"Get down!" Leia yelled at her unit, flattening herself on the ground as low as possible behind the hillock she had been crouching near. The rest of the unit did the same. She braced herself for the inevitable pelting of laser bolts and heard the expected rapid gunfire. No bolts hit where they were sheltered however. She looked up, hearing a familiar roar of engines just as the Millennium Falcon swept across the edge of the jungle, so low it's down draft bent the vegetation tips, firing it's underside guns and obliterating the cannon, its operators and the accompanying troopers who had been brave or foolish enough to make an appearance.

"All clear, Sweetheart," Han's confident voice sounded in her earpiece.

"Honey, excellent timing as usual," she replied in a relieved voice.

"I hate to be late for a party," he said jubilantly.

Not wanting to waste an opportunity or hang around for another round of cannon fire, Leia decided to go on the offensive. She gathered the unit round her, crouching down behind the rise while she briefed them.

"We're not going to wait for that to happen again. We're going to do what we do best. Spread out and move into the trees. Make yourselves invisible and use stealth to pick them off one by one." Looking up at the faces to make sure they were clear as to what was expected, she received a collection of understanding nods. This was what they were trained for. This is what they were good at.

As she rose and came to stand on the top of the hillock to lead her team into the jungle, she glanced sideways at Luke, less than half a mile away. He was standing on a similar rise, his unit all around, engaging their group of enemy. He looked impressive, his robes flowing as he wielded his lightsaber in smooth sweeping movements, blocking laser bolts and sending them back where they had come from. She imagined what it must have been like many years ago, during the Clone Wars, battlefields full of Jedi as impressive as her brother. This is how the Jedi would have fought then, on the ground, a formidable and awe inspiring sight. He paused, breathing hard and held his saber vertically a moment, then he turned and looked through the dust at his sister, heading her skilled stealth combat unit, weapons in hand. The twins against the Empire. A shared understanding of destination carried between them, and Leia knew it was an image she would remember for a long time to come.

In the Falcon, Han kept one eye on Leia's tactical holo-display, watching her position. He wanted to keep the Falcon close in case she needed him again. He didn't like her in the field. They had fought side by side many times but all the time he couldn't see her, he felt unsettled. It was unnecessary and he knew it; she was more than capable, he was just happier in the comfort of her presence.

He wondered how the battle was going above. He could hear the radio chatter over the comms, but with everything else coming in on several channels, distinguishing one from the other was tricky. He put in a direct call to Lando for an update, even though Blake would be co-ordinating everything from her base.

"We've got them on the run, old buddy," Lando's jolly voice informed. "If you ask me, it was a foregone conclusion. They are out-gunned from Ackbar's warship. Turning up with one small star destroyer though seems odd. I don't know what they had planned for Takodana had we not been here to mess it up." He sounded thoughtful, like it had been playing on his mind. He was a shrewd businessman and could usually tell when something didn't smell right. Then he laughed. "We all seem to be back in the thick of it. When I was doing the accounts for the mine last week, I didn't think I would be using tie-fighters as target practice a few days later. The princess is very good at putting all her pieces into play. Have you ever thought of introducing her to Sabaac?" Han and Chewbacca exchanged a look.

"Funny you should say that," Han returned sardonically "There's a story to tell you later. I wouldn't suggest it to her though if I were you," he warned. Lando laughed again.

"She'll set Chewbacca on me again. My neck hasn't been quite the same since Bespin."

Han frowned quizzically at Chewbacca. Chewbacca waved it away with a quiet growl and turned back to his console. That was obviously another story for later.

Letting Lando get back to the battle, Han turned the Falcon to make another pass over Leia's location. He flew low over the rocks from the direction of Al-Adreen, looking out of the view-screen and scanning the ground to pick her out. She wasn't hard to spot, standing on top of the rise, blaster in hand, her peacekeeper units behind her. He saw Luke too, caught them both glance at each other before Leia raised her arm and brought it down again in a forward action to move her unit into the trees. He didn't share their unique connection but immediately had a sense of being part of something bigger in that brief moment.

Chewbacca growled gentle concern, snapping Han out of his reflectiveness.

"I'm fine, Chewie. Let's organise a landing spot. I don't think it will take Luke and Leia long to clear this lot up." He headed back out in the direction of the settlement. With all this imperial air traffic, he imagined, the excuse for a space port at Al-Adreen would be all but empty.

#

Leia's team moved through the jungle like silent predators, spread out, invisible. Before the collection of stormtroopers and security force officers knew what was happening or where the threat was coming from, their numbers had dwindled one by one, the peacekeepers slowly picking away at their edges, until the last few had no choice but to surrender. When they had all been silently incapacitated and restrained, the stormtroopers separated from the security forces, Leia joined Madine. His team were tired from hours of fighting but had sustained few losses and the injured were being attended to by medics. She expressed her relief that injuries seemed to be manageable. Getting them back to Thyfeera's bacta tanks would quickly heal them.

"It's good you arrived when you did, Leia," Madine expressed his relief in return. "The men were all starting to get tired. It's been tougher than I expected."

"I would have been here sooner but we had a small problem to take care of," she explained. "Let's get this lot to a holding area ready for transport and we'll rendezvous with Luke and General Kobar. Madine nodded and moved away to organise the transfer of the prisoners.

Leia pressed her comms earpiece. "Luke. Our opponents are under control. Do you need assistance?"

"No. We were just heading your way with our prisoners," he confirmed. Leia breathed out. The ground battle was over. If Admiral Ackbar was as lucky, and she imagined that, with his warship and two squadrons of X-Wings, he was, the mission would be a relative success.

"That is good news," she replied. "We'll rendezvous at point 65 and then prepare the prisoners for transport."

"Copy that," Luke confirmed and signed off.

"Blake?" Leia switched to Blake's channel. "All the ground teams will rendezvous at point 65. We need to transfer the prisoners. Can you identify a landing area for transport ships and then let me know the co-ordinates?"

"Yes, ma'am. It's already taken care of. Captain Solo is waiting for you there and I am instructing the Vohemar and the Talon to meet you as we speak." Leia raised her eyebrows. Before long Blake would be taking over from her.

"Excellent work, Blake. Send the details to General Madine's datapad; I have nothing with me," she praised. "Oh, and thank 3PO too. I expect he has been working diligently." She had a quiet smile to herself at the image of 3PO as acting general in the command centre, his golden hands operating several communications consoles and displays at once, taking his new role very seriously. For all Han teased and berated 3PO for his pomposity and blustering, when he had an important task to perform, the droid could be amazingly focussed.

"I am pleased to have been of service, Mistress Leia," 3PO's voice interrupted. "and, I must say, it is nice to hear an expression of gratitude. It's so rare that droids are appreciated for the work we do." Leia raised one eyebrow. "I think I have found a talent for this sort of thing, if I do say so myself." She sighed as he continued. What a shame droids didn't need to stop for breath. "In fact, I think this might be a new direction for me. I might investigate it further should my superior expertise as a protocol droid no longer be required." Leia had to laugh.

"Well, I'm glad you have enjoyed yourself 3PO. I will certainly bear that in mind."

"Right," Blake said, reservedly. "That said. We'll be in contact again when you get to the rendezvous point. Blake out." Blake cut the connection before 3PO could begin again.

Watching the Alliance soldiers marshalling the prisoners in the direction of the rocks, Leia tapped her comms again.

"Han? We're all done here. I'm going to meet up with Luke and then make my way to you." She waited expectantly to hear his voice.

"Got it," he said. "We'll put a pot of caf on." She grinned and shook her head. Always the joker.

#

Her team met Luke's at the rocky barrier, gathering their prisoners in a group. There were only about twenty security force prisoners once they had put them all together. Leia stood with Luke, Madine, Kobar and the peacekeeper commander and looked over them all.

"I suppose it's a good thing there are so few," she mused, turning to the commander. "They're in your charge now Commander. Use the Vohemar and transport them back. Liaise with Commander Blake and do what you need to do to treat them."

"What shall we do with the others?" Madine asked, looking bleakly at the stormtroopers. Kobar's wattle inflated.

"After what they've done. I'm tempted to leave them here to rot," he stated in no uncertain terms. Leia was firm.

"I understand how you feel, General, but we can't behave the same way. They will be under arrest, and the Admiral can take them back to Chandrila to face justice. They are as much pawns in this game as we are." She squeezed her lips together. "Let's move out," she ordered, marching off in the direction of the landing area and the waiting ships.

Luke jogged to catch up with her. He matched her stride, looking sideways at her grim but determined expression. It told him so much about her state of mind. Her emotions bubbled under the surface but her sense of justice was resolute.

"Leia, are you alright?" he asked, gentle concern in his voice. She didn't look at him, just continued walking. The irony of his question wasn't lost on her.

"You already know the answer to that," she replied.

"You've done a good job today," he reassured. "You made the right decision. I admire how you always remain so fair despite the temptation. I understand how difficult it is."

She frowned a little and examined his face as they walked side by side, considering his words. It was difficult. The events of the last few days had been horrific enough for her to want to blast everyone responsible off the face of whatever planet they chose to name. Luke had faced this a few times himself; facing Vader, facing Palpatine, perhaps even facing her imminent death. She was glad of his presence to calm her down. She breathed heavily through her nose and she began to relax.

"I am very proud of you too." She looked slightly embarrassed. "You were very impressive. Your skills have really progressed over the last few months. I was concerned I'd taken you out of your comfort zone, but now I'm pleased my instincts were correct." Luke smiled.

"It felt sort of natural," he confessed. "Like I'd been doing it for years. Do you think this is how it must have felt years ago?" He thought about his research, his reading into the spectacular sounding battles during the Clone Wars and before, where Jedi fought side by side in their thousands. He wondered whether it would be like that again one day.

"I imagine so and it will be again. You are going to be a powerful Jedi and a great teacher, Luke." She took his hand as they walked. "I'm glad we found each other."

Luke was pleased too. He loved Leia's company, her tender comfort when he was troubled, their stimulating philosophical conversations. They kept each other's counsel; an invaluable gift when they had both been through so much in the last few years, each supporting the other with the burden of their terrible shared legacy.

His mind drifted from these thoughts to that of her training, trying to imagine her on the battlefield, a lightsaber instead of a blaster. The images went blank almost like he'd been shoved hard. He gaped at her.

"Did you just push me out of your head?" Leia walked a little faster he thought. "Leia?" He insisted on a reply, smiling at the realisation that her behaviour meant he was right.

"You're imagining things," she replied curtly.

"Oh, no. I didn't imagine that," he said, adamantly.

"You're imagining things that you shouldn't be imagining. I'm not becoming a Jedi and that's final." He so wanted to thrash this conversation out with her until it was thoroughly discussed. They were never in the right situation. Always, she cut him off.

"You have the same power, Leia and I think you know it," he challenged. She stopped dead and turned to face him.

"And what if I do? Do I have to use it? Do I have to announce it to everyone. Is it written somewhere that all those with Force power must become Jedi?" Luke studied her face. She wasn't being aggressive or challenging, these were genuine questions. Perhaps she was calculating whether it was yet another responsibility she had a duty to fulfil.

"No. I guess not," he confirmed. She nodded, carefully considering.

"Then, I choose not to use any power I may, or may not, have unless I absolutely have no choice," she declared, pausing for her decision to sink in and then continuing to walk. He looked after her, a weary and frustrated expulsion of air escaping through his lips.