Leia shook her head with a smile as she entered her office, her lips still tingling from the warmth of Han's parting kiss. Her daily picnics with the smuggler usually ended with her being in one of two moods: happy or annoyed. Fortunately, today it was the former.
When she stepped through the door, however, her smile immediately turned into a frown. The normally stoic but now pale-faced Winter was staring at something in what could only be described as abject horror. On closer inspection, Leia realized that what was holding her adopted sister's attention was the small holovision resting on a console by the communications unit.
"Leia," Winter whispered, "come here."
Leia was by the other woman's side in an instant. Placing a hand on Winter's shoulder, she turned her gaze to the holovision. What she saw sent chills down her spine.
Staring out at her were the cold, cruel eyes of Emperor Palpatine.
His mouth was moving, forming words, but she couldn't even bring herself to heed what he was saying. As those menacing eyes stared at her, she just kept thinking, No, no, no...
She wasn't sure how much time had passed before she finally found her voice. When she did, she asked, "Is this some sort of childish prank or Imperial diversion?" But as soon as the words were made, she knew this was no falsehood. The truth of what was happening was being screamed at her by the Force. Her heart throbbing painfully, she wondered in a near-panic, What now?
"I don't know," Winter replied, unaware of the Alderaanian princess's thoughts. "It certainly sounds like him."
Leia turned around and slammed her hand on her desk with anger. Bowing her head down, she growled, "It is him. Somehow, I know it is." Her animosity for the dictator bubbled up to the surface, and it felt as if desperation were squeezing the blood out of her heart as she clenched her fist so hard her knuckles turned white.
On the holovision, the Imperial leader continued his rant. Words like "impure" and "destroyed" were frequently peppered in his dialogue.
"Listen to his words, Leia," Winter responded at last. "This anti-alien tirade could be beneficial for the Alliance. It is terrible he is alive, yes, but the whole galaxy can hear what he is saying. Perhaps non-humans will realize the danger in the Empire and flock to the Alliance."
Leia took in a deep breath and let her frustrations drain away. She was always so quick to jump to anger—she needed to learn from Winter and keep a level head. "You're right," she admitted, straightening up and moving to look at the holovision again.
The door opened, and Opakwa and Threepio walked in. Both women turned to look at them.
"Master Sun's Skipray Blastboat has arrived," Opakwa noted, a hint of excitement in his voice. When not involved in serving as translators, he and Threepio had been monitoring Yavin IV's traffic. They claimed to do so in order to be readily available for any necessary translator duties, but Leia knew it was really because Opakwa missed Luke and Threepio missed Artoo.
"Thank you, Opakwa," Leia said, placing a gentle hand on his silver arm. She turned to Winter and sighed, "I will deal with this soon enough. I'm going to go see my brother first."
She turned and hurried out, followed by the two protocol droids.
Anakin was sitting in the pilot's seat of the shuttle,resisting the urge to pace. Normally, he wasn't one for nervous twitches, but Time seemed to be pressing in on him, and he couldn't keep himself from tapping the fingers of his right hand on his knee.
Artoo whistled something which earned him a glare from Anakin.
"I am not more impatient than I used to be," the human retorted. "It just seems as if we are always waiting for the Noghri."
Obi-Wan, who had come out of a meditation trance a few minutes before, chided him gently, "Be patient, Anakin."
"Well, patience never has been my strong suit," muttered the younger man. He leaned down to stroke the head of the caged ysalamir on the floor.
The creature just stared ahead, utterly expressionless.
"You know," Anakin commented, "if ysalamiri weren't so blasted lifeless, I might grow to like the thing." His mouth lifted upward in a grin, but it quickly faded when he glanced at the ship's chrono. "They're taking longer than they should."
Obi-Wan looked at the time and frowned. "I had not realized I was meditating for that long. It certainly does seem unusual that they are taking this long to reach a decision."
"Well, it probably can't bode well for us," the younger Jedi muttered. He crossed his arms and prepared himself for an even longer wait.
It was some time later when Artoo whistled in surprise, alerting the two human occupants of the ship of Airakh clan Khim'bar's arrival.
Anakin jumped out of his chair. "What is their decision?"
The Noghri's expression was serious. "Please come with me, Anakin clan Skywalker, Jedi Kenobi."
"What's wrong?" Anakin queried, worried.
"Please, just come to the Grand Dukha with me."
"Come on, Anakin," Obi-Wan said with his characteristic gentleness. "We will learn their intentions soon enough."
Anakin took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to release his impatience into the air. He didn't think it was working, but at least he was trying. "Artoo," he ordered, "stay here."
The droid beeped in protest, but the former Darth Vader insisted, "Artoo, I mean it."
Artoo made a sad beeping noise, clearly put out, but didn't move to follow them.
Airakh led the two humans down the shuttle ramp and toward the Grand Dukha.
Anakin felt as if his nerves were fried. "Can you at least tell us whether it is good news?"
"I will not comment on the nature of our news for you." He gave a small smile, which on a Noghri was quite frightening-looking. "Anakin clan Skywalker, I am afraid you must exercise a little patience, difficult though that may be for you."
Inside the Grand Dukha, Anakin's heart sank at the serious faces of the Noghri whose eyes were on him. A part of him wanted to just leave now—clearly, they had no intention of helping the Alliance—but he would see this through to the end.
One of the Dynasts soon began to speak. "We have long been in council, as you are well aware."
In acknowledgement, Anakin bowed his head. He stared down at the boots beneath him, feeling strangely glad that they were brown rather than black.
"Based on two factors, we have decided to help the Alliance."
Anakin's head shot up. It took all his effort to keep from exclaiming, "What?"
"One of these factors is the report from the escorts we sent with you to Kashyyyk. We have heard details of the Empire's atrocities and your own actions. Just as important, however, was the recent holocast made by Emperor Palpatine."
This time, Anakin didn't even try to suppress his initial reaction: "What?"
"Emperor Palpatine is dead," Obi-Wan stated flatly, though Anakin could see he was uneasy.
A different Dynast spoke. "The galaxy may have once thought so, but now, it seems, the reports of his death are doubted."
"When did this holocast take place?" Anakin queried. He was finding it hard to breathe, and there was a tightness in his chest.
"It took place a few hours ago. Some of the young Noghri are given the assignment of monitoring current events. One such Noghri disturbed our meeting. We began to chastise him, but he quickly told of his news. We will not lie to you. This news troubles us. The Galactic Emperor appears to harbor a great disregard for the lives of non-humans."
Anakin reached to the Force as Obi-Wan did, both of them seeking to verify the truth behind the Dynast's words. But they could sense no lies.
"We will withhold judgment on the question of whether it truly is Palpatine or not," commented Obi-Wan. "But I wonder if we might see the holocast?"
One of the Dynasts nodded to a young Noghri standing near the entranceway. The Noghri stepped forward and handed a datacard to Anakin.
"You will be able to watch that on your ship," the Dynast noted. "The speech appears to concern the Emperor's hatred of non-humans. As we said before, this news troubles us. In addition, we have heard reports of Imperial ships amassing. As we were once your allies, Anakin clan Skywalker, when you were the Emperor's second-in-command, we do not have much choice but to turn against the Empire as you have. The Emperor will not allow us to live, even if we claim to be his staunch supporters. And the Noghri people are warriors; we will not stand idly by. We will help your Alliance."
Thankful, Anakin prostrated himself. "I thank you."
After making his own gesture of gratitude, Obi-Wan noted, "We both thank you, but if this news about Palpatine is true, we must waste no time. We must leave immediately." He reached into his Jedi robes and pulled out a datacard of his own. "I placed the coordinates to Yavin IV—the Alliance base—on this data disk, in hopes that I might need it."
Anakin looked at the older man in surprise, but Obi-Wan just turned to him with a smile.
A Dynast gestured, and the Noghri who had given them a datacard moved forward to take this new datacard from them. Then the Dynast told them, "We will soon send our best Noghri warriors to the headquarters of the Alliance."
Airakh, who was standing close to Anakin, moved a step closer and added under his breath, "And they will also send a diplomat or two to discuss joining the Alliance on a more permanent basis. But you did not hear that from me, Anakin clan Skywalker."
Anakin turned his head to look at the Noghri, who gave him a tooth-filled grin. "I am glad to not hear that," the former Vader said with a grin.
Several minutes later, they had boarded the ship and made the jump into hyperspace. Then they began to play the holocast which they had heard so much about.
It did not take long for Anakin to admit, "That must be him."
Obi-Wan, though inclined to agree, if just because of the sheer villainy evident in the ruler's eyes, asked, "How can you be so sure? Is it the Force?"
Anakin frowned. "Perhaps a little bit. But mostly I think it is because I was with him for so long and listened to so many of his rants. There is just a bearing which he has..."
"Well," Obi-Wan said quietly, "regardless of whether it truly is him or not, I think we have a large problem on our hands."
Artoo whistled mournfully.
Luke was the first one out of the Skipray Blastboat after it landed in the Massassi hangar. His sister, Opakwa, and Threepio were quickly approaching the ship, and he gave them a brief grin and wave before turning to help Mara and Yoda. Mara, of course, rejected his aid, and Yoda only accepted a little of it.
Leia's expression of warmth faltered a little at the sight of Yoda, but she soon pasted a smile back on her face. She moved forward and embraced her brother; then after nodding at Mara, she turned her attention to the small Jedi standing before her. "Master Yoda, it is good to see you again," she told him, though her voice didn't sound completely sincere.
"Hmm," the Jedi returned. He gazed at her with a pensiveness that made her uneasy, and so she turned to her brother.
"I am really glad you are back, Luke," she said with a smile.
"So am I, Master Sun," Opakwa chimed in.
"Indeed," Threepio added.
"Thank you," Luke said with a small smile. He told his sister quietly, "I wish we were here for a different reason...But there's something bad coming."
She nodded. "I know. Have you heard the news about Palpatine?"
Yoda turned away with an expression of pain, and Luke gave her a curious look. Mara simply paled.
"By those expressions, I guess you haven't. He's revealed himself—somehow, he's alive."
"That's impossible," Mara growled with an intense ferociousness. "We all know that he died on the Death Star." Suddenly, her face became white. "Unless..."
"Unless what?" Leia asked darkly.
"Unless it's a clone." Mara scowled.
"A clone? Oh my!" Threepio exclaimed.
Ignoring the protocol droid, Mara noted, "Palpatine had his own private stash of Spaarti cloning cylinders. I wouldn't be surprised if he had taken a tissue sample from himself."
"Well, it's beginning to look even more and more like the Alliance is going to need to take a stand," Leia murmured to herself. She crossed her arms and frowned pensively.
"While you're trying to figure all this out, I'll be in the jungle, killing things," Mara muttered. She began to stalk off, clearly in a bad mood.
"Mara," Luke called after her, but she ignored him. He sighed.
"She's not actually going out there to kill things, Luke," Leia said, trying to be reassuring.
"I know," he replied. But he still looked immensely sad, and she pitied him.
"Watching your anger, you are not, Leia," Yoda commented.
She turned to him in surprise. "What?"
"Do not let it control you. The dark path, that is."
Leia opened her mouth, ready to protest, but then she closed it. She knew just as well as he did that she was not doing a good job of controlling her anger. It was her weakness...Perhaps she'd never been meant to be a Jedi. "Yes, Master Yoda," she said quietly.
He gave her a tired smile. "Take me to some quarters, can you?"
"Of course." She looked at her brother. "Yours are still available, Luke."
"Thank you," he murmured.
Luke watched as Leia led Yoda away from the Skipray Blastboat, Threepio at her heels.
Opakwa, however, did not go with them. "Are you doing well, Master Sun?"
"Not exactly," he replied honestly. "I am having a few...courtship problems."
"Oh, well I can certainly help you with romance, Master Sun. My databanks are full of information that could help you."
Luke patted the droid's silver shoulder. "Thank you, Opakwa. But I had a different person in mind."
"Oh. Very well then."
He nodded in the direction where Leia, Yoda, and Threepio had disappeared. "Why don't you go with them? I'll try to catch up with you later."
"If that is what you prefer, Master Sun."
"It is," he smiled. The protocol droid toddled off, and Luke watched him until he was out of his line of sight. Then he reached out to the Force, searching for Han's presence. There was a giant mass of life forms within the Massassi Temple, but he guided his Force sense first to the Millennium Falcon. Sure enough, he was able to find the familiar presences of Han and Chewbacca without any trouble.
He began the short trip to the Falcon, his boots clacking against the hangar floor. He found Chewbacca working on some repairs on top of the ship.
"Hey, Chewie," he greeted.
The Wookiee growled out a welcome.
"Is Han inside?" Luke asked, though he already knew the answer.
The Wookiee growled an affirmative and gestured for him to go in.
Luke jogged up the ramp and went straight to the hyperdrive, where he found a very dirty Han dealing with a mass of tangled wires.
"Kid!" the older man exclaimed upon seeing him. He grabbed Luke and gave him a greasy hug. "It's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you, too," Luke smiled. He nodded at the hyperdrive. "Having problems?"
Han snorted. "Just the usual."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"You here to help?" the smuggler asked hopefully.
"Actually, I'm here to ask for help."
Han cocked his head. "I'm all ears, kid."
Hesitance suddenly washed over Luke, but he pushed through it. "Well...You know how you told me to come to you if I ever needed help with romance?"
Han's face suddenly broke out into a splitting grin. "Uh huh."
"Well—I need help."
Han chuckled. "All right. So, tell me what happened."
Luke averted his gaze from his friend, uncomfortable. He clasped his hands together and then ran the fingers of his right hand through his hair. "I told Mara I loved her...and that I wanted to marry her."
Han let out a bark of laughter. "You proposed to that spitfire? You're braver than I thought."
But Luke looked so miserable that Han took pity on him. "Kid, look. Your good friend Han Solo will never let you down when it comes to giving advice about romance. So, here's what we're gonna do..."