Edges of the World

Chapter 18

Leia watched Ahsoka program the navicomputer and had a sudden wonderful thought.

"Ahsoka, would you mind if we went somewhere, before heading back to Coruscant?"

"Depends on where you want to go."

"Alderaan. Please, can we go to Alderaan?"

The older woman did not seem to be surprised. She smiled, soft and kind and understanding. "I thought you might want to do that, so I got us clearance codes to land there before we left Coruscant. I also put in a request for us to meet with the Queen; which I expect she will be approving, after your dinner last night with her husband."

"How do you know about that?"

"Skyguy called me after to complain about you liking your dad more than him. He's such a baby." She gave an affectionate eyeroll, and Leia could actually feel the love she had for Leia's biofather. It flooded the cockpit, infusing the very air Leia breathed.

What was happening to her? Yes, she had always been fairly intuitive and able to figure things out faster than those around her, and especially always be certain if a plan could succeed or not, but she had never felt so... open to the people around her before.

Ahsoka gave her a contemplative look. "You've been more present ever since you found your kyber, and Force knows you're projecting now. I'm glad."

Leia was unsure of what she meant. "Present?"

"Yup. Ever since you stumbled upon me at my campsite you've been closed off, and hidden in the Force. I couldn't figure it out, it was part of why I ran those blood tests once I got you on the ship, I needed to understand why your presence in the Force was almost... gone. Just enough to know you were alive, but nothing more than that. But now, I can feel you here. Really feel you, you're broadcasting pretty strong. You're letting your Force presence out of wherever you had been containing it."

Leia frowned. Did that mean other Force-sensitives would be able to sense her, once she got back home? She didn't like the sound of that at all.

Ahsoka seemed to sense her worry, and for all Leia knew, she really had in fact sensed it. This woman was probably able to read her emotions. No, not probably. Hadn't she just told Leia that she was... projecting?

What a frightening thought.

"Hey, this is a good thing. You can't keep everything shoved up inside you Leia, there needs to be some sort of outlet, a release."

She turned to look at Ahsoka, wanting to understand the need to give these abilities an outlet. "Force-sensitivity is like a pressure bomb?"

Ahsoka laughed. "I wouldn't phrase it like that, but sure." She turned her gaze back to the computer. "We probably should establish some sort of training bond, but I really do understand if you don't want to. I'm not going to force a relationship onto you if you don't want one. I get it. I'm a stranger, someone you don't know and aren't sure if you can trust."

"What does that entail? Having a... training bond."

Leia could feel Ahsoka's happiness, joy that Leia was even considering this, fill the cockpit. It swirled around her, dizzying. "A training bond would allow me to help you. To see what is going on and guide you, when you are having trouble. For those things we don't really have the words to describe. Sometimes it's just easier to show the proper way in the Force itself than try to find words and terms in Basic."

She shifted her entire seat, turning it so it was facing Leia. "Leia, I don't want you to enter into this without fully understanding. This would literally bind us together. It also isn't strictly necessary. Not every Master and Padawan pair enter into a Force-bond, it's truly up to you. It'll be like..." She frowned. Apparently, they had already stumbled upon an example of something Basic was lacking the words to describe.