Chapter 3

#

Luke had mostly recovered and had joined the others by the time the Wild Karrde jumped out of hyperspace. It didn't look like much, just an old battered Corellian bulk freighter. Then again, the same could be said of the Millennium Falcon.

Chewbacca had told Han that he wanted to see Malla while there was a lull between battles, so with Han's blessing, Chewie had taken the Falcon to Kashyyyk by himself to see his family. Luke, Han, Leia, and R2-D2 would be journeying to Naboo on board Talon Karrde's freighter. Luke had suggested to Threepio that he might find more suitable duties on board Home One, and to everyone's relief, the golden protocol droid had agreed.

"Captain Solo. A pleasure to see you again," came a cultured voice from the newly opened docking seal.

A man, trim and polished, strode forward to shake Han's hand. "Excuse me...that's General Solo now, from what I've heard. I suppose I owe you, all of you, congratulations on your victory here." Without waiting for a response, he turned back to Han and got down to business. "Now, we were already on our way to the Chommel sector when I received your message so that's why I agreed to carry you as passengers. I'm giving you passage to Naboo, but you're on your own when it comes to getting out. You have my contact information and if I'm still in the area, I may agree to ferry you back out. No guarantees."

"I hear you, Karrde. When can we get underway?" Han asked.

"As soon as I receive payment. It is for three humans and an astromech droid? We can leave as soon as those credits are in my account. You may go ahead and get on board, one of my men, Aves, will see you to your cabins."

"Thanks Talon. Those credits should hit the account number you gave me any time now. We'll see you on board."

"Splendid."

"Ah, I was hoping to find you all here."

Talon Karrde's voice managed to startle everyone but Luke, Luke having sensed his presence nearing seconds before his voice reached them. R2-D2 and his three companions sat in a relatively large and plush room that featured a fairly large viewport. All that could be seen out of that viewport was the ever shifting luminescent blue of hyperspace, but it was better than staring at the ceiling while they waited to arrive at Naboo.

"Karrde," Han said neutrally with an inquisitive eyebrow.

"I had hoped to have the chance to speak with you and your companions, Captain Solo. I admit, it's not every day that I carry such famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, passengers. I won't deny that I am curious why you would be going to Naboo of all places at this time, but I will try to contain myself."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked.

Karrde smiled. "The news of the Emperor's death has been trickling out into the other systems in the galaxy, slowly as the Empire scrambles to come up with a new leader, but slowly or not, the news is spreading. Naboo's reaction in particular will be...interesting," the smuggler commented lightly.

"How so?" Han asked.

"Naboo is the homeplanet of the Emperor," Leia explained.

"And we're going there...now?" Han hissed.

Karrde smiled. "Naboo has historically been everything that the Empire is not. Propaganda would cast their opinion of the Emperor in a far more favorable light than it might truly be. It's possible that you will find a planet ready to support the Rebellion in light of the news of the defeat the Empire suffered at Endor."

The trader sighed then and looked intently at the four people in front of him. "I make my living toeing the line between the Empire and the Rebellion and I am unwilling to make a commitment to either. I would very much appreciate it if I were not linked to individuals seeking to incite an imminent uprising on Naboo. Be discrete, please."

Luke smiled slightly. "No worries. We aren't planning on any such thing. We are going for personal reasons, and nothing more."

"It is a relief to hear, Jedi Skywalker. We should be jumping out of hyperspace in the next few minutes; we'll be landing in Theed shortly thereafter. You should gather your things."

With that, the distinguished profile of Talon Karrde disappeared as he walked out of the room.

#

"Jedi Skywalker, huh?" Han asked with a smile.

"Oh shut it, Han."

"Let's get ready for landing," Leia said with a soft smile as she looped her arm through her brother's.

Since Luke had left Tatooine, he had seen many planets. Planets that consisted of almost nothing but snow and ice, forest moons, lifeless moons, jungle planets, all sorts of planetoids, asteroids, and celestial bodies. But Naboo...

As Luke walked slowly down the ramp, he had his first glimpse of Theed and its surrounding terrain.

"Wow," Luke whistled.

"It's a beautiful planet, Jedi Skywalker, I hope you and your party enjoy yourselves," Talon Karrde said, standing at the entrance of his ship.

"Thanks Karrde, I'm sure we will," Han replied as they slowly made their way into the spaceport where they had docked.

Luke kept pace with the others but he still marveled at the water, the green, and the amount and size of the waterfalls that seemed to permeate the city.

"Wow," he repeated softly.

#

When they had finally made it past the security checkpoint using identities provided by Talon Karrde and his impressive slicers along with fairly simple disguises, Leia turned to Artoo.

"Well, Artoo, where do we go?"

After a series of beepa, Luke translated, "He said we should go to the home of the Naberrie family. They are located in Theed and he can guide us there. It won't be a terribly long walk."

"Then let's get moving, I don't want us out in the open for long," Han cautioned.

"Let's," Leia agreed and took Han's hand in her own.

Seeing their joined hands, Luke muttered, "About time," then grinned as he dodged the lazy backswing that Leia gave him.

"Must have been a heckuva party last night," Han smirked looking at the detritus that littered the street next to where they walked. There were empty bottles, clearly alcholic in nature, but it was the numerous posters and signs that caught Leia's eye.

Bending over to pick one up, she chuckled at the obscene picture depicting the Emperor.

"I guess Karrde was right," Luke said, smiling as he saw the picture.

"There aren't a lot of people out for this time of day," Han observed.

"I bet the local military garrison commander cracked down pretty hard on the protesters or rioters," Leia said thoughtfully.

Several beeps coming from the astromech droid leading them had Leia and Han turning to Luke for a translation.

Luke, somewhat nervously, said, "We're here," as he pointed to nearby residence just ahead and to the right of them.

There wasn't much to see from their current vantage, but it seemed like a fairly simple stone building with a staircase that climbed the front of the building to end up at the entrance. What little they could see on the outside was a fairly humble and pleasant exterior.

Seeing Luke and Leia pause, Han rolled his eyes and walked up the stairs with the two anxious twins following gratefully behind.

"Kid, you just faced down the Emperor the other day and this scares you?"

Luke glared at Han.

Conversation and banter ceased when Han pressed the button that would notify the inhabitants that they had visitors.

"Here we go," Leia muttered, and smiled when Luke too her hand.

Author's Notes: In case you're curious, the deleted scenes of Star Wars Episode II include a segment where Anakin, Padmé, and R2-D2 visit her parents' home in Theed. There, you see Artoo playing with Pooja and Ryoo and Anakin having dinner with the family. Sola teases Padmé about Anakin being her boyfriend.

Padmé was 27(ish) when she died and Sola was the eldest daughter of Jobal and Ruwee. At this time, she would be at least 50 years old. Middle aged, but not old. Pooja and Ryoo would be 7 and 9 years older than the Skywalker twins, respectively.