So, if you guys can't tell I'm kinda in the zone of uploading chapters. I gotta do it while I'm in the mood or else I'll get distracted and lose interest. Anyways, this chapter is the shortest so far, but I just felt that it would be best to end it there.

Leia couldn't sleep. Of she couldn't. She was possibly ruining everything she'd ever worked for. Captain Pardo hadn't even bothered to hide his outrage at her decision to work alongside the monster that was Darth Vader.

So she'd sent him home, along with everyone else.

"As I recall, you can pilot a ship," she said to Vader afterwards. He nodded. "Good." And she turned on her heel and walked away.

Now they were alone. Together. On a small ship designed for long space voyages and not for battle. It had weapons capabilities, but nothing compared to what they might need. And being the only two people onboard meant they had to speak to each other sometimes. It was insane. Captain Pardo had told her that too.

Argh! She got up from her bed and decided to get something hot to drink. Anything to calm her mind.

She'd traded her gown and elaborate hairstyle for a flight suit and a simple bun at the nape of her neck. The fabric swished together, the only sound down the narrow corridor.

Suddenly, the whole ship rocked violently and she slammed into the wall at her right. Her head snapped up. She knew that feeling like the back of her hand. Her ship, Liberty II, was under attack!

Making her way to the cockpit, she found Vader already there. She slid into the co-pilot's seat and saw two starfighters zipping around them. "Who are they?"

Vader deftly flipped switches and maneuvered the ship into a offensive position.

"What are you doing? This ship's capabilities-"

"Allow me to pilot the ship, Your Highness."

He'd basically just told her to shut up, she fumed growing quiet.

Then he went very still, his hands still on the controls. She watched him with consternation. What was he doing? Another missile from the enemy ship made contact and Leia fought to remain in her seat.

"What are you doing? Fire," she yelled over the roar.

He still did nothing and some part of her wondered if he was letting this happen to get rid of her. To kill her as he'd always wanted to do.

Then without warning he fired, raising his hand immediately after. Reaching out in the direction of the torpedo he'd just fired, she could only watch as he did something. She turned to see the missile moving away from the ship, going toward nothing. Suddenly, the two enemy ships moved in tandem towards each other, into the path of the oncoming missile.

Everything exploded and then it was quiet. She sat back in shock, not knowing that it was possible to use the Force that way. Could Luke do that?

Vader was moving quickly while she contemplated what had just happened, preparing to go to hyperspeed. "Strap in."

Gathering her wits, she did as he told her and then braced herself. Part of her always thought of Han whenever she went into hyperspeed and this time was no different.

Han, she thought distantly, where are you?

Unknowingly to her, Anakin tilted his head, the suddenness of her emotions-longing, fear, love-catching his attention. He paused briefly as the ship lurched forward, preparing to travel into hyperspace. He'd felt her thoughts and emotions before, such as back on Aorilia 9, but this time they were more intense, possibly due to the attack. Her mind, usually so well shielded, as he knew better than anybody, was defenseless at the moment.

For just a moment, he allowed himself to savor her mind. This essence of her was soft and vulnerable and gave him a glimpse into possibly what she would have been like as a child. Or if the Emperor had never happened and she'd been allowed to grow in a peaceful environment. A life that wasn't filled with danger and war.

A life without Darth Vader, he thought sadly.

He knew that she still bore the scars of their few in-person encounters. At each one he had hurt her. Tortured her. Relished it. The echoes of her screams from years ago still haunted him. He knew it was dangerous to hold onto the past, his past, but letting go of the guilt and sadness was hard. Luke made it better, but Leia…

Leia made it worse.

And he deserved it all. All her hatred and rage. But what it would do to her, she did not deserve. It would twist her and cause her to do things that she would normally never do. The Dark Side would take over.

She was much like him, and as long as he still wore the hated armor of her nightmares (for he knew she had them) she would never be able to look beyond the mask and see how he had changed.

He abruptly rose from his seat, drawing her attention. "I must meditate." And then he left, Leia staring after him.

The Force soothed him, flowed in and around him, clarifying his thoughts and purpose. It told him things he needed to know and some he hadn't wanted to know.

Hello, old friend.

"Obi-wan."

The shimmering force ghost appeared before him, smiling benevolently. Anakin opened his eyes.

I sensed your disturbance.

"I'm afraid it was unwise to offer aid to Leia."

Obi-wan nodded thoughtfully and took a seat in a chair opposite him. You're conflicted over your guilt towards her. That is understandable.

"My emotions have been turbulent. She is filled with hatred and anger. I do not know how to get through to her."

I have watched you with her.

"And?"

You are too careful. She needs to confront her feelings for you or be consumed by the Dark Side as you were. Do not shy away from the truth, Anakin.

"She will be angry."

She is already angry. In temperament, she and Luke could not be more different. Where Luke is forgiving, she is hard. But where Luke is foolish, Leia is sensible. They compliment each other. Each has their own weaknesses. Luke could not have lead a rebellion against Palpatine, and Leia might not have been able to resist the Dark Side, as he did.

Anakin was silent for a long moment. "Is it wrong of me to wish for things that cannot be? I never saw Luke as a child, but the princess… I saw her once at the palace on Alderaan. At the time, I was too consumed with hatred to give her much thought, but now… how could I not know? I could have-"

You could've killed her, Obi-wan inserted calmly. You know it's true.

"I didn't kill Luke," Anakin said stubbornly.

You were older, not newly turned. Luke was able to get through to you, but Leia… You know that either the Emperor would have killed her or he would have killed you and trained her for the Dark Side.

Anakin was silent.

You know I speak the truth.

"I know," he said after a heavy moment.

I must go now, Anakin, but remember who you are now, not who you were.

Obi-wan faded away until it was just Anakin, alone as he always was.