Part 39: Rebel Alliance.
The night before their plans were set in motion, a dinner was held at one of the private villas in Varykino, Naboo. It was attended by a select number of guests; three Senators, their significant others and their offspring. A informal affair, the event was unusual only in the conversation, for the villa was one of the few Senatorial residences to have no surveillance employed by the Empire, as the Emperor was under the impression that the Lake Country villa was no longer used, due to Senator Amidala's grief in loosing her husband. He had no idea that Obi-Wan Kenobi was very much alive, living there with the children when danger did not require him to hide on the Jedi Sanctuary planet, or when he decided to risk detection by visiting his wife on Coruscant.
After travelling through hyperspace on deceptive routes, doubling back, and employing false destination evidence, three unmarked Senatorial crafts touched down at the Lake Country's spaceport. Each vessel carried nothing that could be traced to the correct planet of origin, and every craft was designed to erase the travel records should someone attempt to board them unlawfully.
One particular vessel was the last type of ship that anyone would consider belonging to a Senator. Devoid of theme or artistry in appearance, it was littered with a crawling mass of unique upgrades that naturally, when dealing with such complexity, often required frequent and detailed repair. A hybrid of the YT thirteen hundred, it was equipped with a larger hyperdrive than the standard of that class, and two heavily modified Girodyne SRB42 Sublight engines. Most of the ship was testament to the phrase heavily modified, which while giving the craft an unusually fast speed, also led to almost continuous unpredictability.
Those who saw the vessel whether in dock or during flight, called the ship a hunk of junk and admired anyone's willingness to book passage inside the craft, let alone fly the ship. Its proud owner called it the Millennium Falcon.
Senator Garm Bel Iblis turned to observe this young man now, as he powered down the ship, reflecting over how long it was since he first assigned him as his aide. Han Solo was more than a competent pilot, or an intelligent young man, he was like a son to him. As his courier, Han gained access to some of the ugliest sights of the Empire, but not once did he flinch or waver from his duty in keeping their efforts to restore the Republic a secret. He made his disgust at what he saw known to the Senator, and Garm would ask his advice on how to handle such matters when they were in a position to deal with them discreetly. Injustice could be fixed within the Empire, as long as it was swift and quiet.
Because of his hard work and ability to escape detection, this was the first time Han had accompanied him to dinner with the Kenobis. Garm wondered what he would make of them. In public, Senator Amidala and her daughter were every inch upstanding members of the Empire, Palpatine's strongest vocal supporters in the Senate. In private, every member of the Kenobi family were active members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Until tonight, Han's contact with them was nothing more than in passing during the Cantham House meetings, and occasionally when Garm needed him to act as courier to deliver something on Coruscant. He had never even met the youngest Kenobis, who were a year into their jedi training as their father's Padawans. Raised in secret, they spent their time on Naboo and the Jedi Sanctuary, under the watchful eye of the Order and their parents. Luke and Leia were the best kept secrets of the Rebel Alliance, biding their time until they would follow in their parent's footsteps.
"Senator?" Han spoke, causing Garm to emerge from his thoughts.
"Yes, Han?" He remarked, turning the copilot's chair to face the aide.
"Do I have to come tonight, sir?"
The Senator from Corellia frowned. Han was rarely formal, unless he was asking something he expected to be refused. "Han, you do remember what Senator Amidala was like before the Empire, don't you?"
"During that one and only meeting when I was seven? Sure."
Garm heard the sarcasm in the youth's tone and inwardly smirked. "I promise you, Han, the Senator you know today will be completely different tonight. Padmé is Palpatine's most vocal supporter for one very good reason; she agrees with absolutely none of it."
"She lies that well?" Han shook his head. "I don't believe it."
"Trust me, you will after tonight," Garm replied before rising from his chair. His young aide followed suit and together they disembarked from the Millennium Falcon.
A brightly cloaked figure awaited them at the end of the ramp. "Greetings, Senator, Captain Solo."
Bel Iblis frowned. "I apologise, milady, but which one are you?"
The handmaiden smiled. "Eirtaé, Senator. Dormé, Ellé and Moteé are still on Coruscant." Infact, Dormé was playing decoy for her mistress in order to confuse the Emperor as to her real location, for it would not do for all the Senators invited to be noticed in their absence from the Core at the same time.
"In that case, it is a pleasure to meet you, Eirtaé," Garm remarked, turning on the Corellian charm, as he took her hand and raised it to his lips.
Eirtaé refrained from rolling her eyes for she was no stranger to such flattery from politicians, having served her mistress for many years.
"Please, follow me."
She took them through a maze of alleys from the space port, turning this way and that, down so many blind corners until Han wasn't sure which way to take to lead them back to the ship. Then they emerged into a rural area where trees replaced houses and cobblestones the permacrete. He raised his gaze as they came into the clearing, catching sight of the curved roomed villa. Placed on the shore of one Varykino's many lakes, the villa seemed like a beautiful lighthouse in a peaceful, isolated idyll. The two of them couldn't help but exchanges smiles with their guide as their breath was taken away by the sight.
The handmaiden led them up the steps, pushed open the door, then through to the living space where everyone was gathered. Despite the impressive speed of the Millennium Falcon, they were the last to arrive, due to the deceptive routes everyone employed before laying in a course for their true destination. Eirtaé's mistress was in conversation with Senator Organa, and standing beside her was a man Han could not remember seeing before, his arm resting around the Senator's waist. They turned as the trio of arrivals drew nearer, causing Han to catch sight of their faces. His mind felt a flash of recognition and he was quietly searching through his memories by the time Eirtaé presented them.
"Garm," Senator Amidala uttered warmly as she took his hand, leaning forward to allow the Corellian to return the greeting in the traditional Nubian fashion. "Did you have a good journey?"
"Yes, thank you," Garm replied. He gestured to the man beside him. "You remember Han Solo?"
"Of course. Han, it is nice to have you here, in the freer surroundings of my home," Padmé remarked. "Like the days spent at Cantham House."
The Committee. Han remembered some of those days, despite his sarcasm regarding his youth to Bel Iblis inside the Falcon. Which was why he was able to finish Senator Amidala's introduction as she asked him if he recollected her husband, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Han, it is good to meet with you after so long," Obi-Wan replied, taking his hand. "Garm was telling me about the new ship you've acquired the last time he was here. He said it was the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy."
"She doesn't look like much, but she's got it where it counts," Han replied, accepting the legendary General's opening overture of conversation, allowing himself to be guided to another part of the room while the Senators talked politics.
He delved into describing the Falcon's specifications, oddly pleased that the Jedi Master actually seemed interested as opposed to being merely polite. As he slowed his pace down to match Kenobi's change of speed, he saw that they were nearing the younger generation of people gathered. Han realised now that he was older than all of the children who were here but younger than the Senators and their significant others.
Han could identify three of the four women and one boy who were gathered in this area of the room, having seen most of them during his courier work on Coruscant. The eldest he knew was Cordé Amidala Naberrie, though he supposed he should now add Kenobi on to that trio of names. Standing near her were two other young women he recognised, the twin daughters of Senator Organa and Queen Breha of Alderaan; Mara and Noémié. The latter was the image of her parents, dark hair, dark eyes, while Mara was a spitfire of green eyes and red hair. Beside her was the only guy in the group, with fair hair and blue grey eyes, which rarely strayed from the eldest Organa. Lastly was another woman, also unknown to Han, but one whom immediately captured his attention. She was a vision of dark brown hair and eyes, slender and petite. No longer did he feel slightly annoyed with Kenobi for bringing him to the teenagers group. He wanted to learn everything he could about this woman.
"I believe you have met Cordé, Mara and Noémié," Obi-Wan remarked, causing the conversation between the group to stop as they turned their gaze on the newcomers. "But you will not have met my youngest two before. Leia, Luke, this is Han Solo."
Perhaps it was uncharitable for him to still find amusement in the situation, but he did. Obi-Wan took another glance at the sight which was the source of his humour, allowed himself to chuckle inwardly, then rebuked himself a little once more. Uncharitable, and ill befitting of a father, who probably should be protecting his youngest daughter from the suitor he introduced in the first place. If it wasn't for the fact that Leia was quite capable of defending herself, and ably displaying such methods at this moment. The young pilot took the matter equally seriously, yet his face could not conceal the glint of amusement and affection in his brown eyes, for a woman ten years his junior, yet proving herself to be his equal if not his superior in intellect as she eloquently and soundly defended her cause. Han had given up the battle sometime ago, only his stubbornness and attraction still endured.
Obi-Wan turned his observation away from them, remembering his own desires during such a time as Han and Leia were experiencing now, when he met his love; twenty-seven years ago, not far from this very villa. He would have given anything for the harmony and liberty that existed around his daughter to encircle his own first day with Padmé, but the Force determined otherwise. It was not the way of a Jedi to dwell on the past, or to regret the nature of it. Peace and acceptance came a long time ago, leaving only stray, wandering thoughts at what might have been. He brushed them away and returned to the here and now, as his late Master once taught him.
Intimate, free conversation had given way to a part of time for eating and drinking, the traditional perquisites of a dinner party. Not since the days of the Republic had they time to gather with such friends and family that surrounded him and his family now; the Organas, Mon Mothma, Garm Bel Iblis and Han Solo. A partial reminder of the days spent at Cantham House, though with a larger group than was here now. He recalled some of the members; Finis Valorum and other signatories of the petition of the Two Thousand, most of the Council of the Order and Qui-Gon Jinn when his health permitted.
Talk back then consisted of strategy, politics and debate, constant forward planning and rethinking of ways to prove and expose a Sith's guilt, before removing the man from the highest elected office in the galaxy. A contrast to the dinners before now, taken place during the early days of the Empire, when conversation slipped into the realms of therapy and mourning, as they struggled to cope with all they had lost. When acceptance came, the occasions reverted to the meetings of Cantham House, as they changed their tactics and adjusted their plans to include the new possibilities now open to them.
This dinner however, was to be unique and for that memorable. Gone was the time for strategy, politics and debate. Such topics were long past the stage of exhaustion and priority. It was time now not for words but for action, and this evening was the calm before the storm which they planned to erupt on the morrow. Even now however, they had to be careful, the reason why he was the only Jedi Master present. Palpatine's rule turned bigoted and racist a long time ago, making the non-attendance of beings like Master Yoda and Chewbacca a wise precaution. Rarely did the Order break orbit from the planet which was their Sanctuary, and neither did those races who could not pass for human travel beyond their native planets.
On Naboo the Gungans retreated into their oceanic realms, while the Nubians strove to continue their way of life as much as they could under the tyrannical overlord of a man who was once their Senator. In public they supported their new voice of the Senate, grateful that their young Queen could still endure in the face of so much injustice. Privately they protected her and her bloodline, along with those allies who risked their lives to visit, voice, and vision as they waited for the day when the Rebel Alliance would break from the secrecy that guarded their lives previously.
And that time was tomorrow, a day which this evening was to mark, just as it served to honour all which came and went during the days before. Obi-Wan glanced down the dinner table, taking in each and every face present, remembering what brought each of them to this evening. Firstly, Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila, a great friend of his wife, and a powerful voice in the dying days of the Republic. It was she along with Senator Organa who sought to form the group of resistance against the Chancellor. Without their resources, Obi-Wan doubted that most of those present would still be here tonight.
Next to her sat Senator Garm Bel Iblis, often caught on the opposing end of many of Mon Mothma's debates, as the politician warred with the Corellian within. He often urged for a public rebellion instead of the stealth tactics they employed against the Empire, at first convinced such actions would bring about a quicker end to the injustice currently inflicted upon the galaxy. As the years passed however, he was soon persuaded to relent, when he came to realise the lives that would be lost in fighting a superior force so openly.
Beside him were Breha and Bail Organa, Queen and Senator of Alderaan. During the dying days of the Republic they were prepared to fight using the same methods as Garm, but their realisation of the impossible odds was accepted far sooner. This was further compounded when they learned of the special gifts the Force chose to bestow on their children. Mara and Noémié were born only months after Luke and Leia, in a labour as almost as stressful for the Organas as the latter's was for the Kenobis during the last day of the Republic; the first day of the Empire. Time and time again in the past Breha found herself quickening, only for her and her husband's hopes to be dashed tragically and suddenly. Such stresses bore heavy tolls upon the Queen's body, making the possibility that another attempt could kill her or the younglings ever more likely. Yet Breha prevailed and so did her beautiful daughters and perhaps for the very reason of their sensitivity in the Force.
Mara Jade Organa's midi-chlorian count was strongest of the two, and the Force had placed a hard and dangerous course before her to ensure the freedom to use her power for the greater good. As soon as her existence was known by Palpatine, the Sith lord coveted her, seeking to seduce the purity of light inside her into a darkness approaching his own. But the Force alerted her parents long before the danger could make itself known, preparing them and their daughter for when the time came, so they could use that desire within the Emperor, and twist it into their own selfless motives. Mara was a double agent, deceiving Palpatine almost from the first moments spent in his company. She took her instruction from her parents and Yoda, used her resourcefulness to assist the Alliance by manipulating the Chancellor into believing that she could someday replace the apprentice he once lost.
Noémié Jaiet Organa was just as talented in the Force as her sister, but her strongest ability lay in following the footsteps of her father. When Bail felt she was ready, he would let her take control of his post in the Senate, which, Force willing, would be under the restored Republic. For now she shadowed her father as Mara shadowed the Emperor, learning to walk the fine line of deception, a skill every Senator still loyal to the old ways needed to acquire in order to survive for the day when such lies when no longer necessary.
In between the twins sat his son, Luke Benumi Naberrie Kenobi. At fourteen, he was a year into his Padawan training, though since his birth Obi-Wan took care to teach his son the ways of the Force. There were days when such lessons felt to beyond his capabilities, the nature of Anakin's fall weighing upon him. Careful guidance however, and some times a strong word to 'buck up his ideas' as his wife once put it, would cause him to accept the impossibility to alter the past, to learn from it instead and use it skill to change the future.
Luke was not Anakin, who had been like a brother to him, he was his son and he could not compound the darkness by letting another child fall into its lingering shadow. So he learned from his mistakes and Luke grew into his abilities with the Force, never allowing the darkness to taint him, no matter how much he might one day have to encounter it. In return the Force nourished the boy with the same affection that it showered upon his siblings and his father, though all possessed the humility not to realise this.
Between Noémié and Leia was Han Solo, Garm Bel Iblis' aide and protégé. Obi-Wan had not seen the man since the dying days of the Republic, when he was youth of seven and Garm's courier for the meetings at Cantham House. He knew from the Corellian Senator's visits to Padmé that Han had earned his military training and pilot certificates on Corellia, acquiring the Millennium Falcon during a Sabacc game while he was working undercover for Bel Iblis. Garm always spoke highly of the young man he discovered during a scholastic tour of lectures, and Obi-Wan found no reason to disagree with him from his own conversation with Han this evening.
Then the aide caught sight of Leia and Obi-Wan had another reason to learn more about the man as the Force whispered to him the significance of this meeting. He wasn't shocked by the words, indeed there was a curious symmetry to them, for he and Padmé were about those ages when they first set eyes on each other, not so long ago. He could only hope that Leia and Han would have a happy courtship, if indeed this evening led to such, future being in motion and all that, possibly taking less years to accomplish what he and his wife had now.
Leia Breha Naberrie Kenobi was proving to be the image of her mother, in both looks and character. She joined the Apprentice Legislators as soon as she was able, adopting a false name, rising to become a notable, if discrete star of Naboo's local governance, for they were careful to keep her from Palpatine's notice so far. The Nubians guarded the offspring of their beloved Queen Amidala faithfully, alerting them as to when the Emperor decided to pay a visit so the twins and their father could escape to the Jedi Sanctuary for a time, for she and her brother had yet to learn their father's ability to cloak himself in the Force.
After this evening's dinner, she was to play a vital role in the plans of the Alliance, one she had fought for as eloquently as Mara Organa had for her own dangerous position. Like her brother she was strong in the Force, but her focus was drawn more to her mother's interests, something with which Obi-Wan wisely chose not to interfere. For now she was in conversation with Han Solo, regarding the man's apparent fascination with her as something approaching impudence and arrogance. But she was still enjoying his company, laughing and responding to his teasing in kind. Obi-Wan's eyes lingered fondly upon her, for it was rare his children allowed their youth to come to the fore, anxious to prove themselves worthy of inheriting the responsibility of their parents, a trait of their characters which they obviously inherited from their father, despite all his efforts at prevention.
Cordé Amidala Naberrie Kenobi was likewise prepared for a prominent role within the future events due to begin on the morrow. She had inherited a combination of looks from both her parents, with her father's sea coloured changing eyes and reddish blond hair including flecks and strands of a shade resembling her mother's dark brown colouring. Her personality was likewise an equal joining; with her mother's keen political sense and her father's easy charm and diplomacy. Humility, modesty, intelligence, all three Kenobi offspring possessed, as well as the Force, and she wielded the ability just beyond the level of her brother's current skill.
With her sensitivity came the risk Mara and Noémié ran, for unlike her siblings she could not be hidden from the ugly gaze of the Empire, her existence no secret to the Senate. From the earliest days of the Empire her father taught her to hide the ability the Force bestowed upon her, concealing its true wealth from those who wished to use it to cause pain. Unlike her brother and sister she still held vague memories of the time when she was free to display these abilities, before others and the kind little oddly spoken creature she only understood later to be the head of the noble Order her father served so loyally. These memories enhanced her determination to help her the elders in restoring freedom and justice for all.
Obi-Wan turned to the figure sitting between himself and his first born, the woman who had blessed him with her love and those three wondrous children. Padmé Amidala Kenobi grew more beautiful in his eyes with the passing of every year he came to know her. This, together with her strength, intelligence, sense, passion and countless other aspects caused him to endure when at times all seemed lost. In her own way she was still a Queen, not just of his heart but of the Alliance, the group she helped form and persuaded to include the Order, bringing about a partial survival. During these dark days of the Empire she stepped into her dangerous new role of deceiving Palpatine, pretending to be his strongest supporter just as he had once deceived her thus in order to gain the post he held now.
She pretended he was dead whilst she was on Coruscant, or in the presence of their enemies, continuing a deception they engineered to achieve the plans they would unleash tomorrow, as well as the sabotage of the Emperor's prize weapons. He knew the strain it put on her, the hurt caused in having to hide all trace of his existence whenever he took to visit her, to part herself from their children when the Senate demanded her attendance. That she had not surrendered was testament to the love they found, and to her strength of character, the very thing which placed such a burden upon her in the first place.
What about himself? At last he paused to reflect upon his survival since Mustafar, the imposed self exile he endured to protect his children and his wife, followed by the Order and the Alliance, as he engineered the sabotages against the Emperor's prized weapons. Even now, though fourteen years had passed, the memory of Anakin served to make him cautious, to make him laugh or cry. He rarely gave into the despair of guilt at failing him, Padmé had put paid to that years ago.
He accepted that he could not change the past, but he was still in the mourning stage for his first padawan, and he did not believe he would fully pass it until the Empire was at an end, and Palpatine was one with the dark side of the Force. Not that he desired to avenge the slow insidious manipulation of his friend and brother, but he knew that justice would go a long way to heal the parts of his soul injured on Mustafar. Only then could he accept the role Yoda and Mace wanted to bestow upon him, without feeling that someone else deserved it more.
He looked around the table a final time, wondering if they would all gather together a year from now, on Coruscant after the Empire's end. The future was always in motion, yet they essentially ignored the possibility of defeat in their plans which would begin upon the morrow. It was a concern, the likelihood that not all of them would survive the days to come. Preparation only accomplished so much, they could anticipate the Emperor's response only so far. Time had passed, too much in the opinion of some, not enough in the minds of others. Release was up to the same generation who were forced to surrender fourteen years ago.
Older they may be, wiser perhaps, but capable of victory this time was equally as much a matter for debate at it had been then. None of them were getting any younger after all, and the stresses of living under the present rule, especially with so much of the dark side clouding the true light of the Force, caused considerable strain. But further delay was out of the question, not just because of their children, or the lives enduring and lost through the Empire's harsh reign, but because the longer their deception went on, the greater the chance of the Emperor coming to suspect what they had in mind to unleash upon him.
"To the morrow," Padmé spoke, raising her glass and her voice, causing everyone within the room to fall silent and acknowledge this heartfelt prayer. "And may the Force be with us all during our endeavour."
Beneath the table, Obi-Wan clasped her hand, as he silently hoped that the future would prove the truth of conviction in her words.