THREE
The Millennium Falcon was more crowded than it had been for a long time. In addition to the Senate team - Leia, Han, Page and two others - there were Wedge and Chewie, a navigator and comm officer, as well as two gunners, making eleven beings in total, not including the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, who had insisted on coming along even though they had no particular role in the mission. Han was in the pilot's seat at the moment, having refused to let Wedge take the helm for this journey even though he trusted him to fly later. "I don't want my last trip in the Falcon to have been as a passenger," he'd said grimly, and no-one was inclined to argue with him.
Leia had taken refuge in Han's bunk. There was nowhere else to sit down other than the floor or a packing crate, and even though several people had offered to give up their seat for her, she found she preferred to be alone anyway. She sat back against the pillows, trying not to think too much about what was to come.
She kept remembering the conversation she'd had back at the mansion retreat with Luke, so long ago, when he'd accused her of manipulating people into following her, making them do what she wanted them to do, and enjoying it for its own sake. It was a fine line, she realised. She did have an extremely strong influence over people, but she had not been fully aware of it before. Now though, she saw it clearly, and she was doing what she could to make sure that people, especially those who followed her like those on the Falcon now, were doing what they were doing for the right reasons, not just for her. But sometimes, the line was too fine to make out. Take Han, for example: this had never been his fight. The Empire had never personally hurt him. If it hadn't been for her and Luke, he'd have remained what he was, just one of the many billions of people in the galaxy trying to survive and make the best of what they had in the circumstances. It was because of her that he'd gotten involved, and was still involved, in this fight. And she knew he was willing to die for her.
It was a frightening thought. For all she knew, she could be leading all these people to their deaths. It horrified her. And yet, what other option was there? Leave Luke to take the galaxy further into the dark? Leave her brother to suffer? Leave her father … her father …
The proximity alarm broke into her thoughts. They had come out of hyperspace, and were approaching Coruscant. She shook off her pensive mood as she headed for the cockpit. This was an important moment. Their plan could all go horribly wrong right now, and if it did, she wanted to be with Han.
Han had given up his seat to Wedge, as he would have to deal with traffic control, being the designated pilot for the trip. But he hadn't left the cockpit. Leia squeezed in next to him, and he put his arm around her shoulders without taking his eyes off the planet sparkling in the viewport.
The comm officer signalled that a channel was open, and directed it to Wedge's station. "Coruscant Traffic Control," Wedge began, "this is the Ghost Flyer, requesting permission to land. We're transporting a delegation from D'uren-Mar Technologies of Brentaal IV, to meet with Senator Davale. He's expecting us. I'm transmitting our credentials now."
A few seconds' delay, then Control came back. "Acknowledged, Ghost Flyer, please stand by."
The tension was palpable in the cockpit as they waited for the confirmation. If Rieekan's team had done their work well, their details would check out, but if not, their mission would be over before it started.
The comm crackled again. "Ghost Flyer, I have your assignment registered, all looks good. Please transmit full details of all passengers and cargo, and hold your current position. You will be informed when a landing slot becomes free."
Wedge was careful to keep the anxiety out of his voice as he replied. "Thanks, Control. Transmission commencing."
As the comm officer sent the information, Wedge looked round at Han and Leia. "Well, that's step one," he said. "It could take a couple of hours for them to run the full checks and get back to us."
Leia nodded. "We'll get out of your way." Taking Han's arm, she led him from the cockpit, though he went with her only reluctantly.
He caught her concerned look and mustered half a smile. "It's okay, sweetheart. I know I have to let her go. It's just not easy."
"You'll see her again," she told him, squeezing his arm reassuringly. He wanted to believe her, but his gut was saying otherwise.
Almost exactly two hours later, the Ghost Flyer was cleared to land on Coruscant. A wave of relief swept the ship, prompting cheers and applause from most of its occupants. Even Han managed to smile. "I guess Rieekan's team know their stuff," he said.
Leia nodded. "It's all up to us now."
Something pinged on Vader's comm station. Turning back to his desk, he opened the alert. He had registered a request to be informed of the arrival on Coruscant of a particular kind of ship weeks ago, soon after he'd returned from his search for Leia, and had almost forgotten about it.
Now he was reminded. A YT-1300 Corellian light freighter had just landed on Coruscant, at one of the Senate's auxiliary spaceports. Interesting. He didn't recognise any of the names on the passenger manifest, of course, but that meant nothing. He called up the security cam feed from the landing bay, focusing in on the ship's boarding ramp as it lowered. He advanced the footage until the first passengers emerged, then shifted to slow motion. Yes, this was it. She was unmistakable. Leia Organa was on Coruscant. The man with her appeared to be Han Solo, meaning Luke had been right in his suspicion that he hadn't died at the Battle of Endor. The others must be their back-up team.
So she had finally decided to make her move. He wondered what it would be, and why she was doing it on Coruscant. Then he deleted the alert, along with all evidence of his searches. Her purpose would be revealed soon enough, no doubt.
Leia rolled her eyes. "Stang, Han, I guess this explains why I've never seen you in formal clothes."
He squirmed as she tried to straighten his shirt. "They just don't like me, okay? And what are you supposed to be, anyway?"
She was barely recognisable in her ridiculously complicated hairstyle and over-the-top make-up, not to mention the elaborately embroidered and ruffled voluminous dress-and-coat-thing she was wearing. She carried it off well, though, he had to admit.
Leia smiled wryly. "We're going to the Senate building, remember? I used to spend a lot of time there, and I don't want to take the chance of anyone recognising me. Hopefully I just look like an over-dressed businesswoman."
"An overdressed something," he commented, squirming again as she fastened his long jacket and stepped back to appraise him.
"I guess you'll do," she said, moving on to inspect Page and the others, who had dressed with soldiers' care and all looked perfect.
"I'd feel better if I had my blaster," Han grumbled.
"No weapons allowed in the Senate building," she reminded him. "Don't worry, they'll be there when we need them."
"If Davale keeps up his end of the bargain," he said darkly.
"Oh, will you stop?" Leia exclaimed, prompting a smile from Page. "I know you're nervous, but, please, let's keep a little positivity here, okay?"
"Okay, okay," he said impatiently. "And I'm not nervous," he added under his breath. Leia raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow, but said no more.
Senator Davale was waiting to greet them when their speeder arrived at the Senate building. He stepped forward to take Leia's hands, bowing low.
"Lady H'senn," he said. "It is a pleasure and an honour to meet you."
"Thank you, Senator," Leia replied graciously, and introduced her companions as the team from D'uren-Mar Technologies: the company's chief executive officer, finance officer, and marketing executives.
Davale nodded to each of them in turn. "A pleasure," he said, and gestured toward the door. "Shall we go to my office?"
Leia nodded. As they walked, Davale chatted lightly about Brentaal IV, asking about the weather, the latest popular holovids and such, and mentioning his regrets that he was not able to return home to visit as often as he would like. Once they entered his office, however, his entire demeanour changed.
"You are well disguised, your highness," he said. "For a moment, I doubted it was actually you. Shall we get straight down to business?" He looked over at Han, who was gesturing frantically at him, trying to warn him that they may be under surveillance, and smiled. "Don't worry, General Solo," he said. "My droid C3-T5 takes care of security for me. He is very capable. If there had been any doubt of our privacy, he would have warned me the moment we entered the outer office. Please, be seated and relax. I was assured by my contacts that your mission is vital to the Alliance."
"Indeed it is," Leia told him. "We are very grateful for your help, Senator. We know you have put yourself in great personal danger to aid us."
Davale nodded. "The way things are going, this new Empire is becoming worse than the first one. I have no illusions that I can remain safe simply through keeping my mouth shut and my head down any longer. Something has to be done, and whatever the risk, I'm willing to help you do it."
She gave him a tense smile. "Thank you. The greatest danger you will face is in helping to smuggle our weapons into the building. Should they be discovered …"
Davale nodded. "I'm dead. But deliveries in diplomatic boxes from commercial companies are no unusual occurrence here, and I'm confident they will face no more than the usual formalities. The Empire has had no reason to doubt my loyalty until now."
Han picked up the story. "Once the weapons are in the building, you need to keep them here and safe until we return. We'll need to use this office to change our clothes and equip ourselves. After that, you're free and clear. I would suggest you get yourself out of the way for a while, in case things go wrong."
Leia held out a datachip. "Should you wish to know what this is all about, the information we plan to release is on this chip. It's your choice whether you take it, but if you do, I must warn you to keep it safe and show it to nobody until our mission is completed. If our mission fails, what you do with it is up to you. This is information that can bring down the Empire. We cannot afford to have you caught with it before our mission is complete."
Davale tilted his head and pursed his lips, looking at the datachip as he thought. Then he smiled. "I admit I'm tempted," he said. "But I think it's safer for me to know as little as possible at this stage. If you succeed, it will be in the public domain within a couple of days, no doubt. I can wait that long."
She nodded, replacing the chip in her robes. "Thank you again, Senator. We'll meet again in three days, then."
He rose to shake her hand again. "I look forward to it."
Starkiller was feeling twitchy. There was something going on, he felt it, something he didn't know about. Somebody was plotting against him, and it was more than just the usual Senatorial machinations and intrigue that was afoot.
He looked up as the door opened and Darth Vader swept into the room. "What's going on?" he demanded bluntly, not even bothering to greet his father.
Vader stared at him. "You refer to something particular, my lord? Or do you simply wish to know what is happening in your outer office?"
Starkiller blinked under his mask. "Don't be flippant, Vader, it doesn't suit you. Something is going on, someone is plotting against me, I feel it."
"I have felt no such intimations," Vader told him.
"Is it you?" Starkiller demanded. "You put me on the throne, and now you plan to overthrow me, is that it? I will not allow it. I have lost far too much on this journey to give it up lightly."
Vader took a seat. "Be calm, my son," he told him. "This is a crucial time for the Empire, when much is being decided. It is only to be expected that you should feel unsettled. But I assure you, there is nothing for you to worry about."
Starkiller shook his head. "I don't trust anyone any more," he said. "Not even you. There is too much at stake, and my grip is tenuous. I know they are plotting against me."
"Who?"
"The Jedi, of course!"
Vader evinced surprise. "The Jedi no longer exist. Their only remnant is Leia."
"Oh, they exist," Starkiller assured him. "There's Yoda and Obi-Wan for a start, and I know they're on her side. They're after me. They want to bring me down, and I won't let them. Order the security details strengthened, immediately."
"Very well," Vader said, and left the office. Of course he had lied when he said he felt no evidence of a plot against Starkiller. He felt it strongly, and knew it was close. Leia's plan was in train, and it would not take long to come to fruition. He buried the guilt he felt at deceiving his son, knowing that this was the only way to save him from himself.
Three days later, Leia, Han and the team were back in Davale's office. All had gone according to plan, and their weapons and equipment were all there waiting for them. Once the senator had left, they prepared quickly, Leia taking the longest as she had to remove her make-up and simplify her hair as well as remove her elaborate outer clothing. Soon, though, they were ready to go.
Leia activated her comlink and called Wedge, who was acting as their contact back to the fleet and the operation as a whole. "Team Ghost reporting, in position and ready to proceed," she said.
"Acknowledged," came his reply. "Home One reports the fleet is engaged, and Team Insight is en route to target. And Team Flyer is ready to go on your mark."
"Excellent," she said. "Let me know when Insight has secured its objective."
"Copy that," Wedge confirmed. "Good luck, Ghost."
"Thanks, Flyer. You too." She replaced the comlink on her belt. "Everybody ready?" They all indicated they were. "Then let's take down the Empire," she smiled.
Crix Madine sat in the assault shuttle with the rest of Team Insight - four gunners and three slicers, ready to take the unmanned Holonet satellite HN-12. The slicers were a young group, all hand-picked by himself and General Rieekan for this mission, all extremely smart and good at what they did. But for all of them, this was their first experience of front-line conflict, and they were nervous and not handling it too well.
"Take it easy, guys," he warned them, smiling at the sharp look he received from the lone female in the group. "Sorry, Sel. Take it easy, all of you. If you do your job right, the satellite's automated defences won't be able to harm us, and then all you have to worry about is taking control of the systems. The gunners here will keep any TIEs that get past the X-wings off our backs."
"Yeah," one of the gunners agreed with a grin. "You kids just make sure your datapads are fully charged."
Sel rolled her eyes. "We don't use datapads," she told him, her voice dripping with disdain. "This equipment is as far beyond a datapad as … well, as an X-wing is beyond an eopie cart." She exchanged a look with her fellow slicers, who nodded, sharing her contempt for the gunner's ignorance as Madine shot the gunner a smile.
"We'll be in range of the systems in two minutes," the comm officer announced, and the slicers began unpacking the equipment which would allow them to access the satellite's defence systems remotely.
"This is it, guys," Madine confirmed. "May the Force be with us."
Leia had to be careful not to use the Force too obviously, with Luke so close by. She had already realised that Vader was aware of her presence, but sensed that he had no intention of informing Luke of it, and was doing what he could to cloud Starkiller's perception. She appreciated the help, but still did not intend to take any unnecessary risks.
Necessary risks came soon enough, however, as they drew closer to the inner sanctum of the Senate chamber. Two guards stepped forward to block their path.
"I'll need to see your identification," one said.
Leia made a small gesture. "You don't need to see our identification."
The guard inclined his head a little. "We don't need to see your identification," he echoed.
"We're cleared to proceed," she told him.
"You are cleared to proceed."
"Let's go."
"Let's go." He gestured impatiently, waving them through.
Han's spine tingled as they passed the guards and entered the main hallway. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that," he murmured.
Leia gave a small smile. "Stay sharp. It doesn't work on everyone."
But they encountered no more guards as they crossed to the lifts, and the corridor when they exited the lift was also clear.
"Why's it so quiet?" Han wondered. "You'd think this place would be crawling with stormtroopers."
Leia shrugged. "Overconfidence? I guess Luke thinks his security measures are so effective they'll stop anyone getting in without authorisation so there's no need of guards inside." She shot him a smile. "I'm sure they'll turn up eventually."
They were in a pod access corridor, lined with doors which led to the Senate pods in the main chamber. A set of lights above each door showed, for those who were familiar with the system, which pods were attached to the wall, and how many seats in them were free. Soon they would need to enter one of those pods, and then their mission would really begin. But first, they needed to know the broadcast satellite was secure. They fell back into an alcove off the corridor, Han and Page keeping both directions covered.
"Now we wait," Leia said.
Team Insight had boarded satellite HN-12, and their mission was well underway. Sel and the other two slicers were efficiently working at the consoles, inputting commands that would allow them to take control of the satellite system and ensure what happened in the Senate was broadcast in full and uncensored. Madine stood at a viewport, watching the progress of the battle outside. Ackbar's fleet was performing its task well, distracting the planetary defence force and ensuring their own mission went unnoticed. So far, neither his gunners nor the assault shuttle had been tested even once. Though that was sure to change once it became clear they had taken control of the Holonet systems.
"How much longer?" he asked, and Sel shook her head.
"Difficult to tell. Each barrier we break, we find another one. Could be a minute; if we're unlucky, could be an hour."
"You can't be more precise than that?"
"Only by adding a second for every second I spend talking to you."
Madine smiled despite the tension, activating his comlink. "Flyer, what's happening groundside?"
Wedge's voice came back. "Team Ghost is in place, just waiting for your confirmation. Any idea …"
Madine laughed. "Could be any moment. I'll update you as soon as I can. Insight out."
"Copy, Insight. Standing by."
"Shouldn't Insight be in place by now?" Han asked.
"They should," Leia replied. "I'm not worrying yet, but we can't afford to hang around here too long. We may have to go ahead without them."
"You sure that's wise?" Page asked, but she didn't have to answer him. Her comlink chimed, and Wedge's voice sounded. "Team Ghost, sorry for the delay. Team Insight has secured the target. You have a go."
Leia smiled. "Copy, Flyer," she replied. "We're going in."
She led them round the corridor a short way until she found a pod that was empty, and input the access code they'd been given by Senator Davale. Han tensed for a moment, wondering what they would do if the code didn't work. But then there was a click, and the door slid open. They stepped into the pod, and Han paused for a moment, overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the Senate chamber. Leia paused too, but for different reasons. She was remembering when she'd last been here, when she was a naive young Senator who'd thought she could change things from the inside. It seemed a very long time ago.
She sighed. "Everybody ready? This ride could get bumpy."
Han and the team all confirmed, and she pushed the button that informed the system she wanted to speak. The pod detached from the wall, moving slowly toward the centre of the chamber, as an electronic voice boomed out.
"The chair recognises the delegate from … there are no delegates in that pod. Security alert!"
Leia ignited her lightsaber and Han and the others drew their blasters as the pod came to a sudden halt and security drones began to zip toward them from all directions. Protective shields went up around all the pods, except for theirs.
"I was the delegate from Alderaan," Leia said, calmly deflecting blaster bolts from the drones as she spoke. "I am the sister of Lord Starkiller. I have a right to speak."
"Security override from the Prime Councillor accepted. The chair recognises the former delegate from Alderaan."
The drones withdrew, and she signalled Han and the team to lower their blasters. She deactivated her lightsaber, but kept it in her hand. As the pod continued on its journey toward the centre of the chamber, her eyes sought out the Prime Councillor's pod. Starkiller was in there, flanked by Vader and Sate Pestage. Pestage was looking distinctly nervous, but Vader and Starkiller were unreadable.
"What are you doing here, Leia?" Starkiller demanded.
"I came to see you, brother," she said. "And Vader, of course. But mainly I've come to give the galaxy what I think it deserves: the truth."
She heard the outcry from the other pods in the chamber, consternation and confusion as the senators began to realise that Leia Organa, the former senator from Alderaan, widely believed killed during the Rebellion, was not only still alive, but the sister of Lord Starkiller. How could this be? And how, why was she armed with a lightsaber? Was she a Jedi? Did that mean Starkiller was a Jedi, as well?
"Keep alert," Leia warned Han quietly. "They could turn those drones back on at any time." He nodded, his gaze flicking between the drones and the Prime Councillor's pod.
Starkiller deactivated the microphone in his pod, and turned to talk to Vader and his Grand Vizier. Pestage was furious. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "Your sister is Leia Organa? One of the most wanted enemies of the Empire? Then who the hell are you? Vader, did you know about this?"
"Of course I did," he confirmed.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Pestage looked from one black-clad figure to the other, fear taking an icy grip on his heart. Suddenly, this pod was the last place in the galaxy he wanted to be. Starkiller was floundering, Vader didn't seem to care what happened, and either of them could kill him with a thought. But the most dangerous person in the room right now was Leia Organa. "She can't be allowed to speak!" he exclaimed, and dived for the security panic button.
But Starkiller caught his arm in an iron grip before he could reach the button, and twisted until Pestage was forced to take his seat. "Don't make me kill you," he warned.
He reactivated the microphone. "This is not the place for a family reunion," he said. "Leia, why don't you come to my office and we can talk? The broadcast feed was cut the moment the security system was activated. No-one's going to hear your 'truth'."
"If no-one's going to hear it, then why not talk here?" she asked. While she could feel the feed was still up right now, she didn't know how long Insight would be able to keep it up, so it was imperative she moved things along as quickly as possible. "Senators, don't you think you have a right to know the true identity of the man who is ruling the galaxy? That man is part of a conspiracy that goes back decades, a conspiracy put in place by Palpatine long before he was Emperor, a conspiracy to give the galaxy to the rule of the Sith."
"I am no Sith!" Starkiller protested.
"Oh, no? Because you don't call yourself Darth? What's in a name, Starkiller?" She could feel the Senators hanging on her words, and beyond that, many millions more watching this on the Holonet, their numbers swelling by the second, all their energies in the Force contributing to her strength, driving her on.
"It's time for everyone to be who they are," she said. "Darth Vader used to be a Jedi, a hero of the Clone Wars, named Anakin Skywalker." She raised her hand against the cries of shock and confusion. "Wait. He is also our father. I am his daughter. And Lord Starkiller is his son, Luke Skywalker, the man who destroyed the first Death Star, and the Jedi who killed the Emperor."
Pestage was back on his feet, frantic. "She's insane! This can't go on." He reached for the panic button again, and this time he got to it. The drones sprang back to life in the same instant as Starkiller ignited his lightsaber and cut down his Grand Vizier. Vader could have been an empty suit for all the reaction he showed.
"Leia, you fool!" Luke yelled. "Are you trying to commit suicide?"
She laughed as she continued to bat blaster bolts from the security drones back at them. "There is no try!"
Sasugi Lindstub stared at her monitor in bafflement, hardly able to believe her eyes. She'd been in the middle of a routine business news round-up when the feed had suddenly switched to a live broadcast from the Senate chamber. And then all hell had broken loose. The feed was on every channel, broadcasting to every live Holonet terminal in the galaxy. Her earpiece was full of panic, producers demanding to know what was happening, techs protesting they couldn't access the satellite controls. Someone realised the Rebels must have taken one of the satellites, called for a senior tech, reported it to security. She was only half-listening to the uproar, unable to tear her eyes away from the screen. This was real, she realised. This was really happening. There were Rebels in the Senate chamber, and not just any Rebels: Leia Organa, who said she was Darth Vader's daughter and Lord Starkiller's sister. And Starkiller wasn't Starkiller at all, he was Skywalker, he was a Rebel, a Jedi … he had killed the Emperor. If it was true … if it was true, then Starkiller had lied to her from the beginning, he had lied to everyone. And Vader had lied to them before that, and Palpatine before him. Was it true, could it possibly be true, that the whole Empire had been built on a lie?
She became aware of her director's voice in her ear. "Sasugi! Sasugi, wake up! We're back on air. We can't cut the feed, but we can put your voice over it. Say something, calm it down somehow, tell them it's not real, it's a Rebel trick or something. Sasugi!"
For a moment, she hesitated. Then she reactivated the microphone, taking a deep breath. "Welcome back to Holonet News, I'm Sasugi Lindstub. Viewers, I don't know what you're thinking, but I can assure you that what you're seeing is real." She pulled out her earpiece, ignoring the angry spluttering of her director. "This is a live, unedited feed from the Senate chamber. Tell your friends, tell everyone you know. You need to watch this. If you've missed anything, I'll quickly recap for you. Leia Organa of Alderaan is not dead. She is a Jedi, and so is Lord Starkiller, her brother …"
"Leia!" The drone blasts were still coming thick and fast, and Han, Page and the others were struggling, even if Leia wasn't. "We can't keep this up forever," Han told her. "We need to get those drones turned off."
"Don't worry," she said. "Luke's just playing with us. He doesn't want us destroyed. Not yet, anyway."
"That's comforting," Han said, sounding anything but comforted. "While the alert's on, we can't use the chip," he reminded her.
"I know!"
Starkiller watched them defend themselves against the drones, Vader standing implacable at his side. What should he do? He should call the guards, and have them taken down, but that would mean Leia might die. He could not allow that. The one thing he knew, the one thing he'd always known, was that he could not let Leia die. But what if she took down his Empire? He couldn't let her do that either. He was frozen by indecision.
"What is your plan, my son?" Vader asked, his voice icily calm. "I feel your uncertainty. Now is the time to choose: her life, or the galaxy."
Starkiller turned to look at him, his panic growing. "I can't make that choice. I can't let Leia die. But what can I do? I don't know what to do!"
Vader took a small step back. "I cannot help you. You have the power now, as you wished. Now you must decide how to use it."
Starkiller's anger rose. "You!" he exclaimed, realisation suddenly hitting him. "You lied to me. You were plotting with her! You were in on this!"
Vader shook his head. "No," he said. "I merely allowed her to -" He defended himself instinctively, without even wanting to, as Starkiller ignited his lightsaber and swung at him. In the confines of the pod, and with Pestage's body on the floor, it was an awkward, difficult fight. They struggled together, their sabers locked.
"Don't do this, my son," Vader told him. "You have lost. Surrender to your sister, and you can be at peace again."
"There is no peace!" he shouted. "Whatever I did, however hard I tried, there was never peace. It's your fault!"
Leia saw them fighting, and knew that if she did not do something, one of them would die. She needed to turn off the alert system, it was the only way she could get to them. But if she took her concentration off the drones for long enough to do that through the Force, her pod would be overwhelmed. There was only one thing she could do.
Reaching out in the Force, she called to Vader, imploring him to cancel the security alert. It was dangerous for him too, she knew. Removing his concentration from Luke for even a second could spell his doom. But he did it. Lunging at Luke with all his strength, he knocked him off balance, giving him the second he needed to cut the alert.
The drones withdrew, and they could control their pod again. Han grabbed the controls, quickly guiding it closer to the Prime Councillor's pod. Luke and Vader were fighting again. Luke's sense in the Force was a maelstrom of anger, betrayal and confusion. She longed to help him, but she had made a promise, and she would keep it.
Feeling sick, she pulled out the all-important datachip and fed it into the pod's console.
"Senators," she said quickly, "I am inputting evidence which backs up everything I've told you, and more. I ask you to consider this evidence carefully, and then to ask yourselves whether you still think Starkiller is fit to lead the galaxy. If you consider the information valuable, I would like you to vote to enter it into the public record, so it will be accessible to all the people of the galaxy." The console pinged as the upload finished. She nodded to Han. "Mission accomplished."
"Let's go," he said. The pod was close enough now. Leia called to Luke, and he looked round at her. She held out her hand. "Luke, come with us," she said. "Please."
"What have you done?" he demanded. "Why? You betrayed me!" Giving his fight with Vader no further thought, he stepped to the edge of the pod, jumping across to hers. But their sabers never met. The moment his feet landed in the pod, Han shot him with a stun blast and he fell to the floor.
"Go, go, go!" Leia yelled, even as she bent to check on her brother. Page had taken over the controls, and was already guiding the pod back to the wall as fast as it would go. She looked back at the Prime Councillor's pod. Vader was still standing there, his lightsaber deactivated now. He was looking right at her. Slowly, he raised his hand in a gesture of farewell. She hesitated for just a second, then returned the gesture.
As the pod docked, the two commandoes lifted Luke's body between them. Leia's eyes met Han's for a second, but there was no time to speak. They ran for the lift as a squad of stormtroopers came around the curve of the corridor toward them.
Leia pulled out her comlink as Han covered her, returning the troopers' fire. "Wedge! Mission accomplished. We're on our way to the roof."
His voice came back gratifyingly fast. "Copy, Ghost. Already on my way. You know, you look good in holos." Even in the middle of a firefight and a desperate escape, Leia discovered she could still laugh.
The Millennium Falcon was already hovering over the Senate building's roof when they got there. Unfortunately, so were several TIE fighters, though the Falcon's gunners were managing to hold them off. Seeing their small band, a couple of the fighters decided to take potshots at the roof, though they couldn't possibly target anything as small as a person with any accuracy. "Don't they know they're shooting at their Prime Councillor?" Han yelled.
"Maybe they don't care any more," Leia shouted back, pausing to deflect blaster bolts from several stormtroopers who had followed them to the roof. The Falcon was already lowering itself to land, the ramp opening as it went. "Go!" she yelled to Han. "I'll cover you."
For once, he didn't argue. She held off the stormtroopers until the rest of the team was on the ship, retreating slowly toward the ramp as she did so. Once they were clear, she bolted for the Falcon, and was yelling for Wedge to take off as soon as her feet hit the metal.
Han raced for the cockpit, as she followed the men carrying Luke to the medical bunk, and secured her brother in restraints. Of course, she knew the restraints would not hold him should he choose to attempt an escape, but just as she had known back in the Imperial Palace, he would know escape was pointless when there was nowhere to go. She hit the intercom to the cockpit. "What's happening up there?"
Han's voice came back. She smiled, realising he was already back in the pilot's seat. "TIEs in pursuit, nothing too serious. We're nearly out of the atmosphere, shouldn't be too long before we can make hyper. How's the kid?"
"Secure, stable and still out. I'm going to stay with him."
"Copy." He cut the connection, as she felt a laser blast bounce off the shields. There would be a blockade, but the Alliance fleet was up there, and she was confident Han could evade any tractor beams long enough to make the jump to lightspeed. She turned her attention to Luke. The tables were turned now: he was in the same position she had been in when she'd woken in her cell on the Executor. She didn't expect him to be any more receptive to her than she had been to him back then. But she still wanted to make it as easy for him as she could.
She unfastened and removed his mask, feeling a throb of sadness as his familiar face was revealed. "Oh, Luke," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Darth Vader, left alone in the Prime Councillor's pod except for the body of Sate Pestage, wearily surveyed the chaos in the Senate chamber as the senators began to digest the information Leia had uploaded. He sighed, then shrugged and activated the controls to retract the pod, riding it back down into the Prime Councillor's office. He had had enough of government, more than enough. It was up to the Senate now, they could do what they wanted.
A secretary hurried into the office. "Lord Vader, what are your instructions? The Rebels took one of the Holonet News satellites, the whole thing was broadcast. What should we do?"
Leaving Pestage's body where it lay, Vader didn't even break stride as he walked out of the office, and the man was forced to hurry to keep up with him. "Do nothing," he said. "The Empire has been decapitated again. Let it die this time."
"But -" the secretary stammered, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.
Vader continued walking. "Call a speeder for me," he said. "I am leaving."
"But, Lord Vader … the Ruling Council … what should I tell them?"
"Tell them they rule no more."