Leia didn't know what to do as she roamed around the halls of her Star Destroyer. She looked outside from the viewport, the surface of the desert planet below her. The Force swirled around her as she sensed the hopelessness of the Rebels below but along with that, she felt her own turmoil.

Shaking her head, she glanced at the view of the planet. Her mind's and her heart's decisions conflicted with each other.

'Focus on the mission.'

'Interrogate the woman.'

'No, get back on the mission.'

'No, find out who's the woman.'

'The mission...'

'The woman.'

The blow she received on the Tantive IV unlocked her emotions, all of them. She no longer felt only the hatred within her that raged like a storm, but also her sorrow, the pain and the loneliness. The worst part is that years of her training with Sidious that she had tried to forget rushed back into her mind.

All these feelings that were tucked into the dark abyss of her mind were never meant to be brought up again. And somehow they did. 'That woman,' she thought, and snarled. It was all her fault.

The conflict, the imbalance, she was supposed to feel those things, she was a Sith but her conflict was between the light and dark inside her.

In that moment when the woman had striked, Leia had felt the warmth of love, the loneliness of isolation, the happiness in small things in life, the sorrow in the big worries and she did not know how to explain them.

She longed for the positive emotions but struggled to remain in the dark. She distracted her uncertainty in the view of the void above the planet, breathing at a slow rate. There, she saw a sight.

A speck of light was escaping the atmosphere. Her face contorted into one full of surprise, and glared at the tiny ship. The Rebels somehow escaped with the droids. The automatic turrets went online and aimed at the Corellian freighter, missing each fire since the ship had moved too fast.

A bolt successfully hit its deflector shields, jerking it but it moved in the speed of light as it disappeared from sight.

"Milady, its path can be traced. The hit made its hyperdrive leak," an officer reported, typing into his computer.

"Well?"

After a few seconds, the computer beeped, outputting the results in its monitor. "Scanners show it was headed towards Alderaan, my lady," he said, stopping his actions to look at her for further instructions.

"Send it to Darth Vader," she commanded. Frustration and stress tainted the signature of the place, which diminished no sooner than she left the bridge.

* * * * transition * * * *

Luke looked up to his master's frown with fear and shock in his expression. He looked passive outside but inside, he was filled with a fear; Obi Wan knew that. A fear of the Dark Side, the only fear the Jedi had, and it was the proper fear to have.

"You, you saw that?" the boy croaked, sitting upright.

"Yes," the Jedi Master replied, confusion spread throughout his face, "Vader, and you..."

He moved his eyes away from his master towards the floor, ashamed.

"You haven't done anything, have you?" Obi Wan asked, his eyebrows raised in worry.

"No," Luke replied, "I'd only seen it twice. What does it mean?"

He released a long sigh, repeating Luke's question in his mind. What did it mean? Was Vader probing him? Tempting him? If Luke found out, how would he explain without affecting the boy's alignment? He had lied to Luke for nineteen years and he did not want him to turn. That abhorrent image drilled itself into his mind.

Perhaps it was a premonition of the future. If it was, he must prevent it from happening, he must, for the sake of the galaxy. He had trained the boy to resist temptations well. In that future, whatever will have happened might have affected him in an adverse way.

"Ben?"

"Hmm?"

"Will it happen?" Luke's distressed face turned towards him.

"I hope not, young one," he answered, "The future is very uncertain and it is difficult to see. If the Force has written such destiny for you," -his breath became shaky and he cleared his throat- "I only hope it also has a plan to save you."

"Then what's the point to go just to come back to the Light Side?"

"The Force always has a purpose Luke, you just have to find it."

"So Vader was in my...vision for a reason."

"I don't know..."

"I thought you said he was trying to break my will, to turn me into him, not for the Force to have something in surprise for both of us."

"That is true, and that is why you must train hard to resist. Do not doubt. It will be because of your lack of belief that you'll fail."

"Why do I sense you are hiding something?"

"Do not doubt, only believe. Remember that. It is all I can tell you."

"I only wished answers."

"Answers which you will get later."

"I understand," Luke said coldly, clearly frustrated.

He ignored his master's look of concern and left the room. He settled into sitting on the couch of the main hold as he pondered.

For nineteen years, any questions he had were dismissed as if they were all bantha dung. Obi Wan was cryptic and refused to clear the fog of confusion in him.

It was...annoying, to say a mild word, and it was the main reason for his doubt. He hardly believed that the Jedi were heroes, according to what he'd heard from Padme. The propaganda was implausible; he felt like a slave in the Order.

He was aware of the sacrifices that came with being a Jedi; emotions were forbidden, comfort was not required and, knowledge? Ironically the Jedi Code stressed on knowledge, but he was denied of that. Some say that knowledge is power and if it were so, he was pathetic against the Empire.

Ah, there was that doubt.

His head was on the table, his sanity was preventing him from banging his head on it. Ben, Vader and him, then, Padme, Ahsoka. Why does he feel that something was going to happen? And it was not good.

He breathed, Jedi would not be stressed out. Maybe it was his paranoia, or the vision, but he always felt a presence. He took deep breaths, each calming himself down. He was a metaphorical vessel, filled with emotions up to the brim and it could spill at any moment.

It was quiet, only the humming of the engines in the background and he eventually relaxed. He was on a dangerous path, his thoughts were not of the Jedi, and he blamed Obi Wan for that. He closed his eyes and used his arms as support for his head.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and he raised his head to see Ahsoka's smile. He pathetically returned a slight one, as he resisted the urge to frown.

"I can tell something's bothering you," she spoke and took a seat next to him.

"Nothing, I'm just tired," he replied, putting his head back on the table.

"I understand, but, if you were physically tired, you would have been in bed."

He sat upright, annoyed by her pestering. He would really appreciate it if she left him alone. He released a breath. "What do you want?"

"I can sense your feelings, and it's distressing," she replied, "It is okay to let them out sometimes."

His eyebrows furrowed and she chuckled at his cluelessness.

"It's not the Jedi way," he answered her.

"Yeah, but you're human too," she said, patting his shoulder. Luke shifted her hand away and sat in a tight position.

"I find it unusual that you, a Jedi, would tell me this. By the way, you're a stranger," he reasoned as he put on a straight face, "Do you expect me to tell you everything when I don't know you? Now, unless if you know some answers, leave me alone."

"I am not a Jedi," she replied, her expression unwavering, "There are bigger things in the galaxy to worry about. But the biggest things come from the smallest. You want answers? You have to be patient; only if you prove yourself, will I tell you."

"How?"

"Find your center, and your balance. It's the only guarantee that Master Kenobi will tell you, otherwise, he's afraid he might lose you after the truth."

Luke nodded, but his mind was surprised and confused as to what to do. Why would Obi Wan be afraid of the truth? Nevertheless, the hint was given: attain balance.