Author's Notes: Again, I hate to say things here that will so quickly become irrelevant, but I feel the need to apologize anyway. I really did edit all of the existing chapters to this (there are another few in the works…and more after that) while on vacation in July and they really were all ready to go. The only problem is that I only had a week between coming home from vacation and going off to college, so I only had time to correct and post one of the chapters. And then I moved and very unfortunately managed to leave the disk with the remaining chapters on it at home. And I only just managed to get them back this week, so I corrected this chapter as soon as I could, and here it is! So, I hope you can forgive me for the wait and that you haven't completely lost interest. More fun chapters are coming, I swear! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, and remember to tell me what you think afterwards, so that I'll know how to improve in the future. Also, thanks for the comments you left on the last chapter, everyone; I really do appreciate it.

dm1: I'm glad you agree about the course of action our group is taking! As for what the other people who got the message will do and whether or not Isolder will find out…well, some of that is in this chapter, and for the rest…you'll just have to wait and see! J And I know everyone is worried about Han. I'll give you a little spoiler: he's in the next chapter, so don't worry- you won't have to wait for too long.

Jessica97: Hey, Jessica! Good to "see" you! I'm really honored that you decided to come check my story out, especially since it's not a fandom you usually follow! And thank you so much for your comments; I feel quite flattered.

Stoned Rose: Wow, I completely feel flattered by your comments as well! (Are you the same Stoned Rose as the one at and stuff? Who wrote "A Brush with Fame", which is one of my all time favorites? If so, I'm even more flattered than before!) Anyway, to answer your comments: I'm so glad you said that about understanding Leia's point of view and reasoning and such. That's exactly what I was going for. You know, like those situations when you make some sort of decision and then a few days/weeks/months/years later you look back on it and can't fathom why you made it the way you did? That's what I'm trying to get across- that if she continues down the path she's on right now, it'll probably turn out to be one of those. And, yup, I hurt for Han right now, too…which is strange, since I'm the one doing it to him. Hm. It's, like, Freudian or something. Actually, to be honest, though, I hurt more for Leia. Maybe just because she's the girl, so I identify better with her, but I also really feel bad that she has such a tough decision to make: helping so many people, or making herself truly happy? It's like when you're three and you can either give your little brother the ice cream or keep it for yourself. Tough stuff. Anyway, I'll stop rambling now and get on with the story, but thank you again for your extremely flattering encouragement!

Lady Emma: Thank you so much for your encouragement! I'm glad you like it more than the book- hopefully that'll continue. Actually, I'm sorry to say that the story isn't archived anywhere else. It's actually not finished, or else I'd have it all posted. The rest of the chapters I have written still need to be fixed on the computer (the hard copies are edited already, though) and even after that, the story is far from over. All of the already-written chapters used to be in a thread at the Han Solo and the Princess forum, but that died…so you can't read them there anymore. After it's finished…well, anyone who wants to can archive it, provided that they ask first, but I don't know if it's good enough for that…

Chapter 7:

Luke sat down heavily in front of his holo-messager, dropping the recording device he'd purchased on his way home onto the table in front of him. It was a cheap looking device, but it would be good enough. Besides, Leia had sent Threepio home with him when he'd told her about the problem and asked her if she'd ever seen anything like the language in the message he'd received a few weeks ago.

He leaned forward as his messages came up on the holo-screen, and pointed out the title line on one of them,

"That's the first one, Threepio. D'you recognize the language?"

"As a matter of fact, I do, Master Luke. I have never actually had cause to use it, but it is in my memory banks. It was deciphered by Tohmas Reh-lii on the planet-" began Threepio.

"Okay, okay. Maybe we can have the history lesson later, Threepio. What I really need to know is what it says."

"Yes, of course, Master Luke. I was just coming to that."

Threepio leaned in closer, and if Luke hadn't known he was a droid, he would have sworn he was squinting in concentration.

"It says 'greetings, noble Jedi, we require your savior,'" Threepio finally said. Luke frowned up at him.

"'We require your savior'?"

"Yes, that does seem a little strange. Of course, it could also translate to something similar to 'we require you to be our savior' or 'we require your savior-ness'…if, of course, the word 'savior-ness' existed," Threepio elaborated. Luke frowned some more.

"Who gave them the idea that I had any 'savior-ness'?"

"Well, Master Luke, if I may say so, you-"

"Rhetorical question, Threepio."

"Yes, of course, Master Luke. Rhetorical."

Both looked at the screen, Luke wondering what he was supposed to do about a message from some unknown people that thought he was some sort of savior or something (Does this have something to do with my calling as a Jedi? Is this where the Force is leading me? How am I supposed to know what to do?) and Threepio waiting to see what Luke would do. A brilliant idea suddenly formed in his electronic "mind."

"Master Luke, if you opened the rest of the message, perhaps it would make more sense in context," he suggested. Luke shook his head as if to clear it of the questions floating around in it.

"Hm?" he asked absently.

"I said: if you opened the rest of the message-"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Luke sat up in his chair and tapped the appropriate box on the screen. The rest of the message appeared on the screen, all of it in strange symbols with a few letters of Basic mixed into words that didn't actually exist in Basic. Threepio leaned forward again to examine the message.

"Well, Master Luke, I can translate all of the words individually for you but sentence and paragraph structure of this language is considerably different from that of Basic, so it might confuse your brain circuits. However, I could rearrange it for you and make it understandable," Threepio suggested.

"Sure, sounds good. I'm going to answer the rest of these and then go com Chewie to see what kind of progress he's making with finding us a ship. Just come get me when you're done."

"Yes, Master Luke."

Leia stood in the center of her room, clothes spread all around her and her clothes case open on her bed. It was one of those moments when she really regretted being too stubborn to take on another valet droid besides Threepio…and sending Threepio off with Luke just when she needed to be packing.

I don't want a strange droid I don't know in my apartment all the time. Threepio might not have been made to be a valet droid, but he does a decent job with whatever I don't have time to do. And it's a little selfish to have a whole extra droid just to fold my clothes and make my lunch when there are sentients starving in the lower levels, she'd thought when she'd moved into this apartment a year and a half ago. But then she had just come from five or six years of running around the galaxy and feeling lucky when she had her own room on whatever ship she happened to be staying on, let alone a whole droid just to take care of her clothes. She'd forgotten how much time and effort bureaucracy took…and how much trouble your clothes were when you were part of one and needed to dress appropriately.

Oh, stop being ridiculous, Organa. Just pack the damn things. You're just going to rescue someone you lo- someone in the middle of nowhere. It's not going to be an ambassadorial reception.

So she started throwing flight suits, combat boots, utility belts, some spare blaster charges…and a few dresses, (just in case she needed to meet with someone important in whatever system Han was stuck in) into her case. By the time she was finished there were two cases full and one smaller shoulder bag. Well, maybe it wasn't the most efficient packing job in history, but I did it myself in less than three hours…

Her congratulatory mood lasted another five minutes, until she remembered that she was meeting Isolder at the Embassy Café in twenty minutes, before she went to put in a half a day's work so she could leave as soon as possible with (relative) peace of mind.

Her dressing job was almost as efficient as her packing had been and she arrived at the Embassy Café, which was on the main floor of the Senate building, only ten minutes late.

Isolder rose gracefully (is he ever not graceful?) from where he was seated at a choice table, and smiled. He stuck to kissing her hand, this time, for which Leia was grateful.

"So," he said after they had placed their orders with a waiter droid, "do I get to hear more about this trip you're planning?"

"Well, it's a little strange," Leia began, figuring any excuses she gave herself now would probably come up handy during the telling of the story, "basically, we're going out to the middle of nowhere to find someone we're looking for. It's sort of a…family thing," she finished, wondering how those words had found their way to her mouth. Family thing? Luke is the only one who's family in this business. What am I talking about?

"You wouldn't possibly be open to having an escort, would you?" he asked. Leia looked up at him, into his eyes, trying to see past all the diplomatic politeness he always exuded. What does he really want? Just to make sure I don't do anything I'll regret as his possible future wife? Or is he genuinely concerned for my safety? Does he really figure I'll be so much safer with him along?

"Isolder, I don't know if…I mean…why?" she asked, her words falling over one another. Maybe the best approach was the honest one.

"Well, I think it would be a good opportunity to get to know each other a little more. Everything is so busy here on Coruscant; maybe a little vacation is exactly what we need," he explained. Could he possibly, actually just want to come along for my company?

"That's very true, but are you sure this is the kind of vacation you want us to go on? I mean, I packed flight suits and combat boots," she said, immediately scolding herself for it. Come on, you idiot, stop being so clumsy! You just practically told him you wanted to go someplace with him, which you'll now have to get yourself out of, and then called him a wimp, all in the same sentence!

"You mean like an adventure?" Isolder asked, grinning with amusement. Leia looked up quickly, surprised that he wasn't insulted and that he possibly hadn't caught on to her unintentional invitation on some later vacation.

"You don't think I'd like an adventure? Come on, now, just try me. I used to have adventures all the time when I was a little boy." Leia raised her eyebrows skeptically at him. Teasing was something she had plenty of practice with, even if most of it had been with Han and not…no! We're not thinking about that, remember? You've got a prince here offering to go and have an adventure with you even though he has no clue what he could be getting himself into (not that you do either, but that's besides the point). Just enjoy it and stop being so stupid.

"You don't believe me, huh?" he said, kissing the palm of her hand, which had somehow ended up in his. She pulled it back as gently and gracefully as she could. He was a prince. She was a princess. They made a picture-perfect couple. So why did it feel wrong every time he touched her?

"You're right," he conceded, even his eyes seeming to grin, "I sat in my little chair and listened to Mother dealing with everything and watched the servants' kids running around having adventures and wished I could join them. So they were vicarious adventures, I guess. But that counts for something, right?" They both laughed, and he let go of her hand as if nothing had happened. At least he can make me laugh, and he's never really made me cry…at least not directly…although she could have cried right then, wishing she could stomp out the constant comparisons going on in her head. Well, he does this, but, then again, Han does that and if this, then that…would it never end? When was her mind ever going to be at peace again? And when it was, after she made the decision, could her heart ever be happy again?

"I'm going to rescue Han," she blurted out, looking up at him in shock when she realized what she'd said. She couldn't read the expression in his eyes. Hurt at her deception? (Had she truly been deceiving him? Wasn't it just the truth with some parts left out?) Surprise at her honesty? She looked back down to avoid having to read his gaze. Isolder looked back down as well, under the pretext of reading his chrono.

"I think we'd better postpone the rest of our conversation; we both have things to do," he said in a quiet voice. Leia winced in her heart…was it her heart? No, it was the part of her mind that liked to pretend it was her heart, trying to feel emotional about things that were actually purely rational, just to fill the emptiness, that shattered at that moment. Damn you, Organa! You've ruined it. You're a gods-damned diplomat; why'd you have to go and blurt that out like that? Now he'll leave and you won't have to bother with making a decision. It'll be already made for you and you'll regret it forever, every time you see a problem that you might have been able to fix with this! She looked back up at him as if begging him…for what? She didn't even know.

"I'm sorry, Isolder. It's just that Luke and Han were all the family I had for a long time, ever since…since Alderaan. They got me through the worst part of my life…I can't just ignore that," she stopped, not sure what to say next, and sure she'd said too much already. She'd never discussed Alderaan with him before. Maybe that's why everything feels wrong with him. He doesn't know what makes me happy and what makes me sad. He doesn't know anything about my past, anything about what's inside. He doesn't even know what my favorite color is. And I don't know anything about him. How can he possibly expect a real relationship from me? She paused in her thoughts. But maybe that's my fault, too. Maybe if I wasn't so selfish, I would have shared some of myself with him and we'd be a lot happier. She paused again, in anguish. But how many times can I share myself with people who don't give back before there's nothing of me left? The thought that Han was the one who really gave back and that Isolder never really had yet would have made her decision for her right then and there and hurt too much doing it…so she didn't think it, and was grateful when Isolder's voice broke into her thoughts.

"I know what you mean," he said, kissing her hand. (Did he really? She was too tired to decide.) "I'll com you later."

She nodded and stood still as he turned slowly to walk away. Suddenly he turned back.

"The offer still stands, you know."

She looked up at him, but he was already on his way out. Now that was something she hadn't been expecting. Could it be that she had been wrong about his sincerity? Well, Organa, how many guys do you know that would go help the girl they want to marry rescue their rival? Maybe you should stop judging people and work on judging yourself, instead.

The departure date had been set for "the next day Leia can cancel all of her meetings for," which was supposed to be the next day. Luke was somewhat doubtful of this, since Leia's schedule was so subject to change and "emergency meetings." But, then again, she was Leia, and if anyone could juggle a schedule, it was her. And they were going after Han, and if there was anyone Leia was likely to juggle her schedule for, it was him.

The wait was all right with Luke, though, because even though he was eager to get going and find Han, he really wanted to resolve the whole holo-message situation. Threepio had taken three hours to decipher both messages and the recording that went with them, only to find that they all said basically the same thing. It went something like this:

Noble Jedi Skywalker,

We beg your assistance or that of any replacement you would like to send. We have been exiled from our homeland since the days of the Dark Lord of the Sith and are confidant that you can help us right this wrong. We are presently located on Imperial Colony B-23 and are awaiting your presence. The Force be with you.

And that was it. No signature, no coordinates, no nothing. Just the colony number (don't they know that no one keeps records of which planet had been which colony anymore?) and the fact that they needed Luke's help to find their lost homeland (how in the nine hells am I supposed to do that?). He leaned back in his chair, pensively supporting his chin in his hands as he watched the recording one more time.

In a grainy, low-quality image, it displayed a tall woman in a tight fitting suit of some sort of shiny, multi-colored material that looked like scales. Some sort of reptile skin, maybe? She was speaking in the language that Threepio had deciphered and had no name for in Basic, and apparently she was reiterating what both messages said, but in a more eloquent and moving manner. Or so Threepio said. Personally, Luke thought she looked pretty staid and rational, but according to Threepio she was being remarkably emotional. I'll take your word for it, thought Luke, switching her off and going into the kitchen to continue his contemplations over dinner.

Well, whoever they are, I can't help them unless I find out where Colony B-23 is, which I can't do until I get some time to research. And finding Han definitely takes precedence over helping some people I don't know, no matter how un-Jedi-like that is. After all, I'm not a Jedi Master yet. I can still do what I want to do. The Force will have plenty of time to take over the rest of my life. Besides, it could just all be somebody's idea of a good joke...

Leia awoke on the morning of their departure with two thoughts tangled together in her mind. The first was mostly just apprehension about their trip. The second went something like I know I've forgotten something…

She found out what it was when they reached the docking bay where the ship Chewie had rented was located. On one side of the bay was a small, shabby looking ship that resembled a smaller Falcon with less character. Opposite it rested a large fleet comprised of one huge cruiser-yacht with the emblem of the Hapes Consortium emblazoned on its side, surrounded by a veritable army of Hapan Battle Dragons. Isolder's own, slightly smaller yacht was there as well, somewhere near the edge.

Oh, stang! Leia swore to herself. Isolder's mother. Now what am I supposed to do? Why'd Chewie have to go and use my clearance to get the ship he found parked in the diplomats' bay? She thumbed her com-link, which was already set to Chewie's frequency from their conversation last night.

"Chewie?"

"Princess."

"I assume we're the scrappy little one in the corner?"

"Yes, it was the best I could do on such short notice," he began.

"It's fine," Leia interrupted him hurriedly, "just speed up the preparations. I'll be there in less than five minutes and we need to leave absolutely as soon as possible." She shut off the com-link and began to stride over to the ship Chewie had procured. She hadn't talked to Isolder since the evening of that fateful conversation at the Café two days ago, and even then they'd only spoken of banalities, carefully avoiding any mention of anything of actual importance. So he didn't know the exact date of her departure. And she hadn't known the exact date of the Queen Mother's arrival. The fact that they coincided was a very bad thing, indeed. If the Queen Mother sees me…she didn't bother finishing the thought.

Not that it mattered anymore a few moments later. She was halfway across the distance to their ship when a tall, graceful figure appeared in the distance on her right, running towards her. Isolder. And if she looked beyond him, she could see the hovering dais that floated some distance behind him, containing a whole retinue centered around what could only be the Queen Mother of Hapes. Stang. I'm screwed.

"Leia! Leia!" called Isolder as he caught up with her, "you didn't tell me you were leaving today!"

"I know. I'm sorry," she said, not wanting to look at him. No sense in being shy about it, Organa. You never have been before and you can't possibly get into any more trouble than you're already in. So she raised her head and looked him square in the eyes, "You didn't tell me your mother was getting here today." Isolder grinned at her. (What in the twelve hells is there to be happy about? Han could be in some kind of trouble- and considering that it's Han, that's pretty likely- and now I'm stuck in some gods-damned diplomatic mess!)

"I know. I'm sorry, too. Guess that makes us even," his casual bantering words belied the ceremonious manner in which he bent over her hand and offered her his arm as he turned her around to face Ta'a Chume, Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium.

"Mother," he said, bowing, "may I present Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan." Leia curtsied gracefully, her diplomatic Court skills coming back to her from her days as the pride and joy of the Alderaanian Royal Court.

"Rise, my child," Ta'a Chume said from her throne on the floating dais, "I am delighted to meet you. Come sit here, by me, and we'll get to know one another." The haughty, proud face offered Leia a haughty, proud smile. And Leia smiled dazzlingly right back, wracking her mind for a solution all the while. She needn't have worried. Of course the Prince came to the rescue. (Didn't they always?)

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mother, but I'm afraid Leia has had a mission scheduled unexpectedly since we last spoke. It's something of an emergency. And I'm going with her," Isolder said hurriedly, jumping onto the dais to give his mother a polite kiss on the cheek. Leia couldn't decide whether to be grateful or angry. Well, he just saved my neck, I suppose he has a right to stick something for himself into the deal…but if he didn't know when I was leaving, how is ready to go right now? He couldn't possibly have known when we were leaving…even we didn't really, and we certainly didn't leak it out to anyone. Mon Mothma doesn't even know!

Apparently, the Queen Mother couldn't decide what to think, either. Her son and his possible fiancée were leaving to where she couldn't really keep her eye on them to make sure everything turned out just the way she wanted it to. And yet, that young Princess of his seemed a little reluctant, from what she'd seen. Maybe a little trip together was just what they needed.

"I'll contact you as soon as I can, Mother. Do enjoy Coruscant; it's really quite a fascinating place," Isolder was saying over his shoulder as he jumped off the dais. He took Leia's hands again, and neither Ta'a Chume nor Leia could tell if it was to put on a show for his mother, or because he really wanted to be holding her hands.

"Leia, I've had my droids keep both my Battle Dragon and my yacht ready. I have an extra bunkroom on my yacht, and I'm sure it would be more comfortable than…" he offered, his eyes looking seriously into hers. Again she couldn't tell whether he was being sincere or not. The message was clear, (I'd be glad to have you along- and only you) but she was touched anyway. He's kept his ships ready all this time just so he could be ready to leave with me whenever I happened to show up? But she still couldn't see herself spending all that time one on one with Isolder. No matter how good it might be for their relationship and how much nicer his yacht was than the scrap-heap Chewie had found…

"The Battle Dragon will probably do us a lot more good if we get into a sticky situation," she said, her message equally clear. Isolder nodded, his disappointment showing only in his eyes. He bowed over her hand once more in a gesture that was by now familiar to her, before heading towards his starfighter.

She couldn't tell whether she had made a mistake or done the right thing, but she was too tired and her thoughts were too filled with worry for Han to really care.