━━┛ 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄┗━━

━━┓'𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠' ┏━━

━━ ★ ━━

. . . MOS EISLEY, TATOOINE

𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 of the cantina, Cora stared at the woman sitting in front of her.

"Wynn," Cora repeated. She had heard the name before, she knew she had.

It came to her in small pieces. Her mother hadn't spoken about it in years, especially not after Orpheus had died. It would have been too dangerous to speak of the Jedi on the Emperor's planet, treason, but that wasn't the real reason. It was painful for Lyranna to remember a life she had once had. The stories only came after they begged as children. Her normally serene expression always became pinched like she was remembering a phantom pain.

Wynnetka Adairi was a Jedi. Better than that, I counted her as a friend. She might have been one of the first people who truly believed in me besides Padmé.

Cora didn't know what to say. What are you supposed to say to one of the galaxy's greatest Jedi? Sitting across from her in the booth, she looked quite unassuming.

Cora decided to go with the facts. "You're supposed to be dead."

Wynn tilted her head. With her silver eyes, she looked like an owl. "Depends on who you ask, but I do consider myself alive."

"Hm," Cora mused.

She was probably supposed to be impressed, and in a way she was, but she had always been wary of the Jedi. They had been blinded by their hubris, cut down when they were supposed to be protecting the galaxy. Still, there was leverage to be had here. When she was little and visiting Tatooine, there were stories of a cloaked Jedi who was once the great Obi-Wan Kenobi. The dirt-caked children who ran around the streets told stories about the days when he had killed a hundred stormtroopers in the streets. The adults shook their heads and said crazy old Ben Kenobi was only just that: and old man. It was anyone's guess how much of that was true, but if he was still alive, Wynn would know. It was common political knowledge that Kenobi had been a close friend of the Organa's. He might be able to help.

"You must know Ben. Ben Kenobi? Everyone I've asked dismisses him as a hermit."

At the mention of the name, all the hard edges of Wynn's face softened. Her silver eyes looked less like ice and more like slivers of pale moonlight. The corners of her eyes wrinkled when she smiled, but that was the only part of her face that showed her age.

"I do know him, as it so happens," Wynn answered lightly. She shifted her hands from the table and down into her lap. Barely, Cora caught the glint of a ring on the woman's left hand. "And you're looking for him? Why might you need the help of Ben Kenobi? The stories are true, the man is certainly a recluse."

Cora had a gut-twisting feeling that Wynn knew more than she let on. Jedi was the one thing that kept running through her mind. It set adrenaline flowing through her as the word tumbled over: Jedi, Jedi, Jedi. Aunt Phoebe said it was a good thing they went into hiding. Mom is going to lose her shit when she finds out Wynn is still alive.

Cora leaned forward, and the end of her dark hair trailed onto the table. "I need to talk to Ben. It's very important, and it's time sensitive."

"Says who?" Wynn said sardonically. "There is nothing on this planet worth moving fast for."

Cora was getting antsy. It was either she tell Wynn the true nature of her self-driven and possibly foolish reason for being here, or the woman might get up and leave. "I was sent by Bail Organa to ensure the sacrifice of his daughter was not in vain."

Not entirely true, but true enough.

Wynn narrowed her calculating eyes. "Bail Organa sent you?"

In a split second, Cora made her decision. "Yes," Cora said self-assuredly. "Please, I'm incredibly short on time. If there is any hope of saving Leia, I need to get to Ben."

Wynn glanced around the room once. "Then we'd better get going," she breathed in a short sigh. "He isn't going to be happy about this new development, that's for sure."

Cora didn't even know what to make of her words. She barely had time to wave goodbye to her uncle before she was left in the yellowed dust by the white-haired Jedi.

★

. . . JUNDLAND WASTES, TATOOINE

𝐅𝐀𝐑 out into the desert, there was a sandstone house that stood up on the edge of a bluff. Like most homes, there was a moisture vaporator outside and not much else. Wynn's sandspeeder engine was deafeningly loud, but they got all the way to the front door before someone finally came out to greet them.

A man, the same height as Wynn, stood in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest. "Who's this?" He asked, still blocking their path. "Did you find another stray child on the streets again?"

"That was one time." Wynn rolled her eyes. "This one found me, actually. It's important, Bail sent her."

"Bail Organa?" The man was baffled. "Why would he send her?"

"I'm trying very hard not to be offended," Cora muttered.

"I asked the same thing. This is Cora Grené," Wynn introduced blithely.

"I actually go by Anika Rees these days," Cora said amiably. She was almost positive undercover agents didn't have to assert their alias, but in the presence of two Jedi, all bets were off.

"That's a peculiar nickname," Wynn remarked. "But alright."

"Hold on a moment, did you say Grené?" the man–who she assumed was the Obi-Wan who went by Ben–asked. "As in, Lyranna Grené?"

"You knew her too?" Cora wasn't so surprised anymore. "She said she came here to Tatooine with Wynn a long time ago. When we were little she would tell us the stories of the time she spent here and on Coruscant. She said you were both two of the greatest Jedi to ever live."

"Helvíti, I miss her," Wynn sighed, finally stepping past.

"That's incredible," Obi-Wan marveled, regarding Cora as if she were an interesting house plant. "The Force works in mysterious ways."

"But the Imperial Senate works harder!" Wynn shouted from inside the house. "She's here to ask about Leia Organa."

Cora was looking between the two of them with interest. As far as she knew, marriage was forbidden for the Jedi. But it was impossible to think anything else of their relationship. In the small house, everything was set out in twos: the chairs, the barstools, the plates on the table. If they weren't married, she would be sorely surprised and very disappointed. There was too much chemistry between them to go to waste.

"I'm not the first person Bail Organa intended to send," Cora explained, using the bare scraps of the information on the holo to construct the shell of her lie. "His daughter was carrying vital information when her cruiser was hijacked by the Empire. She was taken prisoner, and now it's uncertain whether the information she was seeking made it off of that ship. The last they knew was that it was docked over Tatooine."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes, regarding her with shrewd inspection. "And are you a part of the rebellion, too?"

Wynn raised a barely-visible eyebrow, as if to say, go on.

"I am," Cora told them definitively.

"Good for you!" Wynn said amiably.

"Yes, that's all well and good, Wynnie," Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, gesturing for Cora to take a seat on the couch. "But if Bail sent her, we are also about to become involved in this."

Wynn crossed the room and moved into the kitchen. The glass cups moved through the air of their own accord, and the pitcher of water lifted itself and poured the clear liquid into them. Cora saw the barely perceptible flick of Wynn's wrist, and she knew she was witnessing the Force in action.

There is no such thing as an all powerful Force, Aunt Phoebe's voice echoed. Our power is derived directly from The Ones, there is no mediator except your own two hands.

Cora turned her attention back to Obi-Wan's troubled words. "Bail Organa is desperate. They're losing traction, and the Senate is inches away from dissolving into a dictatorship." Cora said, now speaking from what she knew to be true. "I've watched it get closer and closer to the edge of war, and I don't think there's a way out of this now."

"So does Bail think that the Jedi can save him?" Wynn's voice became harsh and bitter as a winter chill. "He should know better than that. There are hardly any of us left, and those that are are spread out galaxy-wide. Ahsoka Tano is still out there in hiding, but those who took action like Kanan Jarrus were killed. There are few others."

"There's a saying that the Old Naboo have. Si vis pacem, para bellum." Cora bit her cheek. "If you want peace, prepare for war."

"Oh, I know that," Wynn told them. Her eyes took on a far-off look, as if she was seeing something they couldn't. "But what I don't understand is why Bail believes the Jedi have any power to help anymore."

Obi-Wan gave a short sigh. "As if we did very well the first time around."

Wynn set one of the glasses down in front of Cora with a sharp clink. "Obi-Wan," she admonished.

"It's a simple fact, Wynn," he put his head in his hands. "We have a job to do here, we cannot just leave on a whim."

Wynn took his words into consideration. Using the silence as a chance to take a break, Cora drank all the water down in two gulps. The sun was relentlessly hot, and she could feel a sunburn on her cheeks.

"You have a job," Wynn considered carefully. She folded her bare arms across her chest. "I don't."

He just looked at her with a pained expression. It was so full of love, Cora almost felt like she should look away. "I'm not letting you go. You'll be completely exposed. The last time you left, you almost didn't come back."

"But I always return in the end," she smiled ruefully. "But no, you're right. It needs to be you that goes."

"What's your job?" Cora asked. She was too curious for her own good, and there were a thousand questions running through her critical mind. "What's keeping you on Tatooine?"

"An important assignment," was all Wynn said. "There's nothing else to it. I know that Bail Organa has somehow forgotten about me–"

"–he did not forget about you," Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. He was still smiling, though. "You're too dramatic for your own good."

Wynn held up a hand. "He did too, and I'm not taking any arguments. But Obi-Wan can help you, Cora. He just needs a little encouragement. Maybe a shove."

"Thank you, dearest," Obi-Wan sighed, leaning back against the couch.

Wynn brought a hand to her forehead and Cora thought the Jedi might be upset. But this was something different. She squinted as if a sudden headache had begun to hurt her. "And I think your shove has arrived. It's the kid, he's on the move."

Obi-Wan stood bolt upright, rushing around the room like it might be on fire. "Where is he?"

Wynn closed her eyes again, and her expression relaxed. "Up on the ridge, border of the Jundland Wastes."

Cora barely heard the words that came out of Obi-Wan's mouth, but it sounded like he said, just as reckless as his father.

Soon enough, Obi-Wan was out the door, and Wynn and Cora were left alone to sit on opposite ends of the table.

"How did you know where he was?"

Wynn smiled. "Jedi trick."

Cora recoiled slightly, and Wynn noticed immediately.

"Why do you shy away from it?" she asked. "The Jedi pose no harm to you, the way of the Force is a natural one."

"It is not," Cora bit. A bitterness ignited in her chest. "Mind tricks, telepathy, sensing emotions. None of it is natural, it's all nefas."

Wynn wasn't stunned in the slightest, which upset Cora greatly. It seemed there was nothing that could shake the woman. "Nefas. Wickedness? I've heard that word before. You're Kro Var, aren't you?"

She held out her hand and let it ignite. "The way of the Kro Var is the only natural one."

"You've inherited the gift."

"Or curse, it depends on who you ask," Cora said.

"Gift and curse are often different sides of the same coin in my experience," Wynn told her. "The Jedi were flawed, and I'm not too proud to admit that. But to call it wickedness is an interesting perspective."

"There's a cost that comes from misuse of the power given to us by the Ones," Cora shrugged with less conviction. "I've always had a difficult time fully believing in what my Aunt Phoebe preaches, but there are some things I know are true. The Jedi–" she shook her head "–couldn't even save themselves. How can I believe that their return would bring anything good with it?"

Wynn looked to the window, considering this. "Nothing is guaranteed. It's good to be skeptical. But I'll also warn you–it's better to have an open mind. I learned that lesson the hard way."

The word echoed against Cora's lips. Nefas. Unnatural, a cheater's way to the heart of the Ones. Cora didn't believe in the supremacy of the Kro Var, and she didn't think she truly believed anything should have supremacy. Still, she knew not to trust a Jedi.

"They're back," Wynn said, already looking toward the door.

Obi-Wan burst back through with a boy in tow. He couldn't have been much younger than Cora, but there was a blue-eyed innocence to him. Sandy blond hair flopped down almost to his eyes. He was sunshine personified.

Between the two of them they were hauling a badly dented golden protocol droid. A smaller droid rolled in behind, chirping wildly. Cora had learned binary over the last year after getting sick of not being able to understand the droids that roamed the Obrim's shop. Ronan had offered to teach her, but the only true way to learn was to sit in the company of droids and listen.

She was still rusty, but the R2 unit's lament was unmistakable. Sandpeople!

"Take a seat," Obi-Wan told the blond boy. He tried to let the protocol droid down gently, but it landed in an unceremonious heap.

Wynn was incredulous, grabbing Obi-Wan by the elbow and dragging him into the kitchen. "You can't just bring him in here!"

"I really didn't have a choice," he told her evenly.

Cora glanced at the boy. He was still standing. His gaze drifted between Wynn and Obi-Wan with open curiosity.

"If it's really that much trouble, I can just head home–" he began.

"No!" Wynn and Obi-Wan said at the same time. Wynn shook her head. "No, I'm sorry Luke, we're being terrible hosts. I'm Wynn. This is Anika Rees," she said, gesturing to where Cora sat.

Cora raised a brow. Wynn gave her a barely perceptible wink.

"How did you know my name?" Luke asked, finally taking a seat. He pulled out a tiny tool from his belt and set to work on the broken arm of the golden droid.

There was a silent argument between her and Obi-Wan, and it looked like Wynn had narrowly won.

"I knew your father," Wynn told him.

Obi-Wan lifted a hand to his chin and gave his graying beard a thoughtful tug. "We both did. We fought with him in the war."

Luke scoffed. He didn't even look up from his work. "My father didn't fight in the wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter."

"That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals, thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved."

Luke looked between the pair as if seeing them for the first time. "You fought in the Clone Wars?"

"Yes. I was once a Jedi, the same as your father."

"And I was once the Queen of Eshan, if we're keeping count," Wynn said. Cora had no idea if she was kidding. "But here we all are."

"I wish I could have known him," Luke said. "Both of my parents. I don't remember them."

Obi-Wan looked pained. "You father was the best starpilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself."

Luke gave a sheepish grin and turned away. Cora had a sudden inexplicable desire to smile too.

"And he was a good friend," Wynn continued. She was holding a cylinder of metal in her hand. "This is for you, Luke. He would have–he would have wanted you to have it. Your uncle would never allow it, but it's yours."

"Old Owen was so afraid you might follow the footsteps of the Jedi," Obi-Wan muttered.

Cora frowned. "It's a worthy fear."

Wynn came around the counter and grabbed Cora by the shoulder. It looked like a friendly embrace from afar, but her fingers dug sharply into Cora's thin clothing. "You'll have to forgive Anika. She's prone to extremism."

The golden droid rose. "Sir, if you'll not be needing me, I'll close down for a while."

"Sure, go ahead," Luke said absently. Wynn breezed past Cora's seat and placed the cylinder in Luke's outstretched hand. "What is it?"

"Your father's lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster."

"An elegant weapon for a more civilized age," Obi-Wan finished.

Luke pressed a small button and the saber flashed to life, illuminating the hovel in an eerie blue glow. Cora's skinned crawled at the sight of it. Luke waved the blasted thing around like it was a blitzball stick.

"For thousands of generations the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire." Obi-Wan's face took on a far off expression as he remembered it all.

Cora knew better than to protest. She could argue all day about the morality of the Jedi, but now was not the time.

Wynn folded her bare arms over her chest. "So, Luke. I gather you aren't here by your own volition."

He had put the saber to the side and was back at work on the golden droid. "No. This little droid was looking for his old master, which he claims is Ben."

The R2 unit rolled forth and Wynn brushed her hand against the droid's head. "Good to see you, Artooie."

"So he's yours?"

"No," Wynn sighed. "He belonged to your father."

The droid chirped happily, rocking back and forth and spitting out binary so quickly, Cora could barely translate it fast enough. She did catch the name Leia Organa, and that was all she needed to hear.

Cora leaned forward. "What did he say about Leia?"

"He's carrying a message from her," Wynn frowned. "Go ahead."

With a whir, the holo projector turned on. Cora gasped at the sight of a very tiny Leia standing on the table, shrouded in blue light. She looked older than when Cora had last seen her, but that self-righteous expression in her eyes hadn't been diluted with time.

"General Kenobi, years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Cora stood and began to pace. Her assignment might have been partially self-given, but she knew what was at stake. "My assignment is to rescue Leia herself. Every rebel channel is playing the same message from Bail Organa, pleading for information on where she's been detained."

Luke stared at her like he was looking into a bright light. "You're part of the Rebellion?"

She scoffed with more confidence than she felt. "I have been for this entire conversation, thank you for noticing."

Wynn snorted. Obi-Wan leaned up to her and whispered something Cora didn't catch. Whatever it was, it made Wynn grin wider than she had the whole time they had been talking.

"We cannot just pack up and ship off to Alderaan on a whim," Obi-Wan argued.

"Did you not hear the message?" Cora asked teresely. "This is not a whim. This is the fate of everything you once fought for. By all means, stay behind, but I'm going to find Leia, even if that means going to Alderaan myself."

The three of them just stared at her. Obi-Wan looked vaguely annoyed, Wynn was mildly amused, and Luke was largely still confused.

"Why are you here again?" Luke asked her.

Cora just gritted her teeth. The flame in her chest roared with her temper.

"You must learn the ways of the Force if you're to come to Alderaan," Obi-Wan finally said to Luke.

"Alderaan?" Luke repeated. He stood now. "I'm not going to Alderaan. I've gotta get home. It's late. I'm in for it as it is."

The lament sounded familiar.

"He needs your help, Luke," Wynn said suddenly. There was a clarity in her silver eyes now. Tenderly, she said, "He's getting too old for this sort of thing."

Cora frowned. There was an unseen current flowing, a conversation that only Wynn and Obi-Wan were participating in.

"Wynn, you can't possibly mean–"

She lifted her chin. "You know it's time."

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" Luke whispered to Cora.

"Not a clue."

"Luke," Wynn said. "You'll have your whole life to stare at the sand. I know you have dreams bigger than this place."

He hesitated. "I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it."

"Quite the scholar you are," Cora muttered.

Luke glared. "There's nothing I can do about it right now. It's all such a long way from here."

Wynn waved a hand. "That's your uncle talking."

Luke leaned against the stone column, nearly smacking his forehead against it in frustration. "I already have to explain a runaway droid. You seem to know my uncle pretty well. You tell me how well he would take it if I waltzed in and said I was heading to Alderaan?"

"This is the sort of thing you ask forgiveness for later on," Wynn bargained.

He shook his head. "Look. I can take you as far as Anchorhead for your trouble. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going."

"You have to do what you feel is right, of course," Wynn agreed with a small nod of her head.

Luke was already powering on the golden droid. In mere moments, he was out the door and gone with the two droids in tow. The little blue one looked sorely sorry to leave Wynn behind.

"Cora, it was lovely to finally meet you," Wynn told her.

"You really aren't coming?"

She shook her head. "No. It's Ben's turn to be a savior. We tend to draw unwanted attention when we travel together."

Obi-Wan just stared at his hands. Heartbreak was calling.

Cora had a vague feeling of vertigo, as if she were in an empty room with a pair of ghosts. "I'll go wait outside."

━━ ★ ━━

a/n Cora and Luke's dynamic was a difficult one to pin down, but ultimately it's shaping up to be a real strangers to idiots to lovers story.

I never realized how fun and complex it is to write a character with an alias like Cora's. There's a Luke perspective in the next chapter 👀and you'll really see Anika Rees in action!!

I've always found it funny that my favorite story to write has always been my least popular, so if you're reading this, I'm so happy you're here! I know I don't have many readers and that the og trilogy isn't as popular on wp, but I'm very excited to explore the side of the rebellion that the films don't necessarily show : )

--nat