Chapter Text
Luke leaned into his seat, feeling his heart skip as the civilian vessel entered hyperspace. He was safe now. For now. Soon his family would be tearing the galaxy apart looking for him.
It was no small thing for him to walk away. Luke had debated it for weeks but once he was sure, he did not hesitate. Kallus and Dodonna were off Coruscant, too, and on their way back to the Rebellion.
Luke could have gone with them. He could have a home in the Rebellion, he was sure. He’d practically grown up imagining he was flying with them. They were the last hope for the galaxy, especially in the Outer Rim where even the Empire didn’t really have control.
He’d always imagined, as a kid, that, somehow, once he got off Tatooine he would make contact, show them he could fly, and that would be that. He’d be one of them, fly combat, and somehow, against all odds, they would triumph over the Empire.
But the Empire had known to look for him before he’d even finished tenth form, let alone managed to find a way off Tatooine.
He’d been angry at Obi-wan at first. Well, no… first, he’d been elated to get off Tatooine. They had a mission, Obi-wan had said, and Luke would have to make a choice that would change the galaxy forever.
That hadn’t been a complete lie, but it hadn’t really been a choice. Obi-wan had maneuvered him, making him a willing participant in what was no more than a hostage exchange. Luke would go to his family, and the Deathstar would spare Chandrilla. Refusing hadn’t really been an option. Obi-wan had known that would be the case. So there’d been awhile, early on when Luke had been reeling from meeting his sister, and then Vader, and even Emperor Palpatine himself, when he’d been resentful of Obi-Wan and more positively disposed towards Leia and Vader.
That hadn’t lasted very long. Leia was scary and the thing was, she really didn’t seem to realize it. She’d looked terrible the first time he’d met her. She’d been a prisoner of the Rebellion for months. She’d been collared and shackled and very thin. She’d seemed gentle and powerless.
But that had all changed the moment the Rebellion sent them off of Home One. He could still remember the flush that had run through his sister when she touched the Force. Her eyes had glowed amber and her smile had given him shivers.
He’d gotten used to her just in time to meet Darth Vader and the emperor. They’d both seemed suffocatingly, utterly evil despite their kind seeming words. Luke had barely been able to stand it.
He’d been glad the emperor didn’t seem very interested in him. Vader, however, had been desperate to gain his lost son’s trust and loyalty. And, for awhile, Luke had thought, maybe it would all work out.
But Luke’s mere addition to the family had started processes he still couldn’t quite understand. Vader had began to change, to lighten, it had been the only way he could find common ground with Luke.
And Leia… His resolutely dark sister, had gone in the other direction. She’d killed Palpatine and taken the dark side as her own.
She’d never been more terrifying than the days after she’d killed Palpatine. Vader had been trying to keep their family together, and Luke had wanted that, too. But Leia had left them, had run away, and he’d wondered, then, if he’d ever see her again.
The Jedi, it seemed, had sensed her coming. They’d gotten her help to destroy the Deathstar, and then managed to neutralize the nascent Sith lord.
Luke and Vader had brought Leia home Forceless and somewhat repentant and it had seemed, for awhile, that maybe Leia could live without the Force.
Obi-wan Kenobi had even come to Imperial center to teach Luke! Things were actually good for awhile. Darth Vader was, well, certainly not a Jedi, but also not truly a Sith. He occupied some grey space that allowed him to both fawn over his children and maintain absolute control of the Galactic Empire.
Luke didn’t want to blame Leia for disrupting that peace. But she’d just had to get her Force powers back. She’d been relentless. She’d lied, she’d gone undercover, and she’d even maneuvered her former friends in the Rebellion.
Then Obi-wan Kenobi had said the words that had marked the beginning of the end for Luke’s time on Imperial Center.
“Leia will fall, and with her, Vader with return to darkness. I’m so sorry Luke, if you wish to continue your training you must leave them. I will be waiting for you.”
Obi-wan hadn’t explained why he was so sure Leia would turn back to the dark side. But he’d been adamant. Obi-wan said he could not be on Imperial center when that happened, but he would let Luke make his own choice.
Another one of those impossible choices, damn him. But Luke had stayed. He’d waited. He’d hoped that Leia would be strong enough to stay in the light.
Ahsoka Tano had just made it all worse. She’d told Luke to stay. She’d said that Obi-wan was wrong to ask Luke to leave his family, that it would be a terrible mistake. Vader, his former padawan had explained, needed Luke to stay.
But in the end, it had been all too clear that something was wrong with Leia. The signs of the dark side were all over her, no matter how much she said she wasn’t choosing it.
Life was starting to become chaotic, Leia was deranged, unsure of what was real and what was dreams.
She’d disappeared for weeks, only to show up in the Outer Rim, wildly immersed in the dark side, worse than she’d ever been before.
Luke had had to admit that Obi-wan had been right. Leia was dangerous. She was falling. Vader would fall as well. Luke had to leave.
He’d managed to free two Rebel captives. With the Force as his ally it had been all too easy. Alexandr Kallus and Jan Dodonna had suffered greatly at the hands of the ISB, but they were still alive. Luke had sensed them suffering in the depths of the Palace and he knew he couldn’t leave Imperial Center without freeing them.
He’d done it! Darth Vader had been so distracted by the transformations Leia was going through that Luke had managed to mind trick his way into the detention level and escape with the two prisoners.
Now it was done and Luke was alone. The rebels would have their soldiers back and Luke was finally free. He would disembark at Abregado-Rae, and from there he’d find Obi-Wan Kenobi and resume his Jedi training.