Alternate Universe Trilogy Vol 1 The Clone Emperor

by Sonic Sculpture

This is an alternative to the derivative works licensed by Lucasfilm that were intended to follow Return of the Jedi. I don't think things turned out quite so neatly. The story has been rewritten to redress issues cited in prior reviews.

4. Chapter 7 and Epilogue

Chapter Seven: No Room at the Cross

As the Star Killer decelerated out of hyperspace and assumed a close orbit around the sun of the Hoth system, Luke turned to R2-D2 and said, "We've searched this entire station and found no trace of any kind of self-destruct device. I think the Clone Emperor must have lied to his officers, and I guess I can see why. But we still have the means to destroy this thing, by creating a cascade event in this system's star; then, all I'd have to do is trash the hyperdrive. After that, nobody would be able to save the Star Killer. Both of us could escape in the Dauntless; that is, if I'm actually able to defeat Darth Chrysalis. If I'm not, then it would be up to you."

The astrodroid emitted an exceedingly worrisome whistle, and Luke sighed; then, he softly said, "R2, I need to know if you'd still be able to use a computer interface to control this station if I were to destroy all the manually operated consoles. That way, there would be no chance of anyone interfering with what you're doing. If it won't create any problem, then I'm going to demolish the bridge. We can hang out on the observation deck until our company arrives."

When R2-D2 confidently indicated that a loss of the manual controls would present no impediment to its ability to operate the station, Luke actually used the Emperor's own lightsaber to systematically destroy every manual interface throughout the entire bridge. He thought it would be more appropriate for the occasion than Darth Maul's saberstaff.

Having completed this task, he and the astrodroid made their way to the observation deck. R2-D2 plugged into a computer interface and resumed scanning for any ships that were entering the system. Luke wondered if the Empire or the Alliance would actually be the first on the scene, though he also wondered about the wisdom of possibly putting the Dauntless at risk. Although he was certain to inflict much more damage to the enemy by employing the little battleship, it also represented his best chance of getting both himself and his astrodroid off the station when it came time to destroy it. So, he had misgivings.

From the expansive viewing port of the observation deck, Luke gazed out across the solar system. Once home to the rebels; the frozen globe of Hoth glittered in the distance. Soon, he thought, it would be consumed in the fires of its own sun just as Geonosis and Kamino had been. And Tatooine would be decimated by a shock wave. It seemed like all the places he knew were being destroyed, and he was eliminating them. It even felt as if the inhabitants of Endor were endangered; which, he was certain, also had to be a result of their decision to back the rebels. It was as if the future of the Republic, as maybe even the very galaxy in which it existed, were tottering on the brink of some invisible precipice. On one side was an abyss. On the other side was restoration. And he was firmly fixed at the fulcrum. He could still hear his father's words: to really balance the Force in this way, embracing an alliance with both of its sides, has never before been achieved.

Perhaps at the end, without even really understanding it, Anakin had accomplished just that. But it had been an afterthought, almost like a redemptive reflex. What Luke was doing was deliberate; and, as a consequence, he was given much more time to consider the possible outcomes – both desirable and disastrous. But in surprisingly similar way, it all came down to making the right choice at the right time. Of this, he was very certain. It would be a mistake to rely on foresight. He had seen others, both Sith and Jedi, fooled in this way before. Always feelings: the future.

He had been honed into a weapon, a kind of living lightsaber. Soon would come the time of his unsheathing. One way or the other, the galaxy would never be the same. But then again, at no time in any history of which he was aware had it ever been in a state of such absolute instability. Its fate was about to be decided beyond the foreseeable future, which was the other reason for not relying on prescience. All the chances of his success now hinged entirely upon his ability to embrace the mystery, even if it meant that his part in the tale had come to an end. He had to wield both the destructiveness of the Sith and the servant-hood of the Jedi, to unite utter opposites and heal the galaxy by becoming a complete contradiction.

Standing there, facing the viewing port, only an arm's length away from the icy void of airless space, he began to have suspicions about what might be required in order for him to achieve his intended end. It occurred to him that there might be an opportunity to commune with his mentors one final time before entering into the coming conflict; if not, he knew it was completely possible that he would already have been gathered to them by the time of that next meeting. Suddenly, such an idea did not seem altogether terrible. In fact, he was surprised by the smile that he discovered as it was crossing his face.

At that moment however, he was interrupted out of his reverie by two separate sets of bright flashes at the uttermost outskirts of his vision. Before R2-D2 even informed him of their arrival, he knew that he had just witnessed the entries of both the Empire and the Alliance. Coming from their far-flung coordinates, both armadas set their courses straight for the station. And without even needing to rely on his astrodroid, he could see that they would not be in range to engage each other until they were almost on top of it. The game was afoot.

"R2, increase our orbital velocity," he said, "that should put the Alliance here slightly ahead of the Imperial Fleet. On my way to the Dauntless, I'm going to go by engineering and destroy the hyperdrive. Until I get back, defense of the station will be completely up to you; and you know what to do if I don't make it, but our friends need my help."

At the head of the Rebel Fleet, the vessels of Generals Solo, Calrissian, and Antilles emerged into normal space at the edge of the Hoth system. Unlike the other two leaders and some of the members of the squadrons, Lando had not been part of the tragic Battle of Echo Base. He did not share the sentiment of those who saw this as an opportunity to extract payback from the Empire for the many friends that had been lost that day. But his dedication to the current campaign was no less than theirs. After working with Wedge to destroy the last Death Star however it seemed extremely strange to now be risking their lives to defend a far more destructive space station.

The original incarnation of the Emperor had come to an end while onboard that last doomsday device. As he understood it, their purpose was to give the Clone Emperor the opportunity to do likewise, if only he would be so condescending. Ideally, they needed to eliminate any option for extraction once the regent was aboard the Star Killer. And then, if Luke were ultimately unable to assassinate the current incarnation, the Coalition would bear the brunt of that responsibility. By then, he hoped the Imperial Fleet would've been decimated and the Star Killer far too badly damaged to withstand a last assault. Between the tricky timing and all the tactical difficulties, this was far more ambitious than anything the Alliance had ever undertaken before. And each leader was well aware of this aspect of their mission. General Calrissian had accepted responsibility for directly engaging the Imperial Fleet. He had been given the designation of Gold Leader, in command of Gold Squadron. He had also been given the oversight for the operation.

At the Battle of Yavin, in which the first Death Star was destroyed, Han Solo played only a supportive and almost clandestine role. At the time, he was still merely seen as a smuggler and a rogue. His only real accomplishment during the Battle of Echo Base was the evacuation of Princess Leia. However, in accepting responsibility for putting together a strike team and destroying the shield generator during the Battle of Endor, he'd earned the rank of General. But he had never led a space assault before, nor had he even flown against the second Death Star. Added to this was the fact that his experience was in the area of attack, not defense. And he was very aware of these shortcomings. But since his best friend was on the Star Killer, he insisted on being in command of the squadron that was tasked with forming a defensive envelop around it. He was given the designation of Blue Leader, in command of Blue Squadron.

Despite the persuaded opinion of Princess Leia, who understandably overestimated some of the accomplishments of Han Solo, and as the single pilot that had actually flown against both Death Stars, Wedge Antilles was the most experienced of the rebel leaders for discerning where support was really needed. Consequently, Rogue Squadron, under his command, was given the duty of backing up the other two divisions. Admiral Ackbar, Fleet Admiral and Supreme Commander of the Coalition forces, saw this assignment as the most demanding of the entire engagement; and Wedge intrinsically understood what an honor was being afforded in the awarding of such an essential responsibility. He was given the designation of Red Leader. For the purposes of the engagement, Red equaled Rogue.

As the three rebel squadrons all dropped out of hyperspace, while entering the Hoth system, the pilots were startled to see that the Empire had somehow arrived at precisely the same time. According to the instructions of their respective team leaders, they all set course for the distant space station; and everyone was relieved to see that the Star Killer accelerated to ensure that the rebels would be the first to arrive at their intended target.

"Blue Leader, this is Gold Leader," Lando barked into his headset, "you are going to have to hurry to establish your defensive perimeter. Red Leader, I'd like you to take your squadron around the station and then size up the situation. Gold Squadron, we'll need to change course and intercept those cruisers. The battle begins now."

Gold Squadron angled away from the other two groups, targeting the Imperial Fleet. Even at maximum acceleration, it was going to be hard for the little ships of the Coalition to come in ahead the Imperial invasion. The Corellian cruisers still had the inertia of their emergence into normal space, and they were flying at full throttle. But the astrodroids on the Coalition ships were quite capable of making the calculations for the interception; the outriders of the rebellion quickly closed on the cruisers.

"Gold Leader, this is Blue Leader," Han excitedly announced. "There's some kind of craft pulling out from the station, it looks like a small battleship. Commander Skywalker's signal is coming from its transponder!"

"Good morning, nice of you guys to join us," laughed Luke. "Gold Leader, I'd like to respectfully recommend that Red Squadron help us intercept those cruisers. That'll give Blue Squadron more time to establish their positions. And then, I'll stick with Gold Group while Red Group is redeploying, if that's okay with you. But the station isn't defenseless. R2 is overseeing its arsenal. I should mention however that the hyperdrive is offline."

"I understand, and your recommendation is approved. It's good to have you with us again," Lando replied. "Red Squadron, you'll need to follow us in. After you complete the first pass, break free and assess the situation."

"Copy that, Gold Leader," Wedge replied. "And howdy, Red Five. You'll be happy to know that we saved your call signal for you."

"Who says there's no sentimentality in space?" Luke teasingly asked in reply.

"Luke, what happened to the Star Killer's hyperdrive?" asked Lando, aiming a tightly beamed transmission directly at the Dauntless.

"I would say it was sabotage; but then, I would be telling on myself," Luke replied in a similar fashion.

"When your sister rescued Otabutu, the Prefect of Saleucami, we learned a tactic for taking out the hyperdrive on a Corellian cruiser. If we can just leave them stranded in the system, you could simply destroy the star and you would not even have to take a chance on facing the Clone Emperor. Just follow our lead," said Lando.

"Sounds like it's worth a shot," Luke replied. "But don't jeopardize your whole fleet to try and save my skin. I'm a Jedi. I won't readily risk the lives of others ahead of my own."

"This is Gold Leader to all wings," Lando responded, switching back to a broadband transmission. "Initiate Operation Tailfin; repeat, we have go for Tailfin."

Wedge and Han both acknowledged the order, as did each pilot of their squadrons.

For the respective Coalition commanders, this was the best possible news. It would be much easier to simply abandon their enemy, to be destroyed along with the star, than to try to actually overcome the entire Imperial armada. A series of strategic strikes could conceivably leave the cruisers bereft of their hyperdrive capabilities, maybe even setting them up to destroy themselves in attempting to engage those systems. In admitting what he had done, Luke basically confirmed what Lando had already been hoping. Their odds of success, in the strike force commander's mind, were therefore greatly improved. This was not the perspective of their opponents.

As Admiral Turlow stood beside Darth Chrysalis on the bridge of the command ship, Fury, the flagship of the Imperial Fleet, he assessed the situation and said, "They've got to be kidding. They really think they're going to take us on with a few squadrons of stunt fighters? I was expecting us to face the entire Rebel Fleet. This is overkill."

"Your disappointment may be premature, Admiral," the Clone Emperor dismissively replied. "The Star Killer possesses many impressive armaments of its own. I would very much like to know however what it is that the rest of their ships are doing. This is not the entire Alliance. Contact Coruscant and inquire about the condition of the capital."

"At once, Majesty," the Admiral answered, indicating the order to a junior officer. "Is there any particular posture you'd like me to have the fleet adopt, or shall we continue to the station and eliminate the opposition on the way?"

"Command of the fleet remains at your discretion, Admiral," Darth Chrysalis replied. "I'm interested to see you in action. I'd remind you however that our primary objective is the retaking of the station. All other considerations are entirely secondary; including the elimination of the opposition, such as it is. Your main concern is to help me get onboard the target and then to assure its safety."

"Understood, sir," the Admiral agreed. Turning to the bridge officers, he loudly said, "Have all ships continue on course, maximum speed; route auxiliary power to weapons and shields. Prepare to repel."

"Well done, Admiral," the Clone Emperor observed. "That would have been my first choice."

Receiving a report, Admiral Turlow informatively said, "Majesty, an inquiry has been transmitted to Coruscant. Of course, considering our substantial range, even a subspace communication takes time. But we'll both be advised as soon as the answer is received."

"Admiral, sir, a ship has just taken off from the station. It's headed right towards us. I don't recognize its configuration, but it's powering both weapons and shields," one of the scanning technicians announced.

As Admiral Turlow looked at him questioningly, Darth Chrysalis said, "You had best engage this one yourself. The ship is an extremely powerful prototype, a description that might also apply to the pilot. I'd hoped to preserve both, but destroy them if you can. Let the other cruisers deal with the rebel fighters. The Dauntless represents the real threat."

"Target the newcomer," the admiral announced. "Fire as soon as he's within range."

"Aye, Admiral," the weapons officer replied as he watched the worrisome craft on his screen continue to close. However, as its pilot, Luke was completely aware of his plight.

With the impressive speed of his little warship, it was quite clear to Luke that he was going to intercept the Imperial armada ahead of anybody else; but this was in agreement with his intentions. He was hoping to somewhat soften the defenses of the cruisers while also providing a distraction, making it possible for the stunt fighters to complete their first pass while enduring a minimum amount of damage. Going head-to-head with a Corellian cruiser was an admittedly risky gambit; but he was a Jedi Master, and the Force was his ally. He could sense the armaments that were taking aim against him, and it was as if he could almost see the avenues of virtual safety that lay between the salvos of the coming assault. Consequently, the Dauntless was spinning out of the way of the first shot before it had even been fired.

Although the engagement was within visual range for the rebels, the scopes of their ships put them almost right on top of the seemingly impossible action. They looked on in awe as he flew right through a firestorm that would have fried anyone else. As he closed on the cruiser, supernaturally sensing all the seams between its overlapping force fields, he finally returned fire – at point-blank range. One of the cruiser's shield generators was overwhelmed by his assault. It ruptured spectacularly, emitting an explosive inferno into the frozen vacuum of space.

Barreling right by the bridge, he strafed the shielding seams along the aft quarters of the command cruiser, focusing on the force fields just in front of its enormous engines. It was a perilous ploy, even for a Jedi. But his corkscrewing course kept the little warship's shields from succumbing to the few laser blasts that struck them. As he cleared the rear sections of the cruiser, he set his course for the next Imperial participant.

"Alert all commands," Darth Chrysalis said, "and tell them to divide all their gunnery crews into two teams. Half should shoot directly at the Dauntless. The others should fire into the area around it. This will make it impossible for him to avoid all their salvos. Also, in order compensate for possible crossfire, we need more space between our ships than our current formation allows. Have all the commanders adjust their courses accordingly, and tell them to prepare to launch their fighters."

Admiral Turlow was about to reiterate the orders, giving them his personal approval, but he could see that his officers were already carrying out the clone's commands. It left him feeling unnecessary, a dangerous situation for a person in his position. He turned to the Clone Emperor, fearing that dismissal might be about to become fatally official. Darth Chrysalis however simply held up a manufactured finger to swiftly silence the man. The clone had his eyes closed.

"Luke, don't be a fool," he said to his great nephew. "I know how to fight you. You've less of a chance against me than you would've had against Grand Master Yoda himself. And he was no match even for my predecessor. I would prefer not to destroy you or your warship, but do not make the mistake of testing me in this, my young apprentice. I will do both despite the bond of blood that's between us, my impetuous nephew."

"I won't give up, you'll have to beat me if you can," Luke replied. "But I'm not related to your test-tube! I guess Palpatine may have been my great uncle, but you are not him!"

"You wish to argue over aesthetics? I'm not impressed," Darth Chrysalis responded. "Your efforts have already cost me many cruisers and their crews. If you will discontinue this idiocy, I might be persuaded to induct your friends as officers; if not, you're all about to find yourselves in the midst of a swarm of short-range fighters. I'll not extend this offer a second time. Signal your surrender, tell your rebellious friends to disengage, and bring the Dauntless to the docking bay on my command cruiser. You have demonstrated both your determination and your prowess. Now, come and claim your position as my second in command."

"How many short-range fighters constitute a swarm?" Luke contemptuously asked in reply.

As he began to close on the next cruiser, much smaller than the command ship but nevertheless very definitely formidable, Jedi Master Skywalker came to understand what the Clone Emperor had meant. There were no longer any avenues of approach between the gunners' sights. Even his tough little warship was no match for the overlapping fields of fire that were waiting to rip it apart, but he had already realized that he now needed to adopt a different tactic. Unlike the Clone Emperor's command cruiser, which sported gun placements all around its bay, this one was at least slightly more assailable.

Angling abruptly away from his collision course, Luke unknowingly imitated the tactic that had also been used by his friend, Han Solo, when the Falcon industriously delivered a Padawan-laden escape pod into the docking bay of a similar Imperial cruiser. Plunging into the empty space below the behemoth, and temporarily eluding the gunners onboard, he then arced up toward the main landing bay in its underbelly. Veering erratically, as he executed his corkscrewing climb, he successfully closed to a range from which he could launch a devastating assault against the docking bay's shield generators. At such close range, they were not able to withstand the firepower of the Dauntless.

As the force fields failed, the emergency doors began closing; but not in time to stop the second salvo. Luke fired a pair of extremely powerful missiles. The emergency doors actually snapped shut right behind them, causing a forced-chamber explosion; thus, the cruiser's compliment of short-range fighters was destroyed. So much damage amidships left the craft compromised as numerous other overloads immediately ensued. Luke was reminded of the time he had tossed a grenade into the underbelly of an Imperial Walker. The gunners were far too busy to even get a shot off at him as he angled away from the crippled cruiser.

"Looks like there are going to be a few less short-range fighters in your swarm," he brashly said to the telepathic image. "And as for your offer, I'm happy to disappoint you."

Darth Chrysalis broke the telepathic contact. There were too many other things now going on. The Alliance had arrived. A third of the original ships had proceeded on toward the station, but all the remaining rebel fighters had just divided into two groups. One was obviously hoping to take advantage of the two holes in the flagship's slightly diminished defenses, but the other group diverted to intercept the seriously injured, second cruiser.

If he had hesitated, the opportunity would have been lost, perhaps permanently; but Admiral Turlow industriously ordered the launching of all the Imperial fighters. The scope of every Coalition ship was suddenly filled with an unbelievable amount of radar returns.

"This is Gold Leader," Lando rasped into his headset. "Enemy fighters are emerging from almost every craft in their battle group. Watch your six, everybody. We all knew this would happen. Just continue operations and cover each other."

The stream of rebel craft, which had converged on the Fury, were obviously trying to exploit some openings that Luke had forced through the flagship's defenses; but only the shields had been compromised and in only a few places. The gunners on the cruisers all knew they had to keep the rebels' fighters away from those locations, and the command cruiser's skin was hardly insubstantial. Although there were no losses among the craft of the Coalition, their assault was unsuccessful. The Fury was essentially unharmed.

The crew of the second cruiser was not so fortunate. Most of its defenses had failed as a result of electronic overloads. Red Squadron's pass eliminated any hope of survival that might have remained. Adhering to orders, Wedge then led his group away; however, Gold Squadron, having disengaged from the Fury, finished the job. Before any of the TIE fighters could intercede, the powerless cruiser had been turned into a flaming inferno. All that remained of its ignited atmosphere had already irreparably erupted into the vacuous expanse of space. The TIE fighters furiously gave chase, but the rebels were proceeding at their best possible speed towards a second target.

Against such overwhelming odds, Luke knew the advantage of taking the first shots for the rebellion could not last long. Angling away from the crippled cruiser, he chose his next target. TIE fighters were already rushing to cut off him off, but the Dauntless was by far the fastest ship of its size. He soared through the interceptors before they could even take aim, quickly closing on the hapless frigate that he had selected for his next assault.

His warship's armaments were not inexhaustible, but the two missiles he had used were well spent. Fortunately, with so many of their short-range fighters now deployed, it was not an option for the Imperial armada to respond with such weapons of their own. It was an advantage for which he was thankful. It made his ship and the frigate essentially well matched, all except for his supernatural skill as a pilot. Within his arsenal there was a missile that could penetrate the shielding around the bridge of a craft the frigate's size. He had to expose the Dauntless to a firestorm in order to gain the required position for a launch, but the result was worth it. With its bridge obliterated, the frigate was absolutely defenseless against the ensuing assault of General Calrissian and Gold Group.

One frigate and one cruiser had been eliminated, and a couple of crucial holes had been opened in the force fields of the Imperial flagship; however, most of the impressive armada remained, and space itself now seemed to be filled with TIE fighters. The rebels were soon forced to go on the defensive. Luke finally used his remaining missiles to take out all the rear gunnery positions of several of the remaining cruisers. This opened some opportunities.

In the Battle of Endor, the Alliance engaged the Imperial Fleet at point-blank range. Of course, the rebels did this to protect themselves from the firepower of the Death Star, but an advantage had also been gained in using the destroyers as obstacles for the TIE fighters. With the rear batteries on several cruisers eliminated, the rebels were then able to lead the TIE fighters right above their intended target areas, which made it appear as if they were simply trying to evade the Imperial pursuit and also made it look like all the shots that were striking the cruiser were merely misses. Those of the TIE fighters were.

There would, of course, be no opportunity to observe the effect of such dangerous industry until the cruiser attempted to engage its hyperdrive, although whether in victory or defeat had yet to be decided. This was actually a long-term plan that only aided them in the immediate in that it also gave the rebels a way to advantageously engage the TIE fighters. The situation however quickly changed as the armada passed to within range of the Star Killer.

Some of the station's missiles had been expended during the confrontation with the cruisers in the Geonosis system. Due to the abundance of targets, it did not take long to deplete all that was left. Luke doubled back on some of the ships whose defensive fields had been softened by the ballistic salvos as the Star Killer's robotic operator followed up its initial effort by making use of the stations assorted batteries of blasters. The immense amount of firepower, which was erupting into space, made it look almost as if the station were actually some kind of volcanic, mechanical moon. Had they only lived long enough to make the observation, its diabolical designers would have been pleasantly impressed by the destructive result that was ruinously wrought as the armada experienced attrition.

R2-D2 was careful to fire only on the Imperial cruisers that were not surrounded by Coalition signals. The station's assault had a profound effect. Blue Group also assumed a position to intercept the nearest ship, which was the Fury. Because the flagship's force fields had already suffered some damage, Admiral Turlow had no choice but to order his navigators to bank away. The Clone Emperor chose not to countermand the unavoidable but disappointing decision; but then the entire rest of the Imperial armada opened fire on the rotating station, and every component of the conflict had been engaged.

"We need to collapse its force fields," Darth Chrysalis growled at Admiral Turlow. "I'd prefer that the Star Killer itself suffered no real damage. I'm more willing however to lose the entire fleet than I am that station. We need to surround it with the armada and pound its defensive fields into nonexistence. Once we have accomplished that, I can go aboard and swiftly finish this fight."

"Relay that order and calculate the required grid!" the Admiral barked at his officers. And then, as Blue Squadron fired its first shots, he concluded, "Come about and engage those stunt fighters at point blank range. Whoever's manning the station is soon going to have a lot more targets to worry about. We didn't come to run. We stand and fight. Hold this position and fire!"

"Admiral, sir," one of the scanning technicians hesitantly said. "The firepower of the fleet is making its force fields fluctuate. I've been able to scan it, and there aren't any life signs aboard."

"We're up against a robot," Darth Chrysalis sneered. "And I may even know the one in question."

Chancellor Palpatine had encountered R2-D2 before, but even the Clone Emperor did not fully appreciate the resourcefulness of the redoubtable little droid. Luke and his counterpart had hatched a bold scheme, something they had not thought to try against the cruisers in the Geonosis system. It took time for the Star Killer's primary weapon to be recharged; but, hopefully, less time than it would take for the Dark Lord to board the station and get to the robotic operator.

As the Fury came about to engage its assailants, they suddenly scattered. Although Darth Chrysalis could not actually overhear the electronic warning, which was emanating from the station, he intrinsically understood that the rebels' retreat was not in reaction to the flagship's maneuver. He could not however do anything about what happened next. The Star Killer unleashed its primary weapon, firing it at the Fury.

Every electrical system on the flagship overloaded. Sparks flew everywhere, and the crew was plunged into darkness. Had it not been for the fact that the decision to fire was made by a machine, perhaps Darth Chrysalis could have anticipated what was about to happen and then ordered evasive maneuvers. The weapon required a fixed target. The decision to stand and fight had been far more fateful than anyone could have expected.

As the emergency lights came up, Admiral Turlow pushed his way to the nearest of the scanning consoles and announced, "We're adrift. We only have auxiliary power. But our TIE fighters have driven the rebels away from us. We should be safe enough for the time being."

"Safe?" thundered Darth Chrysalis, waving his hand at the admiral; who in response was hurled into a nearby bulkhead from which he then fell away, dead, to the floor. "I did not come here to be safe! I came here to reclaim what is mine! Whoever among you can tell me something the least bit useful can then assume command of this ship!"

"Majesty," said a young lieutenant colonel, standing from the other scanning station. "The bombardment was successful. The defensive shield around the Star Killer has now collapsed. The Dauntless is however on route back to the docking bay. The TIE fighters were not able to intercept it. The station still has some of its weapons; but if we surround a shuttle with a shroud of TIE fighters, we should be able to get a strike team onto it."

"Very good, Admiral," Darth Chrysalis scornfully replied. "I'll expect a strike team to be assembled in our bay by the time I get down there. Arrange for our escort. After that, you may see to your repairs. I've lost too many cruisers to scuttle this ship. She's yours, now. See to it that she can make it home. Can you tell the condition of the Dauntless?"

"Barely space-worthy, Majesty," the young man answered. "It took very heavy fire in order return to the station. Our scans also indicate that you should be able to be aboard before the Star Killer's weapon has recharged. The collapse of its defensive shields put a drain on its power reserves."

"Majesty, I'm very sorry to interrupt," said a communications technician, "but we just restored power to the subspace relay; and, as much as I dislike being the bearer of such bad news, I thought you'd want to know. We received a response, though it was actually sent from the Imperial Palace. Apparently, the orbital stations have all been destroyed. It seems that an interstellar Coalition has attacked the capital. Impossibly, the report says that an army of battle droids emerged from the Jedi Temple and that Jedi have actually entered the Imperial palace. Do you want me to send a reply, sir?"

The officer very visibly trembled before the thunderous scowl that was aimed in his direction, but Darth Chrysalis simply said, "Had you tried to hide this from me, you would now be dead – or wishing you were. My only response will be the presence of my battle station in orbit around Coruscant's sun. I'm promoting you to its compliment. Follow me."

As the technician obeyed, Darth Chrysalis indicated officers at scanning, weapons, and navigation; then, he said, "I am taking these men to serve me aboard the Star Killer. And now, Admiral, I'll leave you to see to the needs of your ship."

The space war was still raging all around the Star Killer, but that was of no concern to the Clone Emperor. He needed to get onboard the station before there was a chance for the Star Killer's namesake to become a threat again. He could not risk being set adrift in a defenseless shuttle. That would be far too vulnerable a position for somebody of his inestimable importance. Although he had no concerns about the crossing itself, it would be a different matter if he were to become stranded. A disabled shuttle would make for far too obvious a target. He was well aware that his foundering flagship was still being watched.

"Red Five, this is Blue Leader," Han Solo said, speaking into his headset. "A sizable assembly of TIE fighters is circling around the bay of that disabled command ship. I'll bet they've been tasked to escort the Clone Emperor. We've lost a lot of ships, but we could at least attempt to stop them. Gold and Red Squadrons are still fighting the fleet. I guess we could recall them for the effort, but they'd be sure to bring more TIE fighters along."

"Blue Leader, do not attempt to intercept the Imperial boarding party," Luke replied. "Can you give me any update on Operation Tailfin?"

"Blue Group wasn't actually involved in that effort," Han answered. "But last report I heard indicated that as many as half a dozen or more enemy vessels were affected, and that doesn't include those we've already destroyed. How's that warship you were flying?"

"It's pretty badly banged up at this point. I took a lot of fire in order to get back to the station. I took out quite a few TIE fighters along the way though. If I can, I'd recommend that you take Blue Group to help the other squadrons," Luke said. "There's nothing more you can do here."

"I'll reassign all my ships, but I'm going to stay in the vicinity," Han replied as Chewy growled agreeably in the background. "I promised someone that I'd keep an eye on you."

"I've not met anyone who was up to that job! Are you bucking for fleet admiral now?" Luke jokingly asked.

"Has Admiral Ackbar mentioned something about retiring?" Han laughingly asked in reply. "I sure didn't hear anything about that, but I think we're all looking for the day when we become peacekeepers instead of soldiers."

"That day may not be so very far away now," Luke soberly responded.

"Okay, this is it," Han abruptly replied, and with unusual severity. "Be advised that a shuttle has just emerged from the landing bay on the command cruiser. The TIE fighters are clearly taking up defensive positions all around it, and they are definitely heading this way. You're about to have some company."

"Thanks, I'll take it from here," Luke confidently replied. "Get yourselves out of their way. I'll signal you when I'm ready for pickup."

"I just wish there was something I could do for you in the meantime; I mean, besides shooting up some more TIE fighters," Han sadly responded. "But I know what your sister would say in this situation if she were here: may the Force be with you."

The thoughts of Leia and her five friends were only on the immediate as the platoon of Storm Troopers responded to the alarm in the Emperor's quarters. Knowing that they had such company coming, the Jedi judiciously elected to intercept them in the hallway outside the now permanently opened entrance to the extravagant accommodation. While they deftly defended themselves, by deflecting laser fire back upon its originators, Eisley and R9 managed to extract the Clone Emperor's personal code from the control panel in the wall that was just within the antechamber.

"As soon as we've managed to drive them around the corner," Leia whispered, "get back up the staircase; and then, wait for relief on the roof. Those codes could be critical."

"I'll have you know that I just live for these enormously important but all so inglorious assignments," he smirked.

She smiled and then turned to follow her friends, who were already on the offensive. Eisley wisely waited until he could only hear the echoes of the deflected blaster fire; and then, he carried out her instructions. Returning to the rooftop, he used a security code to seal the doorway, resigning himself to the necessity of waiting until the Jedi had secured the area around the Parliament Complex. Although he desperately wanted to watch what was about to happen, he did not dare to take the risk of possibly giving away his position by peering down upon the plaza. Instructing the astrodroid to accompany him, he led the way into an area that would not be exposed to the sensors in the event that their service was to be restored. And there, they waited.

Leia and the jungle Jedi proceeded down a passageway that was pockmarked with blaster divots. The evidence of their advance was also advertised by the presence of the slain Storm Troopers, around and over which they carefully made their way. Mardra and Mox took the lead. Priella and Xan followed about ten paces behind them. Leia guarded the rear. As they moved into the areas beyond the compromised sensors, it was entirely possible that they would encounter ray shields or other automatic forms of defense. The staggered procession was to ensure that somebody would be able to release the others if they somehow became ensnared.

The closer the Jedi got to ground level and the main lobby, the more resistance they encountered. At one point, the Imperial soldiers attempted an ambush as the Jedi were entering a cavernous corridor that connected the annex to the main dome. The RPSG's, rocket-propelled stun grenades, were rerouted, through the use of levitation, back on the Storm Troopers. After that, despite the fact that the Jedi saw ever increasing numbers of potential opponents, they all seemed to be industriously retreating.

Between the Jedi's occasional use of Force-induced bursts of speed to pass across open areas and the soldiers' fear of potentially endangering their own divisions, no forms of automated defense were ever employed. Leia and the jungle Jedi finally arrived at the main foyer for the Parliament Complex; however, the streets beyond were thronging with a vast host of soldiers, all manning Imperial emplacements. It looked like thousands.

"I don't think blasters would do it, but how many grenades do you think it would take to set off one of those antiaircraft guns?" Xan asked. "Maybe we could actually use their artillery against them while we're destroying it."

"It's certainly worth a try," Leia replied. "We really need to thin down their numbers."

"Mardra and I will go back and recover the ones that weren't spent by the soldiers," said Mox. "You three should stay here and hold our position. They know we're waiting to come out and I'm afraid we're just giving them more time to prepare, but it'll be worth the delay if it gives us a realistic way to take out their big guns."

"Even with the range of weapons like that, it's going to be tough getting in position to use them," Mardra observed. "See if you can scope out a good spot for setting up such a shot. We need to have a plan for our deployment when we do hit that door."

As Mox and Mardra rushed expeditiously away, almost immediately blurring into the background of the labyrinth-like lobby, Priella said, "I wonder why those Storms Troopers don't just go ahead and attack. They know we're in here. They could turn those big guns around and blast this building."

"The cruisers are probably keeping them too busy for them to take the risk of turning the artillery," Leia replied. "There may also be a bit of a conflict in command. After all, the Clone Emperor apparently ordered a recalling of the Galactic Congress. It would be hard to oblige him if there were nowhere for the representatives to assemble. It seems that he did not foresee this situation, which is interesting in itself, just as his predecessor did not anticipate his assassination aboard the second Death Star. In his failure Darth Chrysalis has also limited the options of his soldiers; and I don't think he'll even be coming back to call them into account if they were to decide to disobey."

"The sooner they figure that out, the better it will be for the rebellion," Xan observed. "But I'm afraid they'll fight to the death anyway. My understanding is that they didn't elect to disband when his predecessor was destroyed."

"Yes," Leia delicately agreed. "I am afraid that the rebirth of the Republic will require nothing less than their total eradication. While it might be possible for society to reabsorb the officers, considering the examples of Madine and Eisley, the clones were created for a single purpose. Oppression is part of their identities. They have no place in civilization any more than the Sith who ordered them into existence."

Despite the considerable distance, which they had been required to cross in order to collect the requested weapons, Mox and Mardra returned at that moment. Unfortunately, their friends had made no progress in determining the best possible deployment. Priella however quickly offered a constructive suggestion.

"If we step out these doors, we're going to have our hands full right away," she said. "It's going to be hard for us to fire the grenades if we're being showered with blaster fire, but what if we came down from above? They're probably not expecting us to leap down into the street from a great altitude. So, we go just as high up in this structure as we can while still keeping the nearest antiaircraft guns in range of our launchers; then, we jump while everyone's distracted by the detonations. We'll be on them before they know it."

"That sounds to me like the best possible plan," Xan replied. Everyone else agreed.

Watching through the windows from a distance, the Storm Troopers were suspicious when the five Jedi all seemed to instantaneously disappear back into the recesses of the atrium; however, they were also aware that their comrades were carefully covering every other exit into the surrounding streets. They mistakenly assumed that their numbers had ultimately discouraged the curiously absent enemies; and so, they were surprised by the ensuing sounds of grenade launchers almost immediately overhead.

One of the antiaircraft guns detonated in response to the concentrated assault. Only a moment later, a second one succumbed as well. The blasts blinded most of the men in the immediate vicinity. The Jedi were in their midst before they were even aware of what was happening. So disorganized therefore was the response, the five invaders managed to get into position to attack a third piece of artillery before the commanding officers even understood the danger. The loss of the third emplacement created a critical weakness in one side of the circular defense. In response, a substantial quantity of the cruisers began to maneuver to that side of the Parliament Complex and prepare themselves to advance.

The Jedi waded into the ranks of sightless soldiers, defending themselves through the use of human shields. Had they not elected this approach, they would almost surely have been overwhelmed by the storm of firepower that was being focused on them from outside the effected area. In this way they were then able to advance against an artillery piece at the very outskirts of the perimeter around the Parliament Complex. When it fell before their grenade fire, which also exhausted their supply of ammunition, it opened an avenue all the way to the front of the Senate Building. The cruisers began to press their attack.

"We did it!" Mardra exclaimed. "Our ships can get inside their perimeter now!"

"We've still got a very serious problem," Leia soberly responded, disliking what she now felt obligated to say. "Our secondary purpose, after changing the transponder code, was to recall the Galactic Congress and protect it. Somebody recalled it for us, but many of the delegates are trapped inside and could easily become hostages. We've got to get back into the building. We're way out of position here."

"It'll take a while for all the Imperial positions to collapse," Xan replied, "but we could contact Admiral Ackbar and ask him to use fire from the Forthright to open an avenue for our return. I wonder how long it'll take for any other Jedi to respond to our summons and how many more there might really be."

Leia did not even attempt to answer; she had activated her com-link. The jungle Jedi surrounded her and deflected all the firepower from the Storm Troopers while she made their request to the admiral, and not surprisingly he was pleased at the opportunity to be of assistance. Homing in on her signal, the Forthright began to drive the defenders away from the entrance to the Parliament Complex, opening a lane between the two positions.

Using a tightly beamed transmission, Leia thanked Admiral Ackbar and told him that Londle Eisley was waiting on the rooftop of the Executive Annex Building, or the Imperial Palace, and was in possession of the Clone Emperor's personal code. Ackbar promised to send a drop-ship to collect the collaborator just as soon as it was safe. He signed off.

Just as the five Jedi were about to become a blur, executing a Force-induced return to the Senate Building, a voice spoke from surprisingly close at hand, asking, "You're the ones who sent the transponder signal, aren't you? What do you want us to do?"

Turning towards the source of the sound, they saw that a pair of lightsaber-wielding individuals had almost instantaneously approached them. The blinding speed with which they moved, perhaps even more so than the weapons that were glittering in their grasps, signified their association as members of the Jedi Order. Neither appeared to be human, and Leia did not even recognize either of the races that were represented before her; but she smiled, nevertheless. Understanding how immediately their group needed to absorb these new allies, she swiftly introduced herself and the jungle Jedi.

"I am Awswi," said the long-limbed male. His skin was the color of cinnamon and his lightsaber was a blazing blood red, reminding Leia of the one her brother had apparently appropriated. Deflecting an incoming salvo of laser blasts, as if the action was incidental, he bowed before the assembly.

"I'm Julither," said the yellow-scaled female, also bowing. The pupils of her strikingly catlike eyes were ringed with iridescent orange, but the benighted blade of her lightsaber shown like a black light. The soft drone, which the weapon emitted, also had an unusual tone. Acknowledging their obvious interest, she concluded, "The crystal is manufactured, a prototype. It works remarkably well for penetrating force fields."

"If you wouldn't mind doing so, please accompany us to the Senate Building," Leia said as if it were actually an amiable invitation to a dinner party. "We need to protect the senators who've already assembled. Once the Coalition has secured the perimeter, we'll try to get all the other delegates to land. But for now we must make certain that none are taken as hostages."

"That would be most commendable," Awswi wryly replied.

The seven Jedi abruptly turned and raced towards the most prominent feature of the Parliament Complex. Though its official designation, for decades, had been the Imperial Building, many still remembered it as the Senate Building. Colossal conduits connected the Executive Annex Dome to it, which for precisely the same period had been known as the Imperial Palace. It had even undergone some internal alterations. However, nobody besides Imperialists commonly called it that. The Jedi arrived with unparalleled impunity at the lobby of the Senate Building; and then, they raced inside to the immense meeting chamber.

At the orders of their officers, some of the Storm Troopers had already entered and begun the business of detaining the delegates. Because of the antiaircraft guns outside, they had been afraid to flee. Now, they were being powerfully prevented from doing so.

It was no smaller matter for the Jedi to dispose of all the soldiers that were already inside with the senators. They elected to enter the spacious expanse near its apex and then descend from platform to platform as they engaged the formidable representatives of the Imperial presence. Having temporarily secured those colossal confines, they then erected ray shields across the entrances. Between the Jedi and the delegates' security forces, they were able to secure the vast chamber.

While they waited, war raged all around the area where, for centuries, the power of the Republic had resided. It disturbed Leia deeply that she now had no choice but to let her rebel associates take all the risks while she sat sequestered and did almost nothing. She considered the possibility of having one of the force fields lowered just long enough for the Jedi to exit and rejoin the action; but there was no assurance that their perimeter would remain impregnable, and her assignment was to safeguard the Senate. A refusal to wait could have catastrophic consequences. That is precisely what Anakin had failed to do at the insistence of Master Windu.

She winced with each explosion that buffeted the building. Her insight informed her that some of the cruisers were sacrificing themselves in order to utterly eliminate all that remained of the Imperial emplacements. People whom she had known for most of her life were dying, close friends whom she could've conceivably saved. She involuntarily tightened her grip on her lightsaber as she wrestled with the temptation to disobey her instructions. Finally, she forced herself to relax and accept her assignment.

Only moments later, there was an explosion overhead. In a last, desperate attempt to save themselves by taking hostages, a squad of Storm Troopers had blown a hole in the upper reaches of the Senate Chamber and entered the conclave. Leaping from one platform to another, as they accomplished their ascent, the Jedi were the only thing that kept the senators from ultimately being bartered. As the last of these soldiers finally fell, Admiral Ackbar used Leia's com-link to contact her.

"The Parliament Complex is secure, and we've confirmed that the battle droids were indeed deactivated by the loss of their command signal," he said. "We've recovered your friend from the top of the Annex Dome, and we're encouraging all the other delegates to land. We suffered losses, but not beyond what we'd expected. With the orbital platforms destroyed and the planet now surrounded by consulate ships, we might actually be able to repel a limited Imperial invasion. It all depends on how many of their cruisers actually return from the Hoth system and whether the Clone Emperor is with them."

"And how many of our friends," Leia quickly countered. "But we've got a much more immediate concern than that. Unless I'm mistaken, this is the only sector we've secured. The other city shields need to be taken down. We've still got an entire world to win."

"Gold Leader, this is Blue One. How's it going out there?" Han said into his headset.

"Some of the TIE fighters withdrew to the flagship; and just in time since we are just about out of fighters ourselves," Lando replied. "Blue group is almost gone, though Red Group still has a few fighters left. It's a good thing you sent Blue Squadron to help, but I think we've done as much damage to the cruisers as we can. You have a suggestion?"

"No matter what happens on the station now, we need to concentrate on getting rid of the TIE fighters around it," Han answered, his tone suddenly severe. "If Luke wins, he will need to be pulled out. His warship is shot. If he loses, we need to be sure the Clone Emperor is stranded on the station and that it's then destroyed. So, I am requesting that all wings fall back to the Star Killer and engage the Imperial escort."

"Last stand, huh?" Lando rhetorically asked in reply. "I agree. All wings, this is Gold Leader. Fall back to the station and destroy the orbiting TIE fighters at point-blank range. The cruisers won't be able to fire on us without taking the risk of hitting the station. They won't dare, not with the Clone Emperor aboard."

While the shuttle containing Darth Chrysalis and his handpicked boarding party was landing in the docking bay, beside the badly battered Dauntless, R2-D2 was proceeding to a computer access interface that was situated deep within the exceedingly constrictive maintenance corridors. From that almost inaccessible location, the little astrodroid would be able to monitor everything that happened on the station and control every system that was still functional. Luke was aware that all such contrived control could be mechanically wrested away from his manufactured friend. However, by the time that could happen, he and the Clone Emperor should have concluded their showdown. If things went badly, the droid should still have just enough time to execute the emergency option and destroy the star. Knowing Darth Chrysalis would find him, he simply stayed on the observation deck, which actually offered more room for a lightsaber duel than even the large compartment in which he had fought and defeated Darth Maul.

Darth Chrysalis and his technical officers headed directly for the bridge. R2-D2 had already determined that there would not be enough power to fire the Star Killer's primary weapon system if they wasted it on trying to set up ray shields. Luke was also uncertain if it would even be possible to constrain the clone in this way. Therefore, the progress of the boarding party was unhindered.

Upon entering the bridge, Darth Chrysalis was exceedingly dismayed, although not altogether surprised, to find that the control panels had been decisively demolished; but he was also aware of the robotic option. He instructed his officers to simply return to the shuttle in the docking bay and activate one of the astrodroids that he had brought along for the occasion. As they turned to begin the long walk back to the bay, Darth Chrysalis blindingly sped by them with Force-induced speed on his way to the observation deck. He actually arrived at his destination before his officers had even vacated the bridge.

"I can't say that I'm impressed with the condition of your command," he said as he located Luke at the far end. "I'm going to have to think twice about putting you in charge of any other installations, and that could create quite a problem for our future affiliations. But surely you must understand that you have lost. As wayward as you've demonstrated yourself to be, I can't believe that you are also foolish enough to carry this charade to its foreseeable and fatal conclusion. Submit now to the authority of your Sith Master. Don't make me kill you. You have to know that you cannot possibly hope to destroy me."

"I will do what I must," Luke replied, unknowingly emulating the words of Obi-Wan in a similar situation. "Even if I can't destroy you, it doesn't mean you can't be destroyed."

"You resort to the rhetoric of the Jedi," Darth Chrysalis sneered. "Thus, you continue to disappoint me. I'll teach you not to speak in such senseless riddles. In fact, I've much to teach you, but you now need to decide if you're even going to survive the first lesson. Give me my lightsaber, it's not well-suited to your mechanical hand, and surrender now."

"I'm the one who's here to instruct you," the Dark Jedi said. "You've not understood how your predecessor failed to foresee his destruction. You have repeated his mistake."

There was a fleeting hint of hesitation on the Clone Emperor's face before he finally asked in reply, "What could you possibly understand about such a thing? Do you actually expect me to accept that your insight is superior to mine? Darth Vader destroyed me. My apprentice turned against me. Such is the manner by which most Sith Masters have met their ends."

"Ends that they all, each and every one of them, failed to foresee! And yet, you still don't understand why!" the Dark Jedi loudly countered, raising his voice so that it echoed throughout the enclosure.

"And I suppose you think that you do!" Darth Chrysalis screamed in reply, masking his uncertainty with anger. Somehow, it seemed as if the son of Skywalker was actually speaking straight to the odd emptiness that he had experienced ever since awakening.

"When I first began to train under Obi-Wan and he was explaining to me about the Force, I asked him if it controlled my actions," Luke recounted. "He said, 'Partially, but it also obeys your commands.'"

"Of course!" Darth Chrysalis replied as he began to threateningly close the distance between them. "Every student of the Force knows that, regardless of which side they are actually on."

"You're gravely mistaken. That definitely is not the Sith way," the Dark Jedi forcefully said, bringing his adversary to an unintentional stop.

"Of course it is," the Clone Emperor rejoined, but his voice sounded somewhat less than certain. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"In exactly what way do you claim that the Force actually controls your actions?" the Dark Jedi forebodingly demanded.

"It gives guidance to our actions, which is true for both the Sith and the Jedi," Darth Chrysalis replied as he resumed his ominous advance.

"Really? Exactly how does it do this?" the Dark Jedi pressed as if he were unaware of the answer. He did not have the demeanor of someone in a no-win situation.

"Through the exercise of our foresight!" Darth Chrysalis impatiently replied as if the answer were obvious, though he suddenly stopped again as he realized the implications of what he had just said.

"That's only true if you can actually have what you want," the Dark Jedi portentously said in reply. "But you proceed from the assumption that you can and are blinded to any alternatives. If the only way for you to save your life was to beg forgiveness and let go of your Empire, you wouldn't even be aware of it; because you are unwilling to believe that you might have to give up either. The Sith have always and only been dictators, and the source of their undoing is their failure to realize that you cannot dictate to the Force."

"In precisely what way is it, then, that your foresight has failed you?" Darth Chrysalis demanded as he finally stood before the Dark Jedi and revealed that he was unarmed.

"It hasn't!" Luke loudly objected, and for some reason his voice had the ring of truth.

"You can demonstrate that now by returning my lightsaber to me. As you can see, I haven't had the opportunity to replace it yet. You've already got Darth Maul's saberstaff, which you're welcome to keep; but you must either give mine back to me or try to kill me with it. Decide now!"

Almost instantly, the unintentionally loaned lightsaber flew into the Dark Jedi's hand. The blood red blade brightly deployed. Responding with its wielder's superhuman speed and supernatural skill, it circled back and swept down to cleave its cloned opponent right in two, but the reaction of Darth Chrysalis was even more instantaneous. He reached up and impossibly caught the descending blade with his bare hands. The shimmering shaft of arcing energy noisily protested in his grasp as he held it fast. Before Luke could even attempt an alternate attack, lightning was flying from the fingers of the Clone Emperor. It swiftly traveled down the length of the hissing blade all the way to the power pack in the hilt. The handle exploded in Luke's hands, hurling him backward and nearly causing him to collide with the expansive transparency before which he was standing.

"Wrong choice," Darth Chrysalis sneered, blowing playfully across the palms of his impossibly uninjured hands. "Fortunately, it looks like I no longer need a lightsaber, even if you're so stupid as to now sacrifice Darth Maul's saberstaff. You're beaten. Admit your defeat or I'll be forced to kill you. You've now seen that you cannot possibly destroy me."

The Clone Emperor could not see the apparition that abruptly materialized between them as Anakin appeared before his son, softly saying, "Luke, you know what must now be done. Do not fear to make this sacrifice. Chrysalis can escape from the station before the shock wave could reach it, and your robot's control is about to be replaced. Foresight has shown you the answer. You must finish what you've started. We'll all see you then."

"You're right, I can't destroy you. But," the Dark Jedi replied as he raised his eyes to look defiantly at Darth Chrysalis before concluding, "you can destroy yourself."

"Whatever," the Clone Emperor countered, sarcastically enunciating every syllable.

Raising his horrific hands, he unleashed his power upon his unyielding opponent. In response, Luke reached out to intercept the electrical emissions. Yoda had schooled him in the technique, showing him the showdowns with both Count Dooku and Darth Sidious. However, the Clone Emperor's power was far more formidable, and he understood what Luke was trying to accomplish. He angrily increased his assault. In only moments, it was beyond anything with which Luke could actually hope to contend.

The Dark Jedi however had another response, one that was extremely mysterious to the Clone Emperor. It appeared to him as if the recipient of the assault was somehow absorbing the incinerating energy, though there would surely be no way to survive such an improbable ploy. Luke's hands were beginning to glow. With his scowling expression giving evidence of exasperated disbelief, the clone brought his attack to a crescendo.

The Dark Jedi's hands were forced aside by the torrent, but they curiously acted like lightning rods. As the clone continued to unleash his electric cascade, all the current was being channeled into his opponent through the now iridescent, outstretched arms.

Troubled determination was written upon the manufactured face of Darth Chrysalis as he continued to pour his power into the increasingly intense image of his enemy. The bright radiance was soon spreading into his adversary's torso, running up and down the length of Luke's body. The form before him no longer even appeared to be human. With his feet together and his arms outstretched, Luke began to take on the appearance of a blazing cross; and Darth Chrysalis sensed that a kind of critical threshold would soon be reached, one that would result in the demise of his noncompliant apprentice. He put his all into the attack, evoking the most malicious assault ever unleashed by one of the Sith.

This threshold was ultimately achieved. The radiance coalesced, obscuring the Dark Jedi's features completely; but, as this transformation occurred, a shock wave pulsed out from the shimmering image. It calamitously shattered the transparency that had spanned the expanse at end of the observation deck, only meters from where their encounter was occurring. Unbeknownst to Darth Chrysalis, the confiscated saberstaff had already been used to sunder the backup systems that would have activated ray shields to secure the aperture. The shutters had also been sabotaged. There was no emergency response.

Explosive decompression sent the Clone Emperor flying. Although indistinguishable as such, Luke's feet were fused to the deck. Darth Chrysalis collided with the cross-like image and clung to it for dear life as the outflow of atmosphere rushed all around him. At such close range he was able to distinguish Luke's eyes within the radiance, and he was shocked by the unanticipated emotion that he saw revealed therein. It was neither agony nor even anger. It was a pity far more profound than anything he had ever imagined. The voice of his nearly incorporeal nephew abruptly manifested itself in his mind.

"You have waited too long to embrace the redemption of sacrifice. And by forsaking that forgiveness, you've forfeited your affiliation with the Force," Luke said. However, as he voiced the pejorative verdict, he sounded remarkably like Yoda. "Consigned yourself you have to the outer darkness."

Luke transformed into the Force, assembling with his mentors. The cross dissolved. Suddenly, there was absolutely nothing between the Clone Emperor and the lethal void of space. Out of the aperture he flew, almost as if he had been spewed forth by the very doomsday device that his predecessor had ordered into existence. In vain he attempted to use his lightning to stop himself, but he could no more do that than Darth Sidious had been able to arrest his deadly descent into the bowels of a Death Star. His scream was mercilessly ripped from his lungs by the very galaxy that he had thought to subjugate.

Outside the station the remnants of the three rebel squadrons had all but eliminated the envelope of TIE fighters. Although they had constantly put themselves in harm's way in order to try and preserve the lives of their friends, the ships of the leaders were almost all that was left. They strategically hugged the Star Killer's badly battered surface as they angled to intercept the last few TIE fighters. As Lando had predicted, the commanders of the cruisers obviously feared to fire on targets that were situated so close to the station.

With Han and Chewbacca in the cockpit, the Falcon was quickly closing on the final fighter when a shower of shattered transparency erupted on their starboard side. Having destroyed the TIE fighter, they turned back to investigate the phenomenon.

A figure abruptly erupted through what looked like an accidental opening in the skin of the otherwise stalwart station. Flailing fingers of lightning seemed to lick all around the electrically enshrouded shape as it emerged almost directly before the speeding ship. It seemed to Han as if the mysterious and obviously unprepared astronaut could only have one identity, one whose infamy exceeded that of anyone else in all of galactic history.

"What the?" he rhetorically asked. But then, sizing up the situation, he tightened his jaw and fired on the unanticipated obstacle. The Falcon flew right through the dissipating cloud that had been Darth Chrysalis. With voluminous vocalizations, Chewy uproariously applauded the incident.

"I'd say it's time to extract Luke," Han summarized. And then, he said, "Chewy, use the com-link and see if our passenger is ready to be picked up. We're gonna have to do this quick, before the commanders of those cruisers figure out what just happened. And see if R2 is ready to fire that station's primary weapon. Most of those Imperial slugs are about to find that they're a captive audience for the last show in this system."

R2-D2 responded to the inquiry, but it was not the anticipated answer. With access to every sensor throughout the station, the astrodroid was aware of what had happened to Luke. The robot also knew that its Imperial counterpart was only moments away from disconnecting it from its control of the station. The only option was to give the evacuation signal. It knew there would be no time for executing a recovery once the primary weapon system had been fired. And if they delayed any longer, there would be no opportunity to destroy most of the Imperial Fleet.

"All wings, this is Gold Leader," Lando said in response to receiving the evacuation signal. "Hit your hyperdrives and get out of here. I'll be hoping to see every one of you at the rendezvous point. Be sure to check your scopes for pursuit just as soon as you drop into normal space. As sorry as I am to say it, I don't think we actually managed to cripple every cruiser. Nevertheless, despite our losses, I'd call our mission a complete success."

R2-D2 fired the Star Killer's implosion-inducing weapon for the last time. The rebel ships sped out of the doomed system. Few of the cruisers were able to follow, and some exploded in the attempt. The crew of the marooned flagship, the Fury, had an impressive view of the coming conflagration. Only the Imperial officers who had become trapped on the station had a similar ringside seat as the surviving, sabotaged cruisers all attempted to escape with nothing more than impulse power. Of course, they were unsuccessful.

Within the cramped confines of the Star Killer's maintenance tunnels, R2-D2 spent the last few minutes by rummaging through banks of old memories. It recalled its origins on Naboo. It considered its introductions to the Jedi, Anakin, and C-3PO. It remembered the many missions in which it had so successfully participated, even coming through for its imperiled companions at critical times. It examined recordings of its interactions with Luke. Finally however, it replayed one of the last things the Jedi Master had said to it:

"R2, when I first met you on Tatooine, it never occurred to me that one day we'd be destroying stars together; let alone one that would wipe out that very world. If there really is any justice in the universe whatsoever, I don't suppose either of us should survive this crusade."

Epilogue: The Restoration of the Republic

The sector containing the Parliament Complex had been secured, but at great loss to the Coalition; and, as Leia had so poignantly pointed out, the entire rest of Coruscant was still being held hostage by millions of extremely desperate, ray shielded soldiers. To his consternation, Admiral Ackbar had accurately anticipated the tremendous difficulty of the ground offensive. To complicate matters, although they seemed obviously overjoyed about the liberation of the governmental sector and had even assisted with the removing of the orbital platforms, none of the delegates or their security forces now seemed willing to endure the endangerment that would be entailed by any attempt to free the rest of the essentially imprisoned planet. The successes seemed to have resulted in a stalemate.

A subspace message had been received from General Calrissian. It announced that his squadrons had engaged the Imperial Fleet. Everyone was on tenterhooks, wondering what the outcome would ultimately be. However, they could not afford to wait. If they had not successfully freed the other sectors of Coruscant before that contest concluded; they would run the risk of having their efforts hampered by the arrival of the surviving Imperial cruisers, and the chances of eventually doing so would be greatly decreased. There was some good news though. Since Londle Eisley had passed along the code, he and Tysha were now safely inside the Senate Chamber. And two more Jedi Knights had responded to the transponder's summons.

Para-Cleet, a human, had arrived without a lightsaber and with the actual owner of his commandeered craft right on his tailfins. Only his Force-induced speed enabled him to evade volleys of blaster fire until Leia and the other six Jedi arrived on the scene. She tried to appease the stolen spaceship's owner by offering him a valuable artifact from the Temple's vault, the same repository from which she also obtained the lightsaber that she gave to the Jedi knight. They had opened it with the Clone Emperor's code, provided by Londle. Considering the situation, the owner declined to accept the trophy, but settled for the replacement of all the fuel that had been expended due to the act of theft.

Gwonameeth was a multi-segmented, multi-limbed creature. Its translucent, purple pelt reminded Leia more of fiber-optic filaments than of hair. Because of its considerable size and abundant covering, it made her think of Chewbacca, although it was apparently androgynous. It came equipped with two lightsabers, which it wielded with an extremely efficient and equally exotic technique. The members of its race were all telepathic. Leia was amazed by the fluidity of the images it projected into her mind, which were infinitely easier to understand than most of the spoken tongues she had encountered. Since its sounds were not even reminiscent of communication, she was glad it had such capacity.

Dawn had come to the Parliament Complex, but the sky was filled with the smoke of battle. Storms could be seen as they raged in the distance, where the force fields above the nearby sectors intersected each other in the tumultuous sky. Unfortunately, this was exactly where the fellowship of nine lightsaber wielders was going to have to try and go. Those shields could only be disabled from the ground, and all the thoroughfares into the adjacent sectors were certain to be profoundly defended. Holding a quick council, it was decided that their best option would be a path of unexpected approach.

The Jedi used a storm at one of these intersections to help hide their advancement as they swiftly moved towards one of the adjacent sectors. Through their facility with the Force, they were able pass with impunity between the lightning bolts that were falling all around the region. Their lightsabers deflected everything that they were unable to simply dodge. They approached along ground level, using a walkway that was sheltered only by some of the shorter buildings. With all the electrical activity in the air, this helped to mask their life sign signatures from the various scanning systems. They arrived at the edge of the force field without alerting any of the Imperial occupants beyond; but with the shield at full power, even pedestrian traffic was unable to penetrate the bright boundary.

Turning to Julither, Xan said, "You seemed to think you knew some way for us to get through this thing. If so, now's the time."

"If the eight of you will thrust your lightsabers through the shield in a semicircle, I will try to short-out the disrupted section with mine," she replied. "It may take a little patience to get your blades through the boundary; and, if this works, you'll also need to hold them in place as you pass through the resultant aperture. But it should work."

She was right on all counts. It was difficult to get their arcing blades through the ray shield; so difficult, in fact, that Gwonameeth ended up only inserting the blade of one of its two lightsabers. It would've been nearly impossible to keep the first one secured while it struggled to insert the second. Ultimately however, the powerful perimeter was pierced by a semicircle of eight lightsabers. Julither activated hers and stabbed it into the center of the formation. That little section of the force field failed, opening an aperture.

One by one, the Jedi carefully crossed through the opening. As they did, they had to reach around and keep their respective lightsabers in place; but, ultimately, they were all assembled on the inside of the shielded sector. Having accomplished that, Julither used her lightsaber to replace that of Leia. She carefully rolled hers out of position and used it to replace that of the next person in the semicircle. They continued this procession until everybody was holding their lightsaber from the inside of the shield; and then, they were all able to simultaneously extract their blades by simply pulling them through. The shield snapped shut. No alarms sounded in response. Their entry had indeed gone undetected.

The locations of the force field generators for each respective sector were common knowledge. The Jedi used Force-induced speed to quickly cover that distance. Although each facility was generally kept under extremely heavy guard, and even more so now in the midst of the emergency, the Storm Troopers were simply no match for the lightsaber-swinging members of the assault team. In order to be certain that no agent of the Empire would be able to activate it again, Leia and her friends destroyed the facility. Responding to her signal, the Forthright and the other remaining cruisers began to move against the gun emplacements in the newly unshielded sector. The resulting barrages were intense.

"Once again," said Xan, restating the obvious, "the guns really need to be taken out from the ground; otherwise, we're going to lose all our remaining ships just securing this sector."

"It is going to take us an excruciatingly long time to win back this entire world in this way," Awswi observed. "And we don't even have any idea of how much time there might be before Imperial reinforcements could arrive."

Abruptly, Leia turned away from the rest of the group and looked wistfully up into the sky. The Jedi rushed to stand around her, but no one actually knew what to say. They all intrinsically understood what she was sensing. Suddenly, she sagged to her knees. Mox waited a moment before placing his hand under her elbow and gently encouraging her to stand. There had been a momentary respite in the fighting, but they knew it could not be expected to last.

"Come on now," he softly said. "We've got to help the cruisers take out all these gun emplacements."

"No," she decisively said, rising abruptly to her feet. "We need to call off the cruisers. The remnants of the Imperial Fleet will be on their way here. We can't put our spacecraft at risk in trying to take back the planet. They need to head back up into orbit and prepare to repel."

"But there's been no word," Awswi objected. "Even if your brother has fallen, it may not mean that he wasn't successful. The Star Killer could still have been destroyed with the Emperor aboard. We mustn't assume the worst."

"I'm not assuming anything," Leia emotionally answered. "Luke has transformed into the Force; of that I am only too sure. I can't speak to the condition of the Clone Emperor, but we need to be prepared for anything, nevertheless. And a subspace communication isn't going to reach us before the ships do, whichever side they're actually on. We'll only get our update from the survivors, whether they're friends or foes."

"I see your point," Awswi agreed. "You should contact Admiral Ackbar. But our task remains unaltered, unless you believe we should be onboard the cruisers now. I am not at all sure our presence there would make that much of a difference. I think the removal of these Imperial emplacements may have just become our sole responsibility."

"If the cruisers withdraw," Xan patiently commented, "we can no loner consider the Parliament Complex as secured. If you'll remember, we were only freed up to go on the offensive by the presence of the rest of the Coalition. With the Emperor possibly on his way, our primary responsibility again becomes the safeguarding of the senators. It'll be up to our ground forces to finish securing this sector; but at least we've now seen that it is possible to penetrate the planetary shields, and so has the Imperial occupation in the surrounding sectors. Let them be the only ones demoralized by this development."

"Well said," Para-Cleet agreed. "This isn't a retreat, it's a redeployment. We need to safeguard the ground we've gained and await the opportunity to finish what we started."

"Then let's do our best to get back to the Senate District before any ships, Imperial or otherwise, start dropping out of hyperspace," Julither concluded as Leia finished her discussion with Admiral Ackbar.

The cruisers were all veering away and returning to altitude as the Jedi spun around and raced back towards the Parliament Complex. As the shield above the second sector fell, General Madine had started assembling his soldiers to swiftly take advantage of the opportunity; but, without the Jedi to help soften the fortified defenses, the Admiral would not order the troops forward. He would not waste their lives on a questionable campaign.

Except for the cruisers, the entire compliment of the Coalition was drawing back into Galactic City. As the Jedi were arriving, explosions began to rock the ground. Turning to look in the direction from which they had just come, they could tell that the artillery in the next sector, from which they had just fled, was being destroyed. Apparently, the citizens had assembled and taken care of the emplacements. Still disorganized, largely because of the loss of the sector's ray shielding and the presumably misdirecting maneuver of the Coalition cruisers, the Storm Troopers had not been ready for the unforeseen revolution.

The Forthright and its squadron of cruisers had only just returned to space when the first evacuees from the Hoth system began to drop into the system. Leia was very elated to learn that the Millennium Falcon was one of them. The ship of General Calrissian was right behind it. With wingmen on either side of him, Wedge Antilles followed. Their signal informed the Admiral that they were the only survivors, but they also happily reported the destruction of the Star Killer and the death of Darth Chrysalis. They advised the Alliance and its allies to prepare for the Imperial cruisers, which they knew had also survived.

In the aftermath of such auspicious announcements, it was not hard to enlist the aid of some of the consulate craft that were also in orbit. Many, in fact, had already helped in the removing of the Imperial platforms. Chairman Chelingus chose this opportune time to arrive with an armada from Utapau. Admiral Ackbar ingeniously organized all the largest vessels into a defensive formation; but he dismissed the smaller rebel ships, saying they had already done all he could ask of them. Generals Calrissian, Solo, and Antilles were sent to the surface. And then, everyone awaited the arrival of the Imperial cruisers.

The survivors of the mission to the Hoth system had just accomplished their docking at the Parliament Complex when the invasion fleet arrived. Leia and the Jedi joined them as they disembarked, and they all heard the report together. There was a command ship and over half a dozen Corellian cruisers – a formidable fighting force. Sighting the orbital opposition, the Imperial dreadnaughts decisively angled to attack. Since nobody actually occupied the Imperial Throne any longer, Leia wondered if a diplomatic solution might be possible. With the Admiral's approval, she explored that option, contacting the command ship. As everybody stood around her at the tech station on the Falcon, she found herself speaking with its captain, a much more contemporary incarnation of Commander Cody.

"Captain, our ships preceded yours out of the Hoth system," she said. "We know the Clone Emperor was killed. Please stand down. On whose behalf are you coming against Coruscant? Our two armadas are too well matched. You'll bring about the annihilation of both, and to what purpose? Spare the lives of your men. I implore you. Heave to and let us discuss the terms of your disarmament."

"Our situation is not as uncertain as you would have us imagine," Commander Cody replied. "Only two sectors on Coruscant have been stripped of their shields. Although the orbital platforms have been destroyed, we are not without further recourse. We may only succeed in destroying your orbiting armada; but when our reinforcements arrive, you will not be able to resist them. And another regent may swiftly be installed. The Emperor has wisely made himself like one of us – replaceable. You've already sacrificed a great many ships for nothing. All insurgents should evacuate the planet, and your cruisers should all break orbit and head for the Outer Rim. Maybe we'll be too busy restoring order to come after you. This is the only opportunity I'll give you to withdraw. If you don't take it, you will be destroyed."

His words were rife with confidence, and Leia could see the confused concern on all the faces around her. There had been no report received whatsoever indicating even the possibility of any Imperial reinforcements. If Cody was telling the truth, their situation was critically compromised. However, to Leia, some of the things he had said did not add up, even if he actually believed them himself. Her insight offered a suggestion.

Switching over to the subspace array, she attempted to respond to his ultimatum. It was obvious that her message had not been received. Since the cruisers were inside the system, it was standard procedure to use the normal channels; and, since the subspace communicator and subspace scanner were components of the same system, it was easy for her to deduce that the one on Cody's command ship was not functioning.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Commander Cody," she finally said, switching back to the original frequency. "There is one thing I would like to ask however if you would be so kind as to indulge another question."

"If you're requesting terms of surrender, you should know that capitulation must be unconditional," he brusquely replied.

"Of course," she glibly agreed. "But that's not actually what I wanted to ask. I really was wondering just how long your subspace scanner has been out of operation."

"How could you possibly have known about that?" he asked in reply.

"It was simple, really. Playing out a hunch, I tried to contact you through subspace," she openly confessed. "When you obviously did not receive the transmission, I realized that your array was offline. Maybe it was damaged in the battle, or maybe it was already malfunctioning. That doesn't matter. What does matter is that your intelligence reporting is probably incomplete. It sounds like you think you've still got more Clone Emperors in reserve. I'm wondering then if the reinforcements to which you referred are supposed to be coming from Kamino."

"Of course," Commander Cody replied as if restating the obvious.

"Would you please patch him into Coruscant's subspace array?" Leia asked as she turned to Londle, who was standing there with Tysha. As he nodded and complied, Leia keyed the microphone and said, "Commander, we're giving you access to the subspace array in this system. If you'll scan for it, you'll see Kamino no longer exists. Before it was used to destroy the Hoth system, the Star Killer was first used on Kamino and Geonosis. Your reinforcements will never arrive, and neither will your new Emperor. You're almost in range of our armada now. Are you still so certain that it's wise to dismiss diplomacy?"

"Stand by," Cody curtly replied.

The mood of the onlookers was still one of anticipation, but it was now of a far more hopeful variety. Being a Storm Trooper, the absence of reinforcements definitely did not mean that Cody would shy away from a fight. It might even make his defiance that much more desperate. However, there was the overshadowing question of what he could hope to actually accomplish by sacrificing himself and everybody in his command. Though she had never hoped to encounter insight in a clone, Leia found herself wishing for just that.

Londle had replaced her at the technical station. She and the other onlookers could all see that the command ship was indeed accessing the subspace array and conducting an extensive scan. After their initial sweep, they stopped for a little while and ran a series of diagnostics on the system, obviously suspecting subterfuge. Then, they ran the scans again. Leia instructed Londle not to interfere with them when they switched over to make use of its communication option.

At first, they seemed to simply be substantiating all their scans with some of the out-system operators. Having achieved that, they switched over to a subspace channel that Londle told them was reserved for the dissemination of executive commands. Leia came very close to telling him to interrupt their access. She felt that there was some weird kind of danger in letting the transmissions go through; but, strangely enough, it was not to the Coalition. She listened tensely to the voice coming over the subspace communicator.

"Attention every Imperial command. This is Commander Cody. Implement executive order omega. I repeat, implement executive order omega," he said.

While everyone watched the scanner readouts in confusion, the armada of Imperial cruisers drifted right by the blockade of Coalition ships. Not a shot was fired. Due to the fact that the shields of the invaders had all fallen, for reasons unknown, the scanners of the Coalition cruisers were able to monitor ferocious firefights aboard each enemy craft. It seemed as if some kind of mutiny was in progress. They also began to receive reports indicating, incredibly, that the city shields were beginning to collapse as well. Something of implausible precedence seemed to be happening to the Imperial chain of command.

All at once, the ships of the Imperial armada began to explode. The command ship went first. The Corellian cruisers followed shortly thereafter. There were civilian reports that spoke of thousands of slain Storm Troopers. The witnesses were claiming that the soldiers turned their weapons first upon their officers and then upon themselves. Only minutes after Cody gave the mysterious command, the quite formidable remnant of the Imperial presence appeared to have totally destroyed itself. It was difficult for anyone to know whether to feel relief or horror. Despite most of them being genetically engineered, no less than millions of people had just died.

"Can somebody explain to me what just happened?" Han demanded. "Why did they all kill each other, and how in the world could they have been unaware of the destruction of the Kamino system?"

"I think I can answer that," Londle Eisley replied into the sudden silence. "I didn't say anything before because I was afraid of scaring the wits out of everyone."

"What are you talking about?" Leia breathlessly asked.

As Tysha nodded at him, Londle replied, "While we were orbiting around Kappelian in the Forthright, in case anyone unexpectedly dropped into the system, I had full access to its scanners. Sometimes subspace scanners can detect the approach of something as massive as an Imperial cruiser, so I was using the Forthright's array. But of course, since nothing entered the system while we were there, I started to get bored. Out of curiosity, I aimed the array at the Kamino system. I guess I just wanted to see what the signature of a stellar explosion caused by the Star Killer looked like since I was once part of its crew."

When Londle paused, swallowing hard, Leia pressed, "It is okay; we need you to tell us what you saw."

Londle seemed to gather himself for the effort, and he was clearly being very careful about his choice of words as he cautiously continued, "I could not get any readings at all from that sector. Something seemed to be blocking the subspace scan. At length, I came to understand that it had to be the Clone Emperor. Apparently, as soon as he was aware of its destruction, he began to mask what had happened from any deep space scans. I'm guessing he must've been concerned about the effect it would have on his authority if his Storm Troopers realized that they would never be reinforced. I decided it would probably be best not to say anything; since I could not conceive of any individual possessing such power, and I was afraid of the effect it would have on the Coalition. I was also concerned that you, Leia, would be that much more afraid for your brother."

"Thank you, I appreciate the sentiment," Leia sincerely said.

"Okay, I hate to sound dense," said Han, as Chewbacca growled in agreement. "But I'm still not sure I really understand what just happened."

"Executive order omega must've been a failsafe for the Kaminoans," Londle replied. "It was probably only intended for use if the Empire turned against them; but some of the clones that were specifically manufactured for command must've been uploaded with it in case the Kaminoans weren't actually in a position to implement the order themselves at the critical time. When Darth Chrysalis died, his mysterious masking must have been removed. For the first time, Cody was able to see that his creators had been killed. And so, in light of the Empire's predictable collapse, he opted to execute his special order."

"It might have taken us decades, even generations, to remove every vestige of the Empire," Xan observed. "He did it all for us, and with a single command. I must say that I'm truly sorry he had to die. No one in the entire Coalition sacrificed more for our cause. We should make certain that he is honored along with all the rest of our fearless fallen."

"Absolutely," Leia readily agreed. She then bit her lip pensively before asking, "Isn't it strange that it was just such a clandestine executive order that turned the Clone Army against the Jedi, and now another has actually accomplished all our work for us?"

"I'd say it was quite a stroke of luck," Han replied. However, when all eyes suddenly turned to him, he concluded, "But in my experience, there's no such thing as luck."

"Since 3PO is still on the Forthright, I guess it's safe to ask why the Clone Emperor resorted to droids for his final defense," Leia said. "After all, he banned them from all but the most menial of responsibilities; and that's not all he did. I suppose it was in response to the way General Grievous survived his encounter with Obi-Wan and Anakin, but Darth Sidious even ordered the destruction of certain types of droids. And so, it seems strange to me that he would rely on them in such a way. I'm glad astrodroids were exempted. I'm not sure we could have done all this without the help of R9-Z5, here."

"When you consider how powerful he was," Londle hesitantly replied, "I have to think his foresight might have warned him about relying too exclusively on his Storm Troopers, even if he never suspected the Kaminoan failsafe. Droids are incapable of betrayal."

A picture appeared in the minds of everyone assembled there on the Falcon. It was an image of the Jedi in the act of informing the Senate about all these most momentous developments. Gwonameeth met their appreciative gazes with obvious amusement in its multifaceted eyes. Everyone, including R9-Z5, left the Millennium Falcon and made their way toward the Senate Chamber. Leia used her com-link to share the insights of Londle Eisley with Admiral Ackbar. In response, the Coalition cruisers and all the consulate craft quickly descended upon the Parliament Complex. Such a delightful day had never been seen since the collapse of the Old Republic.

Knowing that it would take some time for the cruisers to dock, the Jedi asked all the others to excuse them for a few moments. Understanding their need for privacy, the rest of the party exited the compartment. Leia and the jungle Jedi instructed the others in the matter of communicating with their mentors. Not surprisingly, they were all exceptionally adept students. In a matter of minutes they were each communing with the members of the Spectral Council.

Yoda was seated in the center of the line of phantasmal figures. On one side of him were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu. On the other were Anakin and Luke Skywalker. Everyone else allowed the Grand Master to be the first to speak.

"Done well you have, Youngling," he smilingly said.

Amused at his choice of words, Leia giggled girlishly.

"Impressive, most impressive," Anakin interjected. "You and Luke have completed the prophecy and restored balance to the Force."

"You've done very well, my sister; and I'm so happy for you," said Luke. "Although it might constitute the shortest tutelage in the history of the Jedi Order, I could not be more pleased with your progress; and so, in front of the Council and all those assembled here, I hereby confer upon you the rank of Jedi Knight. The Force will be with you always, and so will I."

"Thank you," Leia replied, whereupon the Jedi ended their audience and went out to join their friends. Together, they left the docks and made their way inside the structure.

Moderator Thurion was initially alarmed, and understandably so, when the Jedi and the leaders of Coalition all converged upon him. They hastily reassured him and told him they knew that his service to the Empire had merely been a matter of survival. He nearly burst into tears when they asked if he would introduce them to the assembled Senate. It was a tremendously emotional moment for everyone. The dream to which they had been clinging for so long was being actualized right before their awestruck eyes. Even the Jedi found it hard not to be overwhelmed. As the Moderator led the way, they did their best to brief him on all that had transpired.

Using the very platform upon which Darth Sidious had stood as he stripped freedom from the peoples of the Republic, the illustrious envoy arose. Seeing the torrent of tears, which were still flowing down the face of Moderator Thurion, the representatives were all apprehensive. It was necessary for the man to swallow several times before he was able to speak.

Clearing his throat, he finally exclaimed, "The Clone Emperor is dead! Long live the Republic!"

The expanse abruptly erupted with applause. Over two decades had elapsed since such thunderous approval had resonated within the Senate Chamber; and, even then, it had not been sustained for nearly as long. As Moderator Thurion patiently waited for the cheering to finally subside, he motioned for Admiral Ackbar and Princess Leia to rise up and stand on his right hand side. He also indicated that he wanted Prefect Otabutu and Chairman Chelingus to stand on his left. He gestured toward the Jedi, who dutifully rose and stood behind them. After the representatives had finally quieted themselves and the opportunity presented itself, he introduced Ackbar and Leia. Knowing that she was more familiar with the minutiae of the rebellion and also more accustomed to public speaking, the Admiral differed to Leia.

She introduced herself to the assembly as the Padawan Princess, adopted daughter of the late Senator Bale Organa, representative of the now nonexistent Alderaan. As one who could speak for the inhabitants of that sorrowfully obliterated world, she immediately got their full attention. Relying deeply on her personal experience, she explained to them everything that had happened since her father first became aware of the first Death Star. She clarified each of the critical characters as they entered into her story; but, instead of giving his entire background initially, she elucidated her relationship with Luke according to the manner in which she had become aware of it herself. The representatives were all enthralled.

As they each entered into the tale, she introduced Han, Chewbacca, Wedge, Lando, Admiral Ackbar, the Eisleys, Chairman Chelingus, Prefect Otabutu, and the Jedi.

When Leia introduced him and attempted to give a highly abbreviated account of the Prefect's rescue, he graciously insinuated his desire to address the assembly. Not really understanding his intention, she allowed him the opportunity. In front of nothing less than the full Galactic Congress, Prefect Otabutu gave a much more impressive report of what actually happened aboard the Corellian cruiser upon which he had been held hostage. It was easy to see how his rendition overawed the representatives. Stories of the prowess of the Jedi had become increasingly uncommon over the last two decades, so they were all quite encouraged to understand the aptitude of their newfound defenders.

When Leia had referred to learning that Luke was her brother, she carefully avoided going into much detail. Now that it was time to talk about the Clone Emperor's demise, it was necessary to also give the assembly the rest of that information. She explained how she had learned, all at once, about being Luke's twin sister and a child of Darth Vader. In so far as she actually understood it herself, she described Anakin's history all the way up to the point where he assassinated the original Emperor. The members of the Congress were clearly impressed to learn that he had sacrificed himself in order to save his son.

She told the representatives about the sorrowfully advantageous destruction of both Kamino and Geonosis and how Luke had flirted with becoming the thing they had sworn to destroy in order to eliminate every possible source of the Clone Emperor's power. And then, nearly losing her self-control in the process, she tearfully told them that her brother had ultimately been forced to sacrifice himself in order to eradicate both Darth Chrysalis and the Star Killer. In a later statement, which was made available to the assembly, she recounted the familial relationship that existed between Anakin's children and Palpatine. Its elucidation hardly seemed important at that moment. She could barely speak anyway.

During the ensuing pause, which allowed both her and no small number of senators to regain their composure, her thoughts went out to the devastated region that had once been the Hoth system. She knew, because of being informed by Admiral Ackbar, that C-3PO had been on the bridge of the Forthright when news of the loss of Luke and R2-D2 was received. As implausibly emotional as the protocol droid could sometimes seem; it was enough to make her wonder if C-3PO had been truant in joining her entourage due to being distracted, and she was glad that their new astrodroid was in attendance. Ever had such automatons significantly assisted the Alliance. They deserved representation.

Leia didn't know it, but the Imperial platform itself had been expanded; otherwise, a much smaller assembly of ambassadors for the Alliance would have been required. She continued her narration until she had recounted the critical choice of Commander Cody. She offered them Londle's insight regarding executive order omega.

At the end of her account, she then recapped by reiterating that Darth Chrysalis and his entire Imperial machine were no more. She also emphasized that the renaissance of the Jedi Order had been almost simultaneous with the destruction of the Sith. She called upon the Congress to reinstate the Charter of the Galactic Republic, vowing that she and the others of her Order would defend its dearly bought democracy to the death. She was careful to mention that more Jedi might still respond to their summons. The Senators all stood and cheered as she turned to sit down in order to allow the Moderator to bring the motion to a vote. The consensus was unanimous. The Galactic Republic was reborn.

Even the news of Emperor Palpatine's death had not resulted in such celebration. It was, perhaps, the single most joyous occasion in the extensive history of the interstellar civilization. It was as if the Clone Emperor's last order had actually been to summon the senators to the biggest gala in the galaxy, and many old differences were forgiven during the festivities. The spirit of cooperation, absent even after the events at Endor, had been restored. New affiliations were forged and many outstanding debts were dismissed with a simple handshake – or some other more alien appendage.

As if all this was not nearly enough, with all of their associates looking on, Han took the opportunity to propose to Leia. Of course, she courteously consented. Leaning upon her husband, Tysha cried. But Chewbacca cried the loudest. Once the Eisleys had their turn, everyone else hugged the happy couple. Wedge and Lando could barely speak.

As what had been the Imperial platform settled back into its aperture, Leia and Han suddenly found themselves the focus of all the attention from both Chairman Chelingus and Prefect Otabutu. The dignitaries were both boisterously insisting that the ceremony should be held on one world and the honeymoon on the other, and it was up to Han and Leia to decide which one to honor in which way. Having observed the amenities of each, the other participants in the party were quick to make recommendations. Leia reminded them, as politely as possible, that democracy was for senators. Everyone apologetically admitted that they were simply caught up in the moment, saying that they would happily support whatever decision was ultimately made.

As they were leaving the Chancellor's Chamber, the group was joined by many of the officers from the bridge crew of the Forthright. Khyzo, Jarma, Uti, and Buja were all there; and they were overjoyed to learn of the happy couple's engagement. C-3PO had successfully followed them. Leia could see the protocol droid working its way through the crowd. She tried to think of something comforting to say to her longtime companion, but nothing seemed to come to mind. Its grief, if the word can even be properly applied, was of a far different nature than hers. And hers was still too close at hand. As she watched however she saw something that encouraged her.

Pausing at the outskirts of the assembly, the robot took notice of the astrodroid that was hovering next to the Eisleys. Leia saw something that looked incredibly like curiosity in its engineered eyes. She hoped that her protocol droid had perhaps just found another friend. Cautiously avoiding the conversing creatures all around it, the hovering astrodroid carefully closed the distance. Soon, the two robots were situated right before each other.

"Oh, hello," said C-3PO. "I don't believe we have been introduced."

The astrodroid emitted the series of sounds that were characteristic for its kind.

"R9-Z5, a pleasure to meet you!" the protocol droid animatedly responded. "I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations."