Jelucan

Geth sat with his face buried in his palms. Gan sat to his right, her hands in her lap, looking at Sara. Sara sat quietly, her face dry, though streaks from salty rivers of tears were evident under her tired eyes.

Paxson stared into his lap, unable to bring himself to face anyone sitting around the table.

The silence had persisted for several minutes as Geth and Gan tried to process everything they were just told. It was a remarkable story – unfathomable, really. Every detail was more excruciating to hear than the last; one piling on top of the next on top of the next – until it was a giant tangle of lies and questions with no rational answers.

Finally, Gan spoke. "Are you aware of the anguish Nash Windrider caused our family two years ago?"

Paxson looked up, his expression sincere, "I don't really know to this day. I've only ever seen him on the HoloVid, and his reasoning for sending me here was to…" Paxson shook his head and looked back down.

"Say it," Geth said, no warmth or compassion in his voice. Gan was alarmed. Regardless of the situation, when Geth spoke there was always a steady undertone of compassion. Not here. Not now. He was like ice.

"He wanted me to use my gifts to probe for weaknesses in Sara and Dalven's marriage. He wanted to know if Dalven was a risk to Sila because he had heard stories about Dalven from Thane. He wanted to know if Sara married Dalven because she was pregnant," Paxson quietly admitted.

Geth finally looked at Paxson. "Well, go ahead. Tell us – what did you report to Nash?"

"I reported to him that they were happy, that Dalven loves Sila and she is safe. I reassured him that Sara was 100% committed to Dalven."

Sara suddenly had an uneasy feeling. She recalled a day not too long ago when she was standing with linens in the guest suite and had a false memory of… Sara gasped. "Oh no," she said quietly. She began to cry again and repeated herself several times.

"What, Sara?" Gan asked, looking from her to Geth and back again.

Sara looked up and stared at Paxson. "What are all of your gifts, Paxson?" Paxson sat silent, refusing to look up. "Paxson – tell me! What are all of your talents?" Sara was crying harder now. Paxson slowly shook his head and continued to stare at his lap. Sara stood up and stepped over to stand beside his chair. "Look at me!" she yelled.

Paxson looked up at her. "Please, Sara…"

"Tell me, Paxson! Did you exercise mind control over me? Did you hypnotize me and cause me to be unfaithful to Dalven?" Gan and Geth looked at one another, both covering their mouths with their hands, silently gauging whether they were really hearing what they were hearing.

Sara's anguish turned to anger. "Tell me!" she demanded as she shoved Paxson in his chair. In a flash, anger turned to rage and Sara exploded. She began slapping and screaming at Paxson, crying for him to tell her the truth. Geth made it to Sara first, wrapping his arms around her and Sara turned and clung to Geth while Paxson remained unmoving in his chair.

"Well?" Gan asked. Paxson did look up now.

"No, I did not hypnotize Sara and cause her to be unfaithful to Dalven. I…" Paxson realized now that he was beyond redemption, so the least he could do is give Sara the truth. "Not in the way Sara is thinking. I infiltrated her dreams. That's all. I made certain she couldn't recall anything afterwards. It was the only way I could follow my orders without actually inflicting damage on Sara, Sila and Dalven in the event there was nothing to worry about." Paxson knew it was hopeless, but he couldn't stop there. "He knows if you lie to him. He would know if I didn't… he would have hurt Sara. I didn't know what else-"

"Sick! You're sick, Paxson," Sara cried. "I want you to leave and don't ever come back. Leave Jelucan! Get away from my family!" Gan had stepped up and taken over with Sara while Geth returned to his seat. She led Sara out of the room.

Geth was heartbroken, but more than this he was angry. And he also knew there was something Paxson had left out entirely. Paxson told them why he had come and to some degree explained how he carried out his mission, but he had yet to explain what all of this was leading to.

"So you reported your…findings… to Nash?" Geth asked coldly.

Paxson nodded. "Most of them, yes."

"And his final instruction to you was what?" Geth asked.

"He wants Sila and Sara. He wants me to bring them to him. He claims he loves them both and needs them with him," Paxson admitted.

Geth looked at Paxson. It was a brutal, cold stare – completely unfamiliar to Paxson and, Paxson believed, would be unfamiliar to virtually any of Geth's men. "That is not going to happen, Paxson." Paxson nodded in agreement. "And you are not going to kill yourself or disappear, because that would only result in some other stranger coming here to do what you failed to do for Windrider. No – you are going to clean up this mess. How you are going to do this – well, that I don't know yet. But from this moment forward, every second of your life will be devoted to undoing the damage you have caused my family. Do you understand me?" Paxson nodded without hesitation.

"I'm so sorry, General. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I didn't know how to get myself free from all of it. Had I been honest from the start… well, I wanted to be, but I truly didn't think any of you would believe me. It sounds so crazy. I still should have told you. I'm just so sorry."

"You will not speak of this to Dalven. None of us will. I won't have my step-son subjected to the anguish of wondering what scenarios played out in Sara's dreams while under your influence. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Paxson added reflexively. Geth shot him a look of incredulity and disgust.

"Don't thank me, Paxson. None of this is for your benefit. As far as I am concerned, you deserve whatever fate awaits you with your Master. My only concern is what is best for my family."

"Of course, sir. I'm very sorry. I didn't mean…"

"Oh, but you did, Paxson. From the first moment you stepped on Jelucan, you meant it all. And now that baby girl and her mother are at risk. You have to know – Windrider has to know – I'll never allow you to hurt either of them. They are my family, Paxson. There are no lengths I won't go to in order to protect my family. I believe you know how deeply I mean this."

"Yes, I do," Paxson nodded.

"You'll stay here – downstairs in a suite. We'll come up with a cover story that's at least remotely plausible. You'll keep your distance from Sara, Sila and Dalven. You'll also make sure I am privy to any conversations and HoloVids you have with Windrider – or anyone else for that matter. I want to know where he is so I can find him. He needs to be dealt with once and for all."

Paxson continued to nod.

Geth stared another half minute at the young man he had loved like a son, trusted, invited into his family, and found that he now only saw a stranger and threat to the people he loved. At some point he would have to mourn the loss of the person for whom he cared so deeply. But that would be later.

"Dismissed," Geth told him sharply. Paxson walked to the lift, stepped on, and disappeared behind the doors.

Geth commed two of his men who were staying in the suites on the lower floor. By the time Paxson made his way to their floor, he was under surveillance. Every move he made would be monitored every hour of every day - one set of eyes from the outside, and one from inside the house.


Jelucan Valley

The morning light filtered through the sheer curtains hanging on Ciena's bedroom window. She'd slept well for the first time in a week. Stretching, she climbed out of bed, pulled on her soft leggings and changed into a loose fitting top. Her parents had installed a HoloScreen to watch the specials on their family. This wasn't unheard of in the Valley as it would have been ten years ago, but it was still not commonplace.

The ratings were astronomical. The entire family had become something akin to celebrities. The shows appealed to a diverse group of people. The ones about Mumma and her brave heroics with Mr. Needmo had brought about a mass interest in slavery practices. It also created an interest in her sketches. Offers to purchase the originals for obscene amounts of money had been received. Mumma was only considering auctioning them to donate the proceeds to Gan's charities and, with her help, possibly create a new one for beings who lost everything after being unjustly imprisoned.

The episodes about Geth were the highest rated, slightly edging out Thane and Ciena. Geth was a surprising revelation for the Galaxy. He had become the catalyst for New Republic citizens to rethink the stereotypical view of Imperial officers. Geth humanized them. Though, Geth himself had acknowledged in his first interview that there was much more bad than good in the Empire. The stories told by his former Troopers ranged from hysterical to deeply sad, though they always shared a common thread – Geth was a hero to all of them, a second father to some, and a first to others.

With Thane gone, Ciena didn't have to worry so much about dealing with silly teenagers and more seriously troubling interest from women their own age. But she did have her own fans to contend with – even on Jelucan. Men went out of their way to talk to her, which was uncomfortable to say the least. Her pregnancy had not been revealed yet, which Needmo said would take care of a lot of the male attention. Although, it would increase the profile of their story as it was a "miracle".

Ciena clicked on the HoloScreen and loaded the previous night's show. She picked up her data pad and began to write a letter to Thane.


Yavin IV

"Thank you, Kess," Leia said, plopping in her chair more like a slobbinly teenager and not at all like a Senator – let alone royalty.

"Kessori," the soft voice reminded her, shuffling through the stack of paperwork Leia dumped just as unceremoniously in her waiting arms.

"Kessori," Leia said with a smile. "Remind me why, with all of the things we have to remember, you've decided to go by your real name this week?" Kess's cheeks reddened ever so slightly; not hard to do on her ivory skin, though just enough to give herself away. "A boy!" Leia exclaimed.

"Shhhhh!" Kess hissed, waving one of her hands frantically and nearly dropping the stack of documents in her arms.

Leia held up her hands and whispered, "What? He's out there?" Leia's eyes widened and her hand slapped across her mouth. Kess stomped her foot and became much too serious in her protests. Leia now knew exactly who it was. Kess had a crush on Leia's new intern, Flynn. Leia pointed to the door and mouthed his name. Kess rolled her eyes and huffed. "Oh, go on Kessori," Leia said with a wink. "I won't tell. He is very cute," Leia said.

Kess gave this a thought then relented. "I know!" she whispered. "But he doesn't know I exist – at least not yet. Please, Princess, don't say anything."

Leia smiled and nodded. "I promise," Leia said with sincerity and Kess seemed satisfied with this. Leia noted how much taller the teenager had grown in the last year alone. She had at least 10 centimeters on Leia – which wasn't saying much except in relative terms. Last year she was shorter than Leia. Kess was the granddaughter of one of Bail Organa's closest allies in the Senate. When Kess's father contacted Leia about an internship, Leia was happy to help. And the girl was remarkably dedicated.

Leia shot up in her chair and cleared her throat as an extremely handsome young man stepped through the doorway. Kess didn't catch the signal and turned just in time to smash right into the object of her affection. Paperwork went flying in a giant poof. Leia burst into laughter then recovered quickly enough not to distract from the show: Two young people, arms flailing, as they tried to catch falling papers (a futile effort), ultimately ending up standing in the middle of a lake of flimsy looking mortified. Well, Kess looked mortified. Flynn was…smiling. Uh-oh, Kess. I think you might have to put your money where your mouth is this time. Kess always liked boys, but when they liked her back she lost interest. Leia was pretty certain she was just shy about being courted.

"Okay you two, I'm going to head over to see Senator Mothma. I'll leave you to sort all of this out."

"Wait! Senator Organa Solo, there was a recorded message for you on the comm. It just came through," Flynn exclaimed.

Leia stopped as Flynn relayed that Admiral Kyrell had left a message and had news. Leia practically ran back to her desk and keyed in her codes and the secret comm info for Rebel Victory. Within seconds, the Captain stepped into view. "Senator Organa Solo. My apologies, but the Admiral is unavailable. He did ask me to relay some information to you."

"Please, Captain, I am anxious to hear."

"The Shuttle arrived. The family is okay. Some injuries to the son, though nothing a little sleep cannot heal. He emphasized the word 'sleep' and said you'd understand. The target is in custody with maximum security precautions taken. We anticipate a rendezvous with Gazer in 2 hours."

"Thank you, Captain. Do you have coordinates for me?" The Captain provided Leah with the coordinates and they ended the transmission.

"Thank the stars," Leia exclaimed. She was punching in her secure channel to the Millenium Falcon when she realized the two teenagers were standing in her office staring at her, papers snuggly returned to Kess's arms.

"Senator? Would you like us to stay or get you anything?" Flynn asked.

"No, thank you, Flynn. You two sort through that pile and then you can leave for the day." Kess curtsied and Flynn bowed slightly before they retreated through the doors. Leia punched in the codes and waited. Han appeared.

"Han! I have the coordinates."


Coruscant

Hovering above a state of the art Control Center was a visual representation of an enormous ship. Anogen walked slowly around the circumference of the table, pouring over the details. He'd been waiting for these revisions for a week – which was longer than he was typically made to wait for anything. Of course, the HoloVid would chime at this very moment. Instead of changing the view at the table, he stepped away to his desk and activated the feed.

"Uncle – I only have a few seconds. I have information you might need." Anogen smiled and recorded the information.

"Thank you. I hope everything is going well for you there?"

"Yes, sir. Everyone is very nice. I'm having dinner with a co-worker and she'll be back from the refresher any moment."

"Nephew, you are simply having a long overdue phone call with family. I've told you a hundred times – there is nothing untoward going on here. You know our ultimate goal is to protect our most treasured and targeted officials."

"Yes, I know. It's just…," the voice trailed off.

"You don't like the secrecy. I completely understand. Just remember, you're there to protect and serve. Your motives are pure and our fledgling democracy will crumble if anything happens to the Princess. You are keeping her and our assets safe," Anogen reassured the boy.

"Yes, Uncle. I know. It's just hard. But I would never tell anyone, so please do not worry on this account. I know how important this information is for you and the New Republic."

"Very good. Your parents would be so proud of you, Flynn." Anogen meant every word of that last sentence. It was the only honest thing he had said in the call. A pang of guilt surged through him as a mental image of his sister's beautiful, smiling face surfaced. Anogen suppressed the memory as he pushed back against the painful lump in his throat.

"Thank you, Uncle," Flynn said. "Thank you for everything. You know… well, I love you, Uncle."

"I love you, too, Flynn." This was the second honest sentence Anogen spoke before ending the comm. He had to hope that he could emerge from this latest endeavor with his relationship to his nephew intact. He promised his sister he would be there for him in the final moments of her life. It was a promise he was desperate to fulfill in spite of the ball and chain around his ankle called the Dark Alliance.