While Leia was comparing her five-year-old daughter to the holoimage of her mother, recognizing the likeness in hair and smile, and even the eyes, she was interrupted by C-3PO. "Prin—I mean, Mistress Urza, there is a Code Red priority signal on the comlink."

Leia rushed to the device and activated it. "Leia, implement Operation Dianoga. Take every precaution and proceed to the encoded location. Maintain utmost security."

Lor San Tekka came in quickly. "Urza, what's wrong?"

Leia stood up quickly and grabbed her emergency packs from under the console. "It's time. Here, I'll get Breha. Grab the rest of the packs and book us non-direct transport to these coordinates." She handed him a plastic chit with the coordinates.

He looked at her deeply in the eyes, his eyes narrowing, "Your brother?" Leia nodded. "Your son . . ." He left it hanging.

Leia sucked back her tears. "I know nothing else."

Minutes later, they scurried away to Theed Spaceport in a landspeeder. San Tekka sold it quickly for four thousand druggats. In a run-down district's alcove, they plotted their next move.

Leia asked, "Only four thousand?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. He sensed my urgency." Lor San Tekka looked toward the palace. "Perhaps we could seek royal assistance."

"Mommy, what's going on? I want to go home."

Leia smoothed Breha's back. "Shh." She shook her head at the cleric. "No. We can't risk it. Try a freighter. We can rough it."

"Rough it?" C-3PO asked.

San Tekka sighed. "Where would I find them, Your Highness?"

"Try the cantinas around the spaceport. Threepio, go with him."

Leia huddled in the alcove of the vacant shop, pulling Breha closer to her as the sun lowered and various creatures roamed the streets.

"I'm hungry, Mommy."

Leia rummaged through her sack and pulled out an emergency ration bar and a bottle of water. "Here." She broke off a piece of the bar and handed it to the girl.

Breha grabbed it and nibbled on it. She took a slurp of the water before finishing the bar. "I'm tired, Mommy."

Leia looked at the filthy ground. Her boots stuck to it when she tried to move, but she realized that dirty clothes would be the least of her worries from now on. She lowered herself to the ground, leaning against her pack.

Breha sat in her lap as Leia pulled her daughter's head to her shoulder. The girl whispered, "Mommy, what's going on? Why are you so scared?"

"Shh. Try to sleep, young one. Don't let people know we're here."

Leia jerked awake, pulling her blaster and pointing it at the man in front of her. "Leave us alone."

"Easy, your Highness. It's only me," Lor San Tekka said with his hands pushing in front of him. The golden protocol droid stood behind him.

"Oh, I must have fallen asleep. Had some dark dreams again, about Ben. About Han."

The cleric lifted the sleeping little girl from Leia's arms and then helped the woman to stand. "Force-visions can be misleading. Don't trust them. Don't let them bother you."

"Where are we going? Spaceport's the other way."

"I know. We have passage, but we need to avoid the berths at this end. I was almost caught."

"By whom?"

"A certain Wookiee," C-3PO said with a tilt of his head.

"Han's here?" Leia grimaced. "One more thing I don't need to deal with right now."

"This way." San Tekka led her down the dingy street.

She looked around, feeling the hair prick up on the back of her neck. Leia drew her blaster from the back waistband of her trousers. She held it cautiously in front her as they skirted down the alley.

She heard movement to her left. Some whuffs. A creature that breathed through a snout. Could be a Gamorrean, or worse.

Leia pivoted toward the direction, watching creatures step out of the darkness. "Stay back! One step further—"

A Shistavaranen pounced out the shadows, claws extended. Leia fired her blaster three times, chest hits each time.

The creature landed on the hard ground, splattering muck as he fell. He rolled over and crawled toward the group, lifting himself on all fours. Now, he looked more like a wolf than a wolfman.

He pounced once more, but Leia shot it in the eyes and kicked it away.

"Come on, let's get out of here," she told the cleric, who struggled to carry Breha.

They stumbled down the dank alley, C-3PO waddling behind them, straining to reach the daylight of the western edges of the cargo spaceport. When they turned the corner, the silhouette of a large Wookiee blocked the entrance.

The Wookiee roared. His keen eyes and even keener sense of smell recognized the group.

A voice echoed from the other side. "Leia? Leia, is that you?"

Leia turned to run but stopped when Chewie roared again.

She froze, closing her eyes as Han padded toward her. His spacer boots clattered on the asphalt.

He stood behind her. "It is you." His voice was soft, not like the last time they met a year ago.

Leia pivoted slowly and then fell against him. "Hold me." Han wrapped his arms around his wife, rubbing her back, like the night so long ago on Endor.

After a few moments, a police siren rang out in the district. Han pulled away from her. "Come on. We gotta get you out of here."

Leia shook her head. "We already have passage."

"Yeah, with whom?"

San Tekka adjusted Breha. "Docking Bay 83. I made arrangements through the Port Authority."

Han grabbed Leia by the arm and pushed her behind him. A laser bolt hit the wall that had been behind her.

Breha woke up, squirming in Lor San Tekka's arms, screaming at the noise.

Leia grabbed her and held her close to her chest, whispering in her ear. "Shh. It's dangerous here. Stop screaming."

Breha sucked back her sobs.

"That's a good girl." Leia kissed her on her forehead and pulled her head back to her chest. "Shh. Be as quiet as possible. Remember that game we played last week?"

Breha nodded.

"It's no longer a game. Be as quiet as possible. Obey immediately. Your life depends on it, my precious girl." Leia kissed her again, waiting for Han and Chewie to clear the area.

She hear a click ahead of her. Han pulled his DL-44 blaster, shooting before the owner could get another shot off. A three-eyed Gran flopped to the ground. Han twirled his blaster before holstering it once more.

Chewie rumbled something.

"All right, Chewie says that was it. But it won't take long until the authorities get here—"

Leia jostled Breha in her arms, pulling her up higher on her frame. The five-year-old seemed to have gained kilos in just a few minutes.

Han tilted his head and raised his eyebrows in question at Leia. She sighed and handed the girl over.

Breha struggled. "No. I want my m—nanny."

"It's okay. He's a friend," Leia said.

"What's your name, girl?"

"Rey," Leia said quickly before Breha could say anything. She stared at her daughter and nodded slightly.

"What's yours?" Breha asked.

"Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon."

"The smuggler? The one who made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?"

Han shook his head at Leia. "Twelve."

C-3PO said with a wave of his hand, "Actually, Captain Solo, R2-D2 ran the history on that race and—"

Han covered the droid's mouthpiece with his hand and pointed at him. "One more word, and I'm shutting you down."

Leia rolled her eyes.

Breha looked up at the man and then at the Wookiee. She relaxed as the man lifted her to his shoulders and raced down the stucco corridor to the spaceport. The girl giggled as she bounced on his shoulders.

Leia bit back a tear as she tried to keep up with him. Lor San Tekka and Chewbacca took up the rear. The Wookiee rotated his bowcaster every few steps, covering their retreat.

A few moments later, they stopped in front of a closed hatch to Docking Bay 83. Chewbacca punched in a code, revealing their chartered ship.

Lor San Tekka said, "I specifically booked passage on the Stardust with Captain Chinnu Je, and you are not she." The cleric poked Han in the chest.

After setting the girl down, Han held out his hands and shrugged. "She owed me. Lost the contract in a hand of Sabacc."

Leia sighed. "Let's just get on board and get out of here before we attract any more attention."

"As you wish, Your Highnesses." Han bowed elaborately toward her in jest.

Leia grabbed Breha by the hand and led her up the ramp.

In the cockpit, Han said, "Strap yourselves in. I'm going to make the jump to lightspeed as soon as we clear the atmosphere."

Chewie grumbled.

"Patch me in, Chewie. Rising Star requesting permission for launch. Filing flight plan now." Han dug the coordinates chip out of his pocket and slid it into the navacomputer.

"Only passengers and their protocol droid." Han punched the mute. "They want your names. What should I tell them?"

"Urza Naberrie. Mon Naberrie. Jusk Vlonz." Leia swallowed, waiting on the edge of her seat.

Han unmuted the communication system. "Here they are. Yes, an Urza Naberrie. A little girl named Mon Naberrie. And an old man—Jusk Vlonz . . . no, I'm certain those are their names . . ."

Han shook his head and removed his headset. He handed it to Leia. "Now what?"

"They're patching you into the palace."

Leia lifted her eyebrows at him in question.

"Hey, don't look at me that way. It's not my fault."

Leia sighed as she waited on the headset. "Yes, Your Majesty . . . Yes, this is Leia Organa . . . I'm sorry . . . There wasn't time . . . Thank you. Thank you for everything . . . I hope to one day."

Leia handed the comm headset back to Han.

"What was that all about?"

"You have your clearance to leave. Naboo Defense Forces will escort us until we jump to lightspeed."

"Thank you. I think."

Han reached forward and activated the repulsor lifts. Chewie reached up and angled the deflector shields forward to absorb the brunt of hyperspeed on the canopy. The Millennium Falcon bounced upward, gaining altitude quickly. Two starfighters, their sleek chrome reflecting the Falcon's running lights, pulled up on either side.

Once they reached the jump point, Han pulled back on the hyperdrive levers, propelling them into lightspeed. The stars transitioned from white specks of light to blue rays to blue geometric planes. "Well, that's that. We'll reach Squan Station in twelve hours."

He looked at Leia in the seat behind Chewie, the girl sleeping on her lap. Then he glanced at Lor San Tekka in the other seat. "Chewie, why don't you and San Tekka go find a place for everyone to sleep."

Chewie moaned a question.

"Yeah, plan on that."

When they left, Han moved to Lor San Tekka's vacant seat. He gazed at Leia and pursed his lips together. "You know, you used to hold Ben just like that."

Leia bit her lip and sighed, searching for an answer. "Once a mother, always a mother."

"Who's the girl?"

Leia opened her mouth and then closed it.

"And don't even try to tell me she's Lor San Tekka's granddaughter. He's a celibate cleric!"

Leia turned her back from him. "I can't tell you."

"She's yours, isn't she? She looks too much like you not to be."

Tears trickled down her cheeks now. Leia clutched Breah tighter, knowing that if Han ever saw Ben, Ben would know about Breha. And Ben . . .

Han grabbed her by the arm and turned her roughly. "Tell me which guy were you cheating with. That's why you kicked me out? You had another man all along.?"

"No. I never cheated on you, Han. She's a Naberrie." Leia shrugged off his hand.

"Huh." Han sat back in his seat, staring at the hyperspace shapes passing the cockpit canopy. "What's your next move?"

"I'm meeting Luke. Something's happened." Leia removed her blaster from her back waistband and set it on the console. She stared out into space as she stroked Breha's head.

"You're going to Khalkha? Squan's the other way."

"No." Leia turned to Han. She dissolved into tears. "Ben's turned, Han."

"What do you mean 'turned?'"

"He's gone dark. He has sold himself to the dark side irrevocably." Leia closed her eyes and whispered, "I felt her die. I feel Luke's anger even now. His pain."

"Who?"

"Naluma."

"No," Han said, his eyes watering, too. "What about the baby? Did he survive."

Leia shook her head.

Han leaned over and held his wife and the girl in his arms, joining her grief with his.

An hour later, Han lifted Mon from Leia's lap. Her legs had grown stiff with the added weight on them. The lounge was quiet. Around the corner, Lor San Tekka snored softly from the med bay bed. A blanket lay on the curved acceleration couch.

Han set Breha down on the couch and covered her before leading Leia back to the captain's quarters. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the top of her head. Chewie's loud snores resounded from the cargo hold where he slept in his hammock.

Did you know . . . 

● Han never finds out Breha/Rey is his daughter.

● The chapter was too long already, but Han tried to get Leia to stay with him instead of heading into hiding. He even tried to go along with her, but she knew he was too well-known on Tatooine and he was too restless to stay planet-bound.