Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars…if I did I would be rolling around in my enormous pile of money. I do however, own Theeon and love him to pieces, so please ask me if you'd like to use him.

Author's note: As promised our rebel friends are joining the party in this chapter. For those of you wondering why I started with the Imps, I was trying to capture the feel of the movies and Thrawn Trilogy which almost always started from the Imperial perspective.

Ties

This time Han Solo watched as Borsk Fey'lya's head exploded in a brilliant display of fireworks and gore. Han realized he must have snickered out loud because Luke, who was sitting next to him at the meeting, looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Before Han could respond he was cut off by Fey'lya, sadly still in one piece, from across the table.

"Honestly, Captain Solo, if you wish to participate in this meeting on behalf of your absent wife, the least you could do is pay attention." Fey'lya sniffed in that manner that drove Han nuts. How the Bothan managed to sound both condescending and victimized was truly baffling to him.

"I am paying attention councillor. I just don't see why you're trying so hard to argue with what our contacts in the Killiset sector are all saying, that the people there don't want to join the New Republic yet…" Han bit his tongue when Fey'lya cut him off yet again.

"They don't want to join because they are still loyal to the Empire and in particular, the mysterious Grand Admiral Thrawn, who by the way, you have continued to fail to discover the fate of." Fey'lya's eyes narrowed at Han and he struggled to maintain his calm sabaac face. "Until we know for sure whether or not the Grand Admiral is dead we cannot hope to bring the Killiset sector into the New Republic fold."

Mon Mothma stood from her seat, maintaining her regal composure in spite of her obvious exhaustion, and spoke. "Our sources inform us that while the Killiset's are relatively neutral towards the Empire itself, they are almost fanatically devoted to Grand Admiral Thrawn, viewing him as a sort of saviour for their people. Unfortunately, this makes our situation there immensely delicate. Firstly, because we have no idea what he did there to gain such a loyal following, secondly because we do not yet know for certain whether the Admiral is alive or not and thirdly, they believe we are directly responsible for his murder…" Mon Mothma let the last word hang in the air for a moment. "They will not be easily swayed to our side."

Luke spoke up. "Is it possible that the admiral tricked the Killisets like he did the Noghri? If we could find some form of deception on his part we may be able to use it to change them to our side."

On Han's other side Lando shook his head and answered. "I've done a fair share of dealing with the Killisets…they're a very sophisticated and advanced species. The Noghri were tricked because they were completely naïve about the galaxy beyond their planet…The Killisets couldn't be further from that, every planet in their sector is wealthy, they're famous for their advances in technology, their success in trade, their innovative art and culture, the list just keeps going and all this despite the fact they're so close to Wild Space. For Grand Admiral Thrawn to gain their support so completely…" Lando trailed off and shook his head again. "Whatever he did must've been pretty spectacular."

Fey'lya's fur rippled. "Which is exactly why we need to send a group to investigate that sector more thoroughly! We cannot afford for the Empire to have such powerful allies. Besides, because of its connection to the Grand Admiral it would be an excellent place to start to uncover more information about his fate. And since you seem to know more about the Killiset's than anyone else at this meeting, I vote for Calrissian to help Captain Solo lead the team."

"What!?" Han and Lando both snapped in unison. Han briefly pictured Fey'lya's head exploding again before continuing. "Wait a minute. You can't suddenly send us on a mission like this! There's too little information about the Killiset's and even though the Empire's already shrunk a bit since Bilbringi it's still within their territory…"

Mon Mothma held up a hand to stop Han from continuing. "I am afraid councillor Fey'lya makes an excellent point Captain Solo. The Killiset sector may be the best place for us to discover what is currently happening with the Empire. We need to send a team there to explore any clues that can be found."

Han cursed in his head. Just when it looked like he and Leia would finally have some time to spend together with their newborns, yet another task was heaped onto their shoulders, keeping them apart. He was sick of it and since Leia wasn't in the room it was a perfect opportunity to let them know just how sick of it he was. Just as he opened his mouth to protest, Luke, no doubt sensing his brother-in-law's anger, cut him off.

"If the councillors wouldn't mind, I would like to volunteer to organize the team to Killiset. I'm sure Lando can update me on any important information he has about the sector before I leave." Both Han and Lando shot Luke thankful looks, while Fey'lya seemed to glare at him slightly.

Mon Mothma gave Luke a relieved smile. "Very well, if you would like to accept this mission than I believe this meeting is adjourned."

Han, Luke and Lando hurried from the room before any of the councillors could make any further requests. Once they were far enough down the corridor to be out of earshot from anyone else Han turned to Luke.

"Thanks for accepting that mission for me kid, but I thought you were itching to start up your Jedi academy? If you keep up with these missions from the council you'll never get it started."

Luke tilted his head slightly and gave Han a small smile. "What and let you have all the fun?" Han gave a snort and shook his head while Lando rolled his eyes before Luke continued, suddenly more serious. "To be honest, I didn't just volunteer to rescue you and Leia from being separated yet again, although that did play a big part in my decision. It's just…the moment the meeting turned its attention to the situation at Killiset I felt the strongest urge from the force to go there."

Han nodded. He knew better than to question the kid when it came to the Force. Then again, a part of him really didn't want Luke to go either. It was bad enough for Han to have so little free time with his wife and children but he had even less time with the kid. Han wondered if it was so much to ask for a little stress free time with his whole family. From the look on Luke's face Han could tell he was thinking the same thing. Lando watched them both, with the look of a man struggling with a difficult decision, finally he cut the tension.

"You know Luke, if you'd like I really wouldn't mind joining you to the Killiset sector. I wasn't lying when I said I was familiar with the area and given the state of my current mining operation, I might even be able to swing a lucrative deal or two out of it." Lando shot Luke a sly smile and both Han and Luke started to laugh.

"Hey wait a minute, if you knew you could benefit from a trip to Killiset before, why did you protest when Fey'lya suggested you join me on the trip?" Han asked.

Lando's smile grew to a grin. "Are you kidding? A trip more than half way across the galaxy with you complaining the entire way? No lucrative deal is worth that kind of torture!"

Even as Luke and Lando both started laughing at Han's overly dramatic expression of hurt and even as Han made to protest, he couldn't help but think how lucky he was to have the greatest family and friends in the galaxy.

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OK so as promised our rebel heroes have joined the story! Now I'd appreciate a few more reviews peeps…I've tried changing the title and description to get more people interested but so far the review area is a little lonely…if you like it let others know, please  P.S. Thanks to chisscientist for all the support!