Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Part 1:

The young queen swept through the palace as the battle stormed around her. Overhead Imperial ships rained fire down on the innocents below, turning the sky almost black with smoke. 

She rocked the whimpering child in her arms, desperately trying to keep her calm, but still moving as quickly as she could. The girl, barely five, was clinging to her mother’s neck and stuffing her head against her chest. Unlike so many other children through the galaxy, this child had never seen war before today, had never heard the sounds of starfighters whipped over her head or bombs slamming to the ground. 

The other people on their planet were unfamiliar with war as well. Alderaan itself had not seen a violent conflict in thousands of years, even though it had participated in aiding its allies and the Republic. It was a small, influential, and peaceful planet, known throughout the galaxy as a haven from violence, but now that was all gone. 

“Bail!” The queen cried, finally coming the royal family’s private hangar. 

“Breha, you made it.” Her husband said, relief evident in his voice. “Leia, princess, are you alright?”

The little girl was transferred smoothly into her father’s arms, silent sobs shaking her tiny body. 

“Is the ship ready?” Breha asked. “You don’t have much time before they overcome the palace and your exit is blocked.”

“I’m not leaving without you.” Bail said firmly.

She shook her head just as stubbornly, “I am not leaving our people to die. I will not abandon them when I am needed the most.”

“I will not leave you.” He exclaimed, holding Leia a little tighter.

“Bail, Leia needs to disappear. If Vader finds her…” She shivered, unwilling to even consider the thought. “And she can’t leave alone.”

“She won’t be.” A woman appeared from within the ship.

“Fulcrum.” Breha said, gazing at the Togruta with admiration. “You’ll take Leia?”

She nodded, “I’ll keep her safe as best I can.”

“I only worry there isn’t anywhere safe left in the galaxy.” Breha said grimly.

“I know somewhere you can go, at least for now. I’ve already put the exact coordinates in the system.” Bail supplied. “But the less we know, the better.”

“Understood.”

“Quickly, we must say our goodbyes, Breha.” Bail said, caressing his daughter’s face in his hand. The little girl’s face was red and coated with tears but they had stopped flowing for the moment. 

Breha stepped forward and held her close. “Be strong, my darling. This journey will not be easy, but have faith that you will find your way.” 

Leia’s expression remained blank as she stared into her mother’s eyes. Breha peered back, trying to memorize every inch of her child’s face.

“We are always with you, princess. You were our greatest blessing and our greatest hope. Now you must be that for Ashla. Be good for her, my dear. She will protect you.” Bail managed to get out, though his voice was clouded with tears. 

“We love you, dear one.” Breha said finally, embracing Leia one last time. 

The Togruta had stayed to the side as the family said their farewells but now was forced to step up as the fighters above shot another barrage of fire. “It’s time.”

“Go with Ashla now.” Bail said gently.

Ashla took Leia’s hand, fighting through the girl’s confused resistance.

“No! Mamma, Papa!” She screamed, pulling away from her new guardian’s grip.

The pair turned away, attempting to hide the anguish on their faces.

“Don’t look back, don’t look back…” Bail repeated, whether as a reminder to his wife or to himself, he did not know. 

They turned and left their child in the arms of the one they knew would care for her as if she was her own and prayed over and over that they would see her again. 

Even though they knew they probably never would.

Ahsoka finally wrestled Leia into the ship as her screaming subsided into muffled sobs. She wrapped her tightly into one of the passenger seats and took the helm herself. 

“Get ready for take off, Artoo. This one is going to be a doozy.”

The little astromech whistled in excitement. [I haven’t been in a firefight like this in years.]

The Togruta smiled grimly. “Neither have I, Artoo, but this might be the most important flight we’ve ever taken, do you understand me?”

Artoo beeped apologetically, [I understand Snips. The princess is my charge just like her parents were. I will look after her for my pilot]

Fulcrum shook off the mention of the past, intent on focusing on the future. “Now princess, this is going to be a bumpy ride, but don’t get scared. Just trust me. You okay back there?”

The girl was too shocked to do much of anything, just stared at the wall in terror.

“I’ll take that as a no.” She sighed

Dragging the ship through the royal family’s secret access lands was a cakewalk, pulling it up into the atmosphere was less than easy. The storm of ships surrounding them was unlike anything she had ever seen, even in the Clone War. The only thing she could think comparing it too was the space battle during the Ryloth campaign, when it was a game of just shooting down enemy bombers at every turn. 

But this was different. The meager Alderaanian military was designed for relief missions and small scale defense of the palace, not full scale war. There was barely any resistance to be seen except the royal guard battalion. Ahsoka knew that if Breha had called them in she was no longer pretending Alderaan was a loyal member of the Empire. Employing her protection forces meant that the Alderaanian government had officially declared war against the Galactic Empire and that Bail and Breha would only survive the conflict as prisoners of war. 

The ship Bail had procurried for them was equipped with enough firepower to hold off Imperial defenses but not enough to make a difference in the battle. Not that there was any chance she would engage, not with her precious cargo.

Weaving through the TIE fighters destroying the innocents below, she felt something shift in the Force. She glanced down at the main landing pad that they were passing below and saw an Imperial shuttle with a group of stormtroopers disembarking. It couldn’t be the Emperor, there was no way he would be brought into such active conflict, but it was someone important...and someone...dark.

The feeling in the Force was disconcerting. The closest she could compare the darkness to was Maul and Dooku, but so much less focused. Dooku’s presence in the dark side was arrogant, selfish, and manipulative. Maul’s was vengeful, greedy, and angry. This person was filled with the dark side, but it was less rage-filled, and more...sad and broken. Like there was no other options but this. 

His familiarly within the Force was terrifying as well. She had not encountered this...sith before, but she knew him somehow. There was some just beyond her reach...just below the shell...if only she could…

A direct hit to the starboard side ripped her out of the involuntary mediation she had ended up in. A few shots to the TIE in front of her and she was on her way, cutting a path through the enemy to the upper atmosphere, the sith lord on the ground forgotten. 

Ahsoka’s heart immediately leapt the sight of the fleet of Imperial ships over the planet, but she stopped herself. They were still so similar to Republic ships, even though many of them had been replaced over the last five years. It was difficult to train herself to find concern at their appearance instead of joy. 

She glanced back at Leia, still sitting quietly, but this time accompanied by a frazzled-looking protocol droid, if a droid can looked frazzled. He was muttering something about hating space travel which Ahsoka was pretty sure wasn’t about to calm Leia’s nerves. However, she needed to fly the ship and she needed Artoo to do it properly so Threepio was the best support Leia was going to get at the moment. 

It had been so long since she flew a combat mission like this. Even though she had snapped at Artoo’s excitement earlier, there was a part of her that had missed the thrill of adventure. The last five years had been spent avoiding the Empire at all costs and painstakingly attempting to amass some sort of intelligence network to try to stop Palpatine. It had pretty much been five years of disappointment, from the moment she realized that there was no way she was going to get the Clone Troopers to abandon the Empire to today when one of the small rebellion’s most trusted organizers had his cover blown and his home destroyed. 

She allowed herself to sink into the familiarity of battle, imagining for a second that she wasn’t a lone pilot in cloud of enemy fighters, just trying to survive, but that she was Commander in the Grand Army of the Republic, flying a relief mission, backed by squad of loyal friends, a fleet of Republic warships, and her master. Rex and Yularen were over comms, yelling about another one of Anakin’s reckless plans, and Obi-wan was waiting impatiently on the surface for them to finally show up. There was as much of a chance of her death, even more since her Jedi fighter marked her as a priority target, but she knew that if she made it through this battle there was a bed, a relatively hot meal, and safe place to go back to. 

Finally, she broke through the blockade, after dodging waves blaster fire and some fancy flying that would make Anakin Skywalker jealous. Artoo squealed in joy and she smiled to herself as she set the NAV computer to the coordinates Bail left.

[Where to now, Snips?] He asked.

“Ummm…” Ahsoka glanced at the console. “Tatooine? Why would he want us to go to that hellhole? Ugh, nevermind.” She set the ship to autopilot and got to her feet.

Leia was rocking back and forth now, trying to catch her breath.

“Are you alright, little one?” She crouched in front of her. 

Leia sniffled but nodded.

“That was a lot at once, wasn’t it?” Ahsoka asked gently.

She nodded again, a silent tear rolling down her cheek. 

“I’m Ahsoka, but you can call me Ashla. I’m friends with your parents, well, your father mostly, but I liked your mother very much.”

“Are Mamma and Papa dead?” She was so quiet Ahsoka could barely hear her.

Ahsoka hesitated, “I’m not sure, Leia. They might be.” Leia’s face turned suddenly and Ahsoka swiftly moved into the seat next to her, scooping Leia’s hands into her own. “But we mustn’t give up hope. And I know that if they are alive, they will do anything to see you again. But…” She paused, not totally sure how to continue. She knew what a Jedi would say if they were in her position, but she was no Jedi. “No matter what they are with you. In here.” She patted the space above Leia’s heart. 

The little girl looked up and met her eyes. “You’re going to take care of me now?” She said quietly.

Ahsoka smiled, “Of course.”

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“Somewhere your father said was safe,” She snorted and said under her breath, “I can’t imagine why but…”

“Have you been there?” Leia had started to pull her hair out of the fancy braids Breha had done. 

“Once, a very long time ago, when I was young. I didn’t like it very much. It’s one big desert, covered in sand and very little water.”

Leia wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like sand. It’s the worst thing about going to the beach.”

“I agree,” Ahsoka chuckled, “Now, Leia, there’s a few things I need you to understand. When we get there things will be different from what you know, not just the planet, but the way of life too, do you understand?”

She nodded confidently, “I’ve been learning all about different cultures in my lessons.”

“Well, this place...Tatooine is probably different from even those cultures you’ve learned about. You mustn’t ever run off and your must make sure I am with you wherever we go. When we’re there, your name is going to be Leia Naberrie, not Leia Organa.” Naberrie, her birth mother’s name, the name Bail and Breha had long decided would be her cover in a situation just like this. “Can you repeat it for me?”

“Leia Naberrie.” She tried it out. “Why can’t I keep my name?”

Ahsoka pursed her lips. This was a difficult conversation to have with anyone, let alone a young child. “Because there may be people looking for us, alright Leia? Your parents are very important people and the bad guys may want to use you to hurt them.”

“The bad guys...you mean the Empire?”

Her breath caught, “Your not wrong, but you can’t ever say that, do you understand me, Leia. The rest of the galaxy is not like your home, there are bad people that would use that against you. You aren’t...you aren’t a princess anymore, munchkin, your...just Leia.”

“Just Leia.” She repeated in awe. “What about you? Who are you going to be?”

“Clever girl, that was exactly what I was going to talk about next. My name is Ashla Tano…”

“My name is Leia Naberrie, this is my guardian Ashla Tano. My parents were killed in the crossfire near the end of the war. Ashla was my father’s friend and she took me in when I was a baby. She’s from Shili and I’m from Chandrila, but she met my father when they were both working as freelance pilots on Corellia. I’ve lived with her ever since, mostly on Chandrila, but all over really. We came to Tatooine looking for a new life after the Empire tightened trade regulations. She heard there might be some business in the outer rim for freighter pilots.” 

Leia repeated her speech for the seventh  time as they walked. 

“How did your parents die?” Ahsoka asked.

“We don’t know for sure, but we think their transport was shot down in the Battle of Coruscant.”

Ahsoka smiled sadly down at her. “Good job, little one.”

Leia’s face was blank. “Mamma says lying is bad.”

“She’s right, but sometimes lying is the only thing that will help you survive.”

Their cover story had carefully been chosen from fact and fiction to make something believable for both them and the rest of the world. Leia had visited Chandrila enough to be able to answer questions and Shili was the logical cover story for a Togruta. Leia had no idea how much of her story was accurate to her life, or could have been. Her birth parents had been killed in the crossfires of the Clone War and Ahsoka had known her father first. She also expected that if Ahsoka had been there at the end of the war she would have become Leia’ sole guardian and not the Organa’s. 

“Oh, Miss Tano! Are you sure you know where we’re going? We’ve been walking for hours and the sand is jamming my joints. Not to mention my power stores are completely depleted. Why in the Maker’s name have you brought us to such a desolate world!” Threepio droned on.

“I’ve already told you, Threepio. Bail was very specific in his coordinates. We couldn’t land that close because there wasn’t anywhere clear, but we’re almost there.”

“This planet is no place for a child, Miss Tano, I only think of the princess’s--”

“Don’t call me that, Threepio. I’m just Leia now, remember.” 

Leia seemed secure in that fact, but Ahsoka detected a trace amount of sorrow in her words through the Force, beyond her overwhelming grief from the loss of her parents. She may appear well-adjusted, but Ahsoka knew that this was all an act to seem grown-up. 

They were moving slower now, as Leia was alternating between perching on top of Artoo, being carried in Ahsoka’s arms, and walking herself. 

“Nearly there, nearly there…” Threepio repeated to himself. 

Artoo made a nose that could only be construed as a groan. [Couldn’t we have left him on Alderaan?]

Ahsoka almost agree with him. 

The Jundland Wastelands that they were walking through had somewhat of a reputation about them, at least that’s what the people at the spaceport they had landed in had said. The few people she had mentioned her travel plans to been concerned that she intended to bring a child into the Wastelands, but she didn’t think they cared enough to do anything about it. 

Ahsoka almost hadn’t, if she was being honest with herself. She almost left Leia with Artoo and Threepio in town with the ship, but then remembered her promise. If Leia wasn’t allowed to leave her sight, then she shouldn’t be allowed to leave Leia’s sight. And all of them staying in town wouldn’t have done anyone any good. There was no one here for them except whoever Bail had left the coordinate for and those sent them into the middle of nowhere. Whoever this hermit was, they better be worth it.

“Arrrgghhhhh!” The screech from somewhere in the rocks, sent Ahsoka to high alert. She pulled Leia behind her and drew her blaster from her hip. Her lightsabers were still tucked in the rucksack on her back as she wouldn’t give them away unless it was absolutely necessary. 

The Tusken Raiders emerged from the cliffs beside them, bow staffs at the ready and teeth bared. The thought of drawing her lightsabers crossed her mind, but absolutely did not know enough about these monster’s loyalties to expose them like that. 

She did know that creatures like this would not be reasoned with and immediately started blasting. Leia screamed as one got close to her, but Artoo zapped him away. Artoo had unleashed every hidden trick that Anakin had added to him over the years, brandishing them wildly. When Anakin was bored he would fiddle with Artoo’s attachments until he was possibly the most well-equipped astromechs in the galaxy. 

Ahsoka shot at anything that came near them but it didn’t stop them. They seemed to be coming out of nowhere. Threepio was fretting loudly, shouting his fear obnoxiously. 

It must have been her imagination, but she thought she heard the telltale sound of a lightsaber activating over her somewhere behind her. 

And as quickly as the Tusken Raiders had descended, they dissipated, clearing the area with cries over warning to their brethren.

Ahsoka turned to see a cloaked figure brandishing a blue lightsaber. For a moment her mind jumped to a wonderful conclusion. Anakin! Tatooine was where he was from originally, it made sense for him to hide here. And of course Tatooine would be safe for Leia. Anakin would never let anything happen to his daughter here.

But then rational thought take over. Anakin would never let anything happen to his daughter because he would have raised her himself if he could. And there was no way he wouldn’t be helping her and Bail organize the rebellion. 

Her sudden elation turned to realization then to disappointment and to joy again as she reached out into the Force tentatively. The presence before her was certainly familiar, but it was not Anakin Skywalker.

“Obi-wan.” 

“Ahsoka,” The Jedi pushed the hood of his cloak down. He somehow looked much older than he had only five years ago, either from the wear of the desert or from the overwhelming depression of the Clone War and its aftermath. She suspected for the latter than the former. “What are you doing here?”

“I--Bail sent me.” She glanced around her feet only for terror to rock her for a moment when she didn’t find Leia by her side. “Leia!”

Obi-wan’s eyes widened immediately. So he knew who she was. Interesting.

 Leia suddenly emerged from her hiding place behind Artoo. “Ashla!” She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the Togruta’s legs. “What were those things?”

“Sand People, child.” Answered Obi-wan. 

Leia regarded him cautiously. 

“It’s alright, Leia. He’s a friend. Actually, I think he’s the friend your father sent us to meet.”

“This is Leia?” Obi-wan asked, peering down at her with an expression Ahsoka couldn’t place. 

The girl nodded, “You knew my father?”

Obi-wan froze, his mind clouded by the implications of that question. He settled on the most direct approach. “Yes, I did. I worked with him during the Clone War.” 

“Wait, were you…” Leia’s voice dropped to a whisper. “A Jedi?” She asked in awe.

The Jedi Master watched her with amusement, “A very long time ago. Your ‘Ashla’ was one as well.” 

Leia’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. “You didn’t tell me that!”

Ahsoka huffed “I just hadn’t gotten there yet, thanks for ruining the secret, Obi-wan.”

He hummed, “My apologies.” He abruptly straightened. “The sand people won’t stay away forever. We should get inside before they come back.”

“Do you want tea, child?” Obi-wan asked gently.

Leia nodded politely as he filled her cup.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at the exchange. “The answer didn’t have to be yes, Leia.”

“You just don’t believe anyone except old people like me like tea, Ahsoka. That is where your judgement is sorely lacking.” Obi-wan snipped at her. 

Ahsoka ignored him as she watched Leia take a fake sip of her cup. Her parents certainly trained her well.

“What should I call you?” Leia asked hesitantly.

Obi-wan smiled lightly, “You may call me Ben. And what should I call you?”

“Leia.” She said definitively.

Ahsoka looked past Leia’s outward comfort and also noticed how the girl’s eyelids were drooping steadily. 

“Master, do you have somewhere Leia can lay down? She has had a very long day.” Ahsoka had tried to get Leia to sleep on the way to Tatooine, but girl would sleep in very short bursts. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Alderaan on fire again. It seemed her need for sleep was finally over-powering her nightmares. Besides, Obi-wan and Ahsoka had much to talk about away from little ears. 

“Of course, come Leia.” 

She looked hesitantly at Ahsoka but her new guardian offered a reassuring smile. She placed down her cup and followed Obi-wan into the hallway. 

Ahsoka stood up and started glancing around the room. It wasn’t on purpose, she trusted Obi-wan even if she hadn’t seen him in five years, but she started casing the room, checking the possible exits and assets. Her rucksack was leaning against the wall, and she mentally tallied the contents. Her twins white lightsabers, a few thousand Imperial credits tucked into a hidden pocket, a comm link, Leia and her false documentation that Artoo had magically procured (she didn’t want to know how he managed that so quickly), her blaster and a contained of spare bolts, and the food and water left over from their trek through the desert.

With everything she could see categorized she began reaching out into the Force. Obi-wan and Leia in the other room were glimmers in the Force, both clearly masking their Force sensitivity. Obi-wan, like her, had surely become accustomed to shielding his signature, but Leia should be doing that so effectively. On second thought, she had barely sensed Leia’s Force sensitivity at all. Given her parentage she should be a beacon in the Force like her father had been, but she was no more remarkable through the Force as her adoptive parents had been. Another question to ask Obi-wan.

Reaching out further she sensed the settlements surrounding the area. The town they had come from was not the biggest or the closest, but it had the best space port for their purposes. There were a number of the settlements around them that she assumed to be family farms and homesteads. One solidly in her sphere of sensitivity felt familiar somehow. It glowed with the same spirit Leia did, with the same spirit other shielded Jedi would. Perhaps that was why they were there. Perhaps there was an entire group of Jedi hiding on Tatooine, away from the influence of the Empire.

Focusing her attention back on Obi-wan’s house, she felt a tingling at her senses. She moved unconsciously to a chest against the wall, sensing within it three glowing presences, two comforting and achingly familiar, and one unknown. Two lightsabers and a Kyber crystal wrapped in cloth greeted her when she opened the chest. 

The Kyber crystal was certainly a curious question, but she recognized the two lightsabers as well as she recognized her own. She was captivated by the lightsaber on the left, the comforting spirit within it engulfing her in warmth. Her hand was inches from the hilt when…

“Ahsoka,” Obi-wan said over her shoulder. “What are you...oh.”

She whipped around, clutching Anakin’s lightsaber in her hand. “How did you get this? Were you with him when he died?” 

Obi-wan hesitated. Ahsoka wasn’t sure if he was just unhappy to relive the moment or keeping something from her. “I wasn’t there when he died, no. But I did take this was his body.” His careful choice of words was not lost on her.

“And the Kyber crystal?” 

This time he spoke easily, “It was my master’s. I went back to the Temple after it had been… cleared… and retrieved it from my belongings. I did not want it to fall into the Empire’s hands not like… not like everything else.” 

With that mention of Order 66 the floodgates opened. Ahsoka rushed forward into his arms. Obi-wan stilled for a moment but then accept the hug. 

“I thought you were dead.” She sobbed, still careful not to disturb Leia. 

“I’m sorry I have stayed away so long, but I have...had a duty here.”

“Does it have to do with that presence I sensed nearby. The one that felt like a Jedi shielding?”

Obi-wan’s mouth formed an ‘o’. “You can sense him?”

“Well, he’s not exactly broadcasting, but I’ve gotten fairly adept at sensing when a force-user to hiding his presence. Who is he?”

Obi-wan fell into a chair with a thud. “That is...a very long story. And I think yours is more important at the moment.”

The moment of delight at Obi-wan’s survival had almost made her forget why she was there. Almost.

“Alderaan has fallen.” Obi-wan face turned grave. “I don’t know exactly what happened and I think we ever will. Bail or someone slipped or maybe the Emperor finally got fed up with tolerating him, but,” Ahsoka sneered, “They destroyed Alderaan, they definitely either killed or captured Bail and Breha, and the Alliance has lost one of its most important benefactors.”

“But Leia is safe.” Obi-wan breathed in relief. “They didn’t take her.”

“Yes, she’s...she’s just watched her home be destroyed and probably became an orphan for the second time over, but, yeah, she’s alive.” Ahsoka sighed in defeat, finally allowing herself to realize the gravity of what had transpired over the last few days.

“And you know who she is?”

Ahsoka nodded tentatively, “I realized it the last time I visited Alderaan. I only saw her for a few minutes each visit but it was all I needed. I never confirmed it with Bail because I thought it would cause more trouble than it was worth, but you spend enough time with her and you realize it. At first you think she’s just like Padme but then,” She chuckled in spite of herself, “You find out she’s a female Anakin.”

Obi-wan actually shuddered. “I’m not sure the galaxy could handle it.”

Ahsoka laughed freely this time. “She’s got more common sense than he did, that’s more sure. But I meant more...she’s got his fire, you know. She has Padme’s certainty but Anakin’s stubbornness.”

“A dangerous combination.” Obi-wan murmured more to himself than Ahsoka.

“She’d be a good leader, just like her father, and her mother for that matter.” Ahsoka amended. 

“Hmmm, perhaps.” He seemed unconvinced, or just lost in thought. There was a time that Ahsoka could read Obi-wan almost as well as Anakin and Cody. They weren’t friends exactly, but they had relied on each enough and spent enough time together that they had become close. At times he was like a second master to her, or like an extension of his and Anakin’s brotherly bond. But this man was different than who she had known. But they were all different, they thought. Order 66 had taken more than just lives. 

“How did you survive Order 66 and the Jedi Purge?” She asked. Some part of her jumped on a thought. “Did Cody remove his chip afterall? Rex said he tried to convince him but he wasn’t sure it worked. Did he get you out?”

Obi-wan looked confused. “Chip? What are you talking about? No, Cody ordered one of the men to shoot me down on Utapau. I landed in the water and just barely managed to escape.”

Her face fell. “Obi-wan, the clones had these sort of inhibitor chips imbedded in their brains. It meant they couldn’t disobey certain widespread commands, like Order 66. They didn’t have control over their actions.”

“Oh,” She could sense his anguish in the Force. He stood suddenly and began pacing. “Why didn’t we sense that? We could have stopped this all.” 

A bond between a Jedi and his ranking clone trooper was different for each pair, but it was impossible to operate efficiently without a great deal of trust. Obi-wan and Commander Cody had been no different, perhaps relying on each other more than any other pair in the GAR, except maybe Rex and Anakin. Like so many Clone battalions of the truly effective Jedi Generals, the 501st and 212th were families, trusting and loving each other implicitly. Their Jedi were a part of the family, bonded on the battlefield but tested in respect of one another. She could imagine their betrayal had rocked Obi-wan as or even more deeply as the other betrayals of that dark time. Ahsoka made the conscious decision to not bring up what Rex had mentioned after a couple of glasses of alcohol one night, about Fives and the Council’s decision not to trust him.

“You said Rex removed his chip?” Obi-wan said finally. 

“That’s how I survived. I guess Order 66 still considered me a Jedi so the 501st on Mandalore fired on me. Rex killed a few of his own men to keep me alive and get off world. We faked our deaths, but I’m not sure that stuck with the Empire.”

Obi-wan rubbed his beard thoughtfully. Well, that habit was exactly the same. “You’ve managed to avoid them this long.”

Ahsoka sighed, “It hasn’t been easy. The Emperor has a few lap dogs running around the galaxy, other than Vader, of course. They’re called Inquisitors and they specialize in killing Jedi.”

Obi-wan froze, staring unfocused at the wall. 

“I guess you haven’t encountered them all the way out here.” She remarked. “One plus side to this hellhole, I guess.”

He shook his head, “No, no, it’s not that….you haven’t...you haven’t seen Darth Vader yourself, have you?” 

“Not in the flesh, er, so to speak.” Ahsoka paused, thinking over the events of the last days, “I think I sensed him when we were leaving Alderaan. He had just arrived, I think, because suddenly it hit me like an infestation of buzz droids. It was so dark… I was meaning to ask you about that, actually. He was different than the other sith I met, even without being face to face with him. It wasn’t like Maul’s burning rage or Dooku’s controlled fire, he was cold...like...like he had lost something. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

Obi-wan gapped at her. “And...you felt all of this from above?”

Ahsoka nodded sheepishly.

“What exactly have you been doing for the last five years?”

“I don’t normally have that much detail,” She explained quickly. “But I have been working on expanding my senses. It’s one of the most important skills I’ve got to avoid Imperial lackies.” Ahsoka considered her next words carefully. “I don’t know about this time though...he felt familiar.”

Obi-wan’s face was a stone slate, emotionless and unmoving. 

“Obi-wan?” She asked expectantly.

“It has been a long day for you as well...perhaps you should--” He stopped short and whirled his head around.

“I felt it too.” Ahsoka jumped into action.

She rushed outside, Obi-wan close of her heels. The shadow the Star Destroyer hanging over head flooded the sand. Menacing and sinister, it dangling above the planet, almost mocking them

“The Empire.” Obi-wan muttered, “He’s here.” 

“They must have followed me somehow,” She said frantically. “Bail...he was the only one who knew where we were going. He would have died before leading them to Leia!”

“Perhaps he had no choice.” Obi-wan swept back into his hut and began gathering some of his few belongings into a pack, placing Anakin’s lightsabers and Qui-gon’s Kyber crystal inside. After a moment’s thought he attached his own lightsaber to his belt. “Get Leia. We need to move.”

But Leia was already up, screaming from down the hall. Her cries echoed through the air and Force simultaneously. Not for the first time, Ahsoka found herself wondering about the girl’s abilities.

Ahsoka rushed into the room Obi-wan had put her up in and scooped a severely distraught Leia into her arms once more. 

“What’s wrong?”

“It...it’s so dark...it feels wrong.” Leia sputtered. “It feels like what came to Alderaan.”

“Come on now. It’s time to be brave, alright little one?” 

Leia nodded shakily.

Ahsoka dragged her back into the main room where Obi-wan was waiting. 

“My ship’s at a port a few kilometers away. I’m not sure we’ll make it in time. I don’t suppose you have your own?”

He shook his head. “Unfortunately not, but I do have a contingency plan. We need to make an urgent stop first though.”

“They’re right on top of us! How is it possible that they haven’t found us yet.” Ahsoka questioned.

“Bail knew where I had settled but not the exact location. I sent him a data stick with the coordinates of my house about a year after I came here, for emergencies just like this. The data stick must have been what was implanted in the ship you arrived on. He had strict instructions never to view the coordinates himself until he absolutely had to.”

“So they have the entire planet to search.”

Obi-wan looked uncertain. “Technically yes, but...if Vader is on that ship he will most definitely find us quicker than a few stormtroopers would.”

She didn’t question him, even though her mind was swimming with the information.

“Okay, how are we getting to that ‘stop’ you mentioned.

The answer ended up being banthas. He apparently had developed a relationship with a few that tended to graze nearby. Bantha were notably dumb but could be swayed with persistence meals and attention. They were not particularly fast, but Obi-wan was adamant that save for a speeder, which they did not have, there was no safer way to cross the desert. 

Leia immediately wrinkled her nose at them, a remnant of the pampered princess she had been only days before. 

Obi-wan promptly ignored her protests, and Threepio’s whining, and used the Force to lift them up and plop them down. Artoo’s teasing of Threepio’s ungraceful landing had triggered a sharp, unamused look.

Ahsoka on the other hand almost laughed. This was the Obi-wan she remembered. Not the grandfatherly man that had introduced himself to Leia nor the stoic hermit she had interacted with in the hut, but the Jedi Master and General, leading his troops into battle. Even if those troops were an annoying protocol droid, a wiry astromech, a five-year princess, and a washed-up former Jedi. 

Leia rode in front of Obi-wan, tightly wrapped in cloth to keep the sand away from her eyes. Ahsoka rode in front of Artoo and Threepio and suffered through both of them complaining that they weren’t built for this.

 The Empire’s malevolent presence still loomed in the Force, no doubt they were descending on to the surface at that very instant, but they finally came across a small homestead on the frontier. Ahsoka immediately recognized the warm glow within to be what she had sensed earlier when she sweeping the area. 

Obi-wan dismounted swiftly, meticulously lowering Leia to the ground with the Force. 

“Owen! Beru!” 

A young man, a few years older than herself, emerged from the homestead. 

“Ben!” he barked. “We’ve just heard. What the kriffing hell did you do?!”

“Owen,” A gentle voice called from behind him. “You know this wasn’t him.” 

A woman stood in the doorway, arms wrapped a little boy in front of her. He was peering curiously at them from behind a sheet of blonde bangs. 

“Are they here for you or us, Ben.” The woman, Beru, asked calmly.

“Neither,” he responded solemnly, “But we are all in danger now.” 

 Beru nodded and pulled the young boy back into the house.

“You expect us to leave?” Owen asked roughly.

“I expect you to do what you must to survive.” Obi-wan answered sharply. “But one way or another, Luke is coming with me.” He gestured towards the door. “I swore I would keep him safe and that is what I intend to do.”

“You’d take him away from us?” Owen questioned harshly.

“If I must.” Obi-wan started, “But even if Luke came with me, do you really believe that the Empire would leave you untouched, Owen? Do you really believe that they would leave the farm intact?” 

“This had farm has been in my family for four generations, Kenobi! I’m not about to leave it because you’re convinced that Luke’s in danger, which I’m not even certain is the truth.”

Ahsoka could see Obi-wan’s anger bubbling under the surface. 

“What do you mean by that?”

Owen sneered. “This is your way of forcing us to let Luke be trained. Isn’t that what you always wanted? For Luke to be a Jedi like his kriffing father? Well how did that work out for him?”

Obi-wan eyes blazed and Ahsoka could feel the Force swirling around them. 

“Stop it! Both of you.” Beru suddenly appeared again, this time holding a bag. “We’ll go with you.”

“Beru.” Owen started but she held up a hand.

“I refuse to abandon our boy.” She said definitively. “And he’s right Owen. The Empire won’t let us be if they find out about Luke.”

“But the farm--”

“The farm is just a place, what matters is the people within it.”

The man sighed, still glaring at Obi-wan. “Fine.”

Obi-wan was still simmering through the Force but his face had returned to a serene mask. “You have a speeder?”

Owen nodded tightly. 

“Then we must be on our way.”

Ahsoka dismounted the bantha as Obi-wan followed Beru and Owen into the building, most likely to collect the boy and the rest of their belongings. She sighed and glanced down at Leia.

She looked stricken and exhausted. 

“What was that?” Leia asked quietly.

“Obi-wan and his friend just had a little disagreement.”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t...I felt...I’m not sure.”

Obi-wan was shielding securely. The only reason Ahsoka had been able to feel his rage was because of their weak bond. It had never been as tight as her bond with Anakin or Master Plo, but it was strong enough that they could sense each other’s intense emotions. Leia had known Obi-wan for a day and probably a bit when she was born but that couldn’t count. This child was untrained but technically still in the sweet spot for younglings to be taken to the Temple. Any older and the Force would sink into the back of her mind and she would have to fight to recover it. But she still shouldn’t be able to feel Obi-wan like that, not enough to cause that much distress.

“I’m sorry if he scared you Leia. He’s had a difficult day.”

Even as she said it, she regretted it. Obi-wan was having a difficult day. Leia parents had probably died and her planet had all but been destroyed. She was having a difficult day. 

Leia didn’t react if she thought the wording was weird, she just continued looking quizzically at the homestead. 

“Are you ready?” Obi-wan said as he emerged from the house. 

Ahsoka nodded. 

Owen swung around building in a small speeder. “The droids will have to be strapped to the side, but we’ll fit.”

Threepio immediately launched a wave of complaints. 

“Threepio?” Owen furrowed his brow. “ The Threepio?”

“I’m sorry?” The protocol droid stopped his rant for a second. “Have we met before?”

“Um, yeah. You used to work for me, well my stepmother technically.”

“Oh no, sir. You must be mistaken. I have been in the employ of the Royal Family of Alderaan for the last five years.”

“Yes, but before that. You were my family’s.”

Threepio made to contradict him again but Obi-wan cut them both off. “Threepio had his memory wife after the war. For obvious reasons.”

Owen grubbled at being shown up by Obi-wan but was interrupted by Beru guiding Luke out of the homestead a final time.

“Would you two please stop arguing for just a moment. There are children present.” Beru scolded them. Then she turned to Ahsoka and Leia. “I’m so sorry, I don’t believe we have been introduced. I’m Beru Lars. This is my husband, Owen.” She pointed towards the man in the speeder. “And our nephew, Luke.” She squeezed the boy’s shoulders affectionately.

He offered them a bright smile. Luke seemed to glow warmly in the Force, like a beacon in swirling chaos. 

“I’m Ashla,” Ahsoka introduced herself. “And this is Leia.”

Leia forced her lips to tilted upwards. “Hello.” She managed politely.

Beru smiled warmly. “Hello, dear.”

Luke raised his hand in greeting. “Hi.” He said softly to Leia.

“Enough of the introductions. Didn’t you say we were on a clock, Kenobi?” Owen said gruffly. 

Obi-wan had been watching over the introduction closely but was brought back to reality. “Yes, yes, we must go.”

“I want to ride in the front with Uncle Owen!” Luke said excitedly. 

For the first time in their short acquaintance, Owen grinned. “Alright Luke, but you have to stay in your seat.”

They managed to strap the droids to the side of the speeder despite their protestations and just barely convinced them to shut up. Luke rode proudly in the front between Owen and Obi-wan while Leia was wedged in the back with Beru and Ahsoka. Luke had kindly asked if Leia wanted to go in the front with him but she had declined immediately, insistent that Ahsoka needed to be in her sight at all times. The girl clung to her as they rode. Owen was not a bad driver by any means, but she had probably only been driven by professional royal drivers on official roads and was not used to the uncertainty of the desert terrain. 

“He’s not always like this.” Beru said quietly to Ahsoka over Leia’s head when they were well on their way. “Owen’s brother was Luke’s father and...they didn’t have the best relationship. It was no question to take Luke in when he needed us, but he didn’t love that Ben stuck around. He’s really only like this with Ben.” She explained softly. “Normally he’s a very kind man, you just caught him at his worst.”

Everyone seems to be at their worst these days, Ahsoks said to herself.

Beyond short conversations between her and Beru and Luke’s occasional random question the ride to the nearest space port was nearly silent. The haunting presence of the Empire loomed over them like a guillotine. Even Owen and Beru, who Ahsoka figured were not force-sensitive though Luke was certainly was, seemed to feel it in the air. 

Mercifully, the space port was absent of Imperials, at least for the moment. 

Beru and Ahsoka pooled together enough credits to get them a ship and some food while Obi-wan and Owen sat in stubborn silence and Luke and Leia considered each other carefully.

Luke seemed enthusiastic about the adventure and his new friend, but Leia was understandably wary. But to Ahsoka’s surprise she seemed to be getting along with him better than she could have expected. Luke managed to coax a few genuine smiles out of Leia as he talked about his dream to be a starpilot. 

“And I’m going to see the entire galaxy. Every planet out there.” He animatedly exclaimed. 

To Ahsoka’s utter joy Leia actually giggled. “There’s a lot out there. Are you sure you can make it every one?”

He thought for a moment before asking: “Well, how many have you visited.”

“Including this one,” Leia crinkled her face in concentration. “I think four, maybe five counting where I was born but I’m pretty sure that was an asteroid.”

Luke nodded in interest. “I’m going to see all of them too.”

Leia smiled. “There’s even more of those.” Luke’s face fell for a moment but was soon replaced with a longing sort of look. 

“Finally,” Ahsoka interrupted as Beru and Owen finally returned from purchasing a ship. Togruta were not extremely common in this region of the galaxy and Obi-wan was convinced that the Empire would have his holoimage so they sent the least recognizable to retrieve a ship. 

Ahsoka and Obi-wan could both sense the Empire closing in, getting nearer by the second. 

Beru gathered the children up, making sure they still had all of their clothes and limbs. 

The buzzing in the Force began as they were just meters from the ship. Luke and Leia’s demeanors changed almost immediately, going from unbothered to agitated in seconds. The docking bay was at the edge of the port, buying them just a little time. 

“He’s found us.” Obi-wan breathed, his fear reverberating through the Force. It had been rare to see Obi-wan afraid during the Clone War as he was always in control, Anakin’s foil. Ahsoka felt that his fear wasn’t for his own life but almost completely for the children. 

Beru and Owen hustled the kids on board. Luke and Leia were nearly paralyzed with fear. 

White-armored figures crested over the sand and three small landcrafts appeared in the blue sky.

Ahsoka felt him before he saw him. The painful, sorrowful cold enveloped her and she shivered despite the burning sun on her skin. She had never seen Vader herself, only heard stories, but she recognized the feeling. The imposing black form stepped down from one of the gunships and started gliding over the sand. 

She produced her lightsabers and started deflecting the barrage of shots coming from the troopers. 

Obi-wan turned to her, a look in his eyes she only recognized from the most dire moments of the war. “Go! I’ll hold them off!”

“No!” She said, “I’m not leaving you. You’ll die!”

Obi-wan did not argue. He shouted over the sound of blastfire. “If you stay we all will.” 

“Where do I go?” She cried. “Where is safe?”

He did not stop his methodical motion but she felt him shudder in the Force. “Oh, sith’s hell, forgive me, my friend.” He murmured. “Chandrila. Contact the rebel cell and ask for Venus. Tell her I did my best but....I failed.”

“Obi-wan!” Ahsoka yelled.

“Go!” 

With a swift movement he Force pushed her onto the ship. Owen had started the takeoff sequence but he was going to need her to get them in the atmosphere. 

The bay door began to close as they took off and she saw one final glimpse of her old friend as the stormtroopers overtook him. 

There was no sound in hyperspace save for Beru’s muffled crying. Owen was staring stoically out the window in the copilot’s seat in the front. Luke seemed confused by the sudden change in events but was fascinated by being in a real starship for the first time. Leia had finally fallen asleep, unable to fight her exhaustion any longer. And Ahsoka didn’t really know what to do. 

It had been so long since she had allowed herself to hope. And it was gone. Obi-wan was dead. Again. And she was alone. Again. 

She was all Leia had so she couldn’t leave. She couldn’t revert into herself like she had done after Order 66. Leia had started to warm to the Lars family but she certainly didn’t trust them like she trusted Ahsoka. 

Ahsoka took comfort in the only thing she could. Chandrila meant Mon Mothma and that meant some sense of security. It meant an honorable, semi-functioning rebel cell, if her reports were anything to go by. It also probably meant a real bed and meal for Leia and herself, for the first time it what she calculated to be about six days since Alderaan. 

Approaching Chandrila meant approaching the Core and Coruscant. Ahsoka did her best to put her worst fears out of her mind and focus on the mission at hand. 

“We’re coming out of hyperspace.” Owen called. 

Ahsoka pulled herself out of her thoughts and landed in the pilot’s chair. Owen was not a bad pilot for someone who had never left Tatooine before, but they all trusted her a little more with the complicated flying. 

In the journey from Tatooine to the Core she had gotten to know Owen and Beru better. Beru had been right when she said Owen’s behavior had more to due with Obi-wan presence than his own natural personality. He was kind with Luke, if a little impatient at times, and seemed to genuinely love his wife. Beru was still as likable as ever, but Ahsoka had noticed that she still harbored some suspicion toward her and Leia. 

Neither Ahsoka nor the Lars had been very forthcoming to each other about how and why they knew Obi-wan. Owen and Beru also claimed they had no idea who this ‘Venus’ person they were meeting was but Ahsoka suspected that wasn’t entirely true. Luke and Leia had become fast friends, leaning on each other and bonding over the mutual loss of their homes. 

“Wow!” Luke gazed at the green and blue planet as it came into view. “I’ve never seen that much green in my life!”

Leia sniffed, “You would have loved Alderaan. It was all green and blue--and white! You’ve probably never seen snow before either.”

“What’s that?” 

Leia gasped, “It’s the most amazing thing! It’s--”

“Children.” Beru stopped them. 

Ahsoka maneuvered them down onto the planet. Chandrila was technically an occupied planet since it was so close to the core but the local government still exercised the most control. They had been lucky to keep most of their sovereignty. A lot of former Republic planets were not so fortunate. 

Getting through security was a breeze with their unremarkable civilian vessel. Artoo was probably too good at manufacture fake IDs.

 Finding accommodations on the ground was slightly less convenient. The Lars were eager to protect their nephew but were extremely unfamiliar with the galaxy beyond Tatooine. Ahsoka had to set them up in a room at a motel before she could go find the rebel cell. The motel definitely gave off some decidedly shady vibes but there were few questions asked when they checked in. 

Leaving Leia with them became a whole ‘nother thing. She had grown quite attached to Ahsoka in their weeklong relationship and was still wary about being separated from her. It took an hour of tearing up before Luke had finally wrapped Leia in his arms and Ahsoka had been able to slip up. Those two really were becoming thick as thieves. 

She crept along the streets of Hanna City. Chandrila was truly beautiful and even its capital city’s underbelly was well taken care off. When she was a safe enough distance away from the motel she pulled out her comm link. It may have been one of the most well encrypted communication devices in the sector but there was no way in sith’s hell she was allowing her comm to be tracked to Leia. 

“Alliance, this is Fulcrum. Ben is down. I repeat: Ben is down. I need to get in contact with an agent called Venus. Over.” She said.

There was static on the other end. “Fulcrum, this is Sparrow. Venus will meet you in warehouse 7 in sector 3.”

Ahsoka couldn’t help remembering the last time she had been mysteriously summoned to a nondescript warehouse for a secret meeting. It hadn’t exactly gone well that time. Hopefully Obi-wan wasn’t steering her as wrong as Barriss had. 

The warehouse was a safe distance from the motel, just enough for Ahsoka’s comfort. She reached briefly to touch Leia and Luke in the Force. Their Force signatures seemed even stronger together, but still wrapped in fierce shielding. 

A rustle in the boughs of the warehouse 7.

“Who’s there?” She called. Her voice dropped slightly. “Venus?” 

“Fulcrum?” A female voice fluttered somewhere in the building. 

“Kaminoans are a dime a dozen.” Ahsoka said, attempting one of the Alliance’s code phrases.

“But only when they looked the same.” A hooded figure appeared from behind shipping container. Beneath her cloak the woman’s eyes widened. “Ahsoka?”

Ahsoka’s heart stopped.

“Padme?” She croaked.