"This should be a good spot," Leia pointed to the shrubs that surrounded the dried-up creek bed.

"Why did we have to go so far away from the ranch?" Luke asked, stepping over the patch of rocks left behind in the arroyo.

"For what we're about to do next requires the utmost concentration, even more than what you're used to. Your sole focus has to be on your opponent," Leia explained as she broke off two sturdy branches from a nearby tree. "There is no room for distractions. In a normal duel, any distraction would mean certain death."

Luke flinched at her words. "D-Death?"

Leia nodded, handing him one of the branches. "Your opponent would use this distraction to gain the upper hand. I'm not sure how duels are fought on Earth, but in my galaxy, they are fought to the death. That is their entire purpose."

"We don't fight duels here. Or at least, not anymore." Luke's shoulders slumped forward, slouching just like the drooping branch he held in his hand.

"I can sense your anxiety, which is why we are not using actual lightsabers," She tried to reassure him. "We're using something that won't maim you."

Leia raised her branch, getting into a fighting stance. "Copy my stance."

Luke gripped the branch with both hands just as Leia did, raising it to the side of him. With his knees slightly bent and one foot out in front of him, Luke's stance mirrored Leia's almost perfectly.

Without any warning, Leia launched forward, striking her brother on the shoulder with the branch.

"Hey! I wasn't ready!" Luke rubbed his shoulder, not sure if it was the surprise of her attack or the whack that made it sting.

"What? Did you expect a countdown?" Leia smirked.

"Well, no. But-"

"Not only do you have to be prepared, but you have to be fast." She raised her branch again. "Let's try this again now that you know what to expect."

"Okay," Luke complied, returning back to his stance. However, no sooner had he done so, Leia charged forward. This time, Luke was ready for her strike and blocked it with his own branch.

Yet, the force of her swing was stronger than he expected and his branch went flying into the air. He watched in surprise as gravity pulled it down into the sand left soft by the water that had once been there.

Leia brought a hand up to her mouth, trying to cover her embarrassed laugh. "I'm sorry. I might have been a little too rough there."

"No kidding!" As Luke bent over to pick up the branch, he turned his head to the side just in time to see Chewie running towards him.

"Chewie!" He exclaimed as the dog began barking wildly. No sooner than the dog arrived, the roaring of a truck hammering through the desert could be heard. The familiar truck pulled up to the arroyo and an even more familiar man stepped out, swaggering up to the siblings.

"Han? What are you doing here?" Leia crossed her arms. "Shouldn't you be fixing the ship?"

"Relax, I left Lando to do it. He doesn't have class today," Han replied.

"How did you even find us?" Luke inquired, knowing they didn't tell Owen and Beru exactly where they'd be at.

"I stopped by the ranch and Owen told me you guys went off into the desert. From there, I just let Chewie track you down." He rubbed his dog behind the ears. "See, who needs space magic when you've got Chewie?"

"So what are you doing here?" Leia asked again.

"Can't a guy just stop by and watch? I'm curious about this training." Han raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses.

"Of course, I just never thought you were that interested in this," Leia admitted, turning her attention back to Luke. "We're practicing a lightsaber duel."

"With sticks?" Han regarded the branches with disdain.

Leia gave an irritable sigh. "Yes, the last thing I want is Luke losing a hand."

Han shrugged, walking to the shrubbery with Chewie. "Okay."

"Speaking of distractions," Luke grinned at his sister.

"I know," She frowned, never taking her eyes off Han. "If he causes trouble, I'll force him to leave."

"Nah, Han will be fine. C'mon, let's go," Luke said eagerly, already lowering himself into his stance.

Now with a firm grip on the branch and focused on Leia's imminent charge, Luke braced himself for the strike. She did not aim at the same place like the previous times, going for his stomach instead. Luke was barely able to block her blow, having to take a step back to steady himself.

"Yeah, Luke!" Han cheered from the side.

Luke attempted to crack a smile at his friend as he struggled to dodge and block Leia's continuous strikes. She did not relent, swinging furiously at him with her branch. Luke was unable to stay in one spot, having to keep moving back to avoid being hit.

"Leia! This is too much!" Luke cried, seeing that he had been forced to the defensive.

"Then try to hit back!" She shouted through the sounds of wood hitting wood, not giving in to his pleas.

Luke gritted his teeth, using his branch to push against Leia's. As she was forced backward in the dirt, he did not hesitate in taking a fierce swing at her elbow.

But to his surprise, she easily blocked it. Using his emotions against him, Leia finally landed a blow on his leg.

"I told you-you can't be distracted," She panted. "But you managed to keep up with my hits, so for that, I am impressed."

"Thanks," Luke wheezed. "Can I get some water?"

"Of course." She wiped her hands on her white leggings.

Meanwhile, from under the shade, Han watched all of this play out. He had seen how aggressive Leia could be as a fighter, which he had to admit kinda scared him. Luke, on the other hand, was more reluctant to use force. But in the end, he started to grow more confident and actually tried hitting back.

As Luke gulped the water and Leia attempted to slow her breathing, Han continued to study the woman. He noticed how red her face had become, but not nearly as red as Luke's. Strands of her brown hair had become loose from her buns, clinging to the back of her neck.

Despite her petite size, she was strong and even intimidating. When she took up her branch again, arranging herself into the proper stance, Han knew it was her toughness that made her so.

He wasn't sure how long he continued watching, knowing that it was still daytime when he was. He figured he must have dozed off since the last thing he remembered was the siblings going back at their stickfighting.

It was only when the sound of an explosion going off did he jolt back into consciousness, finding the orange glow of the sun disappearing into a sea of purple.

"What just happened?" He looked around, seeing Chewie, Luke, and Leia equally confused.

"I-I don't know," Luke gulped. "We had just finished for the day when we heard it."

"I see smoke." Leia pointed towards the horizon. Sure enough, a dark cloud of smoke was rising into the sky, tainting it black.

Luke's face had gone ashen. "The ranch..."

~

Han could smell it in the air before he saw it. Even with the windows partially rolled up, the stench was strong enough to burn his nostrils.

It was not just wood that was burning; it was something much worse.

Han stopped the truck several feet away from the smoldering remains, unable to bring it any closer out of fear. Whether that fear was of the truck potentially catching fire or something more sinister, he didn't want to think about.

Upon reaching for the key to turn off the engine, Han noticed Luke already running towards the ruins through the dashboard window.

"Luke!" Leia called for him, opening the door and hurrying out. "Wait!"

As Han leaped out of the truck, he heard Leia continue to yell for her brother. "Come back! It isn't safe!"

Luke had barely made it to what would have been the porch when he suddenly gave a strangled cry and fell to his knees. Han could see he was pointing at something in the ashes, muttering something incoherent.

Leia huddled near him, trying to get him to stand up. "Don't look," she instructed. "Luke, just look at me. Look at me."

Amid the confusion and chaos, something moving among the debris caught Han's attention. He turned his head to see the silhouette of a person marching towards him.

"Owen?" He called out, a twinge of hope in his voice. "Beru?"

But when it emerged from the smoke into clear view, Han saw this figure was neither Owen or Beru.

This figure was wearing a green helmet and battered armor covered in marks. It also had a cape on its back, which seemed to be equipped with a rocket launcher.

But worst of all, it had what looked like a gun in its gloved hand.

And it was pointed straight at Han.