Author's Notes: Thank you Chellerbelle and ginchy for reading! Rereading my first fan fic has been very enlightening! :D
Chapter One
No one would ever say that Leia Organa Solo was a selfish person. Some would even go so far as to say that she was the most selfless person in the whole galactic government. Leia knew that wasn't true, but it was accurate enough to annoy her and her husband from time to time.
Now was one of those times.
More often lately Leia wished she could use her muscle as Chief of State to get Winter reassigned. Get her back on Coruscant to be her assistant and help her wade through all the bureaucratic nonsense she was being saddled with. All Leia really had to do was ask, but she couldn't do that to her friend. Winter had a perfect memory filled with one tragedy or crisis after another, there was no way Leia was going to begrudge the woman happy memories with Tycho Celchu.
Although, Tycho would be at Corellia along with the other Rogue Squadron pilots right now…
Leia shook the thought from her head and tried to once again focus on the datapads in front of her. No, Winter had already done so much for Leia in the past and Leia knew that she herself was doing more then she should right now. That was the norm, Leia always taking on more than she should.
Tossing the datapads aside Leia stood up and walked over to her office window which overlooked the mass of buildings which made up almost all of Coruscant's surface area. The view was becoming more familiar to her than any from her home.
Home is where Leia should be. So much had happened to her family in the Corellian Sector that she needed to be with them. Han had been tormented by his own cousin, Thracken Sal-Solo. Thracken then kidnapped Leia and Han's children and tried to use them as emotional blackmail. Failing that, Thracken almost succeeded in killing her kids. Going to Corellia was supposed to have been something of a holiday, a chance to see the environment and culture that forged Han Solo. Leia couldn't even go on vacation without her family being threaten.
Leia lost count how many times her children were kidnapped, attempted kidnapped or placed into danger over the years. Even when the twins Jaina and Jacen where still in Leia's womb Imperial forces under Grand Admiral Thrawn tried to take them and her. When was it ever going to end?
It probably never would.
It scared Leia to think of all the temptations and horrors her children would face because of their abilities and their family tree. At one time in her life Leia actually told herself that she wouldn't have children because she didn't want to subject them to all this.
She had been irrational of course. Even if she was a normal everyday person working at some mundane job her children would still face the same problems of growing up. The dark side wasn't the only evil in the universe that could take children away from their parents, physically and emotionally. Leia couldn't deny her children the chance to choose their own destiny. She just wished she didn't put them into so much danger simply by being their mother.
A beep came from Leia's comm unit. Fighting back tears from the emotions swimming about her, Leia gathered her composure and headed over to her desk.
"Yes?" Leia tapped on the holodisplay. The figure of a Sullustan in the uniform of a Senior Traffics Operator appeared.
"Sorry to bother you Madam Chief," he said apologetically, "but you wanted us to notify you when the Jade's Fire was planet inbound. She dropped out of hyperspace a few minutes ago and is checking in now for landing clearance."
"Thank you," she smiled. "Let the Jade's Fire land at one of the Imperial Palace landing platforms. You have my authorization. Also, will you patch me through to the pilot?"
"Certainly Madam. It will take a few moments."
"That's fine."
With a nod the operator blinked out and Leia was left again in the solitude of her office. Maybe she would invite Mara Jade to lunch, that way Leia could claim it as New Republic business and no one could argue with her going home early and seeing the kids.
Now, that was a rather devious thought. And here Leia thought she wasn't spending enough time with Han.
The plan probably wouldn't work though seeing as Mara wasn't exactly the social type. During the Corellian crisis Leia noticed that the walls Mara had built up around herself, emotionally and through the Force, had grown into something larger and thicker then she had ever seen in anyone before. Leia wondered how a person could even live like that.
Another beep sounded from the comm station, with a tap the holographic head of Mara Jade formed.
"Chief Organa Solo, if you want to speak with me you have a three minutes while I wait my turn in line." That was Mara, collected and direct as usual.
"Yes," she nodded her understanding, "I talked to the Military Appropriations Council and they agreed to reimburse you for the repair of any systems that were damaged during the Corellian crisis. We just have to sort out the details."
Mara smirked. "Who'd you have to strong-arm to get that done?"
"Really Mara, you have always been a friend of the New Republic regardless of what NRI thinks of you." Certain members of New Republic Intelligence and other security agencies didn't trust Mara no matter how many times she showed that her loyalty was no longer to the Empire. There were millions of former imperials running around the galaxy, even serving in the New Republic and Jedi, but Mara's close association with Palpatine, and her lack of sharing the knowledge she gained while in his service, didn't sit well with the intelligence community.
"Yeah, well, what button pusher do I need to see?" Mara's image flickered out momentarily. "Sorry, they'll let anyone fly a ship these days."
"It's okay," she smiled knowingly, the Coruscanti space lanes being some the busiest and roughest in the galaxy, "and actually, I was going to take care of the appropriations myself."
Mara raised one eyebrow. "The Chief of State doing her own dirty work now?"
"What work of mine isn't?" Leia laughed because it was all too true, "I wanted to do this for you."
"Translation," the woman said wryly, "you have to do it or else it might not get done because it's me."
Mara's attitude towards Leia was rather refreshing. Most of the time Leia was dealing with people who felt intimidated by her stature and would babble on every drip of politeness and formality they could muster. Not only was it highly annoying, but it often interfered with getting any real work done because they wouldn't tell her what she really needed to hear.
"You caught me. Sorry."
"It's okay," Mara seemed to have expected this. "I'm surprised you actually got the council to agree."
"Well, the military understands how big of a help you, the Alliance, and Karrde have been to them in the past," and they didn't even know about some of the more classified incidents, "You leading us to the cloning tanks Thrawn was using definitely had an impact on the cause of his death. Had Thrawn lived, well, just think what the Reborn Emperor would have done with him once he finally emerged?"
"I try not to think about how things might have been," something flickered across Mara's face: pain, annoyance, regret?
"Well, I think the NRI are still annoyed that you knew about the palace's secret passages which they somehow missed," Leia grinned. "But don't worry, you have more supporters in the government than you have enemies."
"I have actual enemies? How lovely," Mara started glancing away from the holotransmitter.
"That's not what I meant."
"Okay, coming up on my turn on entry," she ignored her assurances, "I've been authorized to land at the Imperial Palace. You want me to come to your office?"
"Actually, could you do me a little favor?"
Mara looked back at Leia with suspicion. "Such as?"
"Well, I really need an excuse to get out of this office right now. Will you join Han and me for lunch?" Leia held her breath.
Mara blinked, twice. "Um, I guess do owe you for the appropriations thing."
Not an overwhelming response, but at least Mara hadn't flat out refused. "Thank you. Do you know where Orowood Tower is?"
"I can find it."
"Good, we're on the thirtieth floor. I'll call Han and let him know you're coming," Leia was quite pleased with how that turned out. "I have to give an audience to a group from Latorin but after that I'll be right over."
"Alright, landing now," she was distracted, "I'll see you in a bit I guess. Jade out."
The transmission with Jade ended and Leia started to tap in the code for her personal residence but the console lit up, one of her aids was trying to contact her. Leia had many assistants being the Chief of State, and, tried as hard as they might, even together they didn't have the talent or effectiveness that Winter had.
"Madam Chief, the delegation from Latorin is ready to meet with you now," Colona, a Coruscant native, was young and managed well but she lacked any real intuition. At least Leia could trust her to keep on time and perform tasks with the proper protocols in place.
"Thank you, Colona, give me fifteen minutes, and then bring them up," should be enough time, "also, I'll be heading home after I speak with them so rework my schedule appropriately."
"Madam?" Colona was probably worried. Leia didn't make it habit to just take off in the middle of a work day, unless of course all Kessel was about to break loose.
"I'm taking care of the military reimbursement package over lunch with the party in question," i.e. she was going to be talking to the infamous Mara Jade, well, infamous to those who didn't know any better. "She'll probably want to negotiate the settlement and that will take time. I have nothing scheduled that can't wait till later."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll see to it right away."
Colona disappeared and Leia stared at the datapads that were strewn across her desk. They contained all the information on Latorin which was in the New Republic database. Leia never heard of the planet when she received the request by the Latorin Prime Minister to have an audience with her. Not surprising though, there were hundreds of planets in the galaxy most people never heard of or even knew were inhabited.
There was nothing very remarkable about Latorin. It was the only habitable planet out of two that circled a small yellow sun, Lator. The soils and weather were temperate enough to produce enough food to feed the populace but not enough for exporting. The planet has a decent mix of land and oceans but no exotic flora, fauna, beaches or mountain ranges for tourism. The only plus was its location.
Latorin lies near the intersection of the Corellian Run and Hydian Way trade routes in the Colonies Region of the galaxy between the Core Worlds and the Inner Rim. This isn't very far from Duro and the Corellian System which are the industrial and shipbuilding powers of the region. That forced the Latorin economy to rely on trade and shipping, however, Latorin never became important enough for anyone to take real notice of it unless they needed a quick stop before reaching Corellia. The inhabitants of Latorin live comfortably but are by no means wealthy.
Like many of the other planets in the Colonies Region, Latorin had been settled by humans during the Old Republic. The parliamentary style government there stayed neutral during the rebellion, mostly because no one bothered with it. After the fall of the Reborn Emperor the Latorins asked to be officially recognized as part of the New Republic. Mon Mothma confirmed their status right before she became ill with that genetically coded virus. Afterwards, Latorin went back to being ignored except by traders and smugglers making their runs.
Han remembered stopping through there a couple of times in the old days, but it hadn't been all that remarkable to him. Leia guessed that meant he couldn't find a decent Sabacc game at the ports.
Leia didn't know what the Latorins wanted, only that the Latorin Prime Minister needed to speak with her, personally, and not to one of her aids or other ministers. Once again, Leia couldn't refuse, after all this was the Prime Minister and not just an ambassador or lesser minister. Hopefully whatever he had to say wouldn't take too long and she'd not have to push back her escape.
Speaking of which, Leia tapped the comm again. This time the handsome features of her husband formed above the holotransmitter.
"Letting you make holocalls now?" he grinned, "Think with good behavior you could talk the warden into some unsupervised visits out of your office?"
Leia grimaced, Han wasn't to far off with his analogy. "I think you would know far more about that than I."
Han threw her a lopsided grin. "I hope this isn't something bad sweetheart. It's been a good day, so far the kids haven't taken anything apart or blown something up."
Leave it to Han and Leia's kids to be destructive without being malicious. Some of it had to deal with the Force. Their youngest, Anakin, was showing a natural Force talent for working machinery and the twins were always talking him into helping them with some crazy scheme or another. That was probably the Solo genes showing through.
"Well, actually, I'm going to get out of here early today."
Han's face brightened. "That's great."
"Yes it is," and now came the catch, "and I invited Mara Jade to lunch. She should be by in a little while."
"Jade?" Han looked puzzled but at least not angry.
"Is that a problem?"
"No, not really," he scratched at his chin, "I just don't see her as the type to, well..."
"I know, but she would like the appropriations and I need an excuse out of here."
"Ah," he laughed, "that's more like the Mara Jade we all know and fear."
"Han!"
The pilot winked and grinned, "Don't worry princess, I'll be nice, after all, you might not have made it off Corellia without her help."
There was a pause as recent painful memories resurfaced again.
"Well," she cleared her throat, "the Latorin Prime Minister will be here in a few minutes, I have to get ready to receive him. I'll be home once we're finished."
"I'll see you then."
"I love you, Han."
"I know," with another lopsided grin Han terminated the connection.
Leia had just enough time to straighten up her desk and slip on one of her formal looking robes to receive the Prime Minister and his entourage.
Prime Minster Devin Baletan was at the head of the group of six Latorins Colona lead in. He was about Leia's age, maybe younger, with hair just as long as hers, only it was deep black and in a simple braid down his back. With a muscular build and rough facial features he looked like he should be wearing the uniform of a military commander rather then the dark blue robes of a politician, complete with frivolous ornaments of authority. Colona did the introductions and Leia bowed her head as was the Latorin tradition in such occasions.
Minister of State Kar Lotan looked the part of the politician in his medium blue colored robes which were just as gaudy looking. He had startling dark brown eyes that matched his close cropped hair. Leia noticed that Lotan was probably just a few years older than Baletan.
Standing next to Lotan was a short young man in a light blue robe with almost no decorations. Leia thought he was Lotan's assistant but he was introduced as Latorin's Ambassador to the New Republic. Leia thought it was strange that the top two heads of the Latorian government and their ambassador were all relatively young. The information she had about the Latorins stated that they hadn't had any change in leadership since they came into the New Republic eight years ago. Although, who was Leia to talk when it came to age and politics.
At least Latorin's Chief of Planetary Security was a decent age. Flec Cordan had to been older than Han and participated in just as many brawls. With a head shaved bald, Cordan carried the same rough features which came from several broken and cracked facial bones. He wore a dark blue military uniform with tasteful set of medals across his left chest.
A similar but less decorated uniform was worn by Baletan's personal bodyguard, Tab Shetan. Shetan was taller and lankier than Cordan but Leia knew that build and stance. If something where to happen Shetan would be the quickest and deadliest to respond.
The last member of the group was Baletan's personal assistant, Kali Lastan. A few years younger than Baletan and with shoulder length blond hair and light brown eyes she was pretty enough but whether she was capable remained to be seen.
"Well, gentlemen, lady, please take a seat and let us see what the New Republic can do for you," Leia gestured for her guests to be seated and made her way back behind her desk. Baletan took center of course with Lotan and Lastan flanking him. The two uniformed men preferred standing. Colona stood off to the side in case she was needed.
"We have come to ask the New Republic's assistance in bringing a murderer to justice," Baletan's voice was deep and rich.
"A murderer?" Not exactly what Leia was expecting. "I'm unsure how the New Republic can aid you in such an internal matter."
"The murder took place about eighteen standard years ago and the identity of the murderer is still a mystery," he seemed rather annoyed by this, "and we believe the New Republic might have useful information in its more classified databases."
Eighteen standard years ago would put it just about the time of the Battle of Yavin. Why would the prime minister come all this way when all he would have to do is put in a formal request for an information search?
"Who was the victim?" she asked, knowing that had to be the key.
Baletan drew in a breath. "My father, Darlen Baletan. He was the Supreme Military Commander in charge of our military fleet and planetary security."
Well, that explained it, but Leia was picking up on something else. "You have an idea of who the murderer was?"
"We do now, yes," Baletan looked over to his minister.
"Due to new information that I have uncovered," Lotan's voice was deep but not nearly as rich as Baletan's, "we have a pretty good idea who the assassin was."
"Assassin?" Leia asked.
"We believe her to be a friend of yours," Baletan stared coldly into her eyes. "She calls herself Mara Jade."