4 hours later, Imperial Garrison, Theed, Naboo
Meeting between a (now sober) Governor Britzen and Princess Leia Organa of the Rebel Alliance
Governor Britzen stood up as the door opened and Princess Leia Organa stepped calmly through the door to his private conference room.
Outside the room, he saw two guards line up beside the door. He knew another twelve were stationed along the corridor out of this private room, nominally as an honor guard, but in fact to prevent the princess from escaping.
He kept his face straight even while inwardly he gloated. Idealists could be so naïve.
During their interchanges yesterday, Britzen had stipulated that the princess bring only one companion, and that neither of them would be armed. Incredibly, she had agreed, in exchange for his assurance that she would neither be molested or prevented from leaving. He had, of course, assured her of his honorable intentions for the negotiations.
He glanced at her lone companion. He was human, not especially tall, and he seemed to be young. It was somewhat difficult to tell as his face was covered with what seemed to be ritual markings of green and blue. He was dressed in dark robes, though his dark blond head was bare.
Governor Britzen held out a hand for the princess, who gave hers to him. Courteously, he raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a courtly kiss, even as he observed her covertly under lidded eyes.
She was even more beautiful than her Wanted Poster. Amazing that such a lovely lady had not yet been snapped up in marriage to some high level individual in the Alliance.
"Your Highness," he said, "It is truly my privilege to meet you. I am honored that the Alliance would allocate such a lovely and important personage for these delicate negotiations."
The Princess gave him a hard look, "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Governor. The situation is complex, as you said, and many lives are being lost as we speak. May we therefore commence the negotiations as quickly as possible?"
Britzen smiled through a flash of irritation, and indicated that the princess should sit down on one of the chairs. The leather was from Krayt Dragons, though regrettably the Canyon Krayts as opposed to the Greater Krayts, which were even rarer and more expensive.
The princess sat down, her pristine white robes rustling slightly before falling gracefully to the floor.
Her companion remained standing.
Britzen gave her a questioning look, "Will your colleague be joining us in the discussion?"
Princess Leia turned to the man and uttered some command in a language Britzen did not recognize. The man responded in the same tongue, and moved to the side of the room, where he kept his eyes roving constantly.
Ah, a bodyguard.
"He does not speak Basic?" Britzen inquired skeptically.
"He understands much of what we are saying, Governor, but it is the practice of the Furina Guards to speak Ubese with their … employers, if at all possible. It is a privilege to be guarded by one of the Furina, and fortunately I am fluent in Ubese."
Britzen gave the man an interested look. So this was one of the Furina Guards. They had a reputation of being stellar bodyguards, skilled in hand to hand combat and willing to give their lives for those they had sworn to guard. While mercenaries for hire, they were reputed to have some unknown code in choosing whom they would protect. The protection of a Furina meant that the Princess was indeed worth much to the Alliance.
So much the better.
Skilled at hand to hand combat or not, this man would have no chance against a hail of blaster fire.
"Shall we get down to business, Princess?"
"Certainly, Governor. It should be obvious to you that the Empire has no hope of maintaining control of Naboo. In the interests of reducing bloodshed, I hope we can negotiate a quick resolution to this conflict. We do not wish to cause undue suffering to either the rank and file Imperials or the citizens of Naboo during this crisis. Of course, we also are concerned for Queen Soruna's well being."
"Princess Leia, as you know, every Imperial on this planet, from myself to the lowest ranking Stormtrooper, has sworn an oath to honor and defend the Empire. It is ludicrous to even consider that we will simply lay down our arms and leave Naboo to the treacherous Rebellion."
Princess Leia stared at him for a long moment, and her right fingers tapped her knee thoughtfully.
Suddenly, she seemed to make a decision and she leaned forward slightly.
"Governor Britzen, I assure you that your reputation proceeds you. You are ambitious, greedy, and willing to sell your own mother to the highest bidder. While I am certainly skilled in extensive negotiations, I have no wish to waste either of our time. So just be direct, what do you want?"
Britzen was initially taken aback, then smiled slightly. He had no wish to waste time either.
"Very well, Princess. I will order all Imperial Forces to surrender and will hand over the all passwords and relevant weapons' information to your forces in exchange for one billion credits and safe passage off this world."
Organa didn't react noticeably to the ridiculously high amount of money. It was a starting point for the negotiations.
"And Queen Soruna?" she asked finally.
"The Queen will accompany me off planet and will be released just before I go into hyperspace. Given your education and experience, I'm sure you can understand that I am unwilling to release her before I am safely away."
"So to be utterly clear," the princess said, "Queen Soruna is your hostage."
Britzen paused. This was of course treachery of the highest degree, to exchange the Queen and Imperial secrets for money and safe passage off world. But he knew the princess and her bodyguard had been thoroughly scanned for weapons and electronic recording devices before being allowed into the garrison.
"Between you and me, Princess, she is indeed a hostage," he finally responded with a silky smile, "Entirely in the way of business, of course."
Princess Leia leaned back and closed her eyes for a long moment. She then sat up and stated calmly, "I believe before we proceed any further in the negotiations, I need to see Queen Soruna in person. For all we know, you have executed her already."
"That is of course ridiculous, Princess. I would not harm so valuable a hostage."
"Nevertheless, I must see her in person. Hostages have been accidentally killed. Entirely in the way of business, of course."
Very well. The next stage would occur more rapidly than Britzen had originally anticipated.
"Please accompany me, your Highness," he said, and rose from his chair.
The princess fell into step behind him, and her silent bodyguard behind her. As Britzen passed out of the conference room and into the hallway, he spoke briefly to his captain, instructing him and ten guards to follow them.
He thought, with a twinge of humor, that they made quite a ridiculous parade. However, with a Furina as Organa's bodyguard, it was wise to be overly cautious.
A ten minute walk, through a maze of passages, brought them to the high security cell block AA. An additional officer and 2 troopers stood in the control room, with one corridor of cells stretching out opposite the main, guarded door. Britzen led the princess and her bodyguard to cell 23, and pressed the entrance button to open the door.
The door slid open, revealing a reasonably large room. The cells in AA were larger than in the other cell blocks, and were equipped with a reasonably comfortable cot, a small refresher, and a desk.
Britzen gestured to Princess Leia to step into the cell. She spoke a few words in Ubese to the Furina, who obediently stepped to one side of the corridor and waited.
Organa stepped into the cell and advanced on Queen Soruna.
Britzen followed her in, shut the cell door, and let his hand slip to the blaster at his side. Really, this was entirely too easy.
Organa seemed entirely focused on the Queen.
Soruna had not been harmed, but several days of strain and lack of sleep made her look frail and drawn, quite unlike the regal royal who had presided so competently over her court. She had removed her make-up and she looked every centimeter the 16 year old, a 16 year old girl whose life had suddenly become more complicated and frightening than she had ever imagined.
Princess Leia approached and apparently smiled, though her back was to the Governor. But Queen Soruna's expression, which had tensed in fright, now relaxed.
"Queen Soruna, I'm Princess Leia Organa with the Rebel Alliance. We are negotiating with Governor Britzen for your release. I insisted that I see you to be assured that you have not been harmed. Are you all right? Are you injured?"
Soruna's chin lifted, training winning out over fear.
"I have not been physically harmed, your Highness," she said in a low, clear voice, "But it is an outrage that I am being held hostage by Governor Britzen so that he can impose his will on the people of Naboo."
The Governor pulled out his blaster and raised it, pointing it at Leia Organa. Queen Soruna's eyes widened, causing Organa to turn around swiftly.
"And now I have a princess to add to my hostage collection, Princess Leia Organa."
Organa's eyes narrowed, but she didn't flinch or seem frightened.
"Governor Britzen, may I remind you that you promised me safe passage during the negotiations?"
"I'm afraid I deceived you, Princess," he replied smoothly. Really, these Rebels. How had they survived 6 months with this kind of foolish trust?
The door behind him slid open.
"I trust you had little difficulty with the Furina, Captain?" he asked without turning around.
In one swift motion, the blaster was yanked painfully from his grip by an unseen force.
Britzen spun around in shock. The Furina stood in the doorway, and behind him was a heap of white armored bodies. In his right hand was a green glowing blade, which the governor belatedly realized was making a peculiar humming sound.
"I'm afraid he's too dead to talk at the moment, Governor," the bodyguard responded without a trace of Ubese accent.
Britzen backed up in terror and suddenly found himself in an invisible vice, which turned him around and pushed him face first against a wall. He felt his hands pulled behind his back and a moment later there was the click of handcuffs, fastening his wrists together.
The vice released, and he turned around, mouth hanging open in shock.
Princess Leia stepped forward, "Really, Governor, how stupid do you think we are? You Imperials are such idiots sometimes."
Britzen found himself stammering in total shock and terror, "How, how did you…"
"Meet Commander Luke Skywalker," Organa said, "Our resident Jedi knight. He's entirely capable of taking out a squad of your men without a weapon, but since he can use Jedi mind control he was able to enter the facility with his lightsaber. He also arranged for me to bring a recording device in on my person, Governor, so we have audio proof of your treachery against both the Alliance and the Empire."
Britzen was too stunned and terrified to say anything, but Organa's interest in him seemed to have disappeared anyway.
"Queen Soruna, I promise you that you will be safe with us. We hope to end the battle in Naboo as quickly as possible with your help. The official Imperial Holonet station is here in the garrison. With the recordings of Britzen's treachery, and your assistance, I believe we can convince at least the native troops of Naboo to lay down their arms. Pooja Naberrie has a message for you. She tells me that Britzen's second in command is a more honorable man, and we may be able to negotiate a ceasefire with him…"
She handed the Queen a holopad. Soruna apparently read the message and approved of it, as she and Princess Leia immediately plunged into a discussion which included phrases such as "exchange of prisoners", "medical care for the wounded, and "honorable discharge of conscripted stormtroopers".
Britzen decided that if there was any time to grovel, it was now.
"I promise you I intended no harm at all to her Royal Highness, Commander Skywalker," he said meekly, "There was an unfortunate misunderstanding…"
"Governor, I suggest you be silent or I will chop off your head with my lightsaber," Skywalker said with glacial calm.
Governor Britzen decided to be silent.
Author's Note: Ok, so first of all I need help from grammar gurus. Should Queen Soruna be referred to as "the Queen" or "the queen"? For some reason, it isn't obvious to me so I think I keep switching it around depending on my mood.
Secondly, I will admit this whole chapter was a delicious treat for me. In the movies and in the official books, Luke never comes in and just stomps everyone. I mean, I realize there has to be drama, so Luke has to have major injuries, or go up against incredibly strong Sith Lords or mad clone Jedi with armies behind him. I know that. But realistically, a guy like Luke is occasionally just going to go up against an arrogant moron like Governor Britzen. So here you go. Arrogant moron. Who gets stomped.