“So why does she do it?” Leia demanded, not really interested in talking about Mon Mothma.
“Because with everything she does, there are lives hanging in the balance,” Bel Iblis said quietly. “And she’s terrified of trusting anyone else with those lives.”
Leia stared at him…but even as she opened her mouth to deny it, all the pieces of her life these past few years fell suddenly into place. All the diplomatic missions Mon Mothma had insisted she go on, no matter what the personal cost in lost Jedi training and strained family life. All the trust she’d invested in Ackbar and a few others; all the responsibility that had been shifted onto fewer and fewer shoulders. —The Last Command
Almost begrudgingly, Chewbacca followed Harbid’s TIE fighters down into the Obroan atmosphere, guiding the ship through the planetary cloud cover towards the landing field below. Somewhere behind them, Leia knew, were Wedge and the rest of Rogue Squadron, trailing closely with their S foils still locked and wingtip lasers primed. What they thought of all this Leia could only guess, but she imagined Wedge would at least be glad to be behind the TIEs rather than in front of them.
Chewbacca took a quick break from flying the ship to grumble a comment. “I’m not sure what they’re doing here,” Leia admitted, studying the fighters framed in the cockpit canopy. “Mon Mothma didn’t mention anything about an Imperial delegation to me.”
Chewbacca considered for a second, woofed another possibility. “No, Chewie, I don’t think it’s a trap,” Leia said, but she wondered. If this was some kind of elaborate setup, for whose benefit would it be: theirs, or the Obroans? “It’s more likely the Obroans invited the Imperials themselves. Premier K’cheng wouldn’t want to seem partial to one side.”
Especially now that it looked like the Empire had a better chance at winning? But Leia kept the thought to herself. “We’re coming up on the landing field,” she noticed, even as the Falcon suddenly broke through the cloud cover. Outstretched beneath them was a temperate grassland, a wide panorama of white mountains rising above it in the distance. Leia could make out at least half-a-dozen cities scattered among the grasses, including the much larger collection of buildings that comprised Obroa-skai’s capital city. To the right of the city was fenced off the planet’s main spaceport and landing field. “Take us down, Chewie,” Leia said.
Without issue Chewbacca circled the landing field and then set them down in their designated spot. Leaning out the canopy Leia could see they already had visitors: a couple of airspeeders were parked not far from the landing area, and a cluster of human-like figures was gathered around them. “Looks like we’re expected,” she observed, giving the group a closer look. If the file Mon Mothma had given her was correct, the one with the elaborate neckpiece should be the Premier himself. “Come on, Chewie,” she added, starting to unstrap herself. “Let’s go.”
Threepio was waiting for them when they got to the hatchway, looking as anxious and expectant as it was possible for a droid to look. “Princess Leia!” he exclaimed as soon as he caught sight of them. “I really must protest! This mission has become decidedly more dangerous than we initially anticipated. I suggest we return to Coruscant at once—”
“Relax, Threepio,” Leia soothed, even as she sensed Chewbacca’s growing annoyance. “What do you know about Obroans?”
The droid seemed taken back by the question. “Well, as you know,” he started, his voice reverting to that professorial air he did so well, “in addition to being fluent in over six million forms of communication I am also designed for etiquette and protocol. There are at least twelve references to Obroan social convention in my programming, all of which indicate they are an industrious and well-mannered people who place high value on civility and fairness. They also place great emphasis on personal knowledge. Of course, this can be seen by the extensive information repositories the Obroans have accumulated over the years.”
“Of course,” Leia agreed, listening with only half-an-ear. It was those repositories, in fact, that would make Obroa-skai such a valued member of the New Republic. Rumor had it that it was from a raid on the Obroans’ data sources that Thrawn had been able to locate his new cloning facility. If the Republic’s techs could get their hands on that data…
She realized Threepio was still talking. “I’m sorry?” she asked, bringing herself back to the matter at hand.
“I said,” Threepio repeated, “I don’t believe it is considered proper to keep the Premier waiting this long.”
“Of course,” Leia said again, nodding to Chewbacca. “Chewie?“ The Wookiee flipped a switch, and with a hiss of compressed air the hatch slid open and the entry ramp descended.
It appeared Threepio had been right about keeping the Premier waiting. “Councilor Organa Solo,” K’cheng greeted as soon as the ramp started lowering, standing near its foot. Behind him clustered the other Obroans Leia had noticed earlier, most of them in the purple robes of Legates. “Welcome. It is so good to finally speak to you in person.”
“And you as well, Premier K’cheng,” Leia agreed, coming to the bottom of the ramp and giving K’cheng a proper Obroan bow. “Though I wish it was under better circumstances.”
“Yes,” K’cheng nodded quickly, a flicker of worry flashing across his face, “yes, of course. I must express my deep concern for that attack just now. I am glad to see you are safe.”
“Thank you. Any idea who our attackers might have been?”
K’cheng shrugged. “Who can say? Often we have pirates in this sector, so close to the Borderland regions. The Cavrilhu gang has been particularly active as of late.”
“I see,” Leia said, studying the other’s face. But she couldn’t detect any treachery there, nor with her Jedi senses, either. “Perhaps additional security is something we can discuss, if you decide to join the Republic.”
“I would enjoy that,” K’cheng said. “Your Republic has often provided us with such security in the past.” He hesitated. “Though it seems this time we have the Empire, and not the Republic, to thank for your safety.”
As if on cue there came a roar of twin ion engines overhead as their TIE fighter escort soared past on another loop. “So it would seem,” Leia agreed, feeling Chewbacca give her a covert tap on the back. Leia glanced at him, followed his gaze above them. A new shape had merged out of the clouds, she could see, trailed by a couple more TIE fighters: the inverted Y of an Imperial shuttle.
She suddenly noticed K’cheng looking at her. “Pardon me,” she said, stepping aside. “Allow me to introduce my pilot, Chewbacca.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Chewbacca,” K’cheng said, bowing before the Wookiee. He too stepped aside, permitting one of the robe-clad Legates to come forward. “Allow me in turn to introduce to you Legate M’eung. He will be attending the conference with us, along with several of his colleagues.”
“Legate M’eung,” Leia greeted, giving the other a much more careful study as she bowed. Even factoring in her relative unfamiliarity with Obroan custom, it wasn’t hard to see the distrust in his eyes. “I look forward to the opportunity to discuss Republic membership with you.”
“Do you?” M’eung wondered. “I greet your safe arrival, Councilor Organa Solo, but I do not welcome it. You are here at the invitation of the Premier, not the Legates. You may find we are less receptive to your entreaties.”
Leia hid a smile. She’d heard that before. “Then I look forward to the opportunity to change your mind,” she said.
“Excellent,” K’cheng said cheerfully. He waved a hand to their right. “And, of course, you have already met Captain Harbid.”
They all followed where he pointed. The Imperial shuttle had just finished landing, bouncing gently as its landing skids settled onto the ground. A moment later the front ramp lowered, permitting Harbid and his team to exit. But not quite as Leia had anticipated. She’d expected to see a line of stormtroopers emerge from the shuttle, blaster rifles held high across their chests in that classic parade-ground precision the Empire seemed so fond of. But instead came only a middle-aged man in an officer’s uniform, followed a moment later by a single stormtrooper on either side. None of the pomp or fanfare the Empire usually employed, or that—according to Leia’s own research—the Obroans found so ostentatious. It seemed Thrawn had instructed his captain well.
“We spoke briefly,” Leia confirmed as Harbid started jogging across the landing field towards them, his pair of stormtrooper escorts in tow. “Forgive me, Premier K’cheng, but I wasn’t aware the Empire had been invited to our summit.”
“But of course!” K’cheng said, looking slightly surprised. “Why wouldn’t they be?”
“Did you really think the Republic was the only one who would be given an opportunity to petition us, Councilor?” M’eung demanded.
Yes, that was exactly what Leia had thought. “Of course not,” she said, doing her best to smile politely. “I was just surprised, Legate.”
By now Harbid had finished crossing the field and was coming up on their little gathering. “Ah, Captain Harbid,” K’cheng said, turning to greet the newest arrival. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Premier K’cheng.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Premier,” Harbid said, giving an impressive Obroan bow. Leia’s mind flashed back to some of the other Imperial officers she’d met over the years; but this man had none of the arrogance or haughtiness in his voice of, say, a Tarkin. “And you must be Councilor Organa Solo,” Harbid continued, turning towards her. “I’m glad we could be of assistance to you.”
“Not as glad as I am, Captain,” Leia said, trying hard not to sound ungrateful. “A couple more seconds and I fear those Skiprays might have had us.”
“Most certainly,” M’eung agreed. “It seems the Republic owes you a great debt, Captain.”
Harbid shrugged off the compliment, and Leia couldn’t quite tell if he was being modest or something else. “I only ask that you remember the value of our assistance when it comes time for the negotiations,” he said, but his eyes were on Leia.
“Yes, well,” K’cheng said, “we will come to all that soon enough. Once Senator Bel Iblis arrives I think we can formally begin the negotiation process. When do you expect his arrival?”
It took Leia a minute to realize he was talking to her. “I’m sorry?” she said, confused.
“Senator Bel Iblis,” K’cheng repeated, some confusion of his own appearing on his face. “It was our understanding the Senator had recently rejoined the Republic. Was this not correct?”
Leia thought back to her “official” invitation to Bel Iblis during the Katana skirmish. “No, that’s correct,” she said.
“Well, there you go,” K’cheng smiled, as if that settled the matter.
“Forgive me again, Premier,” Leia tried, “but I believe Garm is currently on assignment in the Elom system. I don’t think he’ll be attending this conference.”
The confusion returned to K’cheng’s face. “It is I who must ask for forgiveness, Councilor Organa Solo, but I do not understand. Our government specifically petitioned Mon Mothma for Senator Bel Iblis. How is it that he will not be attending?”
Leia glanced at Chewbacca, saw the other give her a fractional shrug. “I didn’t know that,” she admitted. The situation was starting to get away from her.
“We don’t mean to offend,” K’cheng added quickly. “I am sure you are a seasoned diplomat yourself. But we have always admired the reputation of Senator Bel Iblis, and had hoped he would be the one to conduct the negotiations on the part of the New Republic.”
“I imagine Councilor Organa Solo will do fine,” Harbid interjected. “No doubt General Bel Iblis’s other business couldn’t wait.”
“Of course,” K’cheng said neutrally, but Leia could easily hear the disappointment in his voice. “Of course,” he repeated, more forcefully this time. “I have had guest suites prepared for you both in the Royal Palace. The airspeeders will take you to them.”
“Thank you, Premier,” Harbid said, bowing again. “With your permission, I’ll need to retrieve some things from my ship first. Legate M‘eung, Councilor Organa Solo, if you’ll excuse me?”
Without another word he spun around and headed back towards the shuttle, his two stormtroopers in tow. “Councilor,” K’cheng said, poised and back in control. “I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow.” He too gave one final bow before heading back towards one of the two airspeeders. The rest of his delegation followed quickly behind.
Leia watched them go. “What just happened, Chewie?” she asked once they were out of earshot. Chewbacca woofed a non-comment, and Leia had to admit she wasn’t sure what she expected him to say. It felt like things were already spiraling out of control. Was it true the Obroans had petitioned specifically for Bel Iblis? And if so, why hadn’t Mon Mothma said anything to Leia about it? For a moment she recalled that rather forced welcome Mon Mothma had extended to Bel Iblis upon his return from the Katana skirmish, and all the rumors of their personal differences flitted through Leia’s mind. But surely the woman wouldn’t jeopardize a mission of this importance over minor personal squabbles. Would she?
“Councilor?” a familiar voice murmured behind her, and Leia turned to find Wedge standing on her right, still clad in his orange flight suit and with his helmet tucked under one arm. “We just finished our sweep of the area,” he told her, pointing a thumb over his shoulder; and Leia could see the rest of the Rogue Squadron X-wings settling down to the landing field. “No more sign of those pirates, and the rest of the city looks secure. Any particular orders?”
“Get your squadron settled in,” Leia suggested. “The Premier’s arranged a guest suite for us in the Royal Palace, but my guess is you’d rather have something closer to the landing field. Am I right?”
“If it‘s okay with you,” Wedge said sheepishly, and Leia fought back a smile. Republic hero or not, Wedge was still a flight jockey at heart.
“That’s fine,” she assured him. “I’ll look into getting something arranged.” Her eyes drifted past Wedge’s shoulder, towards the looming wings of Harbid’s shuttle. “Wedge,” she said softly, “what do you think? You really believe that was just some pirate attack?”
“I don’t know, Councilor,” Wedge admitted. “But either way, I’ve got a bad feeling about it.” Chewbacca growled softly in agreement.
“Excuse me, Councilor Organa Solo?” someone interrupted, and Leia recognized him as one of the aides from K’cheng’s entourage. “Your suite is ready. If you’ll follow me, please?”
* * *
“A pirate attack?” the one-quarter-sized holo of Bel Iblis repeated from where it flickered over the holopad in Leia’s suite. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Garm,” Leia assured him. Holos were notorious for not providing a lot of detail, but even so she could see, and hear, the concern in his face and voice. “We all are. Chewie and Rogue Squadron were able to fight them off long enough for that Star Destroyer to assist.”
Bel Iblis nodded, and the concern on his face gave way to thoughtfulness. “Yes, that is an interesting development,” he admitted. “It seems strange the Premier would invite the Empire to the summit as well, particularly after Thrawn’s raid a few months back.”
“Maybe it wasn’t the Premier,” Leia suggested, leaning back in her chair. She was sitting in one of the old-fashioned ornate chairs the Obroans had used to decorate the bedroom of her suite; and while they were pleasant to look at, they weren’t so comfortable to sit in. In fact the entire suite reminded Leia a little too much of the President’s Guests floor in the Imperial Palace, right down to the hand-carved furnishings and wood paneling. “It’s just a hunch,” she continued, “but I got the impression the Imperial invitation was more M’eung’s idea than K’cheng’s.”
“The Legate? For what purpose?”
“I don’t know,” Leia said, mulling it over for a second. But no matter how she tried she couldn’t quite make sense of it. “But that’s not the main reason I called you,” she told him, pushing the thought out of her mind for the moment. “Apparently K’cheng was expecting you to be the one who represents the Republic in the negotiations.”
“Me?” Bel Iblis frowned. “You’re sure?”
“He said they’d petitioned for you specifically—something about admiring your past record in the Imperial Senate. Did you ever have dealings with the Obroans before?”
“Not that I can recall,” Bel Iblis said, that frown still on his face. “Did K’cheng mention anything in particular?”
Leia shook her head. “No, but he was pretty disappointed when I explained you were already on assignment in the Elom system.” She paused. “You know, Garm, Elom isn’t too far from Obroa-skai.”
The frown suddenly disappeared, replaced by an expression Leia couldn’t quite place. “You’re not suggesting I abandon my current assignment, I hope?”
“Of course not,” Leia said quickly. “But you could probably step away for a couple of days, at least be here for the tail end of the conference. I think a personal appearance would go a long way towards convincing the Obroans we’re committed to their membership.”
Bel Iblis sighed. “Admiral Ackbar asked me to review the Elomin defenses, Leia,” he reminded her, but they both knew that wasn’t entirely true. Ackbar had issued the order, but it was Mon Mothma who’d made the request. “I can’t just step away.”
“I understand,” Leia said.
Bel Iblis studied her for a moment. “You’ll do fine by yourself,” he assured her. “You always do.”
But for maybe the first time in a long time, Leia wasn’t so certain. Something about all this just didn’t feel right… “I know,” she said anyway. She gave him a smile. “Just keep it in mind, okay, Garm? The Republic does need you, even if right now it doesn’t feel like everyone realizes it.”
“Of course,” Bel Iblis said, but Leia thought she detected a smile of his own playing at the corner of his mouth. His gaze shifted to something outside the frame. “I’m sorry, Sena’s calling me,” he told her. “Was there anything else?”
“No,” Leia shook her head. “May the Force be with you, General.”
“You too, Councilor.” He reached a hand over, and the quarter-sized image vanished.
For a long time Leia just sat there in the darkened half-light of her room, deep in thought as she stared at the city lights dancing outside her window in the Obroan night. She didn’t even notice as the door that connected to the suite’s living area opened and Chewbacca slipped in. “Chewie!” she exclaimed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “You startled me. What is it?”
Word had just come from Premier K’cheng’s office: the talks were on tomorrow morning. “Thanks, Chewie,” Leia said, feeling a sudden exhaustion come over her. “Did you let Wedge know?”
Chewbacca nodded, studying her carefully with thoughtful eyes. “I’m fine,” she told him, smiling weakly. “Just tired from the trip.”
He didn’t believe her; she’d known him long enough to see that. But Chewbacca also knew better than to argue. “I will,” she promised as he urged her to get some rest. “You should get some sleep, too. It‘s going to be a big day for both of us.”
She waited until he’d closed the door and switched off the lights in the living area before finally sliding into bed herself. It was still several hours later when Leia finally feel asleep.
* * *
Harbid gave a quick salute to the image that materialized into existence in front of him. “Grand Admiral Thrawn.”
“Captain Harbid,” Thrawn nodded in turn, his glowing red eyes looking only slightly less intimidating in the hazy quality of the holo. “Report.”
“Everything is proceeding according to plan, Admiral,” Harbid assured him. “Organa Solo’s team arrived precisely on schedule, safe and secure. I’ve just received word we’re due to begin the talks tomorrow morning.”
“Very good,” Thrawn said. He raised an eyebrow. “And the attack?”
“Exactly as we rehearsed,” Harbid said. “My men were able to fight off the Skiprays before they could do any serious damage to Organa Solo’s ship. She was able to land without incident.”
“I trust your good deed did not go unappreciated?”
“No, sir. Premier K’cheng in particular seemed quite impressed with our performance.”
“Of course,” Thrawn smiled. “The Obroans place a great value on courtesy, even to one’s enemies. Your actions should go a long way towards establishing our credibility with the Premier. Just the thing we need to put that raid a few months ago behind us.”
“Yes, sir.” Harbid hesitated. “And the negotiations themselves?”
“I have already taken care of that, too,” Thrawn told him. “All you have to do is let the Republic’s case unravel itself. I will see to the rest.”
“Yes, sir,” Harbid said again. If that was how the Grand Admiral wanted to play it, who was he to complain? “I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
“See that you do, Captain,” Thrawn said. “Obroa-skai is far too valuable a prize to concede to Rebel hands. If everything continues according to plan, it’ll be ours soon enough.”
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