Chapter 18

Amidala's flagship Serenity

Wrenga entered the Lady's suite of rooms knowing that this would be a relief to her. Her entire contingent had left the Corellian Sector as soon as it was apparent that the Death Star had been destroyed. With such an attack the safest place for the Lady was with the fleet, fact was it wasn't just the rebels she had to be protected from. He found her curled on a chair in the main sitting room watching the stars through the view port. She looked up at him as he circled the sitting area to stand in front of her. "He made contact through the fleet and is currently in route to Coruscant," he knelt in front of her so as to be at eye level, "he said he would contact you as soon as possible."

She released a haggard breath and smiled at him, "thank you, Wrenga." She turned her attention back to the stars dismissing him with her disregard. He waited a moment before leaving the room realizing that there was more going on her than met the eye.

When he entered his own rooms he found Breanna feeding Catalina and Crosby playing on the floor. His son looked up with a smile.

"Hey, Dad," he looked hopeful, "Rakka said that there was a park on this ship, can we go there?"

"Maybe," he answered, "in a bit, I need to talk to your mom first okay." The boy nodded as Wrenga stooped to ruffle his hair. "Why don't you go ask Dada if she would like to go too." Without another word the boy jumped up and ran from the room. As soon as the door closed Wrenga turned to his wife. "What's going on?" he asked her sternly.

"I know," she spoke calmly her tone soothing, "you're not attempting," when she looked up there was a hard edge in her eyes, "to use that drill sergeant tone with me."

"No mam," he found his shoes quite interesting, "it's just the Lady wasn't as pleased to hear that he was alive as you would expect." He looked up at her now raising a brow, "and you always know all of the skullduggery that's going on in this fleet."

"Oh," she seemed contented with his answer, "I would suspect that it has to do with the princess, you know she thought of her as a daughter, I'm sure her death upset the Lady quite a bit."

"I guess," he conceded, "but the princess was exposed as a traitor, you would think that that would temper those feelings."

"I doubt that," she replied, "would you love our children any different if they somehow wound up against the empire. I know it wouldn't change how I feel about them."

"That's easy to say now," he knelt smoothing the reddish brown wisps of hair growing on his daughters head, "can you say the same about your own father."

"That," she started, "is quite different." It was an old argument between herself and Amidala who had also managed to get Wrenga on her side; she was cut off from further discussion on the subject by her son's yelling for the entrance for them to come on.

Millennium Falcon on a scouting trip for the alliance:

Luke glanced at Chewie as the raised voices of the other two passengers aboard the ship were cut off by the cockpit hatch. The wookie's large shoulders bobbed in what Luke had come to recognize as a laugh. He was having trouble understanding those two. It seemed that Han took every opportunity to insult, deride, leer and on more than one opportunity make suggestions that Luke would have been hard pressed to suggest to the 'ladies of the night' that Wedge and Wes had introduced him to on a supply run much less a genuine princess; to her face only to defend her when she was not around. He had promptly broken another pilot's nose during a sabacc game a few nights back for suggesting that the princess had attained her position through less than respectable means. Leia however was no better suggesting that he would likely qualify for an officer's commission one minute only to call him a worthless no good braggart and mercenary the next. She had also specifically requested he be the one to escort her on these several scouting trips only to slap him when he stated that he would give her something to scout with a quirk of his eyebrows. Luke for his part was beginning to think he had made a mistake by asking to tag along on this particular trip hoping to spend some time with the princess and while he had gotten that chance it was tempered by her and Han's rolling arguments. Luke was pulled from his thoughts when Han came stomping back into the cockpit, grumbling under his breath as he flopped into the pilot's seat. Chewie growled out something, that Luke couldn't quite catch with his minimal understanding of the wookie language, which caused his friend to slowly turn to glare at his copilot his face coloring brightly.

"Mind your own gods damned business," Han growled jabbing a finger at his friend, "and go see about the vent into the number two hold," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder while turning back to the nav console, "it's being converted into the royal bedroom." Chewie for his part lumbered out laughing the whole way Luke watched him go all the way down the hall until the door closed. "Go ahead and spit it out, junior."

"Well," Luke started looking back to find Han's glare fixed on him in the reflection of the viewport; "you could be a little nicer she did just lose everything she's ever had you know." Han's expression didn't change but he did turn to look Luke in the eye.

"So did you," he replied, "so have a lot of people."

"And she knows it," Luke cut him off, "But I still have a planet to go home to."

"She doesn't want your sympathy kid," Han continued turning back to his work, "just your loyalty."

"She has it," Luke countered, "and I think you're being unfair." Luke stood to leave before looking back, "just think about it, okay." Han merely waved at him over his shoulder.

Star Destroyer Devastator

Lady Amidala looked out from the bridge of her husband's current flagship at the two massive ships they were there to launch, her husband had just stepped off the bridge for some classified report, and the Emperor was on his way up from the shuttle bay. The ships she looked on were massive several times the size of the Imperial Star Destroyers that currently made the bulk of the Imperial Navy; one was black as night the new signature color of her own Anti-Piracy fleet. She had to wonder how long it would take the Noghri to vet the crew of such a large ship, the normal concerns of the Emperor's agents in close proximity would be heightened for a while. The bridge went eerily quiet as all activity stopped and she knew that Palpatine was there. She turned from the window dropping to a curtsy as the Galactic Emperor strode down the command walkway.

"Return to your duties," he spoke to the troopers standing at attention across the bridge, "arise," he gestured with his hand, "Lady Amidala." She stood upright as he continued, "I fear this has been a trying time for you," he spoke in that grandfatherly tone that made him so popular with the masses, "first the loss of a trusted protégé, then the believed death of your husband," he smiled at her, "but good news a traitor of the empire who has long escaped justice has been destroyed." "Obi Wan Kenobie," his pleasure was palpable, "he was once a friend of yours, was he not?"

"Yes," she answered, "before the Jedi turned against us; how was he found?"

"Lord Vader confronted him aboard the Death Star," Palpantine's tone went cold, "he was instrumental in Princess Leia's escape, pointless as it were." He smiled evilly, "the young princess will be brought to justice soon enough."

"It was my pleasure," Vader intoned as he came to kneel before the emperor, "to extinguish his light from the galaxy." Amidala looked at Vader coldly as the emperor motioned for him to stand. She was well aware of what her husband had become but to hear him speak of a once trusted friend in such a manner was disarming, was this how far they had gone? Was there no return from the path she currently strode?

"Lord Vader has christened his ship the Executor," the Emperor smiled as he said it, "a fitting name for the flagship of the Empire's enforcer. What would you call yours?"

She was still staring at the man whom had just professed pleasure at killing the man who had shown nothing but love for him until her husband had betrayed all the two had stood for, and the name left her lips before she could stop herself. "Negotiator" She whispered before she snapped out of her revelry to find the two men staring at her.

"Yes," the Emperor replied coldly, "a fitting name, these ships will serve you well."

The Negotiator, Amidala's new flagship

Amidala was walking around the expansive suite of rooms which would be hers on the new ship, her husband stood in the middle of the room waiting for the Noghri scanning the room to finish. She could feel the approaching storm that was Lord Vader's temper. It erupted as soon as her protectors filed from the room.

"You dare honor that traitor by naming a ship after him," Vader growled, "after everything he has done to us." He stalked around the room like a caged beast. "Tell me," Vader roared at his wife, "did you ever intend to reveal to me that my child survived only to be hidden away by Kenobie." She immediately stepped away from him eyes wide and angry. "Your coconspirator will no longer be able to hide him from me, Kenobie is dead."

"What are you talking about," she spoke harshly to hide the fear that Leia had been discovered, "our child is dead."

"No," he was still bearing down on her, "my spies have uncovered the name the rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star. It was the same boy who helped the princess escape the death star. Luke Skywalker," he hissed out, "it was our favored name for a boy."

"Impossible," she breathed quickly leaning back against the large viewport, "our child died."

"No," Vader spoke gently, "he was stolen from us by Kenobie."

"And," she asked, "If it is the child of Padme and Anakin, what will you do if you catch him?"

"He is our child," he spoke a smoothly as the voice modulator would allow.

"NO," she interrupted harshly, "he bears the name Skywalker, you told me Anakin Skywalker didn't exist anymore."

"That name has no meaning to me," he growled, "You know that."

"Then how do you dare to claim his child?"

"Our child," he repeated, "he belongs by our side, with our combined power we can overthrow the Emperor."

"What are you saying," she looked up to him understanding dawning, "I won't allow it."

"He will be trained in the ways of the force," Vader trailed off as she stood to face him fully he retreated a step when her hand lashed out a finger jabbing into his chest next to the control panel.

"Absolutely not," she growled out to him, "you will not turn that child into," she gestured wildly as words failed her, "you."

"This could be the culmination of everything we have worked for," Vader spoke as he gently grasped her arm, "you would finally sit on the throne you deserve." She sighed stepping away from his grasp shaking her head as she walked back to the viewport.

"A throne," she leaned against the glass, "that I still don't want. That I have never wanted. What do you know? Where did he grow up?"

"Tatooine," the planet still angered him, "from what information there is it appears that he was raised by his aunt and uncle. His family appears to have been killed around the time we were searching for the Death Star plans."

"Oh," she looked to him her eyes pleading, "You didn't."

"No," he had the courtesy to turn away, "it was done without my knowledge."

"I will fight you on this," she couldn't look at him, "till my dying breath."

"I have been dispatched to Yavin," he spoke, "to aide in the blockade and hopefully put a stop to this rebellion." She turned back grasping his one real hand tightly.

"Be careful," she looked to his eyes, "we will discuss this later." He accepted the cease fire and allowed her to walk him to the hanger.

Millennium Falcon

The blockade of the Yavin system hassled the rebels for weeks before things turned for the worse. It was the arrival of the massive ship, now known to be Lord Vader's new flagship the Executor, had been the catalyst that had sent the fledgling alliance scattering in all directions. The base itself had been a pandemonium of people running through the hangar to get onto transports or shoving belongings into the cramped cargo compartments of fighters. Luke and his newly christened rouge squadron had been one of the first flights out clearing the way for the transports to follow. The princess much to her chagrin was carried through the base, crowded hangar and up the ramp into the Millennium Falcon over Solo's shoulder after Dodonna had told him to get her out of here. The ramp closed the second they were on board with and the ship started out of the hangar. They were currently skirting between two Imp Star Deuces'.

"I see em," Han spoke calmly to his wookie cohort, "I see em; How about that micro-jump your royalness?"

"Don't call me that," Leia growled from where she was working over the nav station looked up, "I sure hope this heap will be able to get us to the rendezvous."

"Yeah," Han spoke casually, "about that," he trailed off while putting the Falcon through a harrowing set of rolls and loops, forcing Leia to hold on to the back of his seat while she processed his half comment. "We got kinda," he jerked the ship in the other direction, "rerouted," they found clear space and he pulled back the hyberdrive lever. Punch in pre-plotted course 241."

"Who rerouted us?" Leia asked in a calm tone, which he had learned meant that she was anything but calm, as she waited for the coordinates to come up. "And why did anyone think you taking me there would be a good idea."

"Don't complain to me," Han said as he dropped the Falcon back out of hyperspace from the micro-jump, "it was Riekens idea."

"Fine, but you should know you're going to stick out like a sore thumb," Leia said while punching in the coordinates, "most will think that Chewbacca is a pet and more than half the people there will recognize me."

"I can blend when I need to your highnessness," he handed a data pad over his shoulder to her while Chewie checked some things over before making the next jump, "our cover story, and where we're supposed to meet this contact."

"Mr. Hawke Rayley," she started reading the orders aloud, "and wife, Keida, traveling on their honeymoon," she screeched the last part there rest of her words drowned out by the roar of the hyperdrive jumping to light speed.