Chapter Seven: The Second Mission

Anakin strode along the bridge of the Executor, as Vader had so many times before. Unlike Vader, though, Anakin was on his way to personally brief his entire crew.

The crew was the same as it had been during the Executor's Imperial days. Anakin had interviewed each person, looking for anyone who might become a spy for the Empire, and also offering them all a chance to leave his service. Even knowing his former identity and reputation as Vader, everyone had decided to stay and, gently probing their minds, he found them all to be loyal to him first, the Empire second.

Anakin entered the briefing room, still unnerved by the loyalty and faith the crew had in him. All eyes fixed on him, he took a deep breath and began.

"We are going to Coruscant to make sure all the security codes we know are still in effect, and to find out any codes we don't know. This is a mission I will need all of you for. Just as there are places that are off-limits to you, there are places I cannot go without rousing suspicion. And we all know how suspicious Imperials are." A wave of laughter echoed among the crowd. "Therefore, we all need to work together on this. Admiral Piett and I will take the Palace, the Senate, and other government buildings. Go anywhere you can, but take care not to overstep or understep your station and get arrested or shot. We need everything we can get, no matter how insignificant it seems. You'll have exactly two days – make the most of it!"


Han was hot, sweaty and covered in grease, but he was in his element. Fixing the Falcon was something he could do with his eyes closed; the familiarity of it was calming.

The fact that he'd finally get to see Leia again soon helped, too. She'd mentioned training as a Jedi and said that Vader was teaching her the last time they had spoken. Han trusted Leia's common sense, but had to question her wisdom on this.

In his head, of course. He wouldn't dare do so to her face. He shuddered at the very thought.

Still, it was best if he returned to Base as soon as possible. If Leia wasn't going to look out for her own well-being, he'd have to do it for her.


Anakin waved a hand at the guards by the entrance of the Palace, and they forgot he existed as he walked purposefully through the doors and headed for the military wing, where he hoped to obtain a master copy of the security codes. He knew from experience that the lists were not always up-to-date, but at least he would know every code that needed to be checked.

What he found, after nearly two hours of searching (and, occasionally, hacking), was even better: a master code.

Anakin blinked in disbelief, wondered why he hadn't known about this, then grinned like a child left alone in a room full of sweets. He hit the recall button on his comlink, memorized the code, and headed back to the Executor.

Piett and three other officers were already there. Slowly the rest of the crew trickled back, and once they were all safely locked aboard the Executor, Anakin told them about his discovery.

"So obviously there is a change of plans," he concluded. "Try this code for anything you come across. I had to dig pretty deep for it, so I think it's legitimate, but you never know."

They split up again, this time intent on proving the master code useful.


"Leia," Luke called out. She turned to wait for him and he jogged up to her. It had been a week and a half since Anakin had talked to Leia about love, but with all the preparations taking place to turn the galaxy back into a republic, they barely had time to practice their lightsaber skills, much less sit down and have an in-depth discussion about the Force.

"So what was that whole love thing about?" Luke inquired as he walked his sister to her next meeting.

"I asked him about the ending to his story," she explained. "He said that only love can defeat the darkness, and it seemed kind of insignificant to me, just one thing in the entire galaxy. He was helping me see it as a group of morals, rather than just an emotion." She smiled. "Did you know Mon Mothma classifies love as justice?"

Luke laughed. "Sounds like her." He paused. "So that was the end of the story? That love can defeat the dark?"

Leia nodded. "Yes."

"It's true, you know," he commented pensively. "I've seen it happen."

They parted ways then, and once again Leia had something to contemplate.


Anakin paced throughout the Executor, impatiently anticipating the results of testing the master code. His instincts told all told him that it was genuine, but he knew the Alliance would want proof.

It seemed as if everyone arrived at once. He talked to each one of them, writing down where each person tried the code and whether or not they were successful – which they all were.

He grinned foolishly. "I can't believe Palpatine was so stupid . . ." he said under his breath.

A couple officers standing near him looked over at him. Your pardon, Master Jedi?"

Anakin glanced up, triumph shining in his eyes. "Oh, it's nothing, really," he said casually. "Just that the former Emperor allowed this master code --" He waved the flimsiplast he had been writing on at them "-- to grant access to his personal quarters."

The look on their faces was priceless, and Anakin's smile grew.

He snagged Piett's sleeve as the admiral walked by. "Set course for Base," he ordered. "This mission was quite a success."

Piett saluted, but his smirk matched his commander's. "I would say so, sir."


Walking briskly, Anakin entered Mon Mothma's office still high on victory.

Mon Mothma rose to her feet. "Did you get the codes?" she asked anxiously.

"Better. I found a master code that will get you anywhere, including Palpatine's own bedchamber."

Mon Mothma stared at him, eyes wide. "You're kidding."

"Afraid not. And if you go on the Executor, you're guaranteed to get past the Navy protection. They didn't even ask us for identification."

Mon Mothma took his information with something akin to excitement. "Skywalker, you are a blessing. Take a couple of weeks off; you've more than earned them."

Anakin bowed and left.


Han whooped and gave Chewie a high-five. "We're finished, pal! Finally!" He dashed to the Naberrie house.

Pooja was reading when Han burst in. "Han!" she gasped. "You're filthy! Go take a shower!"

He ignored her. "We're all set, sister. Let's go! Now!"

She laughed, amused at his impatience. "It's bedtime, Han. Go take a shower and go to sleep. We'll leave first thing in the morning."

He pointed a finger at her. "I'm holding you to that," he said as he stifled a yawn, too tired to argue the issue any further. It seemed as if fatigue had just dropped onto his back all at once.

She smiled, recognizing the exhaustion and not at all surprised. He had been working himself into the ground in his hurry to get back to Leia, and despite the strain it put on him, Pooja thought it was sweet. She was glad Leia had found someone who loved her so much.

It reminded Pooja of her Aunt Padmé and Jedi Anakin. Anakin had loved Aunt Padmé so much, and she had loved him, too. Pooja had only met him once, as a young child, but her memories of him were vivid. She suspected he was the father of her aunt's unborn baby, and often wondered what had happened to him – if he had died on Coruscant as the HoloNet claimed. He had never seemed the type to be a victim of a massacre. But then, what type were massacre victims?

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she followed Han upstairs. If she had to rise with the sun, she had better get her rest.


Leia fairly skipped into lightsaber practice with her father and brother. Luke took one look at her delighted face and said, "Han's on his way, isn't he?"

"He'll be here in an hour," Leia confirmed, beaming.

Anakin looked at Luke. "Han? As in Solo?"

Luke nodded. "That's the one." He made sure Leia was out of earshot, and lowered his voice. "I hope you can keep him from shouting too much of your past to the galaxy."

"I'm very good at preventing unpleasant scenes," Anakin assured him. "It comes from being very good at starting them." He paused. "Wait. Solo. That's the one I froze in carbonite, isn't it?"

Luke nodded again. "Yes."

"Great."

"And just so you know, he has a tendency to hold a grudge."

"Even better."

"Actually, he cherishes a grudge."

"Wonderful."

"And he's in love with Leia."

"That I knew. Oh, this is going to be fun."

Luke couldn't tell if Anakin was being sarcastic or not.