This story was first published on Fanfix almost ten years ago. It actually began its life over ten years before that as a brief outline which I wrote down and then forgot about for a long time. I remembered it when I'd just finished reading one of Kevin J Anderson's Jedi Academy novels, and, not being terribly impressed by it, thought "I could do as well as that!" I hadn't originally intended to fit it into established EU chronology, though. I was annoyed by how quickly the EU writers had Han and Leia married off and having kids, and wanted to write a story where this hadn't happened yet. The way Han and Leia were always separated during their adventures also annoyed me, I wanted to see them together!

Then I read Dave Wolverton's The Courtship of Princess Leia, and hated that too. I really disliked Wolverton's characterisation of Leia, and what I saw as his clumsy attempt to deal with sexual politics in the Star Wars universe. Having recently read Timothy Zahn's Empire trilogy, I was also struck by how bad the continuity between the two authors was. Zahn had Leia using the Force and training as a Jedi, while Wolverton implied she'd never even thought about it. And there was only supposed to be a gap of around six months between the two stories.

So I decided to set my story into EU continuity, and use that kernel of a story idea from years before to address what I thought Wolverton had done wrong. This is what eventually came out of all those thoughts, three years later. I had a lot of positive feedback from it when it was first out, and I think it still holds up pretty well. I hope you enjoy it too.

DIPLOMATIC MISSION

Chapter 1

Han Solo's attention barely shifted from the datapad he was studying when Leia stormed into the room and thumped down in a chair. "What a day I've had!" she raged. "Ask me what kind of a day I've had?" Han didn't look up. "What kind of a day have you had, sweetheart?"

"A filthy day! That's what kind of a day I've had," she retorted. "Between taxes, supplies, a trade blockade in Janis, half the colonists in the galaxy complaining they need more equipment, a waste disposal problem on the Beilin space station - I mean, waste disposal? Why did I take this job?"

Han still didn't look up. "Because you love it," he said simply.

"Politics, Han! I love politics. I don't love waste disposal!"

Han had to smile. He looked up. "Some people would say there isn't that much difference. Aah, now I've made you smile. Admit it, with all the waste disposal and complaining colonists in the galaxy, you wouldn't want to do anything else, would you?"

"I guess not." She sighed. "Though sometimes, moisture farming on Tatooine looks very tempting."

"Just think of the sunburn," Han countered dryly.

Leia grimaced. "That's what I love about you, Han. You always look on the bright side."

"Thanks. Now ask me what kind of a day I've had."

Leia drew her feet up on the chair, settling herself as if expecting a long story. "Okay. What kind of a day have you had?"

"Not bad, actually," he smiled, and Leia groaned. "Typical," she commented under her breath.

"Took delivery of the new consular shuttles," Han continued. "Those new long-range jobs you've all been screaming for for weeks."

"I haven't."

"No? Well, it seems like the rest of the government has. But they're here now," he grinned.

"And I suppose you got to go on a nice long joyride?"

"It's called test-flying, Councillor. It is necessary, you know."

"Oh, I'm sure it is, Captain." Leia's tone was heavy with irony, but the amusement in her eyes was plain. "Justify it some more. Hey!" Han had thrown a cushion at her. She threw one back, but he ducked. Leia followed it, intending to retaliate at point-blank range, but Han caught her and pulled her down into an embrace instead. Leia conceded defeat gracefully, kissing him warmly. "You sure you wouldn't like to trade jobs sometime?"

"No thanks, sweetheart," he grinned. "I can do without trade blockades and waste disposal problems. Now the new shuttles have wonderful waste disposal systems, and they can do point four past lightspeed. Not as fast as the Falcon, of course - "

"But probably a lot safer," Leia cut him off.

Han rose to the jibe, ready to defend his beloved Millennium Falcon to the death, but was interrupted by the ping of the comm system. Leia sighed, and rose to answer it. "Tell 'em you've come down with a hideous disease," Han offered, but she just smiled weakly, knowing it would most likely be some trivial but pressing problem needing her urgent input. The image of a committee secretary appeared on the screen, an unfamiliar one. Not one of the committees she was serving on this month, then.

"Councillor Organa Solo, the New Applications Committee requests your assistance and advice in Committee Room 357 immediately."

"Is it urgent?" she asked, her heart sinking at having to return to duty just when she was beginning to wind down.

"I'm afraid so, Councillor," the secretary replied. "The Committee apologizes for calling so late, but - "

"Okay," she cut him off wearily. "I'll be there. Room 357, you said? I'll be five minutes."

"Thank you, Councillor." Leia hit the off switch, and turned back to Han with a shrug. "Sorry. Maybe I should have tried the disease. I'll be as quick as I can." Han gave her an encouraging smile, not holding out much hope.

* * *

When Leia arrived at Committee Room 357 her heart sank even further. Waiting outside were two other government members who had also been called in to assist, suggesting that whatever New Applications was having problems with, it was not trivial. She greeted the others. Chia Fortescu, a young human woman with pale blonde hair arranged in short, loose curls, was a fairly new delegate to the galaxy's assemblage commons, and seemed pleased at having been called in to offer advice. Tellin Savrah smiled indulgently at Chia's enthusiasm. A middle-aged Mon Calamari, she had served in the Imperial Senate with Leia, and like her, retained few of her illusions of the glory of government work. Neither of them knew any better than Leia what they had been called in to advise on, but the committee did not leave them much time to speculate. The door opened, and the secretary who had contacted them invited them in.

There were six people seated around the table, five males and one female, Leia noticed, realizing at the same time that they had called in three females to advise them. Coincidence? She wondered.

The committee chair, Torus Bof, rose from his seat, greeting them. "Please be seated, Councillors and Delegate," he requested. "I apologize again for the lateness of the hour, but we have what seems to be an unprecedented dilemma on our hands. We have received an application for admission to the New Republic from a planet by the name of Baros. Have any of you heard of it?" Leia and the others indicated that they had not. "That does not surprise me," Bof conceded. "Apart from the fact that it is a human colony world, we have found very little information on the place from Imperial records, or Old Republic files, and it seems to have had a very long period of voluntary isolation from the rest of the galaxy. The problem is, its. . . shall we say, social customs?, also deviate substantially from those of the majority of the galaxy." He took a deep breath. "'Baros' translates to Basic as 'men's world'. Its women have no power at all in society."

There was an audible indrawn breath from all three newcomers. Tellin recovered herself first. "How can this be?" she demanded.

"It seems," Torus began slowly, "that the Baran men control all aspects of society. The women have no vote, no economic rights, and are expected to marry young and to live their lives merely in service to their husbands and children."

This time Leia managed to speak first. "But that sounds like barely disguised slavery! Councillor Bof, you know the New Republic will have no dealings with slave-holding races. I can't believe you're even considering this application!"

Another male member of the committee sat forward.

"With respect, Councillor Organa Solo," he began, "slavery is defined as the enforced servitude of one race by another. While I do not dispute that the Baran situation is an unequal and cruel one, I do think 'slavery' is both an overly emotive and inaccurate term to use."

"Councillor Beleron!" Tellin exclaimed, surprised at his immediate dismissal of what she considered a perfectly reasonable point. "We can quibble over semantics all night, but I think it's obvious that the situation on Baros is unjustifiable, and the world is unsuitable for New Republic membership."

Bof held up his hands. "That, you see, is our problem. While I'm sure we all find Baros' social system unacceptable, the world is also extremely rich in mineral deposits and ores, including some which are extremely rare or inaccessible elsewhere but would be very valuable on the galactic market, and useful to the New Republic's reconstruction efforts."

"I should have known it'd come down to money," Leia murmured. "So what are you proposing, Councillor Bof?" she asked aloud.

"Well, that is our dilemma," he repeated. "The Barans obviously want help in trading their minerals on the open market. You have to admit we need the metals ourselves, and nowhere else are they so accessible in such large quantities."

Chia Fortescu leaned forward, enthusiasm shining on her young face. "Councillors, Delegates, it's an opportunity, don't you see? If Baros is so desperate for trade, we could offer them membership on the condition that they free the women."

Leia sighed, remembering that she too had once been that idealistic. "But if they won't accept that? As Councillor Bof said, they have undergone a long period of isolation already. Perhaps they prefer isolation to changing their customs."

Bof nodded. "Perhaps they do. And perhaps there is a chance they could be persuaded. We would certainly need to send an ambassador for in-depth discussions before any final decision could be made. Shall we take a preliminary vote? Are we all agreed that the application should not be summarily dismissed?"

He looked around the table. Leia was shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Councillor, but I don't believe the Barans are going to be willing to change, simply for the chance of greater trade." She paused a moment, then seemed to suddenly come to a decision. "But if you send an ambassador, you must send a woman."

Bof seemed taken aback. "May I ask why, Councillor Organa Solo?"

"Because if you send a man, it's just too easy for the Barans to feel as if we're accepting the way they run their society. Also, a woman will understand much better what the situation is from the women's point of view. Ask Chewbacca about Wookiee slavery, don't ask a human. Why did you ask three females to advise this committee, after all?"

Bof nodded slowly, appeared to consider. He glanced at the chronometer, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Councillors, Delegates, but it's getting very late and this is a whole new issue. We will reconvene at 1100 hours tomorrow. Delegate Fortescu, Councillor Organa Solo, Councillor Savrah, will you be able to attend?" They indicated that they would, and he nodded. "So we will meet again then. Thank you for your assistance. Meeting adjourned."

The regular committee members left the room immediately, glad to be finally freed from such a long sitting. The three advisors moved less quickly, still somewhat bemused by the whole situation. Tellin caught Leia's eye as she left, shaking her head slowly. "So it begins," she said quietly. "We must be very careful, those of us who were in the Senate, to remember."

"Yes, we must," Leia agreed. She watched the door close behind Tellin, thinking deeply.

"Councillor Organa Solo?"

Leia looked round, to see Chia. "Call me Leia," she asked. "What is it?"

"What did Councillor Savrah mean?"

Leia smiled. "Tellin and I were in the Imperial Senate," she told the other woman. "Tellin a lot longer than me, of course, but we both saw how quickly it degenerated. The New Republic has to take care not to go the same way, that's all."

Chia frowned. "But what does that have to do with Baros? Nobody suggested we just admit the planet the way it is."

"No," Leia agreed. "But the reason we're even discussing admitting Baros matters. If Baros wasn't rich, didn't have things the Republic wants. . . ." She left the implication hanging, and Chia nodded slowly, realization dawning.

"But if it means we can encourage Baros to change. . . isn't that a good thing?"

"Oh, of course. I just doubt whether Baros will, that's all."

"But shouldn't we still try?"

Leia suddenly smiled. Idealism wasn't a bad thing, after all. "I guess we should," she agreed.

* * *