Missing and Presumed Dead

Luke Makes a Decision

It'd been a week since Luke "died." A week of trying to be the glue that held the Rebellion together as they grappled with losing their star commander. A week of pretending to be sad over Luke's death.

To be fair, that wasn't hard. She did miss him, and she hated the quiet moments to herself that became all too frequent. Being alone meant she would need to confront painful memories: watching Alderaan explode, being tortured at the hands of Darth Vader, losing Han to carbonite... to name a few. With no one to turn to, she busied herself with her work, and when she caught up with that, she did it all over again.

But now she was alone in her quarters, with only Artoo as company. She made sure her door was firmly closed and sat down on the bunk, facing the little droid. "Alright, Artoo. Are you ready to contact Luke?"

Artoo squealed in delight, rocking from side to side. She smiled: she didn't need to know droidspeak to understand the response. "Then let's give him a call."

A compartment opened at the top of Artoo's dome, a transmitter sticking up, and an internal comm unit appeared. She held her breath as Artoo connected the signal to the encrypted comm she'd given Luke, hoping.

She didn't wait long.

"Leia," Luke's voice greeted warmly, filling the room. It was good that she was one of the few who had her own private quarters.

She breathed out a sigh of relief, the tension in her chest easing. She hadn't realized how much she missed hearing him. "Luke. I'm so glad you answered."

"Of course I did." She could hear the laughter in his voice. "I promised you I would, didn't I?"

"Yes, but you could have...you know what, never mind. I'm just glad I can finally talk to you." She smiled, reaching out and affectionately touching Artoo's dome as though it were Luke. "So, do you want my news first, or do you want to tell me yours?"

A pause. "Let's hear yours first."

Her smile disappeared. Was it just her, or was that frustration in his voice?

"The entire galaxy knows you're dead," she began anyway, deciding she'd press him when she finished. "I delivered your eulogy, Wedge got interviewed, it was a whole big thing. The Empire picked up on it pretty quickly, and shortly afterwards the Executor was reported over the Ring of Kafrene."

"Vader," Luke surmised bitterly.

She nodded. "Yes. He probably wanted to confirm the report, so he and the 501st terrorized the locals." Now, she hesitated. "A lot of people died. Both Imperial and local."

"Because of me?" Luke asked, horrified.

"It's not all that surprising." She winced. Luke was reacting as badly as she feared, but she couldn't lie to him. Never. "The stormtroopers who shot you probably got in trouble because you're wanted alive. Then everyone else...well, he's Darth Vader . He doesn't really care who lives or dies, does he?"

"I suppose not," Luke replied slowly, unconvinced.

Now for the other bit of news she knew Luke wouldn't like. "Vader also captured the Rebel sympathizer whose hangar we used." She cringed as she added, "Your X-wing got impounded."

" What?!" Yup. There it was. As soon as she'd received the report, she'd known Luke wouldn't be happy. "Vader has my ship?!"

"Unfortunately."

"Do you know how long it took me to save for the modifications I put on that thing?"

"I was there when you bought them, so yes." Never come between a pilot and their ship, Leia had learned. Luke was no exception. "Did you wipe the navicomputer?"