likes_scoundrels | Outside the dorms, Sunday morning

Former princess and senator of Alderaan and rebel leader Leia Organa, now Sith Lady and representative of Coruscant in the newly reformed Imperial Senate, hadn't found any more answers about this place or a way to contact Lord Vader or the Emperor. She was determined to do so, however, and she fully intended to bring Skywalker's son with her as a present for her master.

In the meantime, at least, she'd found some cookies to nibble on. Chocolate, with dark chocolate chunks. Because when you embraced the Dark Side of the Force as she had, you always had cookies. It was one of the many, many perks.

[Err, mostly establishly because (a) I'm a GIANT DORK and (b) I'm about to head out of work and go home, where I may pass out for a nap because I was up 'til 3 AM coding the radio for all you crazy peoples. But if you're looking for Leia, feel free to ping and I'll get back to you. :)

ETA: Timing wise, the thread with Tahiri and Ben takes place last. Probably for soon to be obvious reasons.]

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Leia was tired of these children pushing her around. She quickly picked herself up and reached out with the Force to try to tear down a heavy tree branch and bring it down on Ben.

We need to get her out of commission, Tahiri sent, a little fuzzily, to Ben. The distraction was enough for her to get back to her feet, swaying but upright.

Ben stepped between Tahiri and Leia. "You won't do that again," he said icily to Leia.

"She means something to you," Leia said with a cold smile. "Then if you don't want to see her die, you'll surrender yourself to me."

Tahiri pushed her way to Ben's side, still a little wobbly but just as determined. "He's not doing any such thing," she growled, "and nobody's going anywhere with you."

Ben was glancing at the tree branches.

That big one on three? he sent to Tahiri. "Oh, I'm doing no such thing," Ben agreed. "No one's dying today."

"You will join us or die," Leia said simply. "Those are your only choices." Force-lightning crackled in her hands, and she prepared to hurl it at both the Jedi in front of her.

On three, Tahiri agreed, ignoring the spiel and doing her best to ignore who was giving it. She reached out to let her Force presence come into contact with Ben's, already focusing on the indicated branch. One, two . . .

Three, Ben finished, yanking the enormous tree branch down with the Force, aiming it squarely at Leia's head.

Sorry, Aunt Leia, he murmured quietly.

Leia heard the crack and looked up and tried to block the falling branch, but she wasn't fast enough. The branch struck her, and down she fell.

Between the two of them, that branch had had a lot of force (and the Force) behind it. Unconsciousness via tree branch wasn't remotely the most dignified way for a Sith to get taken out, but it wasn't as if Tahiri cared about that.

"I'm really, really sorry," she told Leia, wincing, but turned to Ben, checking him over with a quick glance. If she was right, and she'd put good credits on it that she was, he had to be the complete opposite of thrilled by having to do something like this again.

Ben was about this close to falling completely apart, yeah.

It only showed in the way he was holding his jaw. "Should we stash her somewhere?" he asked.

It'd been a while since their roles had been reversed this way, but Tahiri didn't have to think about it before sending every reinforcing emotion she could through the Force to him.

"I have a bad feeling about the basement . . . but there's got to be a storage room somewhere out of the way."

He swallowed hard--tears would be absolutely useless right now--and nodded. "Wasn't there a shack over by the cabins?" he suggested.

"Yeah." Tahiri summoned the lightsaber Leia had been using to her hand and looked at it, her expression unreadable, for a moment before hooking it to her belt. "Somewhere out of the way would be . . . the best idea."

She'd been about to say 'good,' but that sounded awful.

Ben waved his hand to move the branch away from his aunt. "And then I'll call Granddad."

A lot.

Tahiri, already beginning to levitate Leia, nodded and gave him a quick, worried glance. "Sounds like a plan. Sometimes I hate having a plan."

He ran his hand through his hair. "I hope this is temporary craziness," he said softly.

"It has to be," Tahiri said fiercely as she began to head for the shack. "It's Leia, there's no kriffing way . . ."

Ben gave her a look that was far too old for his face. "I've used that argument for a couple of people before."

Tahiri's shoulders slumped. "I know," she said quietly. That didn't mean she couldn't still hate it, right? "But from what she was saying, everything in her timeline must have gone completely different from ours. And this happened last year, too, with people just changing. It has to be temporary."

"I hope so," Ben said, echoing her tone and reaching for her free hand. "I'm not sure how Granddad will react if it's not."

Yes, Ben, let's concentrate on what Anakin will think.

Outside the dorms, Sunday morning

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