How to Take an Empire

Part 3: Chapter Fifteen: Breha

Bail Organa put Ahsoka through great pains to set up a meeting with him on his home planet. But she supposed she understood the necessity of it when a long assumed dead Jedi contacted him out of nowhere. Especially considering that some of the supposed long-dead Jedi were now inquisitors under the Emperor's thumb, according to Vader. Also, especially considering that Ahsoka was getting in touch with him to kick off a conspiracy to take the Empire with Vader. Bail Organa hadn't gotten this far with so little suspicion by being stupid, that was for sure.

"All strapped in?" Ahsoka asked as she glanced back at the twins where she'd sat them together in the seat behind her and rigged the seat restraint to hold them both.

They didn't respond, both asleep and leaning awkwardly against each other. Ahsoka smiled. It had been a long few days in the confined space of her ship. They were probably exhausted. She turned back her focus to landing the ship after getting the clearance to land in a specific hanger of the Alderaan Palace. Once she landed, she directed Threepio to carry her bag while she gathered the twins in her arms, putting them on either hip while they laid their heads on her shoulder.

"Soon, I'm not going to be able to carry you both at the same time anymore," Ahsoka muttered as she headed down to the landing ramp of the sleek, heavily modified ship that Vader had provided her with. The style reminded her of Naboo's designs.

"Ahsoka Tano," Bail said as Ahsoka made her way down the ramp. "You can't begin to comprehend my surprise and relief when you contacted a couple of weeks ago. It's good to see you safe and well. I apologize for my paranoia but—"

"You don't have to explain yourself," Ahsoka, said trying and failing to shrug with the weight of the twins in her arms as she fell back on her old humble Jedi training. "I understand the need for discretion, especially in these perilous times. To be honest, if the situation weren't so dire, I might not have reached out to you at all."

"Yes. We can discuss that further somewhere more comfortable and with refreshments. I'm sure you've had a long, tiring journey," Bail said. "Anything you need?"

"Somewhere to lie these two down, preferably somewhere close to where we intend to talk," Ahsoka added. "A sofa will work."

"There's one in the office I intend to take us to."

"Thank you."

Once they were in the office and Ahsoka had relieved herself of the burden of carrying the twins, covering them with a throw that was on the back on the lounge, and directed Artoo and Threepio to wait outside, neither Bail nor Ahsoka wasted time getting down to business.

"Forgive my bluntness, but what caused you to reach out to me after all this time?" he asked.

"Truthfully, I wasn't sure if it was safe to reach out to you or if I could trust you at all," Ahsoka began, "considering what was happening that forced me into hiding to begin with. That said, I might have risked it if it were only my life on the line. But..."

Ahsoka's gaze went to the couch where Luke and Leia were still sleeping peacefully, and Bail's gaze followed. When they turned their attention back to each other, Ahsoka decided to answer Bail's unasked question.

"They're war orphans. Their mother died after giving birth to them, and they're highly Force-sensitive," said Ahsoka, looking Bail in the eye.

Certainly as one of Padmé's close colleagues, he'd had to have been aware of her pregnancy. And though Padmé and Anakin had been under the impression that they were being subtle, Ahsoka was sure that Bail had known or least had a strong inkling about their relationship and who the father of Padmé's—then thought to be—child was. And there weren't a lot of reasons her teenaged self would have taken two younglings in rather than finding someone else to take care of them. Bail wasn't stupid, and Ahsoka wasn't going to treat him like he was. It would be counterproductive to her goals. But Ahsoka figured it was better not to directly admit to the twins' true parentage, even if she didn't think Bail would give them away. The fact that most strangers assumed she was the twins' mother was as much a protection for them as it had been for hers.