The room was anticlimactic until its real importance set in: bare walls, a dirt floor as this place was buried in the earth beneath the palace, and one stark light fixture in the center of the ceiling. The air stank of death. One half of the room, starting in the middle of the floor and going to the back wall, rose in a mound of dirt. Something was obviously buried there.

That something was no secret. Imprinted on a stone slab embedded in front of the dirt mound, and recorded into a computer log encased against time, were the names of those buried in this mass grave:

Sabé

Saché

Yané

Eirtaé

Ric Olié

Panaka

Amidala

Those were the most recognizable to the horrified Leia and Luke. For the tortured Rabé, her husband's name - Thaman! - as well as the names of the other handmaidens' families hurt just as deeply. Next to each name was a death date; for everyone but Amidala, it was the date of their attempted escape from Naboo.

"They never made it, none of them." Tears streaked Rabe's face, but her voice was empty.

Luke studied the date next to his mother's name. It was a few years later than the others, and he remembered what Leia had said on Endor. She died when Leia was young. Did she die on Alderaan and then got brought here?

Leia was pale, so much so that Han was clearly worried about her. Her eyes as anguished as her brother's, she had his hand in one of her own and her other clasped in Han's. They were icy. She said nothing. No one did; no one could think of any words.

A sob stabbed the silence. Luke turned in its direction and saw Faren, devastated. She had an arm around her mother's waist with their other hands entwined. But Rabé stood stiffly under her touch. Luke wasn't sure if she really knew her daughter was there. He wanted to go to Faren, but didn't. How could he when they stood at her father's grave? Her father killed by his.

Rabé finally spoke again, perhaps to herself, or the Force, or the people long buried in front of her. "Why? Why did Vader do this? Bury them here, everything recorded like they were trophies? It makes no sense."

Lando cleared his throat, hesitant to interrupt. "No, it doesn't. Vader didn't need to prove anything to himself or the Emperor. Who didn't know what he was capable of, even then? And why would Jaron keep this room safe for Vader?"

Her eyes bore into his as she turned to face him. He had led her here to this hideous nightmare, and no amount of words could have prepared her for what she'd find. She was reeling under the blow of it. "I know what you're saying." Her voice now sparked with anger. "But I saw Vader kill Thaman. I saw it! Jaron was nowhere around."

He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and looked helplessly at Han. Solo looked at Leia, knowing he'd be no better than Calrissian, but Leia, daughter of Darth Vader, seriously doubted she could help.

Faren rescued them, unknowingly perhaps. She now had her arms wound tightly around her middle, and never moved away from the burial mound. "Tell me what you saw. Mother, please. I never really knew - you spared me that - but now it's time that I hear. Please."

Rabé keenly felt her daughter's plea, but even more strongly hated to even think about that day, not after knowing the people she loved so much had really died in those moments. She wiped at her red, raw eyes and drew a ragged breath. As she spoke, her gaze moved away from the mass grave off to a point outside the room, most likely the cavern where she and the others had planned their escape. Her voice turned flat, belying the wealth of turbulent emotions under its surface.

"Amidala and Obi-Wan had already left. We each had one ship - one ship per handmaiden, I mean. Sabé and I wore identical clothing - what Amidala had last worn in public so if anyone had seen her, they'd remember the outfit and believe we were the Queen. In fact, Amidala and I switched clothes in the tunnels, but as the Queen hid her pregnancy, Sabé was disguised as well. The ships were identical too; I mean all the ships. Their flight plans crisscrossed each other to confuse anyone trying to track one of us."

"We separated into our different parties and started boarding. Besides our families, we each had a contingent of guards traveling with us. I was already on board with everyone but Thaman. He went back outside and told us that the other ships were just getting prepared. I didn't know why the others were taking longer until someone told me that Thaman had come ahead and prepped our ship."

"That's when the attack came. My husband and some of the other guards rushed against the Imperials while the others were ordered to stay with us. I started to leave the ship - we were all armed - so I could help, but one of my guards started pulling me back. He said-" Her voice caught. She took a moment before continuing. "He said I couldn't risk the baby."

Faren's eyes squeezed shut.

"I was firing from the cover of the ship's hatch. Sabé, Saché, and Eirtaé were out with the guards, but they were ordered to board so the ships could take off. And then Vader came in."

Rabé aged as she told the story. Lines of weariness etched deep in her face, and her shoulders slumped. "The guards shoved Sabé towards her ship. That's the last I really saw her. Saché was running up the ramp to her ship, and Eirtaé was firing at the stormtroopers. Thaman ran towards me, but spun around when he saw Vader head towards Sabé. He was shooting at Vader's breastplate. It amazed me how I could hear that harsh breathing over everything else. And how sickening it was to see Anakin like that."

Luke gripped Leia's hand so hard, she thought it'd break.

"Vader deflected every shot Thaman fired at him. He just lifted a hand and the shots bounced off."

Chewie growled darkly, and Han nodded, unable to take his eyes off of Rabé. They remembered the Dark Lord blocking Solo's shots the same way on Bespin.

"The guards were falling before him. Nothing slowed him down. And then I saw Panaka run up from behind with another squad of guards. That's how I knew Amidala had escaped. They were her guards. They wouldn't leave her if she was on the planet. She must have sent them back to us."

Or Ben did, Luke thought. He'd know Vader was coming.

"The troopers cut into Panaka's squad. They had no cover. We all caught the Imperials in a crossfire, trying to shove them back so Panaka could get on the ships. It almost worked. Almost."

"I've never understood why my husband didn't run back to the ship. We could have taken off. But he stayed out there, fighting the troopers and pushing everyone else to board."

I bet I know why, Lando thought. Vader knew Thaman was your husband. If he runs for that ship, Vader puts two and two together and realizes you're not Amidala. So he keeps the deception going as long as possible.

"Vader wasn't fighting anymore. He was staring - although I couldn't really tell with the mask - in Sabé's direction, but I don't think he was sure where Amidala was. Maybe he was searching for her somehow, through the Force. Anyway, it gave us a better chance with the stormtroopers. Finally, Panaka and the others were clear. The ships were firing their engines, taking more of the Imperials down. Except for Vader."

"I was still at the hatch, ready to provide cover fire. My husband and some of the guard came rushing towards me. I thought I was out of sight, but-" She bit her lip. "Vader saw me. He grabbed Thaman by the throat, shaking him. With all the guard around, I couldn't hear. I can only guess what he said, whether I was Amidala or not, but suddenly, Thaman stopped trying to pry off Vader's grip and pulled his blaster up. Not even a Dark Lord could avoid a shot that close."

Rabé's lips trembled, and she raised a hand to her mouth to still the sob that almost broke free. "But he didn't take the shot. He twisted in Vader's grip, and shot at the hatch instead, hitting the controls. He never should have been able to make that shot, never, but he did. The portal slammed down, cutting us off I pounded on it, screaming at the pilots to hold, but the others pulled me away. They all saw what happened. They let my husband sacrifice himself." She choked on the words.

Everyone in that room had survived a brutal war. They had stories that equaled the misery of this one, which was why they so deeply felt her mourning. The women cried, and Luke unashamedly let his own tears fall silently. Chewie moaned as he painfully gripped Solo's shoulder while Han and Lando, so long on the mercenary path, fought their own tears making their throats work painfully against the lumps in them.

Faren moved to her mother, unsure how to comfort her. She awkwardly slid a hand over Rabé's shoulder, trying to soothe and embrace her at the same time. She learned her forehead against her mother's own, and spoke in what little voice she could find. "Let's get out of here."

"No!" Rabé abruptly pulled away. "We're settling this." She spun on Lando. "I told you. I know what happened. I saw it."

He stood there helplessly, unable to agree and unable to speak his mind. How could he argue in the face of what she just said? Even with the conclusions he had made when he came here earlier?

Faren saved him again. She took Rabé's hands. "Mama, let's go somewhere and talk." But the other woman continued to refuse, insisting she hear everything now. It was wrong, but unless the others wanted to drag her bodily from the room, here was where they would stay. "Mother, you saw too much. No one should live through the kind of nightmare you did. It's worse than I ever thought. But I've been thinking ever since they brought me down here, and I still have questions. Why would Vader kill everyone who could lead him to Amidala?" Rabé tried to pull back again, but Faren held firm. "Think about it. Your ship escapes. He somehow prevents the others from taking off or forces them to land again. Either way, he knows his wife's not on them. He's lost Kenobi and can't track her that way. So he's left to wonder: is Amidala on that last ship or some other place? The only people who could answer that are the ones he just captured. If he kills them, she's gone."

"So he interrogates them, and when he finds out they can't tell him anything, he kills them then!" Rabé argued back.

"And buries them here? Why? No, he'd take them to Palpatine, and Palpatine was finished with Naboo. He wouldn't bother building a trophy room. Lando's right. They had nothing to prove and too much to lose. If Vader thought you were Amidala - if any of the troopers did - then Palpatine found that out too. That means he thought it was possible that Amidala was pregnant. He wasn't going to let her - or anything that led to her - go."

Rabé didn't pull away, but she seemed to sink into her robe. She said nothing for a very long time.

Luke was afraid to move; if he did anything, he called the handmaiden's attention to him and possibly his father. If Faren and Lando were right, he couldn't disturb Rabé now.

Leia's eyes lifted to Han's, questioning, and he nodded. He, Chewie, and Lando had discussed this a lot. He was certainly not someone who was getting to let a bastard like Vader be excused for anything, but if Vader didn't commit this particular crime, he wanted the guy who did. And with Leia's mother buried in that grave, he knew she'd be pushing past him to get to the killer first.

After long, aching moments, Rabé whispered. "Pormet said Jaron took the northern tunnels."

Faren answered just as softly. "Maybe he saw Jaron head that way. Maybe Jaron let it slip once."

Lando pointedly stared at Han. Rabé might - might - listen to them now. But whenever he opened his mouth, she closed her mind. Perhaps if Han said it.

The Corellian didn't move from his place next to Leia, still reluctant to let her go. He sounded hoarse with sympathetic pain. "Jaron was always trying to get as much as he could. He only took the Council seat when he lost his run for the Senate. You know that better than us. Now Palpatine was coming, and sending Vader in for the cleanup. Anyone who sided with Amidala was a target, and Jaron didn't feel any loyalty for her, so it makes sense that he switch sides. You see, Jaron wasn't like Vader; Jaron had lots to prove. My guess is, he got overeager and when Vader took off after Amidala, he - well, he killed the prisoners so he could show none of you meant anything to him."

"Problem is, Vader and Palpatine did need to question people on where Amidala went, and now Jaron had ruined that. He probably pointed out that it was you on that other ship since you're missing anyway. That saves him a bit. The pregnant woman is you, not Amidala, and Palpatine breathes easier. Vader's still furious, but the Emperor tightens his leash, and reminds him he's got a different life now. So Jaron gets a reward - he gets Naboo - but he doesn't get more because he did screw up."

Say the rest of it fast, Solo! "Then, I don't know how, Jaron finds Amidala. Maybe she was searching for the rest of you." He looked down at his princess. "Leia once told us that she remembers being with her mother when she was trying to escape something. Amidala hid her in a trunk and somehow contacted Bail Organa to find her. We think now Leia's remembering here, so Amidala could have gotten some signal that things were clear. Again, maybe she thought it was you or maybe Kenobi. That'd explain why she brought Leia; maybe she thought Kenobi was bringing Luke. Maybe she regrets giving them up." That's not helping! "But Amidala realizes she's in trouble and hides Leia before Jaron gets her and - well, he has another trophy for the Emperor."

"I guess he kept this room in order to remind Palpatine what he's done for the Empire. Or maybe Palpatine takes glee in knowing he can see this whenever he wants. They were all sick bastards. But then Jaron's in trouble again. The Empire falls, we're on our way here, and how does he move the bodies without everyone in the palace finding out? He can't, so he puts out something for us to find, and hopes we look no further. But we don't do that."

The room was silent again. When it was broken this time, it wasn't Rabé, but Leia. She shook with rage and the air around her crackled with it. She bit each word out with deadly strength. "I want Jaron."

Luke jumped as if burned, but she was already to the door. Han leapt for her, not wanting her to go alone, but Luke could move more quickly than any of them, and saw how much more was at stake. His contact with her grew shadowed by her fury that went past normal anger. He got in front of her, but she plowed ahead, forcing him to backpedal before her. "Leia, listen to me. You don't want to do this."

"Yes, I do."

"Not like this." He stopped, refusing to backup any more, and mentally shook her. Leia! Listen to me! She halted, blinking from the strength of the contact. Not this way, Leia. Don't take even this first step down a path you've worked so hard to avoid. To everyone else, no time at all went by before he repeated. "Not like this."

He knew she understood even before Han started to add something. But it meant nothing as someone ran past them, too fast and too hard for them to catch. Faren's strangled cry, "Mother!" caused them to turn quickly to her and then after the disappearing Rabé. Luke charged after her, Leia with him. He caught the older woman's arm and pulled her hard.

Rabé turned on them with a snarl. "This is mine! I knew them all, every one of them buried back there, and you didn't. They were my friends, my sisters, and my family. My husband is with them! You don't have half the right to Jaron that I do!"

Luke and Leia might have to walk a fine line with their anger, but Han didn't. He shoved his face into hers. "Lady, you want to shove a blaster down Jaron's throat, fine. I'll help you." Chewie snapped a charge into his bowcaster, and Lando flipped his cape back, giving him easier access to his holster. "But don't be stupid. You're going to charge into the throne room, in front of his guard, in front of his liegemen? C'mon, you know better. You're not goin' in there alone, and you're not goin' in crazy."

The words sunk in, and they could see her thinking now, accessing their choices and what they had to do. "First of all, Faren stays out of this."

"The hell I do," her daughter argued. "I can take care of myself, and I have a father buried back there. I'm going."

"It's better if she comes with us," Luke said. "I can't explain it now, but believe me, Leia and I could use her help. I promise to keep her safe."

Rabé's eye narrowed at him. "That doesn't help me feel better."

"I'm sorry about that," he replied simply. "But I can't change your opinion of me in one instant, and it doesn't change what I just said. All of what I said."

Faren was obviously stunned by his words, but Leia knew why he said them, and she wanted too much to get into that throne room. "Let's do this," she said firmly to Rabé.

The older woman stared through her, then at Luke. "All right," she said finally. "We need Artoo."

Artoo was only the beginning of the plan. It took hours to work out and, as it was already late, they agreed to wait for the morning Council session. The imposed delay wasn't easy. Only long wartime experience of grabbing sleep before a battle made the others settle. Rabé was out of practice, but was so drained she collapsed with the others in the sitting room. After her eyes closed, Luke moved over to Faren and reached out with a soothing touch in the Force that caused her to doze with everyone else.

The Council and their King had just begun their morning session when the Republic party, Rabé, and Faren entered. Jaron sat in his throne and the Council in their seats before him. The liegemen sat in a parameter around them, and two guards flanked the King. More stood outside the throne room.

Rabé led the way in with Leia and Luke at her shoulders. She wore an expression of sadness and entreaty; the sorrow she didn't have to fake. As agreed, she stopped at the edge of the liegemen's perimeter and at the end of the rows of Council chairs, opposite the throne. Luke and Leia stuck with her, and Artoo took a place near them. Han, Chewie with him, leaned against the wall right inside the door, and threw an impatient glare at Threepio, indicating with a jerk of his thumb to get out of the way.

Lando leaned into Faren holding a hushed, worried conversation, making sure the Naboo knew they were uneasy about something and not able to hear what. By the expressions on the Councilors' faces, it was working.

With everyone else now set, Rabé walked right up to the throne, Leia and Luke still flanking her. "Your Majesty, I apologize for this intrusion, but I have discovered something that causes me great concern. It needs to be addressed immediately."

Jaron's brow furrowed, puzzled or annoyed, she wasn't sure. His eyes swept the members of the Republic party. "This matter concerns the Republic?"

Rabé shook her head. "No, sir. Not directly, in any case. I went to Princess Leia and Commander Skywalker because this affects them personally. They've agreed that we, the Naboo, should handle this."

That was a half lie. Leia, Solo, Calrissian, even Skywalker, wanted to contact their fleet, draw more support here. And Rabé agreed that if the Naboo couldn't contain Jaron on their own, the Republic could step in. But this was a sovereign world, and many Nubians had been murdered by one of their own.

Jaron looked between her, the two people at her shoulders, and his Council. Naturally, everyone was either whispering between themselves or had open expressions of curiosity and concern. Finally, he spoke. "This is unusual, Rabé, but I cannot ignore the service you once gave this world. By all means, tell us what caused you such distress."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Artoo." She signaled the droid to move before the throne. He spun around so the Council could see clearly, and waited for her signal. She bit her lip. "I must warn all of you that these images are shocking." More squirming and whispered comments followed. She nodded to Artoo.

Immediately, he projected holos from the mass burial room deep underground the palace. The first image showed the entire room and the Council, guards, and liegemen didn't understand what they were looking at. Artoo then, under Rabe's instruction, zoomed in, showing the burial mound and the gravestone in front of it. Cries rang through the throne room, cries of denial and horror. But Rabé knew they couldn't clearly read the names on that stone, not yet. The next holo first scrolled down the stone, then faded to the computer record to more clearly show details of the names and death dates. Each name filled the image and paused there. As each of the old handmaidens' names appeared, the liegemen leapt to their feet, aghast with sympathetic pain. At Amidala's name, the cries rang out again, Pormet buried his face in his hands and moaned, the liegemen and guards slumped as if they had failed to protect the former Queen...

... and Rabé, Faren, Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, and Chewbacca never took their eyes off Jaron.

The last image of the holo pulled back to once more show the whole room, now more horrible with the knowledge of who was buried there.

Jaron was pale, and he put a trembling hand to his temple, rubbing it. None of the people could fault him for the act. He looked haggard, and none of the other Nubians would ever think it was for a different reason than why they were the same way. For a second, Rabé doubted it was him. She had seen Vader strangling Thaman.

But her doubt was dispelled by the coldness she could feel in Luke and Leia. She knew they could sense more than she ever could, and they'd never be directing it at Jaron if they didn't think he was responsible.

Rabé spoke, her voice throaty from withheld emotion. "You can see now why I am upset, Your Majesty."

He cleared his throat. "Yes, of course."

"Sweet Mother of all," someone interrupted. Rabé didn't turn from Jaron to find out who. "They've been here this whole time."

"Who could do such a thing?" Pormet asked. He finally lifted his face from his hands. "Never mind. We already know." For the first time, he couldn't look at Amidala's children... Vader's children.

Rabé spoke firmly. "No, we don't." She waited, letting their startled comments play out before going on. "I was the first to think it was Palpatine or Darth Vader, but I was wrong. The droids have pulled the records regarding that day from the logs of the former Imperial fleet."

That was a complete lie. The Republic was pulling logs from captured Imperial ships, but they weren't here, and the first priority was not getting Vader's whereabouts on Naboo for that day. Although, Rabé was sure, when Leia and Luke returned home, it would be.

But Han and Lando created the records Artoo was showing now. They were very convincing.

"Darth Vader ordered all ships in the northern hanger grounded while he chased after mine. His flight path and time is clearly shown here." She indicated a spot in the record. "This is his return to Naboo. Now compare this to-" Again, Artoo brought up the death records for the handmaidens. Rabé didn't look herself; she couldn't stand the pain caused by seeing those names. "-to the times entered here. Vader was offworld."

As if considering the records, Chewie crossed the room while Faren and Lando split, moving to opposite sides of the Council. They all paid rapt attention to Rabé. She had also moved, away from Artoo, to the other side of Jaron.

"Someone else then," Diseks said, scanning through the Imperial flight path records. "Vader gave the order before he left, and his troopers carried it out."

Rabé nodded. "We thought the same thing. And then, we discovered this." Artoo now showed an Imperial order with Palpatine's seal. It looked very authentic; it should. Leia had made it with Threepio, and they had seen plenty during her time in the Senate. "Vader's orders from Palpatine. Every one of us was to be brought to the Emperor, especially Amidala. This was his order to invade Theed, especially the palace."

She swallowed, but not for the reasons the Naboo present would think. If she was wrong in believing Solo and Calrissian, she was letting her husband's murderer free. Free? How do I punish the dead? Her eyes flicked over to Luke, so sure, so confident. Was she? Oh, Amidala. What I would give to hear your voice whisper to me now, tell me what you think, give me orders. Do I trust your children and the people they brought with them? Are they your children... or his?

Or both? And would that be so wrong? I wish I could hear you, my Queen, my friend. I wish you'd take this heavy mantle back.

Leia's gaze now found the former handmaiden. It asked if everything was all right, if Rabé still wanted to be the spearhead. If not, Leia was ready.

The Nubian woman drew her shoulders back, and tried to project her assurance. She was all right; she'd do this. "Councilors." She nodded to them, and then to the King, but she did not address him. "I do not know where you were the day that Theed fell. I was in the tunnels where Vader attacked. Please give me more of your time, and let me explain what happened that day." She spoke for some time, not in the personal way she had earlier when first describing it in the burial room below. She described it tactically, as Captain Panaka had all those years ago. And as she spoke, the hidden, raw pain relived every moment again, hearing the cries, the shots fired, her own pounding heart.

When she stopped, she drew a deep breath. Faren took a step towards her, another, but Rabé shook her head. They needed to keep their positions, and she needed to make the next move.

She put the sounds of grief from the others out of her mind. "If I have explained our movements that day correctly, you will see that I am upset over more than finding my husband, my Queen, and my friends in that death room. No one knew of those tunnels but us. No one knew the route to that cavern but us. And yet the Imperials found it." She took a moment as she watched the Councilors come to the conclusion she was about to announce. "One of us betrayed the Queen."

On cue, the liegemen and guards moved forward, tightening their perimeter around the King, closer at hand for his call. None of the Republic party moved.

Diseks rose to her feet as dignified as Leia had ever been. "Do you accuse one of us?"

"I accuse no one," Rabé said. "I report what I have found. Someone that day was a traitor, and everyone, but me, died."

"Interesting," Marnin said. "You wonder who could know that escape route, and yet you're the only one who came out alive. Convenient."

I will make you pay for that later. Rabé outwardly ignored Marnin and waited to see if Jaron would. And naturally, he did. It was a stupid accusation, and he wouldn't bring that trouble on himself.

"What do you suggest as the next move?" the King asked.

"I want that traitor," she said, real fervor in her voice. "I want my husband's murderer brought to justice."

"And how do we find this person?"

She again turned to the Council. "I haven't thought that far. Perhaps?"

They immediately began calling out ideas, arguing against some, delving into others. And then Pormet jumped to his feet. "Wait!" He had to call again, louder, silencing the others. "We're overlooking the obvious here. There are very few people who worked in the palace, who would know the Queen's escape plans, and who... survived that day." He was much different from the man at dinner the other night. He stood ramrod strong, his words unwavering. Rabé recognized her own fervor; he wanted his Queen's killer. "Those people, and it hurts to say this, are in this room. Myself, Rabé-" She nodded, not insulted as she had been by Marnin. "Captain Gavit was a young guard then, Diseks was an aide to former Councilor Srks, and of course King Jaron. I suggest we rule out ourselves by discussing where we were that day. If we prove that none of us is the traitor, we will look elsewhere, secure that we are to be trusted. I don't insist you take my word that it wasn't me. I could be lying."

"Then how do we rule you out?" Marnin asked, sneering, obviously not liking that he was disregarded when he suggested the same thing earlier.

Pormet turned very deliberately to Luke. "Jedi Skywalker, I remember when the Republic was protected by your Order."

The Council gasped almost collectively, and Jaron clenched his jaw tight. They had almost forgotten Skywalker and the others were there; they had been so absolutely quiet.

Luke asked solemnly, "What do you want, Councilor?"

"The Jedi could put a suggestion into another's mind. Can you bring the truth out as well?"

Rabé closed her eyes in a silent prayer of thanks to the Force and the Mother of All for Pormet. He had led them exactly where she needed them to go.

Luke nodded. "Yes, I can. But I didn't want to push you. I know many of you don't trust me-"

Pormet was walking through the line of chairs and stopped in front of the younger man. "I trust you. Tell me what to do."

Luke closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, they somehow focused both inside himself and on Pormet. "Just talk. Tell me where you were that day."

The councilor drew in a large breath, held it, and finally exhaled slowly. "I've been thinking about that a lot, and not because of what you found. I didn't know about that until just now." He kept his back turned away from the holos Artoo displayed, even though the droid no longer showed the mass grave; but Pormet's eyes strayed over there, clearly seeing the haunting image still. "I was with Governor Bibbo when the news came from the palace that the Imperials were invading. We immediately wanted to run there, to the palace I mean, but Queen Amidala insisted we see to ourselves and the rest of the Council. She already had a way out, she said, and was leaving now. The handmaidens and their families were going with her. I didn't know Master Kenobi was on the planet." He paused again and shared a glance of aching sorrow with Rabé. "The governor ordered me to take his staff back to their homes. Everyone hoped that if we put up little resistance, the Imperials would be less brutal." His voice turned ragged as he pleaded with Leia, "Please understand. We were trying to save as many lives as we could."

She nodded, her expression compassionate. "I understand. You did the right thing." Pormet, relieved, obviously felt he was pardoned by his ruler. Jaron didn't miss that fact.

"Many of us were spared," the councilor continued. "The people I already named, most of the general populace but some of the Council, including Governor Bibbo, were executed in front of the palace. According to Palpatine's decree, their loyalties obviously lay with Queen Amidala and the Republic."

"Our grandparents?" Leia asked. Luke was lost to the Force, and couldn't or wouldn't break his concentration to ask.

Rabé answered her. "No, Ayres and Mentí died in a virus that swept the mountains years before. They never saw Amidala marry Anakin. Winama, your great-grandmother, passed away a year later from natural causes. And Shmi, Anakin's mother, was also gone by the time the Imperials invaded."

"How?" Leia asked.

Rabé wavered, then finally said, "A slave uprising against Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine."

Leia's jaw worked, and Luke's concentration faltered. Some of the light left his eyes, then returned as he forced his shoulders back. Leia darted a quick glance at Han, but they could say nothing to each other now.

Marnin's harsh tones interrupted, causing the tension in the room to stretch more tightly. "If we're done with your family tree-"

"Shut up!" Leia ordered. Marnin, wide eyed, slunk back in his seat.

Pormet faced Luke, undisturbed by his fellow councilor, too focused on the larger matter. "That's all I can tell you about that day. I sat, like a coward, in my home while my Queen-"

"Your death wouldn't have helped my mother," Luke said. He glowed with harnessed power. "But being alive is helping her now." Some of the light faded, and he seemed more like Luke. "Not that anyone needs to ask, but you've told me the truth."

Pormet nodded, then straightened. He turned around. "Diseks, will you go next?"

Theed's current governor clearly wanted to say no, not wanting Luke's odd focus on her. But Pormet walked down to her. "Diseks, please. Our people were murdered that day. By one of us. Help me!"

Luke took pity on her. "Maybe it'll help if I get out of the way," he said as he moved to the other side of Jaron, now out of Diseks' vision. He covertly looked to Han, still by the door, behind the line of Councilors, liegemen, and guards. Solo nodded once in acknowledgment.

Rabé spoke. "Please, Governor. If it helps, why don't you stay were you're seated?"

Diseks nodded, glancing up and down the lines of old comrades. She was more comfortable telling her tale this way: not as if she was on trial, but sharing the experience with people who could understand. "As Pormet already said, I worked for Councilor Srks then. Governor Bibbo warned us about the Imperials coming, and that the Queen was already making her escape. He told us our first priority was to save as many as we could. He left to warn the Gungans. Amidala had sent a message to them herself, but had asked him to make sure it went through. We cleared the offices." Tears sprang suddenly to her eyes, and her voice cracked with plea. "I have a family. I ran to them I didn't stay, not with Srks, not with Bibbo!"

Rabé hurriedly knelt next to the other woman, an arm around the sobbing shoulders. "You did nothing wrong. You did exactly what the Queen wanted, what everyone wanted." She repeated her first statement firmly. "You did nothing wrong."

But Diseks faced away from Leia and Luke, even from Rabé and Faren. In the pall of the heavy silence, Gavit straightened and stood stiffly at attention in front of Luke.

"Wait!" Jaron leaned onto the marble table in front of the throne. "Rabé, I am very sorry for this painful tragedy, but torturing our own people with guilt for that day isn't helping."

Rabé stood as well, one hand still on Diseks' shoulder, her tone cracking with tension. "Only the traitor is guilty. I agree with you, I don't want anyone put through any more pain. But what is the alternative? Letting the killer go when the bodies of my Queen, my husband, and my friends demand retribution?"

"So we interrogate everyone on the planet instead? When we have no proof it was even one of our people? Anyone could have given that order. If not Vader, a trooper, or another officer. We don't know."

"And that's why, Your Majesty, we have to keep going. So we do know." Rabé's expression stayed respectful, but the anger burned hotter inside. You just convinced me, Jaron. If you weren't guilty, you'd never try to stop us. Clever of you to do it before we questioned you. But you're not getting away.

The King shook his head. "I'm sorry, but until we're sure it's one of us, I can't allow this to go further. I won't see us tormented."

Rabé moved forward to argue, so did Pormet, while Han, Leia, and the others checked imperceptibly with each other. Their best strategy, they knew, was to wait for the Naboo to do this themselves. If that failed, they'd move forward. Han glanced at the door to see if the guards on duty outside were thinking of coming in. True to their orders, they stayed at their posts.

Gavit reached the throne before Rabé and Pormet did, and when he spoke, the others immediately stopped. "Sir, I'm more than willing to answer them. I'm not bothered by it at all." Before Jaron could stop him, he turned back to Luke. "I was a guard then - I had just started - but I wasn't here that day. Captain Panaka sent a squad of us to the other side of the planet the day before. We established a bunker there, I don't know why. Maybe he planned to bring the Queen and the handmaidens there and later changed his mind. As I said, I don't really know." He looked over his shoulder at Rabé, then Leia, and back to Luke. "I wish I was here that day. I wish I had a chance to fight in those tunnels, to do something other than hear about it when it was over. But that's not what happened."

He clasped Luke's shoulder, a gesture between one soldier to another, and nodded for the same reason to Han and Lando. He was back in place with the other guards before anyone could thank him. And Jaron felt the eyes move to him.

Not all eyes, however, saw Jaron beginning to sweat. Pormet, relief heavy in his voice, spoke. "Your Majesty, I hope you won't mind repeating your escape that day. For formality's sake."

That aura of bound power surrounded Luke again. Han deliberately leaned against the wall behind him, even as Lando, just as intentionally, folded his arms and Leia straightened hers. Both Rabé and Luke dared a quick look at Faren who remained as calm and determined as the others in the room. Everything came down to this moment.

Jaron, acutely conscious of everyone's focus, even Marnin's, sat slowly back into the throne. He opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes darted around him and no words came out.

"Let me help you," Rabé offered. "You were here in the palace. I remember Captain Panaka speaking to you."

"Yes." He smiled wanly. "The memories are painful."

"Very," she agreed.

"Especially in the light of what you've found." He rubbed at the bridge of his nose. The pause dragged until Pormet leaned forward.

"Sir, I know how difficult this is for you, how much worse than it was for me. But if Rabé could speak, then perhaps?" He left the question open.

Jaron straightened in the throne, putting aside his pain or, at least, his show of it. He glanced warmly at Pormet. "Of course, Councilor. Thank you for the reminder. I am not the one here who has suffered most." He switched the center of attention to Rabé. "And I apologize for making this time worse for you."

The Council relaxed, as did everyone else who didn't know the truth of that room below. Their King was taking charge; he'd fix this. The end was in sight.

Jaron looked at across the rows of seats in front of him. "Panaka Panaka did come to me, and gave me my escape route through the eastern tunnels. I didn't even see Queen Amidala or the handmaidens. I assume they were in their quarters preparing for their own escape."

Rabé trusted herself only to nod in response.

"I went to my own home, right outside the palace, and packed what I could. I then took the tunnel entrance Captain Panaka had shown me."

"Liar," Luke said.

That one word, spoken in such a matter of fact tone, cut through the room. Luke's face had no expression, not even at everyone's gasp over his accusation.

Jaron quietly addressed him. "I beg your pardon, Commander?"

Still calm, Luke repeated, "You're lying."

Surprisingly, Jaron smiled. "I am? Thank you for informing me, I wasn't aware of it. Could you move in front of me, Commander Skywalker? It's difficult to talk to you with the sunlight coming in behind you."

Luke took a few steps down, not moving in front of the throne where Rabé was, but at an angle, still making it easier for Jaron to see him. Leia, during the next words, mirrored his position slowly so no one took notice.

Jaron spoke again. "Thank you. Now, back to my statement. You say I lie? I'm not sure how. Except ah, that tunnel entrance perhaps Panaka didn't show it to me. Someone did."

Luke nodded. "Someone did." Relief swept the Naboo in the room, abruptly cut off with his next words. "But you didn't take it. You didn't go home after talking to Panaka, and you never took the eastern tunnels."

As if questioning a recalcitrant child, Jaron asked, "What did I do?"

"You panicked."

Diseks, Pormet, the liegemen, the guards, they were all whispering now, waiting for Jaron to say something, anything, to stop Luke from talking and let them know what happened.

But their King said nothing, so Luke continued. "You were afraid of what the Imperials would do to anyone on my mother's Council."

Jaron kept silent, but as Luke started to speak again, he finally interrupted. "All right. It's true. I did panic. I'm embarrassed to admit it. I didn't make a stand against the Imperials. I went back to my office. I offered no resistance."

Thrilled with this answer, Pormet hurriedly reassured his ruler. "You did nothing wrong, anymore than the rest of us did, sir."

Others muttered the same sort of encouraging expressions, and the King replied with thanks. Rabé made sure she joined them before asking, "And what happened then?"

Obviously, Jaron hadn't expected that. "Excuse me?"

"I apologize for dwelling on such an uncomfortable task, Your Majesty, but I wondered what happened after the Imperials found you in your office. They had arrest orders for Amidala's council and we know what happened to Bibbo."

She saw him grow cold, but he tried to soften it in his voice. "I hardly had the same position that Governor Bibbo did, may he rest in peace. The Imperials did not see me as the threat that he was."

"You disavowed loyalty to the Queen?"

He didn't speak for a moment, and when he did, his voice was hoarse. "Yes, I did. To save myself, I did." Raw anguish showed clearly on his face and, again, his Council hastened to reassure him.

He's getting away! Rabé thought, anguished herself. I thought he'd break, but he's gaining sympathy. She sensed Luke glance her way, ready to reveal more, but she took a step forward, pressing against the table separating her from the throne. I have to do this, not Luke. Not Vader's son. The Naboo will only listen to their own for this.

"Would you mind telling me," she asked, making herself open and earnest, the one in service beseeching the one she served, "exactly what happened? I need to know, and if we have the Imperials' movements, perhaps we can discover how our traitor was able to follow us. If you were at the palace, in your office, when the Imperials came and you swore no allegiance to Amidala did they trust you on your own? Did you see Bibbo or any of the others?"

Again, he delayed before answering. "I saw Bibbo. He came to the palace despite Amidala's saying not to."

"Or they dragged him here."

He nodded. "Or they dragged him."

"Did you see anyone else?"

"No one."

"No one?" He shook his head. "Not even Vader?" At his startled expression, she said, "Lord Vader would come here for his wife."

"Yes," he said, his tone unsure. Then with more confidence, "I'm sure that's true. But I didn't see him."

"Liar," Luke said.

Pandemonium broke. Nerves were too taut to stand another accusation. Rabé raised her arms, yelling above the others that she wanted to hear. Returned shouts ordered Luke to be quiet, and implored the King to have the Republic party removed. Again and again, Rabé pleaded for them to listen, Pormet at last joining her. Skywalker never faced any of them, still maintaining the same calm manner as before, the Force a contrasting, controlled fire in his eyes.

And then he spoke, his voice not raised at all, but the waves of authority carried his words from Jaron to everyone, eventually quieting them. "You were desperate that the Imperials didn't believe you. You wanted to prove your loyalty."

Jaron bit his lip as Rabé asked, "Is that true?"

"I already said I was ashamed of what I did that day."

"How ashamed? What did you do to prove your loyalty to the Imperials?"

"Enough!" he roared, on his feet. "I will remind you who you speak to! I've apologized for my cowardice that day, but I won't be interrogated or accused any further. I'm sorry for your loss, Rabé, but you've listened to people who have a hidden agenda to turn the guilt away from Vader."

"My loss," she repeated, ignoring the rest. "My loss! My husband, murdered. Sabé, Saché "

"I'm sorry-"

"Yané!"

"I cannot allow any more of this!"

"I want to know who murdered them! Eirtaé!"

"No more, Rabé! I'm ordering you!"

"Amidala!" She yelled it. "Amidala! Your Queen, your leader! If for no other reason than that, you should find out who the traitor is. After all, do you have any reassurance that you will not be the next monarch sacrificed?"

"I said enough!" He almost matched her fury, almost. But she was an avenging spirit, surrounded by those as fiercely determined. She glared at him and thought that maybe, finally, he began to crack. "I will not take anymore! Not in my throne room! Guards!"

Everyone moved at once. Han slammed his one elbow against the door controls, cutting off the guards outside. With his other hand, he drew his blaster, aiming at Gavit and the few people with him, yelling at them not to move. Chewie, bowcaster up and aimed, and Lando with his blaster from the concealed holster under his cape had the liegemen covered. Too late, they realized they had moved within the Republic party's perimeter instead of keeping them contained within their own. One of them, the closest to Rabé, used his compatriots to block the shot and reached to slam the butt of his blaster against her head. Faren shouted in warning, "Mother!" She grabbed and flipped the one liegeman blocking her way, rapidly firing at the other, bringing him down with a stun charge just in time from hitting Rabé. Hurriedly, she aimed her weapon at the one struggling under her foot, and he ceased.

The blaster shot caused more shouting and an almost stampede of the Council members. And then

the hum of lightsabers.

Everyone stilled. A lightsaber hadn't been seen or heard on Naboo since Vader. Luke stood ready, his saber off his belt and activated, blocking Jaron. Leia, her saber once concealed within one sleeve, was now in the same stance as Luke.

Within this shock was another. Jaron was staring at Luke, at the saber, fear - terror - written on every feature. He swallowed as he stood mesmerized. His lips worked once, twice, before he stammered, "I... I..."

And then a voice from behind, a voice that chilled his heart, a voice from the grave. "Yes, Jaron?" Amidala's voice -Amidala - in the deep tones she used when speaking as the Queen. His mind knew it was to separate her from her Padmé identity, but his heart hammered. He couldn't turn even though it was Princess Leia behind him. He would not look into those deep, brown eyes, Amidala's eyes.

Amidala...

... the saber...like Vader's, humming, threatening, demanding answers or take his life if he stayed silent...

...that voice... her voice...

Her voice even though it came from her daughter. "Vader asked you where his wife and the handmaidens went. Of course, he did. If you swore they meant nothing to you, he'd demand proof. You're still alive, and if you hadn't told Vader what he wanted to know, you'd be dead."

...He had always hated Amidala, hated the hold she had on the Naboo. Their great hope, their great leader... no one could stand against her, not here, not in the Senate... it should have been him that wielded that power...

"So you told him. That's how Vader and his stormtroopers got to the northern tunnels. And then you ran down there, eager to collect your reward for giving Vader what he wanted."

...Only Palpatine had beaten Amidala at her own game. And now Palpatine was Emperor. It was either stand with him or die. Why stay loyal to a Queen he despised, who kept his career from being what it should be? And why not run down there, and relish in seeing her in captivity? Broken, beaten... by her husband... by the man she unleashed on the Naboo...

She was taunting him now, he could hear her, no longer able to discern that Leia was talking... in that voice... "They had to be pretty intimidating, all the handmaidens, all the guards, all of them concentrating their hatred on you now that Vader had left."

...She had escaped! But Vader was after her... and all those sneering, arrogant lackeys of hers were under his thumb, their lives in his hand...

"They probably enjoyed telling you over and over again how you failed to get Rabé or the Queen. They probably really enjoyed reaching for your throat for betraying them."

...He'd shut out their jeers! He'd make them shut up! He had a blaster and they were cooped up in one room! He took careful aim on Sabé first, enjoying the thrill of having an image of Amidala in the blaster's sights. He dropped the door's containment field, shot her, and raised the field again before they could move. They shrieked, screamed, ranted at him, swore they'd murder him, called him a coward! Coward! He aimed at Thaman, asked how it felt to know he'd never see his wife and baby again, and killed him. And they still resisted him! Still didn't respect him! And he suddenly knew with a certainty that when Vader returned and released them for questioning, they'd kill him despite it costing them their own lives. They were dead and knew it, and would take him with them. He murdered them all... he had the power finally...he used it...

"You couldn't stand up to their strength, could you?"

...and as they lay there, one body bleeding onto the other, he heard the most terrifying sound... Vader's breathing behind him... Vader's saber, active and demanding his blood...

"So you gave Palpatine what he wanted, both on that day and years later."

...years later and Amidala was back... Back! Here on Naboo! And that damned voice demanding, ordering, not respectful of who he was!... so he rid himself of the one mistake he ever made and sealed his loyalty with Palpatine forever...anything to stay safe from that saber...

...that hated voice...

"You did it, didn't you?"

"Shut up!" he screamed. "Shut up!" He dove for the weapons hidden in the throne's one arm and found a lightsaber blocking his way, a second saber sandwiching him from behind, and Rabé's blaster aimed at his chest. Rabé - the other one who escaped and returned to haunt him - daring to bring the hated Amidala's children here to threaten him.

Mired in his own weakness and loathing, he sealed his guilt. With intense pleasure in his voice and eyes, he said, "They deserved it." And he smiled.