Surprise! Merry Christmas (Albeit a little early)!

I decided to get a Christmas present lined up for my readers this month, and I'm going through and posting a bunch of chapters on different websites for different fan fictions. I got way too eager to post this one and my Dragon Age one so I jumped the gun and just posted these ones early, though I'm still writing the other chapters, or at least scheming to get around writers block and technical issues for some of the others.

A certain recent finale got my Star Wars blood pumping again and I had to jump back into the Zelina universe. My inner rabid writing author is chomping at the bit to get back to and continue this story, I'm listening to the playlists again--it feels great.

Plus, I have officially graduated and am looking for freelance on my own time remote positions, so I might have more time to write them, too!

Anyway!

Sorry for the hiatus. Here is the next chapter, sorry if she feels a little off character wise, it's been a while and I'm writing all my Femme Fatales all at once, plus gearing up a big D&D Femme Fatale character right now, so some characteristics from the others might unintentionally blend over into the other characters.

PLLEEEAAASSSEEE review, it will help restart that writer engine of mine and keep me going while I try to get back into the swing of things.

ENJOY!

***************************************

Back on the ground inside the Yavin IV base, Zelina remained seated in her X-Wing long after she'd landed. The emotions of everyone in the room had reached a fever pitch, making the Force around her a roiling mess that caused her head to spin. In order to spare herself the dizzying sensation and get a few moments of peace, Zelina withdrew back into herself until all that she heard and felt was her breathing and the press of silence in the cockpit of the X-Wing.

She needed a moment to regather herself before she braved the fever pitch of the victory against the Empire. She would also need to regain her composure if she was going to handle the Rebellion Leadership present on Yavin as she went forward with her plans for herself and Luke. They wouldn't be happy, but thankfully neither Luke or herself had signed up for the Rebellion, so technically the Rebellion had no say in what they did. Zelina informing the Rebellion of what they were doing was more of a courtesy, and to secure information on how her and Luke would re-find the Rebellion when they were done.

Confronting a united front of Rebellion Leadership was a matter that could wait until they were on their way back to the Rebellion.

The celebrations in the hanger, though it didn't die down, seemed to be moving somewhere else, which caused Zelina to pull herself out of her thoughts and look out the cockpit of her ship to see the large mass of celebrators moving out of the hangar. Amid that mass she could sense Luke, Leia, and Han, all leading the celebrators as they drew further and further away from her range of sight...though she could still keep a sense of where Luke was in the Force.

Sighing, Zelina finally popped open the cockpit, climbing out with a slight frown on her face as she descended the ladder. The room was now mostly deserted, almost everyone swept away in the celebration of a victory that somehow seemed far away and removed from her. While they celebrated what seemed like a shining moment that would last forever in this great, monumental moment, to Zelina, it was simply...another battle, one of many, one that she thought would be swept away with time. For her, at least. She had the feeling this was a battle that would be a notable mark for Luke, just as Ruusan, Utapah, and The Jedi Temple had been notable marks in her history. But for this battle, Zelina felt more like a background player, and she was well aware that now there was a long list of battles looming in their future.

As Zelina's feet found the floor once more, a voice that was in a way familiar suddenly sounded from near the back of the ship near the engines.

"Someone who's seen a lot of battles knows when a victory is celebrated too early. And you have that look on your face that you know what's coming next, Jedi."

Zelina's hand instinctively fluttered towards her hip as she turned to see the older man in a mechanic uniform standing by some of the worse scorching on the X-Wing. His hair was white with a speckling of gray, face weathered, arm mechanical with an ugly scar running from under his shirt near the shoulder up half of his neck. But the facial structure was familiar and the voice, while it carried it's own speech patterns and inflections, was similar to many others.

He was a clone. If everything else hadn't been a hint, then the faint scar she could see on his head where the chips had been would be the clear sign for her. In this case, it acted as an assurance that she wasn't about to get gunned down.

While she recognized him as a clone, and he did have his chip removed, he wasn't one that she had met—not to her knowledge, anyway. But there was a sort of...kinship she felt standing there with him, two relics of the Clone Wars staring at one another in the silence of the hanger after the new generation had left for their celebrations.

"What's your name?" she asked him, one hand hanging loosely at her side, the other coming to rest on her hip.

"Tipper."

"Well, Tipper...while I might not be able to share in the revelries, I'm not going to deny them of it. They have enough time to enjoy this moment. In the meantime, I'm going to find somewhere quiet away from the celebrations and think about what comes next."

As she turned to find that quiet place, as she said she would, Tipper's voice called back to her.

"Might I know what to call you, other than Jedi, General? Or was it Commander?"

Zelina turned partially back, just enough to meet his gaze. "I'm not a General anymore. Not a Jedi, either. I'm just Zelina Du'ahn."

With that, Zelina left the room and left Tipper to his work, her mind now steeped in thoughts of what she was going to do now that the immediate threat of the Death Star was no more. She knew what she would suggest the Rebellion to do, but that wasn't for her to say, and she would hold her tongue and let them decide on their next move when it came to that. First, at the first chance she had, she was going to talk to them about what she planned on doing next.

*************************************

Zelina found a quiet corner to meditate in, one tucked away from everyone else in a hall that hardly anyone seemed to traverse down. There, she took a seat on the ground, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and focused on the world around her to calm down and think. She had plenty of time to think on the best way to come at the Rebellion leadership here on Yavin to get what she wanted, reflecting out of mild curiosity on Han's return, considering what role she was going to play now that she found herself back in Leia's path, and she was now mulling over how Luke would take her news when he heard. He'd seemed reluctant simply when she asked him not to join the Rebellion officially. He could have still tried to do so, behind her back, but so far he hadn't, thankfully.

As if sensing that she was meditating about him, Luke's presence tickled the back of her senses, growing gradually closer and warmer until she heard the sliding door in front of her signal that he had found her physically, and not just in the Force. Instead of breaking her meditation like his father might have many years ago, Luke took a seat across from her and waited for her to finish whatever train of thought she was pursuing and to come out of her meditation.

He was still too much of a restless soul to sit and meditate much, especially when he wanted to ask something of the person he was with, so he didn't meditate while he waited. He simply watched her intently, waiting for the sign that she was finished.

Eventually, Zelina opened her eyes and looked at Luke, finding him across from her with both hands on his knees. "I didn't see you after the battle, or anywhere during the celebrations. Leia and Han were even asking where you were."

Zelina gave him a faint smile, sensing the unvoiced question in his statement. "I had some things I needed to think about. And I wasn't feeling very festive, so I decided to keep to myself rather than risk dampening the celebratory mood."

"What things?"

Zelina sighed, getting to her feet, which Luke mirrored without hesitation. "Well, the darksider we saw, for one. I still don't know who he is, and I was hoping..." she shook her head, dispelling the tickle on the back of her neck that had been bothering her since she'd seen the fully armored man on the Death Star, who she was certain was the same one she'd fought in the battle. "The other thing is something you and I need to talk about before I do anything."

Luke's eyebrows rose. "What are you planning?"

"What's coming next. Especially regarding you." Zelina gestured for Luke to follow her as she walked forward, the two of them walking side by side with Luke looking at her with concern in his gaze.

"What I'm about to say is serious, Luke. And while I don't want you to take this so seriously that you become fearful or paranoid, I do want you to at least be aware of this," Zelina said in a steady voice, gaze fixed forward.

"Now that we've actively participated with the Rebellion in a fight against the Empire, and you were the one to destroy their precious super-weapon...the Empire is going to start looking for you. At first because you're the one who blew up the Death Star. Then, because you're a Jedi. Eventually...because you're a Skywalker, and one trained by me, to boot. Realistically, we are now locked into the path that is going to lead us to being the most sought after people in the Empire, and not in a good way."

When Zelina glanced at Luke, he looked like he was about to say he was already aware of this, they'd had discussions similar to this many times before. However, she cut him off with the rest of her thoughts before he could interject.

"Since that future is going to limit what we can do and how freely we can do it, there's something we need to do before the Rebellion tries to suck us deeper into the conflict. I'm not saying we abandon the Rebellion, that option is long expired, and considering how much I hate the Empire, it wasn't really an option to begin with. However, as soon as we can, you and I are going to leave for a while. We'll come back, of course, but we have to do this now, or we might not get the chance to do so later."

Luke hesitated for a few seconds, and she could see the gears turning in his mind as he processed everything she had to say and tried to come up with his own theories on what she wanted to do that could possibly be on a time limit because of how exposed they could become. "Where are we going?"

Zelina's lips twitched upwards. "I'll tell you when we're on our way and everything's arranged, that way I know it's actually a possibility. For now...we need to have a discussion with Dodonna...Leia, too, I suppose, though that can come later. Dodonna is the one we need to talk to for sure. I don't actually know how high up Alliance Command she is, come to think of it..."

"They're a little busy at the moment with preparations. They want to do a medal ceremony for us for destroying the Death Star, and then they're planning an immediate evacuation before the Empire has time to reorganize and retaliate."

"Good, I was hoping they would leave. The Empire knows the base was here, now. They can't stay," Zelina murmured, mostly to herself. "However, we'll probably leave before they do. Right after the ceremony, ideally."

The frown on Luke's face seemed to deepen with Zelina's words. "If we leave before they move to a new base—"

"I'm capable of thinking ahead, Luke. We'll make arrangements to find the Rebellion again once we're done with our business."

"Will we be joining the Rebellion when we come back?"

"...No. We've talked about this, Luke. I don't plan on officially joining the Rebellion. Not at all. When we get the chance we can sit down with the Rebellion and work out our relationship with them moving forward, but while we are only in contact with Dodonna and Leia, that conversation will have to wait until then. I've already told you how I feel about retaining autonomy. You might not agree with me now, but eventually I'm sure you'll see its purposes."

Luke sighed—the sound she was used to hearing when he didn't agree with something she had decided, but he followed out of...respect? Familial obligation? What it was exactly could be debated, but after all these years, he'd learned to listen to her, especially when it came to matters she was experienced in. As much as Luke had been chomping at the bit to delve into the Rebellion, he was well aware that she was a veteran, and knew far more about war and how it worked at all levels than Luke did.

"When is the ceremony?" Zelina asked him after a moment of silence.

"Tomorrow. They're giving Han and I medals since I blew it up and Han gave me the opening, and you for outstanding valor and bravery I believe they said, for that dogfight you got into distracting them from me. They'll announce and start the evacuation directly afterwards."

"Which means we probably need to talk to them about what we're doing before then. Tonight, ideally. Did you just come from speaking with them?"

"Just Leia. Dodonna only came in briefly to speak with her and tell her about the ceremony, which she told us about, of course."

"Then we'll find Dodonna. I'm sure he's got some time to spare if we get him now, before things get busier for him or he goes to sleep."

With both of them fairly up to speed with what was going on now, Zelina and Luke found the nearest higher-ranking Alliance member and asked where Dodonna was, pointed in the right direction on an unfamiliar ship. After a few wrong turns and a few double backs down a hall or two, they came to the door of Dodonna's chambers. Zelina knocked twice and waited patiently, Luke just behind her at her side as the door opened, Dodonna silhouetted in the doorway.

"Master Jedi," Dodonna said in surprise, eyes flickering between Zelina and Luke. "What can I help you with?"

Zelina bit back the urge to correct Dodonna once more and remind him she wasn't even a Jedi anymore, and simply gestured inside the room. "May we come in? There's some things we need to discuss, before the medal ceremony tomorrow," Zelina told him.

"Of course."

Dodonna stepped aside, allowing Zelina and Luke to enter the room and guiding them to a small sitting room where they could all sit together and discuss. Luke, understandably, sat close to Zelina after she took her seat, and Dodonna sat opposite them.

"What is it we need to discuss, Master Du'ahn?" Dodonna asked curiously.

"Next steps. Namely, the fact that my Padawan and I need to leave after the medal ceremony. Not—" she said, holding up a finger and interjecting when Dodonna looked like he was about to panic or object in some way, "—permanently, just temporarily. There's something we need to do before word gets out and our faces and names are associated with the Rebellion. Before we're wanted by the Empire. It's best if we do it now while we still have a substantial window, rather than later. This is something we need time for, a necessary trip. When we're done, we'll meet with Rebellion leadership and discuss our relationship with the Rebellion moving forward."

"You won't be joining, then? Officially?" Dodonna asked in clear disappointment.

"Based on my past experience, I would feel more comfortable working with the Rebellion, than for the Rebellion. But that's a discussion for the leadership as a whole."

"All due respect, Master Du'ahn, but there's not much difference between the two besides you might not be privy to the perks that would come with official membership."

"Actually, General, we both know that's not true," Zelina said with a passive and not entirely genuine smile. It was a little forced. "But again—that's a discussion for after our return, and to have with more than just one or two members of the Rebellion leadership. We will be returning, though. I'm aware that you plan on evacuating after the medal ceremony, so we will need a way to reconnect with the fleet when we return from this trip."

Dodonna leaned back, considering her request and lightly tapping his fingers on his knee while he considered. "We can decide on a waypoint where an operative will be waiting with a transport for your return to bring you back."

Zelina nodded. "I'm assuming you'll use some kind of code for us to know who the operative is?"

"Yes, but let me make the arrangements first—we'll decide on the code after we pick a waypoint and operative. Can you at least give me the area that you're going to be in so we can set up a convenient waypoint?"

"We're headed galactic south, in the Mid Rim, near the edge." Zelina informed him.

Dodonna, clearly a prepared general, pulled open a small holomap of the galaxy on the coffee table between them and zoomed into the area, looking at some of the planets in the area. Luke glanced at her as he realized they were going to go to the opposite side of the galaxy from Yavin, back in the direction of Tatooine.

Zelina moved the map a little further south, into the outer rim, and pointed to a planet that was notable, but not one of the major planets in the area or on the Rimma Trade Route it was located on.

"What about Eriadu?" she suggested, pointed out the planet and zooming in a little more on it. "I heard about it during the war—it's populated and busy enough we could easily disappear. Especially because it's already used as a launch point for the trade ships, so us getting onto a large transport with a smaller ship would probably be easily overlooked. We'll just be two more travelers getting ready to continue on the next leg of our journey. And it's fairly close to our destination, so it's convenient, too."

"I don't know if I like you two using the major trade routes..."

"Just another reason why we're doing this now, while we're still unknown, instead of later when we're on the Empire's radar," Zelina said pointedly. "Besides, Eriadu is connected to more than just the Rimma Trade Route and the Hydian Way—there's three other commonly used ones that aren't one of the major routes."

Dodonna zoomed out slightly on the image, taking note of some of the surrounding planets and other hyperspace routes that Eriadu sat on, taking a few notes on a nearby datapad before he sat back. "I'll go ahead and start making the arrangements tonight. We'll have them ready for you before you depart tomorrow."

Zelina nodded. "Before we go, there's another matter that needs to be discussed right here, right now, because it needs to take effect as soon as possible."

"And what would that be?" Dodonna asked, clearly bittered or at least put off by Zelina's attempt to keep some separation between herself and the Rebellion still, as well as their sudden departure. It really did look like they were making a break for it so they wouldn't have to stay with the Rebellion. Still, it was already a small red flag to her that the Rebellion was chomping at the bit to have a few more Jedi under their authority. She'd have to talk with Obi-Wan when they inevitably crossed paths again and reunited in order to see what it was like for him working under the Rebellion.

"Luke—his name. I was trying to keep his name under wraps for his own safety from the start, but there was an old friend in the squadron who still dropped his name over the comm chatter during the battle, and I want to try and get ahead of this before it spreads too far."

Dodonna's gaze flickered over to Luke with a slight frown. "We can of course offer protection for the name of the pilot that blew up the Death Star, make it strictly confidential. The Empire will dearly want any and all information about him once they start seeking retribution."

"It goes beyond that," Zelina said quietly, her gaze also flickering over to Luke, who was slightly fidgeting uncomfortably as the conversation shifted to focus entirely to him. "Of course they will be hunting him down for the Death Star, but that hunt will become much more dangerous, intense, and destructive if they get wind of his name, especially in correlation with me."

"How, specifically, if I might ask?"

"If his last name gets out, the Emperor would most likely take a personal interest in trying to recruit or destroy him, depending on the bastard's mood. And his first name...I believe even his first name might be a danger, combined with the knowledge that he's been under my care. I did not share his name beyond immediate family, but...his father had a friend who I saw as a danger, but he trusted the man implicitly. I have no way of knowing if Luke's name was given to this now high-ranking member of the Empire, but if it was, than Luke's first name alone, combined with the knowledge of him being my Padawan, would allow them to realize who he is, and the danger would be astronomical for him. I understand that it is information that will inevitably get out, despite our best efforts. But the longer that leak can be avoided, the better."

Dodonna's attention focused on Luke entirely. "Your father is Empire?"

"No," Zelina cut in sharply. "No. Both of them are deceased, Dodonna. But before the Empire, his name might have been given to a family friend who became part of the Empire. It's a feeling I have that even his first name is dangerous in the wrong hands, and usually these hunches of mine are spot on. His entire name needs to be kept confidential."

Dodonna seemed to be trying to process the fact that Zelina was not Luke's mother, which she'd only just remembered she'd let him assume such up until now. But he also nodded slowly, registering the gravity of the situation.

"I understand in these kinds of situations, the less people who know the better...but might I at least know the nature of his lineage that would put him at such a great risk if his name reached the Empire?" Dodonna asked.

"His father was a very powerful and prominent Jedi during the Clone Wars...and honestly, if his father was found out, it wouldn't be difficult to figure out who his mother was—and she was also quite influential and powerful in her own right. He'd be a much desired target for his bloodline alone."

She was very conscious of the fact that they were talking about Luke as if he wasn't sitting right there with them, but she figured since they were discussing his security he should be here. Plus, the entire conversation was a chance for him to observe and perhaps learn something.

"We'll do our best to make sure everyone who was in the room do not share his name, then. And we'll wipe the records of the combat audio to get rid of the digital footprint. It's up to you to avoid his name spreading in the field, though."

Zelina turned to look at Luke. "Now would be a good time to pick up an alias to protect your identity. It will be easier and less suspicious than just not giving a name. It could be something like Lee, Lucien, Ace, Duke, whatever you want," she told him in a slight murmur. They might as well come up with an alias while they were still here with Dodonna so he could start planting the fake name in place of Luke's name.

"Ace is fine," Luke spoke up for the first time in the meeting, a faint smile at the name that could still work as a playful nickname. That would make it easier for everyone to call him even in the heat of battle, too.

"Ace Starstrider it will be, then," Zelina said with a nod, looking back at Dodonna. "Those have been my main concerns—things that need to be set in motion sooner rather than later. I can tell Solo and Leia about it as well so they know to be careful with Luke's name, if you're going to be talking with everyone who was in the comms and heard Biggs shout his name."

"If that is all," Dodonna said, and they all got to their feet, Zelina stretching out a hand to shake Dodonna's in way of parting. "We will see you at the ceremony tomorrow before you leave, then."

"Thank you, General. I hope the evacuation goes expediently," Zelina said gracefully, releasing Dodonna's hand and gesturing for Luke to follow before they walked out of the room.

"Ace Starstrider?" Luke asked with mild amusement as soon as they were a few hallways away from Dodonna's room.

"What? It works. You need to be called something. And having the first name the equivalent of a nickname that applies to you, and a last name loosely related to Skywalker makes it a bit easier to remember," Zelina said defensibly.

"Why didn't you come up with your own cover name?" Luke asked curiously.

A dark image flickered across her mind's eye, a thought of a dark hooded figure sitting on a throne somewhere in the galaxy, of the disdain they would look at her with, how much of a thorn in their side she had been before she even knew how far that dark nature of theirs went...

"No. I want the Emperor to find out I'm alive. I'm ready for those consequences—welcome them, even. I'm looking forward to being the bane of his existence again," she said honestly, though she left out all of the context Luke needed to understand just how deep this went. She didn't think she'd ever included the contention between herself and Palpatine in her stories to Luke before. She looked over at Luke, who seemed understandably worried. "Plus, it will help take some of the intense focus off you. They'll be more focused on me. Though there may be focus on you as my Padawan, but outside that, it will help distract from you."

"We're dropping most of the 'be subtle' motto we've been following all these years, then?"

"Mostly. There's still plenty of situations for subtlety and stealth, but others where hiding isn't a requirement anymore...like most situations on the battlefield, in my experience at least. You still will want to use the lightsaber as a last resort or tight spot thing for a while. Once word gets out you're a Jedi, though, I think the charade can be dropped for the most part. It's a bit of a learning curve, the more experience you have, the more you'll be able to tell when to be subtle and when to throw caution to the wind."

Luke nodded. "Will you tell me what we're going to be doing on this detour?"

"No. You'll have to wait and see. But it's not Rebellion related. This trip is for you, actually. You'll see tomorrow. Right now, I think we've both earned a rest," she said, leaning over to ruffle his hair affectionately, causing him to pull out of range and fix his hair so it wasn't a disaster at least.

"All this secrecy, you're going to start making me worry. Especially now that I know it's about me."

Zelina chuckled, pulling him into a one armed hug. "It's nothing to worry about, I promise. I think you'll like it, actually," she promised, Luke guiding them in the direction of their assigned quarters for their one night on Yavin.

************************************

At first, the night was gentle and undisturbed, Luke and Zelina getting a rest they had well earned and needed in the same small room, their beds pushed up against opposite walls. Zelina was enjoying her relatively dreamless sleep after some meditation until something tickled her senses and she stirred, slowly being pulled out of her sleep by whatever it was.

When she eventually opened her eyes to the dark of the room, she initially saw nothing off about the darkened scene in front of her. There was complete silence, besides the breathing of the two occupants and the occasional shift in the room.

Then she started to register the details of the room, and she began to realize what had woken her. There was a lot of shifting going on in Luke's half of the room, and his breathing was uneven. Once she had enough consciousness to look in the Force as well, she could sense his unease as well as hear his restlessness, could feel the roil in the Force around him in a sensation she was used to after almost two decades as a parent and decades of her own.

Nightmare.

Zelina eased out of the bed with quiet movements, bringing herself closer to Luke and crouching down beside his bedside, able to now see that he was sweating and his skin felt hot to the touch when she gently brushed the hair back from his face.

"Luke," she called softly, giving him a gentle shake to wake him. It took a few tries, but eventually, she was able to break him out of sleep, and his eyes snapped open, looking at her with wide eyes after his body did a little jump from starting awake suddenly.

"It was just a dream..." she soothed him first, running her hand through his hair to help him calm down, watching as his panicked state calmed down slowly. At a certain point, though, he seemed to hit a wall, shaking his head.

"Not really," he answered in a strained voice. Zelina frowned slightly. Did he mean a vision? No, it hadn't felt like that—visions had a particular feel to them when sensed by an onlooker.

Perhaps...

"Was it about Alderaan? Or the battle?" Zelina asked quietly.

Luke turned his head away, but he nodded silently in confirmation.

Ah.

She would have been worried if it hadn't bothered him. It was almost a relief to see him exhibiting some stress over all the death and destruction he'd just been witness to in such a short period of time. Not to mentioned, he had just lost a childhood friend. Now that the celebration had passed and his mind had been left to wander in the quiet silence of night, there was time for reality to start to settle in once more.

Carefully, Zelina shifted onto Luke's bed, causing him to turn back to see what she was doing. She sat on the edge, back against the wall and an arm opened wide encouraging him to come into her embrace. Wordlessly, Luke accepted her silent invitation, crawling up into her arms and curling close into her side while Zelina closed her arms firmly around him, holding him comfortingly and securely to her. She felt his shoulders shake and his body tremble as he silently cried out the pent up emotions from all the death he'd sensed twice, the stress of the battle, and the loss of a best friend in the blink of an eye. Zelina held him throughout, gently rocking him in place and kissing the top of his head until exhaustion took him once more, and he fell asleep.

This time, as Zelina carefully disengaged herself with the practiced ease of a mother, she made sure that no nightmares invaded his mind while he slept. Once she was sure he was sleeping peacefully and was comfortably tucked in once more, she returned to her own bed and drifted off to sleep with relative ease.

**********************************

The medal ceremony passed with Zelina honestly not paying much attention to what was happening. Her distance might have been misinterpreted as disinterest, which was only half true. She'd been to some celebrations like this before—and she wasn't particularly concerned with titles and rewards. She knew why she was here, why she fought—she didn't need rewards like these, she just needed to achieve her goals. She understood it's reasons, though, and how it could help promote morale and helped give recognition to the best of the Rebellion. No doubt having honors like this, being labeled heroes of the Rebellion, would open some doors for them in the future with the rebels. Personally, though, she was just going through the motions and planning out what came next and how to go about it in her mind.

Still, she kept that general disinterest to herself for Luke's sake, since he seemed to be enjoying the ceremony, and it was putting him in high spirits despite last night's solemn air and their imminent departure. The high spirits were good to see, not just on Luke, but on Han, Leia, and everyone else. Even with the heavy thoughts of the loss of Alderaan and the quick evacuation that most were aware of by now.

Not to mention, the presentation of the medals gave Zelina a chance to study Leia quietly again, pondering once more how she was going to go about this. Did she tell Leia about her Force Sensitivity? As badly as she wanted to let Leia know about her heritage and family, she knew that information was particularly dangerous right now in this period where identities had to be on lockdown, and such monumental thoughts and connections could be sensed in the Force. No...she had to keep that under wraps. But she could at least reach out to the other woman and work on building a bond. Maybe Zelina could still teach her a few things, though not necessarily about the Force, considering she didn't want to accidentally unlock Leia's abilities if they were lying dormant—that would keep her protected a while longer.

Zelina shook herself out of her musings as they turned to face the room full of rebels, wide smiles on the faces of those standing with her in front of the hall filled with attending members of the Rebellion. Leia gave a surprisingly short eulogy for those who had perished in the destruction of Alderaan, carrying out a brief moment of silence for the lives lost. Directly after was her announcement of the evacuation of the base, and the mood quickly settled from the jubilant air it had been moments ago to one far more serious and grim. With a single order, the still hall erupted into movement, and Luke and Zelina turned to face Leia and Dodonna with Han and Chewie still standing beside them.

"Everything is set up for your departure. There is a small black two person shuttle outfitted with a hyperdrive that is waiting for you in the hangar. We made sure to pick a model that wouldn't be recognized as a Rebellion ship," Dodonna said, causing Han and Chewie's attention to immediately snap to Zelina and Luke.

Luke must not have had the chance to tell them yet, then.

"Our contact so that we can rejoin the fleet when we're finished?" Zelina asked him.

"She'll be waiting for you outside Hangar Six in the Ashanar Spaceport from noon till dusk every day. She'll be wearing a nexu pin and will know you're her contact when you approach her and tell her that you knew someone with a pet nexu named Shira. It was her chosen means of contact," Dodonna explained.

Zelina inclined her head. "We'll see you around when we return, then, General," she said respectively, watching Dodonna leave to help with the rushed evacuation while turning back to Leia, Han, and Chewie.

"Dodonna told me earlier today you're leaving. And that you have no intention of joining the Rebellion," Leia said rather bluntly, her displeasure clear on her face to make it clear that she expected more.

So kind of him to leave out important details so that Leia got angry at us. Was he hoping her wrath might sway us or something?

"There's something Luke and I need to do before the Empire has the chance to mark us as suspicious people on one of their lists, or their attention starts to shift towards us. We're making the trip now, while we can, and coming back afterwards. Once we've returned, I plan on talking with Alliance command about an alliance. I want to work with the Rebellion and help, but I'm not too keen on the thought of being under Rebellion control. I'm still wary of that kind of thing after the Clone Wars," Zelina explained patiently to Leia, Han listening intently to see what her thoughts on joining the Rebellion were. Which was to be expected, since Han was still in a limbo state himself.

Speaking of...

Zelina turned to Han before Leia could respond. "I would actually suggest you do something similar before getting tangled further in Rebellion matters. I'm not saying leave indefinitely," she said, shooting Leia a look when she felt the young woman's glare. "But you do have a debt to Jabba, and it would be much easier moving forward if you went ahead and dealt with that now, before he loses patience and starts sending people after you. You can come back afterwards—hell, we could probably all meet on Eriadu. It's fairly close to Tatooine as well, though you might get there before we do. Unless of course you're already committed to helping in the evacuation," she amended when Han started to look...not quite sheepish, but she wouldn't say uncomfortable, either. Still, he looked away from her gaze and shifted slightly under her scrutiny, which had made her suspect he had already promised to help with the hurried evacuation. It made sense, considering the Falcon could be used to move supplies and people.

"I figured lending the Falcon to the evacuation would help, even if it was only a little," Han admitted.

Zelina nodded. "That's fine. But after the evacuation, you might want to think about making a quick trip to Tatooine before you take on any other tasks. You need to get that payment to Jabba before he loses patience. And from what I remember, he's already lost most of it."

"Noted."

Zelina turned back to Leia. "I'm sorry we have to leave so suddenly, but it is only temporary. None of us were expecting any of this—well, not on this scale, and not so suddenly. There's just a few things we have to finish before we can focus our attention on the Rebellion. And go easy on Solo—it is important for him to get that payment to Jabba before things get too complicated. He'll be of more use to you if there aren't bounty hunters from the Hutt family looking for him wherever he goes."

Leia folded her arms across her chest, still looking displeased. "You're going to discuss your affiliation with the Rebellion when you return?"

"We are. In detail. With Rebellion High Command. Considering we're looking for an alliance over complete subordination. It's just caution after I saw what politics did to the old Jedi Order."

Someone almost bumped into Zelina, with Zelina moving out of the way just in time as they rushed past. "Anyway, we had better get going. Go ahead and say your goodbyes for now—I'll be in the hangar when you're ready to leave. Make sure you bring Artoo, because I think we'll need him. Threepio can stay with the others until we come back. Leia, Han—I'll see you both when we return," she said in way of parting, starting down the steps before she paused and turned back to look at them again. "Oh—and his name's Ace Starstrider from here on out, by the way," she added, pointing at Luke to make who she was talking about clear. Then she left them to say their goodbyes, heading off towards the hangar to find their transport and wait for Luke.

It seemed like she was anxious to leave. She had a strange mix of dread and excitement about their little trip, her pace quick, not really seeing the people around her as she headed straight to their quarters to grab their already packed bags and do one last sweep to make sure they had everything. Then it was right to the hangar, navigating through a bustle of people to try and find the ship they were borrowing. She passed Tipper along the way at some point in the hangar, the ex-Republic Trooper giving her a semi-casual salute in the middle of his repairs to one of the X-Wings as she passed, which she returned with a quick nod.

After a few well-placed questions to a few of the pilots and mechanics running around, Zelina managed to find their small transport amid the chaos, going inside to place their bags and start getting it ready for takeoff, entering in the destination into the navicomputer, warming up the engines...

She was running out of things she could prepare without actually taking off when Luke approached—he had it easier finding the ship considering he just had to look for Zelina's presence in the Force to find the ship.

When he came up the small ramp at the back of the ship, Zelina came out of the cockpit to shut the ramp after Artoo wheeled in with a happy series of beeps and tootles. "We're pretty much ready to go—Artoo, do you want to connect to the navicomputer to make sure the route is correct before we take off?" she asked, gesturing for Luke to follow as they made their way to the cockpit.

Artoo gave a confirming beep and rolled after them, Luke and Zelina taking their respective seats in the pilot and copilot seats to make room for Artoo between them and starting to strap in. Zelina made a quick call on the comms to the hanger control room, receiving clearance to leave.

"Are you finally going to tell me where we're going?" Luke asked as they started to get the ship ready to take off, watching carefully outside the ship's viewport as hanger doors were opened not far ahead of them and people quickly vacated the area of the ship preparing to take off.

Zelina smiled to herself, resting a hand gently on Artoo's dome as she watched the map display showing their route and destination.

"Naboo."