Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and his peeps. But Theeon's my baby.
A/N: Sorry for the long break, hope I still have everyone's interest.
Ties Ch.14Princess Leia felt her stomach twist at the sight of the Millennium Falcon landing in the hangar bay. She was relieved that Luke and the others had returned home safely, but she knew their ordeal was just beginning. Councilor Fey'lya had insisted on holding a meeting as soon as the others returned and judging from his earlier reaction to the situation he was planning to verbally tear into her friends. What angered her even more was that he had sent some of his backers to wait with her, in his words, 'to ensure your friends arrive to the meeting promptly'. It was yet another one of his carefully calculated political slaps to her face, the suggestion that she was too biased towards her friends to be trustworthy. Luckily, Han had also insisted on coming and he stood beside her, giving one of his signature glares at Fey'lya's people. Leia smiled secretly to herself; though she tried not to admit it, she was thankful to Han for his often-blatant disregard to political protocol. It was strangely comforting to know that Fey'lya's people were squirming under his unrelenting glare…at least it meant they were more uncomfortable feeling than her.
However, the political machinations of a backstabbing Bothan were not her only concern. She had spent the better part of the morning and the night before trying to figure out how she felt about meeting Grand Admiral Thrawn's brother. From the few messages Luke had managed to send to her about him, she had gotten the impression that Luke had taken a liking to the alien. A part of her trusted her brother's opinion, and given her own family tree, she knew better than to judge someone by his or her heritage. Unfortunately, she had to admit that a part of her still wanted to lash out at Thrawn for trying to destroy her family, and his baby brother was an awfully tempting target for revenge. She took a deep breath to clear her head. Such thoughts pushed her dangerously close to the dark side, a path she dared not tread.
The ramp to the Falcon slowly lowered, with Lando and the Rogues starting to descend before it had even fully touched the ground. The friendly smiles on their faces died almost instantly once they caught site of Fey'lya's people and Leia noticed Han's subtle nod to them. She knew it was his warning that they needed to prepare themselves for trouble and she could tell by the suddenly grim expressions on their faces that they all figured out what was going on without a word needing to be uttered.
Movement at the top of the ramp caught her attention and she looked up to see Luke escorting a blue skinned humanoid down the ramp. Though the alien's hands were tied in front of him, he still managed to look calm and regal. Leia found herself studying the alien's face, searching for some sense of darkness, some trace of evil that would give her an excuse to dislike him. Instead, she was shocked to feel the same kind of innate kindness and warmth that she associated with her brother. Her stomach twisted again. His brother had tried to kidnap her babies…yet even as that thought struck her a mocking voice inside her head responded instantly…your father tortured you, gave your future husband to a bounty hunter and tried to turn your brother to the dark side…who are you to judge anybody?
Lando cut off the princess's tumultuous thoughts, "So I'm guessing we're not going to have a chance to just relax and recover from the mission, are we?"
Han shook his head grimly; "No we're here to escort you to the main meeting room, so that Fey'lya and the council can interrogate you."
Fey'lya's chief lackey, a Bothan whose name escaped Leia's mind, sniffed disdainfully, "Captain Solo, the council has no intention of interrogating any loyal members of the New Republic. It is merely because of our delicate political situation with the Empire that we need to have a debriefing of this disastrously botched mission as soon as possible."
Lando's eyes flashed with anger, "Listen you…"
Han quickly put a hand on Lando's shoulder to cut him off, "It's not worth it Lando, we're in hot enough water as it is."
Lando clenched his jaw but said nothing. Wedge, Tycho and Wes were also clearly fuming, standing behind Lando to show their support. Leia wondered if they had caught the lackey's subtle threat or if they were just angry about the botched mission comment. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a smooth, cultured voice.
"Only loyal members of the New Republic will avoid interrogation? Does that mean I may have company during my interrogation?" The alien's face was calm, collected and unreadable.
The Bothan's fur rippled, "The affairs of the New Republic are of no concern to you, Imperial. You would do best to remember that anything you say from now on can be used against you in front of the council."
Dr. Theeon merely raised an eyebrow, "My humblest apologies. By all means, let us not keep them waiting."
The doctor's overly polite response to the threat clearly irritated the Bothan and he spun on his heel and headed out of the hangar bay, the other lackeys following close behind. Leia realized that the others were now focusing on her, undoubtedly waiting for instructions on what to do next. She looked at her friends and gave them a wry smile; "Well at least we know everyone will be in a good mood when we reach the meeting."
Han rolled his eyes, "Yeah, this ought a be one hell of a party."
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The walk to the meeting room was eerily quiet. He knew that everyone was likely trying to figure out how they were going to talk their way out of the trouble they were going to face from the council. Well, everyone except Leia and him. Han knew his wife well enough to know that she would be as distracted as he was by Dr. Theeon. They had talked for a long time the night before about how they felt meeting the brother of one of their worst enemies. Despite what Luke had told them, part of Han expected the alien to be a duplicate of his evil older brother…in fact part of Han wanted him to be. It'd be so much easier if he could just hate the guy, send him home to big brother with a couple black eyes, a few broken bones and a busted lip as a friendly reminder not to mess with Han's family again. That hope was pretty much shattered the moment he saw the alien standing next to Luke. It wasn't that the two men looked anything alike, save perhaps their slender builds and youthful faces, it was something else, something Han couldn't quite put his finger on. He was no Force user, he couldn't sense someone's thoughts or anything, but he just got this feeling, this feeling that it could've just as easily Luke, or Force forbid Leia, that ended up on the wrong side of the war.
Of course, the fact he had so efficiently humiliated one of Fey'lya's buddies earned him several bonus points in Han's opinion.
They reached the doors to the meeting room and Leia nodded to the guards, who opened the doors for them. She strode into the room, the picture of calm and poise, confidently taking her place at the table. Han followed suit but as he sat down he noticed there were no chairs for the others. Only one side of the table had any chairs. Realization hit him as he watched one of the guards gently usher his friends into a row in front of the table, while the other guard pointed a blaster at Dr. Theeon. He glanced at Leia and noticed the subtle frown on her face; this was not how they had been told the debriefing would be held.
Clearly, Mon Mothma had noticed their confusion and answered their unspoken question. "Councilor Fey'lya's assistants informed of us of some," she paused as if searching for the right word, "conflict in the hangar bay. It has been decided that the prisoner should not be privy to the information discussed in this meeting and will therefore be escorted to a detention cell until such time as we can decide the best method of addressing his situation."
All eyes fell on Dr. Theeon, whose face remained remarkably blank. Han expected him to say something, but the alien remained quiet. Han noticed Fey'lya's fur ripple, and he forced himself not to smile. The Bothan thrived on conflict and the young doctor's peaceful demeanor made it difficult to attack him without coming off as a bully. Luke often pulled the same trick on the councilor…
Fey'lya finally spoke, a hint of irritation in his voice. "What are you waiting for? Take him away so we can start our meeting."
The guard nodded and gestured with his blaster for Dr. Theeon to follow him. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but as the doctor turned away, Han could've sworn the alien's eyes looked vaguely amused. Barely five minutes in a room with Fey'lya and already the doctor had apparently taken a liking to annoying the Bothan. Han sighed softly. For the first time since hearing about the kid's existence Han really hoped the alien knew nothing of his older brother's crimes. He understood now how Luke had taken such an instant liking to the young alien; there was just something so genuinely likable about him…Damn, why does this stuff always have to be so complicated?