A Diplomatic Mission, Part 1

Leia looked out the cockpit canopy at the Imperial Star Destroyer and eight Dreadnaughts arrayed against the beleaguered planet ahead. Clustering around it like mynocks around an unshielded power generator. It was to have been her last diplomatic mission before settling in to await the birth of her twins: a quick trip to calm a nervous Filvian government and demonstrate the New Republic’s determination to protect the systems in this sector. —The Last Command

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It was the sound of the gentle beeping from her console that prodded Leia out of her light doze. “It’s okay, Chewie, I’m awake,” she assured Chewbacca as she opened her eyes. Above her, the blue swirls of hyperspace filled the Falcon’s cockpit canopy. “How long till we break out?” Leia asked, doing her best to stretch in the confines of the co-pilot’s chair.

Beside her in the pilot’s seat Chewbacca pointed at the timer on his display: one minute. “Threepio,” Leia said, leaning into the intercom, “we’ll be coming out of hyperspace in less than a minute. Why don’t you go get strapped in?”

“Of course, Your Highness,” Threepio’s response came back promptly. Promptly, and with none of the hurt Leia would have expected—not after being condemned to the aft living areas for most of the trip.

Carefully, she cast a side-look at Chewbacca. The Wookiee didn’t have nearly the dislike Han had towards droids generally, or Threepio specifically; and Leia had always hoped all the effort Chewbacca had spent putting Threepio back together on Cloud City would have created some kind of bond between the two of them. But from time to time Chewbacca still seemed to have little patience for the droid’s personality—some form of distant loyalty, Leia guessed, related to his life debt to Han.

Chewbacca seemed to notice Leia looking at him. “All right, all right,” she said as he woofed a suggestion, moving to strap herself in as well. The restraints pressed tight across her pregnant stomach, and for a moment Leia rested a hand on her belly, feeling the pair of tiny lives surging within. It was a strange experience, having something growing inside you—two somethings, if the doctors on Coruscant were to be believed. Just a few more weeks, she reminded herself eagerly, reaching out with the Force to touch the two little minds.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a second ping from her console. “Ten seconds,” she reported, removing her hand and reading the timer off Chewbacca’s display. Beside her Chewbacca reached a hairy arm over and wrapped his fingers around the Falcon’s hyperdrive levers. The timer counted down to zero. “Now, Chewie.”

Chewbacca pulled the levers back, and the blue swirls outside melted into starlines before settling into stars. Stars, and the distant orb of a green-white planet directly ahead. “No, I’ve never been to Obroa-skai,” Leia said in response to a question from Chewbacca. “I know Mon Mothma sent a delegation a couple years ago petitioning them to join the Republic, but I wasn’t part of that group.”

Chewbacca nodded and growled another question. “I don’t know if we‘ll be any more successful this time around,” Leia admitted. “But Mon Mothma felt we had to try. The events of the past month may have gone a long way toward convincing the Obroans the Empire is still a very real threat.”

Chewbacca didn’t answer, and Leia knew what he was thinking: with these new clone soldiers at Thrawn’s command, it wouldn’t be hard convincing anyone the Empire was still a threat. “Don’t worry, Chewie,” Leia continued, doing her best to soothe his concerns. “It’ll be fine.”

Chewbacca remained silent—thinking back, no doubt, to their last diplomatic mission together. But unlike that near-disastrous trip to Honoghr, she reminded herself, they weren’t exactly alone this time around. Glancing out the cockpit she could just make out the elongated noses and wingtip lasers of their X-wing escort, following in position behind the Falcon. Leia felt a small smile touch her lips. Han would probably have preferred they bring an entire task force, or at least a Star Cruiser or two…but Leia had more faith in the Millennium Falcon than the entire New Republic fleet combined.

Besides, at the rate Thrawn was going with his offensive, the Republic could find better use for a Star Cruiser these days. The thought wiped Leia’s smile off her face.

“Incoming ship,” the comm suddenly crackled, startling Leia. “This is Obroa-skai Space Control. Please identify yourself and state your business.”

Leia flipped a switch on her console. “This is Councilor Leia Organa Solo aboard the Millennium Falcon,” she identified them. “I have a conference scheduled with Premier K’cheng, to discuss Obroa-skai’s membership into the New Republic.”

“Of course, Councilor Organa Solo,” the voice at the other end agreed promptly. “Your meeting is known to us. Please proceed to the landing field; the beacon will guide you in. Premier K’cheng will meet you there. And welcome to Obroa-skai.”

“Thank you,” Leia said, even as Chewbacca’s display started flashing a new signal as it picked up the landing beacon. “They seem friendly enough,” she commented.

Chewbacca snorted. “Yes, I realize the Bimms did, too,” she said, casting another look out the canopy. Now that they were closer Leia could make out almost two-dozen ships above the planet, in various stages of coming and going. Most of the ships Leia didn’t recognize, but she did spy at least one or two familiar shapes: a couple streamlined personal yachts of the Sorosuub variety, plus at least one Corellian Corvette that made her think back for a moment to her old diplomatic ship, the Tantive IV.

But it wasn’t these that caught her attention. “Chewie, those three ships coming towards us on the port side,” she said, pointing. “Have you ever seen them before? They almost look like fighters.”

Chewbacca looked where she pointed and shook his head. He growled out a possibility. “Maybe,” Leia admitted hesitantly. But if the Obroans were sending an escort, why hadn’t they mentioned anything just now?

Apparently she and Chewbacca weren’t the only people who’d noticed. “Ah, Falcon?” Wedge’s voice came from the ship’s comm. “Any idea what those three Skiprays are doing?”

So that’s what they were. “Chewie and I were just discussing the same thing, Wedge,” Leia said. She’d heard of Skipray blastboats: Han had mentioned them a time or two when discussing his old smuggling days, and according to Luke Karrde used the ships a fair amount in his own organization. But for herself Leia had never seen one before. “Do you think it’s an escort?”

“Because an entire X-wing squadron isn’t enough?” Wedge suggested dryly. “Maybe. I wonder if—”

Leia felt a sudden flicker in the Force. “Look out!” she yelled at Chewbacca, just as a flash of laser fire shot out from the nearest Skipray. But the Wookiee’s reflexes were as quick as ever. Immediately he threw the ship into a sharp spin, weaving the Falcon between the incoming blasts. “Wedge—”

“We’re on it,” Wedge’s voice came back, suddenly tight. “Rogue Squadron, form up. Lock S foils into attack positions and move to assault pattern delta…”

“Hold it a sec, Rogue Leader,” Rogue Two interrupted. “We’ve got three new boogies coming in at one-seven-two mark eight.”

“I’m picking up two more on my scope,” Rogue Five added. “Moving into position behind us.”

“It’s an enclosure movement,” Leia realized, glancing out the canopy. She could indeed see three other Skiprays, coming in on their right. Meanwhile on her display two more blips were closing behind them. “Shields up,” Leia said, quite unnecessarily; a quick look revealed Chewbacca already had switched them on. She turned to look at him. “It looks like we’re in it now, Chewie. Do want me to take one of the quads?”

Chewbacca shook his head, his eyes focused on his controls…but Leia could see the concern there. The gun wells didn’t have nearly the shielding the cockpit had, and Leia knew Chewbacca would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

Outside a new pair of laser blasts flashed past the canopy, one of them making contact and causing a shudder to run through the ship. “Princess Leia!” the intercom crackled. “I do believe we’re under attack!”

That’s an understatement, Leia thought, almost hearing Han’s voice in her head. “Just stay strapped in, Threepio,” Leia suggested, returning her attention to her display. Wedge had moved most of his squadron to engage the incoming Skiprays, leaving Rogues Eleven and Twelve in back-up position to protect the Falcon. But one of the Skiprays appeared to have broken free of the X-wings and was bearing down on Leia and Chewbacca, its laser cannons still blasting away. A second shot made contact, causing another shudder through the ship. “Wedge!”

“Copy, Falcon,” Wedge’s tense response came back. “Eleven, Twelve, where are you?”

“Doing our best, Wedge,” Rogue Eleven replied, sounding even more tense. “Those two boogies behind us have got us tied up.”

Chewbacca roared in frustration as a third shudder ran through the ship, followed by a fourth. “Hang on, Chewie,” Leia urged, ignoring the red lines that started flashing on her display. She knew the kind of beating the Falcon could take—had seen it first-hand during that elaborate escape from Hoth all those years ago—but even the Millennium Falcon had its limits. A new line flashed on her screen. “Deflector shields just dropped to fifty percent,” she told him.

Chewbacca suddenly threw the ship into another spin, cutting hard to starboard and then diving in an attempt to shake their pursuer. “He’s still on us,” Leia said, studying the rear sensor display. The Skipray was almost directly on top of them, its laser fire splattering off the Falcon’s hull. “Upper deflectors below ten percent,” Leia called. “I don’t think they can take another hit!”

Without warning Chewbacca flipped the Falcon over, presenting its fully-shielded underside to their attacker. In the same motion he flipped the switch that released the hidden belly laser cannon: and grabbing the controls Chewbacca took aim and opened fire. The first salvo caught the Skipray completely unaware, spattering against its own forward deflectors. The Skipray tried to jitter to its left even as the second salvo made contact. The third salvo finally punched through, blasting the Skipray’s ventral fin into dust as it abandoned its target and dove desperately into an evasive maneuver. Chewbacca let out a triumphant whoop. “Good shooting, Falcon,” Wedge added over the comm.

“Thanks, Wedge,” Leia said. But the congratulations was short-lived, and they both knew it: already a second Skipray could be seen bearing down on them. They weren’t out of it yet. “Wedge, we’ve picked up another tail,” Leia told him, glancing out the canopy at the approaching silhouette. “Any chance you—”

She was interrupted as a fiery explosion lit the sky, taking the Skipray with it. “What in space?” Leia blurted, scanning the surrounding area. “What was that?”

“Not sure, Falcon,” Wedge started; but Chewbacca pointed at the display, a grave expression on his face. A new series of blips had appeared on their sensors, coming up quickly behind the Falcon. They were blips Leia recognized only too well.

TIE fighters.

Leia swallowed, staring at the new signals. They were TIE fighters, all right; she would recognize those H- shaped silhouettes anywhere. Behind them, just coming in out of lightspeed, was the equally-familiar shape of an Imperial Star Destroyer. “Wedge, we’ve got a new problem,” she said into the comm, and the stars spun as Chewbacca swung them on a new vector away from the incoming TIEs. “Star Destroyer inbound, plus at least one full squadron of TIE fighters.” She paused, but there was nothing to be done. “We’re going to have to abort the mission. Can you get the rest of your squadron out of here before…”

But Leia was interrupted again, this time as a new voice crackled on the comm. “Attention, Millennium Falcon,” the voice said, even as the TIE fighters roared past the Falcon and opened fire on the escaping Skiprays. “This is Captain Harbid aboard the Star Destroyer Death’s Head. Do you require assistance?”

A Diplomatic Mission, Part 2

“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

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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.”

A Diplomatic Mission, Part 3

The order was unnecessary. The shadowy figure had already come to a halt, standing unprotected in the open, its hooded face shaded from the faint light of Luke’s lightsaber.

Luke took a step toward it. “I’m Luke Skywalker,” he said formally. “Brother of Leia Organa Solo, son of the Lord Darth Vader. Who are you?”

“I am Ekhrikor clan Bakh’tor,” the gravelly Noghri voice replied. “I greet you, son of Vader.” —The Last Command

----------------------------------------------------

The Obroan Law House was an elaborate affair: a quick fifteen-minute trip by airspeeder from the Royal Palace, in the heart of the capital. And if the Palace reminded Leia an awful lot of its equivalent on Coruscant, the Law House likewise seemed a miniature version of the old Senate Chamber and Assemblage Commons. Vaulted ceilings, ornate columns, all done in a stonework that echoed more of the Old Republic than the new one.

It was late morning as Wedge set them down in the spot that had been assigned to them outside the main entrance. “Well, here we are,” he declared. He’d discarded his flight suit in favor of a more appropriate military uniform, but he still looked out-of-place to Leia. “Nervous, Councilor?” he asked, turning around.

Leia gave him a weak smile. She did indeed feel nervous, she realized—more nervous, in fact, than she had any right feeling. Calm down, she instructed herself, you’ve done this hundreds of times. She went through some of the Force-relaxing exercises Luke had taught her, and tried to ignore the distinct impression that none of them were working.

Threepio, at least, seemed chipper. “I for one am looking forward to today’s events,” he said eagerly. He was a protocol droid, after all, and over the years his talents hadn’t been put to use nearly as often as he’d liked; and he always enjoyed the opportunity to return to his roots. “If my programming is correct, Obroan culture places a great emphasis on ceremony and decorum in their legal proceedings. This will be an excellent opportunity to see that ceremony firsthand.” He glanced around the compartment, and seemed to realize no one was listening to him. “Wouldn’t you agree, Chewbacca?” he tried.

But Chewbacca was looking at Leia, his blue eyes studying her thoughtfully. “I’m fine, Chewie” Leia assured him, trying to smile a little more forcefully. A movement outside caught her eye. “Look, Legate M’eung and his delegation just arrived. We better get going.”

Leia needed only a little help from Chewbacca getting out of the airspeeder and making it up the stairs to the main entrance. The two men standing guard gave her a quick cursory glance before letting them all through—though Leia guessed they were there more for decoration than security anyway, judging by the antique armor and colorful livery. Inside they were greeted by a mass of purple-clad Legates and their legislative aides, all drifting down the long, tree-lined corridor that led to the main Assembly chamber at the far end. Leia cast a look up at the high-vaulted ceilings, marveling again at the similarities with the Republic’s own Grand Corridor in the Imperial Palace.

“Exquisite, is it not?” a voice behind her asked.

Leia turned, to find Premier K’cheng standing beside her. “I’ve always enjoyed coming here,” he continued, his own gaze floating up to the angled vaults. “There‘s something calming, almost peaceful about it. Don‘t you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” Leia agreed.

K’cheng brought his gaze back down to look at Leia. “If you appreciate architecture, you must see the Central Library before you leave.” He glanced at Chewbacca and the others before guiding her a little bit away. “Forgive me if I am perhaps too blunt, Councilor,” he said softly, “but I must ask: what is it exactly you intend to accomplish today?”

Leia blinked in surprise. “To convince your government that we’re your best chance for living in peace and prosperity. To convince you to join the New Republic.”

“Ah,” K’cheng said. “But we have heard all these overtures already. What makes your words any different from the Republic emissaries that have come before?”

“Maybe nothing,” Leia admitted. “But you and I both know the galaxy isn’t the same place it was two years ago. Those words may be more persuasive in light of current events. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes,” K’cheng conceded with a sigh, “but I am not the one that you must convince. The Legates hold the real power on Obroa-skai. You will need their support if any petition is to be approved.”

“I know,” Leia said, taking K‘cheng by the arm. “Will you help me?”

The Premier was silent for a moment. “I will do what I can,” he said finally, just as a gong went off in the corridor. “Come. That is the warning that the conference is about to begin. It will do your cause well if we arrive together.”

So together the two of them headed down the corridor toward the pair of double-doors that connected to the Assembly; Chewbacca followed close behind, with Wedge and Threepio in tow. Leia was relieved to discover the Assembly Chamber, at least, was a slight departure from its New Republic equivalent: while the Assemblage Commons on Coruscant was comprised of slightly-tiered rows that faced a witness chair, here the Obroans had opted for a circular approach, with a space in the center for petitioners to present their case. “You and your delegation may take your positions there,” K’cheng told her, pointing at one side of the center space where a group of chairs had been set up. On the opposing side, Leia could already see Harbid and his stormtroopers, along with a junior officer consulting a data pad. “Good luck, Councilor,” K’cheng added one last time, before moving off towards the seat designated for the Premier.

“Looks like M’eung is already settled in,” Wedge murmured as they moved down one of the side aisles that connected with the center. In a position maybe one-quarter of the way around the main circle Leia could indeed see Legate M’eung, deep in conversation with a group of aides behind him. “He’s only one vote,” Leia reminded them.

Chewbacca let out a low growl. “Yeah, but he’s a loud one,” Wedge agreed, steering Leia towards their assigned seats. “Right here, Councilor.”

Leia took a seat in one of the chairs that lined the circle. It reminded her a little too much of the chair back in her suite: high-backed, and uncomfortable. Dimly she pushed the thought out of her mind. She was going to be spending the next several hours in this thing. “How is this going to work, Threepio?” she asked as the droid took a seat beside her.

Threepio titled his head thoughtfully. “Well, if my understanding of Obroan culture is correct, every petitioner is allocated a certain amount of time to present his or her case to the Premier and the Assembly. There may also be an opportunity for rebuttal by any opponents to the proposal, as well as a question-and-answer session from the Legates themselves. Of course, depending on the length and number of questions, these sessions can span several days.”

“Of course,” Leia agreed, diplomatically, looking across the way at Harbid and his delegation. But the other didn’t seem to notice her. “I take it the Imperials will be allocated the same amount of time as us?”

“Oh, I should think so,” Threepio confirmed cheerfully. “As I said, the Obroans place a great emphasis on fairness and propriety.”

He was interrupted by the echo of a second gong ringing through the chamber. “Attention,” Premier K’cheung said, rising up from his chair. “The conference is now begun. Will the petitioners rise?”

Chewbacca offered Leia another hand as she gingerly pushed herself up. On the other side, Harbid did the same. “Petitioners, identify yourselves,” one of K’cheng’s aides instructed.

Harbid glanced at Leia. “Councilor Leia Organa Solo, on behalf of the New Republic,” she said.

“Captain Harbid of the Star Destroyer Death’s Head, for the Empire,” Harbid added.

“Your names have been noted,” K’cheng said after a nod from his aide. “Councilor Organa Solo, you may go first. Why have you come before the Obroan Assembly?”

“I seek to petition Obroa-skai for membership in the New Republic,” Leia declared.

“This too has been noted. And you, Captain Harbid?”

“The same, your honor, but in the name of the Empire.”

K’cheng waited until the aide had finished writing. “Very well,” he said. “We will consider both petitions in turn. Each side will have one hour to present an opening argument. This will be followed by an inquisition from the Assembly into the merits of the proposal. Are all in agreement?”

Silently the Legates nodded. “Very well,” the Premier said again, resuming his seat. “Councilor Organa Solo, you will speak first. Proceed.”

* * *

In accordance with Obroan custom, they had allocated Leia sixty minutes to present her opening arguments. She only needed thirty to tell she didn’t have them.

“Well-spoken, Councilor,” Legate M’eung began as Leia finished her presentation. “Eloquent, even. But still I must protest. Your arguments are based as much upon dreams and half-truths as they are upon reality.”

Leia turned to look at him, thankful for perhaps the first time in her life for all the practice she had gotten with Councilor Fey’lya in dealing with arrogant bureaucrats. “And how is that, Legate?” she inquired.

M’eung snorted. “You forget this body has seen Republic politics firsthand, when we visited your Coruscant as part of your first petition two years ago. We saw only dysfunction and chaos, not harmony.”

“I agree the Republic’s not perfect,” Leia conceded. “But surely you don’t mean to suggest the Empire’s model was any better?”

“Objection,” the legate to M’eung’s left interjected. “The merits of the Imperial proposal are not being considered at this time. We kindly ask the Premier to remind the petitioner to stick to the matter at hand.”

“So reminded,” K’cheng said, giving Leia a sympathetic look.

“I apologize,” Leia said to the objecting legate. She turned back to M’eung. “Do you have specific concerns, Legate, or just these general accusations?”

“These accusations are considerably more than general,” M’eung pointed out. “But if it is specifics you seek, I am happy to provide them. Is it not true that just recently a high-ranking member of your Inner Council falsely accused the admiral Ackbar of treason and collusion, all for his own political gain?”

“That itself might be called half-true,” Leia clarified for the Assembly. “Councilor Fey’lya accused Admiral Ackbar only after a large, unexplained sum of money was discovered in his bank account.” A sum that was the purely result of an Imperial plant, Leia wanted to add, with a glance at Harbid.

“And what of Senator Bel Iblis, then?” M’eung continued, his voice getting louder. “Why is he not here, as we requested? I have heard rumors that Mon Mothma has not forgiven him for the events of nine years ago, and uses her position to shame him even now. Is that not the reason?”

“That’s not true!” Leia blurted, and regretted it the moment she did.

“Ah,” M’eung smiled, seeing his opening. “Then perhaps the Senator is not here simply because he has more important things to do. Is that why you have been sent in his stead?”

Leia took a breath. “I would ask the Premier to remind the Legate,” she said to K‘cheng, “that I am a Councilor and one of the highest-ranking members of the New Republic government. I am not a consolation prize.”

“Noted,” the Premier confirmed with a small smile.

She took a beat before staring down M’eung. “The reason I am here and Garm is not,” she explained, “is because his expertise is needed on the war front, and mine is not. A distinction you will appreciate the next time you call on a Republic task force for assistance.”

M’eung’s forehead wrinkled irritably. “Ah, but that is the real point, isn’t it?” another legate spoke up. “The war. Tell me, why should we join the Republic at a time when it seems you are losing your very momentum to defeat the Empire?”

Behind Leia, Threepio gave the droid equivalent of a polite cough. “I beg your pardon, Legate,” he said from his chair, “but I believe that point concerns Captain Harbid’s petition, and is not appropriate at this time.”

“It most certainly is appropriate,” the legate challenged. “The future viability of the Republic is at the very heart of the matter here.”

“We still have over half of the galaxy under our control,” Leia said, not wanting to get caught up in an argument over procedure. “Grand Admiral Thrawn has a long way to go.”

“In your opinion,” M’eung started up again. “They say he now has in his control a complete collection of Spaarti cloning cylinders. How will the Republic repel a weapon of that magnitude?”

There came a polite tap from the Premier’s seat. “Councilor Organa Solo’s protocol droid is correct,” he interrupted. “This discussion falls under the ambit of Captain Harbid’s petition. Do any of the legates have any further questions about the merits of the Republic’s petition?”

No one answered. “Very well,” K’cheng said, glancing at the chronometer. “Then we will take a break at this time. The negotiations will resume in one hour.”

* * *

It was almost evening by the time Wedge dropped them back off at the Royal Palace‘s rooftop pad, and the early onset of twilight filled the horizon with a violet light. “I’ll send someone by to check on you in a couple hours,” Wedge promised, before rising up into the sky and heading off toward the landing field where he and the rest of the Rogues were lodging. For her part, Leia felt even more exhausted than yesterday, if that was possible; deflated and defeated. The first day’s session had not gone nearly as she‘d hoped it would.

“Well, I thought that went rather well,” Threepio commented as he followed Leia and Chewbacca off the landing pad and down the stairs.

“Really?” Leia asked wearily, turning down the hallway that connected to their suite. “How do you figure that, Threepio?”

“We had the opportunity to make several astute points, Your Highness,” Threepio explained, apparently not noticing her weariness. “I thought you deflected Legate M’eung’s questioning rather deftly. It will be interesting to see how Captain Harbid’s petition proceeds tomorrow.”

Interesting was not exactly the word Leia would have used. “I’m just looking forward to a shower and a good night’s rest,” she said as they came upon the door to their suite. Chewbacca typed in the entry code, and the door clicked open.

But the room wasn’t exactly as they‘d expected. “Forgive me, Councilor Organa Solo,” a younger-looking man said as he rose up from the couch, and Leia recognized him as the same aide that had assisted her on the landing field yesterday. “I tried to explain that you were at the Assembly, but he insisted on waiting.”

It soon became clear what he was talking about. Standing in the corner, half-hidden by the dim lighting of the living area as much as by the cowl draped over its head, was a short figure dressed in the brown robes of a Jawa. “He said he was a friend of yours?” the aide added hopefully.

“Yes,” Leia said, examining the figure. The robes notwithstanding, it most definitely was not a Jawa underneath. “Yes, thank you,” she added, dismissing the aide with a nod. “You may go now. You, too, Chewie.”

Chewbacca hesitated for a moment; but a look from Leia sent him trailing after the aide, steering Threepio out the door with him. “Really, Chewbacca, this is not necessary!” Threepio complained. “Princess Leia said nothing about me—”

The rest of his complaint was drowned out as Chewbacca closed the door shut. “Lady Vader…” the figure started once they were alone, taking a step towards her.

“I am the Lady Vader,” Leia confirmed. She studied the face hidden beneath the hood. “What is your name and clan?”

The figure dropped to the floor and spread its arms wide in a gesture of supplication—and as it did so, the cowl finally fell away from its head. “I am called Ekhrikor,” the Noghri meowed, his voice gravelly. “Warrior of the clan Bakh’tor. I greet you, Lady Vader.”

Leia knew the drill. Slowly she held out her hand, the same way she had done with Khabarakh on Kashyyyk. Ekhrikor accepted it gingerly, and then placing it to his nostrils he took a long and deep whiff. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Lady Vader,” he said, still smelling her hand. “Truly it is an honor to be in the presence of the Mal’ary’ush.”

“You may rise, Ekhrikor clan Bakh’tor,” Leia said, fighting the instinct to help him up. That would not be behavior fitting the Mal’ary’ush and daughter of the Lord Darth Vader. “I am glad to meet you as well, though I must confess surprise at your presence. How did you find me?”

“The Noghri people are always keeping watch for the Lady Vader,” Ekhrikor said, “even if she does not know it. When we became informed of your mission here, the dynasts instructed me to aid you.”

“I see,” Leia said, choosing to overlook the implication they were essentially stalking her. “Am I correct then that you are one of the commando teams ‘searching’ the galaxy for Khabarakh clan Kihm’bar?”

“That is correct,” Ekhrikor nodded. “He wished me to send you his greetings, as well.”

Leia smiled. Good old Khabarakh. The last she’d seen him, he’d been hurrying back to Honoghr in his little patrol ship, his hold full of supplies that might help cleanse his world. “And I thank you for bringing them,” Leia said. “Yet I fear you may have risked much by coming here.”

“For the Lady Vader, the risk is nothing,” Ekhrikor assured her. “The Noghri people would gladly die for the Mal’ary’ush.”

And he meant it, Leia knew. She’d seen the Noghri honor code firsthand, and offhand couldn’t think of a species—other than maybe the Wookiees—that took a life debt so seriously. “The Noghri people will always be honored in my family for their commitment,” she said. “But it is not only yourself you put at risk. If you are seen with me, you may compromise myself and my friends. There is a Star Destroyer captain about the Palace, and Grand Admiral Thrawn may have other spies elsewhere in the city.”

“I understand,” Ekhrikor assured her. “Believe me, it pains me putting you and your companions at such risk. But the risk was necessary. I had to warn you. You are in danger here, Lady Vader.”

“Danger?” Leia repeated dumbly before catching herself. “What sort of danger?” she tried again, more regally this time.

Ekhrikor let out a low purr; the Noghri equivalent of a growl. “The negotiations you participate in are a charade. The Obroan government will never vote to join the Republic.”

“Premier K’cheng assured me he would provide whatever support he could,” Leia said. “Surely you aren’t suggesting…”

“I do not refer to the Premier,” Ekhrikor explained. “The Grand Admiral has placed an Imperial agent among the Legates. As long as he remains upon the Assembly he will not permit a vote to pass in the Republic’s favor.”

Leia nodded, suddenly understanding. “M’eung.”

Ekhrikor gasped. “Then you knew already? Truly the wisdom of the Mal’ary’ush is well-praised!”

Leia gave a mental shrug. It was pretty obvious, in hindsight. “You can prove M’eung’s involvement with the Empire?”

There was a slight hesitation. “Yes,” Ekhrikor admitted. “But I still urge you to reconsider your mission. Even with his agent exposed, the Grand Admiral will not easily concede Obroa-skai. He has many tools in play. You must flee, before it becomes too late.”

“I’m sorry, Ekhrikor,” Leia shook her head, “I appreciate your concern, but I can’t walk away. My mission here is too important to give up to Thrawn without a fight. Surely the Noghri of all people would understand that.”

Another hesitation. “I understand,” Ekhrikor said at last. “The Noghri people value courage. You are worthy of your reputation, Lady Vader.” He glanced out the window. “I regret I cannot be seen more with you,” he told her, “but such would put both our lives at unnecessary risk. Nevertheless, my team will provide what help we can. We will watch over and protect you, Lady Vader. Do not fear.”

“Thank you, Ekhrikor clan Bahk’tor,” Leia said. “And thank you for your message tonight. You may have helped my cause more than you know.”

“Then it was worth whatever danger it may have been to come here,” Ekhrikor replied. He lifted up his hood and replaced it over his head. “Farewell, Lady Vader. Until we speak again.”

He gave her one last bow before unlocking the door and slipping out. A moment later Chewbacca slipped back in, trailed closely by Threepio. “What a peculiar fellow,” Threepio commented, looking over his shoulder. “I never could abide those Jawas. What did he want, Your Highness?”

“Chewie?” Leia asked softly.

Chewbacca nodded; he at least recognized a Noghri when he saw one. “Nothing important, Threepio,” she told the droid. “Come on, let’s get ready for bed. It’s going to be another long day tomorrow.”

But for the first time since arriving here, she felt energized. Already plans were forming in her head. So M’eung is on Thrawn’s payroll. It seemed the Force had been with her all this time after all.

Now if it would just stay with her until tomorrow.

A Diplomatic Mission, Part 4

“He ask me hunt animal nest for him,” the Barabel said. “Animals bothering little ships—eating at sides. I do what he say. He burn animal nest, get money. But then he pay me in no-good money.” He gestured down at a now scattered pile of gold-colored metal chips.

Luke picked one up. It was small and triangular, with an intricate pattern of lines in the center, and inscribed with a small “100” in each corner. “Anyone ever see this currency before?” he called, holding it up.

“It’s new Imperial scrip,” someone dressed in an expensive business coat said with thinly veiled contempt. “You can only spend it on Imperial-held worlds and stations.” —Dark Force Rising

----------------------------------------------------

Wedge set them down in the same spot as yesterday, less than a hundred meters from the stairs that led up to the Law House’s main entrance. “You’re sure this is a good idea?” he asked no one in particular as he shut off the repulsorlifts.

Leia answered for all of them. “Not really,” she said from the seat behind him as she fingered the lightsaber hanging from her belt. She’d left her blaster back in the suite, same as the day before; but today she had decided to bring her lightsaber with her, conspicuously hanging off her side. A not-so-subtle reminder that she was more than just some Republic bureaucrat. “But I think it’s the best chance we’ve got. Right, Chewie?”

From his seat in front of Threepio, Chewbacca growled his agreement. “All right,” Wedge said, checking his own blaster before returning it to his side holster. “Then let’s do it.”

He popped the doors, and together the four of them exited the airspeeder and headed up the stairs towards the Law House. The same livery-clad sentries were standing guard; but today they gave Leia considerably more than a cursory glance as she passed, their eyes resting on the lightsaber on her belt. But they’d seen her speaking with the Premier himself only yesterday, and they knew better than to give her a hard time. “Head on in, Councilor,” one of them said as she passed. “The Assembly is expecting you.”

The Assembly was indeed expecting her, Leia discovered as they hurried down the tree-lined hallway and entered the main chamber itself. All the Legates were seated and waiting, and Captain Harbid had already taken his position in the center circle. “Councilor Organa Solo,” K’cheng breathed with relief, running up to her. “Thank goodness you made it. We were about to send someone to look for you.”

“I apologize for my tardiness, Premier K’cheng,” Leia said, studying the row of Legates. There he was, ostensibly in discussion with another aide, but Leia could see his eyes flicker toward her as she entered: M’eung. “Are we ready to begin?”

K’cheng nodded, ushering her toward the center circle. Leia could feel the eyes beginning to turn on her as she walked down the aisle toward her assigned spot, Chewbacca and the rest of her team in tow. “Councilor,” M’eung called out as Leia reached the bottom of the aisle. “I am so pleased you could finally join us.”

“That is enough, thank you, Legate M’eung,” K’cheng said from where he had resumed his seat at the top of the circle. He waited until Leia had taken her previous seat, and then: “With the arrival of both delegates, the second day of the conference is begun. Today we will hear the proposal of the petitioner from the Empire. Captain Harbid, if you would?”

Harbid nodded and started to rise from his seat, accepting the data pad handed to him by his junior officer. “Your pardon, Premier,” Leia interrupted, rising from her own chair. “I wish to say a few words before Captain Harbid begins his petition. With your permission?”

“What is this?” M’eung demanded. “Premier—”

“Thank you, Legate,” K’cheng waved him silent. He studied Leia for a moment, then turned to Harbid. “Captain Harbid, do you have any objection?”

Harbid studied Leia, too. “I have no objection, Premier,” he said, almost unwillingly. “Please continue, Councilor.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Leia said, moving toward the center of the circle. This is it, she told herself. “First, I wish to apologize one last time for my tardiness today. I received a visitor last night who revealed some things to me that I have spent the past twelve hours considering. Some of these I will share with you in a moment, and you will see why I am late because of them.

“Yesterday I spoke to you of the virtues of the Republic, and I was told these virtues were nothing more than dreams and half-truths. Yet it appears this very conference has proceeded under a half-truth.” She gestured at Threepio. “My protocol droid tells me that the Obroans value fairness and transparency above all things, and so I was discouraged to discover last night that these talks have been anything but transparent. Isn’t that right, Legate M’eung?”

M’eung seemed surprised at being addressed. “Excuse me, Councilor?”

“Yes, Councilor,” K’cheng added carefully. “To what are you referring?”

“I am referring to a deception perpetrated against this very Assembly, Premier K’cheng. I was told for my cause I would receive a fair hearing from an impartial body. So you can see why I was disappointed to learn there is an Imperial agent among the Legates.”

She saw M’eung stiffen. “And who would that be?” another legate demanded.

Leia pointed a finger. “Legate M’eung.”

A sudden buzz of conversation filled the chamber. “Order!” K’cheng barked over the noise, slamming his gavel. “Order!”

“This is outrageous!” Leia heard someone shout. But she kept her focus on M’eung, who sat stewing and glaring back at her silently.

K’cheng waited until the noise had died down before proceeding. “These are indeed strong claims, Councilor,” he told her, his voice almost pleading. “Such accusations are highly unorthodox.”

Leia ignored him. “Legate?” she asked. “How do you respond?”

M’eung glared at her for another heartbeat. “I do not know if this is how things proceed among your Inner Council,” he bit out, “but here in the Obroan Assembly we do not entertain such wild statements casually. I hope you have proof to support your claim.”

“I do,” Leia confirmed. “It occurs to me that anyone on Thrawn’s payroll would have to do a pretty good job of hiding the money trail. A simple bank transfer wouldn’t work--we saw with Admiral Ackbar how easily that can be tracked. He would have to be paid in credits.”

She gave Chewbacca and Wedge a short nod; and together the two of them got up and started moving towards M’eung’s chair. “What is the meaning of this?” M’eung growled at Leia. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for my proof,” Leia told him. “Wedge?”

“Yes, Councilor,” Wedge said, stepping up to the Legates’ tier as Chewbacca came around on the other side. “Excuse me, Legate, but would you mind emptying your pockets?”

M’eung just stared up at him, his former glare giving way to disbelief. “Go ahead,” Wedge indicated, and with his usual Wookiee strength Chewbacca picked M’eung up easily and started rifling through his robes.

“Really, Councilor!” K’cheng exclaimed. “This is highly unorthodox!”

“What is the meaning of this?” M’eung squealed as he dangled in Chewbacca’s arms. “You have no right to do this!”

After a moment Chewbacca set him back down in his seat. “Forgive me, Premier,” Leia said, “my droid has also warned me about the importance of propriety among your people. But it was necessary. Chewie?”

With great effect, Chewbacca started laying out the things he had found on the table in front of him. There was a comlink, of course, and a couple data cards beside it. And next to the data cards—

“What are those?” the legate sitting next to M’eung asked.

Everyone leaned in closer to look. Next to the data cards was a collection of small, gold-colored triangles, various denominations from “100” up to “5000” listed in the corners. “They are my proof,” Leia said, feeling a final relief. The Force was indeed still with her. “They are Imperial credits. Only issued by Imperial banks, and only good on Imperial worlds.”

A stunned silence filled the chamber. Leia took a moment to glance at Harbid; but he was sitting quietly, his face unreadable. “Legate M’eung?” someone finally spoke up. “Is this true?”

M’eung didn’t respond. “Captain Harbid?” Leia tried. “This is Imperial scrip, is it not?”

Harbid let out an almost inaudible sigh. “It is.”

“But how did you come by it, Legate M’eung?” another legate asked. “Surely you have an explanation!”

M‘eung stared down at the table, and the credits laid out there. “I have none,” he said softly.

“I do,” Leia said, turning back towards the entire chamber. “The only reason he would be paid in Imperial credits is for work done on behalf of an Imperial employer—like, for instance, Grand Admiral Thrawn. I‘m sure a quick inspection of his residence will uncover even more where this came from.”

If the silence had seemed stunned before, it was positively flabbergasted now. “These are indeed strong claims,” K’cheng said, composing himself. But his eyes drifted towards the credits in front of M‘eung. “We must further investigate, to discover the truth of them. Warden?”

A second later another livery-clad guard emerged from the crowd. “Please take Legate M’eung into custody, while we arrange for an examination of the Legate‘s residence,” K’cheng instructed.

The warden nodded, moving past Wedge to take M’eung strongly but firmly by the arm. “Legate?” he said. “Would you come with me, please?”

For a moment it seemed like M’eung was going to resist. Then, reluctantly, he permitted the warden to lead him down the aisle and up the stairs. “Thank you, Councilor,” K’cheng said to Leia, giving her a smile. The other Legates didn’t seem to notice, focused as they were on watching M’eung being escorted out the door. “Given the revelation of these events,” K’cheng continued, facing the remainder of the Assembly, “I think it best that we postpone further talks until the investigation is complete. Are there any objections?”

The hall remained speechless. “Very well,” K’cheng said, tapping his gavel one last time. “Then the Assembly is dismissed.”

* * *

“Leia!” Mon Mothma greeted; and maybe it was just the poor quality of the holo, but somehow her face looked less worn than usual. “I just heard the good news from Premier K’cheng. Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Leia said politely, not entirely sure what the other was referring to. “What exactly is the good news?”

Mon Mothma smiled openly. “He says the Obroan Assembly is going to seriously consider our petition to join the New Republic,” she explained. “I don’t know what you did out there; but whatever it was, it worked. Good job! I knew I could trust you to get it done.”

“It wasn’t just me,” Leia told her quickly. “I had some help.”

“Of course you did,” Mon Mothma said, not quite understanding. “And I’ll be sure to put in a good recommendation for Commander Antilles with Admiral Drayson; but you deserve credit, too.”

“I‘ll just be glad to come home,” Leia said. She hadn‘t told Mon Mothma—or anyone on the Inner Council—about the Noghri yet, and she didn‘t intend on starting on an open channel. “How soon until Chewie and I can leave for Coruscant?”

“I think it best you stay two or three extra days. Just in case Premier K’cheng wants to hammer out any details in person. Don’t worry,” Mon Mothma added sourly, “there will be plenty of work waiting for you here when you get back.”

And Han, too. For the first time in three days, Leia realized how much she’d missed him. “Then I’ll contact you in a couple days,” she said. “Thank you again, Mon Mothma.”

“No, Leia,” Mon Mothma shook her head, “thank you. Without you, the Obroans would probably have fallen for the Empire’s deception. Once again, the Republic is in your debt.”

And if Ekhrikor hadn’t shown up with his little tip? But he had, and it didn’t do to worry about it now. “The Republic’s in all our debts,” she said, dimly wondering where the Noghri had gotten to, anyway, “including yours. I’ll talk to you in a few days. Obroa-skai out.”

* * *

Harbid stood silently before the hologram pad, knowing better than to be the one to speak first. Fortunately, he didn’t have a long wait. “So,” the flickering image of Grand Admiral Thrawn said. “The mission is a failure, then.”

“Yes, sir,” Harbid said, trying not to think back to all the stories of how Lord Vader had dealt with his subordinates’ failings. He’d worked under Thrawn long enough to know the Grand Admiral didn’t favor such methods, anyway. At least, not usually. “I’m sorry, Admiral.”

“No need for apologies, Captain,” Thrawn said, but his expression hardened. “This is not your failure. Legate M’eung was careless to keep any evidence that could link him with us. And he will suffer the full consequences of Obroan law for his error. I only wish the law was more harsh.”

“Yes, sir,” Harbid said again, feeling a relief wash over him. He forced his mind back to the business at hand. “If may ask, what is our next step?”

For a moment Thrawn’s glowing red eyes got distant. “I suppose we have no choice,” he sighed. “We must resort to alternative methods of persuasion. Prepare your ship. Commence the attack.”

“It will be done,” Harbid promised, trying hard not to sound too eager. Thrawn may prefer finesse over force, but not Harbid. “Do you want merely a demonstration, or actual destruction?”

“I leave that decision in your hands, Captain. The Obroans’ defenses are hardly top of the line, and I don’t anticipate they’ll give you much trouble.”

A pity, that. “What about Organa Solo?”

“Ah, yes. Our esteemed Councilor.” Thrawn considered. “I leave that decision in your hands as well. Organa Solo would make an added bonus, without a doubt.” Harbid agreed with that, at least; if rumors were to be believed, the Admiral had gone so far as to promise her to that crazy Jedi of his, C’baoth. “But remember the Central Libraries are our primary objective here. I won’t have that compromised over a distraction. Is that clear?”

It was clear enough to Harbid. “Certainly, Admiral. I’ll see to it. Two hours from now, Obroa-skai will be completely under Imperial control.”

“Then I look forward to two hours from now,” Thrawn said dryly. “Chimaera out.”

There was the slight hiss of static as his holo image sputtered and vanished. “Lieutenant,” Harbid said, not missing a beat as he switched on the intercom, “this is Captain Harbid. Please instruct the landing field to have my shuttle readied. And inform the Death‘s Head to anticipate our arrival. We‘re leaving.”

There was a muffled acknowledgement on the other end. Yes, Harbid reflected as he switched off the intercom, looking out the window at the quiet Obroan cityscape and the boxy shape of the library in the distance. It was clear, all right. If the Grand Admiral wanted the Obroan Central Libraries, Harbid would see to it that he got the Central Libraries.

And if Harbid got a chance at payback for Organa Solo’s humiliating little stunt this morning…well, all the better for him.

A Diplomatic Mission, Part 5

The ready room door slid shut behind the wing commander, and Pellaeon gazed back at the map still on display. “Sounds like Obroa-skai is a dead end,” he said regretfully. “There’s no way we’ll be able to spare the manpower that much pacification would cost.”

“For now, perhaps,” Thrawn agreed. “But only for now.” —Heir to the Empire

----------------------------------------------------

Leia awoke with a start, and immediately wondered what had woken her. Her room lay dark and quiet: gazing up she could see the city lights dancing off her ceiling, but no sound came through the window outside. Dimly she could feel one of the twins stirring slightly in her belly, and she placed a calming hand on her stomach to soothe it. For a moment she was reminded of her room back on Rwookrrorro, high among the wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk; and immediately wondered what had made her think of that, too.

It turned out the memory was more fitting than she’d realized. “Lady Vader,” a voice meowed softly. “Are you awake?”

With a start Leia sat up in her bed, reaching a hand under her pillow for the blaster she kept there. “Ekhrikor,” she breathed at the sight of the Noghri, forcing her heartbeat to relax. Her relief gave way to anger. “How did you get in here?” she demanded. “And what do you want?”

“Forgive me, Lady Vader,” Ekhrikor bowed from where he was standing near the door. He was still clad in his dark cowl and cloak; but this time the hood was already pushed back, and his face looked even more nightmarish in the shadows of the city lights. “But you are in grave danger here. We must leave at once.”

“It’s all right, Ekhrikor,” Leia tried to assure him. “I’ve taken care of Legate M’eung. Thanks to you.”

“It was nothing, for the pride of serving the Mal’ary’ush,” Ekhrikor assured her in turn. “But you do not understand. You are in even greater danger now. You must come with me. I have an airship waiting.”

“What do you mean?” Leia asked, but she was already sliding out of bed and putting on her clothes. The Noghri had earned at least some of her trust at this point. “What danger?”

Ekhrikor pointed at the ceiling. “The ship in the sky above,” he explained. “The Grand Admiral has commanded his captain to attack the planet. It will commence any minute now.”

“What?” Leia blurted. “With all due respect, Ekhrikor, you must be mistaken. Even Thrawn wouldn’t stoop that low.”

“You do not know the Grand Admiral as we do. Already the ship is arming its weapons.”

“Then we have to warn the Obroans,” Leia said, getting up from the bed…but even as she said it she knew how fruitless it would be. The Obroans were a people of knowledge, not battle, and she’d seen Ackbar’s estimate of their ground/space defenses.

“Then we will do that, if that is what you wish,” Ekhrikor said. “But first we must get you safely away from here.”

“Yes,” Leia agreed, suddenly remembering how desperately Thrawn seemed to want to get his hands on her. “You said you had a ship waiting?” she asked, scooping her lightsaber off her nightstand.

“On the roof,” Ekhrikor confirmed, indicating towards the door. “Come. We will retrieve your Wookiee companion and your droid machine, and then take you to your vessel.”

Leia nodded, clipping the lightsaber to her belt and then following him out the door. The main living area of their suite was as dark and quiet as her room had been, and Leia could tell from the lack of light under the door that Chewbacca was still asleep in his room. Asking Ekhrikor to wait, she started across to fetch Chewbacca.

She’d made it halfway when the deafening thunderclap suddenly rocked the room.

“I’m all right!” she shouted up to Ekhrikor, not even remembering him grabbing her and pulling her to the floor. At first she thought a bomb had gone off somewhere in the Palace. But as a second thunderclap echoed across the city, she belatedly realized what they were.

Turbolaser blasts.

A third blast shook the room, more distant this time. “Chewie!” she yelled over the sound.

Chewbacca was already up, appearing at the door with an alert if slightly disoriented look on his face. He glanced down at Leia and the Noghri on top of her… “It’s okay,” she assured him, even as Ekhrikor helped her back up. Out the window they could begin to see green flashes as the turbolaser fire lit up the night sky. “Chewie, the city’s under attack. Thrawn’s ordered Harbid to destroy the Obroan defenses and take the planet.”

Chewbacca’s eyes focused on Ekhrikor for a second. “Sorry,” Leia said, introducing him. “This is Ekhrikor. He’s the one who warned me about M’eung and Harbid.”

Chewbacca urfed a question. “Exactly,” Leia said. “Go grab your bowcaster and Threepio and then follow us. Ekhrikor has an airspeeder on the roof that can take us to the Falcon.”

Chewbacca nodded, his long legs taking him quickly across the room towards the closet where they were keeping Threepio. She noticed Ekhrikor had pulled out a comlink and was speaking to someone at the other end in hushed tones. “How long before they start launching drop ships, do you think?” she asked him, glancing out the window.

But Ekhrikor shook his head. “They have already begun.”

* * *

Wedge was in the middle of a very nice dream when the first thunderclap hit. Instinctively he rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a loud umph. The pain knocked the wind out of him for a second, and grimacing Wedge opened his eyes. It took him a couple more seconds to realize where he was: the makeshift bedroom they’d set up in one of the hangars off the landing field.

He didn’t have long to enjoy that realization before another thunderclap hit, followed by a third and a fourth. “Sounds like turbolaser blasts,” he said to himself, and wanted to dismiss the thought as soon as he’d had it. Not even the Empire would be that crazy.

This thought too was quickly dismissed as an alarm started sounding in the hangar. “Attention,” an Obroan voice boomed from the hangar speakers, occasionally lost among the sounds of the distant booms, “attention, all ships. Obroa-skai is under attack. Report to your battle stations.”

“Right,” Wedge muttered, pulling himself up and starting to get into his flight suit. He’d gotten it halfway on before a new thought suddenly hit him. Scrambling to his nightstand, he started searching for the comlink he’d left there.

But he could see Councilor Organa Solo was one step ahead of him. “Wedge?” her voice came dimly from the comlink, barely audible over the attack and the alarm. “Wedge, are you there?”

“I’m here, Councilor!” he called into it, practically shouting. “I think the Imperials are attacking the planet!”

“They are,” the other confirmed. “My source tells me Harbid is launching an all-out assault. The first of the drop ships should be landing any minute.”

Her source? But whatever it was, it would have to wait. “Copy that,” Wedge said. “I’m scrambling now. Do you want us to try and pick you up?”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve already got a ride to the landing field. Just get your fighters in the air and provide the Obroans with whatever support you can. I’ll ring you when we’re airborne. And try to leave your comm on this time.”

“Will do,” Wedge said, dropping the comlink into one of his chest pockets. He’d just finished zipping up the flight suit when there came a panicked knock at his door. “Wedge, open up!” Hobbie’s voice came from the other side.

Wedge was already at the door, sliding it open. “What’s the rush?” he asked dryly, even as another turbolaser blast shook the hangar. He slipped past Hobbie and hurried down the corridor that led to their X-wings. “How bad is it out there?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘bad,’” Hobbie reported, jogging behind him. “That Star Destroyer hasn‘t called for any help yet, but it has launched almost twenty drop ships so far.”

Wedge whistled. “Twenty? That’s an awful lot of manpower.”

“I’ll say,” Hobbie agreed. “I don’t think this is just another raid, Wedge. I think we’re looking at a full-blown invasion.”

Wedge nodded. He’d reached the same conclusion, too. “What about TIE fighters?”

“Janson’s checking on that. Gotta be a couple squadrons, at least.”

And the nearest Republic base was light-years away. “Then it sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Wedge said, thinking back to what he could remember of the Obroans’ ground/space weaponry. If memory served, it wasn’t much. “Get everyone to their fighters and airborne. We’re in it now.”

“I’m already on it,” Hobbie told him. He paused. “What about Councilor Organa Solo?”

They‘d come to the end of the corridor; and before them now sat the waiting shapes of twelve X-wing fighters. “She’s on her own for the time being,” Wedge said, grabbing his helmet off a nearby shelf and jogging to his X-wing. “We’ll just have to hope she can take care of herself.”

* * *

There were three more Noghri waiting for them in the hallway as Leia and Chewbacca followed Ekhrikor out the door. Threepio scuttled quickly behind. The rest of the hall was empty, though Leia knew that couldn’t last: already she could hear alarms hooting in the distance. “Come,” Ekhrikor beckoned. “This way.”

They’d made it halfway to the lift when the building was rocked by another explosion. “Uh-oh,” Leia said, looking up at the ceiling. “That didn’t sound like a turbolaser blast.” Chewbacca growled his agreement.

“It was not,” Ekhrikor confirmed, still listening to his comlink. “It appears two of the Imperial drop ships have landed upon the Palace roof.”

“Just two? What about the others?”

“They have moved on to the Central Library building,” Ekhrikor said. Then we’re not their primary target, Leia realized. That was something, at least.

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness,” Threepio spoke up. He’d been quiet as a womprat so far. “But with those drop ships, you don’t still intend for us to go to the roof, do you?”

A good question, actually. “Ekhrikor?”

Ekhrikor shook his head. “I will have our pilot meet us at a lower level. Back this way, Lady Vader.”

They turned around and started back towards the way they had come. And not a moment too soon: already Leia thought she could sense a cluster of distant presences above them, moving slowly but methodically down from level to level. She tried some quick calculations in her head. The average drop ship carried somewhere between thirty-five and forty troops, though some could carry as many as fifty. Between the two of them, that came out to almost a hundred stormtroopers on top of them—

“Wait,” she said suddenly, grabbing Chewbacca’s arm. “Stop.”

In front of her, the Noghri halted. “Lady Vader,” one of them started, “we must not delay…”

“I said wait,” she repeated. “Ekhrikor, how many drop ships did you say had landed on the roof?”

“Two, Lady Vader,” Ekhrikor said, his dark face creasing in what Leia assumed was a Noghri version of a frown. “Why?”

“No,” Leia shook her head, doing a rough count of the minds above her. “That doesn‘t add up.” At most she could sense maybe three dozen troops above them. “Below,” she realized. “One of the drop ships landed below us.”

Ekhrikor shared a glance with one of his commandos. “You are certain?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, stretching out further with her Jedi senses. “In fact, I can sense a group of them coming up toward us now. They’re close,” she added.

One of the Noghri hissed. “What do you wish to do?” he asked Ekhrikor.

Ekhrikor glanced over his shoulder toward the lifts. “How close would you say they are, Lady Vader?”

“Maybe two floors,” Leia said, concentrating. “No, make that one,” she corrected. She pointed. “They’re coming up the south stairwell.”

“We’re trapped!” Threepio moaned pitifully.

Ekhrikor considered for another moment. “If we head to one of the service stairwells, we may be able to slip past them—”

“Look out!” one of the Noghri called, pushing Ekhrikor aside. Leia had sensed it too, and she let Chewbacca pull her behind a nearby column just as the lift at the far end of the hall slid open and a squad of stormtroopers came running out. It took them only a moment to spot the seven of them standing in the middle of the hall. “Blast them!” someone shouted, and there was a clash as both sides opened fire.

Leia felt Chewbacca pull her a little further back, even as his bowcaster sang with the sound of a returning salvo. On the other side of the hallway, the four Noghri had pulled out blasters from somewhere and were methodically laying down suppressing shots in conjunction with Chewbacca. “Any ideas, Chewie?” Leia shouted over the firefight.

The Wookiee roared a negative, moving to get a better grip on his bowcaster. Leia grimaced, knowing they had to do something soon. Their current cover left a lot to be desired, and it was only a matter of time before that other group of stormtroopers came up from behind them. She glanced over her shoulder, down the long corridor with the rows of unexceptional suite doors on either side… “Come on, Chewie,” she decided, slapping the control panel to the door nearest them. Whether it was luck or the Force, the suite was unlocked; the door slid open. “Ekhrikor, in here!”

The Noghri fired a final shot before leaping across the hallway and ducking inside. “The rest of you,” she added, “come on, get in!”

One by one they all jumped across the far side of the hall and slipped in. “You, too, Chewie,” she said, pulling on his bandolier. “Let’s go.”

With one last Wookiee roar, Chewbacca pulled up his bowcaster and rolled through the door. Leia slapped the controls again, and the door went sliding back into place. “Are we all in?” Leia asked, doing a quick headcount before locking the door. “Where’s Threepio?”

“I am here, Your Highness,” Threepio said, raising a hand. There was a dark mark on his shoulder where one of the blaster shots had bounced off, but other than that he looked unharmed.

But behind him Leia suddenly noticed one the Noghri was gripping his side, and appeared to be breathing heavily. She took a step towards him. “Are you all right?”

“I am not mortally wounded,” he waved her off. “What do we do now, Lady Vader?”

“We get your pilot here fast,” Leia said, giving him one last look before searching around the room. But fortunately this suite appeared to be unoccupied at the moment. “Ekhrikor, call him up and tell him to meet us at Suite 712.”

A loud clanging started on the other side of the door. “Come on, move it,” Leia said as Ekhrikor got to work, indicating one of the bedrooms. “All of you, in here.”

It took them only a minute to get settled in. “He is on his way,” Ekhrikor reported, returning the comlink to his belt.

“Good,” Leia said. Chewbacca and another one of the Noghri had started piling the bedroom furniture against the door, but she knew that wouldn’t buy them more than a couple extra seconds. It was a race now between Ekhrikor’s pilot and the troopers outside. “How far out is he?”

“Not far,” Ekhrikor told her; but she could see he’d reached the same conclusion.

From the living area came a sudden crash. “They have breached the first door,” one of the Noghri observed.

“Let us hope this second lasts us longer,” the Noghri helping Chewbacca said, casting a look around the room for more furniture. He noticed Leia standing near the bedroom window. “Lady Vader, I think it would be best if you found for yourself some cover.”

But Leia wasn’t listening. She’d just noticed a pair of flickering headlights outside, coming up toward them from the planet surface. “Ekhrikor—”

“I see it also,” Ekhrikor confirmed, gazing out the window himself. “Our air craft has arrived.”

Leia breathed a sigh of relief. The last time she’d seen a Noghri airspeeder had been on Kashyyyk: strapped to Chewbacca’s chest and dangling beneath Rwookrrorro as their Noghri pursuers trailed close behind, it had been the last thing she’d wanted to see. This time around, it was a far more welcome sight.

The sound of renewed clanging on the door outside brought her back to the matter at hand. “We need to remove this window,” she said, grabbing the lightsaber from her belt. She moved to switch it on—

“Please, Lady Vader,” Ekhrikor said, pulling her away. “Our pilot will take care of it. Stand back at a safe distance, if you would.”

“Are you sure?” Leia said doubtfully. “I don’t think he’ll be able to shoot through without hitting us—”

“Trust me, Ilkhaim is most precise. Now come.”

She let him lead her into the corner, where Chewbacca was already huddled behind the bed. “Ilkhaim,” Ekhrikor hissed into his comlink. “Now.”

There came a flash of laser fire from the airspeeder’s front cannons, and then an explosion and a whoosh of air as the window shattered into a million pieces. “Let us go,” Ekhrikor said, getting up from behind the bed and tossing something onto the floor with a metallic thunk. “Lady Vader, you shall go first.”

Leia moved towards the opening and leaned out. Beneath them she could see the bright lights of the city, several stories below. “Come, Lady Vader!” the Noghri pilot called from the airspeeder’s open door.

Leia measured the distance from the opening to the airspeeder and tried not to think too much about it. Taking a deep breath, letting the Force flow into her muscles, she took a running start and jumped.

She made it easily, landing into the airspeeder and sliding into one of the back seats. Ekhrikor was right behind her, followed a second later by the wounded Noghri. Leia glanced back towards the opening, saw the nervous figure of Threepio looking rather lost standing there. “What about Threepio?” she realized suddenly.

“The Wookiee will see to your droid,” Ekhrikor said, even as Chewbacca came suddenly behind Threepio and picked him up with the same strength and ease he had Legate M’eung. With an effortless leap he crossed the distance to the airspeeder, dropping the protesting droid in the seat beside Leia.

“That is all of us,” Ekhrikor told his pilot as the remaining two Noghri jumped inside. “Let us be gone.”

Even at that moment there came flash from the building, and the bedroom door suddenly burst open. “Look out!” Threepio exclaimed as a line of stormtroopers came running through.

Ekhrikor pressed a button on his comlink, and another explosion lit up the room as the charges he had dropped detonated. “Ilkhaim,” he tapped the pilot on the shoulder, “now we go.”

* * *

Harbid stood on the Death’s Head bridge, staring down at the green-and-white orb below him. Even from this distance he could see a few fires had broken out in Obroa-skai’s capital city from the ship’s turbolaser blasts, but Harbid didn’t care. “You have something to report, Lieutenant?” he asked as the comm officer approached.

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant nodded. “We just got word from the drop ship commander: we have secured the Central Library building.”

Harbid let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Excellent,” he said. “Well done. What about Drop Ships Seven and Eight?”

“Nothing to report yet,” the other informed him. “They’re still searching the Royal Palace. The last message indicated they may have located Organa Solo on Level Seven. Would you like me to get an update?”

“Just reiterate that they are to use nonlethal force only,” Harbid said, “and that includes stun weapons.” The things were notorious for sparking miscarriages, and Grand Admiral Thrawn wanted Organa Solo’s two children as well.

“I’ll remind them of that, sir,” the lieutenant promised, giving a salute before walking off. Harbid let him go, studying the scene out the viewport more closely. The battle was proceeding well—surprisingly well, in fact. They’d taken out the Obroans’ main ion emplacements within their first ten salvos, followed quickly by a strafe of the landing field itself. Other than a handful of Obroan fighters and that X-wing squadron Organa Solo had brought along, the Death’s Head hadn’t encountered much yet in the way of resistance.

The X-wing squadron. Harbid shifted his gaze towards the tiny silhouettes zipping above the city, feeling a flicker of irritation. They’d done nothing but cause problems since the battle had begun, taking out his first wave of fighters and currently putting a serious dent in the second. It was time to put at end to it. “Starfighter Control,” he called toward the starboard crew pit, “prepare Squadron Three for launch. Instruct them to concentrate on that group of X-wings.”

He waited for an acknowledgment before moving away from the viewport. The X-wing was a resilient little starfighter, and those pilots seemed particularly skilled; but Squadron Three was comprised of the Death’s Head's TIE interceptors, and would make quick work of them.

He heard the sound of bootsteps as the comm officer approached again. “Yes, Lieutenant?” he asked. “Did you relay my instructions?”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant said, looking a little nervous. “The stormtroopers have been reminded to use nonlethal force only.”

“Excellent,” Harbid said, even as the man just stood there. “Well?” Harbid demanded. “What is it, then?”

The other took a breath, no doubt reflecting on how often in the Imperial fleet the messenger could be shot. Sometimes literally. “Sir, we just received an update from Team Seven. It appears Organa Solo was able to escape.”

Escape, Harbid repeated, feeling a sudden rush of frustration rise up in him. No. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t have escaped. Not that easily. “What do you mean, she escaped?”

“Not without help,” the lieutenant added quickly. “Our troops had cornered her in a suite on the seventh floor, but an unidentified airspeeder arrived and took her away before they could stop it.”

“Were they able to track—no, it doesn’t matter,” Harbid corrected himself. There was only one logical place the airspeeder would take her: the landing field.

“Unfortunately, no,” the lieutenant answered anyway. “But the commander also reports that a group of aliens was seen helping her.”

That piqued Harbid’s interest. Aliens. And Organa Solo had mentioned something about a mysterious visitor the night before. “Did anyone recognize these aliens?” he asked. But the lieutenant shook his head.

No matter, Harbid told himself. They would find out soon enough. “Instruct the stormtroopers to return to their drop ships,” he said. “We’ll simply have to take Organa Solo with the Death’s Head. Starfighter Control!”

“Yes, Captain?” the officer manning the station said.

“Has Squadron Three been launched yet?”

“We’re about to launch them now, sir,” the officer told him. “Do you have any additional orders?”

Harbid smiled. “As a matter of fact, I do. Belay my last instruction. Tell the wing commander to concentrate on the Millennium Falcon. We‘ll move to provide support.”

And as the officer relayed Harbid’s newest order, Harbid felt his smile widen. Yes, they’d find out who these mysterious aliens were soon enough. Thrawn may want Organa Solo brought to him alive, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t interrogate her first.

* * *

Ekhrikor’s pilot set them down across from where the Falcon was parked on the landing field, coming to a halt a couple feet above the ground. “Here is your craft,” Ekhrikor said as one of his commandos popped open the airspeeder door, and Leia was surprised at how good it felt to see the familiar sight of the ship again. “We can do no more to assist you. This is where we must part.”

“Chewie, take Threepio and get the ship ready,” Leia instructed, her eyes on Ekhikor. “I’ll meet you in a second.”

Chewbacca barked an affirmative. “Really, Your Highness, I don’t think—” Threepio started, just as a hairy arm wrapped around his torso. His words turned into a wail as Chewbacca dropped them both to the ground, releasing the droid before sprinting across the landing field and scrambling up the gangway.

“You have been a great help to us, Ekhrikor,” Leia said once they were gone. “What will you do now?”

“We will resume our original mission,” Ekhrikor told her. “Traveling the galaxy and warning other commandos of the Empire’s treachery.”

“That may be difficult, if one of those stormtroopers back there got a good look at you,” Leia pointed out. “Why don’t you come with us?”

“To continue serving the Lady Vader would be a great honor,” Ekhrikor admitted, “yet we must continue the mission given to us, and warn our people of the great deceit perpetrated upon them. To fail in this task may cause more Noghri to come to harm. Do not worry, Lady Vader; perhaps one day we shall be given the opportunity to aid you again.”

Outside came a rising whine as Chewbacca started up the Falcon’s repulsorlifts, and looking across the way Leia could spy him moving about the cockpit canopy. “You have done the Noghri proud, Ekhrikor clan Bahk’tor,” she said over the noise. “All of you have. May the Force be with you.”

Five Noghri heads bowed. “Thank you, Lady Vader,” Ekrhikor said for all of them. “It has been our pleasure to protect and serve the Mal’ary’ush. This is a day that shall be long celebrated among our clan.”

Leia caught Chewbacca gesturing at her impatiently. “Take care of yourselves,” she said, and then taking a breath she hopped out of the airspeeder and landed gently onto the ground. She looked up as the airspeeder began rising back into the sky, switching direction and then rocketing off toward the mountains. “And good luck,” she added softly; then with a turn she hurried up the Falcon’s gangway after Chewbacca and Threepio.

* * *

“Wedge?” a long-awaited voice finally crackled in his ear. “It’s Leia. We’re back at the ship and on our way to meet you.”

“Finally,” Wedge muttered, switching on the comm. “Copy that, Falcon,” he said, glancing out his cockpit canopy. There they were: he could see the oval shape of the Millennium Falcon rising up from the landing field now. “Rogues Eleven and Twelve, move to escort position. The rest of you, form up.”

The X-wings moved into position around the Falcon. “Ah, Wedge,” Rogue Five spoke up, “I’m picking up a new group of signals from the Death‘s Head. Looks like more fighters.”

Wedge checked his own scope and felt his heart drop a little in his chest. Those weren’t just fighters, he realized, they were TIE interceptors; and if his screen was even close to being accurate, they would be on them in a matter of seconds. “They’re heading for the Falcon,” he said, studying his display more closely. “Councilor?”

“We see them,” came the quick response. “I don’t suppose running for it is an option at this point?”

“We can try,” Wedge said. But the TIE interceptor was one of the fastest ships in the Imperial fleet, and Wedge doubted the Falcon would even make it out of the higher atmosphere before they were on top of it. “All right. Rogue Squadron, switch deflectors to double-front and move into attack formation.”

The Rogues confirmed, and Wedge kicked his throttle up to full. On his screen he could see those interceptors getting closer now as they angled in on the left. Getting much closer. Just a couple more seconds and they would be in range of his laser cannons. “Here we go—”

A blinding burst of green light flashed across his cockpit. “Evasive maneuvers!” he barked, even as he threw his stick hard right. Another one of the Death’s Head’s turbolaser blasts flickered past, and Wedge felt his entire fighter shudder as this one made contact… and then he was out and through. “R2,” he called back, “damage report.”

A list started running across his display, a couple of the items in red; but Wedge knew how lucky he’d been. Most fighters would be space dust after taking a direct hit from a turbolaser, but his double deflectors had been able to absorb most of the blast. “Rogue Squadron, report. Anybody hit?”

“We’re all okay, Wedge,” Rogue Nine assured him. “But it looks like we lost our targets.”

Wedge swore. Nine was right. Distracted by the Death’s Head’s fire, the Rogues had indeed allowed the TIE interceptors to slip past. Already he could see them closing in on the Falcon, coming into position directly above it. “Falcon…”

“We see them, Wedge.” He watched as Chewbacca threw the Millennium Falcon into a tight spin in an attempt to lose their pursuers. It didn’t even slow them down. “We could use some help here!”

Even as she said it, the sky started flashing as the interceptors opened fire. “Let’s go, Rogues,” Wedge ordered, swinging his X-wing back around. By now they were too far away for lasers, but maybe… “Switch to proton torpedoes. Fire on my command—”

“We’re hit!” came a sudden cry, and Wedge watched helplessly as one of the interceptors’ laser blasts sputtered against the Falcon‘s hull, sending it spinning out of control. The interceptor moved in for another shot…

There was a sudden spattering of red laser fire, and the interceptor was swallowed by a fiery explosion. “Good shooting, Rogue Eleven!” Nine exclaimed, just as Rogue Eleven zoomed past.

“Consider it a make-up for the Skiprays,” Wedge said, returning his attention to the Falcon. “Councilor, are you okay? Falcon, do you copy?”

“We’re okay,” the other replied; and even as he watched the Falcon seemed to get back under control, swinging back along its previous vector. Wedge took a deep breath. So far they’d been real lucky. By rights that interceptor’s shot should have put a hole in their hull. “We’re coming in to cover you,” Wedge said, banking his X-wing into a position behind the Falcon. “Move to vector one-six-eight…”

“Hold on,” Leia said, her voice taught with concentration; and a moment later she came back sounding grim. “Wedge, we’ve got a new problem. Chewie says that blast knocked out our hyperdrive regulator. We can’t make the jump to lightspeed.”

Wedge swore even harder this time, the last piece falling into place. They hadn’t been lucky, after all. That interceptor hadn’t been trying to destroy the Falcon; he’d been trying to disable it. “What do you want to do, Wedge?” Rogue Three asked softly.

Wedge glanced out his canopy at the beleaguered planet below. “We’ll have to head back to Obroa-skai,” he decided. Without a hyperdrive regulator, the Falcon wasn’t going anywhere for a while. “Find someplace to hole up, see if we can get their regulator repaired.”

“No,” Leia corrected. “We’ll head back to Obroa-skai. You and the rest of Rogue Squadron will get out of here.”

Wedge bit his lip. “Sorry, Councilor, but that’s not the way it works. I have orders to escort you safely to and from Obroa-skai, and that’s what I intend to do. We should be able to find someplace in the mountains to hide until—”

He was interrupted by a flicker of pseudomotion above the planet; and a Dreadnaught suddenly emerged out of lightspeed directly behind the Death’s Head. “What in space?” Rogue Seven blurted. “Wedge, looks like we’ve got another ship inbound…”

“Attention, Obroan forces,” a new voice announced over the comm channel. “This is General Bel Iblis aboard the warship Peregrine. Do you require assistance?”

* * *

Leia stared at the comm, her emotions a mixture between relief and surprise: relief to see Bel Iblis, and the Peregrine along with him; and surprise that he was here in the first place. She leaned forward for a better view of the Dreadnaught, coming in a couple kilometers behind the Star Destroyer. She felt a sense of déjà vu as she thought back to Bel Iblis’s similarly fortuitous arrival during the Katana battle. “Garm,” she breathed into the comm, “I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am to see you.”

“Likewise, Leia,” Bel Iblis said…but his voice was starting to sound strange. Probably something to do with the battle taking place in front of him. “What’s going on here, exactly?”

“The Imperials are attacking the planet,” Leia explained, somewhat unnecessarily . “I don’t have much in the way of intel, but from what I can gather they’ve already taken out most of the Obroans’ ground-to-space weaponry.”

“So it would seem. I thought this was supposed to be a diplomatic negotiation.”

“It was,” Leia confirmed grimly. “Things took a bit of a bad turn. We’ll just be glad to have your help.” Even as she said it, the Star Destroyer began turning its superstructure toward the incoming Dreadnaught. “Incidentally, what are you doing out here?”

“You asked me to come,” he reminded her, and she could hear if not imagine the frown on his face. “That ‘personal appearance’ that would go a long way towards convincing the Obroans to join the Republic. Remember?”

Ah, yes; she had asked him to come. It seemed Mon Mothma hadn’t informed him of her settlement earlier. It was just as well. “Well, I’m glad you’re here now. Think you can lend the Obroans a hand?”

There was a pause at the other end. “I only brought the Peregrine, Leia. The rest of my task force is still at Elom.”

Leia swallowed, feeling her relief turning back into despair. Yes, she could indeed see the lone silhouette of the Dreadnaught moving toward them. And there wasn’t a whole lot a single Dreadnaught could do against the coordinated firepower of an Imperial Star Destroyer—Bel Iblis’s legendary reputation notwithstanding.

But not everyone seemed to share her doubts. “Senator Bel Iblis!” a new voice chimed in over the comm. “Welcome to Obroa-skai.”

Premier K’cheng. Leia had almost forgotten about him. “Thank you,” Bel Iblis said. “Can I assume I am speaking with Premier K’cheng?”

“Yes, Senator,” K’cheng’s voice came back, “I am most honored to speak with you. And not a moment too soon. As you can see, we have come under attack from an Imperial Star Destroyer.”

“I see that,” Bel Iblis agreed. “Have you begun evacuating the planet?”

“Evacuate?” K’cheng repeated, as if it were a word he’d encountered only for the first time. “I don’t understand.”

“Premier, this is Councilor Organa Solo,” Leia interjected. “You have to get to one of your ships immediately.”

“Councilor,” K‘cheng greeted, but Leia could hear more confusion in his voice. “I am relieved to hear you are well. When we heard about the attack on your suite…”

“Don’t worry about that, Premier,” Leia interrupted quickly. “Can you get yourself to the landing field?”

“I am afraid that will be impossible. The Imperials have already cordoned it off.”

Leia bit back a curse, taking another look at the planet below. Chewbacca wasn‘t going to like this. “Then give us your current location,” she said. They were still in the upper atmosphere, and if she squinted closely Leia thought she could still make out the rising tops of the Royal Palace. “We’ll pick you up in the Falcon.”

Chewbacca didn’t like it, all right, and he was very vocal about it. “We can’t just leave him to the Imperials, Chewie,” she pointed out. “We have to go back.”

But K’cheng didn’t appear to have any interest in being rescued. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand,” he said. “Now that Senator Bel Iblis is here, surely they will be chased away?”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that, Premier,” Bel Iblis said. “My ship doesn’t have nearly the firepower to take out that Star Destroyer without assistance.”

There was a long silence on the other end. “I see,” K’cheng said, and his voice was filled with a new determination Leia couldn’t recall hearing before. “Then I will stay with my people.”

“Premier…” Leia started

“I thank you for your concern, Councilor,” K’cheng cut her off, politely but firmly. “For everything. But I will remain with my people, and accept what comes.”

Leia sighed. “I understand,” she said. “I promise your sacrifice won’t be vain. As soon as I return to Coruscant I’ll get the Council to send a task force to assist you.”

“I’m sure you will do your best,” K’cheng said, the defeat palpable in his voice; and even as she’d said it Leia had wondered how willing the Council would be to divert a sufficient number of ships to Obroa-skai. “It was a pleasure meeting you. And you as well, Senator Bel Iblis. Farewell.” There came a click from the speaker as he switched off his comm.

Leia closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and doing another run through her Force exercises. When she opened them again, Chewbacca was tapping at the sensor display pointedly. “Garm, we better get going,” she said, straightening in her seat. “We’ve got more TIE fighters on the way.”

“I agree,” Bel Iblis said, even as the Star Destroyer finally completed its turn. “We’ll hold them off long enough for you and your team to make the jump to lightspeed.”

Beside her, Chewbacca growled a reminder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Bel Iblis said.

“Chewie says we can’t make the jump to lightspeed,” Leia told him. “Our hyperdrive regulator’s been damaged. Can you give us a ride?”

“I think so,” Bel Iblis said. “We’ll clear you a path.”

The sky was lit up anew as the Peregrine began firing its ion cannons across their current escape vector. “Looks like that’s our exit,” Leia told Chewbacca, even as the Wookiee started driving hard toward the Dreadnaught and the hangar bay located along its midsection. “You get all that, Wedge?”

“Copy that, Falcon,” Wedge said, drifting into position on their right. “I’ll just be glad to finally get out of here. Rogue Squadron, let’s lend a hand.”

The X-wings suddenly swooped away, diving after the nearest batch of TIE fighters. And as Chewbacca brought them alongside the Peregrine and up toward its hangar Leia cast a final look at her sensor display, and the diminishing planet in their rear. How generous, she wondered, would Grand Admiral Thrawn be with Premier K’cheng and the Obroans? If her experience with the Empire was any indication, not very.

In front of them the flashing lights and bright rectangle of the Dreadnaught’s hangar bay beckoned welcomingly. Meanwhile, on the far side of the TIE fighters came the first flashes of pseudomotion as Wedge’s X-wings began entering hyperspace. “Come on, Chewie,” Leia said, leaning back. There was nothing more she could do for K’cheng at this point, anyway. He had chosen his own destiny. “Let’s go home.”