Two or three years earlier, Han had recounted an incident in which he had managed to slip in and out of a gathering of drug interdiction officers at a hotel without being noticed. It was particularly notable because they were meeting to coordinate efforts to block the expansion of the Outer Rim spice trade—a project in which Han was deeply involved. "What you have to do in this situations, Kid," he said earnestly as he took a long drink of some vaguely skunky Bimmini lager, "Is just walk in like you belong there. No one is going to think that the guy strolling through the crowd of Imperial agents is on the most wanted list."

The memory sprung back into Luke's head as he followed the growing crowd of Imperial soldiers into a crowded ballroom. It had been hastily repurposed to accommodate a three dimensional display suspended from the ceiling so the standing room only crowd could make out the details. Scaffolding in the front served as a stage.

Luke shortened his gait just enough to let Daze, whom he'd been shadowing, melt into the crowd with a shout of greeting to some unseen companion. "Just act like you belong," Luke told himself, "No one is expecting Luke Skywalker right now." When they found Han, he was going to find this story hilarious.

He'd been to countless identical briefings as a Rebel pilot to know what to expect, or so he thought. But the Imperials weren't engaging in the usual insulting banter of pilots or enlisted men. They talked wearily of families and lovers and injuries, and more than one man stood silently, staring at nothing.

A grey haired Imperial with enough chest candy to cover a smashball field stepped heavily onto the scaffolding, tapping the microphone to quiet the assembly. Luke stared straight ahead, willing himself to be absorbed into the now silent crowd. He didn't need the Force to sense the tension in the room. There was fear too, and Luke felt a rush of pity for the nameless soldiers next to him. How many of these men were about to be sent, once again, to die for a government that saw them as only a number?

A holographic display crackled to life above their heads.

"I am Admiral Caz," the Imp began without ceremony. "I've been appointed commander of the ninth fleet. For those of you that I have not yet had the pleasure of serving with, know that I am not one for sentiment. We have a job to do and we will do it."

He gestured at the display.

"The Imperial Council is relocating to Lette." The Imperials were far more disciplined than the Rebels, who would have shouted "where?" before the speaker could get in another word. Still, Luke could sense they were all wondering exactly that. "Security on Imperial Center is being upgraded and the Council is moving until the work is complete. Lette is an uninhabited system with a white dwarf at the center." The display zoomed out to show a small star orbited by five or six planets. "What is notable is the relative proximity to a pulsar." Zooming out further, another rotating star appeared. Its concentrated beam of radiation swung across the system like a searchlight.

"Imperial intelligence reports that the Rebels have spies throughout the Empire that we have been unable to ferret out," the Admiral continued. Luke tried to look as innocent as possible. "They fully expect that in spite of every precaution, there will be an attack on our leadership. We will be there to stop it."

"The pulsar disrupts navigation and communications in the system, which we will use to our advantage. The Rebels will be blinded and unable to coordinate upon entering the Lette system. We will coordinate our attack prior to stationing at Lette I, IV, and V." He pointed at the three barren planets on the display. "Our colleagues from the First Fleet will be stationed in deep space along the four possible hyperspace approaches to the system. They will send scouts to alert us to the Rebels entrée. From there, we will destroy them."

The Admiral paused as an aide delivered a glass of water. He took a long sip and cleared his throat. "Your ship commanders have been briefed on the specifics of each of their duties. Perfect adherence to our plan is critical to our success. Report to your ships immediately. Dismissed!"

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Luke let the crowd sweep him out of the room, grateful that they were not trying to march in formation as they parted ways down the corridors. His mind was whirling, and he took a calming breath, making himself trust in the Force to guide him.

The Alliance would know it was a trap, wouldn't they? After the near disaster at Endor, even the prospect of taking out the remaining Imperial leaders wouldn't tempt Mon Mothma into acting without doing a bit of research first. Surely the presence of a pulsar would give them pause.

But if they went on the attack? Leia would never forgive him for not trying to warn the Alliance of the danger, even at the cost of her life. He could practically hear her lecturing him about the cause.

He had nearly reached the lobby area where the injured men still sat around the holoprojectors, oblivious to the mobilization, when he heard a voice from behind him. "Commander Albi!" Kriff.

"Daze. How can I help you, soldier?"

"I…" Daze dropped his head. "I wanted to thank you, sir."

"I'm sorry?"

"For listening, sir. And…sir?" Daze looked at him boldly. "Can I ask, sir, is this mission likely to be fatal? Because, well, my mother…"

Luke tried not to gape at the man. Had they met in space, each at the controls of their own fighter ship, or on an Imperial installation, each charged with their own mission, they would have killed each other without a second's thought. Even celebrated their quick win. But here they were just two men, and Daze was asking for the compassion and reassurance that he thought Luke could give.

"I hope not, soldier." He caught himself before he could add, "And may the Force be with you."

Daze nodded curtly, stepping away just as an idea popped into Luke's head. "Soldier," he said. "I wasn't able to find my contact. Where did the Rebel ship end up?"

Daze smirked. "Hanger B723," he said. "I hear the poor fool they pulled out of it had quite a tale."

"Thanks, soldier."

"My pleasure, Commander Albi."

Luke whirled around on his heel, hoping to look Imperial, and noticed Lando standing in a doorway. He walked purposefully in his direction, hoping Lando would take a hint and follow him towards the hangers. As the hallway turned and cleared of people, Lando caught up with Luke.

"Albi?" he asked incredulously, with a hint of mockery in his voice. "Why didn't you just tell them your name was Guy Incognito?"

"And why don't you just resign your commission and go into comedy?" Luke snapped, in no mood for teasing. "Call Chewie and tell him to wait near the Falcon, but stay out of sight. I have an idea."

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"Are you absolutely…"

"Yes." Leia cut off Han before he could finish his question. "And if you're not sure, you are free to leave."

"Whoa, simmer down there, sweetheart. I just want to think through this logically. Someone is onto us, you know."

Leia kept a blank look on her face as her eyes scanned the dingy little café they had found a short walk from the Imperial Palace. The other customers looked to be shift workers, more focused on tanking up on caffeine than eavesdropping. "We don't know that for certain."

"We don't not know that for certain. Why else was the door open?"

"There are lots of possibilities. Maybe the lock broke."

Han rolled his eyes. He took a sip of his coffee before responding, savoring the sharp heat on his tongue.

"I just don't think we should run away with our tails under our legs just because you think maybe someone is onto us," she said firmly. "Wouldn't they have done something more drastic than popped their head into our room to see if we were home?"

"I never claimed to understand how these guys operate."

Leia took a deep breath. "Let's make a plan assuming they aren't onto us," she said finally, "Then we can decide how we want to figure out if that is assumption is correct."

"That sounds like one of those ideas that is great in theory and deadly in practice," Han sighed. "But okay, since it sounds like I'm not going to convince you, what are you thinking?"

She leaned in across the table, grabbing her mug and holding it close to his face. The coffee sloshed dangerously close to the edge. "Poison seems like the most obvious choice. I just need some glass cleaner and I can mix something up."

Han looked at her admiringly. "Princess school was a lot more practical than I imagined." He grimaced as she kicked him under the table. "Okay, so what's your plan for delivery?"

"Food. If I'm in the kitchen, I just need to get access to the food for a moment."

"Is that all? I hate to pull rank here, sweetheart, but I don't think that's as simple as you're making it sound." Han frowned at her. "You said that guy Skiren is a real ballbuster, right? You think he's going to ignore some dishwasher messing around with his food? And is this stuff you're planning on concocting potent and stable enough to stand being sprinkled on nerf steaks or whatever he's serving?"

"I wouldn't do it in front of him," Leia protested. "And…I don't know?"

"No." Han was adamant. "What if he catches you? Just no."

"Fine." Leia crossed her arms. "What's your idea then…general?"

"You mean aside from getting the hell out of here?"

"Yes."

Han thought for a minute. "Do they drink? Booze, I mean."

"Wine, most of the time."

"Okay, so we find out what they're drinking, get a bottle from somewhere, fix it up…" Here he winked meaningfully, "And make sure it's served to them in some real nice crystal goblets."

Leia opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it. His idea wasn't that bad really. "All right. Now, how do we figure out if we're being watched?"

Han grinned. "We just do what we're best at."

"Which is what? Cheating death?"

"No. Fighting."

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Channeling every last pretentious former Imperial official he'd ever met (including, he considered wryly, his sister) Luke strode purposefully into Hanger B723. Lando waited far behind him, pretending to be an interested bystander. "I am commandeering this Rebel vessel."

The Imperial lieutenant that had been manning the control deck for the hanger had clearly also been studying Coruscanti pretention. "And who might you be?"

Luke gave him an incredulous look. "Lieutenant, ready this ship immediately."

"Under whose orders?"

"Imperial intelligence." Luke did his best to make his voice drip with menace. Apparently it worked well enough, as the lieutenant dropped a bit of his attitude and began punching numbers into the comm.

"I'll have to clear it with…"

"I am clearing it," Luke said, giving the man a nudge with the Force. "I do not have time for games, Lieutenant. If we do not infiltrate the Rebels quickly, they will know that this ship has been captured," he added for good measure.

"Sir, if I can just give them a name…" It was working. The lieutenant signaled for the deck officers to clear out from beneath the ship and lower the boarding ramp.

Luke began striding towards the ship. He glanced at Lando, praying that Chewie was waiting nearby as instructed. He saw the shields keeping the Falcon trapped in the bay start to lower. He waited until they were fully opened. "Now!"

A mass of brown fur burst out of a doorway behind the command station. Chewie carried Threepio as Artoo dashed behind him. They were up the boarding ramp, Lando close on their heels, before the lieutenant even noticed anything was amiss.

Luke popped his head out as he followed his companions up the ramp. Lando and Chewie had the ship already lifting off as Luke called, "Guy Incognito. Tell them it was Guy Incognito."

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"You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy looking nerf herder!"

"You entitled bossy b-"

"Whoa!" Joern, remarkably sobered up after his ill-fortuned sabaac game, stopped Han mid-insult. "Don't say anything you can't take back, friend." He put a calming hand on Han's arm. Han started to shake him off and then let Joern pull him back.

Han threw up his hands dramatically as he turned away. "Women! Kriffing pain in the ass women!"

"Womanizing Gamorrean!" Leia spat at him, pleased as she saw Joern leading him down the hall to safety, whispering platitudes about dealing with angry wives. Surely he would let Han bunk in his room to avoid any more domestic disturbances. He was scared of the Imperial leadership, Han had mentioned. He wouldn't want a fight bringing unwanted attention to their quiet hallway.

"Girrrllll." Alba stuck her head out of her room, looking far more greenish than her usual pale peach tone. "What the hell?"

On cue, Leia burst into tears, shoving her way into Alba's room. Far too inebriated to even consider protesting, Alba fell onto her bed and began snoring loudly.

"I'm impressed you made it back," Leia said softly, tucking a blanket over the woman and settling herself near the door. A pungent aroma of whiskey and cheap cologne wafted from Alba's sleeping form.

The small crack between the frame and the door itself showed nothing but a sliver of light through, but it would at least let her see if anyone had passed by. Thankful for the caf she'd chugged earlier, Leia held her breath and waited.

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Isard rarely got bored. Boredom led to complacency, and complacency led to an early death. Still, watching the palace staff trudge back and forth from their rooms to the fresher was not exactly stimulating.

She understood in theory why the staff dormitories weren't bugged. In the days when the Emperor was still alive, the staff was highly vetted and kept busy enough that dorms were only used for sleeping…or so they thought. She'd heard stories of drugs, of illicit liaisons, and of gambling, but nothing that would rise to the level of problematic for the Empire. Now, she was cursing the lack of surveillance. She shouldn't have to break into staff rooms when she could just be watching them over a monitor.

Leaving the Princess's door open was a tactic she decided on in real time. She knew the Rebels were patient. The attack on the second Death Star had been months in planning. If she didn't motivate Organa a little bit, who knew how long it would take the girl to act. She decided to seed just the tiniest bit of paranoia.

Isard allowed herself a small smile when she saw the Princess and Solo—it was definitely the smuggler—fighting. Any idiot would see that it was staged. They disappeared into friends' rooms and Isard could see them peeking out at their own door in her mind's eye. Waiting to see who was spying on them.

She wasn't ready for Organa to act yet though, she mused as she hit a series of buttons on a comlink. Presently she watched a cleaning droid appear in the hallway, meandering into rooms and leaving doors cracked open. A few yelps of protest let her know that some of the staff weren't adequately intoxicated to ignore the intrusion. She laughed as the droid deliberately bumped up against the door of the room where Solo had secreted himself. She wished she could be there for the very real fight the two would likely have over whether or not the Empire was onto them.

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"Are you out of your mind?"

"No." Luke's stubborn adamancy was making Lando practically dance around the Falcon in a fury.

"We've gotten this far, we know the likely name of the shuttle they were on, and you want to give up and go back to the Fleet?"

Chewie roared in rare agreement with Lando. "They won't let us leave again, cub."

"It's what they would want. We can't let the Fleet walk into a trap."

Lando flapped his arms, out of arguments for the stubborn young Jedi. "I…we…gah!" He stalked off towards the galley.

Chewbacca crossed his massive arms and glared at Luke. "You truly think we need to warn the Alliance of this trap? I think they would be wise enough to avoid it on their own."

Luke rubbed his eyes, suddenly exhausted. He'd only caught a few of the Wookiee's words but meaning was clear enough. "Chewie, please understand me on this. You know I wouldn't do it if it weren't necessary."

Chewbacca stood stonefaced for a moment and then placed a massive paw on Luke's shoulder. "We will do what you think is right, cub."

"Thank you…I think?" Luke looked up at his friend. "You know I wouldn't stop looking unless it was absolutely critical."

"I know," Chewbacca said. He turned away, and Luke thought he heard the Wookiee sniff. "My life debt weighs on me though." Another moment of quiet passed, and then Chewbacca turned and stalked out of the cockpit.