A tunnel stretched out before Leana as she stood in the light, staring off into the eternal distance. She was all alone, dressed in a simple white tunic with her hair down, resting on her shoulders. A lightsaber hilt, powered off, was in her hand, angled downward.

"Leana."

The voice seemed to reach her as if through water, the sound distorted. The air vibrated due to the words. She cocked her head, narrowing her eyes as she attempted to identify the voice but she couldn't.

"Leana."

"Who are you?" she asked, flicking the switch on her lightsaber and feeling adrenaline flood through her as the blade snapped to life. The powerful hum of the lightsaber filled her and she felt like melting for pure joy. I'm holding a lightsaber! "What do you want?"

"Leana Ganner."

The light distorted before her and a figure shivered into sight, ten feet away from her. Darkness boiled inside the figure's form, wrapping around them like a cloak, seeming to battle with the light surrounding it. "Leana Ganner."

Leana brought her lightsaber up to waist height, stepping into a defensive stance. It came so naturally to her, and she wondered if that was due to the Force or the hours she had put into training with her polycarbonate lightsaber back home. "What do you want with me?" she demanded.

The figure cackled. "You are a disturbance in the Force, Leana Ganner. Strong, yes. Impetuous, yes. But strange, also yes. You have great abilities with the Force. You could be most powerful. Allow me to train you, Leana Ganner. You could stay in this life forever, be who you want to be and not who the Jedi ghost wishes you to be."

Leana stared at the figure. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice seeming to vibrate in the air more than it had before. "What is your name?"

"Does that matter?" the figure returned smoothly. "I can offer you power, Leana Ganner, power beyond your wildest dreams. You will always be on some sort of adventure in the galaxy. You will have everything you ever wanted."

"But what's the price?" Leana objected. "Look, I've seen enough of Star Wars to know that these offers don't come without a price. And that's normally turning to the dark side."

"You think you're so smart," the figure sneered, and the tunnel grew darker. "But are you, really? You're new to this world, Leana Ganner. Just knowing about us doesn't make you above the trials of the galaxy. The dark side will have you yet. You will be all the stronger for your joining us."

"I will not," Leana vowed. "I will never turn to the dark side. I know the horrors of it and I refuse to join you!"

All the light vanished from the tunnel. The figure seemed to grow larger in the darkness, looming before Leana. "Leana Ganner," the figure boomed, the voice deafening. "You will one day cower before the might of the dark side! You will not be able to outrun my power!" Lightning crackled around the figure, spreading out and reaching towards Leana.

Leana raised her lightsaber, managing to deflect the first blast of lightning. The power she felt humming in the hilt of the lightsaber as the electricity blasted away from her was thrilling. And then another blast of lightning struck her blade and the lightsaber suddenly switched off.

The blue fingers of electricity slammed into her with more force than she would have ever anticipated. Leana was flung backwards into the wall of the tunnel, the lightsaber hilt dropping from her hand.

Lightning coursed through her body, eliciting screams as the pain washed over her. Everywhere she looked, there were the blue jagged lines, diving into her flesh, jumping out, and diving back in again. Even on closing her eyes, the lightning still flashed underneath her eyelids, tormenting her.

"This is how you will feel, Leana Ganner, when you fail," the figure laughed. "This is how you will feel when I win! Bow to me, now, before it is too late!"

Leana gritted her teeth. "Never," she forced out. How do I make it stop?

"You make it stop by succumbing," the figure taunted. "Only the dark side can save you."

Leana hesitated for a moment, weighing her choices as the lightning continued to crackle. Stop it! The dark side is evil! Remember all those poor Jedi who died when Anakin turned!

"You hesitated," the figure pointed out. "You do not have to be one of those dead, useless Jedi, and you know it. We will have you yet, Leana Ganner. The dark side will claim you. You cannot outrun us."

****

Leana bolted upright, sweat dripping into her eyes. She jerked her head from right to left, scanning the room she was in. It looked like she was in a hospital, lying on a white cot with a sheet drawn up to her waist. Clothed in a soft, white tunic, there was no sign of the lightning that had plagued her just moments before.

A medical droid stood near her bedside, its opaque eyes observing her. "Patient has awoken," it intoned softly. "Heart rate is elevated, but other than that, vital signs are normal."

Leana took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. I will never turn, she told herself. Never, ever, never.

Wait. Why am I in a hospital?

Leana thought back to the last thing she remembered happening: Qui-Gon talking to her after the wampa was shot dead.

Wait...was that all a dream? She wracked her brain, thinking for the last thing she remembered happening on earth.

I was pushing through the turnstiles and then...I just fell.

Maybe everything since has been a dream? Maybe I hit my head and now I'm in the hospital, back in New York.

Wait...did hospitals in New York have medical droids now?

So I am still in Star Wars!

Leana thought back to Qui-Gon speaking to her, after that Rebel had shown up. Her using the Force before that.

I can use the Force!

Instantly, Leana was filled with exhilaration. Ever since she'd seen Star Wars for the first time, she had dreamed of using the Force one day. She'd secretly hoped that it existed and one day, she would find she was actually Force sensitive. Leana would have given anything to be a Jedi.

But the Force wasn't real, Jedi weren't real, and Leana had stopped hoping.

And here she was, able to use the Force. Star Wars was real and she was here. It was about time.

And if this was all just a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

But who brought me here? To the hospital? Where are my friends?

"Leana!" Lumina's voice startled her out of her thoughts and she turned toward the door to see Lumina, Lucas, and Ben entering the room, their faces relieved. Wearing thick overcoats over their sweatshirts and jeans, all three of them looked tired but happy to see her.

"What happened?" Leana demanded.

"You got clawed by a wampa," Ben told her. "Luke brought you here before sending Han back for us."

"Luke?" Leana repeated. "You mean Luke Skywalker?"

"In the flesh," a very familiar voice said, and Luke stepped into the room.

Dressed in a beige Rebel uniform, his lightsaber and blaster hanging from his belt, Luke looked just like he did in the movies: blonde hair, blue eyes, boyish features. Leana took a moment to make sure her mouth wasn't hanging open and then her fingers wandered up to her forehead, feeling at the bandage over her eye.

Lucas sighed, giving her a smile. "We're just glad you're all right."

"So am I," Leana murmured. "You guys okay?"

"Tired," Lumina supplied. "And cold. But okay. You were the one we were all worried about."

"I'm fine," Leana told her, offering a smile. She glanced at Luke, still smiling. "Thank you for saving us."

"That was impressive work out there, dealing with that wampa," Luke said, returning her smile. "You're lucky you're still alive."

"You can say that again," Leana sighed.

Luke glanced at the other three. "May I have a moment alone with your friend? Don't worry, it won't take long."

Lucas, Lumina, and Ben all gave Luke an appraising, questioning look, their expressions displaying the same emotion with all the slight variations Leana had grown so used to from her friends: Ben's head drawn slightly back with his eyes narrowed just so; Lucas' furrowed brow and uncertain twist of his lips; Lumina's hard stare with her lips open just enough to show her gritted teeth. Then they nodded before stepping out the door, Luke having passed the test.

Luke touched the door panel and the door slid closed behind them. Striding forward, he stood beside Leana's cot and looked down at her, his eyes curious. "Who are you?"

"Leana Ganner," she replied.

"No, that's not what I meant," Luke said. "Who are you? Not your name."

Leana just gave him a confused look. "I'm just here to help fight the Empire."

Luke gave her a long look before sinking down onto the side of the cot. The mattress dipped down under his weight and Leana scooted to the side to keep from falling into him. "I had a vision," he said softly. "Old Ben spoke to me. About you."

Uh oh. Leana hoped the Jedi Master hadn't blown her cover. Did he know? Maybe Qui-Gon informed him.

"He said I was to go to Dagobah, to seek out a Jedi named Yoda," Luke continued, his eyes still on hers. "And that you were to come with me, to receive training as well."

"Me?" Leana repeated. "I get to train to be a Jedi?"

"You have the Force," Luke said. "That's how I found you. The Force led me to you. I sensed you."

"Weird," Leana said. "I didn't sense you."

"Anyway, I sensed you," Luke said, a slight edge of disappointment moving through his tone. "Who trained you?"

Uh....Yeah, about that....

"My training has been very minimal," she said evasively. "Barely anything."

"Did that Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, train you?" Luke asked.

Leana hesitated. "Not really," she said. "Only a couple minor things."

"I had a little bit of training," Luke said, glancing down. "Old Ben – Obi-Wan Kenobi taught me a few things." He pulled his lightsaber off of his belt and studied it, his voice growing quieter. "Old Ben fought in the Clone Wars with my father, another Jedi. His name was Anakin Skywalker."

"I've heard of him!" Leana exclaimed, offering Luke a grin. "A legendary Jedi Knight. It's unfortunate, what happened to him."

Luke nodded solemnly. "To be betrayed and killed by Vader."

Well, uh, that's not what I meant by unfortunate, but okay.

"I'm sorry," Leana offered, unsure of what else to say but You sure got a surprise coming later on, buddy.

"Old Ben told me that you were to come with me," Luke said. "To find Master Yoda, to train as a Jedi Knight. He said you were like me, important to the downfall of the Empire."

Leana's chest swelled with pride. So this is what it feels like, to be a hero, she thought. To know you are destined for something more. This is what it feels like to be important.

"Of course I'll come," Leana answered. "I've always wanted to be a Jedi. Always."

Luke grinned at her. "Also...you'll probably want this back." He reached behind him and plucked something off his belt, something Leana couldn't see. Then Luke brought his hand out from behind his back and offered the object to her.

It was a lightsaber, the hilt silver and glinting in the shine from the white hospital lights. Leana took the lightsaber off of Luke's palm, the metal cool to her touch. Reverently, she examined it, running her fingers over its surface almost caressingly.

"A lightsaber," she breathed, and noticed Luke's brow furrow slightly. You'll probably want this back, he'd said. "My lightsaber," Leana hastily corrected, smiling up at him. "Thank you! Where did you find it?"

"It was on your belt," Luke said. "When the medical droids were preparing to put you into the bacta tank, I took the lightsaber to ensure it was kept safe."

Leana glanced down, suddenly realizing she was not in her typical sweatshirt and jeans, but the soft white tunic and loose leggings, her feet bare. Where are my other clothes? Her own brow furrowed. And where had the lightsaber come from? Who did it really belong to? It looked like Qui-Gon Jinn's lightsaber from The Phantom Menace, but why did she have it? Had Qui-Gon given it to her?

Leana had so many questions, and none that she could actually ask.

"I must ask," Luke said. "Why didn't you use the lightsaber to fight the wampa?"

Yeah, Leana, why didn't you? Leana asked herself sarcastically. Because I didn't have it at the time?

"I'm still not used to carrying it," she said. "In all honesty." Ha, liar. "I only received it recently, and have still to accustom myself to its presence."

Fortunately, Luke seemed to buy it. Nodding, he said, "I know what you mean. When Old Ben gave me my father's lightsaber, it was a strange thing to have with me, and one I wasn't sure how to use."

The door to Leana's room opened and C-3PO stepped in. "Master Luke," he started, and then halted on seeing Leana. He glanced from her to Luke and back again. "Why, hello, miss. I apologize if I am intruding."

"No, no, Threepio," Luke said. "This is Leana Ganner. Leana, this is C-3PO."

"A protocol droid," Leana said with a smile. "Fluent in over six million forms of communication, am I right?"

If C-3PO could have beamed, he probably would have. As it was, his arms seemed to move in a gesture of happiness and excitement. "Finally, someone who understands the importance of such mastery."

"It's very important," Leana said with a grin. She bet she'd be happy to meet anyone in the Star Wars galaxy. Even Darth Vader. She was actually looking forward to meeting the Sith Lord.

Her grin faded slightly. She wouldn't just be meeting him, would she? If Leana came into contact with the Sith, and she supposed she would at some point, she would probably end up fighting him.

You hesitated.

I will never join the dark side, Leana swore to herself. Never.

"What is it, Threepio?" Luke asked the droid.

"Miss Lumina and Misters Ben and Lucas requested me to tell you that they have headed down to the command center," C-3PO said. "They said something is about to happen."

"Headquarters personnel." The voice came blaring over the intercom system. "Report to command center."

The probe droid, Leana thought excitedly.

"I'll see you later," Luke told Leana, his brow furrowing. "I have to go."

"I'm coming with you," she exclaimed, flinging the sheet back and standing. I am not sitting by on the sidelines! "Please, let me come."

Luke hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Oh, all right. Come on. You look fine, anyway."

Leana grinned and the two young Jedi-to-be hurried out of the hospital, C-3PO following after them.