Usually, Carlist Rieekan was not one to indulge in strong drink; save for the rare event the Rebellion had something to celebrate. It was still morning...but, today was different. The news of the distress signal had been sobering. He knew that it could turn out to be nothing...but then again, it could turn out to be something...Slowly he poured himself a small shot of whiskey. His thoughts reflected back on his dear friend. Carlist fought with Bail Organa during the Clone Wars and was honored when asked to serve as Head of the Defense Operations on Alderaan. At the same time, he was also involved in the earliest days of the formation of what would become the Rebel Alliance that was being organized primarily by Bail, and Mon Mothma, who was a Senior Senator at the time and represented Chandrila.
His loyalty to Bail had no bounds and the loss of him as a friend had been devastating. After the annihilation of Alderaan, he made a personal vow to watch over Leia, to do his best to keep her out of danger, which occasionally she made impossible because of her determination to personally do as much as she could to take down the Empire. Carlist Rieekan had known Leia Organa her whole life and now he cared for her like family. He thought he must be the only person who was alive that knew Leia was adopted.
Bail went to great lengths to keep Leia's adoption secret. Truly, Bail cherished and loved Leia as though she were his own. Her biology, whatever it was, was not something Bail ever discussed. Ever.
The chime of his door brought him back to the present. He got up to receive Captain Solo at the door.
"Come, in Captain." Carlist motioned for him to sit down.
"Thank you, General." Han took his place in a chair across from Carlist. He momentarily noticed the whiskey...Whatever he wants, it must be serious...
"Solo, we have a 'situation'. I need to know if you and your ship are available."
"General, you know me. Missions that have a 'situation' are my favorite kind." Han grinned self assuredly, indicating to the General that he would accept any mission that was requested of him. It felt good to have a command again. Even if no one else knew about it. It especially felt good to be on the right side this time, and no one forced him to sign a contract.
No one on the High Council had knowledge of the fact that many of the so-called 'supply' runs that Han made were actually covert operations against Imperial Targets. Not Mon Mothma, Luke, not even Leia. Only Carlist and a few of the specially trained elite ground troops that Han led, who were bound by duty to silence, knew.
Carlist had decided to be discrete in this matter, since unfortunately there were individuals on the Council that might not look favorably upon Han being trusted with such privileged information since he was not officially committed to the Rebellion. He hoped one day that would change. Not just for the sake of the Rebellion, but for Leia's as well...
"Solo, as you know, the Princess must go to Pantolomin and I need you to take her." He stopped and took a small drink.
Somehow, Han got the idea that the trip to Pantolomin, a resort planet in the Panto system, would not be a holiday for him. Obviously, the General was having a hard time getting to the point of his request. "I understand, General. Escorting the Princess anywhere can be a 'situation'." His attempt to lighten the mood brought forth no reaction from the General.
"Han, in this instance I need only to have you drop her off. An Alliance member from another cell will join her and accompany her to her meeting. While she is there, I need you to take care of the other part of the mission."
"Which is?"
"To intercept a ship drifting near Honoghr System." Carlist took a deep breathe before going on. "The ship is of Krathomir Registry. In truth, it belonged to Bail Organa. Another Chance was programmed to continually jump through hyperspace to a series of coordinates that are randomly shuffled. Several years ago, when the Viceroy began to secretly support the Rebellion, we tried unsuccessfully to call the ship back. We intended to pass on the large cache of weaponry to support the cause. When the ship never responded we assumed it was destroyed. Now we have intercepted a distress signal that could only have been triggered by someone aboard the ship."
Han didn't know what to say. He stared at the floor a moment wondering how Leia had taken the news. "Who is on board?"
"There shouldn't be anyone on board. I know, I programmed it. Just the weapons, a few miscellaneous items and an astromech droid that was programmed to detonate the ship should it be discovered."
"So, you want me to check it out?"
"Yes. Solo, I would understand if you chose not to do this. It is a great risk. You must be aware that if we intercepted the message, the Imperials may have picked it up also. However, we are counting on the fact that the Empire has no knowledge of the nature of the ship and would take their time before deploying any authorities since it is not in Imperial controlled space."
And there were the pirates to contend with too, Han considered to himself. "General, don't worry. I'm on it. How soon do we leave?"
"As soon as possible. I'll inform the Princess that her plans have...changed. Han, bring back what you can from the ship, if it is possible. Don't take any more chances than you need to."
Han wondered if Rieekan forgot who he was talking to. "Of course, General."
With that, Carlist took another glass and poured Han a drink. He didn't think the former hotshot of the Academy, and brilliant Imperial cadet turned smuggler would have any moral objections to a drink so early in the day. "Solo, there's one more thing. You cannot let the Princess know of your mission. She has not been informed by the Council on this matter."
He only nodded in response. Now Han knew what the drink was for. He drank it in one swallow and headed for the door.
Before it could slide shut he heard General Rieekan say, "Solo, when you get back, we can talk about you re-considering an official commission."
Blast it! Han shook his head. I almost got away without him bringing that up again.