When Han returned to the house, he found Lando already there waiting for him. He was leaning beside his parked white van, shading himself from the afternoon sun.

"It's about time you got here, man!" Lando folded his arms, watching as Han climbed out. "I nearly melted out here!"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Han was not all that sorry, only feigning his apology to calm the man. "I got caught up in more 'alien' nonsense."

"What happened now?" Lando asked, walking beside Han as they entered the garage shed.

"Leia found her brother, who turns out is Luke of all people. They're twins if you can believe that," Han started to explain as he rummaged for his toolbox. "And something about a space prophecy where Emperors cannot have kids. But their father, who is an Apprentice, had them so that is why they're in danger."

"You really know how to simplify things, Han," Lando remarked. "Where is Leia right now?"

Han scoffed, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"She stayed with Luke at the Lars's ranch. Apparently, he has space magic too and she's training him," He continued, finally finding the toolbox. He tugged it out from among the various junk, carrying it by the handle.

"The ship isn't too far from here." Han gestured for Lando to follow. After he placed the toolbox in the bed of the truck, Chewie went up to the rusted box and sniffed it. Meanwhile, Lando went to the passenger side and waited patiently for Han to climb in.

Han could feel Lando's stare on him as he started the ignition to the truck, knowing what this type of look meant. "Just say it."

"You still don't believe, do you?" His friend studied him with the same intensity he did with one of his engineering problems.

"No," Han said. "But's let say for the sake of the argument, she is an alien. Don't you think it's a little strange she looks exactly like us?"

"Hmm," Lando hummed as he pondered this. "I will admit I imagined aliens to be more-"

"Reptilian?" Han interrupted. "Greener? Shorter?"

"Yes," He laughed. "But that was our mistake, wasn't it? Nothing says they have to look like that except Hollywood."

"Okay, but also why are you so cool with there being alien life?" Han pointed out; the thought suddenly occurring to him. "Isn't that something that should be earth-shattering? No pun intended, by the way. But maybe even a little frightening?"

"I have always believed in alien life, so this is just confirmation," Lando answered. "We can't be the only life forms out here."

"You're not getting it," Han grumbled, becoming frustrated with his not-so-genius of a friend. "If there are more of her, and apparently there are, what if they are not nice? Because according to her, some of them obviously aren't. And if they're coming here-"

"Ohhhh," Lando realized. "Yeah, I didn't think of that..."

Han couldn't help but smirk, feeling like he had outsmarted the smartest person he knew. "I didn't think so."

He pulled the truck over in the dirt, taking out the key before the wheels could stop moving. He jumped out, landing on a heap of sand and heading straight for the toolbox. He lifted it, its weight pulling his hand down and his fingers tight around the warm handle. It had never felt this heavy before, so why now?

"So where is it?" Lando came up behind him.

"This way." Han walked away, letting his dog and friend run to catch up with him.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Lando said breathlessly from beside the man. "I mean, it's like it's finally hitting me. Us, you and me, being some of the first with tangible proof that alien life exists."

Han nodded mindlessly to Lando's rambling, focusing instead on trying to remember if this had actually been the spot. It had been dark after all. And the desert isn't exactly a landscape with distinctive landmarks.

But as they ascended the dune, he knew this was the spot.

"Han..." Lando paused. "Is that it?"

Han blinked, coming out of his trance and stopping alongside his friend. His vision didn't even have to be focused to see what Lando meant. There was no way you could miss the sight; you'd have to be blind.

The ship was like a massive white whale in a dried up sea of sand. It was long unlike most aircraft he had seen; like it had been stretched out and elongated by a rolling pin. The top of it looked like the head of a hammer. In fact, the whole ship resembled that of a hammer. There was a red stripe decorating the sides; the only color among the vast whiteness.

How this had gotten past satellites and radars, Han had no idea.

Although the ship was covered in dents and scratches, it looked pretty much intact. Nothing that didn't look impossible to fix.

Han's gaze shifted to where the front of the ship, where the hammerhead-like top was. That was where the most damage had been; where the smell of burnt metal came from. The red stripe and white front were blackened and charred, most likely from entry into the atmosphere.

Han was so caught up with the indescribable sight he failed to notice Lando take off towards the ship. It wasn't until he heard Chewie bark that he noticed the man running down the dune, running like he had never run before.

"Lando!" Han called, his feet beginning to slide down the sand. "Wait!"

As Han struggled to keep from rolling down the dune, Chewie left his human and followed Lando into the ship.

"Damn it," Han cursed, barely keeping his balance. "Sure, just me leave then!"

By the time Han got to the ship, Lando was already inside, eagerly tinkering away at the engine. Han didn't have to look far to find him though. Between Chewie's barking and Lando's tampering, Han came upon them pretty easily.

"Look at this, Han!" Lando exclaimed from below. "This tech is similar to our own!"

Han peered down into the pit alongside his dog. The metal floor beneath him creaked with his movements. "Ya' know, that only gives credence to my theory that she isn't from space."

Lando did not reply, stretching his hand out of the pit. "Wrench."

"What?"

"I'm going to need an assistant to hand me my tools," Lando clarified. "So I need the wrench."

"Your tools?" Han snickered, raising an incredulous eyebrow.

"Yes." There was no hint of amusement on Lando's face; he was dead serious.

"Wrench," He repeated, continuing to hold out his hand expectedly.

Han sighed, opening the toolbox and beginning to dig around for the wrench.

~

"Again," Leia ordered, pointing her lightsaber hilt at the pile of rocks.

"Leia," Luke complained, spinning around to face her. "I can't keep doing this. I'm tired."

"Again," She insisted, ignoring his whining.

Luke sighed, returning to the form she had taught him. He closed his eyes, lifting his hands in midair and struggling to imagine raising the rocks off the ground.

"Clear your mind of any other thoughts," She instructed, watching her brother intently. "Focus only on your goal."

Luke gritted his teeth, focusing even harder on lifting them. But the more his mind thought of raising the rocks, the more his mind's eye became muddled, allowing frustration to easily overcome him.

He shook his head, opening his eyes to see that the rocks hadn't even moved an inch. "I can't do this, Leia. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Apologizing will do nothing," She snapped. "You need to learn as much as you can before Vader shows up. I need you. I can't face him on my own."

"I understand this is important, but I just can't get it," Luke muttered. "Maybe I'm not Force-sensitive like you think. Maybe you're wrong about me."

"No. You are Force-sensitive. I am not wrong," She protested with a shake of her head. "You're just not trying hard enough. You're not focused. Earth has weakened you just like I suspected."

"What?" He frowned. "How does that even- No, I am trying. I just- It's just not coming to me."

"Well, you can't just give up. That isn't an option, not with someone like Vader or the Empire," Leia retorted, crossing her arms.

"You mention our father a lot, but never our mother." Luke's tone had grown soft, fearing how Leia might take this. "Why is that?"

Leia pursed her lips together, glancing to the ground as she answered. "I-I don't remember her. She died when I- we were born."

Luke's eyes filled with curiosity, but also a sadness that seemed to color them a deeper shade of blue. He had hoped she would tell him their mother was still alive, that she was somewhere out there in the deep recesses of space.

"I can feel your sadness coming off you like waves," Leia acknowledged with a smile. "I feel the same way too sometimes when I think about her."

"Do you know anything about her?" Luke asked, seating himself on the sand.

"What I learned about her came from official documents and the Holonet. Bail and Obi-Wan were vague about her. In fact, they told me more about Vader than they did about her." She sat across from him, folding her legs under her body. "She came from the planet Naboo, which is similar to Earth. Her family was one of the noble families I mentioned."

"I saw pictures of her. She was beautiful. I know Bail loved her even if their marriage was an arranged one." A hazy look had come across Leia's eyes as she spoke, which Luke did not fail to notice.

"Marriages are still arranged where you're from?"

Leia nodded. "Yes. Since she was the younger daughter, she was promised to the son of Alderaan's viceroy. Even I am promised to the viceroy of Coruscant, which is more important than ever if a war breaks out."

Luke considered her words for a moment. "You mentioned our mother was the younger daughter. Does that mean we have an aunt?"

Leia nodded again. "Yes, she is the viceroy of Naboo now. Yet another planet who could support us." She abruptly paused; that same misty look returning. "I do not even know her."

Luke gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, that's good to know we are not completely alone out there."

Leia swallowed, rising back to her feet. "Yes, I suppose that's true."

"So you don't know how our mother met our father? How they were even together if that prophecy banned it?" Luke did not bother getting up, choosing to remain seated.

"I don't even want to think about it," She scowled. "How she could even be with a monster like that... It disgusts me."

"Sometimes I think it must have been against her will because that is the only possible way." Leia turned away from her brother at this suggestion, reigniting her lightsaber. "I think I've answered your questions. Let's try this again."

Luke slowly rose back up, not wanting to attempt this for what was now probably the tenth time. Once again, he shut his eyes and extended his arms. However, this time he imagined clearly the jagged rocks rising in the air. He kept this image in his mind for what seemed like an eternity, picturing it more and more vividly as each second passed.

"Luke! Open your eyes!" Leia exclaimed. "Look!"

He immediately opened them, gasping when he saw what Leia was so excited about. The rocks were levitating in the air just as he pictured!

"I-I did that?" He looked to his sister, who only nodded eagerly. "Oh my gosh! I did that! I'm doing that!"

Leia flashed him a toothy grin. "Yes, I knew you could. Now try moving the rocks to around and lowering them."

With a bit of hesitation, Luke moved his arms to the side to which the rocks followed his movement. Bringing his hands down slowly, he lowered the rocks back onto the dirt.

"I-I don't know what happened!" He started to explain, looking at his hands in shock. "I just suddenly started seeing the rocks more clearly and-"

"It's because you were focused. When frustration and confusion creep in, you lose touch with the Force," Leia smiled. "I always knew you could do it, but I'm still proud of you."

Luke returned her smile. "Thank you. Even if you were a little tough, you still did help me."

"A little tough?" She mocked, cocking her eyebrow. "You would have never survived Obi-Wan's training then."

Luke began to laugh, which soon infected Leia and she couldn't help but join in. It wasn't the training that bonded Luke with her or even the stories she told him. No, it was this moment of laughter shared between them; this moment where Luke actually saw Leia as his sister.

Leia's laughter came to a stop. Her face turned back to her usual one of sternness and seriousness.

"Now, again," She commanded.