Author's Note: Ahhh! I was doing so well, getting an update out once a week! But then I started a new job, and this chapter is rather complicated – to write, anyway. It's really long, too – I considered breaking it up, and I probably really should have, since it's almost four times longer than my goal was, but I decided to leave the length as it is as a gift to all you lovely people out there who stick with me through the rough patches. So enjoy, and please review!

Chapter Eleven: Social Life

I stood in the docking bay, waiting for Solo to land his hunk of junk. Though he had left before us, he was just turning up now, and I was ready to tear a strip off of him.

"Where have you been?" I demanded as soon as he set foot off the ship.

He grinned arrogantly at me, and I wanted to slap him. "Miss me, Your Worship? Aw, I'm touched."

"Touched in the head," I snapped back. "If you're going to continue your association with the Alliance, we need to be assured of your position at all times!"

He gave me an insulted look. "You think I'm a turncoat? I promise you, Princess, I got no love for the Empire. But I do have a job, and I ain't so deep into your Rebellion that I'm going to let you boss me around. So lay off!"

"It's been a week!"

"I had to make a delivery!"

I swung in front of him, forcing him to stop. "Look, Captain, if you value your freedom so much, the Alliance has no use for you. Make your choice."

"I have responsibilities! Things I have to do!"

My expression didn't change. "Make your choice, Captain."

He set his jaw, and opened his mouth –

"Han!" Luke called exuberantly from behind me. "You made it!"

"Hey, kid," Solo replied, looking past me and over my shoulder. I turned and let Luke step up to us.

"So, are you back for good now?" Luke asked.

Solo looked taken aback, and he glanced at me as if he suspected I had asked Luke to inquire about his plans. I met his gaze squarely, and he eventually looked away.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked, his smile fading a bit.

Solo draped an arm around his shoulders and the two of them began to move into the main building. "Nothing, kid," he drawled. "Not a thing. So tell me, the food around here any good? I'm starving."

--

My computer was finally set up, and I sat in front of it long into the night searching through the Archives, looking for Padme Naberrie. I frowned as I read through the list of partial matches.

Padme Aadine. Padme Alexia. Padme Amidala. Padme Bihar. Padme Dane. Padme Darsay. Padme Glonna. Padme Jasteine. Padme Kelli. Padme Kittia. Padme Lianna. Padme Miuy. Padme Pakae. Padme Rashe, Padme Serrah, Padme Stolastree, Padme Tiana, Padme Vera, Padme Xienia, Padme Zhar; Ashla Naberrie, Druin Naberrie, Jhos Naberrie, Pooja Naberrie, Quadah Naberrie.

Aside from Pooja Naberrie and Padme Amidala, I didn't recognize any of the names, and Padme Naberrie certainly wasn't there. Pooja was one of my friends from the Senate; Amidala was a Senator during the Republic, who helped my father start the Rebellion when the Emperor was still just the Supreme Chancellor – albeit with emergency powers – by being one of the active supporters of the Delegation of Two Thousand. I had studied countless of her speeches and proposals, and she was one of my idols. Unfortunately, she had died shortly before I was born, on the day I was born, actually – of a broken heart, over the Republic, according to the rumour mill – so I never had the chance to meet her. Which was a pity, because I would have loved to.

However, it was Pooja who had the most chance of being able to tell me just who Padme Naberrie was. With any luck, they weren't too distantly related for her not to know who she was. But then, if she had been a Queen . . .

I typed Queens of Naboo into my search bar and hit Enter. A chronological list appeared before me, with the names of the Kings faded to grey.

Queen Charpathya, Queen Bilyndah, Queen Garlina, Queen Joslinda, Queen Fhjorda, Queen Dhahlya, Queen Igrainia, Queen Ilanna, Queen Herpacha, Queen Kahleerah, Queen Phorquna, Queen Vistilina, Queen Esoltue, Queen Danhikah, Queen Myrendia, Queen Xiera, Queen Wendegina, Queen Ysariah, Queen Taslyn, Queen Naudilina, Queen Zekiesha, Queen Olyqua, Queen Usingsa, Queen Ailyscha, Queen Brecessa, Queen Swyllia, Queen Terichta, Queen Amidala, Queen Jamillia, Queen Lalilia.

I frowned. No Queen Naberrie anywhere to be seen.

I glanced at my clock, it was late here; what time would it be in Theed, where Pooja lived? I pulled a time chart up on my screen.

It was even later there than it was here. I sighed. Apparently, I would be getting no answers tonight. I shut the computer down and crawled into bed, but try as I might, I couldn't get to sleep.

--

Eventually I did fall asleep, however, because when I awoke, there was someone in my room.

He was studying my Alderaanian moss painting, the one of the waterfall in Aldera Park, and so his back was to me, long brown hair tied at the back of his neck with a leather thong. His clothing was plain, but very well made.

I nearly screamed, but managed to hold it in check and kept my body still. If he thought I was still asleep, so much the better. I began to inch my hand toward the table beside my bed, where I always kept a blaster stored.

The next thing I knew, one of his hands was around my wrist, holding me captive from my pistol, and the other was pointing his own blaster at my head.

"Hey, Princess," he said cheerfully.

I stared at him, my eyes meeting his brown ones. He wasn't exceptionally tall, but he was very muscular and strong – brawny, I'd call him. His grip on my wrist was unbreakable.

He holstered the blaster and let me go, then held out his hand as if he expected me to shake it. "I'm Jix," he continued with a friendly grin.

"You're who?" I managed.

He shoved at my legs and sat on the edge of my bed. "I'm Jix," he repeated. "Wrenga Jixton. My uncle D sent me."

"Your who sent you?" I was beginning to feel like I was missing something.

"My uncle D. You made a deal with him, remember?"

It hit me then. "You work for Vader?!"

He nodded and grinned again. "Yep. He wanted me to give you this." He handed me a small, wrapped package.

I took it warily. "What is it?"

"Open it and see!" He bounced a little on the edge of my bed, like a child on their birthday. "It's no fun if I tell you!"

"Knowing Vader, it'll explode when I do," I muttered, holding it slightly away from my body.

The man's – Jix's? – eyes widened in shock. "Oh, no, Princess. He likes you. You're useful. He wouldn't kill you!"

I leveled a look at him.

"I know he doesn't always show it . . . and okay, he may not exactly like you per se . . . but he wouldn't!"

I gave him a look. "Do you make excuses for him often?" I asked sarcastically.

His look, self-pitying and soulful, would have been funny if I hadn't been so irritated. "Yeah . . ." he sighed. "And the worst part is, no one ever believes them!"

I just stared at him. "I wonder why," I replied, my tone bitingly sarcastic.

He just shook his head. "I'm not going to argue with you. Being verbally smacked around by a female was not in my job description. Just open the present."

I glared, but began to gingerly pick it open. "What is your job description?" I asked as I played with the package.

"Now that would be telling." He grinned at me. "Have you got it open yet? See? See?"

I pulled open the plain box and turned it upside down. A bundle of packing spilled out, followed by a small, hard metal object. It hit me square in the thigh, on the bone. I let out a yelp.

"Careful!" Jix lunged forward to rescue the object from my lap. "You'll break it!"

"Thanks for your concern," I muttered angrily, rubbing my sore thigh. Of course a gift of Vader's would manage to hurt me, even if it was inanimate.

Jix held the thing out to me, and I took it from him, gripping it a little tighter than was likely necessary. It was a comlink.

A brand new, completely up-to-date comlink, and obviously a very expensive one, if the numerous dials and buttonsand the shiny chrome on it were any indication. I had a feeling that if Luke, Wedge or any of the other techno-geeks we had on base got a glimpse of it, they would be salivating.

On the other hand, I preferred utility to special features. If my comlink retained its default ringtone instead of having a different popular song for every person in my address book, that was fine with me. If the image stayed the standard blue colour instead of projecting a neon rainbow that changed every three seconds, I didn't mind. Luke had managed to rig his so that whoever called him looked as though they were standing in the rain, a natural occurrence on Yavin that he had gaped at for hours. Solo's I suspected, was also toyed with, because he always sounded more suave than he actually was over the comm.

The comlink I now held in my hand looked like one I had seen the boys drooling over in a magazine a few weeks previously, except it was more sleek, more shiny, and less bulky. The boys would have died.

I glared at Jix. There had to be a catch.

"It's programmed to disguise Vader's voice," Jix explained happily, oblivious to my glower. "And he fiddled with the holo display; it'll show someone else. So if anyone catches you talking to him, they won't know it's him. He's rigged up something similar for himself."

And Vader was just thinking of this now? I smirked. "Had a close call, did he?"

Jix managed to look innocent and didn't answer, but I knew I was right when a new respect for me entered his dark brown eyes.

I waited for him to leave. He didn't. "You can go now," I encouraged him.

"Well, uh –" He swallowed and stood up. "There's actually something else."

His nervousness made me exceptionally wary. "What is it?"

"Okay, before I tell you, understand that this was not my idea. I was fully against this from the start. I don't think it's necessary, but Uncle D insisted. It was all him. So don't kill me, alright?"

My eyes narrowed and I tried to prepare myself. What could possibly be so bad?

"He wants me to escort you to that big to-do you guys are putting on tonight," Jix said in a rush, and winced back from me, as if expecting me to explode.

With the dreams, Solo's return, the bounty on Luke and everything else going on, I had completely forgotten about the gathering we were having tonight. Mon liked to have at least two a year, to help keep morale up. How a high-class gathering boosted morale, I wasn't quite sure, seeing as most of our recruits preferred to be covered in engine grease, but Mon insisted. Now that I had been reminded of it, I didn't disappoint Jix.

"No! I refuse! It's not going to happen! If you think I'm going to bring an Imperial into a situation like that, you've got another think coming! You tell Vader –"

Jix held up his hands, looking terrified. "Tell him yourself, lady! Number's programmed into the comm! I'm just the messenger!"

I glared furiously and snatched up the comlink. It took me a moment to figure out how to get into the address book feature and then make the call, but the delay only fueled my anger. By the time Vader answered, I was practically overheating. I could certainly feel the flush on my cheeks – indeed, over my entire body.

"What do you think you're playing at?!" I fairly shrieked. "He is not coming with me tonight! Not going to happen! Do you understand me? He is going to leave right now, and neither he nor anyone else you send is going to get into the base!"

"You didn't do a very good job of keeping Jixton out, now, did you?" Vader asked me evenly, and I blinked at the device in my hand. I hadn't noticed in his short greeting – either I had been too worked up, or it was too short a phrase, or perhaps both – but Vader sounded . . . well, not at all like Vader. He spoke in a baritone, and he sounded, not only young, but organic. Or at least as organic as one can sound over the comlink. Not only that, but the image projected was of a young, curly-haired man. I was so amazed I nearly forgot about the issue at hand . . . but not for long.

"That is not the point –" I began to retort hotly.

The blue eyes (the whole holo was blue, but for some reason I was convinced that the eyes were blue too) blazed. In the back of my mind I wondered idly how that was possible, since the image was supposed to be synthetic. But I was more focused on outwitting Vader, for once.

"That is exactly the point, Your Highness," he informed me icily, the lips of the image moving in perfect synchronization with the words. "Jix got in. Your base, its location and layout, is no longer a secret from me. You would be wise not to fight me on this."

"Why?" I snarled. "So you can pull another Death Star out of your pocket and spread our atoms across the galaxy while we sit pretty and smile at you?"

His lips twisted and he sighed. "It is not in my best interests to blast you out of existence," he said in a tone that was probably meant to be soothing and came out as patronizing.

"You had no trouble with Alderaan," I hissed back, the pain of it still cutting me deep.

"Alderaan," he told me calmly, "was not under my jurisdiction. Rest assured that if it had been, it would still be whole."

". . . You're saying you wouldn't have destroyed it?" That threw me.

"Of course not. It was senseless. One should not use power simply because one has it available."

"Tarkin wanted me to tell where we were based," I pointed out. "He had a reason."

"A very petty one that I told him would not work," Vader replied.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Vader hadn't supported the Death Star? And from the way we were talking, one would have thought I was the Imperial and he the Ally. It was mind-boggling. I was speechless, needing to think about that.

"Is that all?" Vader asked me, slightly impatient.

"No. How did you find out Luke's name?"

He smiled, but it was mirthless, dangerous. "Do you really want to know?"

I took in that smile and was quite sure I could guess accurately, especially after the reports we received of several cells being wiped out by Vader and his forces. "How could you?" I accused.

"This is what happens when you challenge me, Princess," he replied softly.

"You just want to kill Luke the way you killed his father," I snapped scathingly.

Vader's reaction to that remark was not what I had expected. "The way I what!?" he roared.

I winced at his volume, confused. He looked shocked; even stunned. But before either one of us could get our mouths open again, my room door opened and Solo, of all people, sailed in.

"Good morning, Your Worshipfulness!" he said cheerily.

"I don't recall inviting you in here," I bit out. "Get out."

"Don't worry, Your Worship, I won't tell the higher-ups that you were cooing to your boyfriend on the job."

"She was hardly cooing," Vader replied from my comlink, his tone still taut. I shoved it under the covers, holo side pressed into the mattress.

"I'm not on the job yet," I reminded Solo.

He actually had the audacity to smirk at me. "Yes you are. It's past eight hundred hours, Princess. You were officially on the job ten minutes ago, and Mothma's lookin' for you."

I nearly swore. Either I had overslept, or Jix and Vader had kept me occupied for longer than I thought. And speaking of Jix –

I looked furtively around my room for the Imperial. He was nowhere in sight, but my refresher door was closed. I usually left it open. Hoping that's where he was – I did not want him wandering free around the base – I turned back to Solo.

"Tell her I'm sorry and that I'll be down shortly," I said. "Now leave."

He gave me a mocking bow. "Your Worshipfulness's wish is my command." He was nearly out the door when he turned around and added, "It's nice to know I'm not the only one you treat like crap. I was beginning to feel rejected." He was gone before I could grab something to throw at him.

"I'll show you rejected," I muttered savagely, drawing the comlink out from under my blankets as Jix poked his head out of the refresher.

"That was entertaining," Jix said conversationally. I glared at him.

"Get out," I said to him. "I have to go," I told Vader.

"Tell me about this nonsense of killing Skywalker's father," Vader demanded.

"Are you denying it?" I asked sardonically.

"Yes!" Vader retorted. "Because I did no such thing! Who told you that I did?"

"Luke."

"Who told him that I did?"

"I don't have time for this."

"Who?"

"I don't have time!"

The holo image sat back, jaw clenched. "Very well," Vader replied tightly. "But this conversation is not over, Princess, and next time I will not take your refusal to answer my questions so well!"

I merely shut off the comlink and looked up at Jix.

"Out!" I yelled.

He scurried out the door. "I'll be here at nineteen hundred hours, Princess," he called over his shoulder.

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands for a moment, then forced myself out of bed and prepared to meet the world.

--

He was an hour early, the bastard.

"Can't you tell time?" I snapped as I ushered him into my room, afraid someone would see him if I made him stand in the hallway.

"Didn't I say eighteen hundred hours?" he asked innocently.

I glowered at him. He wasn't fooling anyone. I knew full well that he knew he had said nineteen hundred hours. He just thought that I would have left without him if he came on time.

Which I would have, but still.

"What am I going to tell people about you?" I griped as I search for a pair of stockings.

"I'm sure you'll think of something," he replied, eyes going back to the same painting I had caught him studying earlier.

"Helpful," I growled as I pulled on my stockings and began looking for my red shoes.

I didn't wear red often, though it was one of my favourite colours. I loved jewel tones, but they were impractical for the Alliance. However, these gatherings – parties only in the noble, courtly sense of the word – were the perfect place for me to wear both the colours and the dresses that came in them. However, as a result of wearing them so rarely, I often had difficulty finding the accessories that went with them.

"You look nice," Jix said as I dragged the second shoe out from a box in the back of my closet.

"Thanks," I muttered, a habit of politeness warring with my instinct to be hostile to Imperials. I put both shoes on and balanced myself on the high heels. Now the brilliant scarlet hem of my dress only just touched the floor. Before, I had been tripping over it constantly.

"Alright," I sighed. "Let's get this over with."

He offered me his arm with a perfectly executed courtly bow, and some of my irritation at him faded. It had been a long time since I'd been treated like a beautiful, expensive figurine, and although I hated to be seen as inferior or useless, the feminist in me happily took a back seat when a man treated me like a lady. In the midst of all this war, even I sometimes forgot I was a Princess. It was nice to be reminded.

I lightly laid my hand on the inside of his forearm, and he winked at me. I laughed.

"I do believe, Mr Jixton, that you are a scoundrel," I teased.

"Ah, milady, for you, any man would clean up his act," he replied seriously, as would a highborn gentleman in the same situation. I smiled as we moved out my door and down the hallway..

"Where are you from, Jix?" I asked. "You seem to be a contradiction in and of yourself."

"Comes with the job," he replied. "In my line of work, if you don't fit in, you get noticed, and people watch out for you. And when people are watching you, you can't do your job properly, and things get messy."

"You're an assassin," I realized with a slight frown. My gut twinged, but I couldn't tell if it was unease or disappointment.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "Sometimes I'm a spy. Sometimes I'm a messenger. I have authority over the Fist, so sometimes I'm a commander. I've done clean-up duty – if you known what I mean – and I've done some PR. Recently, I've taken to babysitting."

I nearly choked. "Babysitting?"

"Well, not really babysitting. But close enough. Making sure people don't get killed and all that jazz." He flashed me a grin.

I blinked. "You mean . . . me? Vader wants you to make sure I stay alive?"

He laughed. "Nah, not you. He knows you can take care of yourself. He thinks you're the best shot the Rebellion has; the rest of 'em just seem to shoot at random and hope they hit something. You can actually aim." He laughed again.

I managed an ironic smile. "That's because I'm female, and I actually recognize the benefits of aiming, rather than trying to shoot off as many rounds as possible."

"Ouch." He smirked. "She bites."

I delicately bared my teeth and clicked them at him. He chuckled.

And then we were in from of the doors leading to the largest common area in the base. I took a deep breath.

"So what's my cover?" Jix asked as we paused in front of them.

"You're an acquaintance from Corellia that I met two years ago when we were both on Coruscant. You fixed my comlink for me when I dropped it in a mall, and you recognized me as the Allied Senator from Alderaan. You expressed discontentment with the Empire and an interest in joining the Alliance, but were unsure of whether or not you wanted to make the commitment. We stayed in touch, and you happened to be passing through the system, so I invited you here to help you make you your mind."

He mulled it over, then nodded and asked, "How did you know I was from Corellia?"

I smirked. "Lucky guess."

He frowned. "It's the accent, isn't it?"

I nodded with a smile.

He sighed. "Uncle D always says I need to get rid of it, and I've been doing really good with it, but every time I get nervous, I slip back into it."

"You're nervous?" I asked. He didn't seem nervous.

He gave me a wry grin. "I'm openly walking into a room full of my boss's enemies. Should I not be nervous?"

"Point." I placed my hand on the door. "Shall we get this over with, then?"

He nodded, then raised his chin and helped me push open the doors.

--

From my position by the refreshment table, I watched Jix out of the corner of my eye as he moved seamlessly through the crowd. He stopped every now and then to talk to someone, but he never stayed long. Our story seemed to be holding fairly well; Mon had only given me a disapproving look before welcoming Jix, and he had charmed her so utterly that I was fairly certain I would not be receiving a lecture on security later.

I tensed as Solo's Wookiee friend, Chewbacca, approached Jix.Imperials weren't known to be the most accepting people in th galaxy, but Jix held out his hand with a grin and happily shook Chewbacca's great paw. I relaxed again.

Mon came up beside me and ladled some punch into a glass. "I like him, Leia. He seems very dedicated. And he has the prettiest blue eyes, don't you think?" She moved off without waiting for my answer.

Which was good, because I froze. Then, I looked over at Jix, who was currently talking about life on Corellia with Solo. Perhaps Jix felt my gaze on him, for he turned and met my eyes with his own, deep brown ones.