Three
(Resurrection)

Admiral Firmus Piett paced the command walkway in the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, his hands clasped behind his back. There had been no word from the surface in hours, no contact from the Emperor since he had allowed the Millennium Falcon to land unharmed.

Piett had no idea what was happening down there, and this made him extremely uneasy.

In contrast, Grand Admiral Thrawn stood perfectly still, perusing a report on a datapad at the rear of the bridge. "Lord Vader will contact us when he is ready, Admiral," he said without looking up from his datapad. "The procedure may take several hours."

Piett stopped and looked back at his commanding officer. "What procedure, sir?" he asked. "Do you know what they're doing down there?"

Thrawn looked up at him across the bridge. "Patience, Admiral," he said. Frustratingly, he did not elaborate.

Piett sighed to himself. He walked over to the starboard crew pit and ordered, "Run a diagnostic on the shield generators. Something about this whole situation makes me uneasy, and I want to be ready for any surprises."

"Yes, sir," said one of the technicians, turning to his workstation.

Piett sighed again, resuming his pacing. He hated not knowing what was going on.


Luke Skywalker watched in astonishment as his mother took her first breath in twenty-three years, sat up, and opened her eyes. Beside him, Mara's hand tightened on his as he felt her surprise through the Force.

Darth Vader's expression could only be described as pure joy; in that moment he seemed to allow a glimmer of his old self through, and become Anakin Skywalker again for a moment at least.

Padmé's dark brown eyes went to his face, and she peered at him curiously for a long moment, as if she did not know who he was. She reached out a hand to touch his face, and suddenly a flicker of recognition spread across her features.

"Anakin?"

Luke saw an actual tear slowly descend his father's cheek, vanishing into his graying whiskers. Anakin brought up his natural hand to clasp Padmé's, smiling.

"Yes," he said. "It's me."

"You look so different," Padmé said, running her eyes over his short hair, his dark uniform, the glowing blue prosthetic that had taken the place of his right eye. "What's happened to you?"

Anakin took a deep breath, opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again, unable to think of what to say. "I…" he began, but trailed off, staring at her in wonderment. "I… I hoped it would work, but I almost didn't believe it would."

"Would what work?" Padmé asked. She gasped before Anakin could reply, and sank back a little, her eyes fluttering, but he caught her.

"Padmé?" Anakin said, alarmed. "Are you all right?"

She reached up with one hand to touch her fingertips to her forehead. "I feel… I feel very… strange," she said. "I don't quite know how to describe it."

"Do you sense anything wrong, Luke?" his father asked him, looking over at him.

Luke approached, reaching out with the Force. "No," he said. "She seems to be all right." He traded a delighted glance with his father. "I think it worked!"

"Luke?" Padmé said curiously. She reached out a hand to touch his arm, and as she looked into his eyes, he saw a startled flash of recognition there. "You're…" she breathed. "But you can't be!"

"It's been more than twenty years, Padmé," said Anakin. "You've been… asleep… for a very long time."

Luke saw tears brimming in his mother's eyes, and she reached out and folded him into an embrace, warm and alive. Her hand came up to stroke his hair. "Oh, Luke!" she said. "My son!" She pulled back, looking up at him with tears of joy brimming in her eyes. "Oh, look how grown-up you are! You look so handsome."

Luke felt tears of his own well up, and his breath caught in his throat. He could think of nothing to say, nothing that seemed right in the face of a miracle like this.

Padmé turned slightly, looking behind him, and he saw another delighted smile light up her face. Luke turned to see his sister standing in the entryway of the inner chamber, looking in with an astonished expression.

"It actually worked," Leia said, amazed. "I didn't think you'd really be able to do it."

"Leia?" their mother said, looking back at her with an equally amazed expression.

Leia rushed forward as Padmé swung her legs down over the base of the pedestal that had supported her coffin, and embraced her mother, tears of joy brimming in her own dark eyes. "I can't believe this!" Leia exclaimed. "It's really you!"

As they pulled back, Padmé looked at her daughter curiously. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, you were… dead," Leia said. "I didn't think I'd ever be able to talk to you."

Surprise spread over Padmé's face. "Dead?"

Suddenly, the surprise turned to thoughtfulness, as if she was trying to remember something, and then horror, pure, terrified horror came over her face. She recoiled away from Anakin, pulling Luke and Leia back with her.

"I remember!" she exclaimed. "I remember," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I remember what Obi-Wan told me, what he said and…" She trailed off, bringing up a hand to point at her husband. "And what you did. You tried to kill me!"

"No!" Anakin exclaimed, pained. "I love you!"

"Liar!" Padmé shouted at him. "You tried to kill me, me and our children. You're a monster!"

"Padmé, please," Anakin pleaded, reaching out a hand for her, but she backed away again.

"I remember what Obi-Wan said. He told me you were the one who attacked the Jedi Temple, and that you killed children. Children, Anakin! How could you?"

"It was all to save you!" Anakin snapped, rage flaring up within him. "That was all I ever wanted, was to save you!"

"No," Padmé said. "The Anakin I knew would never murder children, not even to save a single life. Obi-Wan was right; you have fallen. You're a… a Sith!"

Luke looked back at his father, who stiffened, cold fury hardening his expression, fists clenched at his sides as he visibly struggled to keep himself under control.

"I don't know what happened to you," Padmé said, "but you are not the man I loved. Not anymore."

"Perhaps not," said Vader, his voice deadly calm.

Luke took a step toward him, trying to find a way to salvage the situation, but Vader spoke again before he could say anything.

"Leia," he said tersely, "take your mother back to your fleet and have her checked out by your doctors. I will return to the Executor."

Before Leia could reply or Padmé could say anything, Vader stiffly turned and marched out of the tomb, his hands clenched so tightly that his leather gloves creaked.

Luke hurried after him, Mara a step behind. "Father," Luke began.

But Vader said nothing, only continued on his way out through the main hall of the mausoleum. Malysa Kolos looked up from where she had been standing next to the entrance with the Royal Guards, but Vader continued on past her without a word. She fell into step behind him, glancing over at Luke, who followed.

"Father, I'm going with you," Luke said, reaching out to touch Vader's arm.

Vader stopped and turned toward him so swiftly that it startled Luke for a moment. "What do you want?" he said, obviously still fighting to keep himself under control.

"Father, the Alliance fleet is here," Luke said.

Vader said nothing, continuing to stare back at him coldly.

"I still want to negotiate the cease-fire," Luke went on. "I want this war to end as much as you do."

"Do you?" Vader said acidly.

Luke met his father's gaze resolutely. "Yes, I do," he replied. "We can have peace, Father. No one else has to die."

Vader drew himself up to his full height, looking down at his son for a long moment. "Very well," he said shortly. "Come with me."

As he marched down the steps of the mausoleum and across the grassy field, black cloak flaring out behind him, Luke followed along with Mara and Malysa.

I'm worried about him, Luke sent through the Force to Mara.

He was always scariest when he got quiet like this, she agreed. You should tread lightly, but stay with him to make sure he doesn't do something reckless right now. He's trying to hide it, but I can tell he's hurting.

Ahead of them, Vader stormed up the ramp of his shuttle, and they hurried to catch up.


Once Leia and her mother were aboard the Falcon, Han went up to the cockpit while Chewbacca finished up a repair he had been making to the dorsal blaster turret while he had been waiting. Leia went back to the main hold with her mother and sat down behind the holographic gameboard.

"I was really… dead?" Padmé said as Leia approached, looking up at her.

She slid in beside her mother, looking over at her. "Yes," she said. "Master Yoda said you died after you gave birth to Luke and me. Master Kenobi had Bail Organa put you in suspended animation so they could send you back to your family on Naboo. They put you in the mausoleum, and you've been there ever since."

"I remember," Padmé said. "Obi-Wan was there when you were born." She stared down at her hands. "That seems like only a few minutes ago to me. The last thing I remember is…" She trailed off, falling silent for a moment before continuing. "Telling Obi-Wan that there was still good in your father," she said quietly.

She sighed, propping her elbows on the table. "I wish I hadn't shouted at him," she said. "But I felt so… confused. Things were coming back to me, and I remembered him choking me on Mustafar. It was all such a… jumble."

"He's done a lot of evil things," Leia said quietly. "He killed Palpatine and took over the Empire, and he's been ruling it ever since."

Padmé sighed, closing her eyes. "So he's only fallen further." She looked over at Leia. "It's really been twenty years?"

"Twenty-three." Leia looked down at the table again. "Twenty-three of the darkest years this galaxy has known in a long time."

"So… Anakin really brought me back to life with the Force," Padmé said, looking back down at her hand.

"No, Darth Vader brought you back. Anakin is dead," Leia said, more vehemently than she meant. When her mother looked up at her, startled by the sharpness in her voice, Leia's expression softened.

She reached over to touch her mother's hand. Regardless of the circumstances, Leia had to admit that she was happy to actually be able to talk to her real mother. She would have never thought it possible, and she was excited by the opportunity.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know he wasn't always like he is now, but it's hard for me to accept that. He's done so many horrible things to me and the people I love that I don't think I can ever forgive him."

Padmé nodded slowly. "Before we went to Mustafar, Obi-Wan told me about some of the things Anakin had done. He said that he…" Padmé paused to take a breath, visibly upset. "Anakin killed dozens of Jedi at the Temple when he and the clone troopers attacked it. Obi-Wan said that he saw a security hologram of Anakin killing… children. I didn't want to believe him, but when I saw him on Mustafar, I…" She looked up at Leia, and her eyes were wet. "He was… different. He wasn't… he wasn't Anakin anymore. He was Vader then, lost in the Dark Side."

"He's only gotten worse from there," Leia said. "Luke says that he thinks there's still good in him, but I don't see it."

Padmé looked back down at her hands. "There must be," she said quietly. "Why else would he bring me back? I saw it in his eyes, when I woke up and he was there next to me. He still loves me."

Leia did not reply, thinking about this to herself. Both of them were quiet for a moment, but finally Padmé looked up at Leia and smiled, changing the subject.

"I can't believe how grown-up you and your brother are. The last time I saw you, you were…" She smiled again. "And now you're ready to start a family of your own."

Leia blushed, embarrassed. "Well, I…"

Padmé laughed lightly. "I see the way you look at Han. He seems like a good man, Leia. I'm proud of you." She squeezed her daughter's hand. "Now, tell me about your life. I've missed out on all of it, and I want to get to know you better."

And so, as the Millennium Falcon left Naboo, headed back to the gathered Rebel fleet, Leia told her mother about her life, her triumphs and her disappointments, happiness and tragedy. As they talked, Leia realized how similar her life had been to her mother's, and how much she herself was like this remarkable woman.


Malysa Kolos sat in one of the chairs in her quarters, staring down at the small scrap of flimsiplast Mara Jade had surreptitiously slipped into the pocket of her outer robe as they were leaving Lord Vader's shuttle.

It simply read, 'If Vader does not announce a cease-fire, disable the long-range comm array.'

This was it, then. After four years of secrets, lies, and constant fear of discovery and death, her mission was almost over. The Rebels were finally ready to strike.

Malysa took off her black outer robe and tossed it over the chair. Crossing to her bedroom, she retrieved her lightsaber's original azure crystal from its hiding place and stared into its facets, as she often did when her thoughts were troubled. It helped to calm her nerves, to remind her that despite the image she projected to everyone else, she was still truly a Jedi, a guardian of peace and justice and not an agent of tyranny and violence like the rest of the Sith.

To maintain her cover, Malysa had been forced to do things that would haunt her for the rest of her life. The mission, she had to keep reminding herself. The mission was too important. The Rebellion needed a double agent placed close to the Emperor. Her unique situation was too valuable to the cause for her to be caught, and so, for the last four years, she had put up a convincing show of being just as immersed in the Dark Side as all the rest of the Sith Master's students.

It was, in an odd way, rather like what Mara Jade had been through; she had started as an agent of the Empire, and for three years, no one in the Rebellion suspected her identity. But then, at Bespin, all that had changed. She saw what was wrong with the Empire, and became a Rebel in truth.

In the beginning, Malysa had constantly feared that the dark reverse would happen to her, that she would come to believe her own cover story and fall to the Dark Side just to be rid of the constant tension of being careful not to get caught. But though at times she thought she was alone on this ship, she was not; she still had her Jedi teacher, the constant, reassuring presence in the back of her mind that let her know that what she was doing was right. She may have been forced to do some evil things, but on the whole, her time here had done enough good to balance out the scales of justice.

Malysa held up her azure crystal against the velvety blackness outside the viewport, thinking of the friends she had lost, the life she had had to leave behind. Her parents on Kuat had had no word from her in more than five years, ever since her first Jedi Master and her fellow student had had to go deeper into hiding to avoid the encroaching black fist of the Empire. Her brother Tyraj was a stormtrooper, she knew, but she did not know where he was assigned. For all she knew, he could have been killed years ago in a battle with the Rebellion.

If Darth Vader did not announce the cease-fire, and decided to take Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade prisoner instead, Malysa knew she was their only hope for escape. For her years of supposedly loyal service, Lord Vader had recently presented her with her own shuttle, complete with a hyperdrive, with which to carry out his secretive missions. When Mara Jade had defected, much of the burden of her former duties had shifted to Malysa and several other agents she knew of, scattered around the Empire.

Malysa began to make her plans. She had lived aboard the Executor for the last four years, and despite its massive size, she could navigate the flagship's corridors well enough now that she did not require a map.

Once the long-range transmitter was disabled, it would not take long for someone to notice and raise the alert. Malysa estimated that she might have perhaps twenty minutes from the time she sabotaged the array to collect Luke and Mara, then get down to the hangar deck where she kept her shuttle and flee the ship. It might be possible, she thought, but it would be extremely difficult.

But she would succeed. She had to.


Home One was in an uproar when the Millennium Falcon touched down in its accustomed berth in the hangar bay. Han, Leia, and Padmé quickly went up to the bridge to see what was happening.

When they arrived, Han looked around at the gathered Rebel leaders to find them all staring incredulously at the main screen, where Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker stood side by side, announcing the cease-fire between the Empire and the Rebellion.

"Luke said all the right code phrases," Garm Bel Iblis was saying to Admiral Ackbar as Han approached. "He's not under duress; this is real."

"The war is over?" Bail Organa exclaimed in shock.

"The fighting is over, for now," said Mon Mothma, standing next to him. "We have yet to see if the Emperor will make good on his promise to open true negotiations. He may simply arrest us all when we arrive."

Han snorted. "I wouldn't put it past him."

The Rebel leaders turned to face him, and almost simultaneously their expressions shifted into varying degrees of surprise. Han was about to halfheartedly apologize for speaking out of turn when he realized they were staring, not at him, but at Leia's mother behind him.

Now their reactions made perfect sense; Han himself had done something similar when a dead woman walked out of her own tomb, talking to her daughter.

"Padmé?" exclaimed Mom Mothma. The shock had disrupted even her legendary unflappable composure.

"Yes, it really is me," Padmé said, approaching. "I can hardly believe it myself."

"I thought you were dead!" said Bail Organa. "No, I know you were dead."

"Anakin brought me back to life with the Force somehow," Padmé said. "My son helped him."

"But how is such a thing even possible?" inquired Ackbar. "You have been dead for decades!"

"I would like to know as much as you, believe me," said Padmé, looking around the bridge at the leaders of the Rebellion. "But now is not the time. We need to secure peace between the Alliance and the Empire while we still can. Anakin is more receptive to the idea right now than he ever would have been before, and we need to take advantage of this."

She drew herself up, and Han saw echoes of Leia in her stance; now he knew where she got it from. "I would like to request to join the diplomatic team. I may not know everything about current events right now, but I know I can be a calming influence on Anakin. If I show my support for this, he is more likely to agree."

Mon Mothma nodded. "Of course. We will begin the preparations at once."


After that, the rest of the day seemed to pass in a blur for Han as he and Leia raced about the Alliance flagship, conferring and preparing and a hundred other -ings. Han himself could scarcely believe it, but it seemed like these negotiations were really going to happen. He had been expecting a fight, but most of Han's expectations for what would happen today had been proved completely wrong, so he didn't know what to think anymore.

Finally, during a break in the whirlwind of activity, Han was approached by Garm Bel Iblis, who asked to speak to him privately.

"I don't trust the Emperor's intentions here," Bel Iblis said once they entered an unused conference room. "This whole situation is going entirely too well."

"I agree," Han replied. "I keep expecting the trap to spring any minute."

"Well, in case it does," said Bel Iblis, "I and some of the other officers have agreed to keep the fleet on high alert during the negotiations. The original plan still stands, as far as I'm concerned; at the first sign of treachery from Vader and Thrawn, we engage the Executor."

Han nodded. "I'm with you."

Bel Iblis smiled grimly. "Good." He turned to look out of the viewport at the rest of the fleet, arrayed around the flagship on the outskirts of the system. "Vader has agreed to hold the negotiations in neutral territory, in the Royal Palace on Naboo. Home One and Executor will hold position above the planet, but we're going to keep the rest of the fleet just beyond the orbit of the furthest moon, where we can come to the rescue if Thrawn tries anything. He's promised not to summon any additional Imperial ships, but I haven't stayed alive as long as I have by trusting Imperial promises."

Han smirked. "Hey, same here." He patted the blaster at his side. "I'm going to be staying with Leia the whole time to make sure Vader doesn't try anything on the ground."

Bel Iblis reached out to clap him on the shoulder. "Good," he said. "Maybe we have the incredible luck for this to be real, but in case it all goes wrong, we're ready."


Alone in his quarters aboard the Executor, Darth Vader sat in his chair and stared at his wall full of lightsabers, as he often did.

How had it all gone so wrong?

He had brought Padmé back to life, but she had recoiled from him, calling him monster.

Monster.

Perhaps he was a monster, he thought. Perhaps he had done too much to ever be forgiven. He had thought that he had been working for more than twenty years to finally bring peace to a troubled galaxy that had seen too much of war. Again and again, he had raged to himself and to his officers that the Rebellion was pointless; why bring more war upon a galaxy that had still not recovered from the last one?

But, perhaps he could still salvage the situation. Thrawn was right; the Far Outsiders were coming, and when they arrived, they would sweep like a plague across this galaxy if it wasn't ready. They needed to present a strong, unified front against the invaders. If the worlds of this galaxy were still squabbling amongst themselves when the Far Outsiders finally arrived, they would be overrun, and a permanent shroud of darkness would descend upon them all.

Vader stood and left his quarters, headed for the hangar deck. When he summoned the turbolift, he found young Kolos inside, scrolling through a datapad. She inclined her head respectfully as the Sith Master entered, and after a few moments, turned to him.

"We are really going to pursue peace with the Rebellion?" she asked. He sensed an almost hopeful note hidden in her tone.

Vader turned to look down at her. "Yes."

Kolos was quiet for a moment. "The war with the Far Outsiders' advance force isn't going well, is it?"

"It is not," Vader replied. "Any political problems must be set aside in the face of an overwhelming military threat. Fighting among ourselves accomplishes nothing."

The young woman did not reply, but Vader sensed quiet approval within her mind. He mused to himself that she had taken his lessons well; he did not sense the Dark Side in dominance within her. She was still balanced enough to remain reasonable.

Malysa Kolos would make a more fitting Sith Apprentice, Vader thought. Nova had become increasingly unreliable lately, disappearing for weeks on end on missions of his own devising. Even when Vader did manage to talk to him, he sensed the Dark Side roiling within his apprentice, far beyond the limits he should have allowed.

Worst of all, Nova had ignored his call. The main reason Vader had selected Nova as his Sith Apprentice was because of the sheer power the young man could command, potential on a level with Vader's own. He had known he would need power in order to accomplish the procedure, strength beyond his own in order to bring Padmé back to life.

One Force-user on the level of the Skywalkers and Darth Nova was worth a dozen, a hundred others. Vader had hoped that together he and his Sith Apprentice would work to bring his wife back, but Nova had not come.

Without Luke, Vader knew, he would have failed, and there would have been no chance for a second try.

But she had rejected him anyway, even after all the sacrifices he had made, all he had done so that he could finally have her back. She had called him monster and left him.

As the turbolift slowed to a stop, Vader angrily pushed these thoughts from his mind, bringing his focus back to the present.

"My lord?" Kolos inquired concernedly. "Are you all right?"

"Let's just get this over with," Vader replied, striding from the turbolift.


Mara stood next to Luke in a long conference room with a soaring vaulted ceiling, watching the door at the far end. She could sense her former master approaching, his presence in the Force turbulent and troubled. He was hurt and angry, but trying fiercely to keep himself under control.

The large door whisked open, and Mara noted that almost everyone in the room tensed as the most feared man in the galaxy strode inside, his black cloak sweeping out behind him dramatically as he crossed to the table at which sat most of the Alliance leadership.

Even Mara half expected him to draw his lightsaber and massacre the lot of them right there, or at least pronounce that they were all under arrest, but instead he remained calm as he pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, accompanied by Malysa Kolos, who was acting as his aide.

Mara let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, glancing over at Luke, who had a small, approving smile on his face.

"I will begin by officially informing you of my orders to the Imperial military to cease hostilities against your forces throughout the galaxy," Vader said, looking across the table at the Alliance delegation. His eyes stayed on Padmé a fraction of a second longer than the others, but he said nothing to her.

"We will order our forces to stand down, as well," Mon Mothma replied, gesturing slightly with one hand to include Bail Organa, Admiral Ackbar, and the others in her statement.

Again, Vader glanced at his wife before continuing. Mara noted that Padmé's face was a vaguely pleasant but inscrutable mask, a practiced politician's expression designed to avoid giving anything away. Through the Force, however, Mara could sense that Luke's mother was just troubled as her estranged husband, watching him closely to see if she could tell what he was really thinking.

Their situation was one Mara still found odd; from Padmé's perspective, she had only the day before seen the man she loved turn into someone she did not know, a Sith Lord and creature of the Dark Side, and now was trying to understand a world that was twenty-three years beyond the one with which she was familiar. From Vader's perspective, he had been parted from the woman he loved for more than twenty years, had gone to unbelievable lengths to get her back, only to have her reject him. And now he had to move on, to move past his grief and hurt to accomplish the other goals toward which he had been working for half a lifetime.

Having known him her entire life, Mara was impressed that Vader could sit here and talk civilly with his greatest enemies; his control over himself was much greater than she had supposed, given some of his past displays of temper.

"I see no reason not to immediately open negotiations for a more permanent truce," Vader said, glancing over at Malysa, who handed him one of the datapads in front of her. "I am willing to grant your movement a small section of territory in which to set up your own government, the borders of which will be decided at a later date."

"Thank you, Lord Vader," said Mon Mothma. She was about to continue, but Vader interrupted.

"However," he said, raising a hand to point at the Alliance delegation with one gloved finger, "there are terms. I will not relinquish my position as leader of the Imperial military, nor will I decrease the size of my forces. The Alliance will remain within its borders and will cease activity within the borders of the Empire. Once treaty negotiations are concluded, no further agitation of my subjects will be tolerated."

Mara inwardly winced. Not the best start to peace talks, she sent to Luke.

His expression also did not change, but he was having the same reaction. No, he replied. But at least he's trying.


On Coruscant, Sate Pestage stared at the dispatch like it was a serpent about to plunge its fangs into his hand.

"Cease-fire?" he said incredulously. "What is he thinking?"

But his empty office had no answer.

On the one hand, any end to this horridly expensive war was of course excellent news, but if it was Vader who initiated negotiations, after years of the Senate decrying his brutal methods, public opinion would sway back in his favor.

And Sate just couldn't have that. He had worked too hard to quietly vilify Vader among the politicians, to seem the reasonable one holding the homicidal Emperor in check, for all that work to be undone by Vader suddenly deciding to use something other than violence to solve his problems.

He would have to move quickly.

Luckily, Nova was marshaling Isard's supporters among the military to go and attack Vader at Naboo. If the universe had any sense of justice, the two Sith Lords would destroy each other, leaving the throne empty for Sate to ascend it.

But for now, he would just have to wait and observe, to see what happened so that he could plan his next move.


Leia leaned back in one of the plush, comfortable chairs in her guest quarters in the Royal Palace on Naboo, her fingers on her temples in a vain attempt to massage away her growing headache.

"I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that Vader is actually willing to negotiate," she said to Han, who flopped onto a couch next to her, just as tired as she was.

"If you can call it that," Han scoffed. "Not one for diplomatic niceties, is he?"

Leia gave him a tired, wry smile. "In other breaking news, Wookiees are hairy and Hutts have an over-developed sense of entitlement."

Han chuckled, reaching over to pat her hand.

Leia gave a light laugh, herself, before her smile slowly faded. "It's a miracle we're actually getting anywhere with him; I think he's only negotiating because my mother's there."

"What's a miracle is that he didn't blow the Alliance leaders out of the sky when they came in for a landing," said Han. "Still, progress is progress, I suppose."

The comm mounted on one wall of Leia's quarters flared to life suddenly, displaying the face of her brother, his expression troubled. "Han, Leia, you'd better come to the conference room," he said.

"What's going on?" Han said, sitting up.

"An Imperial fleet just arrived in the system," Luke replied. "A big one."


-/\-


Author's Note: Thanks to Silverwolf05 and Desteni for beta reading, and also to all readers and reviewers. The next chapter will be up the day after tomorrow.