Chapter 9- Arrival

Leia looked at the azure sky and clouds as they came down to land. Leia looked behind her as her sister came out of the fresher, her hair slightly damp and wearing fresh Jedi robes. Lena, Luke, Talon, and Cora had come over to the Falcon and each had taken turns in the fresher. Lena was the last on to come out. "Feel better?" Leia asked.

"You bet. Let's see if we can raise Commander Thanas again," Lena said as she sat down in Chewbacca's vacant chair and Han slid into his.

"I still say it smells like a trap. Maybe Thanas thinks he's being a nice guy, offering to let us into that defensive web. But if we split our forces, we've got half tied up for some Imperial desk jockey and only half on alert where they ought to be," Han said cryptically.

Uncle Cail tapped a pattern onto a console behind them with his large hands. "Their ships are going to need longer repair breaks than ours. What I saw had been shot up pretty badly," Uncle Cail said.

"And we still don't know what those aliens are up to. I have a very bad feeling about it," Leia said, looking at the pensive look on her sister's face. Lena knew something that was causing her to hold the sabacc cards close to her chest. She had seen something she wasn't revealing to not even Uncle Cail.

"It's our necks in the noose now, along with the Bakurans," Han said.

"That was the idea, to prove we're with them, by sharing their danger," Leia agreed.

"Alliance forces?" Thanas's voice came over the intercom.

"On frequency, Commander Thanas," Luke said with a crisp commander's tone and Leia looked over his shoulder at the console.

"I've cleared Alliance ships to join the defense web in the positions you requested, while your party conducts negotiations at Salis D'aar. I look forward to meeting you in person," Thanas said politely.

"It's mutual. Alliance out. Got all that?" Luke asked the Flurry as he ended the transmission.

"Locked into the BAC. Have fun down there," Captain Manchisco said and the comm went silent. Leia heard her brother and sister release long breaths.

"You, Lena, the Prince, and Cora're going to have to tell the Imperials who you are, Luke," Han said. Leia started. No you're not!" Leia nearly shouted through the Force at her brother, sister, cousin, and uncle. If the Imperials found out that Luke and Lena Skywalker were Jedi and that Uncle Cail and Cora were also Jedi and even that Leia was a Skywalker too and that Vader was hers, Luke, and Lena's father, all could be lost in this negotiation.

"We'd rather do it face to face," Lena said calmly to Leia's relief. It would mean they would tell their names, just not who Anakin Skywalker really was.

"They've got better control, better discernment in person, Han. They can feel if they're covering up," Leia said helpfully.

Han snorted. "It still smells like a trap. I don't like it," Han said as he reached for a control pack behind Chewbacca.

"And Luke, Uncle Cail, Lena, and Cora are Jedi," Leia added that reminder.

Lena looked at her and nodded. "We'll keep our eyes open," Lena said as Han lowered the ship into Salis D'aar. They passed a repair station which, to Leia's relief didn't look like the Death Star. Han made the descent. Leia looked over his and Chewbacca's shoulders as the landscape got bigger. Leia felt her breath catch as she looked at a huge white rock between two rivers.

"Better?" Han asked as he pushed a filter that cleared the viewscreen.

"Look at that," Leia murmured. On the white outcropping there was a city. A double ring of large craters surrounded a tower. It had to be the spaceport.

"What's the local time?" Lena asked Han.

"Just after dawn. Going to be a long day," Han said, rubbing his chin.

"Look," Luke said pointing at what looked to be a burned stretch of land, but on closer inspection was a garrison.

"Standard design for an Imperial garrison," Uncle Cail said stiffly, folding his arms over his large chest.

"It's going to be crawling with stormtroopers down there," Han observed.

"What was that? Did someone see stormtroopers?" Threepio asked anxiously from his place by the dejarik board.

"Don't overload a cirtcuit. They're going to be everywhere," Han said cryptically.

"Oh, dear. Oh, dear," Threepio fretted as Lena and Luke left the cockpit.

Chewbacca howled. "Luke and Lena must be expecting a smooth touchdown. Don't know why not," Han said, translating the Wookie's howl.

Leia decided to go back to her seat, straightening a wrinkle in her white gown. Her mother had always said first impressions mattered and Leia would make it where the Rebel Alliance wouldn't look like thugs and criminals. Leia had worn the same kind of dress when she was a senator and, judging by his appearance, Uncle Cail had opted for the same kind of clothes as he had been a senator's aide years ago; a job he hadn't done since Lena had taken over as the aide.

Han flew around the capital, his eyes on the ground and weapons. "They're not firing on us. Guess we might as well go through with it," Han said as he moved closer to what looked like a rough white surface.

"What's that surface?" Cora asked, reminding Leia of her small cousin's presence in the cabin. Cora had come along and at the moment was holding tightly to Uncle Cail's large hand.

Han looked at his scanner. "Says here the outcrop's almost pure quartz. The crater looks like rock glass, but somebody's roughed it up," Han said as the Falcon landed.