For Their Own Good

by BirdyMcBird (Lucy_Rose), Lucy_Rose

Summary:

Leia has every intention to join the rebellion, to bring peace to the galaxy, and be the one to kill Darth Vader after what he did to their family. Luke is ready to start flying, much to his father Obi Wan's worries, and Senaara is intent on untangling the web of lies Obi Wan has been telling his children for years. 6 years after the events of 'His double suns and the Star', Luke, Leia, and Senaara Kenobi are now 11.

Yet dark pasts typically have dangerous consequences, ones that the children are not prepared to handle when it leads to them straight to Darth Vader.

Or Obi Wan decided to raise the twins + his own kid with Satine, and now all the lies he told to protect them are coming to bite him in the butt.

Notes:

Will update at least weekly, most likely on Fridays :)

Chapter 1: Dusk

Leia was going to win no matter the cost.

She had decided that since she was five, running through the halls of an empirical star destroyer, her brother holding her hand, her sister bleeding and small in her father’s arms. She had known it the moment she and Luke had joined hands, throwing Darth Vader into the wall with a sickening crash. She had believed it the moment she had run onto the ship that would save her family, the second she touched foot on Alderaan.

Leia was going to win.

She was going to be the one who would take down the empire. It was going to be her who helped the resistance flourish. It was going to be her who was going to kill Darth Vader one day.

The only issue was that she was eleven.

And therefore no one trusted her to win.

“And that would be your heart.” Obi Wan, Leia’s father, chuckled softly. The long beautifully carved wooden replica of a lightsaber in his hands, had its point towards Leia’s chest, her own wooden saber too low to hit anything or get her out of the position she had found herself in. “You have done well.”

The sun was setting over the Alderaanian mountains now, the last light of day glowed across the fields that surrounded Leia’s home, a beautiful estate carved into the hills. Nabooian architecture, domes, mosaic walls, hues of green, blue, and ochre. The home itself was massive, much larger than the home that Leia had grown up in for the first five years of her life, with a library, grand foyer, solarium, tower like observation nook, and so much more that Leia had fallen in love with over the years.

Now it stood waiting for her and Obi Wan to finish the day’s training.

“Not well enough.” Leia grumbled, stepping away as Obi Wan lowered his wooden blade. “Again?”

“Not today, love.” Obi Wan offered a soft smile of an apology. “I have to get dinner started.”

“It’s early.” Leia protested.

“I have a meeting tonight, remember?” Obi Wan ruffled her hair, messing up the perfectly combed back front that Leia had worked so hard on that morning. It had lasted the whole day, through school, meditation, training, only to be ruined by her father’s friendly hand. “We need to eat before then.”

Obi Wan started to place the practice saber into the wooden case he had carved for it, giving out his hand so that Leia could place her own in his palm.

“In person or transmission?” Leia asked, passing the saber over before getting to work, picking up her and her father’s water bottles, and slipping on her father’s sweater that she had stolen some time when she was seven to compete with the quickly cooling Alderaanian atmosphere.

“Transmission. I still need to be ready for it in the library.” Obi Wan picked up the case, outstretching his hand for Leia to take. She did so without question.

“What’s it about?” Leia asked, eager to get any information she could out of her father.

“Ryloth.” Obi Wan supplied, seemingly aware of the game she was playing. He always was. “But the rest is confidential."

The two set off for the short path back to the estate, leaving behind the clearing that Obi Wan had claimed for light saber training. Although they never trained with Obi Wan’s lightsaber, always the wooden replicas that he had carved with his own hands much to Leia’s displeasure. Leia was tired as she walked, leaning slightly into her father’s hand as she tried to think of everything else she had to do that night.

Leia kept herself busy. She never let herself stay still for too long, constantly finding new activities and reviewing her lessons.

She and her brother Luke attended an Alderaanian Academy now, one of the last schools on the planet not touched by the empire. It was full of children of diplomats, of rich folk, and high ranking officials, but at its core it was a school for the gifted children of Alderaan. Leia didn’t mind very much, she could navigate the other kids, she could find her place, she just had to deal with the occasional empire sympathizer.

She excelled in her classes. Leia made sure of that with her endless studying and active role in the classroom. All of her core classes were advanced in some form or another and she made sure to stay friendly with everyone in the academy. She was learning three additional languages, reviewing politics in a class taught by one of Queen Breha’s advisors, and even had time to play on the school's official jenk-ball team. Things were easier for her when she was at school.

At the academy she was just Leia Kenryze. Sister of Luke and daughter of single father Owen Kenryze. Of course Owen was just the false name for father, Obi Wan, and of course she had a sister, Senaara, that wasn’t included in that title, and technically they were on the run from the empire, but still. The academy was simpler for her.

When she would get home, Leia would throw herself into Jedi training. Her father tried to pace her, tried to remind her to slow down, but Leia wouldn’t. She refused. She threw herself into training as she threw herself into anything, with precision and determination.

Her father had created daily group lessons for her and her siblings to do. Learning together, training together, laughing while saber fighting, all became essential parts of the afternoon. The estate was far enough out in the countryside that there weren’t any looking eyes, and an easy enough place to avoid empirical sweeps thanks to the Queen and Senators blessing.

Leia constantly requested private training sessions with her father. At first it was simply because she wanted to be the best, she wanted to be prepared for the next time the empire tried to destroy her family. Yet somehow, it became a ritual for her. The one time she knew her fathers mind was only on her.

As a triplet, it was hard to get attention from her father. It was even harder when her sister was different, needing the extra attention Leia hated that she wanted. The extra saber training, the extra practice, even if it meant staying up late, or waking up sore, Leia treasured it. It was the one time she had her father all to herself, the one time that she could truly feel like Leia Kenobi, for that was her father’s real last name.

Leia’s father had always been a mystery to Leia, a mystery Leia didn’t want to solve anymore. It had tortured her when she was younger, when things had originally fallen apart. Her father had lied to her and her siblings for years about where he had come from, what he had gone through, but Leia knew that he had lied about even more.

He had been a Jedi. He had fought in a war. He had broken the Jedi code to have her and her siblings. Yet Leia knew there was more to the story. She knew there was more that her father wouldn’t tell her, more to their mother, the elusive Rinari, more about the Jedi, more about what the children were, Nabooian or Mandalorian?

Yet Leia had let the questions go. They wouldn’t help her with her goal, wouldn’t help her and the resistance. If her father wanted to keep secrets, if he was content to let the lies fester, she would let him. Whatever he was hiding, it couldn’t destroy their whole world.

Could it?

Leia held the door open for Obi Wan as he brought the long case through the archway. The boxes were decorated with an assortment of constellations, suns, moons, and star carvings. It was a comforting design, one that appeared in many of Obi Wan’s wood work.

Leia kicked off her boots at the door, placing them along the wall before walking through the foyer, her gaze following the stairs to the next floor. She wondered if Senaara was still up there, she normally was.

“How’d it go?” Luke called out from the kitchen. His blonde hair was floppy, nearly covering his eyes, as he pulled out chyntuck tubers, yobaaca leaves, and a slab of nerf meat, spreading the ingredients over the counter.

“Leia is getting very good at saber fighting.” Obi Wan hummed, sliding in beside Luke.

“Buir beat me anyway.” Leia grumbled, taking a seat at the island. “I prefer fighting you.”

“Because you win?” Luke quipped, a grin on his face as he started to cut the tubers as Obi Wan seasoned the nerf meat.

“Obviously.” Leia found herself smiling.

Leia and Luke looked alike if you squinted, but that had never bothered Leia. Luke had his blonde hair, the hair that he should cut more often, the hair that seemed to cover his eyes constantly. Leia had her deep brown hair, always put up in impeccable braids that Leia had learned how to do from Ahsoka. Their eyes colour was different, their face features reflected different people, but they had the same feeling to them, the same softness that Leia loved.

Leia assumed they both took after their mother, since they didn’t look like Obi Wan.

Their sister, Senaara, looked like Obi Wan. She always had. She didn’t look like Luke or Leia but Leia didn’t mind. That was the least of Leia’s worries regarding her sister.

“How was school?” Obi Wan asked as he turned the burner on, watching the plate of metal start to burn red. “What did you learn today?”

“It was fine.” Leia pulled out her datapad from her bag, starting to swipe through her home assignments.

“They have a flight program that starts next year.” Luke brought up. “We learned about it today. I could qualify.”

A flicker of something unrecognizable came across Obi Wan’s face. Leia was used to this, the odd look her father would get from time to time. She had decided to ignore it.

“That sounds…lovely Luke.” Obi Wan nodded, pouring oil into the pan with the nerf steak. “Are there tryouts?”

“Yeah.” Luke nodded. “End of the month. They had simulators and everything.”

Leia started to tune out the sounds of her brother and father while they cooked. Piloting had never interested her, not in the way it enthralled her brother. Leia’s mind had always been much more focused on the failing politics of the empire, on the resistance, on how strategy worked. The idea of flying seemed trivial to her.

Surfing through her datapads map of the galaxy in search of a planet that her class was studying, Leia came across Mandalore. The planet that seemed at the core of her father’s mix of lies, yet Leia couldn’t help but click it, reading the description she had read time and time again.

Mandalore and Naboo. The planets that hailed Leia and her siblings. A warrior culture and a place of peace. Two opposites that had made the three of them.

Leia had always felt more attached to Naboo, but perhaps that was her fathers fault. Her favorite memories of a child was the soft voice of her father singing lullaby after lullaby from Naboo, the songs of soft breezes and shining lakes. The songs that felt like home to her when she wasn’t sure where that was. The lyrics she had memorized and written across her own heart.

Leia had never been to Naboo, but she had been told it was similar to Alderaan. Long lush valleys of green, of moss and swampy enclaves, of cool refreshing lakes. She could have sworn she had seen the place in her dreams, running along the tile floor of a lake house, a woman who she assumed was her mother, dressed in red with flowers in her hair.

It was comforting.

Naboo was the reward. That was what Leia told herself. Once she had saved the galaxy, she could see Naboo, by then her father would have to let her go, wouldn’t he?

Rinari. That was who her father had told her was her mother. A woman named Rinari Solen. A woman who had been half Nabooian, half Mandalorian. When Obi Wan had explained that, when he had told the story of a woman raised in peace, who commanded halls of people, who was beautiful and intelligent, Leia had fallen in love with the story.

It had been so beautiful.

Her mother, a peace leader, a woman born from war who rose for peace.

But on those nights, where Leia awoke in the fuzzy glow of sunset in that lake house, watching the water glimmer with the dying light of the sun, her mother just paces away, her face hidden from chestnut curls, Leia couldn’t see Rinari.

Because that wasn’t Rinari.

Leia never mentioned it to Obi Wan. She never mentioned it to her siblings. It was better not to.

Her father could keep his secrets.

Leia would become more than whatever secrets had protected her for so long.

It didn’t matter anymore.

She would win.

“I’m going to lay down and finish this.” Leia mumbled, getting up and stretching. She didn’t wait for a response from her father or brother before leaving the room, finding her way to the library.

She would finish her assignments, she would eat, she would sit in on her father’s meeting, she would offer a wonderful critique or idea, she would go to bed, and she would start the day over again. She would join the resistance once her father let her. She would end the empire. She would kill Darth Vader. She would do it.

She just had to keep moving.

-

Luke didn’t understand Leia.

Which was funny, because normally people didn’t understand his other sister, Senaara.

But he found that he understood her quite well.

Senaara had rules that she followed, rules his sister would not deviate from, a world of black and white. Senaara could not handle loud noises or noisy places. Senaara took things seriously, much more than Leia did, you had to be obvious with your sarcasm or jokes with her. Senaara had a set amount of energy that was much lower than those her age, she could only handle so much talking and so much time with people. Senaara would talk about the things that interested her for days on end because they interested her, if something did not interest her she struggled with enjoying it to any capacity. Senaara loved the multiple variations of ‘The Monarch, the Jedi, and the Bard’, perhaps too much. Senaara needed extra explaining some times. Senaara needed patience.

Leia on the other hand was cool and serious on some occasions, and hot headed and reckless in others. Leia was sweet and patient with Senaara when alone in the house, but would grow frustrated with her an hour later. Leia would tell Luke not to take Jedi training so seriously because only strategy would save the galaxy, but throw herself into training without Luke there.

Both his sisters were enigmas, but Leia was the one he hadn’t learned to navigate.

He loved her dearly though, finding her as his partner in everything. At school they were each other's companions, though they had their own friends, their own circles. They always found their ways back to each other. They were each other's rocks, each other's steady counterpart.

Luke might not be able to understand his sister, but he could feel her in ways that he didn’t feel Senaara. Her force signature, which their father always commented on being remarkably hidden, always shone bright for him. He could find her anyplace, anyway, no matter the circumstances.

Luke didn’t know how to verbalize this to his father, he didn’t know how to verbalize this to anyone. He had two sisters and he loved them terribly but in very different ways.

“Would those that you're competing against for the program spot have experience with piloting?” Obi Wan asked, flipping the flank of nerf over in the pan.

Luke felt pulled back into conversation, finding that his gaze had lingered on the arch that led to the library, where his younger sister had once been.

“Oh.” Luke paused. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“The other young pilots that might be trying out probably come from families with lines of pilots and ships they have been flying since they were young.” Obi Wan sighed. “They’ll have an advantage over you.”

Luke considered that for a moment, “Maybe Bail will let me fly. He probably had access to pilot simulators and real ships.”

Luke watched his father’s face drop slightly.

“Perhaps.” Obi Wan turned back to the nerf flank, pulling it off the burner.

“I want to fly a y-wing.” Luke smiled as he turned back to his own part of dinner, dusting spice on her tubers. “They’re fast, battle dynamic, some say obsolete since the introduction of tie-fighters but they hold up.”

Luke loved ships. He had been collecting pilot manuals and miniature models of ships since he had gotten to Alderaan. His father had hung them from the ceiling in his room, creating a battle in the sky. His father had always seemed weirded out by Luke’s obsession with the sky, with ships, and flying, but Rex had explained that Obi Wan had never loved flying like other Jedi had. That had been a good enough answer.

Luke wanted nothing more but to be a pilot. Leia had confessed to him late at night, when the two laid in the same bed not ready to be alone, that she wanted to fight for the resistance, that she wanted to be a Jedi and to save the politics of the crumbling galaxy. His sister had so many goals, so many aspirations. Luke just wanted to fly. He supposed flying and fighting with the rebellion was good enough of a way for him to fly.

“Y-wings were primarily used in the Clone Wars.” Obi Wan mentioned as he started to set the table.’

“Yeah.” Luke nodded. “They were used a lot by Jedi like you. Ahsoka said she led a fleet a few times. Now they’re the main ships used by the rebellion. They’re unique because they have ion cannons and torpedo launchers.”

Luke watched his father nod along. He knew Obi Wan was trying to listen but ship details and ship facts had never been his thing. Luke didn’t mind though, he enjoyed spending time with his father nonetheless. “The fact remains, you’ve never piloted before.”

“I’ll ask Bail. He’ll do anything for me and Leia.” Luke chirped before pausing over his own words.

Bail was as involved with Luke and his siblings' lives as much as Rex or Cody was, probably more than that even. If Luke was being honest, Bail had become more present in their lives than their aunt Ahsoka. But then again, Ahsoka was doing what Leia called ‘real work’, she was out helping people all over the galaxy, fighting for the rebellion.

Bail did the same but from behind a desk, from behind holo tables, and maps, keeping Obi Wan seated beside him.

The senator had helped Luke, Leia, and Senaara get into the academy in the first place. He had helped Senaara and Obi Wan when Senaara had to be taken out of school. He had been there for every life day, bringing gifts of splendor. Leia had grown quite close with him, and Luke would be lying if he said he hadn’t grown close as well.

But unlike his sister, Luke wasn’t blind to the fact that Bail’s love seemed to only lay its light on him and Leia. His sister Senaara remained out of the light, politely removed from the events that Bail planned, even now that his sister had grown better adjusted from her kidnapping. The mention of her made conversations stagnant, not quite awkward, not quite mean, just still. As if Bail couldn’t or wouldn’t try to understand Senaara.

Luke didn’t mention his growing frustration. He didn’t dare mention it to anyone. Bail had been too good to them, too good to their family, that he didn’t want to mess it up. Senaara didn’t seem to mind it, she didn’t like Bail anyway, but it would hit Luke at odd times. The feelings of frustration, of lack of understanding that he didn’t know where to place.

But Luke knew the words he said were true. It was a privilege and a curse.

“I suppose.” Obi Wan rolled the words on his tongue. “But please, start with simulators. Only once you have mastered that-”

“Yeah, yeah. Be safe.” Luke rolled his eyes playfully.

“I need you safe.” Obi Wan rustled Luke’s hair, “What would this house be without your sunlight?”

“It would shine just as bright with Leia’s moon light and Senaara’s star light.” Luke chimed back, helping Obi Wan set the table. “I really want to be a pilot, Buir.”

“You’re eleven.” Obi Wan chuckled. “You have time to change your mind.”

“I still want to be a Jedi.”

“It’s okay if you don’t.”

“But I do. I want to be a Jedi pilot.” Luke watched Obi Wan’s eyes turn solemn as the man tried to plaster a smile on his face.

“That is a wonderful dream.” Obi Wan’s voice was soft, as if remembering something that brought him pain. Pain that Luke saw so often and never understood. “Please, call your sisters in. It’s time to eat.”

Luke nodded, slipping away from the kitchen. He made a quick call down the hall to Leia, knowing she would hear it and eventually drag herself away from her studies, before heading up the looping stairs to the second floor.

He walked down the hallway he had dubbed the ‘moss hall’ years ago, dragging his hand on the painted wall and over the doors. First his, then Leia’s, then Senaara’s. He paused before pushing the door open from the crack it had already been left in.

Senaara was laying on her bed, reading the fourth iteration of ‘The Monarch, the Jedi, and the Bard’ that Obi Wan had gotten her. She had nine in total, each a different version from a different planet in the galaxy. Each book lined a single shelf in the girls room, filling the whole expanse.

Luke leaned on the door, taking in the sight of his sister. Her ginger hair was cut to her shoulders, a sloppy cut by her own hand a few months prior. Her padawan braid was lost in the few additional braids that Luke and Leia had added to the base of Senaara’s hair, little living memories that Senaara had once said made her feel safer.

“It’s time for dinner.” Luke kept his voice soft, watching for any possibilities of spooking his sister.

Senaara didn’t scare this time, just looked up from her book and nodded, leaving it to the side as she slipped a pair of socks on before walking towards Luke who took her hand playfully, leading her down the stairs.

-

Senaara knew she was different.

It wasn’t just her mind, but that did impact her quite a bit.

She was different from her siblings in some fundamental way.

In a way she knew they felt it too, in a way that her father seemed to skirt around, in a way that no one seemed willing to acknowledge beside Bail.

Senaara didn’t like nerf. It felt too heavy in her stomach, too filling. Her father knew this, but still added a small slice to her place. Protein. He wanted her to eat protein. Senaara would have found it endearing if the thought of putting the piece of meat in her mouth didn’t make her want to throw up.

Luke’s tubers and yobaaca sprouts were more edible for her taste. Senaara ate them slowly, watching her siblings and father banter back and forth.

Luke and Leia always had interesting stories from school, Senaara always enjoyed listening to them. It gave her a taste of the life she couldn’t manage for whatever reason. It was nice to imagine herself beside them.

Senaara had gotten a taste of real school, but she only lasted three years.

She didn’t know what had pushed her father over the edge, why he had done it when she was eight, but Obi Wan pulled her out of school soon after her and her siblings' life day. He had explained it in the soft voice he always used with her, that it would be easier for her if they worked at her pace.

But Senaara knew enough of the truth to know it wasn’t a good thing.

School had been tough. School on Ratisk had been hard but Senaara hardly remembered anything from that time anymore, it was Leia who remembered the rude comments the clearest, whispering at night to see if Senaara could recall the moment.

But school in Aldreaan had been a different story. Senaara loved learning, she loved debating stories, both real, fake, and imagined. She loved the look of the academy, the white and blue walls, the long pillars, the looming halls. She had become attached to teachers, moved up in classes, labeled brilliant like her siblings.

But the other kids hadn’t seen her as such.

While her siblings went on to gain friends, creating circles of companions, finding guidance from peers, Senaara had stuck to herself. She had enjoyed eating alone at lunch in the library, becoming friends with the old man who ran the shelves like the military. She enjoyed walking the lengths of the grounds during mind breaks, listening to the wind and the force if it was singing that day. She didn’t need people, but it didn’t stop her from yearning for them.

Senaara didn’t know if she had just decided she liked being alone one day, or if she had tried to make friends and failed. Her memory was spotty the entire year after her kidnapping. She assumed either was possible, she just hoped that if she had tried to make friends, the kids hadn’t been too hard on her. That would have been embarrassing.

Senaara knew kids talked about her, she knew adults talked about her, but she didn’t care. If she didn’t actively hear it she could ignore it. She had survived worse, she had been tortured and left in the dark for days, she had survived with the infamous Darth Vader, people making fun of her was hardly an issue for her.

It hurt, but it didn’t matter to anyone but her, so therefore she could get over it.

But it had been an issue for Leia and Luke.

Senaara assumed it must be hard to be the sibling of the ‘freak’.

All Senaara knew was that when she still went to school, Leia would sometimes ignore her, turning away as if she hadn’t seen her. But Senaara knew her sister. She knew that she was embarrassing, she knew that it was easier without her. Other times Leia would pick fights with the kids that talked about Senaara, getting pulled into the dean's office on a few occasions for physical altercations.

Luke had always been kind but Senaara saw the strain her presence caused him. Her brother hated leaving her alone, and his friends didn’t know her like he did. He tried, he really did, but Senaara didn’t get along with his friends like he did, she was always just his sister, not a friend.

Senaara hated hurting her siblings. She hated the idea that her existence was burdening them.

She had once talked to Ahsoka about all of this. Her worries that her siblings would stop loving her one day because they would realize she had been born wrong. That there was inherently something wrong with her mind, with her being. Ahsoka had assured her that wasn’t the case, that her thought process was too extreme, to black and white, that her mind was just different, too full of her stories. Her siblings could be embarrassed of her and love her at the same time. They could grow up and they would learn their embarrassment was embarrassing.

But Obi Wan hadn’t given them a chance.

Senaara enjoyed homeschooling. Her father would coordinate lessons, teaching her for the most part with an assortment of tutors that Bail would send to the home. The teachers thought highly of her, went for her strengths and helped her weaknesses. It was all done from the comfort of her home, from the solarium, the library, the observation tower, wherever she wanted.
She could have her stuffed tooka with her or curl up in her blanket. She could eat during the lesson or take a break. It was her day to control, her father as her assistant.

It had been nerve racking at first but it felt good now. It felt safe.

But her siblings didn’t want to hear about her day. Their days were always far more interesting.

“Then Teraria told Jiva that her equation was wrong, that she should have used an alternative method.” Leia hummed between bites, “And Jiva did not like that.”

“Those two are rivals, right?” Obi Wan asked, seemingly trying to keep up with Leia’s story. Senaara wanted to giggle at the face of concentration her father was making, but she didn’t. She didn’t want to draw attention.

“Oh big time.” Leia grinned.

“Riv said Teraria and Jiva’s father are both fighting on opposite sides of some new bill.” Luke added. “So the rivalry is generational.”

“Then I hope they can grow out of their destined hate.” Obi Wan huffed, picking at his plate. “Senaara, do you want to tell your siblings about your lessons today?”

“With Miss Kutirz?” Senaara asked, still picking around her nerf meat. “It’s not that interesting.”

“Is she the literature tutor?” Leia asked.

“Yeah.” Senaara shrugged. “We made a connection between the Ryloth telling of Monarch, Jedi, Bard and the Dantoinne telling.”

“What was it?” Luke leaned over his plate, watching her.

Senaara paused. She hated when people asked questions like that, she never knew if they really wanted to know or if they were being polite. Leia was easier to read, showing her frustration or boredom quickly but Luke was better at hiding it behind a smile. Senaara didn’t like the idea of boring him.

“Just about how the cultures of Ryloth and Dantooine are similar when it comes to values.” Senaara shrugged, “It's reflected on the final test of the Monarch.”

“Oh really?” Luke chirped, “What is it?”

“Surival and community.” Senaara watched Luke’s face, full of earnest interest. At least it seemed to be. Senaara worked through the idea carefully, watching her brother’s face for any sign of disinterest, “The final test of the Monarch, when they return to their home planet, which is Ryloth in the Ryloth edition of the story, but an unnamed planet in the Dantooine version, changes depending on story. In the Alderaan edition the Monarch learns to forgive, in the Mandalorian edition the Monarch avenges their father and reclaims the dark saber. But for both Ryloth and Dantoinne, the council the Monarch returns to gives them a challenge.”

Senaara could feel herself smiling, her fingers fluttering under the table as she recounted the tale she loved.

“The Ryloth and Dantoinne challenges are slightly different but both involve a challenge of survival in the wilderness, which ends with the Monarch realizing it's okay to lean on the Jedi and the Bard to aid them. The two help the Monarch and so they pass the test, learning survival and community. Witch is important to the people of Ryloth and Dantoinne since their cultures are built on community and survival, so it's cool that it's reflected in their telling of the story. It shows how the cultures are similar even though they are so different and how culture appears in the stories we tell…”

Senaara’s voice faded out. Luke was looking out the window now, watching a ship fly in the distance. Leia was picking at her food, her father was the only one watching her.
She had missed the sign to be quiet.

Senaara bit her lip, turning down to her plate. She hated this.

“How do other cultures reflect in the stories?” Obi Wan asked gently, but Senaara just shook her head, turning back to her plate.

“Like you’d expect.” Senaara kept her voice quiet, hoping that one of her siblings would swoop in with conversation that the family would actually enjoy. Not silly connections from stories for children.

Senaara wasn’t hungry. She had eaten her tubbers, and that was as far as she was getting with her meal. She would come back down later, find some meliuroon or bread that she could nibble on, but for now? She wanted to leave.

Her father didn’t stop her anymore, Senaara supposed that was the luck of being kidnapped as a child, so she slipped away from the table just as Leia started to recount the news about the empire she had overheard at lunch.

Senaara ignored Luke’s call to her, asking her if she was alright. Sometimes it was nicer to pretend she couldn’t hear, to avoid the complicated questions she had no answers to. But she did wish she couldn’t see, so that she could avoid the solemn face of her father as he watched her leave.

Senaara didn’t go to her room. She climbed up the stairs to the third floor into the turret of the house. It was a small circular room, with a painted dome ceiling of constellations, an open balcony, and shelves of archives that her father had collected.

Senaara liked it up here. It was here she felt at peace, able to watch the stars.

The observation nook was the opposite of the solarium, the place her father loved. The solarium was full of plush seats, yellows, beiges, and occasional greens from the growing flora. It had large circular windows and a roof that opened. Obi Wan meditated there often, and Senaara could see the appeal.

But the dark blues, the whites, and golds of the observation tower was all Senaara found that she wanted. She had always enjoyed laying out a pillow and blanket, laying out on the balcony to watch the stars drift by.

Her brother wanted to touch the stars, to fly ships and explore. Her sister wanted to conquer them, or at the very least free them from their conqueror.
Senaara just wanted to be allowed to see them.

Senaara missed the stars when she had been in the empirical holding cell six years ago. She had missed a lot of things, the feeling of long grass on her legs, cold water running on one's hand, the softness of her lost stuffed animal, the soft hands of her siblings, the scratchy beard of her father brushing her forehead as he kissed the crown of her hair.

Sometimes the fear would hit her again, overwhelming, coming in waves. The darkness, the fear, the regret. She would see the creature that was Darth Vader in the corner of her vision, the man of shadows whose voice still screamed at her in her dreams.

Senaara liked being better. She enjoyed how she was praised when she had started to talk again, when she had forced herself to remain present in her body, when she had taken active steps to be there for her siblings.

She liked hearing Bail tell her she was doing good, that she was acting right. She liked it when Cody called her strong and Rex called her little general. She liked it when her sister didn’t treat her as something fragile. She liked it when her brother laughed beside her. She liked it when her father smiled at her, with the smile that reached his eyes, that brightened his face. Not the smile he often gave her, the one with the sadness written in his eyes.

Senaara had found she liked meditating laying down much more than she liked meditating standing. She wasted no time, laying out on the balcony, feeling the cool tile on her back as she stared up at the sky.

There was something wrong with her.

Something had been wrong with her before she had been kidnapped.

Perhaps the event had caused whatever was wrong with her to get worse, but Senaara knew it hadn’t caused it.

Her mind was poisoned and she felt like a parasite.

Senaara had a sickening feeling that her siblings did not belong to her as they belonged to her father.

It had nothing to do with the way Luke and Leia seemed to feel embarrassed about her, Senaara could forgive that. She could understand why they had such hesitations to let her play with their friends when they came to visit, she could understand the shame that she assumed they must feel for having her. She wasn’t good. She wasn’t normal. She was different.

But Senaara didn’t care about that.

When they were alone Luke and her could play pilot for hours, she and Leia could discuss stories they had read for days, the three could play make believe all together, laughter and love tangled in happy cords.

But they weren’t hers.

They were each others before they were Senaaras.

And she didn’t know why.

It wasn’t something the two tried to do, they incorporated her into everything they could, but there was something that made her different from them. Something she couldn’t put together. Something she wished she understood.

Senaara hated jealously. The Jedi had been against it. Senaara wasn’t a Jedi but she found that story books often hated jealously, painting it as a feeling that only the villains could wear.

But sometimes she wished she could be like them. The shining suns of their galaxy.

She wished she could be normal.

She wished she could be worthy of the love she received, and worthy of the love she wasn’t given.

Senaara would get to the bottom of whatever separated her from her siblings. She would understand why they were suns and she was a lonely star if it was the death of her. She would figure it out and she would fix it.

No matter what it meant.

No matter the lies she would uncover.

No matter what it might reveal.

Her siblings deserved that much.

And she assumed, perhaps she deserved as much as well.

-

Luke and Leia had gone to bed halfway through Obi Wan’s meeting. Obi Wan had been thankful Leia hadn’t tried to stay the whole session as she had in the past, but he held no worries for
Luke. Luke had given him a hug and headed up for bed on his own, Leia had followed after her fourth yawn.

It wasn’t a very interesting meeting, just a recap on Cham Syndualla’s refusal for rebellion aid and how the resistance could change his mind. It was mostly mind numbing, a meeting Obi Wan wished he could skip. But recently Bail had put a lot more trust and work on Obi Wan. Obi Wan wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or scared.

He sighed, turning off the holo table and stretching. The meeting had run long, the moon was high in the sky now. Obi Wan wanted nothing more but to climb into his own bed and hope the next day wouldn’t have such uninteresting meetings.

He changed quickly, took care of his hair, cleaned his teeth, and slipped on the old slippers Leia had picked for him. Obi Wan took a walk down the children's hallway, peeking in to watch Luke sleeping soundly, his stuffed womp rat close in his reach.

He hummed as he checked on Leia, finding her asleep with the next day's clothes left out, her bag packed and ready, her stuffed Nuna propped against the bed. Obi Wan chuckled at that, the way the poor toy leaned to one side, its stuffing not balanced anymore due to years of love.

Senaara’s room was empty, but that wasn’t concerning. Obi Wan traveled to the third floor, finding his daughter asleep on the floor on the observation balcony. He was gentle as he picked her up, carrying her to her room.

Obi Wan had expected the children to get harder to hold the more they aged, but that hadn’t been the case. Perhaps it had to do with the force, or the muscles that the old general still retained, but Obi Wan still savored the moments he could hold his children close.

He placed Senaara in her bed, an odd mix of blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals that Leia had dubbed the ‘nest’. He helped get Senaara comfortable, wrapping her in her blanket before leaving her to sleep.

As Obi Wan walked back to his room, the room that had once belonged to Padme Naiberrie, the suffocating knowledge of the amount of lies he had told to keep his family safe landed heavy on his shoulders, as it did every night.

Luke and Leia were not his children by blood. They were Padme and Anakins. Both dead, but one not fully dead in body. Anakin still lived but as the man Obi Wan had heard Leia whisper intentions to kill all too often, Darth Vader.

Senaara was his daughter, his and Satine’s. She was not the twins triplet, she wasn’t even born the same day as them. Two months older, Senaara had been a secret her whole life, a life that Obi Wan had tried to fix for so long.

Yet he played the part. He was the father of all three. The three were triplets. Their mother was a dead woman by the name of Rinari Soren. He was mandalorian, their mother was half Mandalorian half Naboian.

The twins were not the children of a queen, of a senator, of a peace fighter. They were not the children of a Jedi, of a mad man, of a sith lord, of Obi Wan’s padawan. They were not the last remnants of Obi Wan’s dead friends.

Senaara was not the daughter of a duchess, a pacifist, a fighter. She was not the child of a Jedi, of a man who had failed, of the reason the Jedi fell. She was not the heir to Mandalore.
If Obi Wan could keep the web of lies strong, he could keep his family safe. He could protect them. They could be happy.

But of course, he was unable to see how the strings he had tied into a shield were suffocating the very children he had tried to protect.

Chapter 2: Echoes

Summary:

An afternoon full of flight training, a child manipulating her uncle, a child doing something sneaky for her sister, and a gift for an old man

“I can’t fly a real one?”

“Your father would kill me.” Bail chuckled softly, helping Luke into the flight simulator. Luke sighed, getting comfy in the leather seat, strapping himself in.

“But this won’t be the same thing.” Luke protested as he drew his fingers over the buttons and the steering. “My manuals say that it’s very different flying in a real ship and not.”

“Perhaps, but it’s still good to get you accustomed to the protocols and feeling of flying before putting you in the sky.” Bail pulled the practice helmet down and onto Luke’s head, strapping the visor in. The visor wasn’t clear like real helmets were supposed to be, instead they blocked out the light of the royal hangar bay and replaced the view with a digital simulator. “You need to test your wings before you jump.”

“I guess…” Luke didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but if his father was right, the other kids already had a large head start. He didn’t want to waste time flying in a digital mind space.

Sure, the program's entrance test was done in simulators, but Luke still wanted to fly, not pretend to.

“You’ll do well. I have no doubt.” Bail grinned, patting Luke’s back as the speaker in the ear folds started to speak to Luke, prepping him for the ‘launch’ he was going to attempt. The whole thing felt too practiced, too strict to protocol.

The simulation was fine for what it was. The digital sphere was smooth and hardly glitched, the controls seemed to be similar to what the real y-wing would have. The steering needed more pressure than what Luke expected, and the simulator model was a model older than the standard y-wings, but most of it was correct to Luke’s manual.

Yet the short launch, flight, and landing seemed so boring to Luke. The anticipation, the freedom, the joy, all the emotions Luke had wanted, could hardly bubble within him. Where was the feeling? Where was the intuition? Where was the fun?

Ahsoka had been adamant that flying was a feeling, one that Luke would feel one day and never want to lose. But simulations? They didn’t hold any of that.

Luke steered the digital ship downward, landing back at the fake hangar, switched off the ship, and pulled the helmet off his head, letting it hang from its cord. Luke could feel his hair sticking to his face where he had sweat under the reinforced foam, he didn’t mind if his hair was messy.

“How’d I do?” Luke asked. He didn’t care for the answer, he hadn’t cared for the experience. He just hoped he had done well enough to try flying a real y-wing soon.

Bail was quiet for a moment, watching the screens that surrounded him from the command center of the simulator corner of the hangar. His brow was furrowed in thought as his eyes traced the incoming aurebesh and data that appeared before him.

“That was…excellenet.” Luke didn’t believe Bail until the senator turned up to look at him with a blooming smile on his face. “That was near perfect. I think it might have been perfect but the system can’t handle that idea.”

“Oh.” Luke paused, considering that. “Can I fly a real one now?”

“I wish.” Bail laughed softly. “If you’re able to fly a real ship like this, I’d have no fears about sending you into the air. The issue is your father.”

“Right. He wants me safe.” Luke didn’t groan, but he wanted to. He leaned back in the seat, breathing out the tension he still carried from the simulation. “Do I do this a few more times or…?”

“Up to you.” Bail shrugged, “I don’t think you’ll learn anything from it. Skywalkers were always good pilots. Perhaps it's in the name.”

“Skywalker?” Luke tilted his head. “What’s that?”

Bail froze, focusing on a tiny margin of data. “Did I say that? I meant Kenobi.”

“Kenobi and Skywalker are very different names.” Luke pushed, an uneasy feeling growing in his stomach.

“Yes. Well your…father was a good pilot. During the war.” Bail’s words came out rushed, but unplanned. “Never loved it, but renowned as a pilot.”

“I knew that.”

“Well then, yes.”

“Yes to what?” Luke raised his eyebrow.

“I don’t know anymore.” Bail forced a smile, “Come on, lets pick your sister up from her Jenk Ball since we can now. I’m sure she’d like that.”

“Normally Buir picks her up.” Luke countered, still not over Bail’s weirdness.

“I’ll shoot him a message.” Bail nodded, his face tight.

Luke didn’t rise from the simulator seat. He sat watching Bail, watching as he grew more uncomfortable under his gaze. “Why won’t you tell me what a Skywalker is?”

Bail sighed, as if considering something, before looking up again with a new smile plastered on his face. “Skywalker is a term for good pilots. Your father was a Skywalker, so therefore a wonderful pilot.”

That didn’t sit right. It felt wrong in a way that Luke couldn’t explain, but Bail was already walking out of the hangar, beckoning Luke to follow. Luke had nothing else to do but jump out of his seat and run after the man.

Bail always had weird moments like this, where he would say something and go back on it, where he would tell Luke or Leia small things about their mother behind their fathers back. How she had loved tea, how she had raised a caterpillar when she was younger, how her favorite colour was orange. Luke had never questioned why Bail had said these facts only when Obi Wan or Senaara were not present, to him it was simply his uncle telling him a secret that he would treasure.

Luke was used to the weirdness, he had gotten used to writing it off.

But the mention of ‘Skywalker’? For some reason it stuck.

-

Leia knew how to manipulate Bail, but she didn’t like using that word. She preferred the idea that she was very persuasive when it came to Bail. It wasn’t her fault that he did anything she asked him to.

Obi Wan might not like the idea of the children being exposed to the resistance so early in what he called their ‘still young childhood years’, but all Leia wanted to do was be involved. She had been five when she was technically involved in her first rebellion mission and still felt the need to chase the feeling she had then.

She was top of her class in diplomacy and politics. She constantly gathered her own information from school, Bail, her father. She kept tabs on every new project the empire had started, every mission the resistance was quietly starting.

It was the puzzle of it that intrigued her. How could everything overlap? How could it come together? If this event meant this, then what does that mean for everything else?

Bail had told her once that her mother had been like that.

Leia held onto that.

Jenk ball practice had gone smoothly. Leia found the game trivial compared to what she truly wanted to do with her life, but the sport gave her somewhere to put her energy. All the questions she pushed down, all her ambition, all her confused guilt and annoyance at her sister, all of the pressure could be hit into the ball. She could run for hours, back and forth, her mind alert, focused on only her team and the ball.

It helped that she knew a lot of the girls on the team, a lot of them were her close friends. Whether that was because of the team or not, Leia was still unsure. It didn’t stop them from hanging out at each other's houses, allowing Leia to feel normal for a few hours.

Even if they were close, Leia’s friends always made sure Senaara wouldn’t bother them when they came to her house. Leia pretended it didn’t bother her, her friends were here for her. When with them, she was Leia Kenryze, and Leia Kenryze was perfect.

She didn’t have a mystery she had stopped trying to solve. She didn’t have a weird sister. She didn’t have the force. She didn’t hate the empire with every fiber in her body. She was a brilliantly intelligent girl. She had a brother that she loved. She was normal in every way that mattered.

But that didn’t mean she had to stay as Leia Kenryze all the time.

It had been simple, put on the inquisitive face that reminded Bail of her mother, talk about how much she loved visiting the rebellion base, talk about the experience she could gain, how she would be good and keep an eye on Luke, how isn’t this what he was fighting for?

Bail fell for it. He always did. And Luke, who sat in the backseat of the airspeeder, didn’t have a preference. It had all gone to plan.

“Remeber not to disrupt any people working. You can walk around, you can observe-” Bail had started to say once they landed, Leia already out of the airspeeder while Luke slipped out beside her.

“No touching, no distracting.” Leia finished for him. “We know.”

“Well then, I have some business in my office. I’ll be back in an hour to take you home.” Bail smiled warmly.

“Can we tell Buir that you brought us this time?” Luke asked, yawning slightly. Leia rolled her eyes.

“Well…” Bail mulled that over, “Perhaps it's better that you don’t.”

“He’s still upset about last time.” Leia teased.

“Then why are we breaking the rules again?” Luke asked, his brow furrowed until his eyes landed on the y-wings getting refueled in the hangar.

“Because you get to see ships and I get to listen.” Leia grinned. “Thank you Bail.”

“Of course.” Bail nodded, watching the two for a moment longer before turning into the mess of halls.

The hangar was a large cavern that Leia assumed had been formed naturally and just adapted into the base it had become. The hangar bay had once been a part of a mining complex but had been refurbished into the working command station for the Alderaan based rebellion, hidden deep in the southern mountains, cloaked by terrain.

Rows of y-wings, u-wings, and other transport ships line the cavern walls, all hooked into their fuel compartments. There were a series of command posts all around the hangar, displaying blue screens and maps that people mulled around, watching them with interest that Leia adored.

That’s where Leia decided she wanted to be. If she was at a command station she would overhear the most chatter.

Predictably, her brother did not share her enthusiasm.

“I want to talk to one of the pilots.” Luke was already dragging Leia by the hand towards the rows of battle ships.

“Why? You’ve never talked to any of them before.” Leia retorted. “You always get too scared.”

“Well I need to now.” Luke huffed.

“For the pilot program?”

“Of course for the pilot program.” Luke rolled his eyes playfully, “I need to get a ship.”

“None of them are going to give you their ship.” Leia laughed, “Come on, just enjoy looking at the beautiful machines and come to the command center with me.”

“We always go to the command center.” Luke groaned. “They’re never interesting.”

“You’re just not listening then.” Leia huffed, taking her turn to drag Luke away from the ships.

“Are these two of the Kenryze triplets?” A warm voice called out from behind the control panel for the glimmering blue map.

“Hi Breha.” Leia called out as she approached. The queen was in a simple dress, her hair wrapped in blue fabric that fell in long lines beside her ears. Breha hardly came to the rebellion base, it was a risk when Bail visited, it was even a larger risk when she did. That made Leia worried.

“Breha!” Luke cheered, rushing forward to give the older woman a hug. Breha grinned, hugging Luke right back.

“Did Bail bring you here again without telling Owen?” Breha was very good at the codenames. Leia imagined it had something to do with her being a queen, but Breha could switch fluently from using Obi Wan’s name at a quiet dinner, to using Owen the moment anyone showed up at the door.

Breha was a Queen, she was married to a senator, she worked with the empire every day, and still was rebelling. Without her, Bail wouldn’t have the resources for the growing Alderaanian rebellion, without her none of this would exist. Leia admired the woman for that.

“Leia convinced him again.” Luke scoffed but Breha simply chuckled.

“Well It’s good that he’s here.” Breha glanced, seemingly nervous towards the rows of private rooms Bail had disappeared into. “I need to join him, why don’t you stay here?”

“No one’s around.” Leia had suddenly become aware that the bustling hangar bay had filtered down to a handful of people, most of which were heading towards the meeting room.

“Yes, well…” Breha trailed off, looking around anxiously. Leia was growing suspicious now. What had happened? What had caused a stir in Breha? Why was the base emptying out? Leia followed Breha’s gaze, till it landed on a pair of droids at the parallel command station. “Ah, there we go. Go join those two.”

“What’s happening? Leia asked, crossing her arms.

“Nothing.” Breha gave Leia the smile that the two both knew wouldn’t convince her.

“Lets just go Leia.” Luke urged.

“No. What happened?” Leia asked again. “What is going on?”

“Your father will tell you later-” Breha tried to say.

“No. He won’t.” Leia grumbled.

“I must go.” Breha leaned down so that she was level with Leia. She didn’t have to lean very far, the woman being shorter than most. “Please stay out here.”

“It’s okay. Thank you Breha.” Luke pushed himself in front of Leia before she could speak again. Breha nodded at the boy, before turning and disappearing into the maze of meeting halls.

“Luke.” Leia groaned. “She would have told us something real.”

“No, she wouldn’t.” Luke shot back. “Whatever they’re not telling us, probably had a reason.”

“How can we help them if we don’t know anything?” Leia sighed, leaning onto the back of the command panel.

“We’ll help one day.” Luke slid beside her. “I promise. One day.”

Leia stared at him, trying to figure out if he was sincere. However her brother was always genuine. It kind of annoyed her.

“R2! We are supposed to stay at the A2 command center! We are supposed to be deleting the past months data and transferring it!” A rather anxious voice for a droid, floated over from the sister command station. Leia leaned over, watching as her brother did the same.

A golden protocol droid was berating a white and blue astromech who was beeping back at the robot in a surprisingly fast fashion while heading towards the twins.

Luke looked at Leia, glancing back at the droids in an effort to ask quietly if Leia was seeing the scene too. Leia scoffed quietly as the astromech made an odd screaming sound, evading the protocol droid to plug into the A3 command center.

“That’s not the right one! We have a directive, we must follow it.” The golden droid rambled away, seemingly missing the siblings who stood behind him.

The astromech responded in a succession of beeps that Leia could understand vaguely translated to ‘leave me alone, I know more than you’.

“We have the same information regarding this directive.” The droid muttered.

The astromech responded by swiveling in a circle and pointing towards Luke and Leia with her mechanical hands.

“Hey.” Luke offered a quiet greeting, waving slightly at the odd pair.

“How old are you?” The golden droid asked in what sounded like astonishment before judgement. “This is not a place for children! Where are your parents?”

“In the meeting.” Leia shrugged, she didn’t care if it was a lie. She didn’t want to explain to a droid that she had gotten her uncle to go behind her father’s back. “What are you two up to?”

“We are supposed to be deleting last month's data.” The droid sighed dramatically, turning to his short domed friend, “But this one, won’t have it.”

“Why do you delete it?” Luke asked, titling his head.

“Because it can be used by the empire if it was ever found.” The golden droid nodded, “We have a very important job.”

The astromech beeped again, roughly translating to ‘I have the important job, you are simply a babysitter.’

“Then that means you need a babysitter.” The droid huffed.

“What’s your name?” Luke asked, laughing at the two droids' back and forth.

“I am C-3P0, and this old modeled, out-dated, crabby astromech is R2-D2.” The golden droid seemed giddy to introduce themselves. The astromech beeped in recognition, wheeling beside Luke and nudging him playfully. Luke grinned, patting the astromech on the head as Leia watched. R2D2 was beeping fast now, too fast for Leia to follow with her basic knowledge of droid language.

“R2!” C-3P0 gasped, lightly hitting his friend on the domed head. “You know well enough that isn’t possible. Leave the poor boy alone!”

“What isn’t possible?” Luke beat Leia to the question, the two watching the droids for any clues.

“This one has his wires crossed.” The droid sighed. “He was trying to say you look like an old friend.”

“Who?” Leia asked, gaining interest.

The astromech beeped again.

“Two friends. My correction.” The droid grumbled. “It doesn’t matter now, they are dead.”

“Grim.” Luke mumbled.

“What were their names?” Leia asked, leaning forward this time.

“For one, Padme Amidala. I served her during the clone wars up until her death.” The droid sounded proud of himself as he said this, standing up straighter. “She and-”

“Luke? Leia?” A voice called out from across the hangar. A voice too familiar for Leia to not audibly groan, as her brother huffed, elbowing her. “What are you doing here?”

“Buir!” Luke cheered before seemingly remembering that he wasn’t supposed to be there. “Hey…”

Obi Wan had parked the landspeeder beside one of the y-wings, and was walking fast now. He was wrapped in a warm coloured sweater that draped over his body like a robe, his boots made a smooth sound on the rocky floor. He didn’t look happy, his scarred hands twisting a beaded bracelet, Luke had made for him, over and over.

“Did you convince Bail to bring you again?” Obi Wan asked, rubbing his face before looking up and pausing.

“It can’t be.” The golden droid began to say. “Is it true R2?”

The astromech beeped happily, racing towards Obi Wan and nudging his legs. Obi Wan looked more afraid that he was welcoming.

“It is the great General Kenobi!” C-3P0 cheered. “We thought you were dead.”

“Ah yes…” Obi Wan trailed off as the golden droid walked to him.

“Are these your children?” The C-3P0 asked, a judgmental tone to his voice, “I didn’t think that was possible.”

“It…was.” Obi Wan sighed, patting R2 on the head. “They seem to like to get in trouble.”

“Did you know our Buir during the war?” Leia asked quickly, hoping to evade the frustrated gaze of her father.

“We did!” C-3P0 seemed to grin in his metal fixed mouth. “We even helped on a few missions. Isn’t that right R2?”

R2-D2 gave a whirl of beeps, but it wasn’t enough to distract Obi Wan.

“You two are going home now.” Obi Wan moved past the droids, taking his children’s hands. “No arguing.”

“But who will drive us?” Leia protested. “You need to go to that meeting don’t you?”

Obi Wan glared at her but Leia held his gaze, challenging him.

“C-3P0?” Obi Wan turned to the droid, “Would you do me the service of driving my children home?”

“I would be honored.” The droid chimed. R2-D2 beeped twice, “Yes, you can come to I suppose.”

“Thank you.” Obi Wan took C-3P0’s metal hand, offering him a smile of gratitude. He ruffled Luke’s hair, brushed Leia’s hair back, made both of them look at him as he gave them a look that meant ‘be good’, and hurried into the room that Leia wanted nothing more than to be in.

“Well, let’s get going. We don’t want to make the General upset.” C-3P0 chimed.

But Leia couldn’t tear her eyes from the closed door. It was everything she wanted, all the knowledge, all the strategy, all the ability to help was behind that door. And here she was, going home without knowing what had caused such a stir within the rebellion. It made her angry in a way that felt like an itch that wouldn’t stop, only grow.

But all was not lost.

Padme Amidala. The name was familiar, Leia knew she heard it before but she didn’t know where. She could go home and do research on who this woman was. Perhaps that could distract her long enough until her father came home and she could try and get the information out of him.

It was a pretty name, she thought.

Padme Amidala.

-

Senaara hated being alone. She hated being the only one in the large house where everything was an echo.

Her father had left in a rush, a look of shock and fear on his face as he rushed to tell her he was leaving and to finish her homework.

Although all her work was homework, wasn’t it?

Senaara was sprawled out on the floor of the library, her holobook to her side, opening to a page on Alderaan’s history, a datapad to her right full of her notes and work thus far, another data pad with a Mando’a learning program, as well as Ryl and Torguti.

She had been at this for an hour. She had finished her actual homework soon after the tutor had left, as she did nearly every day. She had always been good about doing her tasks as soon as possible, waiting made her anxious.

This research was her choice. Culture was always something that interested her, and now she was comparing Naboo culture and Mandalorian culture.

There were almost no similarities.

Naboo was peace, wind, and water. Their architecture was made to reflect nature, no building could destroy a natural phenomenon, rivers ran through streets, homes were built around trees. Art was loved and treasured, music was sung, played, and prayed to.

Mandalore was salt, blood, and ash. It could be hospitable, but the mandalorians wouldn’t stop fighting long enough to allow it to be. It was clans, family, and war. It was beskar, battles, and orphaned children finding home in hardened warriors.

The only time Mandalore had been close to the peace that Naboo brought was when the New Mandalorian pacifist political movement had taken power. Only then had Mandalore been asymmetrical lines, greys, blues, seagreens. It had been art, it had been creation, it had been light.

The movement had been led by a woman named Satine Kryze, but hadn’t been started by her. The movement had existed centuries before the woman.
Senaara didn’t have opinions. She was trying hard not to, but Satine confused her.

Satine had come from the Kyze clan, a clan at the forefront of power and influence. A clan known for its warriors, for its battles, for its executions. Yet it had produced a peace maker, a woman who led with love.

Senaara didn’t know if she admired the woman for being different, or hated that the woman had chosen to be different from her family.

Obi Wan had been gone for long enough that Senaara was starting to watch the shadows. They always got loud when she was alone. She didn’t like that.

Instead, Senaara stood up, brushing off her reddened knees from the carpet, and walked away from her mess of notes. She didn’t know where she was going, just not the library anymore. The shelves of holobooks and data pads were cold now, unwelcoming.

It was getting dark, but Senaara didn’t want to turn on a light. She preferred it dark, the idea of light felt too unsettling for now, too shocking.

She explored the home that she had walked so many times before, her socks sliding slightly on the tile as she passed the mudroom and guestroom. She took note of the blue walls, the specks of golden stars on the curtains, the pots of growing flora that her father loved to care for.

She found herself in the foyer, a grand little space that was the first thing guests saw of the house. It had high ceilings, carpets, and a small water fixture. It felt too extravagant for a family home, but Bail loved it, so Senaara supposed it must be good to some extent.

Senaara found the family painting that Bail had commissioned for the family when Senaara and her siblings were nine. It hung above the drawers full of hats and gloves for colder days, in a golden frame, traditional paint on canvas.

Canvas was easier to come across than flimsi in the core worlds, but harder yet to find an artist in traditional mediums. Obi Wan liked paint, he always stayed the longest in the painted section of the Alderaanian art museum that the family visited. Senaara liked it too, she liked the texture of thick paint once dried, she liked running her hands over the canvas to feel the art itself.

The painting was beautiful. It had Obi Wan and Ahsoka in the back, the children in the front. Senaara remembered the day, the small details that had stuck with her. How soft Leia’s dress had been, how Luke had fought Leia for the dangling sun earrings the three shared, how Senaara didn’t like her dress but didn’t know how to say anything.

Each child wore the charm Obi Wan had made for them for their first birthday, a pale blue oval, two with a white sun, one with a star. Luke had a bracelet that he wore that had the charm attached, Leia had a necklace, Senaara had an earring.

Now the moment was forever captured in oils and water. Her father’s smiling face, her aunt's grin, the way Leia had taken both her and Luke’s hand to hold. The painting looked happy, it looked like a family full of joy.

Senaara didn’t feel happy looking at it. She didn’t understand why.

The people reflected back at her were her family, but they looked too posh, too happy.

Her family was happy sometimes, but more often than not her father had a grim look on his face, her aunt was on missions, the two heavy with words that apparently the children weren’t old enough for.

When Senaara and her siblings had been younger, they had played many versions of imagination games. Senaara loved those, she loved creating plots, having fun with backstories and betrayals. They had often played their own version of “The Monarch, the Jedi, and the Bard”.

The three would switch up who was who, they could never decide who was truly what role. Sometimes Leia wanted to lead, to be the responsible one, the Monarch. Sometimes Leia wanted to be the Jedi, like their father. Luke liked the Bard and the Jedi. The Monarch was too much work for him, he would joke.

Senaara liked all three. She didn’t care, she would be whoever they didn’t want. She would be the leader, she would be the fighter, she would be the dreamer. She loved it all.

The way the children were dressed in the picture, in high Alderaanian fashion provided by Bail, Senaara could only see the game reflected in real life. Leia’s dress flowed from pale lavender into white, her waist wrap, made of soft muslin, looked like the garb of a Jedi. Luke’s poncho-cape mix made him look like a disguised traveler, her sun earrings made him look like the dreamer that the Bard was. Senaara’s tight grey blue dress, that curled up her neck, her tight sleeves, the way her golden belt hung across her side, made her look regal, like the Monarch.

Senaara liked it. But she didn’t agree with the placing of the roles.

Yet even in the photo, Luke stood closer to Leia, and Leia stood closer to Luke. Leia still held Senaara’s hand, but the two had a step more distance than the other two did.

Senaara bit her lip, rubbing her wrist anxiously.

She hadn’t noticed that till now.

She didn’t like that.

Luke and Leia didn’t play the game anymore. They had told Senaara it was childish, that they could do something else instead. Senaara didn’t know how to feel about that. She still wanted to play pretend, to be a leader, to be a fighter, to be a dreamer.

A low pulse of a sound came from the library, causing Senaara to jump.

She found her way back into the dark room, using the light of the still left on holo book to guide her. The transmission table in the center of the room was beeping, a light flashing on and off.

Senaara moved forward, tapping the buttons she had seen her father tap so many times before.

An incoming message, an incoming data drop.

Senaara assumed this had something to do with why her father had to leave in such a rush. She pulled up the information, knowing that her father would be upset if she saw it. But how would he know if he wasn’t there?

Leia was the sibling that wanted to fight the empire. She was the one who was going to do great things and avenged Senaara, if that was what it was. Senaara didn’t know how to feel about the empire or the rebellion. She just knew she was curious.

A rebellion base in the outer rim system had been found and executed. The urgency made sense now, why her father had to leave in a hurry. Senaara assumed the Alderaan rebellion must have had to cover their tracks in order to avoid the same fate.

Senaara picked an empty data chip from the tables compartment, plugging it into the system. She clicked a few more buttons, making a copy of the information, downloading it onto the chip, before closing down the whole system again.

Senaara didn’t rush as she walked up the stairs, placing the data chip on Leia’s desk where she would see it. Leia would like the gift. At least Senaara hoped.

Senaara returned to her own room, curling up in her bed and closing her eyes. She was tired, she felt like she was always tired. She missed the days that she and her siblings would sleep in the same bed, cuddled together while their father sang old songs he loved. She missed when her siblings weren’t always at school, with friends, at jenk ball or flying practice.

She’d find answers to what made her so different, why she wasn’t like the two and she would fix it, no matter the cost. She would get them back, she would find a way. No matter what she uncovered, no matter what lies she found, she would fix herself, she would fix it so that they could all be happy siblings again, she would fix everything.

She slipped off to sleep just as the door opened to the sound of Luke, Leia, and two animated droids.

-

“And we’re safe.” Bail chuckled, his exhaustion showing as he collapsed back into his seat. Obi Wan nodded, his eyes not leaving the blue screen, still scanning for any proof of mistake.

The two were the last ones at the base now, having stayed longer than needed in order to handle the crisis. Alderaan had had ties to the targeted planet in order to work with the stray rebellion cell, so the base had been in emergency mode scrubbing any evidence of involvement.

It was late now, probably the morning of the next day. Obi Wan was sure he had missed dinner with the kids, but he imagined the children would have managed without him. He hardly did late nights but his children were capable, plus then had C-3P0 and R2D2 with them.

“Let’s see if it holds.” Obi Wan mumbled, still not trusting his work. “You could have given me warning C-3P0 and R2 were here.”

Bail paused at that, “Oh, right. Sorry, it slipped my mind.”

“You could also call me next time my daughter tries to get you to take her here." Obi Wan grumbled.’

“She’s very convincing.” Bail shrugged. “Did the four bump into each other?”

“Yes.” Obi Wan sighed, “Threepio is clueless as usual, but I fear R2 could put two and two together.”

“And what would be so bad about that?” Bail asked, sitting up as Obi Wan turned to look at him, “They are eleven now. Let them handle the news.”

“That would be breaking everything they have believed for years.” Obi Wan snapped. “It would hurt more than it would heal, Bail.”

“The kids aren’t dumb and I can’t keep covering for you lies.” Bail shot back. “Luke is a wonderful pilot. Near perfect score on the simulation. I told him all Skywalkers were good pilots.”

“You what?” Obi Wan shot up in his seat.

“It was a mistake." Bail sighed, “Listen, I explained it was a piloting term for being good. But the kids have to know when we are lying, we aren’t as good liars as we want to believe. They have to sense it with the force.”

“The force doesn’t work that way.”

“Hm.” Bail hummed, leaning back in his chair. “They’ll need to know someday.”

“Someday, yes. But not now.” Obi Wan pushed his hair back, wanting to return home to get some sleep before getting the children ready for school. He got up, and started to move towards the door. He was done with this conversation.

“No, wait-” Bail stood up quickly, fumbling with his pocket, “I have something for you.”

Obi Wan turned, raising an eyebrow.

“It was supposed to be a good fortune gift, but well I suppose it's a ‘we survived’ gift after this night.” Bail huffed a small laugh and held out a small chip. It wasn’t a data chip, it was too small for that. “It’s a photo drive.”

“Why would I need that?” Obi Wan asked, hesitant to take it. Bail just smiled and went to plug it into the command table.

“It was easy at first…” Bail plugged the chip into the wall, watching as the holo transmitter glowed with three blue images, images Obi Wan had started to forget in his mind. “Satine and Padme were very public so pictures of them were everywhere, but Anakin…he took longer to find.”

Three photos. Three people. Three funerals Obi Wan couldn’t attend.

The picture of Padme must have been a personal one of Bail’s. She was sitting in a window sill, still elegant in silks and a headpiece, but she was looking at the sun, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea. She had that soft smile that Obi Wan knew Anakin had loved, her knees curled slightly up as if she were calm in the world of war the picture must have been taken in.

Anakin’s picture was slightly blurry, clearly cropped from a larger photo, one that the Jedi Order must have released. He was mid laugh, holding on to what could have been Rex from the white and blue armor. His eyes were closed, but his grin was wide, everything Obi Wan had remembered from the war. The fluffy hair, the dark robes, the still boyish look to him.

Lastly, Satine’s photo was elegant. She was dressed in ceremonial robes, sea greens, navy blues, hues of silver, white, and pearl. Her hair was shorter than Obi Wan remembered it, slightly curled at the ends, her smile practiced but her eyes held the sincerity Obi Wan had treasured. The eyes she now shared with Senaara. A photo she had clearly posed for, a photo meant for many that now belonged to him.

Obi Wan couldn’t breathe, he just watched the photos float as he tried to find words.

“When the twins know, I wanted them to be able to see their parents. Same for Senaara.” Bail offered a warm smile but Obi Wan couldn’t look at him, only the sight of the three faces he had thought he had lost.

“Thank you.” Was all Obi Wan could muster.

“Of course.” Bail patted him on the shoulder and handed Obi Wan the chip.

Obi Wan borrowed a speeder home, letting the wind rush past his face, freezing the tears that he ignored on his cheeks, as he watched the stars above him. The chip was safe in his pocket, humming reassurances that Obi Wan held onto. When he would get home, he would hide the chip in his office, a keepsake for him and Ahsoka only, something he would look at on hard days, something he could talk to instead of the air on the nights he would be too exhausted to accept death, something he would treasure.

A treasure that the children would have to wait to have.

Notes:

Author thoughts:

Leia would be a sports girl, and Jenk ball is akin to lacrosse so that felt fitting for her.

Luke being a good pilot and Ahsoka telling him that its based on feeling and intuition, a lesson she got from Anakin

Senaara knowing of Satine and doing research on her, while Leia is about to do research on Padme

It is cannon that Padme raised a caterpillar and cried when it became a moth and flew away.

Bail really loves the twins, he just wants to be a good uncle to them(and gets manipulated a little to easily by Leia)

Everyones favorite droid duo has arrived. I can't wait for the horrors they will be present for

The photos, cute idea, but now the photos exist in the house

May the force be with you :)

Chapter 3: Reflections

Chapter by BirdyMcBird (Lucy_Rose)

Summary:

Leia learns of Padme, Luke looks into 'Skywalker', Senaara's world shatters

Padme Amidala was a political name.

That was what Leia found most intriguing.

The late queen of Naboo had chosen that name to protect herself, and her family, when she stepped into the role of queen at fourteen. Her real name was Naiberrie, and she had come from a long line of well to do Nabooian’s who lived in the countryside, and had had a sister and parents the public didn’t know about.

Leia imagined what it would be like to be a Queen at fourteen. She herself was only three years away from that age but a part of her felt like she could do it, if she put her mind to it. Obviously Padme had been able to do it at fourteen, and her track record as queen was extraordinary.

Not only did she establish peace with the Gungans, helping them get visibility in the senate after being refused a seat for so long, but she also helped uncover the beginning of the separatist plot, the first sign of the clone wars, leading her people into battle and fighting for her home as a teenager.

That was just her time as Queen though, the woman went on to be Naboo’s senator during the Clone Wars, fighting for clone rights, peace, and the end of the war. She helped uncover murder plots, aided the Jedi on occasion, survived battlefields, tried talking to separatists in order to gain peace, and was even friends with the late Satine Kryze of Mandalore.

She was phenomenal in every way. Everything Leia wanted to be.

The woman had died the day the republic became an empire. Leia read every report carefully, not quite believing that such a woman could die. It was clear that the empire had something to do with the woman’s death, the language used felt like a coverup, the facts didn’t make sense.

For one, Padme had been pregnant when she died. She had no partner at the time, never had one in the public eye and Leia couldn’t help but love that about her. The senator had gone on in the interview stating she didn’t need a father to be present to raise her child and she had decided she wanted to be a mother and so she would be.

Leia loved the confidence. She loved the audacity the woman was willing to give the press.

The empire’s official report said that she was caught in Jedi crossfire on Naboo while seven and half months pregnant. The language was careful to remove any blame on the clones, making it clear that it was the Jedi who were responsible for her death, a beloved senator taken too soon.

Leia was sure the empire had a hand in her death.

Emperor Palpatine was Nabooian himself, he had been a mentor for Padme, but it was clear they had a slow fallout throughout the war. Padme had been outspoken, brave enough to speak against the man, Leia was sure he had her removed and simply blamed the Jedi for convenience.

Bail had been friends with Padme, which surprised Leia. Bail had never mentioned Padme in any capacity and Leia now wished he had. She wished she could have grown up with stories of the woman, with tales of the senator Leia now wanted to be like. Bail had been a part of planning the late queen’s funeral, the pictures were beautiful, the senator's belly bump left as a silent reminder of the child lost with her.

It made Leia feel slightly sick.

The idea that this woman’s life was cut short and her child never got to breathe the peace their mother had fought so hard for? It felt devastating for Leia.

Leia felt rather protective over the woman that had died so many years prior. Staring at the holo photo of the woman in her traditional red Nabooian robes, her headpiece shining gold, her smile genuine and sweet, Leia wanted nothing more than to be like her.

She was sure, although she had never met the woman, that if she had lived the senator wouldn’t have dared let the empire become what it had. She would have led the rebellion beside Bail, she would have fought hard to end the cover up for ‘peace’, she would have been the exact woman that Leia would have wanted to mentor her in the resistance.

And yet the woman looked familiar, as if Leia had seen her once before or all her life. The curve of her chin, the way her brown eyes lit up in photographs, the curl of her hair, all of it echoed something so strongly that Leia wondered if the force was at play in this.

Yet that was silly.

Leia finally closed the data pad after staring at the image for a few minutes, feeling that she was finally satisfied with her research. It had lasted a few days, starting with the woman’s queendom, to her senatorship, all the way to her death. Leia felt she was completed now, she could rest.

She sighed, leaning back in her chair, staring at the collection of holobooks, data chips, and data pads she had borrowed from the school library and from her father’s library. She’d have to return them, but she could do that in the morning. It was getting dark now and she wasn’t interested in dealing with her father worrying about her being out of the house that late.

On the corner of her desk was the datachip that Senaara had left for her.

Leia hadn’t asked how her sister had gotten it. She didn’t have to. Senaara did odd things like that, leaving gifts behind with no explanation. What had started as pretty rocks and pressed flowers had become a high class confidential data chip full of rebellion information.

Leia knew her sister was trying.

She knew it was hard for her sister, harder to live in this world than it was for the rest of them.

But it was still hard for Leia.

It was hard when they had first made it to Alderaan, when Senaara needed more attention, more help. Then, Leia had wanted to be a part of the helping force, she wanted to protect her sister, she had wanted to be a part of the good that her father and aunt tried so hard to be.

It had made sense then, Senaara was traumatized. That was the word that her father used. It was the word he used for Leia and Luke, for Ahsoka, for why Rex and Cody would wake screaming, grabbing their blasters and calling names such as ‘Fives’ or ‘Waxer’.

But Leia and Luke had gotten better. At least Leia liked to think they had.

They didn’t flinch at loud noises anymore, their night terrors had become less and less, they had learned to be ‘normal’ again.

But Leia knew her brother still had nightmares. He would come to her room, curling up beside her in bed, and she and he would talk in whispers till he fell asleep again. Leia knew it wasn’t healthy, her obsession with killing Darth Vader, as her father had made that clear enough, yet it was the only thing that kept her moving.

But to others, they were normal again.

Senaara never outgrew her trauma. Or perhaps she had, maybe she had always been strange but Leia had never noticed it before she went to school with other children her age. Children who were normal, children who were quick to notice the oddness her sister possessed.

Leia could never put a name to the feeling that she felt when her friends had made fun of her sister, laughing at the way her sister obsessively read her Monarch, Jedi, and Bard stories over and over. How she didn’t laugh at jokes, instead tilting her head and asking why it was funny. How she had that hollow look, how she would stop talking at random. Part of Leia wanted to run to her sister in those moments, pull her from the laughing students, shield her from the words that Senaara assured her she didn’t listen to, remind her sister that she loved her, yell at her friends and those who dared act as if her sister wasn’t normal like them. But the other half of her, the side that won, was the side that felt embarrassed. The side that understood that friendship was a normal part of being a person, and if she had to ignore the comments to keep friends, she would. Her sister was weird. She was strange. Was it so bad that her friends called it out? Senaara said she didn’t listen to them anyway.

Guilt, shame, and embarrassment all wrapped into one. It was suffocating.

Senaara was the eldest of the triplets, but hardly ever acted like it. Leia preferred the role, claiming she was the ‘honorary eldest’. She took pride in looking after her siblings, in taking care of them. In those moments she felt like she had failed the role she had fought so hard for.

School was easier without Senaara there. Leia could more easily avoid the feelings of guilt that followed her. She could be Leia again, not the sister of the freak. She could enjoy her education in peace, she could have friends.

But Leia couldn’t help but also feel guilty about Senaara being pulled for school.

Leia was unsure about the actual details, but she knew the teachers had gathered and tried to talk to Obi Wan about Senaara. She knew her father had been upset. She knew Luke had mentioned the way the other children talked about Senaara. She knew her father had talked to her and Luke separately, trying to understand what school was like for the three, trying to understand how it affected them as well as Senaara.

Leia remembered admitting school was harder with Senaara there.

The next day Senaara had been pulled.

Leia knew it was illogical but she worried she carried some part in Senaara being pulled from school. It was true that Senaara enjoyed school better at home, that she enjoyed her tutors and working at her pace, how it truly seemed like a better fit for her. But Senaara was alone.

Senaara had no friends, she only had Luke and Leia.

Leia didn’t know about Luke, but Leia planned so many activities, Jenk Ball, debate groups, extra classes, so that she wouldn’t be home as often. So that she wouldn’t have to be reminded of the part of her that felt guilty everyday.

She loved her sister. If she felt she could, she would have fought every person who dared talk poorly about her, but Leia often felt she couldn’t face her anymore. The guilt felt too strong. Every time she hadn’t defended her ‘honorary younger’ sister, every time she had let a friend or classmate speak badly about her, every time she nodded along while a friend called her sister weird, would echo in her heart, making it impossible to be around her for long.

Yet her sister had still gotten her a datachip full of information just for Leia. because Senaara knew the rebellion was important to Leia. Because Senaara always knew Luke and Leia, better than they knew themselves. Because her sister was trying even when they wouldn’t allow themselves to see it.

Leia held the datachip in her hand, flipping it over and over.

She had read every piece of data, every note. If needed she could recite from memory how the empire found the base, how the base had failed to evacuate, how Alderaan covered its tracks.

Leia hadn’t said thank you.

She didn’t know how.

How would Padme Amidala have handled this, Leia wondered.

She would have said thank you.

Leia steadied herself, scouring through her shelves, looking for anything that would be useful for Senaara, anything her sister would like. Leia found an old flimsi based book that Bail had gifted Leia for her lifeday, flipping through the pages she found a star map of the Mandalore system.

Carefully, she ripped the page out, spreading out the map on her desk, studying the golden specks of stars and suns. Taking a paint brush and golden paint, Leia wrote a simple message on the back of the map, over the aurebesh that was detailing the Mandalore system.

Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, vod’al.

I love you forever, sister.

Their father had never been as strict with Luke and Leia learning Mando’a as he had been with Senaara, but Leia picked up languages quickly. She refused to not study the tongue her sister was able to speak near fluently.

She knew the message would mean more in Mando’a.

Leia left it on Senaara’s desk with a small wooden carved avian that their father had carved some time ago.

It was funny how Leia felt like Padme would be proud of her. A woman she had never met and would never meet. A woman that reflected everything Leia wanted to be.

-

Luke was doing his best to stay focused on his newest y-wing model.

He was painting it, fixing up the scuff marks the model had gained over the years before coming into his possession, and detailing it based on how he would like his own ship to look like.

Blue and yellow. Those were the colours Luke had chosen, and had stuck to. He liked painting lines of blue on the side of the ship, detailing a yellow stripe over the top and bottom of the model, two yellow suns and a star on the side.

He liked the colours.

They felt right.

Luke’s father was in the kitchen, starting to cook while talking to Bail on a holo call. Luke wasn’t interested in interrupting his father, but he wanted to talk to Bail.

The word ‘Skywalker’ still hadn’t left Luke’s mind.

He felt a pull towards the word, an innate need to understand where the word had come from, to understand why it made Bail so nervous.

Skywalker was a good pilot.

That was a start.

Luke tried to drive the thought from his mind, to focus on his model, but his mind kept coming back to it.

Cautiously, Luke put down his model, careful to make sure paint didn’t transfer to the coffee table, as he picked up his datapad.

He didn’t know why it felt like such a bad idea to look up the word, he didn’t know why it made him so nervous, like he was hiding something as he typed the word in and waited for the results. He kept glancing towards the kitchen, but his father was busy, arguing about some procedure and whether or not it was worth it.

The results were near nonexistent.

There were a few possible explanations, of the name being mentioned in relation to some star fighters, but those were mostly typos. Luke kept looking, finding brief mentions of a Tatooine news story of a young slave boy winning freedom through podracing, and a few articles regarding the clone wars that seemed suspiciously redacted, with whole paragraphs missing and no mention of ‘Skywalker’, but that wasn’t new. The empire censored all sorts of things regarding the Clone Wars now.

But overall, nothing.

Yet that didn’t satisfy Luke, who now felt even more confused.

The word clearly wasn’t for good pilots. So why had Bail used it?

Luke tried to remember the exact words that Bail had used but he couldn’t recall them.

It made him nervous.

Like he was missing something important.

Luke kept scrolling, coming across another Clone War’s article that claimed to have a mention of ‘Skywalker’ within it. Luke clicked it, expecting another dead end, being met with shortened paragraphs and clipped wording that seemed nearly obvious it had been tampered with. That was until he came across the name Obi Wan Kenobi.

His father.

Luke paused. He stopped skimming, and focused on the words.

Obi Wan Kenobi, Jedi master, had been involved with a republic mission aboard a Mandalorian cruiser to Coruscant when it had been attacked by separatists droids that had been smuggled into the cargo hold. He fought back to protect the Duchess of Mandalore alongside his apprentice, uncovering a spy in the Mandalorian council.

Luke’s father had an apprentice?

Luke wondered if that had been Ahsoka, if that was how Ahsoka and Obi Wan had met. But something in him told him that wasn’t the case. Ahsoka had mentioned her own master a few times, it hadn’t been Obi Wan.

Obi Wan had never mentioned an apprentice to them.

The article still held no mention of ‘Skywalker’. But now there was a larger question at play. Why was Luke’s father attached to an article that was flagged as having once mentioned the word?

Luke looked back towards the kitchen, watching as his father pulled warmed bread out of the oven. His scruffy beard looked less like a put together Jedi and more like the tired father he was. The slippers on his feet made him look harmless, not at all the threat Luke had watched him become when he was younger. What was his father hiding?

Luke didn’t like the uneasy feeling in his stomach.

He didn’t like how ‘Skywalker’ stuck with him.

He didn’t like how seemingly any information on the topic had been scrubbed from the holonet.

Something in the force was telling Luke this wasn’t right, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

-

Senaara had found herself in her father’s office.

She had been wandering the house again, not sure what she was looking for exactly, just looking for something to interest her as she imagined her preferred timeline of “The Monarch, the Jedi, and the Bard”. She had just gotten through halfway of her five year story, when the Jedi first met the princess they would fall in love with, when she realized where she was.

Her father’s office had large windows, like most of the house, and had large desks, shelves, and drawers that Obi Wan had carved himself. The motif of stars and suns were present throughout the room, carved into the plant pots, painted on the walls from tiny six year old hands.

It was safe here, quiet, but the transmission hub gave the room a steady hum that kept it warm and welcoming.

Senaara traced her hands on the wall, rubbing the stars she and her siblings had painted when they were younger. The rug on the floor was soft under her socks, stopping her from sliding as she pleased.

In the corner of the table that displayed a collection of things Bail had gifted Obi Wan over the years, things Obi Wan had no use for besides display, was a vibro-audio emitter, one of the useful gifts of Bail.

The device floated a few inches above the table, circular and almost spherical in the way it rotated in the air. On the table was a small carved bowl with an assortment of data discs, small, nearly the size of a finger nail, waiting to be placed on the emitter.

Senaara traced the feeling of cool metal, feeling the grooves where the data disc that was currently in the device sat. Senaara tapped the device, listening as the old Mandalorian ballad filled the space.

Senaara tilted her head, keeping her hand on the device to feel the vibrations. She hadn’t heard this particular tune before, but she knew that her father listened to a lot of Mandalorian music.

This song seemed almost mournful. The words were Mand’oa, slurred with the singing, but Senaara could make out it was about a warrior leaving their lover for a war, the partner having to stay to care for the two’s child. The warrior does not make it back and so the voice switches to the lover by the end as they cry for what will never be.

Senaara liked it. She liked the traditional Mandalorian music her father would play for her. They were often sad, solemn, and Senaara enjoyed the feelings it would bring.

Senaara started to dance, slowly, unsure. She preferred the tile floor for dancing, the rug stopped her spinning and leaps, but she made do, enjoying the mournful tune as she moved around the room.

She trusted her body, the force mostly, on how to move to the melody. It felt safe to do so, music felt safe.

Her eyes caught on her father’s desk, and a small photo of the family all together floated, casting blue light in the darkened room. This was not a portrait, it had been taken on the children’s life day, full of smiles. Ahsoka had cake on the corners of her mouth, Obi Wan was mid laugh, Luke was braiding Senaara’s hair while Leia was bossing Rex over something, Cody was laughing at the two.

This picture felt natural, it felt good.

Beside it was a small photo drive. Senaara recognized it from the shape and the grooves on the side, built to hold a picture or two, nothing more.

Senaara picked it up, examining it. She had never seen this picture chip in the house before. All of her father’s pictures were stored on chips with silver sides, this one had gold. Senaara assumed it was a new chip with photos that were more recent. Perhaps Leia’s latest jenk ball tournament, or Luke proudly holding one of his painted models.

Senaara removed the picture chip currently in the holoprojector, watching as the family photo glitched out. She placed the new picture chip in, watching the holo projector accept it, flashing the little blue light as it got ready to display its picture.

But Senaara was not met with a picture of her siblings or her aunt and uncles. She wasn’t met with a picture of her father or herself.

Three photos floated in front of her. Three people she had never seen before, yet she had seen everyday of her life.

A woman sat on a windowsill, seemingly comfortable as she sipped tea. Her face was Luke’s, down to the nose, to the eye shape, to her smile. Even through the blue colour, Senaara could tell the deep brown of her hair was the same brown as Leia's, the brown of her eyes was the same warmth of Leia’s.

The picture beside her was blurry, but it held the same message. Leia’s face reflected in a man mid laugh. His eyes were closed, but the way his fluffy hair hugged his neck, falling over his eyes looked too much like Luke for Senaara’s comfort.

It was Luke and Leia, and it wasn’t. It was her siblings reflected in two people Senaara had never seen before, in two people that looked more like her siblings that she ever had, more than her father ever had.

The final picture, Senaara knew.

It was Satine Kryze, the former Duchess of Mandalore at a festival, right before the traditional ritual that would open the night.

That didn’t make sense to Senaara. She searched the photo for the pattern, half expecting the woman to suddenly look like her siblings as well, only to find something worse.
Satine looked like her.

Satine’s eyes were the same blue as Senaara’s, her hair was curled in the same way, her tired smile was the same one in the portrait downstairs.
Senaara felt sick.

Slowly, as if she might fall, Senaara sat in her father’s chair, examining the photos further. There were no names for the man and woman, but Senaara could tell the brown-haired woman was on Naboo when the photo had been taken.

The woman was Nabooian.

And the man was a Jedi.

Senaara’s mind was moving too fast for her, she wished it would slow down, she wished she could run from the realization that was coiling around her chest.

She looked desperately for any sign that the woman and the man were married. She wracked her brain for any Naboo wedding traditions, but she couldn’t think of anything. They didn’t do rings, they didn’t do engagement clasps like Mandalore, there was no way to prove the two were married.

But then again if the man was a Jedi, could they even be married?

Senaara couldn’t breathe. Her hand had found its way to her wrist again where her fingernails dug into her skin, trying to temper the growing need to run.

The music was too loud now, the song had looped. The lover was begging their love to stay, to not leave for battle. Senaara hardly registered the small speaker being suddenly thrusted into the wall through an uncontrolled burst of the force, its data disc popping out and rolling on the floor.

Was that why her siblings were so different from her?

Was this the fundamental difference?

Was this why her father only taught her about Mandalore and taught her siblings about Naboo? Why she had to speak Mando’a, why she had to study Mandalore, why she had the Mando’a lullabies sung to her? Why her siblings had had Naboo stories, why they were encouraged to study the planet, why they got Nabooian lullabies?

Because only Senaara was Mandalorian.

Because her siblings were only Nabooian.

Because they had never been her siblings at all.

Senaara was feeling dizzy. She knew she wasn’t getting enough air but she couldn’t force herself to breath, her eyes wouldn’t leave the faces she had learned over the years but had never known.

These two, the woman in the windowsill, the man mid laugh, were the parents of her siblings. No. They were the parents of Luke and Leia. They were the real parents, a Jedi and Nabooian.

Did that mean Senaara wasn’t a triplet? Were Luke and Leia twins? They had to be because of age. Did that mean Senaara wasn’t born with them? When was she born? When was her life day?

The questions were overwhelming, coming like a whirlwind in Senaara’s mind.

Was Satine her mom? Had her father, the quiet man who liked to whittle wood, who was downstairs cooking for them, who never missed a jenk ball practice, bought ever model of ship Luke wanted, had collected every edition of “The Monarch, the Jedi, and the Bard” that Senaara had asked for, was a man who could have a duchess be interested in him? That felt unlikely, and yet here Senaara was.

But that didn’t make sense. Satine had never been pregnant, that would have been in Senaara’s Mandalorian research, Mandalore would have gone crazy over an heir, especially during the Clone Wars. It would have been noted somewhere.

Maybe Senaara wasn’t Satine’s daughter. Maybe Satine was there for another reason, maybe Obi Wan wasn’t her father. Sure, they look like each other, but Obi Wan had lied for years about Luke and Leia being his kids, maybe he had lied to her too.

But if she was Satine’s kid, did that mean she was heir to Mandalore? That felt like a lot of responsibility, that felt like a job better suited to Leia. Not someone that Mandalore would be disappointed in, not something so strange, not Senaara.

Senaara felt the need to throw up. She hardly had energy to keep herself sitting up in the chair, using the desk in front of her to support her body as she shakily reached out to trace the woman and the man, watching her fingers go through the projector.

What else had her father lied about?

Senaara ripped the picture chip out of the holo projector, quickly replacing it with the original family photo. But was it really a family photo? For all Senaara knew it could be just a photo of people playing family, people pretending to love and know each other, people who had been lied to all their lives.

Senaara left the picture chip where she found it, hyperventilating as she tried to get back to her room without falling over. Her legs trembled, she could hardly hold herself up as she gasped for breath.

She needed her mind to be quiet.

It was too loud.

Everything was too loud.

Senaara collapsed in her bed, holding her tooka stuffie to her chest as she tried to remember how to breath, tried to remember how to live.

It felt like too much. Too many thoughts. Too many questions. Too many implications. Too many lies.

Senaara’s eyes caught a glimpse of navy blue and gold on her desk. Senaara sat up slowly, taking in the sight of her room in the dark. She didn’t want to turn on the light, she didn’t want to be seen, not even by the walls that had seen her through so much.

Carefully, she stood, crossing the room to her desk where she found a star map. Senaara loved star maps, she loved tracing the distance between stars and planets, she loved constellation maps from different planets, different cities, she loved the expanse of them, how tiny she was in comparison.

The flimsi had been ripped from a book, the system it showed was Mandalorian.

Senaara picked up the paper, breath shaky as she inspected it for clues. She knew where it was from, it was from the star chart book Bail had gifted Leia. She had looked at this page so many times before, she had traced her hands over the shimmering gold so often that it felt like an echo of a safer past as she did it again.

The back of the page had a simple message.

Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, vod’al.

I love you forever, sister.

Senaara felt sick.

The flimsi was soon covered in tear drops as Senaara struggled to move, frozen in her spot.

She had to fix this.

She had to in some way.

Maybe she was wrong, she just had to prove it to herself. She just had to find a way. What had always been the most wrong with her?

A lot of things. But for one, her father had never taught her about Naboo. Naboo never appealed to Senaara as it had to Luke and Leia.

Senaara knew what she was going to do.

Notes:

Author notes for fun:

Anakin always painted his ships either blue(501st) or yellow, so Luke painting his ships those colors are another echo.

I like complicated people, I love Leia, and I love making her more complicated.

Padme role model for the win!

Realizing your life is a lie for the opposite of a win...

Things are going to get sticky

Chapter 4: Force

Chapter by Lucy_Rose

Summary:

The children sneak away to visit Naboo

“Yeah, our father knows.” Luke chirped, holding C-3P0’s metallic hand and leading him towards the small light freighter at the end of the rebellion’s hangar bay. “He says it would be a great help to him if you helped us.”

Luke could barely contain his excitement as he, his siblings, and the two droids they had met the other day, neared the Alderaanian light freighter. It was a YT-2400 model, not the model that Luke would have preferred, but it was the least guarded ship at the base and Luke was sure that he could fly it easily.

It had been easy to convince the astromech, with R2D2 folding quickly when Leia explained in her sing-song tone that their father needed them brought to Naboo and wanted the droids to chaperone them.

It was harder to convince the golden protocol droid, who wanted proof from their father that he had approved the visit. In truth, they didn’t need C-3P0, just an astromech with a splicing tool, but the nosy droid had already seen them and would rush to tell their father if they didn’t include them.

“And why can’t he take you himself?” C-3P0 asked, tilting his robotic head.

“Because he has meetings today, and we have school tomorrow.” Leia answered. “Today’s the only day we can go, so we need to go today.”

Senaara nodded along, tightening the little backpack she had insisted on bringing.

The triplets adventure had started two days ago when Luke had been resting in his room, finishing up some of his homework. Leia had found her way into his space, seated on the floor as she worked on her data pad, speaking Torguti to the program she was working with.

Senaara slid into the room through the hall door, quietly stepping across the floor boards and taking a seat at the end of Luke’s bed. Luke looked up, half expecting her to say anything, but she didn’t.

Senaara hadn’t spoken a lot in the past days, constantly zoning out, growing frustrated more easily. Luke had tried to help give her space, tried to get her to talk about what had been bothering her, but she remained silent.

Senaara remained quiet for a bit, rubbing her hands anxiously over Luke’s bedspread as Luke watched her out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t tell if Leia was doing the same, she had always been better at hiding her actions that Luke had.

After a while, Senaara spoke up in an almost whispered tone. She asked if Luke or Leia would like to visit Naboo, how it would be nice to see the place that they hailed from, where their mother had been raised.

Luke had been surprised, he wondered if Senaara’s miserable mode had to do with Naboo in some way, but he was ready to be practical. He had been ready to remind Senaara that they would need to get their father’s permission and that Obi Wan had said no the past times Leia and he had asked. But Leia, the typically responsible sister, quickly agreed.

Luke had shot her a quick glance, trying to ascertain if Leia was serious, only to be surprised by the eager look on his sister’s face, the way she had lit up at the idea. She had even put down her data pad, standing to move closer to their sister.

Leia took the idea and ran with it, within in the hour she knew what ship they were stealing from the rebellions hangar bay, when they were going, how they would get the ship in the air, where they were visiting on Naboo, and how they would do this all without ever asking their father’s permission. Leia refused to hear a no.

Luke had been promised that he could fly the ship, and thus he accepted the breach of their father’s trust with slightly less uncomfortable hands than he had started with. A freighter class wasn’t the ship that Luke wanted to start piloting with, but he wasn’t complaining.

Senaara just wanted to visit Naboo’s gardens, explore the city of Theed, and just see the planet. Leia wanted to visit the Padme Amidala tomb, a former senator of Naboo that Luke’s sister had become obsessed with over the past few days.

Luke accepted pretty quickly there was no fighting both of his sisters.

Now they were about to steal a ship.

Somehow this felt like a natural progression for the three of them.

“I don’t like this.” C-3P0 muttered as R2D2 whizzed past the four, revealing his scomp link and plugging into the side of the light freighter. The astromech seemed almost more excited than Leia was, as if the domed droid knew they were doing something they weren’t supposed to.

“It’s okay if you don’t like it, just join us.” Leia offered a sweet smile, Luke could see the strain as she did so, but he had become more focused on Senaara who hadn’t smiled since they left the house.

Their father was at meetings with the rebellion closer to the palace. He had left the three at home, believing they could handle staying home alone for a few hours. Leia had timed it all out, she knew when their father would be back, she knew how long the speeder trip from the house to the base was, and how long the trip from Alderaan to Naboo was.

All the three had to do was wait thirty minutes after their father closed the door to their home, before letting Leia drive the small family land speeder across the plains. Leia had insisted she drive the landspeeder, telling Luke to save his piloting skills for the real ship. Luke knew Leia just wanted to feel adult as she pushed her foot on the pedals and awkwardly steered the transport.

The entire day Senaara had been nervous, revealed through the ways her fingers twitched in anticipation, how she bit her lip till idents were left. Luke assumed his sister was just nervous about breaking the rules, she always had liked rules, but something wasn’t sitting right. Senaara had asked for them to do this, and here she was looking as if she was going to throw up if she took another step towards the ship.

The astromech gave a few quick chirps before the ramp for the freighter lowered, allowing the five to climb on board. Luke took one last glance at his sister who was taking careful steps up the ramp, her hand gripping her wrist, before turning and hurrying down the ship's corridor to the cockpit.

The cockpit was much larger than a y-wings, and much bigger than what Luke had worked with on the simulation, but he felt at home nonetheless. He swung into the pilot ship, firing on the engine and hyper drive system, watching as the buttons in front of him lit up in an array of blue and red.

Leia took a seat beside him, watching as Luke’s fingers danced across the control panel. It was just like his manual, every button was where he had studied them to be, every switch was in the right spot. The hum of the ship felt comforting as Luke took in the smell of iron and alloys in the air, leaning back in his seat slightly to just enjoy the experience of being in the ship's command room.

“R2? Can you plug in?” Leia had to ruin the moment. Luke looked over at his sister, raising an eyebrow.

“I can fly this without them.”

“I know.” Leia shrugged, “Just in case.”

The astromech plugged in without hesitation, twisting the scomp tool till the button that would eject him started to blink blue, letting Luke know R2D2 was in the system. Luke groaned, rolling his eyes, but he started to get the ship into flight mode. “Where’s Senaara?”

“In the common bay.” Leia sighed, “I think they have flight sickness.”

Luke nodded at that, calling out to R2D2 to check the systems as he switched them online. Carefully, Luke pulled the steer lever down, feeling the engine kick on and pushing the freighter into the air with a force that Luke struggled to truly imagine. The adrenaline was coursing through him now, eager to get the ship truly in flight.

Luke eased the ship forward, steering it out of the hangar bay and into the open sky. He messed up a few times, turning the ship too hard, almost crashing into the entrance of the hangar bay and then into the mountains they had to escape from, but by the time the ship was in the clouds it was steady.

Luke couldn’t believe it. No thoughts existed in his head but the next step to keep the ship in the air, reciting lines from his manuals as if the force would listen and keep the ship in the air out of its own will.

“Woah.” Leia blinked a few times, watching the clouds in front of her, her hands loosening their grip on the co pilot seat.

“You didn’t think I could do it.” Luke grumbled, pulling the ship up and out of the atmosphere.

“Of course I did.” Leia smirked, leaning back into the chair, “I just thought we’d crash a few times first.”

“You're horrible.” Luke kept his voice steady as he focused on pulling out of the planet and into the darkness of space.

It was like nothing he had ever seen.

He remembered bits and pieces of what the expanse of space looked like from when he was five. But that was nearly six years ago, and those memories had been made cloudy by situations and horrors he didn’t want to think about.

Now, space looked like everything Luke had ever wanted it to be.

Darkness met the two as they looked out of the cockpit window, watching Alderaan become small behind them, stars shining in the distance, so far away but somehow closer now. Luke could hardly breath, holding his breath to savor the moment, as she let the ship float in the void.

“Your sister will not talk to me.” C-3P0’s voice broke the silence as he walked into the cockpit. “Are we on our way?”

“R2, set hyperdrive course to Naboo.” Luke whispered, still not over the sight of space in front of him. Leia offered no quips, her mouth slightly open as she watched the stars as well. The astromech beeped in response.

Luke waited for confirmation, before switching the hyper drive on and pulling the left lever that brought the ship into an even more beautiful sight.

Stars rushed past them as the ship entered hyperspace, and all Luke could wonder was why hadn’t he been up here his entire life?

“Are we on our…” Senaara’s voice trailed off from where it had appeared at the doorway to the cockpit. Luke turned to watch his sister’s eyes widen as she watched the light dance across the command panels and walls, the echoes of stars that flew past them. “It’s beautiful.”

It truly was.

The darkness had turned dark blue, while violet and white bleed into the darkness as stars, suns, and beings of light rushed past the cockpit windows. Everything moved so fast and so slow, sparkling and shining, reflecting on the metal, dancing in silver.

“This is what the force feels like for me.” Luke whispered, afraid to speak any louder as if it would destroy the sight in front of him. “Fast, and beautiful. Overwhelming but…quiet.”

“I like that.” Leia whispered back. “You make it sound pretty.”

Senaara stepped forward, taking a seat on the floor, leaning her back on the command panel. Luke looked down at her, wondering why she had sat facing away from the window. He turned to try and see what she was seeing, assuming to just see C-3P0 and R2D2 in the corner they had claimed. Instead he found that the light of hyperspace was dancing on the walls, flying by like visible wind.

“It’s like the stars are human.” Senaara mumbled, her eyes not leaving the light on the walls, “They are dancing for the last time before they lose their legs.”

Luke pondered this. He wasn’t sure if he agreed, the light looked too fluid, too all encompassing to be humans, but he liked the idea. He always liked his sister’s ideas.

“Buir is going to be angry.” Leia muttered.

“You're the one who wanted to do this.” Luke chuckled.

“Yeah, well…” Leia sighed, “It’ll be nice.”

“It was my idea, if anyone should get in trouble it should be me.” Senaara half whispered from her spot on the floor.

“No one’s getting in trouble.” Leia reached down to brush her hand through Senaara’s hair. Senaara didn’t fight it. “Even if we did, we’re all guilty now.”

“Leia made the plan, you had the idea, and I flew the ship.” Luke grinned. “We come as a three, always.”

Senaara made a face that Luke couldn’t understand. It looked remorseful, perhaps fearful, but his sister didn’t say anything. She leaned back, letting Leia to continue playing with her hair as space rushed by.

“Are you saying you don’t have your father’s approval to visit Naboo?” C-3P0’s judgemental tone broke through the quiet. Luke turned to raise an eyebrow at the sass the droid seemed to carry.

“Yep.” Leia leaned back in her chair, kicking her feet up on the console. “You are now an accomplice.”

R2D2 beeped happily as the golden droid took a frightened step back.

“An accomplice? No I have been kidnapped” The golden droid nearly shrieked. “What will General Kenobi think? R2, we must turn the ship around this minute!”

The astromech beeped back a no, turning away from his friend as C-3P0 continued to ramble, trying to make it to the console, “I must contact the rebellion.”

“Nope.” Leia raised her hand, closed her eyes and focused. Luke quietly raised his own hand in support, letting the force flow through him, slipping through his arms, tingling in his fingertips, so that they could push C-3P0 back and out of the cockpit.

“Hey, wait!” The golden droid tries to say before the cockpit door was shut on him, R2D2 making the sound of laughter with his beeping.

“We shouldn’t have brought him.” Senaara sighed.

“He’ll be useful. He knew Padme and I intend to learn about her.” Leia nodded, leaning back into her chair.

Senaara gave her an uneasy look.

-

Leia had never seen anything as beautiful.

The showcase of beauty had started when the light freighter gave an almost uneasy lurch out of hyperspace, floating just above the planet of Naboo. It was a celestial body, seeped in all shades of green, blue, and white clouds that look more like paint strokes than they did real masses of air.

Leia found herself holding her breath as she leaned forward, trying to take the sight in. It was similar to Alderaan in many ways, but Leia felt that somehow this planet was more beautiful. She felt like this planet was everything she had been waiting for. She felt like she was home.

The second showcase of beauty had been walking through the streets of Theed, holding her siblings' hands as they rushed through beautiful people, covered in colourful fabrics and beads. Weaving through tall domed buildings as they left the two droids behind, promising to be back within the hour.

The streets were filled with life, with colour, with something that Leia couldn’t name. It felt like Theed was where she was supposed to be, where she had always been meant to be. She wanted to hold the flowers at the stall, dance in the light of the lanterns, dressed in the thick silk she watched women shop in.

Now she stood in front of what she was sure was the most beautiful thing in the galaxy.

Padme Amidala’s statue stood in front of her, white marble with the occasional added red gem. The senator wore her traditional queen robes, shoulder pads out, hair up in the elaborate head dress, smile small, eyes far off.

Flower bushes surrounded the bottom of the statue, shaak flowers and water blossoms, along with a bright orange flower that Leia didn’t know the name of. The flowers stood tall, but slightly bent as if they were weeping the loss of the woman.

Behind the statue was the sealed off tomb, white marble and stained glass of the late queen in the sun. The colours glowed on the ground of the garden from where the sun hit them, reflecting on Leia as she tried to take the sight in.

It was more beautiful than the pictures.

She reached out carefully, tracing her hand over the plaque that explained the woman before her. She had read the words quickly, taking in the knowledge she already knew well. No words would ever be enough for the woman before her, Leia thought.

Naboo’s palace gardens were elegant in ways that Leia couldn’t explain. Star blossoms covered the edges of the paths where other visitors walked carefully, taking in the sight of the monuments and statues. Ivy covered walls and soft willow trees covered the landscape, water dribbled in the distance from a fountain made to commemorate another queen.

Luke stood beside Leia, his head tilted slightly as if trying to see the senator in another perspective. He seemed just as in awe, and for that, Leia was thankful. She was worried she would seem silly for her admiration of a woman she had never met.

It had been easy to get there, the tomb was located in a public garden where anyone could visit with no fee. The three had left the droids behind on the ship where they were instructed to wait till the three returned. C-3P0 had tried to pitch a fit, wanting to see Naboo and make sure the children didn’t get in trouble but R2D2 was quick to cut the protocol droid's exit and beep for the children to continue on.

Leia liked R2D2, she found him sneaky in all the right ways.

The three kids had woven through the streets of Theed, taking hands naturally. Leia had led them through, studying the layout of the city before their adventure. Luke held her hand, stuck in the middle of his siblings as Senaara took the back, her head swiveling around to try and get the full few of the market.

Senaara stood a few paces behind Leia now. Leia couldn’t see her sister’s face and didn’t want to turn away from the statue, but she could feel something strange radiating from her sister. As if the force was trying to subtly warn her that something was wrong with Senaara

There were a lot of things wrong with Senaara.

If Senaara was going to find something wrong about this Naboo trip, after she suggested it in the first place, Leia felt ready to let her sister stew in her own misery. Still, Leia noted that the three should find some flavored ice before leaving. Senaara liked it more than Ice cream.

“She was queen, senator, and an active voice in the clone wars?” Luke’s voice was hardly more than a whisper as he spoke, his eyes never leaving the statue.

“She was a fighter, skilled with a hand blaster, partook in war missions, a diplomatic voice, a peace fighter, and so much more.” Leia responded, “She was even known to be a good pilot.”

“She sounds amazing.” Luke was quiet again. Leia stole a glance at her brother, watching how his eyes traced the delicate details of the woman’s stone dress, the way the cut gems glowed faintly in the sun. It was truly a breathtaking sight.

“Her name was Padme?” Senaara’s voice was quiet as she stepped forward, staying a step behind Leia but closer now, hiding behind her sister’s shoulder.

“Padme Amidala. Though her real name was Padme Naiberrie.” Leia nodded seriously.

Senaara didn’t respond, just kept her gaze on the statue. Leia finally looked at her sister, growing wary at the solemn look she held. It resembled their father, the look he got when it was clear he had remembered something but refused to say it. The same tired eyes. The same straight line of a frown.

“Was she married?” The question was quiet but it made Leia furrow her brow, turning back to the tomb.

“No. She wanted to have kids on her own and so she did.”

“Did she have kids?”

“No.” Leia paused. “It died with her.”

Senaara nodded quietly. Leia was slightly concerned now. The way Senaara had spoken, robotic, undetached from her body. It rang like a warning. This wasn’t Senaara being miserable and staying miserable, this was something more.

Something that her sister wasn’t talking about.

Leia looked back at the statue, following her siblings' gaze.

The garden felt safe, full of weeping flowers, twisting and sleeping willows, coral trees and avian species that fluttered back and forth over the sparkling pond and fountains. The whole garden hummed with something that felt sacred and safe, felt like an embrace, a hug that Leia had never felt but never wanted to lose.

Leia had never had a mother, but she believed in that moment, the feeling of the sun on her skin, the sound of the water falling in the fountain, the sickly sweet smell of the shaak flowers, was what a mother’s embrace should feel like.

It was what the force felt like.

Her brother might have seen stars rushing past him, light dancing on control panels and metal, and felt the force.

For Leia, standing in the middle of the Naboo royal garden’s, watching Padme Amidala’s statue before her tomb, standing beside her siblings on the planet they had hailed from, close enough that Leia could brush their hands and take hold, holding her siblings hands once more, Leia could feel the force everywhere.

This was safety.

This was love.

This is what the force was to her.

-

The plan had failed.

Senaara felt sick as Leia took her hand, as Leia smiled looking at the statue that Senaara was now sure was the twins mother. She felt sick as she watched Luke smile thoughtfully at the carved marble, at the obliviousness the two still held.

Senaara knew they loved it here. She knew they were falling in love with the air, with the dirt, with the roots that dug into the planet, dug into their blood. The twins belonged here, this was their home, this was in their bones.

But no matter how hard Senaara forced it, she couldn’t feel it.

Naboo was stunning, Naboo was beautiful, it was everything Senaara thought it would be and yet she couldn’t feel any threads reaching to hold on. She couldn’t feel any roots searching to plant themselves in her heart, she couldn’t feel the connection that was radiating off her siblings, she couldn’t feel the pull she knew they were getting from the force.

Senaara wanted to scream.

Instead she inspected the statue before her, memorising every detail that she could. This was the woman from the photo, Senaara was sure of that. That meant Luke and Leia came from a queen who became a senator. That meant the twins were from a woman who was loved and respected by her people. It meant they had a home that would welcome them if they needed it.

But it meant that Senaara was not theirs.

It meant Senaara was the parasite in the duo.

If Senaara couldn’t find a connection with Naboo, it meant what Senaara had feared. That she wasn’t Nabooian at all. That she had been right, that her siblings were not her siblings. That she was not a triplet. That all that existed in her blood was Mandalore.

That somehow, she was Satine Kryze’s daughter.

Satine felt so far away. Just a pale blonde ghost in a history holo book, just a name on a page, just an image used to fuel flames. How could someone so far away, someone that Senaara knew so little about personally, someone who had led such a dramatic life, ever be Senaara’s mother?

It all felt wrong.

Senaara found her nails were digging into her wrist again but she couldn’t care.

The trip had done what it needed, prove or disprove Senaara’s theory.

As she stood, feeling weightless on a planet that grounded Luke and Leia, Senaara had her answer.

Her father had been lying for years.

“‘Naara?” Luke’s voice was hesitant as he leaned forward, trying to catch his sister’s eye.

“I’m fine.” Senaara mumbled.

She couldn’t say anything.

She was a coward.

The longer she kept her father’s secret, the longer she was a knowing parasite to Luke and Leia. The longer she could be condemned, no longer able to hide behind ignorance. Yet she didn’t want to lose Leia’s hand on her own, she didn’t want to lose the sight of Luke’s hair falling in his face, the warmth the two brought to her life.

She was selfish.

Senaara hated that.

“We should head back.” Leia spoke slowly, as if she were trying to convince herself or trick herself into letting them stay longer. “Buir will be home in two hours, we need to get back in time.”

No one moved.

Senaara suspected her brother was still watching the statue, her sister calculating how much time they could stay longer before running back to the ship and everything that would come after.

Luke and Leia.

Not her sister and brother.

They never were.

“Naara I’m getting worried now.” Luke’s voice was more sure this time, “You don’t look good at all.”

“I’m fine.” Senaara repeated, ripping her eyes away from Padme’s statue and towards the garden exit.

“No, you’re thinking again and you’re doing the thing where you hold your breath.” Luke crossed his arms, staring his sister down. Senaara hadn't even realized she was holding her breath till she let it out to try and prove Luke wrong.

“You don’t look well.” Leia added, reaching up and grazing the back of her palm to Senaara’s forehead as if she knew the difference in temperatures, “Are you feeling well?”

“I’m fine.” Senaara said again, grumbling slightly.

Luke and Leia watched her warily, as if they didn’t believe her. Senaara hated that. She hated the way they looked at her. She hated the feeling of being watched under their gaze. Judged.

“Just wish we could see Mandalore as well.” Senaara quickly said, hoping to cover her tracks.

“I mean…” Leia trailed off, clearly considering it.

“No.” Luke jumped in, “We need to get home so Buir doesn’t kill us.”

“We’re already out so far,” Leia reasoned, “We get to see Mandalore and then we just ask Buir for forgiveness.”

“He will ground us till we are adults!" Luke shot back, “Come on, Senaara, tell Leia you just meant it offhandly."

“Let’s go,” Senaara didn’t look back as she started past her once siblings, heading to the garden exit. She was able to catch Leia’s victory grin as Luke furrowed his eyebrows, crossing his arms as he rushed after his sisters.

Senaara had no blood that tied her to Naboo.

She had no blood that tied her to her siblings.

She had no blood that fit what she needed to be.

But perhaps Mandalore would help Senaara. Senaara didn’t know what she was hoping for, just that it would work. Just that somehow seeing the planet her father had told her stories of, the planet her mother had once ruled, the planet that was hers and not her siblings, would heal one of the many wounds Senaara could feel bleeding and pulsing beneath her skin.

She couldn’t force herself to be Nabooian.

She might as well accept Mandalore.

-

Obi Wan knew something was wrong.

The force had become a friend in the past years, a thing that felt almost human. A being that mourned with Obi Wan, a presence that grinned when happiness was near, a feeling that flared like spikes with the old Jedi. It was a friend, a constant presence.

Obi Wan had never been this close with the force. He had gotten close before, during the height of the Clone Wars, before it truly felt like a war and much more like the next step in life, he could feel it in the way Anakin had laughed, the way Ahsoka jumped when Rex would spook her, in the pass between his and Cody’s hands over his lightsaber.

He had felt it when Qui Gon was still alive, when the two were alone in the mountains of Mandalore watching over Satine. Obi Wan had felt it when he first held the twins, when he first held Senaara.

Now he felt it nearly everyday.

Obi Wan assumed it was because he had started to accept his Jedi self once again, that he was helping his children find the force alongside him.

He didn’t dare wonder if he was stronger with the force now because he had learned to let himself love. That felt wrong to think, even after more than a decade of the Jedi Order being nothing more than ash.

But the force had become a friend nonetheless, and Obi Wan lacked friends in general.

The force played the role of silent babysitter, alerting Obi Wan when something was amiss with the children. Leia missed a kick of the jenk ball in practice and was going to have a hard afternoon forgiving herself in the much too high standards the young girl had created? Obi Wan knew by the chill in the air. Luke brought his new interceptor model to school and it broke? Obi Wan knew by the cold tingle in his spine. Senaara was somewhere in the house, spiraling and panicking? Obi Wan knew by the way shadows danced across his chest, chilling his bones.

Now, Obi Wan’s whole body was cold.

The man didn’t wait, he ran. He gave Bail no explanation, no reason, he just left.

He took the families landspeeder, crossing the plains of grass, following the path home only to find it empty.

Obi Wan tore through the house, desperate to find any hint of the children. The force reminded him to breathe, pushing the breeze through the foyer, bringing refreshing air to his lungs. Obi Wan paused, rubbing his face before turning back to the door.

Senaara’s backpack was missing. The children’s traveling shoes were gone. A holo book was open on the table to a slide on Naboo, specifically Theed.

No signs of struggle.

The children left on their own accord.

Obi Wan let go of the breath he was holding, groaning as the realization hit him. If he was right, and he often was regarding the children, they had left for Naboo in some attempt to understand who they were.

Obi Wan sat on the floor, pulling the holo book closer trying to figure out where in Theed the children were going. The holo book displayed pictures of the palace gardens, a place that Obi Wan had been before with Anakin. That seemed simple enough, the children had gone to the gardens.

Obi Wan went to stand, bumping into Leia’s data pad that laid dormant on the table. It flickered on in its blue light, projecting the image of a senator wrapped in blue and gold, a painted face and long braids.

Padme.

Obi Wan stared at the image, the way the woman’s hair looped across the crown of her head, the way the blue satin hugged her frame and hung from her arms, the way the gold wrap belt had beads that dropped and shone.

It was Padme.

Why did Leia have a picture of Padme?

That’s when it hit him.

The Naboo palace gardens was the resting place of Padme. Her tomb was in the center of the greenery. She would be on display for the children to see.

Obi Wan didn’t think much, he just got in his ship and flew.

Notes:

Author notes:

R2 is very aware of the twins and who they are

Took some creative liberties on what Padme's statue looks like for fun

C-3P0 gets kidnapped because he always does

Leia being obsessed with Padme kinda like Anakin being obsessed with Padme but for very different reasons

Leia is never beating fathers daughter allegations no matter how much she wants him dead

Everything comes back to Mandalore

Senaara dealing with her father's lies alone because she doesn't know how to tell her siblings

Things get bad after this

Obi Wan get your kids before the masses of people you've pissed off get them

Notes:

A few notes that I want to share because my friend told me to :)

1. Y-wings were most notably flown by Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, so Luke wanting to fly them is generational.
2. Senaara was always meant to be neurodivergent but I feel like I made Luke and Leia their own version of neurodivergent by accident while writing their point of views??? Anyway love the kids

Anyway if you are new here, check out the series below, it'll help things make more sense :)
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Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of Obi Wan and the Three