Disclaimer: Not mine

Happy New Years!

Chapter 20

Luke didn't like spending time in the Mustafar Residence without his Father, he found the place creepy to say the least. But he needed the privacy and secure encryption equipment. He waited patiently for the call to connect and then smiled and bowed to the flickering blue figure that appeared.

"Luke." Obi-Wan smiled at the teenager as the connection stabilised, it had been too long since he had seen the boy. He occasionally sent messages and Ahsoka had spoken of him but it did not match seeing him for himself. "How are you?"

"Tired," he admitted. "Farming may be hard work but at least there's no paperwork."

Obi-Wan chuckled, he was happy he had not had to deal with that since the war. "It is good to see you looking well." It was always hard to tell in holograms but he appeared a healthy weight and other than being tired nothing seemed wrong.

"I have some news…by the Emperor's decree," and here he grimaced, "I am now courting Princess Leia of Alderaan."

Obi-Wan blinked, he had not seen that coming at all. Why would a Sith Emperor care about Dynastic succession when they aimed for some form of immortality. "It is most likely a trap or test of some kind."

"I know. Not to mention danger from the Alliance and courtiers who want me to marry someone of their choosing... life just keeps getting more complicated."

"Do you like her?" Obi-Wan would ignore the Code for Luke, there was no way for Luke to say no to a direct order. Anakin's fall had been helped by his secret marriage to Padme, would it have gone differently if he had felt secure in telling Obi-Wan about it? Was that Sidious' plan? Use Leia to make Luke Fall like his Father?

"I think so? Maybe?" He ran a hand through his hair, he'd started letting it get a bit longer now, no longer keeping the extremely short military style. "I asked and she said yes so…we have three years before we have to announce our engagement at least." He then changed the subject and they spent some time talking.

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Luke leant back in his chair, deep in thought. With a definite timeline in mind they really needed to plan ahead. They could kill Sidious but then what? He knew his Father had no wish for the Throne which would make him Emperor. However, he knew there were a lot of people at Court and in the Military who would not agree. And did he want to be Emperor? He would not want to be an Emperor like Sidious, he knew that much without even thinking about it. He had looked over every record on the Republic he could find, thankfully his Father had scrambled to save everything with his Mother's name in the early days of the Empire so he had far more complete records than anyone except maybe the Emperor. The Republic, while a noble ideal…it just hadn't worked. But in a way, neither did the Empire. All forms of government had problems, ones that were multiplied if those in power were corrupt. So, the Empire would stay but it would be altered to keep people like Tarkin from power. Planets would be given back the ability to self-govern without fear as long as they obeyed the rules. Good thing he was courting a Princess, she'd had a lot more training in this sort of thing…but would she agree to marriage if she knew she would be Empress one day?

Those things could wait, it all depended on Sidious dying and them surviving the attack. His Father was stronger thanks to his healing efforts but still nowhere near the levels he had been during the war and Luke had still to reach his full potential. They needed time and that was the one thing that was running out.

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Bail stepped up to the command table inside the main Temple on Yavin IV and nodded at Mon Mothma in greeting. For once it appeared everyone was present from Admirals Ackbar and Raddus, Generals Merrick and Draven to several of his fellow Senators such as Vaspar and Pamlo. It wasn't often so many of them gathered together at the same time, it was too dangerous.

"Now that everyone is here, General Draven you wished to address the Council?" Mon Mothma looked to the head of Alliance Intelligence at the base.

"I have two issues to address. The first is Prince Skywalker and his frequent visits to Alderaan, specifically the palace." Draven looked to Bail who stared back calmly.

"You suggest I say no when he decides to visit?" he asked calmly, his opinion of the man had dropped a lot over the years, not just because he had attempted to assassinate a child. "The Prince finds Alderaan peaceful. He is however, now courting Leia." That got a reaction as everyone began talking and Bail held his hands up. "It is a command from the Emperor himself. I have no doubt Palpatine plans to use it to harm all parties involve but to disobey would bring immediate trouble. The Prince outright admitted he knows Alderaan stands with the Alliance and that he does not care. If not for certain hasty actions I believe we could have brought him into the Alliance, as it is he will work with certain members to bring down the Emperor."

"And put his own Father on the Throne!" Someone called from the back.

"As much as I hate putting my daughter in danger, she has agreed, we have never had an agent so close to the Throne before. The boy is not his Father."

"Bail is right!" A new voice called and the crowd broke to allow Ahsoka and Rex to approach, murmurs breaking out as they saw her lightsabers. "Luke Skywalker saved my life and killed the Grand Inquisitor. He is not a Jedi but he is also not a Sith. He wants the Emperor dead as much as we do."

"You expect us to work with someone who has done such a good job attacking our bases?" Merrick demanded.

"He never acted against us until we attempted to kill him, killing his bodyguard in the process. There have been several times where he has kept back intelligence and ignored suspicious activity and I know he has been punished for those 'mistakes'. Any Force user can feel those sessions. He is our best bet at defeating the Emperor. I have no problem working with him." She stated firmly. Rex was less sure, they'd only met once, but the boy had saved Ahsoka and Cody stayed with him, despite being free of the chip. "Senator Organa is right; the Emperor would not be marrying Skywalker off without a lot of plans. Most likely he plans to use the Princess to turn him to the Dark Side since nothing else has worked yet. This gives us a timetable to be ready to move in."

The group muttered among themselves, unsure and losing hope the longer Sidious was on the throne. Many glanced at Bail, not knowing what to think at hearing his daughter was being courted by the Prince, that he spent time on Alderaan. But Bail had been one of the founders of the Alliance, had worked to curtail the then Chancellors powers through the war…

Rex glared at Draven, did the man want to rip the Alliance apart? "What does it matter?" he demanded, looking between them and seeing them realise who…or what he was. "To take out the Emperor we need Force Users. Ahsoka is good, one of the best, but she can't take the man alone. Skywalker's plans for this won't matter until Palpatine is dead. Maybe his helping us will pull Vader in too, maybe not. Right now, what matters is removing Palpatine from the Throne. So, what was your other issue, General."

Ahsoka hid a smirk at her husband's words, he usually didn't speak at meetings, preferring to remain in the background, not wanting to remind people of the painful past. Rex stepped back to be just behind her shoulder and she brushed his fingers with hers.

"Commander Rex is correct, we do not need this infighting." Mon Mothma spoke and everyone listened. She'd been a very young Senator when the war ended but she was one of the original rebels. "There is nothing we can do about Prince Skywalker courting Princess Leia except hope it leads to Palpatine's downfall. General, your other issue?" She stared coldly at Draven and he knew he'd overstepped but he didn't really care, he would do anything necessary to defeat the Empire.

"Operation Fracture." He stated firmly and once again everyone began speaking at once. There had been rumours for years and few believed them.

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Luke smiled and bowed before offering his arm. Leia curtseyed and took the offered arm, letting him lead her onto the dance floor. It was their first official outing since Luke had offered to court her and they could hear the whispers starting already. He'd been busy for the last month, dealing with a small outbreak of violence on the Rim that the Emperor wanted put down but he had returned in time for Empire Day and the celebrations. The Senate would be back in session soon which meant Leia would return to Coruscant but for now she remained on Alderaan. The party tonight was for the formation of the Empire and Luke's own birthday, tomorrow there would be a party for Leia's birthday. He hadn't had a party like this since he'd first been brought into the Empire, because he tried to avoid Coruscant at this time of year. The fawning and parties made him sick and he didn't want to have to pretend to enjoy it or praise the Emperor.

"Is it good to be back?" Leia asked as he spun her.

"Very." He agreed. "The outer rim is not my idea of a pleasant place."

"I'm glad you're back. Happy Birthday." She kissed his cheek and the whispers went silent for a second in shock. Maybe it was bold of her but if this courting thing was going to look real enough to fool the Emperor than she would have to do more than just kiss his cheek in the future. Maybe…this would be more than pretend one day? He intrigued her, something about him drew her in but it also scared her, even if only a little. She didn't think he would ever hurt her though and that gave her the courage to act.

Luke stopped dancing and gently took her hand, kissing the back of it. "Happy Birthday to you Princess." It was a little odd how close their birthdays were when he thought about it.

TBC…