Never Walk Alone

Chapter 3 - A New Life

"The Force allows you to sense the importance of those close to you," Ben replies mysteriously. It's not a yes, though it's not a no, either, and Leia doesn't know what to think of it. To be fair, if Luke is related to her somehow, she'd rather not know. He had some relation with someone in the Empire, and that's the last thing she wants to think about right now.

She doesn't want to have to care about an Imperial. Not – not right now.

"Your father was strong in the Force," Ben goes on, after a pause, "And you have inherited that from him."

"Did I?" Leia asks. She doesn't doubt it, exactly, but she thought, if she did, she'd have been able to use it already. That she'd automatically be something like the Jedi who hardly even exist anymore, that it would make her better able to help. If it has, it certainly doesn't feel like it. She nearly fell to her death right after meeting Ben. That certainly doesn't feel very Jedi-like.

"Yes, you have," Ben assures, "Your father was the most powerful Jedi I have ever known."

Ben is fond of him, she realizes. They must have been close a lifetime ago, and Leia doesn't know what this will mean for her future. "Why are you telling me this now?" she queries.

"I can... train you in the ways of the Force," he replies, "The Jedi are few in number now, and I cannot let their ways be entirely forgotten. And if you could use the Force, it would be a great asset to the Rebellion. Someone of your strength may be the only one able to defeat Vader and the Emperor."

She could train to use the Force? It's never something Leia had a reason to give thought to. At least not until right now, and it's almost mind-blowing that she can be a Jedi if she wants to be. Leia doesn't know much about Vader except that he's deadly because he can use the Force, and she's had personal enough experiences with him already. And defeating the Emperor is the only way this conflict is going to end. If learning to be a Jedi would help with that...

"Could I?" Leia asks. She wants this, but she doesn't know if she's capable. "I could try, but after what happened..."

"What happened to Alderaan was not your fault, Leia," Ben argues, "Had you stayed on-planet, the Empire would have found another reason, and you would have died, too."

If she's being honest, that doesn't sound too bad right now, but she still concedes the point with a slight nod.

"For years, I have believed you to be the best hope at defeating the Emperor and bringing the Rebellion together," he continues, "Perhaps even of restoring the Republic."

She certainly doesn't see that in herself. She doesn't really see anything in herself, actually, but Leia still trusts him, even if there's something distinctly different about him now as opposed to years ago. He's darker somehow, colder, and she's... worried. "Okay," she agrees finally. "I want to be trained. If it means helping the galaxy, that's what I'll do."

That's what her parents would have wanted. All of them.

***

Luke still wishes he could stay with Vader – he doesn't get why he's suddenly going by a different name – but his father promised he'd come to this... fortress as soon as the battle was over. Luke's waited nineteen years for this day, he can wait a little longer if he really has to.

He's admittedly bouncing with curiosity to see the place his father lives in – or at least he is until he comes out of hyperspace. Even from up here, he can clearly tell the planet's surface is covered in lava. And that is way too familiar. It hardly even looks hospitable. How does his father live here?

Luke flies down for the coordinates he was given a little more cautiously, and it's not until he gets through the atmosphere that he realizes...

This place is exactly the same as the one in his dreams. It has to be. The rivers of lava are too familiar, and so is the sensation the planet gives him. He never knew planets had different sensations, but he can feel it clearly now.