Chapter Twelve: The Plan
"Hey Leia!"Luke jogged up to me from behind. I paused to wait for him.
"Hi, Luke," I returned. "How are you? Did you enjoy the party last night?"
He snorted. "That was hardly a party," he said disdainfully, and I had to stifle a giggle. I doubted Luke had even known what a party was before meeting Wedge and the other pilots.
"Well, it's Mon's idea of a party," I replied with a smile.
"So I have a question," he said suddenly.
"What is it?" I asked patiently.
"Who was that guy with you last night?"
My stomach roiled, and I instantly regretted the light breakfast I had eaten. "He was just an acquaintance, Luke. Why?"
Luke shrugged. "I just really liked him, is all. I wanted to know if he'll be around more."
I had to clench my jaw to keep it from sagging. Luke had liked Jix, too? "I wouldn't count on it, Luke. He's not a part of the Alliance, and Mon won't let him follow us around like a lost puppy."
"She lets Han," Luke pointed out logically.
I frowned. "And I have never understood that decision."
"Leia, why don't you like Han?" Luke asked me, catching a good look at my expression.
I waved the question away. "I like him well enough; I just think he's arrogant, and unreliable, and rude, and uncouth, and –"
"Alright, alright." Luke held up his hands in defeat. "Just . . . can you please try to get along with him a little more? Not that I mind being the center of your attention –" He blushed. "– but it's kind of awkward, being around the two of you, because you're always fighting . . . like last night, at the table with the food . . ."
I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to forget about the conversation Solo and I had had after Jix left. We had caused quite a scene. "I'm sorry, Luke. I haven't been very respectful of your feelings, have I? I'll try to do better. Don't be afraid to remind me if I forget, alright? I want – I hope we're friends."
He nodded eagerly. "Oh, we are! It's just, you're so busy . . . sometimes I wish we were closer, but I understand you've got responsibilities –"
"Luke." I looked him squarely in the eyes. "I am never too busy for you. Understand? My friends come first. Always."
His smile was wide enough to reach the ends of the galaxy. "Thanks, Leia."
"No problem.. Ever." I smiled back. Then, said smile vanished when I thought of something. "Hey Luke – what colour were Jix's eyes?"
He looked confused. I couldn't blame him. "Blue. Why?"
I smiled again, but it was forced. "No reason," I told him. "No reason at all."
We were preparing for another move, leaving very little time for me to make the calls I was desperate to induce. Han and Luke took off for Tatooine to go through General Kenobi's effects, with instructions to meet us on the new base. Once again, my objection against telling Solo the location of the new base went unheeded.
Finally, I gained the time necessary to put in a call to Naboo.
"Leia!" my friend Pooja Naberrie greeted me enthusiastically. "It's been too long. How are you?"
"Well," I replied with a smile that felt entirely phony. "Pooja, this isn't exactly a social call."
"Oh?" Her eyebrow lifted in a charming manner.
"I need to know about a woman named Padme Naberrie, once Queen of Naboo." I bit my lip, hoping she could help me.
A strange expression crossed her face. "How did you know she was a Naberrie?"
I blinked. "What?"
"Our monarchs take political names. It helps to set up an impartial face for the public. Aunt Padme did the same. No one outside the family should know she was once a Naberrie."
"She was your aunt?" I felt as if I had stumbled into a gold mine.
Pooja nodded. "She took the name Amidala when she was elected."
I nearly fell off my chair. "Padme Amidala was your aunt?!"
Pooja giggled at my shocked face. "Yes. But before you ask, I don't remember much about her. She was always very busy, hardly ever home at all, and I was only seven when she died."
My head was spinning. I was dreaming of Padme Amidala? Why? "Thanks, Pooja. Now that I know that, I can do some research."
She smiled. "Not a problem. I was good to see you, Leia."
We said out goodbyes, and I sagged in my chair. I didn't need to do any research on Padme Amidala. I knew everything about her already. She was an idol of mine.
Then I sat up. I knew everything about her life as a Senator. My knowledge of her life as Queen was sketchy at best. I typed her name back into my search engine and clicked on the first item that came up.
At that moment, my comlink rang. I took it from my belt and flicked it on, only to have the main menu flare up at me. I frowned, and it rang again – except now I realized it was coming from across the room.
From that comlink.
I growled under my breath, exited the search – which put me in a foul mood all on its own; who knew when I'd have another spare moment? – and stomped over to retrieve the ridiculously flashy and expensive piece of machinery that I downright refused to keep on my person out of fear that it would draw unwanted attention.
Very unwanted attention.
"What?" I snapped crossly at Vader as a greeting.
"Tell me about this preposterous notion that I killed young Skywalker's father." Vader sounded just as cross as I felt. His little holoimage certainly looked the part, too, with a narrowed glare and a hard set to the jaw.
"Took you long enough to call back," I replied archly, just because I could. Idly, I wondered if he could kill someone over the comm.
"You were not answering your comlink," Vader growled. "It is not my fault that you are avoiding me. Now stop stalling!"
"I was not avoiding you," I shot back, stung. "Just because you didn't have the sense to send me a comlink that wouldn't draw the attention of everybody and their astromech –"
"There is no point in getting anything but the best," Vader replied tightly.
"Yeah, especially if the point is to keep this little deal a secret!" I said sarcastically. "Since me suddenly acquiring a brand new comlink that no one in the Alliance has access to or resources for wouldn't raise any suspicions at all!"
"Just say it was a gift from Jix," Vader suggested. "He told me about his cover story; it would have made sense."
"Oh, about Jix." I immediately jumped to the new topic, unwilling to admit that he may actually have had a good idea. "I don't think I ever expressed my displeasure about his presence."
"I believe you expressed those quite clearly," Vader replied.
"No," I said, biting off each word, "I don't believe I have. You see, I previously objected to his presence at the party; I never actually voiced my concerns about his sneaking around in general."
I could have sworn Vader sighed, but the image merely pursed its lips and looked bored.
"I want you to stop sending him," I continued severely. "And I mean it. I don't want him to deliver any more of your little gifts, I don't want him to come with any messages, I don't want to see him skulking about the halls spying for you, and I certainly don't want him chatting up my friends. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," was the dry reply. I narrowed my eyes.
"I mean it."
"I know."
We simply stared at each other for a few moments.
"Well?" he asked finally.
"What?" I jumped a bit, startled at his sudden demand.
"About Skywalker –"
"Fine," I interrupted waspishly, still not entirely sure my conditions had gotten through to him. "Luke was told by General Kenobi that you killed his father. That's what you wanted to know, right?"
"Obi-Wan has been filling the child's head with lies!" Vader growled, half to himself. "He died far too quickly."
I snorted, and decided to plunge ahead with something that had been brewing in my mind for the last several weeks. "Right, well, anyway, I've been doing a bit of thinking, Vader, and this little deal isn't really working out. I think we should call it quits."
He was silent. My stomach started to roil. "Vader?"
"I do not think that is a good idea, Princess."
"Why not?"
"The time will come, Princess, when we will both be very grateful for this arrangement."
"Oh, really? And just when would that be, hmm? Because –"
"I have not had the time to formulate a plan, Princess, and to be honest I believe that any plan would immediately fall apart. What I need is to know that when the time comes, the only major fatality will be Darth Sidious. That is the purpose of this deal, Your Highness."
"But –"
"Stop worrying. Even if it takes years, your Rebellion still has the benefit of my protection. You should not be complaining."
I frowned and glanced away. "It just seems like we're not accomplishing anything."
He was silent for a moment, then named a date. "We will attack your new base then. I will ensure that you have plenty of time to evacuate your personnel. Stay behind; tell them what you will, just make sure you do not leave until I arrive. We can make a show of capturing you, you can come to the Executor with me and I will go over some documents with you, and then we will arrange your escape back to the Rebellion. Will that make you feel more included?"
I mulled it over. "Just me?" I wasn't about to put anyone else at risk.
"Yes."
"Even if you have the chance to go after someone else?"
The briefest of pauses. "Even then."
"And you're sure you'll be able to find the new base?"
"Quite."
"And you swear you'll let me go afterward? And not follow me?"
"I do."
I nodded slowly, too curious to care if he was lying to me, and too desperate to be involved. Maybe if I knew what was going on, I would sleep better at night. "Alright. It's a date." My lips twisted in perverse irony. A date with Darth Vader. How romantic.
"Excellent." He paused. "Could you . . . do your best to persuade young Skywalker that perhaps Obi-Wan's words were not entirely literal?"
I stared at the holoimage. The man in it looked cramped, as if asking for favours didn't come naturally to him. Ironically, that was exactly how Vader sounded, too. "I'll try," I said, confused. "What shall I tell him instead?"
"Just . . . just that Obi-Wan likes metaphors. A lot. And that, well . . . he had a rather odd point of view sometimes."
I nodded slowly. "Alright."
He smiled tightly. "Thank you."
I didn't bother to tell him that Luke was currently off-world, and would be for some time. If I was lucky, this entire conversation would have slipped my mind by the time I finally got around to talking to him again.
