Chapter 28

It still gave the chills thinking back to that very moment, were Chancellor Palpatine the one person that she had trusted so much over the years had turned out to be the worst nightmare of every Democracy: A man that was only driven by getting as much power as possible and taking everybody out of the equation that wasn't willing to follow him.

Over and Over she just had to ask herself: How was it possible that she hadn't been able to see that betrayal coming before it was too late? Right now she didn't have an answer to that question and maybe it was better to focus on the future then thinking about a past, that was so painful her to think about even if that might be easier said than done.

As good as possible she tried to keep that negative feelings because of her return to Corcusant at bay for now and finally replied: "Of course I'm very happy to accept this position and trust me when say, that you've made the right decision considering the interests of Naboo."

After a longer pause in the conversation between Padme and the Queen, the latter finally said: "Are you planning on staying a little longer on Naboo? I can imagine that a lot of people would be happy to see you alive after all these difficult years for the planet." Of course Padme was planning on visiting her niece, her sister and her parents too, at least she hoped that they all had survived the big Galactic Civil War between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire: "Yes, I'm looking forward to see my family again after all these years and also show my two children Leia and Luke some beautiful places like the Lake Country for example." The former Senator replied and pointed the two people that stood right next to her; of course Queen Mairayn was really touched by this revelation and also could somehow imagine what kind of an emotional rollercoaster those two had been through since their supposedly dead mother was alive after all.

"Naboo can consider itself very lucky that we have such a very beautiful place like the Lake Country and of course all of the transportation vehicles on Naboo are at your supposal the whole time. Since I've studied your file in the database of Royal Archives I know how important you have been in the past for this planet and I know that the people of Naboo will once again valvue it very much that you once again are willing to represent their interests in the Galactic Senate." Queen Mairayn couldn't imagine how difficult it must have been for the former Queen of Naboo to digest all the bad things that had happened during her absence and if she was honest to herself the Queen was unsure if she would have been able to handle all this bad news at once.

Correlia IV Colony, Office of President Jenkins

Han and Chewie finally arrived at the Office of the President of the Colony and of course all Han could think about the whole time was: When could he and Chewie finally get back on the Millennium Falcon to make their way back home? President Jenkins stood up from the seat behind the big black desk and said: "Captain Solo I'm happy to see that your mission was a success and I want to thank you and your Co-Pilot in the name of all the people that live on Correlia IV, because of the very dire situation on our planet we desperately needed those medical supplies and if there's anything I can do to repay you don't hesitate to name it."

With a lot of effort Han mentioned to muster up the best fake smile he could do right now and said: "I really appreciate the gesture Sir but there's no need to repay me, because I was just doing my job as always and sometimes danger is a part of a job as a freighter pilot for the new Republic." He missed Leia a lot at this moment, even if those feelings he had for her were still kind of surreal to him because never before had he let a woman near him so much in the past. Before he had met Leia Han had lived the life of an outsider, who was very happy with the way things were and not in a million years would he have thought to ever fall in love with a woman.

Of course he had to also ask himself: Was he may be starting to get a little bit soft because of all those butterflies in his stomach? He put this thought away very quickly, because it was kind of foolish to think that for even one second. Before the silence between got too much awkward President Jenkins said: "Very well then, because I don't want to steal very much of your precious time I think there's only left to say, that it was a pleasure to meet you Captain Solo and maybe we will see each other again sometime. "

The two shook hands before Han and his Wookie Friend Chewie left the Office of the President and of course Han was pretty happy to be able to go back to his ship. The Falcon had unfortunately suffered some minor damage because of the run-in with the Imperial TIE Fighters and with everything that had happened on the flight to the Correlia System, he and Chewie would definitely have to be on the watch for some other unpleasant surprises on the way back to Coruscant.

Naboo-Theed, the Throne Room of the Queen

Of course the little speech from Queen Mairayn stirred up some other memories; she still remembered the talk she and Anakin had right here on Naboo how happy the people on her home world were that she had chosen to serve again after she had been so much popular as the youngest Queen ever elected. Still it tore very much at her heart how quickly he had went off the right path, as Palpatine had manipulated him to turn against not only the Jedi but also the Woman that he wanted to save from dying.

But the more important thing now clearly was: Thinking about how she could her people through this difficult time and make sure that they know that more secure times are ahead of them. It certainly felt very good to be home after all and she really looked forward to show her children the planet, where she not only spent her entire childhood but also became such a loved Queen.

AN: Thanks to- pink ranger 13 for adding this story to her/his favorite stories list, reviewing this story, adding me to her/his author alert subscription, adding me to her/his favorite authors list, Thanks to- .5851 for reviewing this story, Thanks to- Ash the Musical Girl 13 for reviewing this story, Thanks to- Continuer of Stories 1987 for adding this story to his favorite stories list and adding it to his Story Alert Subscription, Thanks to- Olcia Rex for adding this story to her/his story alert subscription, Thanks to-Lilnina for adding this story to her/his story alert subscription. Please read & review