Mischiefing was fun. Of course everyone thought Anakin's costume was adorable. Some, the old Nons, recognized Jacen as a Jedi and just kind of nodded as they placed candy in his sack.
"It's going to be a good haul this year," Jacen said as they tromped down a long lawn littered with fake bones. It was their neighbor's house. Already they had a sense that their own residence had a lot of visitors. In the dark it was hard to see, but there was an atmosphere of energy and activity.
"Thanks to Mom," Jaina said. "We're on the path to her Open House so everyone feels they have to join in."
"Thanks to Mom the Force is going crazy," Jacen answered his sister. "Do you feel it?"
"Yeah. Maybe it's Uncle Luke's booth about the Force."
"I was worried he'd make it sound boring."
Jaina laughed. "He says it's content."
Jacen hadn't had to turn around to check that Anakin was still with them. The little boy had stepped on his robes a few times.
"Stop walking so close to me," he complained in a loud whisper to his younger brother. "The weird kid is gone, so you can count your candy again."
"I'm glad he's not walking in with us," Jaina said, checking over her shoulder. "Mom would make us be friends with him."
"I am not showing him my room," Jacen said firmly.
Anakin frowned. "He said he wanted to come. Where'd he go?" He still huddled close to his big brother, not at all by the strange boy's disappearance.
"Probably found someone else to bug," Jacen decided.
Han Solo's feet hurt. He cast a discreet look at his chrono. The bothan- a real one, not a costume- was going on about his people's great sacrifice during the civil war. And other stuff. He used words like non-human equality and representation; concepts that were better suited for Leia's ears.
"Yeah," Han agreed for the hundredth time, desperate to get away. He widened his eyes at Leia when he caught her looking at him, and silently begged for rescue. He'd even thought the words so hard he hoped she could hear them through the Force.
She heard them, alright. And gave him that vixen smile that told him he was on his own.
Han found himself imagining pinning the bothan to the ground and shaving the fur around his face. "Yeah," he said, and scanned the party. It was going pretty well, he thought. Attendance seemed to exceed Leia's expectations, and there were more kids than adults; overall she should be pleased.
Luke's Force Ghost Story booth had a rapt audience, but Han actually saw some frowning faces. "Yeah," he interrupted the bothan rudely in mid-sentence, and turned his aching feet toward Luke. No one was not going to have a good time at Senator Organa's party. Han saw it was a kid causing the frowns; a badly behaved one, wearing an over-sized robe and pushing beings to get to the front.
"Hey kid," Han plucked him out of the crowd of seated listeners. "Pull your hood down and maybe you'll be able to hear better."
"I hear just fine," the kid said.
"Yeah? Well, you're not allowed to crawl into a Jedi's lap during story hour. It's against their rules, don't you know. Come on, I'll get you some candy."
The kid's temper flared, and the wrinkled face mask made a face at Han, spreading his lips back to reveal teeth in the worst state of decay Han ever saw.
"On second thought, looks like your mouth don't need more candy. Where's the adult you came with?"
Han peered around and didn't notice anyone who looked like they were missing a kid. The aid station was the entrance, where Chewie was. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my friend. He has a story booth about the benefits of taking care of your teeth."
Han pulled the kid toward the house, who protested, "but I want to hear about the Force ghosts! Let go!" He started to struggle, flailing his arms around, and some heads turned in Han's direction.
Han released his hold, checking that no photographers or his wife had caught him upsetting a child, even if he was a brat. He leaned into the shadow of the oversized-hood. "Fine," he said, "but find your adult. If I catch you pushing anyone again I'll eject you personally."
To the galaxy, Leia Organa was the tragic Princess, inspirational rebel, and now intellectual Senator. But she was also a mother, and that was the role that was most important to her.
A flicker of worry crossed her face which did not fail the notice of Mon Mothma, Chancellor of State. She was dressed as a character from a popular children's board game, the Candy Queen, with a big hoop skirt and a walking stick. "Is everything all right, Leia?" she asked.
Leia flashed an apologetic smile to her mentor. "Yes. I'm sorry. The children were out mischiefing, and I sense they've come home. I think my youngest was a bit affected by the atmosphere."
"Oh, dear," Mon Mothma said, taking Leia's Force connection with her children in stride. "I was against turning the lamps off. Things look very different in the shadows."
"They do. If you don't mind, I'd like to check on him. Why don't you come inside?"
"I'd love to," Mon Mothma accepted. "There aren't as many holophotographers inside, are there? I feel my cheeks will fall off from smiling so much."
"No holocams inside," Leia said.
"The event is a great success," Mon said as they moved through the crowd of children. Her wide hooped skirt paved an unobstructed path for them. "I congratulate you, Leia. And I would like to see it continue as a New Republic tradition. Maybe we'll hold it on the grounds of the State's residence next year."
"That would be fabulous," Leia said. "It's been a lot of work putting this together. And Han didn't like the idea of opening up our home."
"I can't blame him," Mon Mothma said. "As Princess, of course, you are used to your home as belonging to the people. General Solo is a private man."
"He is. I even had trouble getting him into uniform. It is fun to dress up, though, isn't it? I have no idea what to be next year."
"I'll stick with the Candy Queen. It's the least political." She raised her voice in fun. "Make way! Fear not, for the Candy Queen walks with the Witch of the Forest!"
Lando Calrissian ladled punch into small cups and organized them in diagonal rows on the table. He stepped back to admire his handiwork. Fifty cups. That should hold the thirsty buggers a while. Who provided all those sugared cakes? It was no wonder he'd been ladling punch nonstop, and he was getting tired of the job.
He scanned the crowd. There were all kinds of A-list beings here tonight. Leia sure knew how to throw a party, even if it was for kids. What he was looking for was a female, human or humanoid- he wasn't picky- and ideally unattached; someone to share the evening with and maybe the next day too. Ah! He spotted a dream. An enchantress. That was the costume the woman wore. Spiked heels, shiny nerf leather, red velvet gown, fire jewels. They looked real, too.
He checked that his cape was secure at the collar of his general's uniform- that was his only concession to dressing up- and made to saunter away from his table.
"Where are you going, Calrissian?" Damn, did Solo have eyes in the treetops?
"Uh, 'fresher break?" Lando said.
"No thanks," Han smirked at him.
"Damn it, Han. It was sixteen years ago Darth Vader put you in carbonite. You know I suffered."
Han poked a finger in Lando's chest. "You didn't suffer like I did, pal."
"Yeah, well, it was a long time ago. You're fine now. You got all this." Lando waved his hand around to indicate the yard and house. "Time to forgive."
"Forgive yourself, Lando. It's too much fun making you jump."
Suddenly, they heard, "What happened to Darth Vader?"
Both Han and Lando looked down at their interruption. It was that kid with the awful teeth, Han recognized. In the better lighting of the punch station Han saw the brat was wearing a hideous mask he mostly concealed behind the huge hood.
"You lost, kid?" Han asked.
"I was," the boy replied. "But I believe I'm in the right place now."
"Good for you," Lando beamed like a hypocrite. "Would you like some punch?"
"I heard you say Darth Vader," the boy accepted a cup and clutched it with yellowed fingernails.
Han ignored the kid. He didn't like him at all, and maybe if he kept on talking to Lando the kid would go away. "You seen a lot of Vader costumes? The guy is not popular anymore, is he?"
"He's not popular?" the boy turned an intent eye on Han. "What happened to him?"
"You could say he passed into history," Lando said. "Don't you go to school?"
"Is he dead?"
"Very," Han answered. "Why don't you go back to the Force Ghost booth and pay attention. "
"Is he good, or bad?"
"He was worse than mischief, that's for sure." This kid sure was strange. Han decided to veer him off the subject. "Hey, you put a lot of effort into that costume. Show it off. What's with the hood?"
"What about the Force?" the boy asked. "Does Vader burn in the Force?"
Han lowered the boy's hood, and revealed a gory face of decay. "Yikes," he said. "Jedi Master Skywalker would be the one to answer that." Something about this kid gave him the creeps. "But that's a cool get-up. What kind of compound did you use to get those wrinkles? I like the way it dries. I should get some."
Han gave the boy's cheeks a squeeze, who let out a blood-curdling cry and leaped into a tree.
"Did you- how'd he-" Lando sputtered.
"Han!" Leia barked out.
"Hi, Sweetheart."
"What are you doing? Did you scare a child?"
"How'd you get over here so fast? Do you have eyes in the trees? Maybe you could use 'em and track down some weirdo kid."
The being scurried unseen. No one had a sense of him. No one, how could they? He was the unthinkable.
His patience was wearing thin. That he was unthinkable filled him with rage. And the ease of life, the comfort all enjoyed... it was so unfair.
The names he heard tonight...
He would take it all back. He would deliver the punishment they had eluded all those years ago. Everywhere. He would burn life to the ground. He didn't need it.
He selected a twi'lek holophotographer. "Join me, or die."
But he didn't give the man a choice. The body slumped to the ground.
The being looked for his next victim.
"Once upon a time," Luke began for his fifth audience, "near the Ion Belt, there was a storm. It was said to last a thousand years, and when it was done, poof!" Luke spread his hands and stomped a foot forward to make his audience jump, "the Force was born."
He levitated candy with the Force while he spoke. The sweets swirled like a constellation above the audence's head. It kept their attention, he found. And it kept them from leaving, because they waited to get their candy back.
He didn't really know about the origins of the Force, but he had some theories, and anyway this was a storytime booth. "It was blue, and it was transparent, which means you could see through it, and it jumped from water to land, from fish to mammal, until it had spread all over the galaxy."
Luke added more candy to the swirl. "It was in your fires, in your food, the way your ran and thought. It still is."
He kept his casual air, and without looking at the beings he selected, levitated two children slowly in the air, still in their seats.
"Mama!" a girl shrieked.
"Look at you!" her mother exclaimed, and took a picture with an imprint device.
"And then someone thought about it, and wondered how, and wondered why, and thought some more, and pretty soon, he could do things." Now Luke poured himself a glass of water without touch flask or glass. He paused to drink.
"Everyone has the Force," he said. "It's in all of us. It connects us, life to life." He set the children down. "Some say it's tricks. Some say it's magic. But they've never been able to explain it." He guided the candy back to the correct sacks. "Now, who wants to hear about a Force ghost?"
"Me, me!" came numerous shouts, but Luke didn't begin right away because he was watching what looked like the skin of a Hutt peel away to reveal an upset human woman hidden inside. His beautiful wife, and his baby son, whom he had named after the first Force ghost he met. "This is Mara, also a Jedi Master," he introduced his family to the crowd.
"Luke," Mara Jade drew her husband aside without acknowledging the crowd. Her face was sweaty from being inside the Hutt costume, and worried for the howling infant she cradled in her arms.
"What's the matter with Ben?" Luke asked. He passed a gentle hand over his son's fine hair and cooed at him. "What's twubling my wittle Ben, huh? Wittle Ben, don't cwy." He straightened. "Want me to take him?"
"I think something's wrong with him," Mara said. "I know I don't know everything about raising a kid. I was looking for Leia. Maybe it's gas? He was sound asleep and then all of a sudden he let out this horrible shriek, like he was in pain or something, and he hasn't stopped crying since. It's been about fifteen minutes. I can't get him to stop."
Luke was also a novice to parenthood and concerned for his family, his wife, and his son. "Hmm," he said. "Let's bring him inside, anyway. Maybe he was hot in the Hutt costume."
"Maybe he needs a medic. You know what the baby info says. All they can do to let you know something is wrong is cry, and he is really crying!"
"Okay, okay," Luke tried to soothe his distressed wife. "I'll close my booth for a while. Let's go find Leia."
Han was trying to find out who the wrinkly kid belonged to. "They all sign in, right?" he demanded of the security crew. "And we capture their holo. Get me a name for this kid and who the parent is."
"Yes, General Solo."
Han turned to Chewie. "Bet you anything he's a bothan under that disguise."
*I don't think so* Chewie answered. *I think he's human.*
"He's a weird kid. Did you talk to him at the door?"
*Yes and I put a sucker into his robe pocket. He didn't have a sack. I roared at him, say thank you, and he cackled and said, die!*
"Weird kid," Han repeated. "He understood you? Not many do."
*I am not sure. I think he enjoyed saying die.*
"Who raised this kid?" Han wanted to know. "Rude."
"General Solo," security waved at Han. "The being is unaccounted for. But we have footage of him entering the grounds."
"Oh, yeah? Who's he with?"
"Your children, sir."