With Tatooine officially behind them, Zelina had a moment where she felt the same yawning uncertainty before her that she'd felt as a child, one that part of her was afraid to willingly jump in to. Of course, at this point she'd already made the jump, and there was no stopping the descent. She just had to stay quick on her feet and adapt to whatever was thrown their way, for Luke's sake as well as for her own.

Speaking of Luke...

Both of them were unstrapping from their seats, gratefully getting to their feet and going through some much needed stretches now that the ship was traveling smoothly through hyperspace. Zelina forced herself to calm her thoughts and try and turn them away from worrying about the future for the time being so she could focus on the now. She couldn't make any solid plans about moving forward until she spoke with the Alliance and knew what was going on.

"Are you all right?" she asked, looking at Luke with a critical eye.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "I had some timely interventions, so I don't even have a scratch on me."

"Good—let's try to keep it that way," Zelina murmured, folding her arms across her chest.

Luke leaned against the holotable they had been seated behind. "So...what happens when we reach Alderaan?"

"We'll see Senator Bail Organa and find out what's been going on with the Alliance, as well as find out what important information Artoo is carrying. After that, depending on what's going on with the Alliance, I'd like to try rescuing Leia from the Empire—I'm sure Bail would agree, considering she's his daughter."

"Leia?" Luke asked quizzically, eyebrows pulling together and a small frown appearing on his face.

Zelina quickly buried the pang that went through her heart over the fact that Luke didn't know his own sister, and the utter confusion he said her name with. Part of Zelina wanted to outright tell Luke Leia was his sister, but a slightly more logical part of her told her to wait a little longer until Luke had more experience and could fully appreciate why Leia's identity as his twin had been protected so strongly. It would be strange to be addressing Leia as an Organa, as Zelina's mind was fixed on her true identity as Leia Skywalker. If they did manage to rescue her, Zelina wouldn't even be able to tell the young woman she was there when she was born, considering Luke already knew Zelina had been there when he was born, and the fact Luke and Leia were the same age with the same birthday combined with Zelina's presence at their births would make the truth of their relations glaringly obvious.

"The young woman in the hologram—it's Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, Bail and Breha Organa's adoptive daughter," Zelina explained patiently, the name Leia Organa one that felt strange rolling off her tongue. "I knew her parents," Zelina added, a thousand emotions behind the words Luke didn't realize held a double meaning.

"So they'll recognize you?" Luke asked.

"I should hope so—not only did they send me the message, but Bail was involved in smuggling me around the galaxy as the Purge was happening. And he and his wife were friends with your mother."

Luke was still processing the new information when they were joined by one of their two pilots, Chewbacca lumbering into the room and grunting out a short explanation that Han was making sure everything was set in the cockpit before he joined them. Zelina nodded to show she understood, and Chewbacca slid into the seats they had just been sitting it, powering up the holotable. Artoo rolled up to the other side, whistling a question before Chewbacca huffed in response, and the two began a game.

"Do we have long before we reach Alderaan?" Zelina asked Chewbacca. The Wookiee growled out a reply, and Zelina sighed, turning towards Luke. "Okay...I was going to have you do some practicing while we're making our jump, but if it's going to be that short of a jump, we'll just have to stick with something simple. Show me your stance."

Luke sighed, quite familiar with what was coming by now as he stood in front of Zelina, taking the lightsaber off his belt and activating the blade. The blue blade cast a soft glow through the dimly lit room. Luke gripped the blade in both hands, shifting into his at the ready stance.

Zelina made sure his stance was correct—which, to Luke's credit, it usually was at the start of his forms--before she nodded. "All right, run through your Soresu, now's probably a good time for a defensive refresh," she instructed him, starting a slow walk around Luke as he started a well-paced run through some basic Soresu defensive positions, as well as a few custom forms Zelina had come up with between her experience during the war, Obi-Wan's advice, and all the time they'd had on Tatooine. She could feel Chewbacca's attention partially on them even though he was playing the game with Artoo, watching Luke specifically as the young man practiced his forms. Clearly, Chewbacca was interested in just how good of a Jedi Luke was.

As Luke went through a block and counterstrike movement, Zelina stepped forward. "Stop," she told him, making sure he wasn't about to accidentally slice her with the lightsaber as she stepped into his bubble, bringing him back to the block's position where he held the blade horizontal over his shoulder with both hands, the end pointed behind him. She grasped his arms and placed them into a stronger position, readjusting his grip manually on the blade. "You're going to want a strong stance when you're in this position, and a firm grip. Most of the time you'll probably fall to this defense against someone taller and most likely stronger. They'll probably be coming down on you with all their strength, so you'll need that firmness to hold against it. And for the love of the Force, Luke, fix your stance. You're always wide," she finished with a chiding tone, adjusting his stance with her foot.

A slight flush appeared in his cheeks at the correction, but he held the position, his fingers flexing around the lightsaber blade to feel out the position and make sure he knew exactly where he needed to be. Zelina stepped away, eyeing Luke for a few more seconds to make sure he could hold the position before she nodded. "All right, go through that one a couple more times, just so we can make sure you've got it."

Luke gave a curt nod, holding the position a couple seconds longer before running through the move again. He made a few adjustments back to how Zelina had told him to stand before she even had the chance to correct him. After a few runs through the move, Zelina stepped towards him and pulled her own blade into her hand, swiftly bringing her lightsaber down on Luke's as he reset to the block position, putting her strength into the blow to test if he could hold against a strong attack. There was a flicker of surprise from Luke, and his block gave slightly, but he managed to hold and follow through with the counterattack part of the move. He pushed her blade away and down, then moved into the upwards slash towards her person. Zelina stepped back and ducked low, hooking her foot around Luke's too wide stance and sweeping the leg out from under him. He lost his balance, starting to tip forward and fall to the ground before he twisted halfway down, managing to catch himself and get back to his feet. Zelina was already advancing, and he fell back into another defensive Soresu form, his stance much stronger and not so spread apart now that Zelina had emphasized her point. She pressed him a little longer, going easy on him by her standards as she allowed him enough time and space to get into the correct forms and tailored her attacks to prompt him to fall back on certain Soresu forms. Finally, when their easy-going dance came dangerously close to one of the many things that cluttered the main chamber of the Falcon, Zelina stepped away and deactivated her lightsaber, hooking it to her belt.

"That's enough for now—we wouldn't want to damage something on Solo's ship, now, would we?" she said pointedly. Luke deactivated his lightsaber as well, returning it to its spot on his belt. "Maybe if we get to see Obi-Wan he'll have a few training droids we can use to really put your defensive abilities to the test."

"I thought you shooting those low power bolts at me while I deflected was already putting them to the test?" Luke asked slyly. Zelina only smiled sweetly back at him.

"Oh, sweetie, it's cute that you think that's as difficult as that exercise can get. I didn't have anyone or anything else I could have shoot at you. Now I will."

A flicker of a doubtful grimace flashed across Luke's face, and Zelina had to fight to hide her smirk as she turned away, her attention shifting towards the hall as they heard footsteps approaching, signaling that Han was finally joining them.

"Alright, we should be at Alderaan bout oh two hundred hours," Han announced as he walked in, finding his own seat by the monitor wall before he turned to face his two passengers. "Now that the getting through the blockade part is over, do you two want to explain to me what kind of trouble you've found yourselves in that made you leave in the middle of the night? Not to mention the fact the Imperials actually bothered to blockade Tatooine."

Zelina and Luke shared a look, with Luke appearing more curious to know what Zelina was going to tell Han than anything else. Zelina moved to lean against the wall near where Han was sitting, folding her arms across her chest. "Well, to start, my name isn't Zel Ahn, though I was feeling particularly drained the day I came up with that cover name. It's actually Zelina Du'ahn. I was a general for the Republic during the Clone Wars, and a Jedi Knight, the same as Luke's father," Zelina explained, nodding to where Luke was standing, waiting to see how Han would react to this nugget of information before moving forward with her explanation.

The smuggler sat still for a moment, studying her as if he expected her to be pulling his leg. When he didn't find anything to make him think she was lying, he spoke up.

"You're telling me you went from big shot who believed in hokey magic, to a cantina owner on Tatooine?" Han asked incredulously. "Why?"

"Well, in case you forgot the tiny detail of history, the Emperor was especially vicious towards Jedi. I was in the Jedi Temple the night the Republic fell," Zelina said somberly. Recognition flickered in Han's eyes, as well as a flash of respect. "As for your rather obvious opinion on belief in the Force, I'm not asking that you convert or try to be a Jedi, Solo, I simply ask for a bit more respect...so please refrain from mocking it too much?"

Best to get ahead of that now before it became a habit that bothered her—or Luke. Zelina might have a thicker skin for that than Luke did, but still.

"Right..." Han muttered, gaze darting over to Luke before he turned his attention back to Zelina. "So that explains why you were on Tatooine—doesn't explain why you're suddenly running. Did the Imperials find out you were hiding in the desert?"

"Actually, no. I have some old friends that joined the Rebellion a while ago. Apparently, the Rebellion needs our help, because the only reason they would tell the Rebellion where we are would be as a last resort."

"So not only are you Republic and Jedi, but also Rebellion? When yesterday you were waiting tables and filling the scum of the galaxy with liquor? I find that a little hard to believe."

"Again, Solo, I'm not asking you to believe me. I'm just asking you get us to Alderaan in one piece. And so far you're doing just fine at that," Zelina soothed. "Speaking of..."

Keeping a perfectly straight face, Zelina stretched out her hand, and her bag flew from its spot by the chair and holotable Chewbacca, Artoo, and Threepio were gathered around right into her waiting hand. She rifled through it without even looking up at Han, though she could feel the strong surprise and alarm ripping through him as she found the little case she'd been keeping the first part of his payment in, pulling it out to offer to the smuggler who was sitting tense in his chair and watching her like she might go rabid and bite him if he moved.

"You probably want the first part of your payment, am I right?" Zelina asked, keeping up the charade that everything was perfectly normal. She could sense Luke wrestling with his mirth at Han's reaction, but she stayed stoic, refusing to react in any way to suggest what she'd done wasn't normal.

Han still didn't move, not until Chewbacca roared just loud enough to snap Han out of his brief trance, the smuggler cautiously taking the box from her. "That's not funny," he said flatly, eyes darting every now and then towards the bag in her hand.

"No, I don't think running from the Imperials is funny, either," Zelina said seriously, turning back towards Luke with the intent to walk him through a less destructive Jedi exercise once she was done talking to Solo. Luke finally cracked and started snickering behind her, turning away to hide his laughter when Han shot him a dirty look. "Anyway, I know Luke and I just got you caught up in quite a bit of trouble, and I'm sorry about that, but once we're on Alderaan we'll be out of—"

Zelina cut off as an invisible lance seemed to slice through her in the Force, sudden and powerful in its lasting impact that caused her to take a step back instead of forward as her vision clouded over for a few heart stopping moments.

A force far greater than what she had felt back at the temple the day the Jedi died suddenly crashed around her, pressing in on her like trillions of microscopic needles piercing her skin, millions of screams echoing in her mind at a volume so great she was sure she was hearing them in the Falcon itself. There was unbridled terror, panic, hopelessness, confusion, raw agony in a blinding flash...and then utter silence.

Zelina found herself struggling to bring herself back to reality, a tightness in her chest that made it difficult to breathe, body slumped to the side against the wall and a Wookiee trying to shake her out of her stupor. Her focus sharpened enough for her to seek out Luke, noting the young man had braced himself on the nearest item that was waist high at least, which ended up being a concerned Artoo, the other hand clutching at his head and posture halfway towards doubled over.

Chewbacca gave a concerned growl as Zelina gradually came back to the present, his question clear even if she hadn't become familiar with Shyriiwook. Zelina waved a hand about vaguely to show she was all right, waiting to see how Luke was fairing before she answered the Wookiee.

The young Jedi looked at her in alarm, and even with a light of fear in his eyes. "What was that?" he asked in a breathless voice once he'd regained his senses.

"Something's happened," Zelina murmured. "Something terrible...and I've seen a genocide, so I don't say that lightly...I haven't sensed something bad on that scale since the Jedi were wiped out."

Chewbacca chuffed in concern, something about Yoda reacting similarly the last time the Wookiee had seen him and worry over what could have caused the two Jedi to react the way they had.

"What are you talking about, you furry oaf?" Han asked, though the comment was background noise to Zelina as she kept her gaze on Luke.

"I don't think whatever happened is anything we can help...and it's not something we're going to find answers about, at least not while we're traveling. We'll find out eventually, but...there's not anything we can do right now," Zelina said slowly, still understandably troubled by what she had felt, but knowing better to dwell on it when she couldn't do anything about it.

She made her way over to Luke, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Luke shook his head, his expression unsure. "I...I've never felt anything like that before. It was like...like..."

"A sensory overload. Feeling the weight of the galaxy suddenly fall on you and then disappear just as quickly," Zelina offered quietly. She waited until Luke nodded to continue. "You felt whatever it was that happened, something I have the suspicion included sudden death. You won't feel something on that scale often in your life...but you will experience it on a smaller scale if we're going to be joining this war. Just something to think about and try to prepare yourself for."

A sudden unpleasant tickle went down Zelina's spin, and she spun around to look at Han. "Get to the cockpit—and expect trouble," she said with a sharpness that made Han's eyebrows raise.

"Listen, I know we've known each other a while now, but I don't appreciate being told how to pilot my ship," Han started to lecture, though the end of his sentence was drowned out by the alarm that told him they needed to come out of hyperspace. He scowled, rising to his feet. "Looks like we're here, anyway...lucky guess."

Zelina squeezed Luke's arm, which she still had one hand on. "Be ready," she told him lowly, shadowing Chewbacca as the Wookiee made his way down the Falcon's corridors after Han.

"...cutting the sublight engines," she heard Han tell Chewbacca up ahead as they headed towards the cockpit. Zelina subconsciously reached out to place a hand against the wall a split second before she felt the ship shudder as it reverted back to realspace...and instantly jerked from a sudden impact.

"What the—?" Han exclaimed up ahead as Zelina and Luke hurried through the rest of the hall as the ship continued to rock from more impacts. "We've come out of hyperspace into some kind of meteor shower, some kind of asteroid collision."

"What's going on?" Luke asked as soon as they were inside the cockpit.

"Our position's correct, except...there's no Alderaan," Han explained hesitantly.

"What do you mean, where is it?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Kid, it ain't there. It's totally blown away."

"What? How?" Luke exclaimed, leaning over Han's seat and looking out the viewport at all the asteroids flying past the Falcon in shock. Zelina reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back just a little to keep him from invading Han's bubble too much while the man was trying to pilot them through the asteroids.

"The Empire. It's what we felt earlier—Alderaan being destroyed. We were moments away from being caught in the explosion, too," she remarked softly. Han turned to look at her, Chewbacca keeping them on track every time Han was distracted.

"The entire starfleet couldn't destroy the planet, it would take a thousand ships, with more firepower than I've—"

A light started to flash on the monitor, and Luke interrupted, leaning forward to point towards the flashing light and bring more attention to it. "There's another ship coming in. Maybe they know what happened?"

Zelina shook her head as Han turned his attention away from his argument against Zelina's statement to the ship. "It's Imperial—not someone we really want to make acquaintances with right now," Zelina observed.

In other words, she wasn't about to ask them what had happened, she could get that information elsewhere.

The Falcon was rocked by a few more impacts, mostly from asteroids, but also a light strafing run from the ship they had been discussing moments before it flew into view.

"That's a short-range fighter," Luke commented as the little TIE fighter rushed past their viewport. Han was quick to challenge him.

"There aren't any bases around here, where'd he come from?"

"A flagship, perhaps, that we haven't yet seen. At the very least...Ships that small can't move on their own without some sort of base to return to," Zelina said in defense of Luke's assessment.

"If they identify us, we're in big trouble—and they're moving pretty quickly," Luke added, the concern in his voice clear.

"Not if I can help it. Chewie, jam its transmissions," Han said firmly. "He ain't gonna be around long enough to tell anybody about us."

"Look, he's headed for that small moon."

"I think I can get him before he gets there, he's almost in range."

Zelina was only half paying attention to what they were saying, still trying to puzzle out where the little ship had come from since she had the sneaking suspicion where it came from would be extremely important. It would tell them exactly where Imperial forces were so they could avoid it.

Then she paused. Small moon? Alderaan didn't have any moons...

Zelina leaned forward, staring intently out the viewport in the direction Luke had indicated. A cold shiver went down her spine, and a disturbing possibility started to blossom in her mind. Ringo Vinda had a giant space station that circled the entire planet decades ago, what was to say that this 'small moon' wasn't...

Something felt right about that theory, and a foreboding terror started to settle in her gut.

"That's no moon..." she said softly, placing a hand on the back of Han's seat as she leaned forward. "Han, get us out of here."

"I've almost got him, then we won't have to worry about—" Han started to sooth her, but Zelina interrupted him.

"Han, he's leading us to a space station—that moon is a space station," Zelina said sharply.

"It's too big to be a space station!"

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Luke said quietly, gazing at the 'moon' that was slowly growing closer, it's more defining and decidedly not moon-like features starting to show.

"Han—turn the ship around, get us out of here!" Zelina said much more urgently, balking at the thought that after dodging the Imperials at Tatooine, they were going to drop right into their lap at...well, what was supposed to be Alderaan.

"Yeah...I think you're right," Han murmured. "Full reverse, Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!"

She could see them both trying to turn them around, to finally listen and get out while they still had the chance, but instead of making any progress, the Falcon only shuddered from the effort of trying to follow the command of its pilots. She could feel the resistance the ship was carrying out even as it continued to head towards the space station.

"Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!" Han repeated much louder, earning a stressed roar from Chewbacca as the Wookiee admonished Han for pressing him when he had already done it.

"Why are we still heading towards it?" Luke asked, voice higher in pitch as panic started to settle in.

"We're caught in the tractor beam; it's pulling us in!" Han snapped.

"There's got to be something you can do!"

"There's nothing I can do about it, Kid, I'm at full—"

"Then if there's nothing we can do here, we need to try something else," Zelina interrupted, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder to try and calm the young man even though their situation was rather grim at the moment. Han turned to look at her with an expression that told her he thought she'd gone mad.

"Oh? And what do you suggest, 'cause I don't have any escape pods, not that they would help us much since Alderaan's gone," Han returned scathingly. Zelina didn't flinch at his tone, having grown accustomed to the smuggler's cynicism by now.

"We can't wiggle free, and trying to fight our way through a station that size would be suicide. We can't run, we can't fight, which means we have to hide until a better opportunity presents itself."

"I don't hide!"

"You do now," Zelina said bluntly. "I meant it when I said I don't mind being shoved into a crate if it means getting away from the Imperials. Now come on, we only have so long before they can board us!"

"What's the plan, then, hot shot?"

Zelina only hesitated for a moment as she did a quick mental assessment of their situation and what the Falcon had to offer them regarding hiding spots. "Do you think your smuggling compartments can fit us all in there?"

"Maybe...it might be a bit of a tight fit..."

"I'll take it. Come on, let's get moving. Luke, come with me, we're going to get the droids," Zelina said, her voice holding the authority she'd exercised in the Clone Wars as she pulled gently on the young man's shirt to encourage him to follow her.

As they rushed down the hall, Zelina spoke in a low voice to Luke. "Just to be safe, I want you to hide your presence until we get out of here, okay? We don't know what, or who, is on that station, and I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Luke nodded, his presence in the Force immediately diminishing to the point she could hardly sense it—it was one of the first Force Abilities she'd taught him, after it had proven life-saving during the Purges, so it made sense he'd be able to do it so quickly and so well.

Doing the same with her own presence, Zelina was the first into the main chamber, hearing Han and Chewbacca rush down the hall in the opposite direction to get the smuggling compartments open. Artoo wheeled up to her with a concerned whir, Threepio fretting in a loud voice over in his seat, which he hadn't left since they'd boarded the ship.

"Oh my, we're in trouble, aren't we? I knew this was all foolishness, now we're—" Threepio rambled.

"We're shutting him off while we're in the compartments," Zelina told Luke, shaking her head as she smothered her exasperation at Threepio's constant fretting.

"I beg your pardon, Mistress—"

"First of all...please don't call me mistress, Threepio, it sounds wrong. Second—I can't trust you to be completely silent while we're trying to hide and our lives are at stake, so we're just going to power you off for a few moments."

Artoo whirred next to her, the sound somehow coming off as sassy, the little droid's photoreceptor aimed at Threepio.

"See, even Artoo agrees!" Zelina said with a small chuckle, picking her cloak back up from where she'd left it earlier and putting it on. "Now come on, we don't have much time."

Artoo dutifully followed behind Zelina, who left corralling Threepio to Luke—and she did feel a little guilt in leaving Luke to deal with the droid who was now loudly protesting being temporarily shut down.

Chewbacca and Han were waiting for them, with Han already inside one of the compartments and Chewbacca waiting to help lower the droids inside. Zelina passed the one Han was waiting in, jumping down into the compartment and reaching up to help Artoo down into the compartment with her.

"Luke can be with me, you two can have Threepio if you think he'll fit—we're going to shut him down so we don't have to worry about him giving us away," she called as she set Artoo down.

"Sounds like a plan," Han grumbled, then, "Let's hurry this along, Kid, the Falcon's gonna dock any minute now."

There was a bit of shuffling, and the sound of Threepio's protests finally being cut off before Luke appeared above Zelina and Artoo, with only enough of a pause in movement for Zelina and Artoo to move out of the way before the young man jumped down with them. Zelina waved a hand to make sure he stayed crouched down before she reached over and started to pull the floor paneling into place, glancing over long enough to see Chewbacca's fur disappear beneath the floor. She would have called a final good luck, but she felt the ship slow and start rocking into place, barely fitting the panel back over the compartment before the ship ground to a halt.

She reached out towards where she knew Luke was, her hand finding his arm as a sort of comfort—for herself—in the near darkness. Artoo's photoreceptor was facing the wall of the compartment, so there was only a dim red light glowing on a small spot of one of the compartment's walls. A stillness settled over the ship for a few tense moments, the only sound Zelina could hear being Luke's and her soft breathing in the small space.

The silence was broken by the sound of the Falcon's ramp lowering, and footsteps sounding above and around them. As the Imperials passed above them, even the sound of Luke and Zelina breathing halted for a few moments, as if they feared one of the troops would have sensitive hearing and pick up on the sound. They both held perfectly still as the footsteps echoed through the ship as the Imperials swept it for passengers, so far oblivious to the fact what they were looking for was hiding right below their feet.

Finally, someone above called out, "There's no one on board," and the footsteps started to file away. Just before the sound could disappear, Zelina stretched out with her senses in the Force to do a sweep of the immediate area, just to be sure they wouldn't leave the compartments and run right into a stormtrooper or officer. She was able to quickly confirm there wasn't anyone on board, though there were a couple beings near the ship itself that would keep them from simply walking off the Falcon. Her sweep would have stopped there...if she hadn't sensed a potent concentration of darkness. It was somewhere on this station, somewhere nearby but thankfully moving away from their position. A being strong with the dark side of the Force, someone who pulsated rage and hate and pain. The intensity of simply brushing against the presence and sensing the tumultuous emotions made her dizzy, and she had to quickly retreat back to herself. Her grip tightened on Luke for a moment before she made the conscious effort to let go, worry starting to spread beyond the slight squirm in her gut.

They'd escaped the reek nest on Tatooine and leapt right into a Nexu den.

Zelina gently tapped Luke's arm to signal that they were clear before she reached up and pushed the compartment's panel away, allowing light to reach them in their compartment once more. Artoo tootled in relief as Zelina pulled herself up to the floor level, reaching out as Luke lifted Artoo to help Zelina get the little droid out of the compartment. While they worked to get Artoo out of the compartment, Chewbacca and Han crawled out of theirs, with Chewbacca toting the still shut down Threepio.

"I've used these compartments for a lot of things, but I never thought I'd smuggle myself in them," Han griped, scooting the rest of the way out of the compartment.

"I'm just glad they were big enough to fit all of us," Zelina returned in a level tone, holding a hand out to help Luke up once they'd lifted Artoo out of the compartment. "Now we have to get moving, before they come back for a more thorough check."

"And how do you suggest we move around an Imperial station without drawing attention? Especially since we have a Wookiee with us," Han challenged.

"Very carefully...and by blending in," she answered with a small twinkle in her eyes, gesturing for their group to gather by the Falcon's landing ramp. She could sense two Imperials approaching, and she wanted to make sure they were ready before they could be discovered.

Waving a hand for Luke to stand on the opposite side from her, both Jedi stepped aside to let Han and Chewbacca stand in front of them, their two pilots catching on to Zelina's plan as they heard the approaching footsteps. A few seconds passed with tension crackling in the air between the four of them as the Imperials drew nearer, before the pair finally appeared at the top of the landing ramp. Han and Chewbacca were on top of the two Imperials before the poor men even realized what was happening, silencing them instantly while the crate they'd been carrying dropped to the ground with a clatter. Before he disappeared down the hall with his Imperial to hide them like Chewbacca was doing, Han called down the landing ramp.

"Hey, could you give us a hand up here?"

Luke and Zelina stepped up to fill the spots Han and Chewbacca had vacated, coiled and ready as heavier steps sounded up the landing ramp. Moments after Han had called down the ramp, two stormtroopers appeared at the top of the railing, with Zelina sensing there was no one else in the immediate area, and their path was almost clear.

Luke and Zelina both pounced on the stormtrooper closest to them, disarming the troopers of their weapons in the few heartbeats the soldiers were stunned so they could shove the muzzles of the blasters in the weak points of the armor and shoot them. They'd been stunning soldiers on Tatooine, but now they were on a space station and couldn't risk any soldiers waking up and raising the alarm. As soon as they were dead, Zelina immediately started stripping them of their armor.

"Put it on, and quickly," she told Luke. "We don't have much time before someone starts asking why these two aren't at their post."

"Don't we need more than two?" Luke asked, giving her a pointed look while he quickly yanked the armor off the trooper he'd taken down.

"I'll only stick out in that armor—there aren't many female stormtroopers, and I know how to sneak around behind enemy lines without disguises. I'll be fine. It's you, Han, and Chewbacca I'm worried about," she explained, frowning as it took a more aggressive tug to get the chest piece off her stormtrooper.

"What about us?" Han asked as he and Chewbacca reappeared. Zelina simply kicked her pile of armor his way.

"Get dressed, you're going to need it," she said simply.

Han picked up an arm piece, a slight raise to his eyebrows before he looked at Chewbacca. "Not a bad idea..."

A garbled voice too soft for Zelina to make out the words sounded from the helmet of the armor Luke was pulling on, and the two Jedi locked gazes.

"Someone's noticed. Hurry, then get out there and stall, we'll be right behind you," Zelina said urgently, temporarily abandoning her trooper and leaving Han to finish yanking the armor pieces off as she moved to help Luke hurry into his armor.

The voice had grown annoyingly insistent by the time they managed to yank the last piece on and Luke shoved the helmet on his head, rushing to the landing ramp but forcing himself to slow to a calmer pace as he descended into view of whoever had noticed the stormtroopers weren't at their post. Zelina turned to make sure Han was set, flipped Threepio back on, then unholstered her blaster and stood at the top of the ramp, waiting for Luke to signal that they were in the clear. Chewbacca and Han both flanked her on either side, with Artoo and Chewbacca taking a moment to fill in and hush the fussing protocol droid while Han and Zelina both waited in tense silence for Luke's signal.

Finally, she felt a nudge from Luke in the Force, instantly racing forward at his signal while Han followed behind haltingly, trying to figure out what he had missed that had told Zelina to go. As soon as her head cleared the Falcon and she could see the station, she was locking her gaze on the closest hall that led out of the hangar so she had a goal to run towards, never halting in her quick movements.

The rest of the group followed Zelina's path, with Luke right at her side. Once they were in the hall, Luke took a sudden left. "The control room should be this way," he explained before anyone had the chance to question his sudden change of trajectory.

Zelina turned to follow Luke immediately, and they hurried down the slightly curved hall to reach the control room before any Imperials had the chance to come out and investigate or report their missing troops.

There was an officer just starting to make his way down the hall when the door finally loomed into sight, and Zelina quickly raised her blaster and fired one precise shot before the man had the chance to register that there was two droids, a Wookiee, and Zelina standing with the two 'stormtroopers' headed towards him. He crumpled o the ground without any more sound besides her blaster shot, Chewbacca slowing to sling the corpse over his shoulder to carry out of sight as Han dashed ahead on a sudden adrenaline burst to dash into the control room, firing another shot at whoever was inside. The rest of the group ran inside after him, with Luke pausing to shut and lock the door behind them once everyone was inside.

"Wasn't there a quieter way to do that? The entire station might already know we're here," Luke said skeptically after he'd yanked off the stormtrooper helmet.

"Trust me, we won't get off this station without firing at some people," Zelina muttered, pointing towards the mainframe as Artoo rolled past her. "Go ahead and find a spot to plug in, Artoo, we need to find a way off this thing."

"I'm not a big fan of all this sneaking around," Han announced as he took off his helmet as well, making his way towards one of the station chairs.

"Would you rather go out in a blaze of futile struggling rather than, I don't know...living to get off this station?" Zelina asked pointedly, turning away before Han could answer as Artoo let out a series of bleeps to get her attention. Threepio automatically started translating.

"He said he's found the main controls to the power beam that's holding the ship here. He'll try to make the precise location appear on the monitor." Every eye in the room turned to look at the monitor above Artoo moments before it started flashing technical layouts of different parts of the station, Artoo's continued beeps punctuating the changes in the schematics that he pulled onto the screen. Threepio continued to translate over Artoo's beeps. "The tractor beam is coupled to the main reactor in seven locations. A power loss at one of the terminals will allow the ship to leave."

Zelina leaned closer to the last schematic Artoo pulled up on the screen, studying the layout intently for a few moments before she leaned back and turned to the rest of their ragtag group. "I'll go do some damage to their terminal. You guys stay here and try to lay low," she said, holstering her blaster and pulling her cloak tightly around herself, raising the hood as well.

"Whatever you say. I've gotten more than I bargained for on this trip already," Han grumbled as she passed him on her way to the door.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Luke asked before she could leave, stopping her right in front of the door.

Zelina nodded back in the direction of the droids. "Whatever it is Artoo has, it's important. I'd rather the droids keep some Jedi protection. Besides, it will be easier to blend in if it's only me. You make the plans while I'm gone, by the way. Stealth over big booms, if you know what I mean," she said pointedly, tilting her head in Han's direction.

Luke snorted in amusement. "Yeah, I get it...are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

Zelina placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. "I'm trusting you to keep things under control over here. Just listen to the Force and to your heart, and you'll know what you need to do. They won't lead you astray."

"Now where did you get a piece of advice like that?" Luke asked, his teasing smirk telling her that he was trying to use humor to diffuse some of the foreboding tension her last comment had stirred up between them. Zelina squeezed his shoulder one more time to reassure him and opened the door to the hall before she met his gaze again.

"A very wise Jedi I'd trust with my life told me something like that during the Clone Wars, when I needed to hear it the most," she said softly, an almost gentle pang going through her heart at the knowledge Luke had no idea that Jedi she was referring to was him. A vision of him from the Force, of course, but still him in a way.

Luke gave her a questioning look, his furrowed brow and that small, confused frown of his making their appearance. "Which Jedi was that?"

Zelina only smiled slightly at him, then turned and disappeared down the hall.