Hey again! I'm now updating more quickly! Also, I was apparently wrong about there being no more humor about Star Wars characters in high school in the fic for a while since I wrote a somewhat strange section in this chapter. Anyway, if we ignore that, I'd like to thank everyone for reading. I really, really appreciate it. I hope you like this chapter, and I'm glad to say that the plot is finally moving towards it's final, if potentially far off, goal.

It was around midday. Anakin was pacing around the Jedi Council chambers, and it was starting to get on the nerves of everyone in the room. Obi-Wan had to admit he was a little nervous as well, but Anakin was practically about to snap. "Anakin, get a hold of yourself!" Obi-Wan said.

Anakin stopped pacing. "How can I? Can't you feel it? They are alive, Obi-Wan... All four of them..."

Adi started paying attention again. "Four? But... There can only ever be two Sith... Did Palpatine not adhere to the rules of the Sith?"

Mace cleared his throat. "And even so, if you are speaking of the dead Sith coming back to life... Maul, Tyrannus, and Sidious make three, not four."

"Strange, this is," Yoda declared. "But feel another presence I do."

"Then Palpatine had to have trained another Sith shortly before his death," Eeth Koth said. "Who could it be, otherwise?"

"This is a great disturbance in the Force... We should send someone out there," Plo Koon commented.

"Maybe more than one Jedi... After all, we barely won against Palpatine and the Sith last time," Depa Billaba added.

"And that was only because we had help," Obi-Wan murmured. All of the members of the Council remembered why they had won, some in more detail than others. Obi-Wan had personally been graced with the entire story.

"Suggesting that are you?" Yoda asked.

Anakin nodded. "It's not anyone our---the Jedi's side, the Light Side. The Force may have some great disturbances, but... it feels more balanced," he risked saying.

"More balanced? The Force was balanced years ago! There are no more Sith," Kai-Adi-Mundi said.

The Council started debating the disturbances as Anakin sat back down and thought. It can't be... It just can't! Anakin told himself. He didn't believe what he was thinking, but he wanted to. How could evil travel back in time? Well, it almost wasn't back in time anymore, was it? But---Anakin halted his train of thought. Something was wrong. He tried to sense where Leia was, and realized what was wrong: she was off-planet. If she's off-planet, then... Yep, Luke's gone, too. Crap. Padmé's going to be so angry...

"Something wrong, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked after they were let out of the Council meeting for a coffee break.

"Maybe. The twins left the planet."

"Really?" Obi-Wan said. "That's odd. They left at the same time, or are these two separate events?"

"Same time, same place. I have a really bad feeling about this... It's almost as bad as my feeling about the Sith," Anakin replied. "I didn't think they knew each other!"

"...Anakin, maybe it's for the better if no one knew that they were gone," Obi-Wan said. "After all, their fates probably have something to do with bringing down the Sith... and the Empire."

As Anakin was about to reply, Mara Jade suddenly ran past Obi-Wan and him, presumably looking for Adi Gallia. Anakin was about to reprimand her for running in the halls and almost running into him, but Mara's actions cut him off again since she ran back to them. "Masters, have you seen---"

"Adi went that way," Anakin replied, pointing towards the direction she was in.

Mara glared at him. "I already talked to her! Didn't anyone ever tell you it was impolite to cut people off?" she demanded, causing Obi-Wan to smirk. "I was looking for Luke. I haven't seen him all day, and---" She stopped herself, having noticed that Anakin looked like he was cornered. "You don't know either, do you? Force! I thought that you would know! What kind of fath---"

"What!" Anakin exclaimed. He had thought that only Corran knew, and that was because Anakin had been a little tipsy this one time and sort of said he was Luke's father. Corran hadn't really been surprised. Regardless, how did Mara Jade, of all people, know?

"Oh, sith. I said that last part out loud, didn't I?" Mara realized. She was silent for a few seconds before she started talking to Anakin again. "Look, if you don't know, then I have something pretty important to tell you---and the rest of the Council."

Obi-Wan, who had been on the verge of laughing out loud at Anakin's reaction to what Mara had said, was suddenly very serious and interested in what Mara had to say. "About what?" Obi-Wan asked before suddenly realizing that she probably sensed the disturbance in the Force. "Does it have something to do with the Sith?" He got a look from Anakin for saying that but ignored it.

Mara nodded. "Palpatine's on Byss."

"See? I told the Council! I was right!" Anakin told Obi-Wan, who silenced his friend.

"My other self told me about it in a vision," Mara explained. "You were there, Master Skywalker. In ghost form. You tried to destroy Palpatine, but it didn't work."

Anakin stared at her. "You saw that? You saw what happened in the throne---How?"

Mara shook her head. "I don't know how, but---" She stopped talking as the room started to tilt and went dark. Semiconscious, Mara was vaguely aware that Anakin had caught her before she had hit the ground and that Obi-Wan was calling for a medic, but she heard a strange voice in her head, loud and clear. In five words, any doubt that Palpatine was not back were dispelled. The Dark Lord of the Sith who had almost controlled the galaxy told the one who should have been his Hand the same words he had told the Mara Jade that had been the Emperor's Hand: YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER.

Han hadn't been finished getting the Falcon prepped for takeoff for nearly a minute when the kid and Princess arrived. The reactions of the two were very similar, he noted as he walked out to greet them.

"You came in that?" the Princess half asked, half exclaimed.

"What a piece of junk!" the kid exclaimed.

Han sighed as he leaned against one of the poles that lowered the boarding ramp. It seemed that the Falcon was never to get the respect that it deserved. "She doesn't look like much, but she'll make point five past lightspeed. I completed the Kessel run in twelve parsecs with this ship, you know."

"I'll bet," the kid murmured under his breath.

"You're coming too, kid?" Han asked, choosing to ignore the statement for the moment. He had been prepared for the kid coming along, regardless, but it had seemed at the bar that the Princess had originally planned on running away by herself.

"Well, yeah. It wouldn't be right leaving Leia by herself," the kid replied, sending a meaningful glare Han's way.

"Could one of you do something useful?" the Princess said, tired of the guys arguing. If she had to weather more than a few days of this...

"But I am, Your Worshipfulness," Han replied sarcastically. "I'm flying the ship, like you paid me to do. Kid can carry your luggage for you." Han walked back into the Falcon, shortly followed by the Princess and the kid, who was in fact carrying the Princess' luggage.

"Where should I put my stuff?" the Princess asked. She was starting to grate on Han's nerves.

"One of the cabins," Han replied and pointed in the correct direction of the location. "They're that way." Leia then went off in that direction with her suitcase in tow. "Either I want to kill her, or I'm beginning to like her," Han mumbled, and then turned to the kid. "So... Since we're all going to have to spend a considerable amount of time together, you mind telling me your name, kid? 'Cuz, I mean, it's sort of annoying to just call you 'kid.'"

"Uh, my name's Luke... Skywalker."

"Really?" Han said in semi-disbelief. "Huh. Are you related to that one Jedi?" I mean, hey, the kid has the same last name as the Skywalker guy that worked with Kenobi...

"No," Luke answered quickly. "I know him, but I don't think I'm related to him."

"Ah." Han personally didn't believe that for a second. They stood in silence for a moments. "I guess that you're joining the Rebellion like Her Highnessness?" Han asked.

"Yeah. I want to be a fighter pilot."

"But aren't you a Jedi?" Han asked. "I mean, you're dressed like one..." It was true. The kid (Dammit, I'm still calling him "kid." Oh well, it suits him all right.) was wearing a vaguely Jedi-like outfit, which was black. The Jedi didn't wear black, with some exceptions.

"No. I'm not a Jedi," Luke replied. "I'm only an apprentice."

"But you're a Jedi in training. It's the same difference," Han insisted.

"I guess..." Luke sighed. "Dangit. I feel so guilty for just leaving. I really should have told someone. Maybe Master Skywalker. I'm sure he would understand. He always does."

"You must really look up to him," Han stated. Wow. I'm not usually this nice to people. Weird. It's hard not to like the kid, though...

Luke didn't have to answer since her Highness stormed back to where he and Han were. She seemed a little freaked out about something, if Han didn't say so himself. "You---you have a Wookie copilot, right?" she demanded.

"So you met Chewie?" Han asked.

"No---everything's covered in fur!" she exclaimed.

"I thought there was something different about your dress... I mean, Your Worship, Wookie fur really isn't your color."

Days later, the Millennium Falcon exited hyperspace in a system with a gas giant planet with multiple habitable moons, and Han couldn't be more glad. The Princess had been annoying him day in and day out. Sure, the kid was all right to talk to, but he was still a little depressed about leaving. Chewie had been made a few comments about Han's behavior which Han didn't particularly like and, as a consequence, wasn't talking to him. There's no way in any of the Corellian hells that I like that... Han's rational line of thought deteriorated from there. "No reward's worth this..." Han murmured, causing the kid to laugh a bit. Han had forgotten that Luke was in the cockpit. Had he really been thinking that much about how much he didn't like the Royal Pain?

"She's not normally like this," Luke reassured Han.

"Really? Could've fooled me," Han replied while plotting the course to their destination with Chewie. "Which moon is it again?"

"The fourth one, I think," Luke replied. "Han, do you really think that Leia's that annoying? I mean, yeah, she's been acting like a rancor, but---"

Chewie growled something about how Han was the one that was acting like a rancor.

"Very funny, Chewie. And, kid, trust me, I've seen rancors, and they're a lot nicer than Her Worship," Han told them.

Leia then walked into the cockpit. Han noticed that she had managed to clean her white dress of any and all Wookie hair. Good for her. Her hair was done up in this double bun thing which made her look like she'd super glued cinnamon buns to the sides of her head. "We're going to Yavin 4," instructed the Princess.

"Already on the way there, Your Highness," Han replied.

"I'm amazed you remembered," Leia quipped as she sat down in the seat behind Chewie.

"Unlike some people, I can listen," Han retorted.

"Oh, really? I wasn't aware that the definition of listening meant to ignore one completely and do the opposite of what was asked."

"I'm sorry, Your Worshipfulness, were you saying something?" Han asked, pretending he hadn't been listening.

"You---you---you son of a Sith!" Leia exclaimed, infuriated.

"So Her Holiness can swear! I'm amazed you had it in you."

"Can't we all just get along?" Luke asked, fed up of all the arguing.

"No!" Han and Leia yelled at Luke in reply.

Chewie just shook his head and tried to block the Princess and smuggler out, wondering the entire time if this was what he would have had to go through in the galaxy where the Empire did rule. Maybe Princess Leia and Han wouldn't have fought like children. Maybe they would have gotten along. Chewie glanced back at the two and decided that there was little to no chance of that.

It had been approximately five days, thirteen hours, twenty-four minutes and forty-five seconds since Padmé had seen Leia. It had been exactly four days, nine hours, thirty-seven minutes and fifty-seven seconds since Anakin had been exiled to the couch for allowing Leia to go off-planet to who knows where. Padmé had to admit that she had a pretty good idea where her wayward daughter had gone. The Senate meetings had been even more boring than usual when Leia wasn't there to make snide comments via datapad, and today was no exception. Bail was absent, but he was working on the Rebellion, which Padmé privately endorsed. She pretended to know nothing about Bail's involvement when asked by other Senators since the group was considered to be criminal by the Senate and the Chancellor.

As the meeting went on, Padmé's thoughts kept returning to what Anakin had said when he had tried to break the news of Leia's disappearance as easily as possible. Anakin really had no subtly or finesse except when fighting with lightsaber in hand. It was so hard to stay angry at that man, but this time was testing Padmé's ability to forgive him. She had known he was still hiding something, but Padmé had figured it out before Anakin could even try to explain: both of their children were missing. That was what had caused her to exile him to the couch. Sure, she had ignored him for an entire day, but Padmé knew Anakin was just as (if not more) worried than she was. His overactive imagination probably had put Leia in some situation that included Hutt crime lords and bronze bikinis, not that he'd ever want to see Leia in a gold bikini or within a parsec of a Hutt. Padmé also realized that Anakin probably was more concerned about whom Leia had decided to befriend, remembering when the future-Leia had brought home a handsome Corellian freighter pilot whom Anakin had hated after the arrest of Palpatine.

Jar Jar was sitting in the seat next to Padmé. The Gungan was surprisingly good at politics. Padmé had had her doubts about her old friend at the beginning, especially with his suggestion to give Palpatine emergency powers, but he was definitely one of the better and uncorrupted politicians. Maybe Jar Jar was just as bored with the Senate meeting as she was. "Jar Jar," Padmé whispered. No response. "Jar Jar!" Still no response. "Jar Jar!" Padmé nudged him.

"Huh?" Jar Jar said, half asleep. Yes, Jar Jar was just as bored at Padmé was. Even more so, since he had fallen asleep.

"I want to talk to you about something," Padmé said. "And I figured that this would be as good a time as any seeing that both of us are bored out of their minds."

"What do yousa want ta talk 'bout?" Jar Jar asked, intrigued.

"Well, as you might know, my daughter ran away a few days ago. Anakin, in his supreme I-don't-know-what, didn't bother to tell me he didn't know where she was for a few hours after he knew she was missing. I don't know whether to forgive him or stay angry at him for a few more days."

"Was it really Ani's fault?" Jar Jar asked. "Hesa always so overprotective of yous daughter. Very overprotective. As in no let Leia date until shesa thirty."

"That is very true, Jar Jar, and it wasn't his fault, but he was supposed to be keeping track of her." Padmé sighed. "I know he is beating himself up about it, but he's not doing anything!"

"Didn't de Jedi have sometin muyo importante ta say? Like dat de Empire is not so good dat dey make demselves out ta be? Mebbe dat's why Ani not doen nothin," Jar Jar suggested.

"You're right, Jar Jar. Anakin did say something about the Empire stirring things up. He was about to go into more detail, but he got a call from the Council and had to leave. Something bad is happening, something really bad."

"Dere was some whispers 'bout mebbe de Sith combackie," Jar Jar informed her. "Mesa hopen dat dey're wrong, but if da rumors be true... Sometin really bombad is happening again. Boss Nass thinkie that mebbe Naboo should support da other side."

"What do you think of supporting the RA?" Padmé asked. The current Queen of Naboo was actually pressuring Padmé for making a decision to support the Alliance, but only on the condition that the Gungans were behind her. "Hypothetically, the Queen would agree if the Gungans agreed."

"Wesa want ta support de good guys," Jar Jar replied. "Besides, Bail and Mon think de Alliance is for de better. Theysa good, so de Alliance is da good side. Boss Nass agrees with de Queen, and mesa agree with dem."

"I'll tell Bail next time I see him, then," Padmé said. Naboo would finally be part of the Rebel Alliance. "...Jar Jar? Can you keep a secret?"

"Yep. Mesa won't tell nobody."

"I think Leia ran off to join the Alliance."

"Mesa not surprised," Jar Jar replied cheerfully. "Shesa always knows what's right. Must be because of her parents. De Alliance wud be very happy ta have her support."

"I suppose you're right, Jar Jar. She'll probably end up being one of the figureheads of the Rebellion. Everyone would know who she was, but that would also mean that bounty hunters would be after her, and she'll always be in danger," Padmé worried. "I mean, she'll be surrounded by people who would die for her, but I'm still afraid."

"Padmé, shesa be alright. Nutten bad happen ta her while yousa and Ani have sometin to say 'bout it. Plus, shesa mebbe find someone who wud guard her with his life."

And that's exactly what Anakin's afraid of... Padmé thought. "Thanks, Jar Jar. You're a really great friend."

Ysanne Isard stood clad in a gym uniform in the middle of a gymnasium and wondered how in the galaxy that while she had one of the best spy networks in the galaxy that she was still in school. Not just in school, but in a grade that almost fit her age and playing ping-pong with one of the most indisputably insufferable people in the entire universe. And Wes Janson was winning 45-0. When the Empire started to control things, she'd put out a personal bounty on Janson. He scored another point. Now it was 46-0.

"Lizard, you're being even worse at sports than usual. What's going on?" Janson asked. If Ysanne only had something other than a ping-pong paddle to hit him with...

"I'm just thinking about how I'm going to make sure you die after the Republic falls," Ysanne answered frankly. "I think I'll have you tortured and flayed before being electrocuted. If you shut up, I might just consider letting a firing squad take care of you."

"Lizard, it's not even lunch yet, and you're already talking about morbid topics. I really have to cure you of this addiction. Maybe you should start playing video games. They help you release lots of tension." Wes put on a thoughtful expression as he scored another point. "Of course, maybe you just need some anger management classes..."

Screw Anakin Skywalker, Janson's removal is more important to the sanity of the Empire, Ysanne in particular. "I think you just threw away the firing squad option," she growled. Janson scored another point.

"I'm afraid you have something wrong, Iceheart," Janson said, suddenly serious. "I'd sooner get shot down then get captured by you or your goonies."

"So you admit the superiority of the Empire?" Ysanne asked, surprised that she might score a point against the annoying should-be Rebel.

Janson's normal demeanor resurfaced. "No, just saying that I wouldn't get caught dead near any of the uptight Imps you associate yourself with. What horrible fashion sense you have! The uniforms are bad enough in black, but no, you have to outdo them." He scored another point. "I mean, come on, Lizard! An Imp uniform in red? That's even tackier than half dried glue!"

"I give up!" Ysanne exclaimed. Janson scored yet another point.

"Really?" Janson asked, surprised. "Can I get the Empire's official surrender here and now, or do I have to wait until the Rebellion beats you into submission?" The ping-pong ball bounced another two times on Ysanne's side of the table.

"The Rebellion is soon to be crushed, Janson! I heard the Grand Moff give the order himself to destroy that moon the scum has been hiding on!" Ysanne yelled at him.

Janson was not perturbed by the outburst. "Good will win out, just like it always does," he said as he sent the hollow plastic ball over the net again. "The Jedi are gonna figure out what the right side is sooner than later, according to Corran, so the Empire's odds are looking down."

"It doesn't matter! The Death Star's indestructible!" Ysanne replied, glaring at Janson. If he only knew...

"No, it isn't," Celchu stated. He and Kilvian were playing at the table next to Janson and Ysanne. The other two Rogues had apparently been listening.

"He's right, you know," Kilvian said.

"Yup," Janson agreed, scoring yet another point against Ysanne. "It's easy. All you have to do is fly down the equatorial trench in a snubfighter like a mynock out of Sith hell, evading all of the guns lining the trench and any of the TIEs which happen to try to kill you, and making a shot that's impossible for a computer of hitting an exhaust port which is no bigger than a womp rat. As I said, simple."

"You're insane, Janson. Anyone who would try to even attempt that is completely insane," Ysanne declared. "They'd have to have all of their screws loose!"

"Hence why Wedge is going to be part of the offensive," Celchu commented.

"Too bad Mr. Skywalker doesn't know about the Death Star," Kilvian said. "Corran always says that he loves flying and blowing stuff up."

"You're all incurable!" Ysanne shouted. They were really getting on her nerves. No, any of the Rogues would have insanely high bounties on them. Yes. That would be absolutely perfect! Then she could oversee all of their executions! No blowing up in space for them... unless it was at the hands of one of the Sith Lords.

"We know," Janson said happily as the teacher walked over. Mr. Halleck had finally decided that the strange conversation was worth paying at least some attention to. If not, maybe he thought Ysanne should go to the Counselor's office for a while.

"Miss Isard, are you all right?" Mr. Halleck asked tentatively.

"I'll be fine when I'm away from them!" Ysanne exclaimed.

"But Mr. Halleck, we weren't doing anything. We were just talking and playing ping-pong!" Kilvian defended himself and the other two villainous rogues.

"That's right Mr. Halleck!" Celchu exclaimed. "Hobbie and I weren't doing anything!"

"Gee, thanks, guys," Janson murmured.

"And Wes was just kicking Li---Isard's butt at ping-pong!" Celchu added.

Ysanne glared at them. "They were making fun of my political views and saying that the Rebels were the good guys, instead of the criminals that they are!"

"Now, Miss Isard, they have a right to their own views as much as you have a right to your views, but that doesn't mean that you have to scream at them because they think something different than you," Mr. Halleck scolded her.

It took all of Ysanne's self control not to glare at the teacher. "Yes, Mr. Halleck," she mumbled, trying to just get the teacher to leave.

"Good," Mr. Halleck said before going to investigate the disturbance on the other side of the gymnasium.

"I swear to God I'll get you all for this," Ysanne threatened Janson, Celchu, and Kilvian. "I swear! You'll all pay!"

"Only if you can catch us, Iceheart," Janson told her, "Only if you can catch us."

Tarkin was smirking. It was almost time for the final destruction of the Rebellion. If the Rebels were defeated, then there would be almost nothing standing in the way of galactic domination. The Jedi Order was still deemed a threat, but what were they against four Sith? Even the mighty Anakin Skywalker couldn't stand against all them and live. Tarkin was sitting on the bridge of the Death Star. In the short time from when the Sith had returned to the current day, the Death Star had been completed. Granted, when Tarkin had imagined the space station to be only half completed, he hadn't expected Lemelisk to mean that the paint job wasn't done yet. The Death Star looked better without paint, anyway.

Besides Tarkin, there were no other Moffs or Admirals, but the third Sith Lord had joined him, saying that he was the only one able to destroy the Rebel scum. While Tarkin doubted that, he had allowed the Lord to come along. It would be a good test of his skills. Grievous had almost insisted that he be allowed to come along, but Tarkin had always hated the annoying bio-droid and realized that he could only stand one evildoer with breathing problems at a time.

As to the location of the Rebel base, the Empire had known about the particular base they were about to attack for a long time. The name of the planet struck a chord with most of the Imperial commanders, but most were unsure as to why. Tarkin believed that it was when the Empire had finally won, but others, such as Xizor, were not as sure. The Dark Lord that was following Tarkin around seemed to have the same opinion as Xizor on that subject alone since they bickered the rest of the time. Despite everyone else's opinion, Tarkin was sure that the upcoming Battle of Yavin would destroy the Rebellion, and if Tarkin was lucky, Bail Organa as well. Oh, how Tarkin hated that man. The only person who was potentially as bad as Organa was that Amidala woman from Naboo.

Tarkin smiled as he issued the order to make the final jump to hyperspace. Now Yavin was a matter of hours away, and with it was the Rebellion's final destruction. Everything was going to plan...

On Yavin 4, everything was not going to plan. Leia was rather perturbed that her godfather was telling her to go back to Coruscant on the grounds that her parents were going bonkers. Of course, Bail hadn't said those exact words, but Leia figured that "bonkers" was a more succinct way to explain how her parents were acting. She had expected that her father would be banished to the couch for about a month for losing her, but she hadn't expected both of them to act as badly as they had been. For example, she hadn't expected her mother to have an intelligent conversation with Jar Jar about her disappearance during a Senate meeting. She could have imagined it after a Senate meeting or before one, but not during. Luckily, only Garm Bel Ibis had noticed.

After the conversation ended and she had walked back into the hanger bay, Leia noticed that Han had a particularly amused look on his face. "Find something funny?" she demanded of him.

"Why, yes, Princess. You just got chewed out by your old man for escaping one of the safest planets in the galaxy," Han replied.

"You were listening!" Leia accused him.

"No, it's just that everyone could hear you from out here," Han refuted nonchalantly.

"You're incorrigible!" Leia shouted at him. She was not in a good mood, and she didn't need the annoying space pirate to make it even worse.

"Princess, you should know better than to use fancy words around me. I can't be cured of my faults, you know," Han smoothly replied.

Leia glared at him. "Stop mocking me!"

"Whoever said I was mocking you?" Han asked.

"Leave me alone!" Leia yelled before storming off to somewhere where Captain Han Solo wasn't.

"What did I do?" Han asked no one in particular.

Chewie made a sound of disbelief and replied that she was already upset that she was going to have to go back to Coruscant and that Han had made her feel worse.

"Oh. Maybe I should go apologize?" Han suggested. Why did he feel badly? Stupid conscience. It always had to revive itself when a hopeless cause presented itself, didn't it? Or when he hurt a girl's feelings.

Chewie counseled Han that that would be a good idea, but that he shouldn't get in another argument while trying to apologize since that would just make everything even worse.

"You're right, Chewie, but I doubt she'd listen to me," Han said.

Chewie shook his head. No, he replied. She would listen if Han turned off the sarcasm and actually told her that he was sorry in an apologetic tone of voice.

"Thanks, Chewie," Han said and grinned before rushing off in the direction that the Princess had walked off.

Chewie went back to work on the Falcon, wondering how he had gotten himself in this mess in the first place. Then he remembered that it started off with how he had worked with Yoda during the Clone Wars...

Luke had barely been signed up for five minutes before he ran into Wedge in the hanger bay. "Wedge! What are you doing here?" he asked, somewhat confused as to how Wedge had gotten to Yavin before him. Then again, Han had made a pit stop at Myrkr for about a day to refuel.

"I work here," Wedge replied. "What about you? I thought that Kenobi wouldn't let you out of his sight?"

"I sorta left without telling anyone," Luke explained.

"I never would have expected you to do that," Wedge said, genuinely amazed. "You didn't even tell Corran?"

"No. I think that he'd feel obligated to stop me for some reason," Luke stated. "And then he'd tell Master Skywalker, who definitely wouldn't let me leave."

"I always had the impression that he was one of the more liberal Jedi Masters."

Luke shrugged. "He is about some things, like most of the rules in the Code, but he wouldn't let me go anywhere near either the Rebellion or the Empire. I know that if he had to choose one of the two, he'd send me here, though."

Wedge realized a problem with what Luke had told him. "Uh, Luke? How did you sign up? I mean, you need a last name."

Luke laughed nervously. "Well, I, uh, sorta borrowed 'Skywalker' as my last name," he admitted, then exclaimed, "It was Leia's idea, I swear!"

Wedge grinned. "Luke, you'll have no problem pulling that off as your last name. Trust me, with your flying skills, you'll be leading your own squadron after the first battle you're in!"

"I'm not that good!" Luke argued.

"Yes, you are, Luke," Wedge insisted. "Don't be so modest."

"I'm not being modest! I'm nowhere near as good as Master Skywalker at flying!" Luke exclaimed and noticed that Wedge didn't seem to be paying attention. Luke turned around just in time to see Leia storm off in the direction of the mess hall, shortly followed by Han, who had probably made her angry for the tenth time that day.

"Wow. Was she Princess Leia?" Wedge asked.

"Yeah," Luke said. "As I said, she's the one that talked me into using 'Skywalker' as my last name."

"Damn, she's hot! No wonder Tycho talks about her all the time!"

"Yeah, but she's really cranky in the morning," Luke said, causing Wedge to stare at him. "What? I was stuck on a freighter with her for a few days with her, Han, and Chewie!"

"Oh. Good."

Luke realized what Wedge had been thinking. "Wedge!"

"What was I supposed to think?" Wedge demanded. "Never mind, don't answer that. Regardless, we need to start getting ready for the impending Imperial attack."

"What do you mean?"

"There's a superweapon capable of destroying an entire planet which is going to arrive in a matter of hours. A spy alerted the High Command to the danger. Since the one-man fighters are the only things capable of destroying the space station, we have to get to the briefing."

"And you didn't mention this earlier because?"

"I have a feeling that it's all going to be all right," Wedge stated. "And I don't know where the briefing room is. You know, I should be in gym right now, not preparing to destroy the most fearsome weapon the galaxy has ever known."

"We should get going, you know," Luke said. "Waiting makes everything seem infinitesimally worse."

Wedge nodded. "I'm better now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I just remembered that I didn't leave anything to Wes."

Luke wasn't convinced. "Wedge..."

"Yes, I'm better! Let's go and find out how to blow this thing up," Wedge declared.

Reviews:

JadeAlmasy: Thank you for reviewing!

SuperBlonde: I'm glad you liked the dream sequence! I had fun writing it, like most of the parts of this chapter. Especially the conversation between Jar Jar and Padmé and the ping-pong battle.

Tinnyna: I don't know when this one will come to an end, but I'll try to get it out as soon as possible!

Jas-TheMaddTexan: Thanks! I swear I won't stop writing this one until I'm finished with it!

Favorites: Thank you Black Night Angel and Jas-TheMaddTexan for adding this to your favorites lists!

Story Alerts: Thank you Rynne Lupin and Jas-TheMaddTexan for adding this to your story alert lists!