An Old Friend


Leia shoved the end of the ration bar in her mouth just as her assistant, Jas, opened the door to her office. She swallowed the bite quickly because no one – especially her assistants saw her eat. Over the years, she'd come to hate doing personal things, even eating, in front of others. The fifteen seconds it took to choke down a ration bar was often the only break she had to herself.

"Uh, Minister, am I interrupting?"

"No, Jas. What is it?"

Her assistant, a tall young man she had hired less because he was qualified and more because he was especially good-looking, slipped just inside the door and palmed it closed.

"We have a problem."

"Should I even ask? Wait, Jas, are you trying to hide in my office?"

"There's a Wookiee demanding to see you. Right away. She threatened to tear my arms off. At least, that was according to C3PO."

Leia hoped her puzzlement didn't register on her face.

"You said, she? Is it Weemallock? From the Kashyyyk Senate delegation?"

"Minister, I … I have no idea."

"You didn't ask?"

Jas looked sheepish but didn't move.

"Look, you sit outside my office to make sure Idon't get bothered, not to do the bothering yourself," Leia quirked her lips and scanned his face, "Are you afraid of Wookiees, Jas?"

"A little."

Leia rose from her desk, "Fine. We'll go out and meet her together. At least we know she cleared the security checkpoints, right?"

"I guess so. Still, Wookiees can kill you with their bare paws …"

"Only if you make them mad."

Jas cringed, "That doesn't seem too difficult."

"Come on," Leia opened the door, "I don't have any appointments with the Kashyyyk delegation on my schedule, right?"

"No, Minister."

Her attention on Jas as they stepped out of her office, she heard the confrontation before she saw it: a Wookiee was growling and Threepio was blocking the Wookiee's path.

"Oh, shut up, you big furry oaf!"

Leia glanced at her assistant, who looked utterly terrified. She sighed.

"Threepio!"

"Minister Organa! Chewbacca here insists – "

With the words out of the droid, the Minister of State immediately recognized his interlocutor for herself. It had been nearly seven years since she had seen Chewbacca. Why in the hells was he on Coruscant and in her office?

But Leia was the galaxy's top diplomat for a reason, "Chewie."

Every eye in the room was on her as she approached the Wookiee, and even Threepio went silent. Before she could utter another word, long, hairy arms were nearly lifting her up off the ground in an embrace.

["I know you are busy, little princess,"] Leia stiffened at the his address, ["But I was on-planet and wanted to see you."]

"Of course. I'm in the middle of preparing for a meeting, but I can spare a few minutes for an old friend. Come, let's talk in my office."

Chewbacca grunted in acknowledgement and followed her.


The standard chairs in front of her desk were too small for the Wookiee, so they moved to the casual work area with large loungers on the far side of her office.

"I should really call you Governor now, shouldn't I?"

["Those titles are not to be used between friends."]

"Well, then, Chewie, it's been too long."

["I know. I am sorry about that."]

"I understand. Time slips by quickly."

["It does, I know, but I am proud of what the Republic has done."]

Leia leaned back in her lounger. Chewbacca had always been easy to talk to. "What brings you to Coruscant?"

["I was invited by our Senate delegation to a commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Battle of Kashyyyk here. The ceremony and celebration will be in two nights."]

"I have heard. A memorial has been built, correct?"

["It has, yes. I would like to invite you to the celebration, princess. My family is here too, and they would love to see you."]

Leia smiled indulgently, "I would love to attend, Chewie, but let me make sure my evening is clear before I accept."

["Of course. As I told you outside, I know you are busy."]

He reached out a large paw and grasped her hand and queried her softly.

"I'm all right. I have everything I ever wanted, really," she shifted again, squeezing his paw before releasing it, "Have you spoken with Luke yet? He would be thrilled to see you."

["We spoke earlier this morning. He will be at the Kashyyyk celebration."]

"I'm glad."

She smiled softly at him, but in spite of her outer contentedness, Leia felt a tide of sorrow wash over her.

"I've missed you."

["I have missed you, too. Now, however, I should let you get back to work. I am sorry to charge in unannounced."]

"But you are good at that!" Leia's smile widened with genuine amusement.

["I do hope to see you again very soon."]


Leia watched Chewbacca's tall form retreat to the turbolift.

"Jas," he looked up, "For the record, that was a male Wookiee. I suggest you spend some of your free time brushing up on the Galactic Species Encyclopedia."

"But they look the same!"

She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yes, Minister."


Once inside her office, alone, Leia slammed her fist onto her desk. Wallowing a moment in her frustration, she ran through a variety of different plausible scenarios that would make her day worse, scenarios that on the better end included an assassination attempt or a Force visit by her father. On a typical day she was busy, but today was turning out to be atypical, and then some.

Her comm station flashed. She drew in a breath.

"Organa."

"Leia, this is Lisi."

"You got my message."

"That you were going to kill me? Yes. I'm sorry. We're scrambling to get things together over here, too."

Leia walked to the window and watched a speeder take off from the building's landing platform.

"I know, I know. It isn't your fault."

"But advanced notice would have been better."

"Yes."

"Did you get a chance to read the proposal?"

"It looks reasonable, but I'm still not comfortable with the NTF. I had Secretary Rieekan pull the intelligence files on the organization. I'm frankly surprised everything checks out."

"You worry too much."

"I can't afford not to. But you didn't call to apologize for the meeting scheduling."

"NTF just confirmed the representatives they're sending. Five men."

"Why am I not surprised? None of your old lovers on the list, I hope?"

Lisi laughed, "Uh, no. At least … none that I can remember. You might be seeing a familiar face, though."

"Is it Najah Harra? Tell me it's not Najah Harra."

"No … but how about one Lando Calrissian."

"Just before you called, I was thinking of all the ways this day could get worse. I didn't even think of Calrissian."

"Keep your blaster holstered, Leia. You can send the Deputy Minister if you need to."

"I've cleared my schedule, so I'll be there," the comm station beeped, "Sith. I've got another comm coming in. See you at 1400 in the Chandrila Room."

"Deep breaths, Leia."

"Shut up. You sound like my brother."

The Minister of State turned back to her desk. With the touch of a button, a hologram of her brother appeared.

"Well, speaking of. What warrants a holo?"

"I get enough disembodied voices as it is."

Leia shook her head and rolled her eyes, "What's going on that can't wait?"

"Chewie's on Coruscant."

"I know. He was just here. Scared the Force out of my assistant."

"I'm always last to the party. Hey, I'm sorry about this morning. I … I shouldn't barge in on you like that."

"You mean well."

"I cancelled the date. He seemed disappointed."

"Oh, please," she crossed her arms and Luke's image laughed.

"You're quite a catch, dear sister."

"I don't care. You are far more interested in setting me up than I am in being set up."

"Yeah, yeah, you're busy running the government."

"As much as I would like to be like you and not even have a job, I can't."

"Being a Jedi is a job."

Leia took in her brother's light athletic attire and the sweaty mop of hair on his head.

"Then why does it look like you were in lightsaber practice in the middle of the day?"

"Necessary training."

She sighed. Sometimes she resented being saddled with her particular talents.

"Luke, look, I have a bunch of meetings this afternoon. I should go."

"Okay. Good luck with the New Trade Federation."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks."

She had disconnected the call before she realized she hadn't told him about her meeting with the NTF.


The Chandrila Room was in the Commerce Ministry's offices two floors below the Ministry of State. It was the room where meetings were held with groups who couldn't be lead to think they were too important and one of the Minister of State's least favorite rooms in the building.

As she rode the turbolift down the two floors from her office, Leia let herself be bothered by the fact that Lando Calrissian was going to be in the meeting. It didn't surprise her he was involved with something like the NTF; after all, he was an astute business leader. He was a good leader generally, in fact, and he even made a go of staying on as an Alliance general after Endor, but hadn't found the position challenging enough. When the primary fighting was completed, he resigned. That was six years ago.

Self-consciously, Leia smoothed down the polished tail of hair that fell to her shoulder blades. She knew Lando, and if his male associates were anything like him – and based on the intelligence information she received and on past experience they probably were – they could be distracted by a pretty human female. It was always a fine line to walk, keeping them respectful and keeping them interested, but a little manipulation here or there never hurt.

Exiting the turbolift, Leia saw Minister Nix in the hallway outside the Chandrila Room, activating a comlink. Something about her stance made Leia quicken her pace. She glanced around before addressing the Minister of Commerce, noting her assistants must have already been inside.

"Minister, is everything all right?"

Lisi's wide violet eyes answered Leia's question, "I wanted to catch you before you left your office."

"What kind of problem is it?"

"You need to go. Send down the Deputy Minister."

"He isn't prepared for the meeting. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

Nix bit her lip. The woman had had almost no diplomatic training, and the worry was all over her face. She reached out and clasped the Minister of State's wrist, out of view of the open doorway.

"One of the representatives the NTF sent wasn't on the earlier list."

Growing impatient, Leia knit her eyebrows, "So? Is this individual a security threat?"

"Leia," her face grew stern, "Get your deputy. Han Solo is in that room."

The former Princess of Alderaan closed her eyes and cursed the Force.