Leia had lost count of the days. Three? Five? There was no regular schedule; no chronometers to tell her when was when. And this place had no windows; it was impossible even to tell whether it was day or night. As someone who had spent her life accustomed to a fixed agenda, Leia felt as though she were somehow lost in this place.
Lusiil came and went often; more coming than going, really. She was here most of the time; her eating and sleeping schedule the one thing that gave Leia any indication of what part of the day it might be. Leia had only seen the elusive Dr. Sawyer once, but she was sure that he had been by numerous times, evidenced by replenished bags of the various intravenous solutions, none of which she had yet bothered to inquire about.
The Charter Summit was being broadcast live on Channel 11; except for the sessions that were blacked out for some intelligence reason or another. Sometimes they would show highlights on HNN, and sometimes they wouldn't. Leia was trying her best stay awake and follow the progress of the Summit, but she wasn't always successful. And some days there was no business at all. The Summit had been delayed for two days to step up security after the attack, and again the day that Leia's death had been announced, and the day after that out of respect for the dead. On the days when business was being conducted, the Summit was moving slower than Leia would have liked it to. She tried to take comfort in the fact that at least no one had stormed out in a huff. Sad people were quiet people, so it seemed. It appeared as though dying wasn't the worst thing Councilor Organa could have done to keep the peace in the Assembly.
She had taken to watching holodramas to fill the time when she was awake and the news was quiet. Leia had never been a fan of the HoloNet as a form of entertainment, but it did beat total boredom. Ryloth Place wasn't half bad, actually. The plot was easy enough to follow and the actors were quite good. And it was on a lot, usually several episodes in a row. But the best part about the program was that it was in Twi'leki. Leia spoke a little Twi'leki and she enjoyed giving her brain some exercise even as her body was lying still.
But she was getting better, she was sure of it. She could sit up now, for long stretches if she had something to lean against, and even stand for very short ones. She had learned to use the repulsor chair and now spent as much of her day as Lusiil would let her in the main room. There was something about spending all day in bed that bothered Leia. The problem seemed to be that Lusiil disapproved of Leia's spending much time disconnected from the equipment that provided her IV medications.
It was likely that Leia felt so strangely about the passage of time largely due to the number of hours she spent asleep. The powerful narcotic she was being given for pain kept her out of it a lot of the time. She had all but ceased giving herself the booster dose that she was allowed, but otherwise she was at the mercy of the sensor in her arm as to how drugged she was going to be.
Although she hadn't cared to know much about the medications themselves, she'd been curious enough to ask about the delivery initial guess as to how it might work had been mostly correct. The metal sensor port on her arm was connected to the catheter in her arm. It measured her temperature, blood pressure, and blood gases as well as the current levels of each drug it was responsible for dispensing into her blood stream. Its readings were then transmitted to the processing and display unit Leia had seen next to her bed. That processor cross referenced the sensor data in real time with its own databanks on the normal range for humans of her size and then gave the orders to the dispenser—a metallic unit connected to six or more bags of intravenous solution— which combined into the single tube the appropriate proportions of each. The result of which was an ever-changing IV cocktail that responded to whatever was going on with Leia at the moment.
Much to Lusiil's chagrin, Leia had learned to disconnect the tube in her arm from the one extending from the dispenser. She had a hard time hooking it back up, though; a task that Lusiil inevitably set to as soon as she could coax Leia back in to the bedroom. The drip made Leia's brain foggy at times, but its ability to sense when she was in pain made her glad for its existence even when she maligned the need for its comfort.
It was a clever and wieldy setup, and not one that Leia had ever seen before. When she had asked Lusiil where it had come from, she had proudly answered, "We stole it from the Empire, Senator." Lusiil always called her 'Senator'. Leia appreciated that. And she also appreciated how proud Lusiil was of everything she had ever done to slight the Emperor or the Empire at large. She didn't talk much about The Quiet, but the little she let on about was enough to make Leia want to know more.
Leia had to admit that, other than the occasional nagging as to her recovery, Lusiil was good company. Mostly they sipped tea and followed the Charter Summit on channel 11. Leia was pleased that the HoloNet was broadcasting so much of it live; glad that she could at least be there as a witness, if not a facilitator. And Lusiil seemed to genuinely enjoy listening to her patient describe the finer points of parliamentary procedure. Leia even went so far as to regale her with some of the more humorous stories around the creation of the New Republic Common Charter. Listening in on the business of ratifying a constitution she had helped to author was strange, and Leia sometimes felt like a smashball commentator describing the political posturing and procedural jockeying that went on in the Senate Chamber.
And she wished she was there. Every day she wished she was there. Mon Mothma was doing an admirable job in conducting Summit business, Leia had known that she would. But there was something about seeing the empty chair to Mon Mothma's right that she knew had been reserved for her that left Leia a little sad.
Even that empty chair, though, was no match for the evocative power of today's HoloNet broadcast. Leia sat with Lusiil in the main room of 'the bunker' as she had come to mentally refer to it, watching her own funeral. It was surreal.
"This is the first of three," Lusiil had informed her as the festivities had begun. "The first and third- that one will be held the day before the Senate opens- are open to the public. The second one," she added, "will be a private Jedi funeral with a proper cremation." Lusiil always said the word 'Jedi' with such reverence. Leia had to wonder how many of her companion's friends and colleagues had been lost due to Order 66 and the ensuing purge. But she dared not ask.
Today the people of Coruscant lined the stone streets to view the transparisteel casket in which was lain what they thought to be the body of Councilor Leia Organa. The surface streets were normally used exclusively for pedestrian traffic, and with throngs of onlookers crowding each other on both sides, the police were scarcely able to keep a path open wide enough for the hearse. A freshly-stitched-for-the-occasion flag of the New Republic was draped over the foot of the casket and it fluttered gently in the breeze as the hearse passed slowly through the streets; occasionally someone would reach through the perimeter to touch it. There were a few police hovercars a dozen meters above the procession, but other than that the usually bustling Coruscant skies were devoid of activity.
There had been some narration during the lengthy processional, but Leia had scarcely paid any attention. She knew what she had done in her life; she knew the names of the people who had planned the memorial. She even knew the origin of the bust of herself that was omnipresent in the upper left-hand corner of the image. There was no need for her to listen to the sniffling and tear-filled exposition of the commentator, a person Leia had never met. She wondered just how many of these teary people she'd had occasion to meet and how many of them knew her only by reputation.
The commentators may have been strangers to her, but she recognized a few of the people along the route. Her favorite dressmaker from the days of her Senate service— the one who made the blue dress she'd worn to the welcome banquet—was there with her three very young grandchildren. Leia hadn't known she was still on Coruscant; she would have to have more dresses made once this had all blown over. Her former florist, Spero, was easily spotted in the crowd; his three-meter-tall Ho'din frame stood out above the mostly human crowd. He appeared to be standing with his entire family— tears in all of their eyes.
And she recognized a few of her former Senate colleagues who had not been Summit delegates; those who had retired from public life during the days of the Empire and had found themselves too old or too jaded to return to politics in the new era.
"There are too many flowers," Leia told Lusiil. She preferred living plants to cut flowers; the people close to her knew that. "I wonder who was in charge."
"Everything by committee," Lusiil answered, coming toward her from the tiny kitchen nook with cups of tea in her hand. She passed one over to Leia and then settled herself on the couch just adjacent to where Leia had parked the repulsor chair. Leia thanked her for the tea and took a sip.
"As disturbing as this whole spectacle is," Leia began, turning her head away from the holo to look at Lusiil, "It's taught me something."
"And what's that, Senator?" Lusiil asked, sipping at her teacup.
"That I should leave explicit instructions with my protocol droid before this happens for real," Leia replied with a half-smile. "I hate the flowers," she declared, "I would not have chosen this music. In fact: I would forego the music entirely. There is no need for the hearse to be preceded by a band. It's like a macabre parade."
"People need the pomp and circumstance," Lusiil answered. "You are an adored public figure, Senator, The people of the New Republic want memories of your funeral to tell their great-grandchildren about."
Leia shook her head, but she knew that Lusiil was right. A funeral wasn't for the deceased; he or she wasn't normally there to see it. A funeral was for the mourners; the larger the number of mourners, the larger the spectacle. Leia turned her head back to the holo display just in time for the cameras to fall on the first reviewing stand.
Tears sprang to her eyes as she watched her colleagues watch the casket rolling past them. The members of the Provisional Council sat stiffly, red-eyed and silent. Threkin Horm and Cal Omas held their hands clasped at their waists with their heads bowed and their eyes downcast. Admiral Ackbar's chin was quivering. Only Mon Mothma seemed to be holding herself together. But Leia had expected that.
Mon Mothma had taken Leia under her wing at a very young age. She had groomed the young princess for her eventual place in the Senate and subsequently in the Alliance and the New Republic. Leia knew she was holding herself together for the sake of the people she was to lead. Mon Mothma kept her own council mostly, and would shed her tears privately in her own time.
The cameras then shifted to the second reviewing stand. This was where Leia's closest personal friends were seated. She almost couldn't watch. Luke was still somewhere between here and Terephon; so she would be spared a look of grief from him. But the pain on the faces of her nearest and dearest was almost too much to bear. A howling Chewie stood in the back with an arm around a very angry-looking Lando Calrissian, who was holding the hand of Leia's oldest friend from Alderaan, Winter, who appeared completely inconsolable. Threepio was staring at the floor, the lights of his eyes barely shining and his shiny gold frame looking dim as it reflected the gray and amber carpet of the reviewing stand. General Rieekan sobbed openly. Leia searched the small group for the one person whose face she had most dreaded looking into.
She couldn't find him.
"Han's not there," Leia whispered, her eyes filling up and spilling over with tears. She couldn't believe it. She turned her weepy face toward Lusiil and repeated herself. "Han's not there."
"You are referring to General Solo?" Lusiil asked her. Leia nodded, causing another tear to fall from her eye onto her cheek. "As a suspect he would have required an escort, but he should have been allowed to attend."
"Suspect?" Leia asked, almost choking on a sip of her tea. Lusiil rolled her eyes and nodded.
"The Coruscant Security Force has control of the investigation," she explained to Leia. "Everyone who was within a meter of you when you were attacked was considered a suspect initially. They've since cleared several of the Summit delegates: those who were outside the reach of their species to have gotten to you with a weapon it was physically possible for them to have concealed. But General Solo was the closest person to you, so he has not been exonerated as yet."
"They think Han could have done this to me?" Leia asked, incredulously.
"He is the prime suspect at the moment," Lusiil answered with a frown.
"That's preposterous," Leia insisted.
"Yes," Lusiil agreed, nodding. "It is preposterous. But the problem is that there were no surveillance units in the ballroom when you were attacked. The only images the authorities have are those that were taken by the HoloNet cameras covering the event for the news and the tabvids. The authorities have confiscated all the recordings, but they're taking their time about getting through it. They started with those people farther from you and are working their way in. Until they come to the logical realization that General Solo had nothing to do with the attack he will be confined to his quarters with a guard on the door and no visitors allowed."
"Oh that poor man," Leia whispered to herself, her hand coming to cover her mouth, which was hanging open without her control.
"Would you like to see him?" Lusiil asked. Leia leaned forward so quickly that it hurt.
"Could I?" Leia asked her, choking back a sob. "You can do that?"
"We've had all of the suspects under surveillance," Lusiil answered. "They're only allowed out for official business. If General Solo isn't at the funeral, then he has to be in his quarters. It may take me a minute to tap the wire correctly, but I should be able to show you."
"Tap the wire?" Leia asked. She knew precious little about surveillance techniques, but she had always figured they functioned via transmitter like nearly everything else.
"We're hard wired," Lusiil answered, standing from her seat. "There are some short-range transmissions, but people like to track transmissions. We wouldn't want to be stumbled upon and it's been nearly a thousand years since anyone has spent much time or effort looking for a hard-wired system." Leia nodded; she did have a point.
"That's the beauty of an organization that pre-dates the infrastructure," she observed.
"Exactly," Lusiil answered her, smiling genuinely as she began prodding at a datapad that had been jacked into a computer that Leia hadn't even noticed was installed into the end table. She frowned and shook her head. "I'm not going to be able to get it from here," she said, taking the datapad from its jack and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll need to go up and manually switch some relays." Leia nodded.
Manually switching anything was something Leia was not accustomed to. Even the Alliance, as rag-tag as they had been at times, had no equipment she could recall that wasn't accessible via remote. She had figured out some days ago that this place must be underground; perhaps that's why the hard-wires were necessary. Leia had known for as long as she could remember that Coruscant was built as far beneath this surface as it was above, and she did have to wonder just how deep in the underground the bunker was situated. She had seen some of the subterranean labyrinth of lower Coruscant during her unfortunate dealings with Black Sun and its lascivious master, Prince Xizor. She sort of hated the idea of being beneath the city-surface again, but the rooms were comfortable enough that her only indication of this (aside from the lack of windows in the space) had been Lusiil's references to 'going up' to do things rather than 'going out'.
She thought to tell Lusiil not to bother. It was likely a taxing experience getting from wherever they were to the surface, as Lusiil always seemed to return from such outings visibly tired and occasionally winded. But her desire to see Han outweighed anything else that she could think of. And Lusiil wouldn't have offered if she wasn't willing to do it.
Leia felt suddenly very guilty; it had yet to really occur to her until the cameras fell on the reviewing stand just how awful getting word of her end must have been for Han. She needed to see him. She needed to touch him, but she knew that was impossible under the current circumstances. It would have to be enough to put her eyes on him; to know that he was coping, even if not well, until the news could reach him that she had not succumbed to her injuries.
"Try to get some rest while I'm gone," Lusiil encouraged Leia as she pulled her coat on and moved toward the door. "You should get into bed," she added. "Watch the rest of the memorial in there." Leia nodded, taking a sip from her mug.
"When I finish my tea," she answered. Lusiil nodded. "And I don't need to see the rest of it," she added with a sigh. Leia had seen quite enough of her own funeral for comfort already.
"Well," Lusiil said back, "don't be too long. You shouldn't spend so much time off of the drip. You're sure you can reconnect it by yourself?" Leia nodded. She could do it if she had to.
"I'll go lie down when I need the pain killers," Leia assured the older woman, her distaste for the thought clear in her tone. As much as she wanted to say she was nearly well, she had to admit to herself that she couldn't go long without the pain killers. Lusiil shook her head.
"You're getting better," the older woman commented, "and the need for the pain medicine is growing less urgent, but the need for the IV bacta and the other medications isn't going to expire as quickly. Just because you feel all right doesn't mean you are all right. You'll need to keep mindful of that." Leia smiled and nodded.
"I appreciate your concern," she said. Lusiil smiled back at her.
"You are very welcome, Senator," Lusiil told Leia as she stood and headed toward the door. "Is there anything you'd like while I'm out?" she asked. Leia thought for a second. That was a new one. Everything she'd needed had been provided for her; Lusiil had seen to it that she had a food and water and tea, fresh bandages, a toothbrush and a bar of soap, a hairbrush (which she could not yet raise her hands to use, but looked forward to putting to use with much aplomb), clean linens, and even an electric shaver, but she had never asked Leia if she had any requests.
"A pickled hot nerf roast," Leia half-kidded. The food down here hadn't been anything like the worst in her memory, but the grains and steamed puddings that had been the mainstay over the past few days (since she'd been allowed solid food) had become a little monotonous. She felt just lousy enough to be really craving Alderaanian comfort food. Lusiil chuckled at that.
"I'll see what I can do," she replied as she manually input the code to open the door to the exterior. "Try and get some rest."
