroyed, as had the Deathstar.

All around them, cheering erupted among the Ewoks and Rebels. The Deathstar was gone, the Empire defeated. They had won.

Juno leaned down, pressing a kiss to Galen’s lips. When she pulled away, he looked dazed. She noticed that his muscles were nolonger tight and his teeth did not clench.

“Galen?”

“We did it.”

“We did.”

“Luke’s coming back. He’s alive.”

“Good.”

“We should check on Leia.”

Juno looked up to see Han leading Leia off, her poncho removed and her sleeve torn away to reveal her wound. From the looks of it, Han intended to doctor her up. Juno smiled down at Galen.

“I think she’s alright. Han’s got her.”

“Good.”

She felt Galen’s hand on her hip, his thumb tracing a line back and forth over the dip of her waist. Looking into his dark, black-brown eyes, Juno could see so much going on in them.

“We didn’t die.”, he said softly.

“No. We didn’t.”

His face fell a little. Juno was confused.

“If you want, I won’t hold you to last night. Won’t forget it happened, I can’t, but I’ll back off if you prefer it that way.”

For a moment, Juno thought about it. Galen wasn’t the type you could have some fun times with and then leave behind. He was the kind of person that once you let yourself be with him, you never let him go.

“I don’t.”, she said as she leaned down, stopping just shy of pressing her lips to his, “I want you to hold me to last night.”

His smile was bright enough to rival sun-stars as he looked up at her. Then, his hand was tangling in her hair, his other still latched at her side opposite of where she had been shot. Juno could tell Galen was being careful as he leaned up to kiss her, neither of his hands putting any real pressure on her.

They broke the kiss, but Galen let his forehead rest against Juno’s. For a moment, neither spoke. They could hear all the cheering and celebrating going on around them.

“Juno.”

“Yes.”

“Will you stick around for a while, now that the war is over?”

“If I had a good reason, I’d stay.”

Galen’s tone was soft, almost scared to her ears as he asked, “Would I be a good enough reason?”

Reaching, Juno cupped his cheek in her hand as she looked him right in the eye.

“You would be the best reason.”

Juno leaned forward, kissing Galen deeply. She could feel him smiling into the kiss as his arms came to gently encircle her, still careful of her wound.

~*~*~*~*~*~

After landing on the moon, Luke went to work building a funeral pyre. If he simply buried Darth Vader’s remains, it would be some sort of shrine for those who still loved or admired the Empire, or it would be desecrated by those who reviled the Emperor and his righthand man. Luke decided to destroy the body of his father in peace, and in private.

Once it was built, he placed his father atop of it and lit a torch. His aunt Baru used to tell him old stories as a child, one of which involved a brave knight who was sent off with a funeral pyre in order to release his soul from his body due to a curse that had made him fight his own friends. The details of the story were a little fuzzy now, though he could hear bits of it in her voice, as he brought the torch over to the pyre.

He lit the first logs with the fire spreading quickly. It was odd. All about him, Ewoks and Rebels celebrated the end of the Empire and Luke was glad of it, for the galaxy to be free at last. Yet, at the same time while he knew that planets all over the galaxy would be dancing in the streets, he stood at his father’s funeral to say his final goodbye to a man he had never really known.

For over an hour he stood, watching his father’s remains burn to ash and memory. He had used some oils to ensure the fire burned hot and quickly. He wanted to ensure there was no trace of Darth Vader for anyone to find in weeks or years to come. It was the least he could do for his father.

Once there was nothing left, Luke made his way to the Ewok village. He needed to see Leia, Galen, and the others with his own eyes. Hours ago, he thought he would die in the Deathstar and never see any of them again.

As he moved to the heart of the festivities, he spotted Leia and Han talking to Chewie and Lando near a large bonfire. Leia instantly rushed up to Luke, throwing her arms around him. He smiled over her shoulder at Han, Lando, and Chewie as he held Leia close.

As soon as Leia let go of him, Han reached to pull Luke into another hug, this one only slightly less bruising than Leia’s. Han patted Luke’s back, quietly saying that he was glad to have Luke back. Lando was next, then Wex, Chewie coming up from behind to wrap Luke in a bone-crushing hug. Luke smiled, patting the wookie’s furry arm.

“Luke!”

Chewie put Luke down and he turned to see Galen walking up with his uniform jacket missing and Juno beside him with an obvious bandage at her middle and her black officer’s jacket replaced with her usual green pilot’s jacket. Galen sprinted to Luke before pulling him into a hard hug. Luke moved to hold his brother, glad to see him alive.

“I got your message.”

Galen almost shook.

“I felt it, Vader’s gone.”

Galen stepped back, dark eyes searching Luke’s face.

“Are you alright?”

“Buried him. Said my goodbyes. What about you? Juno?”

“She and Leia both got hit, but Han got Leia’s arm taken care of, Juno’s side was beyond my skill so I was making sure she got a real medic to look her over before she threw herself into cleanup efforts.”

“Leia’s arm?”

“She was shot with a blaster, minor injury. Like I said, Han took care of her.”

Luke noticed an odd expression his brother’s face. Turning, he spotted two familiar forms. Glowing and looking much as they had the last time he had seen each of them in the flesh, Obi-wan and Yoda looked on, their expressions pleased as they stood by the festivities.

After a moment, Obi-wan turned and looked to his side. Luke was shocked as he saw another form materialize, just as glimmering as Obi-wan and Yoda. Young, with a full head of light hair, pale eyes, and a smile Luke knew as well as he knew his own face, stood Anakin Skywalker. Gone was the frail, feeble, scarred man Luke had found beneath the mask. This was the strapping young pilot he had imagined in his childhood fantasies about what his father had been like.

Leia came over to Galen and Luke, hooking an arm into the crooks of each of their arms. Luke could tell Leia did not see Obi-wan, Yoda, or Anakin. From the look on Galen’s face, he could see Galen had come to the same conclusion.

“Come on. Our hosts want to feed everyone.”

Luke smiled at his twin, letting her lead him off and reaching to catch his brother’s arm to tug him along. As he stood by the fire, between his siblings, he felt at peace. The Empire had fallen, he had saved his father and been saved by Anakin in the end, Leia lived and would likely soon be married to Han and off living her life with him and probably taking a leadership position in the Alliance moving forward, Galen was alive and holding Juno’s hand with a light blush covering his cheeks every time he caught the blonde staring at him, Lando was crouched by R2 and 3-PO as they listened to a bright exclamation from Wicket, Wex and some of Luke’s other friends were milling about with great, happy smiles on their faces as the Ewoks threw the biggest celebration they had probably ever thrown. All was well and tomorrow was finally brighter than yesterday.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Mara writhed on the dirty floor of the brothel, her fingernails digging into her cowl and neck as she screamed. Her Emperor! She could feel him as he fell.

In her head, a message echoed over, and over. Again and again. Kill the Skywalker! Kill the Jedi!

Mara screamed as the last tremor left her. Every muscle in her body seized as if she had been shocked with an electrical pulse. She ached all over.

Kill the Skywalker! Kill the Jedi!

Rubbing her temples, Mara groaned. She had failed her master. Her Emperor was dead because she had failed him.

She could not fail a second time. No. She would find this Jedi, Skywalker, and she would kill him. For her Emperor.