Chapter 23

The Emperor, Vader and I all stood on the bridge, overseeing the crew. Hushed voices swirled around the bridge, speculating about me.

Vader placed a hand on my shoulder and the Emperor raised his hand. Silence descended onto the bridge. He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted.

"I am Darth Vader's daughter, Darth Tytär." A dozen heads nodded and then silently returned to their work. The Emperor nodded and motioned for us to follow him. Once we were out of earshot of the crew, the Emperor slowed his pace.

"I have a mission for you, Darth Tytär. There is a. . . Rebellion brewing." His voice oozed with disgust. "Although they have no chance against us, I still want you to influerait one of their bases and gather inlet on their numbers, resources, other bases and leaders, and then report back to me or your father. Understood?" I nodded. A small smile played across his thin lips. "Good. You leave immediately." I hesitated a moment before bowing my head slightly.

"Yes my lord." With that I turned on my heel and left.
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I ran a loving hand across the controls of Rogue Starfall. I was home. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my left ear and flicked the hood over my head. My eyes darted around the area as I started up my ship.

The comm crackled to life.

"Darth Tÿtar, you have clearance to leave. Good luck." The voice hesitated ever so slightly. "May the Force be with you." I smiled ever so slightly and lifted my ship out of the Star Destroyer. I thumbed off the comm and stared into space.

I then closed my eyes and reached out into the Force, searching for the rebels. I felt something pulling me towards the Yavin system, and more specifically, towards the fourth moon. I slowly opened my eyes and flicked the switch for hyperspace. The stars became long, pale blurs as I streaked off into hyperspace.

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An alarm blaring roused me from the light sleep I had managed to fall into. I stretched, arching my back. I looked at the controls and noticed two rapidly flashing lights. One reminded me that I had reached the fourth moon, and the other flashed and I had no idea why. I tilted my head to the side and squinted, thinking. I finally shrugged and hit the override button. Both alarms and lights went silent, leaving the cockpit empty.

I then turned my attention to the moon that filled my view port. Ocean blues and dark, earthy greens swirled and spiraled into each other. I eased the nose of my ship towards the moon.

I glided through the thick, humid atmosphere towards the planet's lush jungle surface. Majestic monuments and temples jutted up from the surface, worn and cracked from years of relentless weather and neglect. Thick vines crawled and twisted over each other, all reaching for the sun's golden rays.

My keen eyes swept the area, landing on a crow's nest with a Rebel nestled in it. My comm crackled to life.

"Unidentified ship, state your business."

"I am here to join your cause," I said, crossing my fingers.

"I need to see some identification," he said, his voice oozing with suspicion. I sighed softly and reached out with the Force.

"You don't need to see my identification," I responded forcefully. I felt him shift, my words seducing him to my will.

"I don't need to see your identification," he mumbled. "Please head to the main temple and the princess will meet you there." I switched off the comm and banked slowly to the left, my mind racing. Princess? What princess?

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Steam poured out of my ship as I lowered the ramp. I coughed wildly and waved a hand in front of my face.

"That's not supposed to happen," I muttered, watching the crowds of people mill around the inside of the temple and spill outside. I stepped down into the humid air, watching as a short, young woman of about my age of 19, weave through the crowds towards me.

She wore knee high black boots with loose brown pants tucked into them. She also wore a form fitting shirt with a dark, muted green vest overtop. Her brown hair was braided around her head, like a crown. She carried herself like a princess, and she looked every inch a royal. She marched up to the bottom of the ramp and I stepped down to meet her. She stuck out her hand and I grasped it. I expected it to be weak, but her handshake was warm and firm.

"I'm princess Leia Organa of Alderaan." She let go and stepped back, her dark, warm brown eyes sweeping over me.

I also wore knee high boots, but mine were a dark brown. I wore the traditional outfit of a Jedi, with light beige pants and a similar coloured top with a brown lightsaber belt around my waist. I had ditched my lightsaber and black cloak on board and had tucked them under my seat away from prying eyes.

The princess looked at me expectantly, and I mentally slapped myself.

"Of course! I'm. . ." I hesitated ever so slightly, thinking quickly. "I'm Amidala." Leia smiled, not noticing my slight hesitation.

"Alright Amidala. Welcome to the Rebellion." She motioned for me to follow her, and I trotted after her, taking in everything. I started a mental list. So the Rebellion had the full support of Alderaan, seeing as their princess was here. The had many people devoted to their cause, although the one thing they seemed to be missing was money. Their ships were mixed and matched and they seemed to be worn out.

Mechanics rushed here and there with droids trailing after them, chatting and pointing out things to each other.

"So," I started, and Leia looked back at me. "Where are we going?"

"I guess you can meet my father, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, two of the most important people in the whole Rebellion." I nodded and smiled, pretending to be excited. My mind squirreled away the two names for the Emperor and my father.

"So, where are you from?" Leia asked suddenly. I stopped suddenly, taken aback by the question.

"Um, well, I was raised on Ryloth by a family of Twi'leks, after my mother died. At the time I didn't know my father. . ." I froze suddenly. Wait, my foster family! What had become of them? Sudden tears welled in my eyes, and I turned away from Leia and her sympathetic face, embarrassed by my sudden emotion. What had happened to my family after Cody had died? A few tears rolled down my cheek. Leia placed a hand on my shoulder, and I quickly wiped away the few stray tears.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "Did the Empire do this to you?" I looked at her, before shrugging.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. A flicker of doubt slithered through my mind. Was the Empire responsible for Cody's death? I shook it off and continued after Leia.

We walked into the temple, my clothes and skin sticky from the humid air. Leia zipped easily through the crowds while I stumbled after her, mumbling apologies as I elbowed my way through.

She disappeared through a obscure  doorway and I hesitated.

"Come in," a deep voice beckoned. I stepped into the shadows and was greeted by two people besides Leia hunched over a table. Large screens displayed data, scrolling too fast for me to read. The man looked up.

"Hello, I'm Bail Organa of Alderaan. I am Leia's father and one of the leaders of the Rebellion. And this," he said, motioning to his left, "Is Mon Mothma, the other leader." I nodded, filing away their names for later.

"And this," Leia said," Is Amidala from Ryloth." Bail examined me, his eyes filled recognition, then with suspicion. I froze, panicked. Was it possible that he knew that Amidala  had been the last part of my mother's name?

"The only Amidala I knew was Padmé Amidala of Naboo. You wouldn't happen to be related to her, would you?" I quickly shook my head.

"I never knew my mother," I whispered. It was true, I didn't ever know her, I just knew of her. Bail narrowed his eyes before turning to his daughter.

"Why don't you show, Amidala, around some more?" I didn't miss the slight hesitation before he said my "name". Leia nodded and backed out of the room and I followed. Leia then trotted off, but I hung back, spotting a group of people grouped around two others.

I slowly edged my way to the group just as a mighty cheer swelled through the group. They then split apart. I could feel their energy. What ever was happening, it was big. The two rebels at the front shared a look as I walked up to them.

"Hey, I'm Amidala. What's going on?"

"Well, Amidala, I'm Jyn and this is Cassian. We're going to the Empire's base on Scarif to steal the Death Star plans," Jyn breathed, excitement dancing in her eyes. Cassian smiled tenderly at her and then guided her away. I waited until they were swallowed by the crowds before breaking into a sprint, heading to my ship. I had to warn my father!

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A/N
Just to be clear, I will be mixing in original Star Wars characters such as Leia, Han and Luke. Leia in my story is actually Bail's real daughter, not his adoptive one. Also, Luke will be named Luke Starkiller, his original name before Lucas changed it to Skywalker. He and Leia are not related in my story. Sorry if this is confusing. Just comment if you are still confused. May the Force be with you! 😊

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