On the seventh day of the new Senate, Luke and Kess stood behind Nikolai Lendra on the Chancellor's spire to rise into the throat of the Senate one last time.

They wanted to be able to pray hard for the results of this day, but they had to be careful that their special powers in such an effort didn't influence the hundreds of minds around them. There was no indication of which way the vote would fall. Both the Empire and the Alliance had hundreds of supporters in this room. Their only optimistic notice was that, in the all the long days since this whole thing began, the players in this game were speaking less and listening more.

As Luke and Kess two sat in the chairs behind Nik, Kess grasped onto the feeble hope that these empowered politicians would force this new senate to continue even if Jakobi won the vote. But Luke felt pessimistically that the whole war would start all over again if anyone but Leia ascended to this spire.

Nik seemed equally hesitant to call for the final guillotine to fall. He rang the opening bell, but for a long minute, he remained as stiffly silent as the vast audience.

Kess lifted her eyes to his back, wondering if he froze, or needed help, but found her brother turning his face fully from left to right, up and down, taking in the sights of everyone in this room, everyone sitting with patience, everyone quiet to listen. His voice carried out through every speaker.

And, for this one moment in time, Nicolai Lendra was truly an Emperor.

"A week ago, none of you would shut up. You were all so desperate to be heard that you couldn't remember how to take turns. Today, you're all waiting for your turn to speak, but you've already learned how to speak in a different way. I'm going to flip this little switch in a minute, and all of you will speak, but you're going to speak louder without even opening your mouths, without getting up from your chairs, without pointing blasters at each other. But just by pushing a button."

His eyes continued to gaze out, shifting back and forth across the room, up and down, as if he was trying to look into the eyes of every face that looked at him. "No matter the outcome of this vote today, I ask you to note the power and fairness of this manner of speaking. Whether we are about to become a new Alliance, or another Empire, or even some completely different form of government that I can't even imagine, I ask you to keep up this practice. Hold forums like this so we can all keep trying to work it out. Consider how many lives haven't died this week just because we decided to stop shooting at each other."

He paused a long moment, then added. "Consider the lives that did die . . . just so we would."

He sounded like he was going to say something else, but he didn't. He gazed at it all, flipped the switch, stepped back to sit down in the chair between Luke and Kess.

And let it go.

On many of the Senate stations, blue lights lit up with a resounding chorus of chimes, indicating that vote was tallied. Several groups erupted in a shouting match at each other as the infighting of certain systems argued over the final decision of their people. Over the next several minutes, a dozen new blue lights blinked on with singular chimes to accompany each vote. Kess could see the blur of text on the console in front of them, showing the increasing numbers of the results racking up, but she couldn't see enough to know what it said. And the information wasn't transmitted for anyone else to know it either, not until the voting was done. Luke and Nik also knew the information was right there, a meter away. All they had to do was stand up to see it. They still had time to mind trick people into voting a certain way. They still had time to Force Push the buttons themselves.

But none of them got up. None of them looked at it. It was a statement in itself that the three of them just sat there and waited in silence for 'this manner of speaking' to run its course without Jedi interference.

It took hours. They waited. They watched. They didn't interrupt when one politician shouted obscenities from the stands. They didn't move when an aide reported his Senator was stuck in traffic and on the way. They didn't get up to peek for the status of the tally when people begged them from the corners to clue them on how it was going.

As the time ticked towards what should have been the closing bell, several of the votes still had yet to light up, so Nik crossed his ankles out in front of him, lounged like he was about to watch a game on the vid, and waited some more.

Aides rushed in through a lobby door with whispers and communiqués, and two more blue lights lit up. Senators rubbed their faces and scratched their heads, and a few more blue lights lit up. By now, there was enough of a tally to make a decision, but Nik crossed his arms at his chest and waited some more. Now he stared specifically at the few stations with unlit indicators until they crumbled under the pressure and made a fucking decision.

By the time they were down to one Senate station left, the entire room waited. Now they were all staring at the whispered fighting in the little group, putting them on the biggest hot plate in the galaxy to just get it over with.

With a distant cuss and the continued bitching of that final Senatorial group, the last of the blue lights lit up.

Nik scratched his chin, picked up a large datafolio from a supply cubby, and tossed onto the console display before he stood up to see what it said. Kess and Luke shared a grin on how he was handling it and, for a moment, both of them were starting to want Nik to be the Emperor anyway.

Nik spoke into the mike as if he'd been waiting for this moment the whole time. "I hereby resign my position as Emperor."

Only then did he remove the datafolio and read the results for himself. Grinning anew, he lifted his face and announced it the same time he typed in the command to pushed the data back out to be read on all the Senate seats as well.

"At opening bell tomorrow, I invite Chamberlain Leia Organa Solo to take command of this Senate."

Everyone in the chamber launched to their feet.

Shouts of victory. Shouts of complaint. Shouts of cheating. Shouts for a recount.

The spire sank back down into the well.

Shouts on the vid. Shouts on the Newsnets. Shouts in bars. Shouts in barracks.

Luke raced out to the coliseum lobby and rushed for a hug as soon as his sister came out of the chamber.

Shouts in carriers. Shouts from hospital beds. Shouts in the streets. Shouts on the airways.

Leia pulled from Luke and stepped passed him to face Nik and Kess. She smiled with sadness and appreciation in her eyes. In front of the whole, growing crowd, she bowed.

But then she stepped closer and opened her arms with a family-sized hug for them both.

There was a private celebration that night, but it was subdued and short. Luke and Leia spent most of the little reception with their arms wrapped around the other's shoulders. Chewie hooked his arm around Kess's neck and dragged her over to the bar for a drink. Nik didn't seem to want all the attention he was getting from everyone, but he suffered it politely. Mon Mothma noted that, once Miss Yana Deitrich recovered, despite the verbal handicap, she could still hold an important career as a data admin for many of the new Senators, perhaps even the Chamberlain herself. Admiral Ackbar was back on his fins, and now the discussion commenced on how to secure the two militaries into a single-functioning unit.

To which Leia piped up ordered the room, "No politics." They all looked at her, and she lowered her chin. Her eyes were deeply sad, but a smile of strength rested on her mouth. "Save it for the workday."

Per his request, Kess and Luke flew Nik to the airport that very night. Brother and sister shared a hug of infinite proportions before Nik turned to Luke and offered a manly handshake, but the handshake turned into another hug and a strong pat on the back, during which Nik muttered in secret. "Welcome to the family."

Luke hadn't talked Nik about the wedding locket. He didn't know if Nik knew about it or just suspected it. Perhaps the man was already using his Force skill more than Luke realized. Nik's last expression to Luke was a clear reminder to, 'Set it up. Then ask me again.'

They waved at him once more as Nik gladly turned to the gate and rushed onto the transport.

The last act of the Rebel Alliance was to stand in the traditional honor of one final Mourning Ceremony. This time Mon Mothma instructed them all to wear civilian clothes. Leia invited the Imperials and civilians to join them in the tradition. The sun shined in a cold brightness on the Avenue of the Core Founders that day. Thousands came out of the woodwork in crowds. The rebels found each other anyway and organized themselves back into their old companies, but no one took muster call. They made fun with shouting the orders to stand at attention, dress themselves into a clean-standing formation, and snap to a pristine salute.

Luke and Kess stood with Wedge and what was left of Rogue Group. Leia and Chewie stood with Ackbar and Nieb and what was left of the 'core founders' of rebel command. Mon Mothma explained in her speech that she had no medal to hand out this time; the person who had earned it the most had declined to receive it. "He said he wasn't a soldier, or a politician. He didn't choose this fight. And he didn't want to take away the honor from the people who did."

Crix Madine's voice echoed in Kess's head. "The rebellion won because we all worked for it. All of us jumped into the fray not expecting to win. Not even expecting to live! Luke wouldn't have won at the Death Star if his wingman wasn't willing to die to protect his flank. Those are the heroes, Kess. Not the ones who live to get the medals."

Mon Mothma continued, "We have a lot of work ahead of us. And this work is going to be more difficult. Instead of taking up arms, now we have to force ourselves to put them down. But we are still a family. And we've been through so much. So in all the days that follow this one, in those moments it becomes tempting to strike out again, remember those who gave their lives so that this family could reach this conclusion."

The bell rang for the Minute of Silence.

Kess lowered her eyes to stare at the duracrete in front of her combat boots, and she remembered all the faces she would never see again.

But she smiled through her tears, because she knew, somewhere in the Force, they would live forever.