Chapter 56: Picking Up the Pieces

Once again, Aang was glad to be home.

With the skies clear of imperial patrols and rebel fighters clearing the ground, Aang was free to soar through the air to his heart's content. He was flying as high as his glider could carry him, held aloft by the winds and his airbending, enjoying the rush for the first time in what felt like forever. Aang kept his eyes on the horizon, not wanting to look up at the stars, not wanting to look down at the city. The former was a future he would have to face, the latter was a past he would have to deal with. Here in the middle, where land met sky, he could clear his mind of his problems and simply enjoy living.

When his arms started to get tired Aang began his descent, heading back down to Ba Sing Se. Aside from the massive walls the city was unrecognizable, between the imperial architecture and the battle damage there was very little of the old Earth Kingdom capital left. There were still stormtroopers fighting in parts of the city, though the rebellion fighters were steadily clearing them out. Reconstruction efforts were underway in the secured parts of the city, first and foremost being the removal of the crashed Star Destroyer from the upper ring.

As he approached the ground Aang spotted some old friends in the upper ring, and he came down for a landing in front of them. "Katara! Sokka! There you are!"

"Aang!" Katara shouted back. She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I was worried sick! No one knew anything about where you were!"

Squeezed hard by the hug, Aang tried to return the gesture. "Well if it makes you feel any better, I wasn't frozen for another century."

"The thought had crossed my mind," Sokka admitted. He waited for his sister to let go of Aang before offering a handshake. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Aang said, accepting the handshake. "Let's try to make it last more than a few days this time."

Noticing a slightly stronger grip, Sokka looked down. "Hey, what happened to your tattoo?"

"Oh, that," Aang said. He held up his artificial hand, letting Katara see that part of the arrow tattoo was missing. "It's kind of a long story."

"We've got time," Katara said. "For once."

"So come on, spill it," Sokka insisted. "How'd you did the tattoo removed?"

"Not by choice," Aang admitted. He closed his eyes as he thought back to that moment, closing his hand while trying to pretend it was the real thing. "I… lost the hand."

"What?" Sokka blurted out.

"It was cut off," Aang muttered. He waggled the fingers of the replacement hand. "This one's just a very convincing fake."

Katara was looking a little green in the face imaging the wound. "That's horrible…"

"I know," Aang said. He put his hand in a pocket and forced himself to smile. "But enough about my problems. What have you two been up to while I've been gone?"

"You know, the usual," Sokka said. "Surviving by the seat of our pants, going up against impossible odds, somehow managing to pull through alive, same old same old."

"Is it bad that you're not wrong?" Katara wondered aloud.

"You're not the only ones like that," Aang said. He pointed a finger at the sky. "It's even worse up there. Toph and I were stuck on the Empire's capital, and it took everything we had to survive."

"You'll have to tell us all about that," Sokka insisted.

"Once we find Toph," Aang said. "She would kill me if I tell you guys the worst parts without her there."

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere," Katara said. She looked up at the rebel ships coming and going in the sky. "I get the feeling she will never want to leave the ground again."

Meanwhile, Luke had taken the first available shuttle off Earth.

It was a relief to be heading back into space again, even if he wasn't the one to fly the tiny ship. He wasn't alone on this flight, since Han and Chewbacca were sitting across from him, discussing what kind of ship to procure and name the Millennium Falcon II. All three of them were eager to board Home One, where they would be briefed on what they had missed, and reunite with old friends. Luke slept through part of the flight, being that tired after a long day fighting the Empire, though his rest was ended prematurely when the shuttle landed in Home One's hangar.

"I am never spending that much time on one planet ever again," Han promised. He was the first one to get off the shuttle, and he was hoping the mess hall's liquor supply was fully stocked. "Especially not one that hasn't even invented the radio yet."

"At least you ended up in a temperate climate," Luke said. "I had to spend most of that time in the frozen tundra. Not Hoth-cold but still pretty cold."

Chewbacca was right behind them, and he grumbled something odd about the nature of Earth.

"Yeah, a lot of different climates on one planet," Han said. "You'd think worlds like this one would be a lot more common."

The group shared their stories about Earth as they walked through the ship, making their way over to Leia's office. They got many surprised looks from the crew as they passed by, since most of them had believed two of the three were dead. The rumor mill quickly got to work, with all sorts of theories going around about how they had survived. Han did nothing to dissuade the speculation, since it would only help rebuild his reputation after a year of absence. Everyone stepped aside as they walked past, since no one wanted to get in their way.

When they reached the office they found Leia at her desk, going over reports when she looked up and saw her company. "You're alive!"

Leia got up and ran across the office, throwing her arms around Luke and not wanting to let go. He returned the embrace, despite the eyes watching them. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"I just didn't want to believe it until I saw you," Leia admitted. They let go and she backed up to a more comfortable distance. "I mean I knew, I saw your messages, but I just had to be sure."

"Yeah well I don't blame you for thinking we were dead," Han said. "Chewie and I did almost die a few times trying to get off that ship."

"How did you pull that off anyway?" Leia asked. "Crippling a Super Star Destroyer from the inside could not have been easy."

"Wait, what?" Luke blurted out.

"Oh right, you didn't see that," Han said. "Well I thought we were going to die no matter what we did, so Chewie and I set the Falcon to go into hyperspace. This was inside a hangar, by the way."

"I thought hyperdrives had failsafes to prevent that sort of thing," Luke said.

"You know damn well I bypass failsafes whenever I can," Han said. He looked at a mortified Leia. "They get in the way of making impossible maneuvers."

"No wonder the Falcon always needed repairs," Leia noted.

"Is there anything left of it?" Luke asked.

"Afraid not," Han admitted. "No one tell Lando what happened. I still owe him another sabaac game over who's supposed to own the Falcon."

"My lips are sealed," Luke promised.

"Mine aren't," Leia teased.

"Are you really going to hold that over me?" Han said.

"Only until I need something," Leia said.

Han put a hand to his chest and acted like he was in pain. "You wound me."

Leia smiled, and for once it seemed like everything was right in the world.

"We've finally got the gang back together."

Sokka was pleased with that little declaration, once Toph and Suki had joined the group in the upper ring. Zuko was there as well, but Sokka didn't really count him since his time with the group had been so short, though he believed Aang would want him counted anyway. He certainly didn't count Azula or her friends, but at least that was something they could agree on, before the dangerous ladies went off to spend time somewhere else. As a group the six of them walked through one of the few remaining intact streets of Ba Sing Se, with Zuko scowling as he was in the front of the group.

"How long before we split up again?" Toph asked.

"No, no more of that," Sokka objected. For emphasis he put one arm around Toph and the other around Suki and pulled them in close. "Every time we split up everything goes wrong. We are sticking together from here on out, no exceptions."

Toph jammed her elbow into Sokka's side to get him to let go. "No arguments there."

"So are all of us going to leave Earth this time?" Suki asked. "Because I feel like I've been missing out on a grand adventure for a while now."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Sokka said. "I really should have brought you along the first time."

"It's not a fun as you'd think," Toph said. "Between getting sick each time we leave a planet, and the fluctuating bending strength on each planet is just a pain in the butt to keep track of."

"Imagine having four elements to manage with that," Aang said. "Some get stronger, some get weaker, and they hardly ever match. Seems like the only place they're in balance is here."

By then they reached a makeshift shop along the street, where an elderly man was trying to lift people's spirits with expertly prepared tea. "Ah, nephew, I could really use your help."

There were a lot of people lined up in front of Iroh, though Zuko could see the volunteers helping him serve tea. "Just don't make me wear that apron."

"Do you need us to do anything?" Aang asked.

"Some creature comforts would be nice, for all the people here," Iroh answered.

Aang and Toph got to work earthbending some stone seats right out of the ground, and although they weren't comfortable it was something for people to sit on. Katara pulled clean water from every available source nearby, making it flow into barrels for Iroh to use for brewing more tea. Sokka and Suki simply helped with handing out the cups of tea Zuko poured, which had the line moving faster and satisfying more people. Everyone overheard bits and pieces of conversation amongst the people, and it was nice to a small sense of normalcy, like this was another day at Iroh's old teashop.

Each of them sneaked in their own drinks at one point or another, and they enjoyed the special blend Iroh was handing out. Where Iroh had gotten the supplies Aang didn't know, and he didn't want to ruin the moment by asking about it. He overheard several people commenting about this little bit of charity, and seeing the Avatar here was reassuring to many of them. However, even Iroh's supply had a finite limit, and eventually he ran out of tea to give away. Still, people would be speaking of the old man's generosity for some time, and it was more than worth the time to cheer people up.

Sitting down on one of the stone seats, Aang watched the last few people with tea walk away. "I can kind of see why you like doing this Iroh. It's nice to see people enjoying themselves again."

"It is rewarding to see your talents appreciated," Iroh said. "And I appreciate the help in making this happen. You've made this old man proud."

"Don't encourage him too much," Zuko warned. "Once he gets you into talking about tea, you'll never hear the end of it."

"Guilty as charged," Iroh joked.

Enjoying a hot cup of coffee in what might as well be morning, Luke was sharing the moment with Leia.

They had spent much of the night catching up, while Han and Chewbacca had gone off to enjoy themselves elsewhere on the ship. Luke was suitably briefed on recent rebel activity, including the divide and conquer approach to exploiting current chaos within the Empire. No word yet on how the other operations were going, but that was to be expected. Those battles were still in progress, and there were people in Leia's portion that wanted her to take Home One and assist them, if they could arrive in time to help.

"When do you plan on leaving?" Luke asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Leia admitted. She gulped down the rest of her drink and set the cup down. "If we leave now there's nothing stopping the Empire from coming back and picking things up where they left off. Coming here would have been for nothing."

"Not really though," Luke said, raising his cup to point to himself.

"I mean as far as the Rebellion is concerned," Leia corrected. "I'm glad you're back, and you're popular with the rank and file, but that's not going to convince Mon Mothma that this was worthwhile."

"Right," Luke said, nodding in agreement. "I bet you could convince her if you recruited a ton of Earth's benders to join the cause."

"That's going to be difficult," Leia said. She took a moment to refill her cup. "We haven't exactly been good to them, and the people here just want to be left alone. At the very least we should deal with the holdouts before we go."

"Sokka will appreciate that," Luke said. "He just wants things to go back to the way they were before the Empire showed up. He says it was a difficult peace, but at least his planet was recovering."

"If only the galaxy could have that much," Leia grumbled.

Luke sensed the approach of someone familiar, and he put on a fresh pot as the door opened. "Yoda, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise," Yoda said. He pulled a high chair over to the table, so that he could sit at only slightly below eye level of Luke and Leia. "For a time, I had feared the worst."

"I'm sure everyone did," Luke said. He refilled his cup and poured another for Yoda. "But now we have to move on."

Yoda accepted the cup with a nod, though it wasn't his preferred drink he took a sip anyway. "That may be more difficult than any of us can imagine."

Luke let out a long sigh and downed an entire cup in one gulp. "You've felt it too?"

"Yes," Yoda said. "A disturbance in the Force, heading across the galaxy, chasing another."

There had been an unsettling feeling in her spine that Leia hadn't wanted to admit. "You're certain about that?"

"I don't like it, but I am," Luke admitted. "There's only two people I can think of that this could be."

"Vader, or the Emperor," Yoda confirmed. "They seek to destroy each other."

"Let them," Luke suggested. "I'm not ready to face either of them anyway."

"None of us are," Yoda said. "However, we may have some time before such a confrontation is necessary. As such, we need to resume your training."

Luke nodded. "I'm ready."

Leia smiled at him. "Better you than me."

Just when Aang thought he had seen all the good news there was to find, one more thing came to his attention late in the afternoon.

"Appa!"

The big furry beast came swooping out of the sky, letting out a mighty roar as a warning for everyone else to get out of his way. Appa dived into one of the upper ring streets, pulled up at the last second, and flew straight for the young airbender. Aang jumped, made a cushion of compressed air in front of him, and let the sky bison fly right into him. His entire body slammed into the furry head, limbs stretched out as far as possible, trying to hug someone many times his size. Appa flew back up into the sky with Aang, wanting privacy for their long overdue reunion.

"I missed you buddy," Aang said. He squeezed as hard as he could, not wanting to let go every again. "I'm so sorry I had to leave you behind."

Appa made a gentle growl, as if say apology accepted.

"Were the other sky bison good company?" Aang asked.

A pleased roar was Appa's answer.

"Good to hear," Aang said. He climbed up the reins, wondering who had gotten the new set for him, and then noticed the saddle accessories. "Did someone have you helping them fight?"

A disgruntled nod was enough from Appa.

"I see," Aang muttered. He took the reins and guided Appa down again, heading back into the upper ring of the city. "Well hopefully you won't need to keep these weapons for much longer."

A crowd had gathered where Appa had scooped up Aang, startled and amazed by the reappearance of the sky bison. His friends were at the center of it, waiting for them to come back and maybe pick them up for a ride, if they were willing to share the reunion. The civilians backed away as Appa came in for a landing, stopping right in front of Sokka and Katara, while Zuko and Suki were standing further back. Toph ever so slightly flinched when Appa landed, being the only one that hadn't actually seen the bison pick up Aang.

"About time the big fuzzball reappeared," Toph said. "Where has Appa been all this time?"

"Haru and I found him in a hidden valley," Zuko answered. He looked up at Aang. "How'd you even know about it in the first place?"

"Found it in some old scrolls from the Southern Air Temple," Aang answered. He paused to help Sokka and Katara get up into the saddle, then turned back to Zuko. "During the year after the war ended, Appa was getting pretty lonely. I was hoping to find clues to the location of wild sky bison, so he could have someone to play with."

"Aww…" Katara said, finding the sentiment heartwarming. "You wanted to find him a girlfriend."

"Sort of, yeah," Aang admitted, slightly blushing. "But then the Empire showed up, and I had to bring Appa to the wild herd for an entirely different reason."

"So when can we see the other sky bison?" Sokka asked.

"I'd wait before going there," Zuko warned. "They're not used to strangers. I'm also certain that Haru and Han and Chewbacca and I are not welcome there."

Appa growled something at Zuko under his breath.

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," Zuko said. He watched Suki and Toph get into the saddle, but he stayed put. "And I'm not getting up there. Riding the bison was always something you guys did, not me."

"You could chase us around for old time's sake," Sokka suggested.

"I'd rather not," Zuko said.

"Come on, let's get flying already," Suki said. "You guys haven't taken me along for a ride in so long I've nearly forgotten what it's like."

Toph was in the back of the saddle with her hands firmly holding on. "I'm ready whenever you guys are. So let's get this thing going already."

"Okay, everyone hang on," Aang said. He leaned over to look at Appa upside down. "Yip-yip."

Appa took off, flying up into the sky with everyone aboard, enjoying the flight simply for its own sake.

Spending time in what passed for a cantina aboard Home One, Han and Chewbacca were making the most of what the mess hall had to offer.

The Rebellion didn't officially keep stock of its alcohol supply, it was more of a 'bring your own' policy amongst the crew of every ship. As such the selection often varied widely from one ship to another, and the good stuff would often vanish after a battle. Han's secret stash was long gone, to his disappointment, but he found a bottle of Corellian whiskey and eagerly took it. The first drink tasted like paradise, and he passed the bottle to Chewbacca. They were sitting at a table in a corner of the mess hall, pouring one drink after another and slamming them back.

Getting tipsy but not yet drunk, Han spotted a familiar face. "Hey! Lando! Long time no see!"

"I heard you finally got back," Lando said. He pulled up a chair and slammed a bottle of Seikoshan liquor on the table. "I'm sure you have quite the story to tell."

"Not as good as yours I'm betting," Han said, eying the rather formal outfit Lando was wearing. "Did they actually make you an officer? Or did you take that off some poor sap and no one said anything?"

"I was just as surprised when they made the offer," Lando admitted, already pouring a drink for himself. "Apparently, running a city-sized mining and smuggling operation makes for good people management skills, which the Rebellion certainly needs."

"Still, all the way up to general, I never got that far up the command chain," Han said. He refilled his drink and raised his glass. "A toast, to moving up the galaxy."

"To greater responsibilities," Lando said, clanking his glass to Han's.

Chewbacca clanked a third glass, and muttered something profound.

"Hear-Hear," Han said, and he threw back his drink in one big gulp.

Lando slammed back his liquor and poured another. "I'll drink to that."

That was only the start of their little reunion party, drinking to their hearts' content, sharing stories both old and new. For all they cared they were back in one of many seedy cantinas on any number of smuggler havens, enjoying themselves with no regard for the world around them. Lando described his surprising turn toward becoming 'legit' with his new role, while Han mused on missing out on the latest smuggling fads. There was so much he could have done to make a credit on the side, as Lando did while working with the Rebellion.

After several drinks Lando's mood turned a bit sour. "Alright, be straight with me, what really happened to the Falcon? There are so many rumors swirling around, each more ludicrous than the last."

Han had been about to take another drink, but put the glass down instead. "You're not going to like it."

"That ship and I have been through a lot," Lando said. "I can handle it."

"It's gone," Han said, letting out a long sigh. "I set the hyperdrive to go off inside the hangar of a Super Star Destroyer. It crippled that ship, and it was destroyed doing it. At the time I thought Chewie and I were going to die anyway, and I wasn't going to let the Empire keep the Falcon."

"Sounds like she went out in a blaze of glory," Lando said.

"More like a desperate whimper," Han admitted. "If there had been any other way out of that mess, I would have taken it."

Chewbacca muttered something depressing.

"We really shouldn't be alive," Han said. "Sometimes I wonder if we should have gone out with the Falcon. That ship was our home."

"Don't think that," Lando said. "You survived, and if I ever had to choose between you guys and a ship, I will pick you two every time."

"I know you're fudging the truth there, but I appreciate it anyway," Han said. He poured a fresh round of drinks for them and held up his glass. "Still, it was a hell of a loss. The Falcon was a hell of a ship."

Chewbacca picked up his glass and roared something loud and proud.

Lando likewise lifted his drink. "To the Millennium Falcon!"

"To the Millennium Falcon!" Han toasted.

The three of them clanked their glasses together and threw back their drinks.

Despite all the good news Aang received since the fighting stopped, there were still some issues that had to dealt with that he would prefer to ignore.

First and foremost was the matter of prisoners captured during the fighting, currently awaiting judgement from their captors who weren't certain of what to do with them. They were being held in the same prisons built by the imperials, scattered across the world in all the major cities and towns. The largest was in Ba Sing Se, and it held prisoners captured outside the city as well. That included the task force the imperials sent to destroy the underground resistance base, and in turn had been trapped inside the abandoned cavern.

Most of them had surrendered when it was obvious they had lost, but there was one in particular that had to be subdued with force and restrained afterward. "Jet…"

Aang was looking at the former freedom fighter from behind a pane of two-way glass, where the prisoner wouldn't know who was watching him from the other side. It had been years since Aang had seen Jet, having assumed that he learned his lesson back when Katara froze him to that tree. Apparently not, given that his vendetta against the Fire Nation was still alive and well. Even now, when he was restrained to the chair and barely able to move, he was fuming with a rage that could never be quelled, struggling for the sake of having something to fight against.

"What was he doing with the invaders?" Aang asked.

Standing with Aang and his group of friends, Kori much preferred to be on this side of the interrogation. "He believes that since the Empire destroyed the Fire Nation, they must be the good guys."

"Because destroying nations totally means good guys…" Aang grumbled.

Katara's mood wasn't much better. "We gave him a second chance, and this is what he does with it? I guess it was too much to hope for him to change."

"Were any of his friends involved?" Sokka asked. "Smellerbee? Longshot? Sneers? Any of them?"

"I don't know any of those names," Kori answered.

"Okay, they must have gone their separate ways," Sokka said, certainly relieved that Jet acted alone.

"So where do you know this guy from?" Toph asked. "Because I do not recognize him at all."

"Jet's from a village on the western side of the Earth Kingdom," Sokka described, remembering that part of the journey north vividly. "The Fire Nation set up a colony there, and Jet flooded it."

Wincing at that remark, Suki could picture the indiscriminate destruction. "How many people died?"

"None, though not for lack of trying," Aang answered. "Sokka warned them in time, and they actually believed him. The people got out before the flood swept through their homes."

"So he has no problem with killing civilians," Toph surmised. "No wonder he sided with the Empire."

"What are we going to do with him?" Katara asked. She looked at each of her friends in turn, all of them hesitating to make a decision. "He's not like the other collaborators we've captured, who helped the Empire because they had no other choice. Jet chose to betray us again."

"And he's just going to do it again, if given the chance," Sokka added.

"We can't imprison him forever," Aang said. He started walking to the door. "I'm going to have a word with him."

Jet watched as Aang entered the room from the other side, surprised that the Avatar had come to deal with him personally, having believed that the young airbender would have moved on long ago. He recognized the Water Tribe siblings behind him, and the look on Katara's face told Jet she hadn't forgotten about him. He didn't know the two girls that came in after them, figuring that Aang must have met them after leaving his forest behind. Jet scowled as they all came into the room, defiant even though there was nothing he do to stop them.

"Just get it over with," Jet said. "Whatever you are going to do, just do it already."

"And what exactly do you think we're going to do?" Aang asked.

"Like you haven't thought of it," Jet said. "I'm your prisoner of war, and you know what the Empire does with them."

"We're not the Empire," Sokka said. "We're not going to execute you just because we can."

"Or at all, really," Aang said. "The thing is, a lot of people are certain you won't stop hurting people no matter what happens. But I don't like the idea of imprisoning you forever either."

"That leaves quite the conundrum for us," Suki said. "Where in the world can we put you that you can't do any more harm?"

"I was hoping we could settle this peacefully," Aang admitted. He looked Jet in the eye, finding no change in the glare being sent his way. "But you're not going to stop, no matter what, are you?"

"And why should I?" Jet snapped. "The Fire Nation took everything away from me, and from you! The Fire Nation-"

"Is gone!" Aang interrupted. "There's nothing left for you to fight."

"The nation was destroyed, but firebenders loyal to it are still alive," Jet said.

"And they're trying to live peacefully," Aang said. "But you can't see that. You can't let go."

"I'll never forget what they did," Jet promised.

Aang let out a long sigh and turned away. "Fine. If that's the way you want it to be."

Still in the other room, Kori watched as Aang and others returned. "Well?"

"He can't stay here," Aang admitted. There was one solution he could think of, though he didn't like it. "The Rebellion is going to take the captured imperials off Earth. We could put Jet in with them."

"If he loves the imperials so much, he can live in exile with them," Kori said. "You think we can just lump him in with the rest and just not tell Leia he isn't one of them?"

"Maybe, but it wouldn't be polite," Sokka said. "We've been honest with Leia so far. She deserves to know when we're unloading one of our problems on her."

For the first time in well over a week, Leia got to relax.

Her subordinates practically forced it on her, all but threatening a mutiny if she didn't take care of herself. The fleet was going to need her at her best when the inevitable imperial counterattack happened, and with it bound to arrive soon this was the only time for her to get some much-needed rest. With Yoda distracted by training Luke, Leia finally got to have some alone time without the little green man insisting on training her in the Force instead. She slept through the night and well into the following morning, having a dreamless sleep that made her seem dead to the world

Waking up with a long yawn and stretching her arms, Leia felt like she could take on the universe. "I needed that."

Still, she didn't need to return to work just yet. The bridge officers had insisted on a minimum amount of time, and she still had an hour left. Leia enjoyed a small meal brought to her quarters, and did some personal reading while running out the clock. Much to her surprise there were no sudden alarms or emergencies that required her attention, allowing her to spend the time in peace and quiet. Leia wished she could afford to make this alone time last much longer, but that was something that couldn't happen as long as the war still continued.

Upon leaving her quarters Leia looked at one of the guards posted at her door. "I'm going for a walk."

The guard nodded. "We'll provide escort."

She didn't like it, but it was something she'd accepted long ago. Leia walked through the halls of Home One with the guards behind her, keeping watch for assassins and saboteurs that may try to strike at her. She wasn't expecting any trouble, but then any shipboard threat capable of getting to her would not let her know it was coming. Leia observed the crew as she walked, seeing them hard at work with repairing battle damage. The repairs were not pretty, mostly patch jobs meant for stability, leaving the more difficult problems to deal with later.

Leia was more concerned about morale, and the crew seemed to be in high spirits. The victory high was still boosting confidence amongst the crew, though signs of pessimism regarding future fights were starting to show. It helped to let them see that she cared about their work, which was more than many could say about a few other Rebellion leaders. The appreciation was mutual, since it let Leia feel as if she were closer to the crew and sharing in their toils. She may be in charge, but she didn't want to seem like she was above everything.

Eventually she made her way to the hangar, and she spotted a pair of droids watching the repair work. "3PO, R2, I thought you two would be with Luke."

The golden protocol droid turned to face her. "I would rather not interrupt Master Skywalker's training. Nor do I want to be used for practice."

R2-D2 beeped something in a fast a high-pitched sequence.

"Well you would know better than I do," C-3PO admitted. He turned back toward the hangar, watching repair crews work on preparing X-Wings and Y-Wings for battle. "Still, we figured it was best to hang back and stay out of the way."

"Can't blame you for that," Leia said. She looked at the various fighters, and then turned to the astromech droid. "Have you picked one out yet? I'm sure Luke would value your input if he needs to fly one of those ships."

A happier set of beeps came from R2-D2.

"It has been a while since either of them flew a ship," C-3PO said. "I for one would be content to just stay here and watch. I don't think I will be of much use in the near future."

"At least you're aware of your limits," Leia said. She stood there and watched the repair work continue, and then turned back to the droids. "Is this as awkward as I think it is?"

"Possibly," C-3PO said. "I am sure you have more important things to do."

"Yeah, I do," Leia said. She nodded to the droids before turning away. "If you need anything, I'll be on the bridge."

On the rooftop of a tall building, away from anything remotely flammable, the remaining members of the Fire Nation royal family were gathered.

A stone table was placed between them, to avoid any underhanded aggression up close. Zuko stood on one side, Azula was at the opposite side, while Iroh was on his nephew's right and niece's left. The old general still had one last pot of tea to share, and he hoped it would keep tempers cool while they discussed things. Mai and Ty Lee were standing several feet away, watching in silence but ready to act if called upon. There was an awkward silence between the three firebenders, spent looking over reports compiled by Iroh's contacts.

"So…" Zuko muttered, placing a scroll on the table and sliding it to his sister. "Father's dead."

Azula looked at the scroll, which described the charred corpse found in the spirit world some time ago. "Seems that way."

There was another report of what had happened after Zuko left the Fire Nation. "The Empire destroyed our home."

"So they did," Azula said.

"There's no point in feuding over a throne that doesn't exist anymore," Zuko said.

"Sounds about right," Azula agreed.

Zuko let out a long sigh. "Do you still want to kill me?"

"Hmm…" Azula muttered, putting a finger to her lips while mulling it over. "Kind of?"

"Kind of?" Zuko repeated.

"Fifty-fifty… ish?" Azula said, holding up her hand and waving in a so-so manner. "It's not really a priority anymore, but I'll admit I would still enjoy it."

"I had hoped we could all make peace," Iroh said. He folded his hands and rested his arms on the table. "Or at least come to an understanding. One that would avoid unnecessary deaths."

"There's a simple enough way to make that happen," Azula said. "When this is all over, I am going back to my planet. As long as you don't go to Tatooine, I won't be tempted to send assassins after you two just for the fun of it."

Though he seemed doubtful about Azula's claim to rule over a planet, Iroh figured there was a seed of truth in there. "And will you keep you distance from us?"

"As in stay off of Earth," Zuko specified.

"I can agree to that," Azula said. "I only came back here in the first place because I couldn't get a ride back to my domain."

"We'll just have to make sure the Rebellion provides one for you," Zuko said.

"Of course," Azula said. She let silence reign for a moment, until she was ready to bring up another issue they would need to settle. "I'm taking Mai with me."

"I'm standing right here," Mai said from the sidelines.

Zuko looked over at Mai and Ty Lee. "Do you want to go with Azula? I understand if you don't want to stay here."

"I'd like to be asked first," Mai specified.

Azula turned toward her friends. "Would you like to come back to Tatooine?"

"Yeah, sure," Mai said. She eyed one of her knives, imagining it set on fire. "Just make sure it's not boring."

"Oh, there will be lots to do," Azula said. She turned back toward her brother. "I'm only just getting started out there."

"Looking forward to it," Ty Lee said.

Iroh nodded his approval to this arrangement. "Then this matter is settled."

"For now," Zuko said. "Assuming we all survive long enough to see it through."