Chapter 13- Winning Over the Government

Lena looked over at the looks of revulsion on everyone's faces as they looked at their new enemies' slave, Dev. He had to have been the one she had felt in the middle of the fight. Even in the hologram, the Force signature practically oozed out of him. "Who does he think he's fooling?" Lena heard Gaeriel Captison ask in a whisper.

"They got him young. Look at him. He acts just like a Flutie. He must even think like one," another senator beside her said.

"It has to be more than that," Lena said.

"How?" Cora inquired, walking over to her.

"I can feel the Force all in him. Surely he couldn't have forgotten things that all Jedi know or his family. Could he?" Lena asked her father.

"Depends on how old he was. I raised and trained you since you were a baby alongside my own younglings. If his family was killed by these interlopers no one could have taught him right from wrong or he doesn't even remember if they had," Talon said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully with his hand as they watched the hologram. An image of what looked like a lizard-like alien filled the screen. What looked like a large V was on it's face and Lena shivered at the malevolent feelings going all up and down her Force sense. And it didn't take a Jedi to know that this creature was evil if the senators faces were anything to go by.

"My master Firwirrung has always treated me with the upmost kindness, my friends," Dev said.

"Bloody-handed Fluties," a senator beside Gaeriel muttered.

"Good-bye for now. I look forward to meeting each of you personally. Come to us soon," Dev said and the hologram switched off.

Lena saw her sister out of the corner of her eye. Leia's face was drained of all color. Now that they knew what the Ssi-ruuk did to their prisoners, Lena could hardly blame her for going ashen. Han went to her and whispered in her ear. Leia nodded as Gaeriel stood.

"You see? This is a threat against which we have no experience and no defense," Gaeriel said, her voice carrying across the room like most senators voices did in the Imperial Senate on Coruscant. Luke nodded his agreement.

If I may be permitted to speak, I found that spectacle utterly appalling. Mechanicals of all kinds will be shocked by this perverse display of-" Threepio started to say before he was booed to silence.

Leia then spoke up. "Bakurans, whatever you think about droids, listen to me now. Let me tell my own story. My father, Bail Organa, was viceroy and first chairman of the Alderaan system, a trusted official of the Republic from the days of the Clone Wars. When Senator Palpatine declared himself Emperor, my father began to work toward reform with my uncle, Cail Organa. Change proved impossible. The Empire has never been interested in reform. It only wants power and wealth," Leia said. Lena looked around and saw disgruntled looks on the senators faces. She only hoped Leia picked her next words carefully.

" I was little more than a child when I began serving my father and Uncle Cail as a diplomatic courier and not much older when I was elected to the Imperial Senate and Lena became my aide. The Rebellion was already active, and as the Emperor surely guessed, I was not the only young senator involved. My father and uncle had barely thrown in their open support when I was captured by the Emperor's henchman, Lord Darth Vader, and taken on board his first Death Star," Leia said.

"Princess Leia, that is enough- unless you wish to be arrested for your crimes here and now," Nereus threatened as he rocked forward in his seat.

"Governor, my niece has only strengthened your position. The Empire rules by fear. She has just given the Bakurans one more reason to fear you," Talon said, tilting his chin defiantly.

Lena then noticed Gaeriel and other senators looking at Nereus suspiciously. The senators didn't trust him or like him as the Force revealed. But then again it didn't take a Jedi knight to figure that out if the hostile glares were anything to go by. "After the destruction of Alderaan, I fled to Alliance headquarters. I have lived with its leaders, moving frequently as the Empire continues to try to wipe us out. We mean to help you. The Alliance has sent two of its ablest military leaders, Commander Skywalker and his sister Lena of the Jedi Order and my uncle Prince Cail Organa. Also of the Jedi Order," Leia said, looking at Luke, Lena, and Cail.

A look of consternation crossed Gaeriel's face. From the feelings the woman was broadcasting she didn't trust Jedi and had probably been lied to on what led to their fall when Palpatine took control as Emperor. Gaeriel's eyes went to Luke and surprise filled them. She probably didn't expect young Jedi like Luke, Lena, and Cora. Her idea of a Jedi had to have been what Talon looked like. Not young and handsome like her brother or female for that matter as most of the history of the Jedi showed more men than women.


Leia wasn't above noticing the senators raised eyebrows as the regarded her sister, uncle, brother, and cousin. Jedi until recently had been ostracized as evil and made to look like kidnappers of children and had no morals. Also the senators looked wary as they no knew there was more to her family than met the eye. Leia wondered how she would handle being a Jedi. Luke and Uncle Cail had offered to teach her, but Leia was terrified of Vader's legacy. Luke and Lena were all right, but they were still Skywalkers and had accepted that Vader was a part of them too. Luke and Lena both said they would never use what Vader used, but their powers still scared her and everyone else.

"Governor Nereus, don't you see? You must accept Rebel assistance or risk your entire population. We are your only hope. Allow us to help you turn the Ssi-ruuk back We are not a large force, but we are well coordinated and equipped with better striking ships than the Empire has allotted you," Uncle Cail said. Luke and Lena had shown them all the BAC readouts so they all knew what Uncle Cail was talking about.

Nereus pressed his lips together in what looked like a scowl. "For the help you have given us, we will allow you to leave the Bakura system unmolested, and give you a head start back to Endor," Nereus said in a pompous voice.

"If the Alliance is eager to assist, why didn't it send us more ships?" Another senator asked, disdain dripping off his voice.

"We're doing all that we can without-" Luke started to say.

"You see, our forces at Endor wish to return to their homes. Some may have already gone," Leia said. Nereus gave a self-satisfied smirk that Leia wished she could slap off if she didn't have the rules of protocol that Bail Organa and Uncle Cail hadn't lectured her and Lena in.

"We have sent to Endor, though. For reinforcements," Luke said.

Leia then watched as the smirk left Nereus's face. She didn't like his smile, but she really hated his frown. "But our Endor troops are exhausted. Reinforcements could arrive within several days or not at all," Leia said, shooting a glance over at Luke not to go against her.

"The point is, we're here to help you. Seems like you ought to take advantage of the offer while it's open," Han said.

"Would you clear data files for our use? On the Ssi-Ruuk, of course, and any on Bakura itself that wouldn't compromise your security," Leia said hastily.

Nereus dragged out a silence for awhile, covering his mouth with a large hand. A tall elderly man stood up. "Nereus, take help where you can get it. Everyone on the planet knows why the Rebels are here. If you turn away their help, you're going to provoke an uprising," the man said, a answer Nereus clearly didn't like hearing.

"Thank you, Senator Belden. All right, Princess Leia. You have your data files. They will be keyed into the communications center in your apartment. Do you have any other requests for the moment, before I have your guide show you to temporary quarters?" Nereus asked with barely concealed boredom. \

"Are you leaving the truce unsettled?" Uncle Cail asked, his frustration clear on his dignified face. It was hard to believe that Uncle Cail wasn't really a prince. He had had over 20 years to learn how to be one and had learned well.

"You and Princess Leia said your piece, Your Highness. We'll discuss it," Nereus said, a note of finality in his voice.

"Very well. Prime Minister Captison-" Leia said as she moved to the gentleman who spoke on their behalf. "I hope we speak again," Leia said, shaking the Prime Minister's hand and they all followed their guide to their quarters.