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Chapter Two

            Jas and Rei walked into the Senate building and saw a Twi'Lek assistant or handmaiden of sorts walking toward them.  "Excuse me."  Jas said.  The Twi'Lek looked up and jumped at the sight of Rei standing by.  She was dressed in beautiful, blue silk robes that showed off more skin rather than covering it.  The dress itself was in one piece, a thin strip of cloth went down her sides to connect the top part of the dress to the bottom.  The sleeves were long with buckles holding them closed, leaving parts of her arm showing.  There was cloth coming down from the bottom of the sleeves.  Her twin tentacles fell freely down her back wrapped up in silk ribbons. 

            "Yes?"  She asked in her own tongue.  One Jas knew almost perfectly.

            "Can you please tell me where I can find an entrance to the main conference hall?  Some place where my friend and I can slip into without being noticed."  Jas asked in Twi'Lek.

            "Oh, I was just heading that way myself.  Come with me."  The female Twi'Lek said.  She led the way down a hall; Rei and Jas followed her as she walked.  The cloth on hanging from her sleeves dragged along the floor as she opened a sliding door toward a heated conversation.  Leia was standing on a floating platform in front of thousands of delegates from all over the galaxy.  Her aides were around her, people that Jas didn't know. 

            "Here we are, you've arrived at a perfect time."  Said the Twi'Lek.  "They are discussing trade rights between the planets." 

            "Sounds like my kind of conversation."  Jas added dryly.  "Thanks…umm?" 

"Mel Hinda."  The Twi'Lek responded. 

"Jas'Lyn."  Was all that the young woman said as she looked over the scene.  Rei leaned back against a wall and looked toward his right down at the meeting.  Jas leaned on the high railing, as Mel Hinda stood like a proper lady would stand.  Jas put her head in her hand and rested her elbow on the railing. 

"…not the focus of this meeting."  Leia was saying as the hover pod she was in moved slowly side to side. 

"Then what is the focus?"  A Twi'Lek senator asked.

            "We need to get more systems into the New Republic to increase trade.  The uprising of the Empire is becoming more and more a reality.  If we don't stop this, history will repeat itself and another war will start. "  Leia said.  It was a good argument, Jas had to give her friend that.  She was right, though the smuggler really had no interest in politics. 

            "How do you propose we get that support we need, Councilor?"  A Rodian asked in shaky basic.  "We can't exactly go to the planets."

            "Yes we can, Senator.  We can offer political immunity to anyone who join us."  Leia said.  "We could---"

            "Political immunity from what?"  A Neimoidian interrupted.

            "From the Empire and all its accomplices."  Leia said.  "As it was during the Rebellion."

            "The Rebellion is ancient history, Supreme Councilor Organa Solo."  A dry, emotionless voice said.  They looked toward it to see a human man dressed in elegant cream robes.  From what Jas guessed, he was from Tatooine.  Even the Outer Rim gets representation in the senate now a days.  Since Jabba the Hutt was killed, the Hutts had relieved that dirtball from their slimy hold.  It wasn't the same as it had been three years ago.

 "Stop living in the past."  Briggs said.

            "Who's he?"  Jas asked Mel.

            "Canton Briggs.  He is from Tatooine.  He's very brash and outspoken, my master doesn't like him at all."  The Twi'Lek replied. 

            "The focus of this meeting is Trade, not the oncoming Imperial threats."  Leia said firmly. 

            "You are afraid of the truth, then?"  Canton said.   "We should start beating the Empire at it's own game, by disbanding the smugglers.  If they serve as informants for both the Empire and the Republic, they are a threat to us."

            "We are not disbanding the smugglers."  Leia said.

            "Like hell we'd let you."  Jas added silently. 

            "We'd be very much out of work."  Rei said, pointedly.

            "Yeah I know."  Jas said.

            "They are valuable to us."  Leia argued.

            "You are only speaking up for them because your husband is a smuggler!" Canton accused, pointing a finger at Leia.  He then turned to the other delegates.  "My fellow senators, the Empire is growing more and more everyday.  It won't be long before war is upon us once more.  I make a motion to cut our ties to the backwater, smuggling trash and focus primarily on the Empire."

            "'Backwater smuggling trash'….that bastard!"  Rei growled. 

            "How much is the Empire paying you?"  Jas called down to the Senator.  The forever brash and bold Jas'Lyn D'Tana wasn't going to be called backwater trash by anyone.       

            The entire hall looked up at the girl and her large bodyguard, the Twi'Lek handmaiden looked at the young human in shock. 

            "Quiet, Jas'Lyn!  Oh!"  Mel said, then ran off.  Jas looked at Rei and rolled her eyes.

"Who are you?  How dare you interrupt this meeting!"  Canton growled. 

"Just some backwater smuggling trash."  Jas shrugged and stood up straight.  The senators looked back and forth at each other, mumbling on about something.  Leia's pod came up to her and the Togorian on the balcony.  

"Am I glad to see you."  Leia said as she gestured the two of them onto her pod. 

"Working a tough crowd these days, huh?"  Jas said.  Leia looked warily at Rei.  "Oh don't worry, he's harmless."  Jas said. 

"Who are you?" Canton asked again.

"Name's Jas'Lyn D'Tana.  I would like to say it was a pleasure to meet you, but then I would be lying."  She said, the senators looked from one to the other again.  "Yeah, you're lookin' around now.  I'm sure you heard about me, I mean, who hasn't?  The very same Jas'Lyn D'Tana who smuggled for both the Rebellion and the Empire and then helped the Rebels destroy the second Deathstar."  She said, and looked at Briggs.  "And I believe I asked you how much the Empire was paying you, Canton."  She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Such insubordination!  You should be thrown out!" Briggs growled.  "Supreme Councilor!"  He called to Leia.

"Listen to what she has to say, Senator."  Leia said, then nodded at Jas.

"Thanks, Leia."  Jas said.  "You were right about one thing, Canton.  The Empire IS growing.  This piece of backwater trash knows that.  But it's not growing as fast as you think it is.  I've done my homework.  I've been from one side of this wonderful galaxy of ours to the other and the Empire is still out salvaging old TIE fighters and reconstructing old bases.  They aren't too much of a threat now.  I mean, I've seen a few Star Destroyers here and there.  Hell, I was even taken captive by a faction of Imperial supporters.  But no matter how much they poked and prodded, I wasn't giving them any information about you guys here on Coruscant, simply because I hadn't the slightest clue what was going on." 

"The Empire is still growing and war is inevitable."  Canton said.

"Now ya see, guys like you are the reason why I don't get into politics."  Jas said.  "Has anything of what I said sunk into that thick skull of yours, Canton, old buddy?"

Briggs puffed out his chest and let out a series of unsatisfied grunts.  "I will not listen to you."  He said.  

"Too bad, friend, because you have to.  All of you have to.  Getting rid of smugglers isn't the answer, one: I'll be out of a job, and two:  you political high-types need us."   Jas said.  "You guys need us to get your soldiers supplies, information and firepower without drawing attention to ourselves.  If I hadn't been in the general area that day, the Deathstar would still be making our lives a living hell!" 

The delegation was quiet and thoughtful, Leia smiled softly from behind Jas.  The red haired smuggler looked at Rei.  "Did I miss anything, Rei, or did I cover it all?"  She asked.

"You did fine."  Rei chuckled. 

"Good."  She nodded.  She looked back at the Senators, "Now, if Leia would like to dismiss this meeting, it'll give all you time to really sleep on what I said.  Go have a few ales or a tryst or two."  She said and moved back, returning the floor to Leia.

"Meeting dismissed."  Leia said.  The Senators growled as they began to leave.   Leia's aide piloted their pod back up to the balcony where Jas and Rei had been standing. 

"Well that was fun."  Jas'Lyn said.

"You know, if I hadn't known you, you would have been kicked out."  Leia told her with a chuckle.  "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd just drop by."  Jas'Lyn said.  "For a few years…maybe." 

"Years?"  Leia asked as they walked toward her office.

"Well, business is really bad now.  Since the Hutts have cut their ties with most of the smugglers, myself included, finding cargo is rough.  The spice mines have all but shut down, the ones that are open are working slower than usual, and weapons transport is going to hell because there aren't any wars."  She said.  "I'd like to work for the New Republic.  A silent partner, just nothing political."

"I'll see what I can do."  Leia said.

"Where is she?!"  A gruff, angry voice growled from behind them.

"Sounds like your little speech made more of an impact than you thought, Jas."  Rei'Ka said.  The Togorian male's ears perked.  "I think its Briggs."

Leia chuckled.  "I'll deal with him.  If you want to find Luke and the others, they should be in the hanger, working on the Millennium Falcon."  Leia said.  "Take the turbolift down to the center of the building, the hangers should be there."

"You're a life saver.  Thanks!"  Jas said, her and Rei jogged off to find the rest of her friends, just as Leia intercepted a very angry Canton Briggs.