Chapter Text
“Queen Ileiana, the data has transferred!” A young soldier hands Leia a data disk and she holds it tight. The ship lurches and tips, screens shutting off and lights sparking. Chaos erupts on the bridge, soldiers racing to flee the Imperials. Leia stands, still gripping the data, bathed in red light, watching Scarif below disintegrate and collapse in on itself.
“The Destroyer has just docked! They’re forcibly opening the air locks!” Another soldier yells over the alarms blaring. Handmaidens surround Leia and escort her off the bridge, with Captain Antilles following just steps behind. She slips the disk into her belt with a quick wave of her hand
They run through the listing ship, making their way to the docks. “If I may ask, your majesty, what is it that they’ve sent us?” The commander asks and Leia looks over her shoulder at him, her painted face expressionless. They reach an elevator and she enters, holding on to one of her maids for support.
“Hope.” She says as the doors close. The elevator speeds downwards to the docks, shuddering against the crushed walls. There is a loud screeching metal as the cruiser scrapes the ship and it lurches again, slamming the elevator to a halt. The women force the doors open and pull the Queen out. The lights flicker and sparks fly out from wires as they run down the corridor, stumbling as the ship tilts back and forth. Once they reach the docks, they race for the Tantive IV, Leia’s personal vessel in questionable shape.
“Handmaiden Retrac! A pleasure to see you.” Leia’s golden protocol droid approaches her from the entrance of the corvette.
“Save it, Threepio. Where’s Artoo?” She looks around for the small astromech, failing to find it.
“He’s already aboard the Tantive IV, your majesty.”
“Good.” She runs into the corvette and onto the bridge of the ship. Antilles begins to power the ship and the crew prepares for a shaky take-off. The Profundity shudders and screeches as the Devastator crushes it. The locks are released and the ship drops from the docks into space. The Tantive shakes and launches into hyperspace, streaks of blue shooting past. Small beeps sound from behind Leia and she turns to meet its source. “Hello Artoo, I’m glad to see you in one piece.” She gently pats the top of the droid and he whirs softly. The corvette thunders and careens as it breaks apart in hyperspace.
“Your majesty, I’m sorry to say but I think we’ll have to ditch the ship once we get to Tatooine. She won’t last another jump.” Captain Antilles yells over the screeching metal. Leia nods, her white face betraying no emotion. “That is, if it makes this jump!” Suddenly the Tantive is ripped from hyperspace causing the ship to shut down, leaving the crew and passengers floating above the deck. “Batten, how far are we from Tatooine?”
“Three-quarters of a parsec, sir!” She yells, flicking switches in a desperate attempt to reboot the ship systems. A boom echoes from outside the corvette and covers it with a smothering shadow. “Sir, it’s the Devastator…” The bridge is silent as they watch the cruiser consumes them. As it draws them in, gravity to the ship returns, dropping the crew to the floor.
“Evacuate the ship.” The whole bridge turns to face Leia, who stands straight, not a single hair out of place. Antilles opens his mouth to speak but she cuts him off. “That is an order.” He furrows his brow but launches the evacuation siren, red light and a wail filling the ship. People run through the corvette to the escape pods.
Leia races through the corridors, with Artoo at her side. He whirs and she stops. “What is it?” He lets out more beeps and then there is the tell-tale clunk of an airlock being opened. “Ah.” She opens Artoo’s storage and drops her lightsabers into it. “I need to record a message, only show it to Obi-Wan Kenobi, okay?” He beeps in agreement and focuses on her.
“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...”
She pauses, unsure of what to say next. The thud of stormtroopers moves towards her and she makes a choice.
“Help me, Ben Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”
***
The air fills with a sinister force and pulls at Leia’s entire being. She shudders as they turn a corner, her soul screaming. He stands silently, back to them, helmet reflecting the fluros of the walls. His cape flutters in a non-existent breeze.
She wants to desperately to be anywhere else.
She can’t leave.
Leia is not a woman of large stature, however what she lacks in height, she more than makes up for in personality. But, standing silent, among Imperial soldiers, she is tiny, just a girl playing dress up.
He turns to face her.
“Queen Ileiana Amidala.” His raspy breaths echo in Leia’s head.
She stills her face and hides behind the painted mask, betraying no emotion.
“Lord Vader.”
A bowed head, a sign of respect, not earned however demanded by the situation.
A moment of unease as he looks her up and down.
“Where are the plans.”
She lifts her head and stares at her reflection in his face. It’s not a question but a demand. Give me the plans.
“We have no plans aboard the Tantive IV, Imperial or otherwise. You may search the ship, Lord Vader, but I can personally assure you that there are no plans aboard.”
There would be no fighting on the ship, neither could afford the repercussions of such an act.
“We intercepted a transmission from Scarif sent to the Profundity. You have it.”
She feels him try to peer into her mind, his cold hands prying at the cracks. She closes them, blocking him out.
“There were several ships aboard the Profundity. I was to remain in the throne room on the Tantive, therefore I have no knowledge of any data transferred, whether it be to my ship or another.”
Ever the daughter of a queen and diplomat. The silver tongue of bureaucracy. Lies slip from her mouth like second nature.
“I will find out what I want to know, Queen Ileiana.”
Sharp words. Sharper meaning. Leia swallows lightly, her eyes flickering for just a moment.
“I do not doubt it, Lord Vader.”
She feared what he’d do to get the information.
Would he step foot on the cursed sand planet?
She did doubt that.
He waves a hand, and she is moved away, pulled through familiar corridors. She passes her handmaidens, all mirroring her cold demeanour. Show no fear. Bloodied but calm. She nods as she is dragged past and they return the gesture, faces frozen. She keeps moving, off the Tantive, into the Devastator.
The warmth of familiarity is gone. Cold metal gives way to icy air. A cell. She sits, frozen like a statue. She does not mourn, save that for when she is safe. She does not move. She stares at the door and waits.
***
“Ben! Ben!” A young man leaps off his speeder and across the sandy path to the hut. A small astromech follows him, beeping.
An old man steps out into the midday suns, his skin weathered, his hair peppered with grey. He shields his eyes from the binary stars and watches as the boy runs towards him, kicking up dust and sand around him.
“Ben! You won’t believe it! This droid says he’s your’s!”
He looks at the blue astromech and smiles fondly. Anakin’s little droid.
“I don’t recall ever owning an R2 unit.” The boy frowns “I do, however, recall this little one from many years ago.” The droid whirrs and the boy looks startled.
“Kriff! I left Threepio in the speeder! I’ll be back.” Ben purses his lips, part of him had hoped never to have to see the incessantly annoying protocol droid again, that it had been left in the past like so many things. He sighs.
The past always catches up, he knew that well.
“Hello Artoo.” The droid whirrs and beeps in what can only be interpreted as a happy reunion. Ben pats him affectionately, and rests a hand on his dome, letting the soft mechanical hum of parts moving be absorbed by his palm.
“Master Luke! Wait!” Ben’s eyes flick up to watch the young man walk quickly back to the hut, trailed by a golden humanoid. C3PO might as well be a glowing beacon in the desert, shining bright, inviting Jawwas from all sorts of dark corners to come take a look.
“Come now, Luke, let us sit inside.” Ben shuffles slowly inside, closely followed by Artoo. Luke steps in and helps Threepio down the steps. The old Jedi sits down on a woven chair, his wrinkled eyes smiling gently at the boy. Luke sits Threepio down then returns his attention to Artoo and Ben, his eyes glinting with excitement.
“Okay, so I was fixing Artoo but then I realised he had something jammed in his disk drive but when I tried to get it out he zapped me! Also this message started to play mentioning you and I don’t know how old it is because you made it seem like this droid is super old so like the message could be decades old and–”
“Luke.”
“Yes, Ben?”
“Show me the message.”
“Oh. Oh! Yeah of course!” Luke fumbles around Artoo and finds the drive. “Here ya go.”
A blue hologram flickers to life. A woman dressed in masses of fabric and makeup faces the droid. She’s on edge, her voice wavers. Even miniaturised, Ben can see the wild look in her eyes, he’s seen it so many times before in both Luke and Anakin.
“Help me, Ben Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”
The woman turns quickly and pulls a blaster out from her skirts. She looks back frantically at the droid and the message cuts.
The message loops and plays again. Ben studies it silently, face sullen.
After what seems like a hundred loops, Ben reaches for the R2 unit. He pulls a small chip out from the droid and the message flickers and restarts, with a new beginning.
“General Kenobi…”
Luke watches with a mixture of fascination and confusion, his eyes flicking between Ben and the holo. The small lady is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, even on the glitching holo. “Who is she?”
Ben does not take his eyes off the holo. “She is Ileiana Amidala, Queen of Naboo and Princess of Alderaan.” His eyes reflect sadness, shining blue. “I attended her coronation last cycle.” Luke stares through the holo at an entranced Ben. The Queen’s voice shakes and there is the sound of ripping metal. She looks calm, but Luke suspects it only looks like that because of all her makeup. “She’s just a child.” Ben shakes his head and turns off the message. Luke could swear that he had tears in his eyes.
“Did...did she make it off?”
There is a mournful silence from Ben, and Luke finds his answer.
Ben drums his fingers on the bench and ponders for a moment. She is gone. He has a promise to fulfill. He did not want to be the one to break the news to the Organas or Naberries. That Leia had suffered the same fate as all other Skywalkers.
He hated that he could only ever watch them die.
“I’ll have to make way to Alderaan with the droid. I suppose that you’ll want to come?” Luke’s eyes light up, in the way that a child’s might if they were told that they were receiving a gift, all the unease of the previous moment forgotten. “Well, I will have to speak to Owen and Beru.” Luke groans and sits down.
Ben stands up and opens a chest, rifling through it, searching. Luke peers over to look inside and Ben gently pushes him back. Cool metal brushes his hand and he grasps the hilt of the blade. He gently pulls it out of the box and places it on the table.
“You know what this is.”
Luke nods, he has been waiting years for this.
“It was your father’s.”
Luke grasps it with worn hands. The metal warms under his touch and he feels the Force swim around him. He ignited the blade and smiles, giving it a swing. Ben feels a pull at his heart, the way that most things Luke did do.
So much of Padmé in the boy.
Luke kept his cool, solved problems logically, saw the best in others.
If what Ashoka had told him was anything to go by, Leia is– no– was a clone of Anakin. It was a wonder that she’d made it as a brilliant politician. She acted like him, approached things with reckless abandon, made people believe it was her way or no way, quick to anger. She even looked a bit like Anakin, wild hair and mischievous eyes.
She hadn’t deserved this ending.
None of them had.
He snaps back to reality when Luke almost takes the head off his protocol droid. “Master Luke! I’d like it very much if I could keep my head.” Ben shakes his head gently and motions for Luke to go outside.
The twin stars blazing upon the white, barren desert.
One could not survive without the other.
How cruel the Force was.
***
Leia had not moved since she had arrived. She had not shifted a hair. She was good at this, it was the duty of a Nabian Queen to sit silent and still, a statue amongst the chaos. When the doors opened, she did not stir. When they tried to pull her up, she rose by herself. She moved by herself.
She was in control.
Now, she’s not sure.
Hours of Imperial torture have found nothing. Meaningless threats to kill her handmaidens, her family, her friends. She scoffs at them all. She is Queen of Naboo, she has only one attachment and that is to her people.
They eventually stop. Blood mixed with white paint smears her face. They throw her back in her cell.
She feels nothing.
She sits frozen like a porcelain doll, stiff and cold.
Blood runs from her nose. The ship rattles through hyperspace, shaking Leia’s bones. She prays silently that Ben received her desperate message.
How ironic that a last message of life lands in the barren wasteland of Tatooine.
***
Ben and Luke speed across the desert, the twin suns sinking in their dusk ritual. Mos Eisley shimmers on the horizon and sand billows around landing ships.
The radio crackles and Luke listens intently, his hand curling around the receiver.
“Ben, they’re looking for the droids.” The old man pulls his hood over his head, a shadow covering his sullen eyes. The younger man follows suit, pulling his goggles over his eyes and flipping down the rim of his hat.
The gate to Mos Eisley is heavily populated by Sandtroopers, gleaming a sinister white in the orange sky. Beyond them, the bustling port, filled to the brim with smugglers, imperials, and traffickers.
Ben had told Luke about Anakin’s childhood as a slave.
How he wishes he hadn’t.
The speeder stops and Ben lifts his head. A trooper stands facing them, looking at their droids.
“Name.”
“Luke Skywalker.”
“How long have you had these droids?”
“Ages, I don’t even remember when we got them. I must’ve been like six or seven?” Luke says nonchalantly.
“Who’s your passenger?” The trooper points and Luke’s confident demeanour flickers for a moment.
“Oh, that’d be my grandpa, Ben.”
“Owner’s name?”
Luke’s hands grip the wheel tightly and he grits his teeth. This was not the first time this had happened and it was still a touchy subject for the boy.
“We’re not slaves.”
The trooper looks between Luke, Ben and the droids, the tension filling the tepid air.
Ben waves his hand gently towards the trooper. “These are not the droids you are looking for.”
There is a tense moment of silence.
“These are not the droids we’re looking for. Move along.”
Luke moves the speeder through the checkpoint and onto the packed street, dust filling the air behind them, knuckles still white on the wheel.
***
By the time they drag her out of her cell for the fifth time, she is a dead weight in the arms of troopers. Her face bloodied, her dress torn, shoes taken. She is pulled through corridors, unfamiliar to her. She is being taken somewhere new.
The troopers stop before a door and prop Leila up. The metal slides open and she is drowned in a wave of sinister power.
Vader.
She is not leaving the ship alive.
She is nudged forwards and she takes shaky steps towards the centre of the room, the faint light of space pooling in from the window.
“Ah, Queen Ileiana, a pleasure to see you again.” A cruel voice snakes its way over to Leia. She turns to face the owner of the voice, her eyes narrow.
“General Tarkin, I’m unpleasantly surprised that you haven't dropped dead yet.” She spits. He takes her chin in his hand and tilts her head up sharply, staring her down.
“Now, now, your majesty, that's no way to talk to an old friend.” His smile creeps along his worn face and Leia wants to throw up. “You see, we currently stand upon our latest weapon; the Death Star. Surely you remember from Scarif.”
Leia swallows dryly. She would never forget Scarif. All those she sent down there to die. Burning, barren, gone. Lives lost to plans that were gone, drowned in the sands of Tatooine.
“We've found our previous methods of coercion have proved…ineffective. And so, we've come to our ultimatum; tell us where the rebel base is or we destroy Alderaan. After that, you are to be executed.”
Leia’s breath hitches in her throat. A shot like the one in Scarif would destroy the Alderaani people, turn them to dust. She could feel Vader staring at her, his presence wearing her down. She decides to call Tarkin’s bluff.
“You won't kill me, you can't. Think of what will be said if the Empire killed the Queen of Naboo, the homeworld of the Emperor, you know, he treats us like daughters he never had. You'd ruin any favour you had. You may have powerful friends, Tarkin, but I have more.” He runs a gloved hand over her cheek and she pulls away. He steps to the side, revealing the open window overlooking Alderaan.
“Prepare to fire the laser!”
“No...” Leia gasps.
“Name a base.”
She scours her brain for a planet, desperate for something.
“Dantooine. We have a base on Dantooine. Now stop this.”
Tarkin stares at her and Vader breathes heavily behind her. She tries to hide how much she's shaking, rattling her ribs as she tries to calm down.
“That wasn't so hard, was it?” He strokes cheek again and she jerks in disgust, hitting Vader, who grabs her shoulders, heavy hands holding her down. “Unfortunately, Dantooine is too far away to really make a statement.” Realisation dawns on Leia’s broken face, and she tries to launch herself at Tarkin, only to be gripped by Vader.
“You sick man!” She screeches at him, desperate to save her home, tears falling freely. He only smiles his cruel smile, wiping her spit from his face. Vader’s hands crush her shoulders.
“Fire when ready.”
The green glow fills the room, turning everything a sickly emerald, smothering all other colour. As the deadly beam hits Alderaan, the planet glows red and cracks.
Leia feels it before she sees it. In one moment, billions of lives destroyed. At first there is nothing. Then it hits her. A pain like none before. It slams into her, crushing her lungs, breaking her brain. She screams like she has never screamed before and collapses. Her force charms shatter into thousands of pieces and she lets the burning wave of pain seep into her bones. The Force suffocates her, choking out all the light, coating her in darkness.
And then there is nothing.
She reaches out into the Force and finds nothing but dark waves lapping at her face. The floor is so very cold, and her head burns with the fire of a thousand suns. She's dragged up from the ground and pulled away, her empty body silent.
When they throw her in her cell, she does not move. She can't.
After many hours, she crawls to the bench and pulls herself up. She sits silently and stares at the door.
She is in control.
She is Queen Ileiana Amidala.
***
Ben feels it first.
The Force ripples softly at first, then crashes into him, filling his lungs.
Luke collapses in pain next to him.
Han runs out of the cockpit, on edge, looking for the cause of the sudden shift.
“Luke. Luke. Look at me.” Ben calls for his young padawan, reaching for him. Luke stares back, his blue eyes wide and wild.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know. Nothing good.”
Han stands still, watching them, his hand hovering above his blaster. The air around them has chilled and goosebumps form on Ben’s arms. The hair on the back of Luke’s neck stands on end.
A roar from the cockpit breaks the silence.
“That’s Wookiee for ‘We’ve arrived.’” Han gives a fake smile and turns around.
As he trudges through the corridors, he grumbles to himself. “Stupid kriffin’ space wizards and their stupid bullshit powers.”
As he reaches the cockpit, he finds that maybe the two Jedi lying on the floor of his ship were not as stupid as previously thought.
“Hey Luke, old man! You sure that lady gave you the right coordinates?”
Ben and Luke stumble into the cockpit and stare out the window into nothingness.
***
Leia lays silently in her cell, waiting for her execution. Waiting for troopers to walk through the hall and lead her to the fate of all other Alderaani.
She is not afraid.
She is in control.
When the doors slide open, she sits up, only to stare into the bright blue eyes of a young man.
“Hi, I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to save you.”
She blinks a few times and stares at him, his eyes reflecting her confusion. He holds his hand out to her and helps her up with ease. She is much shorter than him and yet Luke is awe at the power she commands, even at what he assumes is her worst. He feels a ripple in the Force but Leia doesn’t react, her eyes empty and hollow.
“Luke? Did you get her?” A voice yells in from the outside.
“Yeah!”
“Good ‘cause we got company, and it ain’t the good kind!”
“It’s never the good kind.” Luke mumbles under his breath.
He runs out the cell, Leia in tow, and straight into the middle of a gun fight. They quickly flatten against the wall, hiding from lasers.
“So, your majesty, can you fire a gun?” Han asks and she nods. He tosses her a blaster and she begins firing with precise aim. She smacks back into the wall as the stormtroopers gain reinforcements. A small panel beeps gently beside her and she looks at it. There are no names, just a number of occupants; four. She smashes the panel, forcing the door open.
Inside stand Samaia, Alyaea, and Qaia, who is carrying weakened May-a. Their faces are gaunt and bloody but they are alive and that’s all that matters to Leia.
“Sorry to ruin the reunion, ladies, but we gotta get out of here.” More stormtroopers round the corner and Leia opens fire at them. Her eyes dart around looking for an exit. May-a groans in Qaia’s arms and Alyaea shares a look with Samaia.
“Leia, there’s gotta be a shoot or something ‘round here. There always were when I worked on Imp ships.” Samaia says. Out of the corner of her eye Leia spots a handled panel and blasts the hinges off. Samaia and her pull the panel off of the wall and stare into a foul smelling darkness. They look at each other and gesture for the others to come over.
Samaia jumps down and Alyaea follows, giving a disgusted squeak when she lands. Qaia hands Leia May-a then slides down, ordering Leia to drop the youngest handmaiden down to her. Luke and Chewie stare at Leia then slip into the hole. Han looks between the chute and Leia a few times, shaking his head. She points her blaster at him.
“Down the chute, fly-boy.”
He huffs then jumps down. Leia follows closely behind, desperately trying to slow her fall with the Force. Instead she lands on Han, causing him to collapse into the trash.
“Hey, watch it, Princess!”
“It’s not my fault you didn’t move!”
“Would you two stop fighting and help us open the door!” Alyaea yells, waist deep in trash. Everyone is trying to open the door, save Qaia, who is holding May-a above the rubbish.
“Mister Skywalker, can I have your communicator?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.”
Leia takes the communicator and fiddles with the frequency. It lets out a low whine and she gives a slight smile.
“Threepio. Come in. Threepio.”
“Handmaiden Retrac! Thank the Maker, you’re alive.”
“Yeah yeah, thank him later. I need you to open the doors to Rubbish Collection S-17. Now.”
There is a series of whirs from the communicator and the door clicks.
“We’ve managed to unlock the door. But we can’t open the door.”
“That’s fine, Threepio. Get back to the ship.”
Leia clicks the communicator off and tosses it back to Luke. The handmaidens and Chewbacca attempt to pull the door open to no avail.
“Mister Skywalker, if you would.” Leia gestures towards the door and Luke gives her a strange look.
“You need not to pretend that you are not a Jedi in front of us, we are familiar with the Force and it’s users. Now, please open the door.” Luke furrows his brow and concentrated on the doors. Slowly but surely the doors pull open, sliding along the rails. As soon as they are wide enough, the handmaidens slip outside, coming face to face with a patrol of stormtroopers. The girls make quick work of the troopers and by the time Chewbacca, Leia, Luke and Han make it out, they’ve successfully taken out five troopers.
They run through the corridors, desperately trying to find the dock. As they turn a corner, a cold wave passes over the group, hairs standing on end. The handmaidens share a look and Luke flicks his eyes over to Leia.
“Vader.” They say in unison. Han’s eyes widen a bit and Chewbacca lets out a low growl.
“We need to keep moving, we can’t be far.” Leia orders and the group continues moving, only stopping when the stomp of a patrol comes past. Eventually they reach the docks blast doors.
“Handmaiden Retrac, Master Luke! You are just in time, Artoo has begun opening the doors.”
“Yes, well, Artoo, could you speed up? Please?”
The astromech lets out a loud beep and begins whirring faster. Footsteps increase in volume behind them and they prepare their blasters. The blast doors open slowly, hissing.
Stormtroopers enter the group’s sight and they begin blasting wildly at the troopers as they back through the doorway.
“Is that your ship?” Leia yells at Han and he nods. The ramp opens and the handmaidens break into a sprint, dresses bunched at the knees. Artoo and Chewbacca follow closely behind, carrying C3PO in his arms.
“Han, wait! We can’t leave without Ben!”
Leia stops in her tracks and whips herself around.
“Ben, as in Ben Kenobi?”
“Yes.”
Leia felt hope swell in her heart.
It’s crushed again when she remembers where they are.
The troopers firing at them stop and redirect their attention elsewhere. Han, Luke, and Leia stop and stare at the opened blast door, revealing Ben and Vader, lightsabers ignited and crossed.
A strange silence rests upon the dock, save for the hum of plasma and the breaths of Vader. Leia reaches out to Artoo, her mind moving a million miles a second. Luke stands still, his blaster by his side, saber still on the Falcon. Ben watches the twins and shakes his head softly. Vader strikes him down and his body disappears. Leia screams with such force that it sends the troopers backwards, slamming into the wall. Luke opens fire on Vader to no avail. Han grabs Leia and drags her towards the ship, Luke following quickly behind.
As Han pulls her up the ramp, Leia makes an attempt to save what’s left of Ben. She reaches her hand out and pulls on Ben’s saber with the Force, beckoning it to come to her. It flies through the air and snaps to her hand. Vader’s soulless mask stares at her, waves of dark flooding the area. She stares back, her eyes aflame.
The ramp closes and the Falcon launches rapidly.
Leia sits in the common area in silence, Samaia and Alyaea on either side of her. May-a lies on the med bay table as Qaia attends to her. Chewbacca, Han, and Luke sit quietly in the cockpit, sharing the occasional look. Eventually Han gets up and walks to the common area, boots clicking against silent tile.
“Right, we’ve doged Imperial scanners. Where to, your majesty?”
She looks at him with large, brown eyes and stands from the table. She walks towards Han but maintains a respectful distance.
“I need to return to Naboo, if possible. If not, then Coruscant.”
He nods and turns around, begin to leave.
“I’d like to thank you, Mister Solo, for allowing us use of your ship. Please allow me to repay you once we return to Naboo.”
Han stops and turns back to face her, finding her bowed in thanks towards him and, for the first time since her rescue, he sees how disheveled she is, hair falling down, makeup smeared with blood, dress torn. She lifts her head and her face is painted porcelain, delicate under the fluros.
Empty brown eyes. She is in control.
It makes him uncomfortable to look at.
He keeps walking, his breath shallow. There is sudden yelling from the common area, but he keeps walking. The unmistakable tone of a flatline rings through the corridors and he stops for a moment. A soft cry of despair and gentle sobs float around, bouncing from walls and floors. Han reaches the cockpit, sits down in silence, and redirects to Naboo, punching the hyperdrive.
Qaia holds May-a’s hand, slow, thick tears rolling down her cheeks. Samaia is curled up on the seating area, short breaths and muffled cries. Alyaea rests her head on Qaia’s shoulder and stares blankly at the wall. Leia leaves immediately after the flatline occurs, losing herself in the Falcon’s halls. She stumbles blindly with tears until she reaches another room. The door closes and she opens her heart to the floor, letting sobs fall freely from her mouth.
Han finds her after what feels like a lifetime of crying. He opens the door to his quarters, only to find Leia flooded with tears on his floor.
“Uh… hey, your majesty. You good?”
She looks at him with those empty eyes than make him afraid.
“Well Queen, uh, Ileiana was it? Imma just leave to make this less awkward…”
He looks at her one last time before slipping out of his quarters, heart in his throat. Something about the Queens of Naboo had always freaked him out, they were like ghosts, relics of an unforgotten past that desperately needed to be erased. There was something to be said about giving kids enormous power before they could even pilot a ship. It always left the monarch for worse.
---
Leia makes a return to the rest of the world when she enters the cockpit, an hour before arriving at Naboo. Luke and Chewbacca turn their heads to acknowledge her, but Han keeps his focus straight ahead, eyes reflecting blue hyperspace.
“I need to make a comms to Naboo, else they won’t let the ship enter the airspace.”
Chewbacca gets up from his seat and gestures for Leia to take his place. Han connects her to the communications line and hands her the mouthpiece.
“This is Naboo Alpha One Alpha One. Come in Beta Two Beta Two.”
There is nothing but loud static for a couple of seconds, then suddenly a thick Alderaani accent comes through.
“This is Naboo Beta Two Beta Two. Thank the Maker that you’re alive, Leia!”
“Don’t thank him just yet, Queen Ileiana. I need a couple of things. I’m about an hour out of Naboo.”
The rest of the cockpit watches Leia with curiosity. No longer is she speaking with a royal Nabian accent but an Alderaani one that matches the women on the other end of the line.
“Yeah, shoot, what'd ya need?”
“I need clearance for the Millenium Falcon to enter Nabain airspace.”
“Done. What else?”
“No holo crews at the landing pad, cover for me, distract them, do whatever you need to do.”
There is a moment of silence from the other side and a shaky breath is taken by both Winter and Leia.
“Handmaidens will need to wear funerary blacks.”
“Leia...what happened?”
“Handmaiden Navrius is dead.”
Leia stares out into the hyperspace while Winter composes herself. The cockpit looks at her with concern.
“Anything else?”
“I’ll need a bacta-tank and so will Handmaidens Qaia, Amidalus, and Yven. That is all, your majesty.”
“Okay. May the Force be with you, Handmaiden Retrac.”
“And with you, Queen Ileiana.”
The communication unit shuts off and Leia sinks into her chair, desperate to just disappear. Han watches her out of the corner of his eye and Luke openly stares at her, his blue eyes wide.
“Sooooo,” Han says, in an attempt to break the silence. “What’s so important about the droid that the old man needed to get it to Alderaan asap?” Leia glares at Han, her red lips pursed. Chewbacca lets out a lone groan and covers his face with his hand.
“Sorry that was out of —”
“It holds plans. Plans that people died for. Plans that could finally end the tyranny of the Empire.” Leia cuts Han off, returning her focus to the streaking hyperspace, eyes burning holes into the blue. “I’ve fought my entire life against the Empire, and finally I had gained a chance to stop them. General Kenobi knew this, and that is why I ordered him to take R2-D2 home and give the plans to my father.”
“You’re from Alderaan? But you’re the Queen of Naboo.” Luke asks from behind Leia, his eyes shimmering with curiosity. She gives him a small, queenly smile.
“My birth parents were Naberries, but I was adopted by Queen Breha and Prince Bail Organa as a baby. The Naberries wanted for me to learn the ways of Naboo and so I spent my childhood between the two planets. I was a junior legislator, then Princess of Theed, and then finally Queen of Naboo. But I am still Princess of Alderaan, and always will be, long after my term as Queen ends.”
“Naberrie, huh?” Han presses. “You related to Senator Amidala or something?”
“No, Naberrie is a rather common surname in Theed. I know several other people with the name.” Leia lies through her thin smile, face doused in blue. Second nature, silver tongue. “And besides, I’m too young to have been her child. She died before the Empire took control and I was born after that.”
“Wait, but that would make you… only 17.” Luke chips in from the back.
“Yes, it would.” She replies, an eyebrow raised. “How old did you think I was?”
“I don’t know, like 25 or something? ‘Cause, no offence or anything your majesty, but you look older than 17. I mean, not that you’re not pretty because you’re literally an angel, but you really put out this image of being much older than you actually are.” He rambles, trying to cover up his error. Leia gives him a small but genuine smile, her face softening for just a moment.
“While I do not agree with how you participate in illegal trade, I will admit, Mister Solo, that your slave makes for good company.”
There is a sudden shift in the mood of the room and silence spreads across. Luke’s hands grip his tunic tightly, knuckles whiter than the paint on Leia’s face. Han looks pointedly at Leia, his fingers covering his mouth, his face blank. Her eyes flick between the rest of the crew and she inhales sharply.
“I’m sorry, have I missed something?” There is no response, just a burning silence and the Force rattling. “I-I didn’t mean to imply that you were not a free man, Mister Skywalker. I apologise deeply for my mistake. I will take my leave.” She stands from her chair and moves towards the cockpit door, skirts gently brushing against Luke’s knee. As the door opens, she turns one last time and bows her head towards Luke.
“I apologise once again.”
Her hollow eyes stare into nothing as she leaves the apology hanging in the tense air.
She doesn’t know whether the apology was just for Luke or for everyone she’d ever failed.
Twin stars rarely met.