Leia Organa rescues herself (rebelliousforce) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-03-17 11:24:00 |
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Well it had all worked out, at least at first. Of course there would be repercussions for the destruction of the Death Star. Such as Leia being labelled a traitor and no longer a senator. Though how could she be a senator when the planet she represented, her home had been blown up by the Empire? So because the Alliance had decided she needed to stay put, and Leia being Leia most decidedly could not stay put, and felt like she needed to do something more… she’d left the base and started to go in search of Refugees from Alderaan. Which was how she’d gotten to Naboo.
There was something about the statue of it’s queen, or one of their queens, from before she was born…. Then she’d woken up and that had been that.
The day went about as most did and following lectures, she’d gone to a local coffee shop in order to get some caffeine. She needed the jolt as she was exhausted and still had papers to write. And perhaps trying to avoid the growing guilt from each time she slept. In theory. As such, she was currently engrossed in reading over reports from her internship while drinking her coffee, and thus not paying attention to those around her as she had her table already.
Ahsoka had grown familiar with the young princess from Aldaraan. Her stubborn insistence on helping the Rebellion. Her latent force powers that absolutely had to remain hidden. Her suspicions about her true parentage. But nothing had ever came of that, and she’d had other things to worry about. Like making sure her cells didn’t all die.
And in this life, one of those things she had to worry about was a paper for one of her classes that absolutely had to be turned in tomorrow. So caffeine was in order, and she could imagine certain friends and former friends of hers having long-suffering sighs at her inability to study ahead of time. (Raven and Barriss really were eerily similar and also probably lost causes where emotions were concerned). And it was her favorite shop because her favorite barista worked there.
She wasn’t expecting to see Leia at all. At least it was someone who understood she wasn’t human, but Ahsoka wasn’t sure how much Leia knew or remembered now. She got her latte and gave her a little wave. “Want some company?”
Hearing someone’s voice, Leia looked up and blinked. Shocked. Because it seemed as though Ahsoka had forgotten her glamour. And the barista behind her looked… grey or blue? What the…? But then she blinked and they both appeared normal again and so she shook it off as exhaustion. At least, that was what she told herself, never mind the strangeness of the statue on Naboo, the one that she could have sworn looked at her.
“Ahsoka, hello. And of course, feel free.”
She didn’t speak to the younger woman often, having gotten swept up in her school work and dreams and not spending as much time on the network as she might have otherwise, but she remembered her both from the fog incident, as well as the dreams. The woman her father had helped and who they spoke of rebellion together.
A statue looking at you was usually a clue that something was very amiss. Ahsoka plopped down in front of Leia, and took a long sip of hercafcoffee. Yeah. That’s the stuff.
Dreaming of being fifteen years older often gave her a headache. Some days she was her normal age. Others, she was that calmer, more subdued Fulcrum, with hints of the old fire still burning within. Today, she felt much more her waking self. “What are you studying?”
“Genocide.” Such a cheerful topic, and a personal one. Though that tended to be information Leia kept to herself. It was hard to talk of a time in which she really only remembered the feelings and constant fear, hunger, the loudness. She understood it all, of course. Her reading on Bosnia painted a picture for her, filled in blanks. But that didn’t really mean she talked too much about it.
“What about you? Or are you just here for the coffee?”
That was a heavy subject for any kind of study.Ahsoka didn’t know how personal it was to Leia, in either world. Or galaxy. “Heady subject.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I needed some caffeine for my own studies. Political science paper due …. tomorrow.” Related? Kind of?
“Just a bit. That’s what I get for focusing on international politics I suppose.” It was easy enough to brush off with a shrug before she sipped her own coffee as Ahsoka answered her own reasoning for being there. “Oh? What’s it on?” Given she was a PhD student for political science, there was always the chance she might be able to help. Or at least point Ahsoka in the right direction.
“I’m supposed to compare two different movements from two different time periods, and I’m not even sure where to start.” Ahsoka wrapped her hands around her drink. “There’s obvious similarities to like, the Occupy movement and the labor movements a hundred years ago. Or Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights movement. But both of those might be too easy to compare, you think?”
“I suppose it depends on what you’re defining as a movement and where your interests are. I mean, if you look back in history, you will always find similarities in mindset and it’s not always a good one.” Marking her place, Leia turned her full attention on Ahsoka, again having to shake off the sensation that the watch wasn’t working for the younger woman’s glamour, “Look at what is happening with the Syrian refugee crisis. Now, it’s more prevalent in Europe, but you get that same sort of xenophobic rhetoric and Islamophobia as there was in the 1930s and 40s, only it was anti-Semitism and quotas so the United States turned away Jewish refugees. The voter restriction laws that are going on now that are just modern day Jim Crow laws...”
Taking a sip of coffee, Leia shrugged.
“Yes, I do believe that the Occupy movement or Black Lives Matter movements would be considered fairly obvious choices as they are more recent, but they also show how either something might fail because of a lack of organisation, or show that there is always more to be done and just because perhaps more overt forms of an issue aren’t noticeable, that doesn’t mean the problem is suddenly gone.”
Ahsoka could feel something tugging in the Force. And if she paid attention to it she could tell exactly where it was coming from. She just didn’t know what to tell Leia. Or how to tell her.
“They’re right about history repeating itself.” Ahsoka wrinkled her nose, focusing more on the task at hand. “It’s easier when there’s a clear and obvious enemy to focus on. When you start getting into nuance and shades of grey it becomes harder to get people to see what’s really going on.”
Yes, the Empire was evil, but a lot of people couldn’t see it. Just like she couldn’t see the Separatists as people just like her. The irony wasn’t lost on her that she’d basically become a separatist.
“This is all really sad and it’s really easy to feel powerless in the face of it.” It was just a feeling one had to ignore.
“Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Sometimes it seemed so much easier in the dreams. Not the events themselves, but just… knowing who was evil, who wasn’t. The Empire was clearly corrupt, it needed to be challenged and the Republic restored. Leia believed that with every fibre of her being, both in the dreams and out. Real life here? It was much more nuanced and much harder to fight. Grand sweeping comments sounded great, but they were just comments, promises which were empty.
Compromise was a dirty word and yet this world, this society…. It gave her a headache.
“And it’s exhausting to keep up, to try and find ways to bring about change. But… people still fight because they believe in it.”
Sometimes, late at night when she’d been buried in readings, Leia just wished she didn’t care so much. That she could just go about her life and let things keep as they were. But she couldn’t. It wasn’t in her blood. Now that just made more sense.
There were parallels that Ahsoka could make, between the twilight of the Republic and the state of the country now. With people running that would fit right in with the most corrupt and bombastic politicians in the Republic Senate. And it was a little frightening seeing how easily good people could make things go very wrong.
“You sound exhausted.”
There were always going to be parallels. At least, that was how Leia saw it. She might not understand what was happening with Anakin (or why he had called her mom when he’d been out of it), but she had a feeling that parallels between dreams and reality were not that uncommon. So to see parallels between the politics as well? Really not surprising at all for her.
“Long nights, lots of reading.” Confusion on why she kept seeing things…. And it was really beginning to annoy her, so she might as well just ask. “Is your watch glitching? Sorry, it’s just… sometimes it’s like it’s not working. But it might just be exhaustion since the girl at the counter randomly looks to be… a bluish grey.” Rubbing her forehead, Leia shook her head, “Forget I said that. It’s just that. Exhaustion making my eyes play tricks on me.”
“Uhm.” She looked down at it. “It’s not malfunctioning, no. I mean I use the force to keep it going but I’m not having any issues with that right now.” She glanced back at Raven, then at Leia. Raven used 100% magic to keep her glamour up and if Leia was seeing through that….
“Okay that’s...weird.”
Clearly Leia just needed more caffeine, it was the exhaustion. Though it seemed there was something she was missing, not that the brunette really had any idea as to what it was. “Like I said, it’s just exhaustion and too much reading most likely. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Waving it off, Leia scanned the shop. She could of course pick out her detail but it wasn’t like there was any present threat so they were just relieved she hadn’t snuck off as she had a tendency to do.
“I’m an alien,” Ahsoka said, smiling. “There’s not much weird that I’m going to dismiss out of hand.” She lowered her voice. “She has a glamor like mine. You’re not seeing things, even if you’re not...supposed to.”
But then magic was a touchy subject. What was the difference between magic and the force? And there’d been the Witches on Dathomir. That was….basically magic.
So there was something about the barista and it wasn’t just exhaustion. But it still didn’t explain how it was Leia was suddenly seeing through glamours when she wasn’t really paying attention or focusing. That was something peculiar and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
“Right…”
“It’s...complicated, and I think I have a theory, but I don’t know if you’ll like it,” Ahsoka said. Or if Leia would even be willing to accept it. ‘Hi you’re force sensitive’ was a big deal.
No good could come from a sentence like that. Still, if there were some sort of explanation for what was going on? Not that Leia had been concerned. She had figured it was just exhaustion at first. Now though?
“Oh? What sort of theory?”
“Are you familiar with the Force at all?” Ahsoka asked, leaning forward. Her studies were forgotten. She didn’t know how much Leia knew or remembered. The Force was generally not spoken of all that much in the Organa household. The better to protect Leia from those that would do her harm.
“As a fairytale, something we say before we go into a mission. The Jedi apparently had it. I know that apparently it’s why Anakin was suffering migraines, or at least it was a theory….” It really was just the basics given the Jedi had been wiped out, the Empire wanting to eradicate their legacy.
“It’s more than a fairy tail. Everything they say about it is true. An energy that weaves throughout the universe.” Ahsoka emphasized her point by moving the salt across the table. “And I think you have it.” And here, maybe, she could be trained. If she was willing.
Leia was silent as Ahsoka explained her theory. After the dreams she’d had already, it wasn't that strange a theory. She knew that she was adopted so her parents were an unknown entity. “I did notice a statue seem to look at me in my latest dream… I suppose it's possible….”
“It could explain a lot. But it doesn’t make you a Jedi or anything. That’s..training. A life style.” Ahsoka’s face scrunched up. It was almost like a cult. “And for all the good parts of it, I’m still glad I left. They lost their way before the end.”
A small nod was given. “Luke’s mentioned his training to be a Jedi despite General Kenobi’s death…” Honestly, it was a lot and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. There were the stories she heard as a child, the curiosity… but never anything concrete. “It wouldn’t surprise me that they lost their way. My father spoke of the Clone Wars…” She knew how hard that had been, the fall of the Republic.
Something passed over Ahsoka’s face before she could hide it. A mix between shock and grief. Shock that Obi-wan had been alive long enough for Leia to know him. Grief at his passing. Mentor, partly a brother and a little bit like a father, Obi-wan had been a big part of her life for so long. Like many of the Jedi. She tried to cover it up. “The Clone Wars were not...fun. Luke?”
Sadly Leia never got a chance to meet Obi Wan, just that her father had wanted her to get help from him. That he had come with Luke and Han, but she’d only been there to see his death and to help Luke after despite the loss of Alderaan. “That was the feeling I got from my father.” Then the question about Luke, “Yes. He apparently intercepted a message meant for General Kenobi… he came to rescue me apparently,” Which she then needed to take over. “and then played a decisive part in taking out the Death Star. He’s a friend, and claims that General Kenobi was teaching him the ways of the Jedi…”
Still, she had seen the expression on Ahsoka’s face, “I’m guessing you knew General Kenobi as well?” Since she had already determined the younger woman knew her father in the dreams.
“A message for Obi-wan?” Ahsoka’s head was spinning, and she suddenly lacked a filter. “He was my master’s master. A good friend, almost like family. Him and Anakin and Padme were like some weird mixture of uncles, aunts, siblings and parents. It sometimes felt like I was both their Padawan.” She shook her head to clear it, trying to focus more on Leia’s feelings. “Obi-wan would take it on himself to teach your friend. I’m not sure I want to know, but what’s a Death Star?”
“Seeking his help.” That was the easiest way to explain it. She however did nod as Ahsoka mentioned how she knew General Kenobi, something stirring at the name of Padme. “I believe my father worked with a Padme… the statue was of one of the elected queens from Naboo.” She just never got a look at the name given they were supposed to be meeting with an ally. Still, there was something about the name, the stirrings of… Leia wasn’t certain. “A weapon created by the Empire to show its might.”
Leia’s eyes darkened, waves of her personal guilt crashing down on her as she recalled the destruction of her planet, her people. Like everything, she kept her emotions shielded within the Force unknowingly, but it was still there for her. “With the capability to destroy entire planets. I had stolen the blueprints, placed them within a trusted R2 unit when our ship was boarded. R2D2, along with 3C3P0 escaped to Tatooine where Luke found them, and that’s how he met up with General Kenobi….” Shaking her head, Leia sighed. “There is still a lot to be done, though, and too many have already died.” And more would continue to do so. Leia wasn’t naive. Even at nineteen in the dreams, she knew that it was hardly over even if the Rebellion wanted to keep her locked away for her safety now that there was a price on her head.
"Padme was Queen of Naboo when I was very small, and I knew her when she was a Senator. She and Bail worked together closely in the Senate. They were very good friends. Padme was.... a very good person. A staunch supporter of democracy. She hated the war, and did everything she could to broker peace. But she was good with a blaster when it counted." Ahsoka's voice grew sad. "She helped me see that the Separatists were just people. Like us. She...died, not long after the Republic fell. She lived just long enough to see the start, but at least she didn't have to see what the Empire truly became."
There was something in the Force, that Ahsoka couldn't pinpoint. If she hadn't been looking for it she would have missed it entirely. The only real clue was the pain in Leia's eyes. Her barriers were good and Ahsoka was so relieved.
"That's... terrible. But unsurprising. The Empire has used Base Delta Zero tactics before. I guess a terror weapon was the next...Artooie? Threepio? The last time I heard from them Bail had sent them on a secret mission to Lothal. R2 was-" Your mother's "Padme's astromech and he became Anakin's too. My Anakin, not the boy on the network."
Tatooine? Something bothered Ahsoka about that, but she couldn't place what. "But this Death Star was destroyed?"
Leia listened as Ahsoka explained who Padme was, as well as how she knew the two droids. Though it wasn’t so surprising. Ahsoka and Bail had worked on the rebellion together, of course she would know of the two droids even though it sounded as though her knowledge of the two was deeper. Strange, yet in a way, not so much. “She sounds like she was a wonderful woman. I would have loved to have gotten to meet her.”
If only Leia knew the truth. Instead, she let the conversation continue, curiosity piqued at the mention of a different Anakin as it wasn’t exactly a common name. Interesting. “I’ve been to Lothal…” The comment was quiet before focusing back on the Death Star. “Yes, it was.”
“I think she would have loved you. You have a very similar spirit.” What was Leia doing on Lothal? Ahsoka ignored the subject for the moment. It was less important than other things. “Good. That’s a...huge victory. But the cost must have been so high. It would have been heavily defended.”
“It was. But duty to others before duty to self.” She was certainly Bail’s daughter. And so while the pain was there, Leia would put it aside to help others. This rebellion, it was the legacy she needed to protect. Bring democracy back.
Leia made Ahsoka want to hug her. “I understand. I left the Order, but even then I still...tried to help the Republic where I could. And when the Empire rose I couldn’t do nothing. Bail was the one that approached me. He can be...convincing.”
“If you're able to fight, then you should since not everyone can.” Leia had believed that, even at the age of fourteen when she finally convinced Bail to let her help. Though he really only relented because he knew she would do so anyone. “He is very convincing, though.”
“It’s the politician in him.” Ahsoka winked at her. “I remember how fired up he’d get in the Senate. He could convince almost anyone to see the merit of his side. I think if there’d been more like him…”
“That perhaps there might have been a chance….” Leia could appreciate that. Her father had always been able to see the bigger picture and was very pragmatic in his approach. It helped him earn trust and respect.
This was clearly a heavy subject. Ahsoka thought that maybe they should change it. Not that it should ever be ignored, but…. “He’ll never give up. And I’ll always respect him for that.” She tapped her books. “Too bad I can’t use Separatists and Rebels for my paper.” But even if she could it was almost too personal.
“No. He won’t. Here or in the dreams.” While Bail worked as an ambassador here, she knew that his heart was the same. Always focusing on the things people ignored. Why else would he have adopted someone like her? There was no need to adopt a war orphan and yet…he had. So as such, she would worry he would somehow end up killed here as well along with Breha just to complete the full circle. “No kidding. I’m sure you would have plenty of information for a paper there. But you’ll find something, there are plenty of political movements to pull from, it’s just a matter of figuring out which ones speak to you.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Ahsoka frowned, then reached for a book to crack open. “If you ever want to talk or anything…?”
Leia smiled some and nodded, “I know where to go. The same goes for you as well.” She may not know about the time before the empire beyond what she’d been told in her dreams, but she was always around to talk.