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Leia had learnt many unfortunate, painful lessons in her life. If she'd ever found the time to write her memoires, at least half the pages would have to be devoted to painful facts about the galaxy and how it worked.
One of the hardest pages to write would be that no one ever truly knew when the worst day of of their life would come.
She'd made that mistake twice. She let herself believe she'd already had the hardest day of her life. At sixteen, she'd thought that her first boyfriend dying was the worst day of her life. Then at eighteen, Alderaan was destroyed and she truly believed nothing could top that. How could it? What could be more painful than losing your entire family, your entire culture, entire world in a few seconds?
The worst day of Leia's life actually came when she was thirty four.
It was just a random morning when she woke up to C3POs bleating voice. Nothing besides that seemed out of the ordinary.
Leia went into autopilot within seconds of blinking the sleep from her eyes; you don't focus on the mundane when you're in a rush. She hadn't taken a second to even think about the day ahead, it'd already been planned down to the last second.
The Demilitarization Bill had been consuming her every waking thought for the last two months; a recent military accident had sent the Populists into a wild fervor, claiming that their planets couldn't afford to 'waste credits' on unnecessary training exercises, and wanted a 40% cut to the Military Budget.
And the Populists almost had enough votes to push it through the Senate.
So Leia'd spent weeks campaigning to the on-the-fence worlds and Senators, drafting compromises, promising Military reforms. Anything that'd buy additional time for the remainders of the Rebellion to continue doing final sweeps of dead space to see if any systems were hiding the still missing/unaccounted for Star Destroyers.
At least 24 known Star Destroyers were still missing in action. And yes, maybe one or two went down on Jakku and some pencil pusher lost them in the crowd but 24? That represented almost 880,000 Imperials that just magically disappeared of the face of existence one day.
Leia didn't buy that for a second. It was vital that she added time to the clock to find something, anything that'd give her evidence to request an investigation team. If not from the Military scans themselves, then just time to find someone who did know something; a deserting soldier, a scavenged droid, a civilian who'd gotten lost.
Something would turn up because it had to. 24 Star Destroyers couldn't just disappear.
The Imperials were still out there. Leia could feel them. And she wasn't going to let them grow power silently. Not the way the Senate allowed Palpatine to grow. Not the way the Empire's apathy let her parents grow the Rebellion. She wasn't making that mistake. The New Republic needed to figure out which worlds were still harboring Imperial Sympathizers, funding their causes, and pin them down. Which required resources, feet on the ground, anything to give them more opportunities to find the one straw that'd break the Tinktu's back.
But it was all she could do to just keep the Populists from completely freezing investigative work.
So today would look like every other day this week: wake up early and then rush to her office to talk with her staff to strategize on how to corral any fence sitters to Leia's cause. Spend the rest of the day debating in the Senate, then work late into the evening. Then she might make it back to her family apartments before midnight.
She hadn't made it home before midnight last night. She'd stumbled in at 2 am in her suit, slept in the guest room to avoid waking up Han (if he actually had made it home the night before). She hadn't bathed or removed her makeup or even changed into her nightclothes; she just flung everything down on the floor of the under-decorated guest room. So when C3PO came in to rouse her, ten minutes after her bedroom alarm went off, she had to scramble to get everything back into her bag.
Liea woke up tired on the worst day of her life. More than tired, she was exhausted, crabby, and ready to rip someone's head off. She then had to sprint to her bedroom closet, scowling when she noticed the bed had not in fact been slept in. Still, she just slammed on a clean pantsuit on as quickly as she could and had ST-1LA put her hair in as simple a braid and makeup as possible.
When she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but flinch. She was still good looking, that was a consistent, but there was no hiding the fact she was tired. She was beginning to get bags under her eyes that makeup couldn't fully cover. Her skin seemed a bit sallow. And the straightness of her braid, the neatness of her suit compared to the dresses she'd worn as a younger woman.
It all felt slightly Imperial-like. That made her want to give up, crawl back into bed, and weep.
But she didn't have time to change anything now.
"Princess! Oh, Princess!" C3PO came trundling into closet in his usual panicked fashion, waving his arms and a datapad manically. "I'm so glad I found you before you left."
"Not now, C3PO." She waved him off as she slid on a simple pair of kitten heels, wincing as they rubbed along a blister. "I'm late."
"Princess, Master Solo did not return home last night, and so he could not sign Prince Ben's field trip form!" C3PO chirped. "He needs to return it today to go to the Astrologym trip on Friday!"
"Just have it forwarded to my Office, C3." She began trotting down the hallway to the kitchen to grab whatever the first thing she saw for breakfast. "I'll do it in between speakers and send it to the school at lunch."
"His teachers have been very specific about-"
"They can suck it up!" She made her way up the stairs to the rest of the apartment. "It's school, not a bank or military base!"
The Kitchen was tucked out of the way of the rest of the house; it basically existed to support catering and droids and nothing else. Both Leia and Han could only burn water, and they had a cooking droid that usually took care of all meals, so there was no need for any luxuries there. No chairs, no tables, just the simple white appliances and a just a small window that looked out onto the Silver Sea. There was a bowl full of fruit though; usually they were used for cocktails and smoothies but she just needed something in her stomach while she was driven to the Senate.
Having spotted her prize from the doorway, she stepped towards it only to immediately find herself sprawling on the floor. Her heels had snagged on something!
Leia spun around to turn the full force of her drowsy rage on it and-
Ben. He'd been sitting on the floor of the kitchen, his textbooks and mug of hot chocolate besides him. He was still in his stripped pajamas and Tauntaun slippers. His dark curls were still unbrushed. The only thing that showed any signs of alertness was his eyes.
He was clearly as shocked as Leia to see her lying on the floor.
"Mum?" He jumped up to help pick her up, "Are you okay?"
The wave of indignation and shock at falling immediately fell away. At eleven, Ben still hadn't had an 'I hate my parents' phase; he couldn't even stay in the room when she and Han fought, let alone raise a voice for himself. His gentle, softspoken spirit could never handle much conflict.
He'd never do anything to hurt her.
"Ben." She took his hand as a gesture but used her own power to get back to her feet. "What are you doing on the floor? You have a desk."
"I couldn't focus in my room. It was weird in there." He shrugged the question off, his curls bouncing. "And I have a test this afternoon. Social Studies."
"I thought you were doing well in that?" Leia began to eye the fruit on the counter behind Ben. She had to be out of the apartment in the next three minutes. Rush hour in Chandrila was as predictable as it was brutal.
"I am! I'm not the best, but it's not what I was worried about-" Ben turned his pen over and over in his hands, his big brown eyes narrowing with some kind of emotion Leia was not going to unpack. "Mum, do you know where Dad is? He has barely been here all week, and he didn't pick me up yesterday and-"
"He's fine." Leia reached around behind Ben, plucking a couple of fruit from the bowl. "You know your Dad gets distracted. I'm sure he just got a good contract or new business deal and ended up partying a bit too hard on Coruscant."
"Mum, I'm serious!" Ben followed her as she began to make her way out of the kitchen towards the elevator to the driving bay. "I keep coming home and no one is here and last night-"
Leia could only sigh and keep trotting down the hall. "And I'm sorry for that. Look, I'll talk to him, but don't let it bug you. Han's always been like this - something shiny shows up and off he goes. But he does care about you kid."
"I- yeah. Yeah, I know that." She could hear Bens slippers slide across the duracreet floors, making a tiny 'squeak' with each step. "I'm just scared."
"Of what? You're perfectly safe." She didn't have time for a conversation right now. She just sped her walk up. "3PO, message my driver to start the car up."
"I don't know." Ben whined behind her, still trying to keep up. The squeaks grew more frequent. "I just am. I keep having these weird dreams and-"
He continued talking, but Leia couldn't help but get slightly distracted by the state of the side tables as she walked pass them and back down the stairs. The floral arrangements were beginning to wilt; she'd have to talk to C3PO about changing them faster. She'd be hosting the Dinner Party this weekend and Senator Kithalista was a sucker for a good arrangement.
"Mum?" Ben whined, "Are you listening to me?"
"Ben, I am really busy today, but I promise, once the weekend rolls around we can talk about this." She spun on her heels to look back at him.
She couldn't make out his face well; the morning sun streaming in from the window that backlit the stairwell and Ben the point she could only really see the glow of his curls and shape in the hallway. Leia had to squint just to keep her eyes on him. From what she could tell, Ben seemed to be hunched in on himself, like he was forcing himself to be there.
"Okay, mum." She could just make out that he was looking down at his feet.
"Oh, c'mere you." She took a couple steps towards him and he ran forward, pressing his face into her hip as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I love you so much Ben. And you've become such a brave, strong boy. I know it's been hard, but summer break is just around the corner and we can all take some time off. Go on a family trip again. We haven't had one of those in forever."
"You promise?" He asked, his voice muffled by her pants.
The promise was risky; something always went wrong with her or Hans work at the last minute it seemed. Last year they'd had tickets to an amusement park that fell through when pirates attacked one of Hans shipping freighters and he had to file an insurance claim in person. Before that, they'd planned to go to and see the Eye of Aldhani when a bomb attack on the Senate forced Leia into leading an emergency taskforce to track them down. And before that they'd been so busy they hadn't even attempted to plan anything. The Solo's hadn't really had a proper trip since Ben was 7.
"I promise." She kissed the top of his head. "Emperor Palpatine himself could return, and I'll still make sure we get a weekend trip in."
He tightened his arms around her ribs, and she could feel him smile.
"But right now, I really have to go Ben!" She gently pried herself loose of his bear grip, and continued towards the elevator doors. "I love you lots and lots!"
"Love you too Mum!" He shouted after her, and she could see him craning his entire body to keep watching her as she walked through the sliding doors to the elevator.
And then the door closed and he was gone.
Leia had, in fact, fallen behind schedule while talking to Ben, and was now caught in the rush hour traffic that swarmed downtown Chandrila. Unlike Coruscant, where they'd open a new line for traffic every week, Chandrilans valued their peace too much to have cars near their residential buildings. Lanes tended to be confined close to the ground, and new ones were rare. But as the population boomed in the aftermath of the Empire and the emergence of Chandrila as the new (if temporary) home of the Galactic Senate, it caused additional traffic.
So Chandrila and the Capital of Hanna were now traffic hell.
Leia just munched her fruit miserably. She'd miss her window to talk to Senator Chuloo of Whisto at this rate, and she knew that old man was near caving to the more 'economic' driven minority of his homeworld.
Once she'd finished her fruit, she briefly checked her outfit to make sure that she hadn't spilled any juice down her front; perils of eating in the car and all that. No juice, but she did notice two small watermarks that she must have sloshed down her-
It took her a second to realize that had been where Ben had hugged her. He must have been crying when he pressed his face into her shirt.
Fuck. She was fucking this up.
She'd known she was for the last little while, but this just rubbed it in more.
What's worse, she had no real excuse for letting it get this bad. Her parents had always been there for her, even in the middle of managing a covert rebellion and a Planet under the Empire. She'd also been raised by a host of staff and droids, but her parents made a point of always being there for at least a few minutes each day, even during the height of Rebellion activity. Both of them, to read her a story or sing her a song. To make sure she knew she was loved, even if they were busy.
Bail and Breha had been Partners in every sense of the word. They worked shoulder to shoulder with each other, picking up where the other left off and managing every detail with a kind of understanding and knowledge of how the other would want to do it. Their work was like a dance, each step designed to compliment and support the other. With both work and family, they made the balance look effortless.
She and Han on the other hand were more like two Rancors smashing into each others dens. Han, who bristled at people's prodding, had lost his temper publicly more than once when Senators demanded the Organa-Solo's financial records. People weren't necessarily wrong to ask for transparency in Leia's opinion; there was always a risk of Senators using their status to secure loved ones businesses preferential treatment or to mess with the stock market. But when Han lost his temper at these requests, it inadvertently MADE them seem true. Then Leia still had to spend months on public strategy to try to rehabilitate her image as 'financially ethical' and 'Agreeable with Inquests' despite not doing anything wrong.
The shipping company itself had been a fight more than once as well; when Ben was five and in kindergarten, Han began to grow too bored and his wanderlust flared. Leia hadn't been against him working, but it quickly grew into a monster of its own. She'd thought he'd wanted a small, niche business that'd give him both financial and physical freedom, but it quickly grew bigger and bigger, requiring him to be away from home longer and longer as he required bigger ships and licenses for more and more shipping lanes.
Leia wanted to be supportive towards Han. She really did. She tried her best to make the business dinners, to make it home in time so that they could both talk about their days. But the fact he spent most of the week worlds away combined with the intensity/nature of her work created distance in every sense of the word. She had to be on Chandrila for work. Han, on the other hand, skirted intergalactic law while off on some fun little adventure fighting pirates and running cargo of varying degrees of legality. Which would cause a scandal, and Leia would have to spend MORE time on Chandrila repairing their reputations.
They just didn't spend much time together or at home.
The end result was Ben getting caught in the cross fire, left alone more and more frequently as Luke now worked full time on his new Jedi school on some hidden world and Chewie was on Kashyyk or with Han. Leia had to rely on droids more and more as there was too many risks associated with hiring humans. They'd found more reporters than assassins during background checks; vultures just looking to get a scoop on the little Organa Prince, but there had been some Imperial Loyalists who would do him harm. But now Leia was starting to get some truly nauseating parent reports from the droids; one recently informed her that Ben was subscribed to tabloids that focused on Rebellion Heroes and when the droid asked 'why', Ben had stated plainly.
"I want to know what's going on with my parents. I haven’t seen them this week."
Leia hated it. With every fiber of her being. Her role in how lonely Ben was. Droids were fun companions, but not a replacement for a living, breathing family. And even when he brought friends home to the apartment, they could usually only stay an hour or so before they had to go home to their own families and then he was alone again. Leia wouldn't even know who his friends were if her staff wasn't running background checks on them!
And petty as it was, Leia couldn't help but resent Han for it. Han was the one to change the deal, after all. He'd been the one to offer to stay home with Ben, he'd been the one to take baby Ben to appointments, to meetup with Leia at lunch. It'd worked for that time; everything had been perfect. Leia was able to continue the efforts her parents gave their lives for and both she and Han had been constantly present in Ben's life.
So when tempers were running high a month ago, when Han came back an entire three weeks late from a trip, Leia had accused Han of abandoning her and Ben to go play pretend, then it wasn't entirely unreasonable, was it?
Han clearly thought so. He'd turned a shade of red Leia'd never seen before and turned around and accused her of being the one 'with no real interest in Ben until he turned into a Senate Bill', before stomping out of the apartment. And that'd been a month ago. They'd sent messages to each other since, but no conversation of substance. Just check ins on locations.
She chucked the fruit core into the bin. She didn't have time to try to nurse Han's wounded ego right now, she barely had time for her actual child.
Even if Han couldn't make it back for a family vacation, she'd take Ben wherever he wanted to go. For a week, at least. Maybe start discussing his Day of Demands, if he was open to it. It'd be purely ceremonial, but that meant the two of them could do whatever they wanted with it. Or even spend the week watching Holovids and going on some hikes. Make some memories together.
As the car pulled up to the Senate security gate, she checked her teeth, applied a fresh coat of lipstick, and stepped out of the car as if she had no cares in the world except her investigation into the Missing Star Destroyers.
Leia'd finished her morning work and was heading to lunch with Senator Chuloo and Mon Mothma when Greer stopped her. She'd had a long list of Military Reports, and a note about a mass order for repair parts that'd fit the bill for a Star Destroyer. But it was the second time that the Ben issue raised its head again.
"…I also got 6 calls from the Hanna City Academy this morning. I haven't had time to get back to them, but do you know why Ben's school-"
Leia smacked her palm to her forehead. "His blasted permission slip. I completely forgot. It needs to be filed today." She flicked through her datapad, pulling the form up. It had the usual warnings; '...the school takes no liability for injuries sustained in physical activities, security detail will be provided for students by Vancor, please listen gluten/prilotec/miloren/other allergies below, etc.'.
She hit her signature on her pad before sending it on to Greer. "Please make sure his school gets it before end of day."
And Leia believed that would be the last she heard on that.
The temporary Senate building on Chandrila was far more grand than the Senate on Coruscant. Instead of Grey Metal, they'd used pale Oolund stone to case the front of every wall, pod, and surface. It had more windows than the Old Republic/Imperial building as well; while the Senate had previously only been lit from above, the Chandrilans fondness for massive windows still underscored the design principles here. That only made the chamber larger though; they had to accommodate the extra wall space somehow. As a result, one could barely see ones fellow Senators on the other side.
So Leia was reliant on the holoscreen to monitor facial expressions; one displeased face could be the start of a new ally. And she needed them.
She'd been sitting in the Senate, writing notes ferociously as Senator Martino slammed Military Spending, when Greer silently entered her pod and slid besides her.
"I got the field trip form to Ben's school. That wasn't why they called; apparently Ben never showed up today." She whispered.
Leia's heart dropped.
"What?" It came out slightly too loud, and Leia could feel the Senators near her glare at the interruption. "Did you check the home security?"
"Yes. It looks like he left the apartment at the usual time in the Sevorona Car being drive by R8-V8, same as always. But it looks like it never made it to school." Greer made a face. "The school thought he might have just been at home and that you or Han didn't call in. They left messages at the apartment but only tried me after."
"Well, where is he now?" Leia tried to keep her voice calm.
"We're tracking the car as we speak." Greer made a face. "But I mean, he's also at an age where kids skip school. I'm waiting for the school to send me their video feed, but it's possible Ben got dropped off and snuck off with friends."
"Maybe." Leia sucked her teeth. That school was more secure than the Imperial Palace; at least half the Senators sent their kids there, and a small number of celebrities and other elites. There were scholarships to Hanna Academy, sure, but those were usually reserved for extremely bright or talented children; it was a known feeder school for the Greater Coruscant University, Balemore and Hardizard. As such, the school had taken appropriate steps to prevent just anyone from walking in off the street; security patrols of humans and droids patrolled the grounds with the same fervor as prison guards.
But then again, Ben could be very silent and slippery when he wanted. He'd pilfered enough cake for Leia to know that.
"Let me know as soon as you have anything." Leia whispered to Greer, who slipped away again. Leia returned to Martino and his pompous, long winded speech.
But Leia couldn't regain her focus. She kept trying to take notes, but her mind kept turning back to Ben.
He'd seemed off that morning. He was clearly upset about Han's absence, but now it felt bigger than just that. Was he so upset he'd run away from home?
There was also a simpler option; Ben had been obsessing over the new Mike Earthsurfer movie. If another child offered him a chance to go, he might be willing to bend the rules a bit.
But that felt like a stretch. Ben had no such proclivities; if anything, his overly cautious and nervous nature was so excessive at times it annoyed Han and worried Leia. His aversion to risk and strong desire to follow the crowd might make him a target for manipulative people. If someone asked him nicely enough, would he just go with them out of a sense of duty or kindness? Did that happen this morning?
What felt like an eternity later, Greer came back into the pod, making a gesture for Leia to follow her.
Leia felt a horrid pit open up in her stomach. She tried to keep it off her face, but anyone watching closely enough could probably see her go pale as she stood to follow Greer. Once they were into the cream hallways filled with Chandrilan art, Greer began to lead the way back to the car port.
"I don't have any good news for you right now. But the Police have been notified and an alert has been put out for a unnamed child with Ben's description. I've also put everyone on your security detail on it and I've contacted the Datten Private Security Firm for additional support. They'll be planetside by this evening."
Leia could only nod.
"What I know as of right now is this. We have Ben in the car leaving for school on your apartments security feed. The car is now back at your apartment but when R8-V8's memory bank was checked, he had no records from the last week. The car tracker does show its morning route and there was no deviation in from its usual path. But it doesn't record stops, so it could have pulled over to the side anywhere along the way. The school has prioritized sending records to the police before us, but they emphasized that none of Bens teachers or classmates saw him at drop off this morning. A lot of families use the same luxury cars though, so people can get confused as to who got out of which vehicle." Greer listed off calmly.
"Have the police looked in my apartment?" Leia asked cautiously. She really hoped not. Then it was entirely possible that Ben might have just decided he didn't want to do a test today, and was at home reading or playing video games or-
Greer nodded grimly. "I sent Jural there to keep them out of your office. She hasn't seen Ben there either though."
"Okay. Okay." The pit in Leia's stomach only grew. "Should I go home or to the Police Precinct then?"
"Precinct. We've also gotten Solo on the phone and he's travelling back from Corellia, but it'll take him a few hours at least." Greer handed Leia a comm unit. "You may also want to send one to your brother. Not that I don't trust the police, but-"
"Yes, yes of course. Luke would be happy to help." Leia bit back the nausea forming in her stomach.
"I'll have it transmitted while you're in interview with the police." Greer pointed towards the car port. "Lets just keep moving. The first 24 hours are the most important."
Like all high profile Chandrilans, the Police Inspector had a beautiful office. His furniture was all carved from white wood, with decorative accents lining every inch of the cream room. Leia's heels snagged on the cream carpet as she entered the room, and her heart jolted at the memory of tripping over Ben just a few hours ago. When she sat, the furniture was hard and uncomfortable, juxtaposing it with the soft décor that otherwise choked the space.
Leia appreciated that. If it was soft, she might have felt like she'd been placed in a padded room.
The police interviewing Leia kept asking the same questions over and over. Yes, she had seen her son that morning and, no, he hadn't done anything like this before. No, she didn't know where he was and no, none of his friends had seen him today. Yes, Ben had a journal and they could read it and yes, he had allergies.
She answered the same questions over and over again.
The police answered none of hers.
It was odd; the last decade of her life, most people felt compelled to give her what she asked for. Leia Organa, the war hero, the orphaned princess of Alderaan, the darling of the New Republic Senate. But now, the officers just nervously fidgeted when she asked them if they had news. They brought her cup after cup of poor quality tea. But she stayed sat on the wooden chair in the detective inspectors office while he pried details about Ben from her.
And pry they did.
Some of the questions made Leia's stomach churn. She had to rely on the droid reports to answer questions like 'Was Ben behaving oddly recently?' and 'It seems he didn't eat breakfast this morning. How much does he eat in a day?'. Then they asked if they could scan the staffing droids to see if they'd been hacked like the driver.
Worse then that, when it came to potential friends Ben may have run off to, the list was fairly small; everyone was either on Chandrila or unavailable. His best friend was Marci Godres, a Archduchess from Zygerria, but she was currently back home with her parents for a private religious ritual. A human on Zygerria tended to get odd looks, so the media would likely clock him there fairy quickly. Lumpawaroo (lovingly known as Lumpy) was a possible but unlikely suspect as well. Chewie's son had frequently been Bens babysitter growing up, but was presently volunteering to build a school on Utapau and was so off grid even the volunteer org wasn't entirely sure of his location at present. Ben was also on good terms with Poe Dameron of Yavin 4. They'd played together at formal events together, but Leia wouldn't exactly call them close; Poe was loud where Ben was quiet. Still, Kes had already confirmed with Greer that Poe hadn't see or heard from Ben in weeks.
All of Bens school friends were themselves at school today and confirmed they hadn't seen him. Han had no family besides Chewie, who was with him at present, and Leia only had Luke, but had no clue exactly where he was right now and neither would Ben.
Then came the list of political enemies; any Imperial loyalist would be more than happy to take out a member of the Organa bloodline. But there were also the gangs; the Hutts hated Leia and Han for obvious reasons, and Han had also ran afoul of the Pykes more than once. Leia also had a sense that Han had been talking to Kanjiklub recently, but wasn't going to say that to the police without being certain. It was also possible that any newer gangs or terrorists might also target Ben just on the grounds that he'd raise their profile over night. Speaking of terrorists, some of the Populists might be willing to use Ben as fodder to get Leia out of the senate; Pono Bo of Kamino, Bhybbeadryd Qerko of Kintan, and Anvitass Vovlal of Tholoth were all against her and had a history of dirty tricks. But looking into the dozens, if not hundreds of prospective senators who might have something to politically gain by harming Ben, could take an eternity.
All that didn't even begin to touch upon the mystics and witches who might suspect him of having a connection to the Force. As soon as Ben could open his eyes, Luke had suggested that Ben had a particularly bright connection. That one day he might want to train Ben, the same he did with Leia.
At the time, Leia felt it was a little early to be considering Ben's career path. And as he grew, Leia only grew more doubtful Ben ever picking up a lightsaber or blaster for just training purposes. Not that she'd stop him, no, but she just suspected Ben would hate it; he was just too gentle. Ben had cried endlessly when he accidentally knocked Martish Bort over playing Daga Ball. He wept when Han played too roughly and accidently dropped him. Benjamin Chewbacca Organa Solo had lost it in front of the press at nine years old when Chewie tripped on the stairs and cut himself; just the sight of his beloved uncle hurt was enough to grieve Ben. So Leia thought that Ben learning any skillset that required him to wave around a mythically powerful weapon seemed improbable, magical abilities or not.
All that aside, she couldn't tell an everyday police officer that her brother and biological father were space wizards who had their own enemies and occultist followings. The police would just waste time trying to have her institutionalized.
After the eternity of listing off every past foe, after wracking her brain for every possibility, every threat imaginable, she finally heard the doors pull open behind her.
Han. He was dirty. Filthy, really, and tracked dirt all over the cream carpet. Grey was beginning to set into hard lines in his hair, and he was getting smile lines around his eyes. He looked disheveled, with his shirt untucked from his pants and his blaster was unbuttoned on his holster. Chewie followed him, gently closing the wooden door behind then, looking equally mussed, his hair sticking up in a million directions.
They would have had to speed in the Hyperspace lane to get here from Corellia that quickly.
"Leia!" His hair was mussed, and his eyes were bloodshot, but it could have been alcohol, sleep deprivation, tears or some combination. "Have you found him?"
"Sir," The weedy little Police Inspector gestured to the seat besides Leia, "Please sit, we have some ques-"
"Pfft. They're going to 'help' us? What are these bozos going to do?" He snorted. "Is Ben in their filing cabinet?"
"Han." Leia tried to keep her voice steady. "They're looking for him, and we need-"
"No, what we need is to get Luke, get in the Falcon and-" He had a wild look to him. He was pacing, incessantly, not focusing on the people in front of him.
"And what? We wouldn't have the first idea where to start looking! He could be on a ship as far as Tetadora by now!" Leia threw up her hands in frustration. "This isn't a four person job! We're going to have to get help."
"Help? How does help Ben to sit in some drab little room, talking to a bunch of pencil pushers who've never been off world, much less fired a pistol in their lives!" Han snarked, shaking his head. "Bunch of cousin-marrying-"
"Han!" He always did this. He always, always had to find some way to undermine the system. To put the blame on someone else, to insult someone else, rather than look at himself. "It isn't the Chandrilans fault!"
"No, it's that stuck-up kriffing academy that you insisted he go to! 'Safer than public school', you said. 'Great on transcripts', you said." Han shook his head. "No, those dorks think that you need to wrap kids in bubble wrap, and give them no actual life skills! I'd already shot people by the time I was Ben's age, and if he'd learn to fight-"
"What? What would he have fought, Han? We don't even know who or what took him?!" Leia snapped out of the chair and stomped over to Han. He had some nerve, blaming the Chandrilans, the school, her, when he was the one who kept running off! "You want your son to attempt to have hand to hand combat with grown assailants? You think Ben could handle that on his conscience?"
"No!" He looked at her with disgust, and Leia has to press down a wave of pure fury. "No, but he should have been ready! He didn't need to learn the difference between Chartreus and Crimson or whatever they teach at the Underwater Weaving Basket Academy! He needed to learn how to keep himself alive!"
The terror that ran into Leia's veins at the implication that Ben couldn't keep himself alive, that he might be-
"He's our child! It's OUR job to keep him alive!" Leia snapped viciously
She hadn't meant to, but too much terror came out in it. The Force recoiled from her in a flash and as it moved, the decanter of wine on the cabinet next to the Inspectors desk shattered.
Han froze for a brief second, while the Inspector slowly turned to look at the shattered vessel.
"Well isn't that the darndest." The Inspector muttered to himself.
That seemed to snap Han out of it. He just rolled his eyes before stomping out of the room. "C'mon Chewie. We need to go find my son!"
Chewie just shook his head mournfully, letting out a sad whine, before pointing back to the desk.
"Yeah, yeah you sit here with the cops, you coward!" He sniffed. "I'm going to make some calls."
"Oh great. Perfect." Leia huffed. "Call in the criminals you call friends. I'm sure that'll only help the situation!"
"Better than the criminals you call family! They can't even-" She could see the regret on his face the second it came out. It didn't make the words sting any less. He likely meant the Senators who took bribes, who owned Imperial memorabilia, who protected corrupt security officers.
But they both knew who Leia's mind went to when Han said it.
She slumped back down into her uncomfortable chair, feeling not unlike a puppet that just had its strings cut.
"Leia, I… I didn't mean-" Han started.
"Just… just go do whatever you have to, Han." She pressed her forehead to her hands and hunched over herself.
"Leia…"
"Just. Go." She gripped the side of her head so hard it hurt.
Why was he doing this now of all times? When Ben needed them most, why did Han have to make everything harder than necessary?
She didn't have time to humor whatever it was he was going through.
She eventually heard the door slam shut, and Chewie sat down in the chair besides her. He looked almost comically huge next to the small seat. He just put his arm on her shoulder and let out a mournful growl.
Maybe she should have kissed a Wookie after all. They seemed to be natural at the whole family thing. Not like Han.
Not like her.
"What was that about?" The Detective Inspector arched a brow.
"He… he didn't like my parents politics." The lie flowed effortlessly off Leia's tongue.
"Hmm. My wife doesn't care for mine either." He hummed. "But to return to the point, do you have any recent pictures of Ben we can use for media purposes?"
Leia called Mon from the car.
The police had been clear; she couldn't go home.
It was the last place the police knew with certainty he'd been. They wanted to scan for DNA, for prints, for any sign of someone altering or editing the apartments.
Leia and Han had always used their apartment to host events, political and business. Thousands of people had been in it this year alone.
It'd take an eternity to rule everyone out.
The biggest reason Leia couldn't go home was that someone in the Chandrilan police had leaked the news of Bens sudden disappearance. Probably an officer just looking for a quick payday.
Regardless, it seemed than now half the galaxy knew. That meant people were looking for him now, hopeful for a financial reward or prestige or something. But on the other hand, an army of Journalists, holobloggers and tabloid hacks were posted up outside Leia's offices, apartment building, and the police station.
Leia had to get into the Car in the Precinct basement parkade. As they drove out, police officers had to aim blasters at civilians pressing in on her car. Leia thanked the Force for the tinted windows.
She sent Greer a text to go grab her some bare essentials from the office. Or connivence store, if it was just as bad there. Leia just needed some casual day wear, toiletries, and information as to how much money she had access to this second so she could post a reward for her son.
While her driver circled Antoine Tower, a generic viewing platform/park that overlooked the Silver Sea, she let her fingers hover over her small list of personal contacts. The people she talked to when she needed a friend, not an ally.
When she chose, she knew she chose well. Mon picked up on the second ring.
"Leia? Are you alright? Have you found him? I can-" The usually calm, serene figure sounded rushed. Alarmed.
"Can I stay at yours tonight?" Leia could hear her voice break for the first time since Han left.
"Oh Leia." Mon Mothma's soft voice crackled along the comms. "Of course."