Hello again! As usual, I am to thank you for the reviews, thank you for favoriting this story, and thank you for adding this story to your story alert list. Thank you for everything, even if you just read it and don't take any action whatsoever but that. I hope you like this chapter. Everything becomes clear(er). Maybe. Anyway, thank you very much for reading.


Bail knew that some of Palpatine's methods were insane, but he was suggesting that that democracy be dismantled! It was too preposterous to even imagine, but here the Chancellor was, subtly hinting it. To Bail's new aide, Carrie, it was painfully obvious that Palpatine was planning to make himself Emperor. She turned to him, wanting to speak on the Senate floor. Bail smiled and nodded. Even though she had been his aide for a few days, he trusted her, but he knew what she was going to say would probably cause the Senate to start a riot. She had insisted, however, that she take any and all blame for the effects of what she said. Bail just sat back and waited for her to speak.

"My fellow Senators!" she called out. "Do you realize what Palpatine is insinuating? He's trying to declare himself Emperor! But Emperor of what? A republic cannot have a single ruler! It defeats the purpose to having a democratic republic! An Emperor can only lead an Empire! Don't you realize this?"

Padmé turned to look at the young woman addressing the Senate. That had been a bold move, and Padmé doubted that the woman would get away with it. Wait, that's Bail's new aide! Padmé realized, and she looks eerily familiar... but who does she look like? Anakin...? But that means... The Senate had now silenced. Everyone wanted to hear what the aide had to say, but many wanted to listen so they could laugh at the insane claims. The future leaders of the Rebellion were truly interested, on the other hand.

"If we let this maniac come into power in name and fact, then who knows what horrors he will wreak on the galaxy!" Carrie paused and made up her mind about what she was going to say. "Actually, I do know. You may not believe it, but, in truth, I'm from the future. In sixteen years, if the future turns out as it did, I'd be in this esteemed hall with many of you. By then, it's only a puppet and doesn't really decide anything anymore. But in this hall is where the heroes of the future are. Three Senators sign a treaty to create an Alliance to stop the corruption and death the Empire symbolized. By the turning point of the war, one of the signers is dead, another has left the group, and the last is holding the Rebellion together.

"My friends, please don't let this monster have the opportunity to change the government so much that it becomes so evil and corrupt that it becomes necessary to rebel! If you permit me, I can tell you many, many examples of the Empire's corruption and ruthlessness. I can list the planets which have been rendered barren, razed, devastated by man-made plagues, or... in one case, completely annihilated. I am one of the survivors of one such planet. The only reason I am alive is that I was forced to watch A---my home-world be destroyed so the agents of the Empire could discover the location of the Rebel base! It didn't help, though, that I told them. My home-world was destroyed anyway.

"Afterwards, it was discovered that the base had been fully evacuated, and the servants of the Empire signed the order for my execution." She glared at Palpatine. "You hear that! I'm one of the traitors you're so afraid of! But the Jedi are not traitors! They fought for the preservation for the Republic, and like my home-world, my defenseless, pacifistic home-world, you murdered them all!"

That particular sentence caught the attention of the entire Senate. The only planet which would dare oppose Palpatine that had no military, no defenses, and was mostly pacifistic was Alderaan. And the Jedi, the Guardians of Peace and Justice, were murdered... like all those on Alderaan? What have we been thinking? most of the Senators thought. The stanchest supporters of Palpatine, however, scoffed and dismissed the aide as crazy.

"If that's correct, then how did you get here?" one Senator asked her, skeptical about her claims.

"I bet these so called Rebels are actually traitorous war-criminals!" another shouted.

Padmé couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and shouted, "The Jedi are incorruptible! They fight for the Republic! And why would Alderaan be destroyed? Alderaanians are good people, and, for a change, their politicians are not corrupt! Why not, instead of doubting her you listen and wonder why she would say that if it weren't true!"

Mon Mothma stood up. "I agree with Senator Amidala! Palpatine's been hinting for weeks now that the Jedi are corrupt! We should be more concerned with how corrupt this mass of people is than others who have been known to be incorruptible for millennia!"

Garm Bel Ibis stood. "They're both right. We've known that some of us in this room are corrupt and we haven't done anything about it for over a decade. Now Palpatine's suggesting we change the government? Not only that, but have him leading us? It's completely idiotic! Eventually, the governors which were recently posted in our systems may usurp the power of the Senate! Those governors are not elected but chosen by the Chancellor! And with all of those troops, it's almost impossible to resist!"

Bail saw his turn come up and, like the other two future signers of the Corellian Treaty, spoke against Palpatine. "Even if Alderaan hadn't been brought into the picture, what she accuses him of is against all of the ideals of the Republic. I guarantee you, though, that if Alderaan is to be destroyed by the soon-to-be Empire, I would still pledge my loyalty to those that deserve it. Even if it means my death and the death of my people."

"It's not smart to make martyrs of peoples who uphold peace and justice," the Senator masquerading as an aide told Palpatine. "Your mistakes would never become apparent to you. You built a machine capable of destroying an entire planet and did so. You put bounties on the so-called traitors to peace. You made martyrs of Camaas, Firrerre, Alderaan, and other planets. You made martyrs of the Jedi. You chased the Rebel Alliance from one corner of the galaxy to another, but never really caught us. You had your most fearsome henchman try to turn the one of the Rebellion's heroes to your side. You built a second machine capable of destroying a planet. You had the Imperial fleet hide so when the Rebel fleet arrived to destroy the machine of death, you could finally crush the entire Rebellion." She smiled and glared at Palpatine.

"The last of the Jedi, the same hero of the Rebellion, surrendered to you. You still tried to turn him, and when he wouldn't, you decided to kill him." The Senator looked around at the Senate. "Do you really want that? Do you?" Silence greeted her. "Well, I'll just tell you that this story does have a happy ending." She cleared her throat. "Palpatine, you are killed by your apprentice. The Jedi lives. The machine of death is destroyed. Your fleet is decimated. In the end, the Republic and Jedi will be restored to their rightful place and all of the victims of your cruelty have their revenge." She then turned around and walked out of the Senate building, leaving a mostly flabbergasted building full of people behind her. At least Palpatine wouldn't be Emperor anymore. Now to check up on the others, she thought.


Obi-Wan was making his way back to the base that the clones had set up. He had defeated Grievous, but he knew he was never going to get near pinwheels ever again. During the chase that had ensued after the first half of the battle, Obi-Wan had dropped his lightsaber. If Anakin ever found out, Obi-Wan knew he would never hear the end of it. Luckily, the feathered-dragon was fast, and before he knew it, Obi-Wan had found the base camp. Commander Cody was there, holding Obi-Wan's lightsaber. "This yours?" he asked, knowing that Obi-Wan had always admonished Anakin whenever the younger had lost his lightsaber during a mission.

"Yes. Thank you for retrieving it," Obi-Wan replied.

"The one time Anakin could have told you off, he isn't here..." Cody chuckled as he gave the lightsaber back to Obi-Wan.

Draygo sauntered over and addressed Obi-Wan. "General. Congrats on your victory. I think the war's almost over. In fact, only one thing remains," he said cryptically.

Obi-Wan was confused. "What do you mean?"

"The elimination of the starter of the war," Kettch replied.

"We just received a communiqué from one of our friends. She used to work in the Senate and just delivered a speech she's wanted to since me and Kid saved her from the Death Star," Draygo explained.

Tycho glared at Draygo. "The Princess said that she left the Senate in a state near that of a riot. There should be a coup by the end of the day."

"Sooner, I should think," Halcyon commented. "I'm pretty sure Luke wouldn't stand around and do nothing."

"Hell, he's probably going to be in the group that arrests Palpatine," Kettch and the rest of the "181" agreed.

"You really think they're just going to arrest him?" Draygo asked. "I thought they'd execute him immediately."

"He hasn't done anything completely horrible compared to what he had before," Hobbie mentioned. "But that doesn't mean that I think he shouldn't be executed eventually. However, we don't really have any proof that we're telling the truth."

"What about Order 66?" Halcyon suddenly brought up. "Palpatine could still activate the order and cause all of the Jedi out on the fronts to be murdered!"

"What!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "There's an order to kill all... Who would do the executing?" Obi-Wan realized the answer to his question. "Of course, the clones... We need to put out a warning to all of the Jedi!"

Tamtel, who had just entered the scene, nodded. "Already done. 'Carrie' commed Yoda and explained the situation. The warning's already gone out, but it won't be needed if Palpatine doesn't have time to issue the order. She called back to say that there's already a group of Jedi who are about to arrest Palpatine. It's comprised of four Jedi, Mace Windu and Agen Kolar among them. From what Carrie said, they're two of the best bladesmen in the galaxy. There are also supposed to be two more Jedi who are to hang back and fight only if it gets desperate. Carrie didn't say who the rest were. She wasn't able to get the information or wasn't able to tell me. Someone else came over and wanted to talk to her."

"I hope she didn't get arrested again," Draygo groaned. "I'm not jumping down another trash chute to rescue her."

"Long story," Kettch added once he saw that Obi-Wan was a little confused.

Tamtel was staring at a support beam, deep in concentration, as if trying to remember one last thing that Carrie had told him to relay to the group. What did she say? "There's gonna be a riot soon. I got to go..." Then Leia'd looked off the screen. (Why did she pick Carrie as a pseudonym, I wonder?) She wasn't surprised... I'd have called her calmer than before, but she sped up. "About Order 66: I managed to rig it so it would only go to one place. I don't know what place, but---" She looked off screen again. "I have to go. 66 is Utapau!" Great. Time to leave, then. "With all due respect, you should get the hell out of here, General Kenobi." Everyone stared at Tamtel. "Order 66, if sent, will only be able to reach one place. Here."

Vykk turned to Obi-Wan. "Damn. You're just as much a disaster-magnet as Luke. Maybe even worse." Obi-Wan nodded, suddenly remembering how much trouble he'd caused in the past even before Anakin had entered the equation.

"Maybe it comes with being a Jedi?" Kettch suggested.

The Corellian smuggler rolled his eyes. "Be a good Ewok and shut up."

"Ha-ha, Han. Real funny," shot back the leader of the starfighter squadron.

"I mean it, Wedge," Han said, gesturing to the clone troopers. "They're talking to someone on a comlink. I was trying to listen."

"Oh, damn it all," Hobbie swore. "That means we have to get out of here."

"And quick," Han replied. He turned to 'Halcyon'. "Corran, go power the Falcon up."

"Aye, aye, General," Corran replied, adding a little sarcasm to his response. Before Han could add anything, Corran said, "I know, I know. 'Scratch the paint and die'."

"I take it you had no back up plan?" Obi-Wan asked Han, noting the real names of Corran, Han, and Wedge.

"If he had a back-up plan, he wouldn't be Han Solo," 'Tamtel' commented wryly.

"Shut up, Lando," Han growled. "Why is everyone picking on me today?"

"Because you won the sabacc pot," Lando replied, grinning.


How they had fit Rogue Squadron, Lando, Obi-Wan, and himself in the Falcon, Han would never know. He had to admit, there was a point when he was thinking of stuffing Tycho in one of the smuggling compartments if he didn't shut up. Corran had laughed at that, and Wedge had just tried to ignore it all. Of course, Tycho couldn't do anything since Han was flying the ship. It was really too bad Chewie wasn't there. He'd been wondering where the Wookie was and if Chewie'd gone back in time at all. They had reached a consensus earlier that drinking themselves under the table had caused them to travel back in time. Leia had agreed with the hypothesis. What Han and the rest couldn't get through their heads was how the Falcon had come with them.

For instance, Han had woken up in the pilot's seat on the Falcon when it was docked on Corellia. He had found Lando passed out in the lounge. Han had woken Lando up, and they had went to the nearest bar. There, they found what appeared to be a still-drunk Rogue Squadron doing karaoke (really badly, in Han's opinion). What had really happened was that the first thing they remembered was when they all walked into the bar. Then they had proceeded to get completely smashed again. Han and Lando were able to sober Wedge up by dumping two pitchers of ice water on him. Rogue Squadron and the two former smugglers turned Generals then decided to enlist in the space navy, seeing nothing else of any use to do since they couldn't go to Coruscant and accuse Palpatine of all the stuff they knew the megalomaniac would commit. They'd be dragged off to insane asylums. That was how they met up with Obi-Wan.

Leia, Han and the rest had learned, had woken up on Alderaan. She had wandered around the planet for a few hours before going to see her adoptive father and asked to be his aide for a while. He asked why, and she had explained that Palpatine was the spawn of satan and needed to be stopped. She just wanted a chance to tell the Senate this and would take any and all responsibility. Organa had agreed. That was how she had been able to get into the Senate and give the speech.

Han sighed and shouted, "Shut up!" to everyone. God, they were loud. He could hear them all the way from the lounge. He turned to Obi-Wan, who was in the cabin along with Corran, who was copiloting in Chewie's stead. "Look. We need to decide where to go. Any suggestions?"

"Alderaan!" Tycho exclaimed from somewhere in the ship. Han glared in his general direction. He could understand why Tycho wanted to go, but they could go there later.

"Maybe we should go to Coruscant?" Corran suggested. "It seems to be where all the action is. Again."

"I agree," Obi-Wan said. "It would probably be best. There might be more trouble brewing..." Corran nodded and started getting ready to go into hyperspace.

"And Palpatine still has to be captured," Lando added, walking in from the lounge. "It seemed to me that Leia might have been underestimating how big the reaction to her speech was." He gestured to the lounge. "Wedge and I have been watching the 'Net, and let's just say that we're lucky it hasn't been deemed an actual rebellion yet, complete with clone troops. Half the Senate wants Palpatine hanged, the other half wants him canonized."

"Then it'll be just like the old days, except instead of stormtroopers, we'd be fighting their not-so-accuracy-challenged counterparts. It's so weird!" Han turned back to Obi-Wan. "Who was the template for the clones, anyway?"

"Jango Fett," Obi-Wan replied, wondering why everyone else in the cabin suddenly were staring at him in shock.

"He doesn't happen to be related to Boba Fett, does he?" Han asked, dreading the answer.

"Well, he was Jango's son, in a manner of speaking," Obi-Wan replied. "Why do you ask?"

Lando smiled nervously. "Well, Han and I sort of earned his complete and eternal hatred when he had been trying to catch Han. We turned the tables against him when I was able to use the drug he had used on Han against him. It was a mind control drug, so he was pretty pissed off at us telling him what to do."

"Even though all we said was basically for him to go to the opposite side of the galaxy," Han added as he activated the hyperdrive. "It could have been worse."


Leia stared at the Senator who had come to her defense in the Senate, barely remembering to hang up the comlink on the comstation. "Uh, Senator..." Name, name, name... Amidala! That was it! "Senator Amidala. Thank you for defending what I was saying on the floor today," Leia managed to say.

The Senator shook her head. "It wasn't a problem. In fact, many of the Senators have wanted an excuse to depose the Chancellor for a while now. It's really appreciated."

"I guess this was yours?" Leia asked, holding up a piece of paper that an general Senate aide had handed to her. It had the information about the Jedi arresting Palpatine on it. Leia had been given it after she had disabled Order 66. Palpatine's comm system would never work the same again.

Senator Amidala took the offered paper and read it. "Oh, no... Palpatine's the Sith Lord that the Jedi have been trying to find for so long!"

Leia blinked. "You didn't know? I mean, it would make sense if his apprentice was a Dark Lord of the Sith."

Amidala looked at Leia in amusement. "You really are from the future, aren't you?"

Leia nodded. "Yes. I've wanted to give that speech for so long! The Senate was dissolved right after I was captured smuggling the plans for the Death Star," she explained. Amidala nodded absentmindedly, trying to figure out the rest of the paper's information. Leia noticed, and spoke up. "As far as I could figure out, it says that there are six Jedi going to arrest the Emperor---I mean Chancellor. Two of them are to be a rear guard. The only names I could find were Mace Windu and Agen Kolar, apparently two of the best bladesmen in the Jedi ranks."

"Oh. That's all you could get, too?" Amidala asked, rather frustrated. "I thought there would be a little more to it..." She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Leia asked, curious.

"I just know who one of the other four Jedi is going to be. He's such an idiot sometimes!" Amidala shook her head. "I hope he doesn't get himself killed."

"Who?" Leia asked. She didn't want to be nosy, but she wanted to know.

"I guess since you're from the future, telling you won't make any difference. You probably already know. My husband---he's a Jedi. A headstrong, arrogant, trigger-happy, dauntless fool!" Amidala leaned against the wall. "He better not do anything stupid. If he does, I swear I'll kill him."

Leia grinned. "Your husband sounds like my brother. He gets into so much trouble without even trying. Sometimes I have to wonder about Luke's sanity."

"Luke...? Wait. Do you mean Luke Skywalker?" Amidala asked. "I know him! My husband and he were assigned the same mission from the Council a few days ago."

"Really?" was the only think Leia could say at that point. Luke used his real name. That was really smart, Leia thought sarcastically.

"Yes. My husband introduced him as his 'second or third cousin, twice removed.' Anakin really needs to think up some more creative excuses."

Time to ask the question. "Senator Amidala? My name isn't really Carrie. It's Leia."

"Oh! Where are my manners? My first name's Padmé," she introduced herself.

"Your husband doesn't happen to be Anakin Skywalker, does it?" Leia asked, bracing herself for the answer.

"Well, yes. He is. Look, I don't know what it's like in the future, but you won't tell anyone, will you? It's sort of a secret right now because he could have been kicked out of the Order. Obi-Wan found out, somehow, and Anakin was goofy enough to spill the beans." Amidala sighed. "It's not that I blame him, because I know how much Anakin wanted to be able to tell. He hates keeping secrets from his friends, especially Obi-Wan."

"Well, I don't know how to say this, but I think I'm your daughter."

"Oh. That's nice."

"That's it? No reaction?"

Padmé smiled. "I wasn't so sure when I met your brother. Anakin did give a semi-plausible argument. However, anyone who can't see the resemblance between you and me is blind or just plain oblivious. For instance, you father would be a good example of the oblivious." Leia could only laugh in response.


Review Responses:

RandomIdiot: Thank you, and I'll think about it. Someone has to break it to him sometime.

Yuna-flowering: Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to fit Mara in. The time that everyone from the Classic Trilogy is from is in between the capture of Coruscant and The Courtship of Princess Leia, so they don't know Mara yet. I wanted to have her in it, though. She might make a cameo, but who knows?

Trinity Day: That's what a friend of mine said, and lo and behold, here she is.

All of the Reviewers: Thank you very much for reviewing.