Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Star Wars/Halo crossover redux.

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I deeply appreciate it.

I also fixed a typo in the headers of each chapter. Instead of saying ABY, the dates are now in the appropriate era, which is BBY.

As always, leave a review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or Star War franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Disney Films, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to it's original developers, producer and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.


Halo CE OST - Ambient Wonder

UNSC Infinity

Hangar Bay 21-Delta

April 11th, 0 BBY, 8PM (October 26th, 2558, 8PM)

With the ship now safely in Slipstream Space, Lasky was finally able to relax. Today's been a rough day. First an accident with the Infinity's Slipspace Drive, now a first contact scenario. Who'd I piss off to deserve this? He sighed.

"You OK?" Cortana asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Really big day. First a knock on the head when the drive malfunctioned, then this happens. Did you figure out more of the Death Star's schematics?"

"Yeah," Cortana replied. "I don't know what deranged madman provided the funding for the Death Star, but I can say that they knew their stuff. Like I said earlier, they only activated a single reactor, which allowed them to blast a pretty big crater."

"Did you find out who designed it?"

"Yep," Cortana replied. "One Director Krennic, along with one Galen Erso, though according to the COM-link that I had with Blue Team, Galen wasn't too happy with the Empire. I heard Jyn Erso mention something about a bomb with a fuse at the center of the device, and I think I've figured out what it is."

That had Lasky sit up straight almost immediately. "Do tell."

"Gladly. From what I can tell, Galen Erso hid a number of flaws in the design, the biggest of which is a thermal exhaust port that leads directly to the reactor module, without any seals, valves, or shutters. A sufficiently powerful blast to the module will result in a wildcat destabilization that'll destroy the entire station with the force equivalent to a NOVA bomb."

Lasky whistled. "I pity anyone that's too close to the detonation when it happens. What's its primary weapon?"

"The one we saw demonstrated? According to the schematic, we're looking at a high energy particle beam that's created from eight tributary beams. Once they converge, they create an even more powerful particle beam that can destroy an entire planet if the weapon's fired at full power. A single reactor ignition, like I said earlier, is enough to blast a massive crater out of a planet's surface."

"I see," Lasky noted quietly. It's a weapon of terror, designed to crush any rebellion. At least we know it has a weakness in the design. "Anything else?"

"Aside from that, it's a pretty impressive station. It can house over 1.2 million personnel inside of it, and it has a pretty large garrison too. It carries enough food and water to last for four years with the personnel that it has, and it can move pretty quickly too. Judging by what I can see, this would be a pretty legitimate threat."

"Maybe, but let's not make any hasty judgments," Lasky said. "We don't know enough about the Empire to decide if that's the case." Turning his thoughts away from the Death Star, he asked, "How about our guests on the ship?"

"Doing pretty well, all things considered. Trauma teams are still getting the injured to the onboard hospital, but their chances are good so far. I'll know more once they get to the actual medical bays."

The 'com chimed. "Flight Officer Merrick here. You there, Captain?"

Keying his end of the 'com, he said, "Lasky here. What do you have, Merrick?"

"We're about to access the Tantive IV," Merrick replied. "Given that we have a foreign dignitary onboard, you and Envoy Melody might want to get down here as well."

"Copy that," Lasky replied. "Do what you can."

"Will do. Flight Officer out."

Melody came over to Lasky. "What now?" she asked.

Lasky rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "We'll head down to Hangar 21-D," he said to her, "after we get ourselves cleaned up. We'll need to look our best if we're to make a good impression on Leia Organa. I'll also have Jordan and a Huragok come down to the hangar to help with the Tantive IV's troubles, while Spartan Blue Team serves as our bodyguards. You have the bridge, Conners."

"Aye, Captain," Conners replied. "I'll make sure that it's nice and boring when you come back."

"Please do," Lasky sighed. "I'd rather not have to deal with another emergency, aside from the one that's ongoing right now." He left for his quarters. Time to get cleaned up.

. . .

Down at the hangar, Merrick and the rest of the flight crew were having their own troubles. Standing on the ground floor of the hangar bay they were in, Merrick could clearly see the damage control team working out how to get the door open. That ship's in a lot more trouble than I thought, Benjamin though to himself. First they have trouble with the damned thing that lets them go to FTL and now this. I should've called in sick.

"DAMNIT!" he could hear Barnard, a member of the damage control crew, snarling before a loud CLUNK echoed in the area. "Damn thing's frozen shut! It won't move no matter what I do!"

"Keep trying it," Benjamin ordered. "You'll figure out a way to get inside." As Barnard went to work, cussing the entire time, Benjamin looked at the ship itself. I hope we can get in, he said quietly…

He wasn't the only one that was wondering about what was going on. Onboard the Tantive IV, Captain Antilles was starting to feel a little heat in his face as he strode down one of the hallways. Gone was the crisp, clean white lighting inside of the ship, replaced instead with red emergency lights that cast the entire place in a dark red hue. He could see a team of eight men working on part of the electrical system for the Tantive IV.

He sighed, while wiping at his face. Docking to the Infinity wasn't what was causing the trouble. Damn ship is old, he thought. We skipped a few steps and blew the power relays in our haste to get aboard. Now we're on emergency power.

To make matters worse, not even their protocol droid or astromech droid was of much help. He could see C3P0, as well as R2D2 working at a nearby terminal. C3P0 was a protocol droid, which was a fancy way of saying that he was designed to allow sapient species to communicate with each other more effectively, while also solving problems and planning out various events. R2D2, on the other hand, was an astromech droid. His job was to help with the maintenance and repair of starships and various other things.

"Did R2D2 narrow down the malfunction yet?" Antilles asked. In response, R2D2 beeped rapidly a few times..

"He says that he's found the general area of the malfunction, as well as the source of it," 3P0 said. "Have the technicians work on Relay Bank R3-21. He'll see if he can adjust the power regulators."

"Sure," Antilles agreed. Walking to the technicians, he said, "R2 says he found the source of the malfunction. Adjust Relay Bank R3-21 while he fixes the power regulators."

"Got it!" one of the technicians replied. "We're working on it right now!" They quickly went to work at the relay bank in question. hydrospanners and other tools exchanged hands rapidly.

Antilles turned back towards the corridor, just in time to see Leia coming towards him. "How long until the power's back online?" she asked. "It wouldn't do well for us to appear as though we've got more pressing matters to worry about than the power and Hyperdrive Motivator."

"We'll have it on as soon as possible," he reassured her. "We're working as fast as we can. Peaking inside the maintenance corridor again, he asked, "How long until the relays are fixed?"

"It'll be done when it's done!" one technician snapped. Realizing who he was speaking to, he frowned. "Sorry, sir, ma'am. That was unprofessional on my part. It's just frustrating dealing with a recalcitrant ship that won't behave no matter what we do!" He sighed as his shoulders slumped.

For the first time since the battle had ended, Antilles felt sympathy for the technicians of the ship. "Understandable. This ship's gotten old, and she's having a lot of trouble as a result. You get this ship fixed, and I'll give you guys a raise."

That perked up the technician, his expression shifting from crestfallen to hopeful. "Thank you, sir," he said. "Hearing that means a lot to me and my crew. We'll get this ship fixed up so well that it'll be like she's fresh from the shipyard."

Antilles smiled. They've gotten the ship to work properly before, and I'll bet every credit in my wallet that they could do it again. Looking at Leia, he said, "Like I said, we'll have power back again. At least life support still functions."

"That it does," Leia agreed. Just as she turned to leave, she heard a triumphant shout. "What is it?" she asked, snatching the words right out of Antilles' mouth.

"R2 got it!" the man in question remarked as R2D2 rapidly beeped. "Sounds like the power regulators were not doing their jobs right, just as he said. The system should start to behave now." Right on cue, the emergency lighting turned off, before being replaced an instant later by the comforting white light of the normal lights. That was cause for some heartfelt cheering.

"Nice work, gentlemen," Antilles smiled.

"All of our work is nice," one of the technicians smirked. "When we fix something, it stays fixed. Drinks are on me when we get to the nearest cantina."

"Don't drink yourself into a stupor now," another technician playfully ribbed. "We'll be dragging your scruffy butt all over the place until you become sober again." The crew laughed, with the technician in question laughing as well.

Antilles smiled. People like them make the Alliance and Alderaan great. The Empire lacks the same… enthusiasm, or morality for that matter. "Shall we go meet our hosts, Senator?"

"Gladly," Leia agreed. "R2 will go with me in case Bail calls, and 3P0 will come to assist in communications."

"Sounds good," Antilles said...

Outside of the Tantive IV, Merrick was just about to head up there with a plasma cutter when Barnard Needs, one of the members of the damage control crew, whistled. Coming up to the Tantive's airlock via a catwalk that had been extended to the Tantive IV, he asked, "What is it?"

"Power's back," Barnard explained. "From what we can tell, they were able to get their system to work with ours. We should have this door open in a jiffy."

"Very good," Merrick said. "Once that's done, we can finally get to work on this poor baby."

"Captain on deck!" a man shouted.

Turning around, Merrick saw two familiar faces coming towards him and the work crew. "Looks like the Captain and the Envoy are here as well, along with Blue Team," he remarked. "Be with you guys in a moment."

Down on the ground, Lasky was able to take in the sight that was the Tantive IV. It looked like a agglomeration of tubes, tanks, squares, rectangles and other things that had been lumped together before being welded and bolted into a solid mass of metal, or at least the rear did. The center resembled an cylinder that had four trapezoidal sections bolted on at 90 degree intervals, allowing some turrets to be installed. The front was a large cylinder that had slightly tapered ends, as well as a view port. The entire ship was also quite long, and Lasky could tell that it was almost too long for the hangar bay.

Azikiwe had her own thoughts on the Tantive IV. "It looks like a military vessel that was repurposed for political uses."

"That it does," Lasky agreed. "It's an ugly mess, if you ask me. I just hope that there's a silver lining to all of this."

"Same here," Melody agreed.

While the two talked, the Master Chief and the rest of Blue Team were also examining the ship. The Tantive IV was half the size of a Gladius-class Heavy Corvette and it wasn't nearly as tall or wide either. "I wonder how they avoided having that ship destroyed in the first place. There are a lot of exposed areas that could be targeted," Fred observed.

"My thoughts exactly," Kelly added over the TEAMCOM channel they were using. "What about you, Linda?"

"Same here," Linda added. "Too much of the engine's vital components are exposed." Chief nodded silently, even as they kept up with Lasky and Melody.

They quickly ascended the steps that would take them to the nearby catwalk. As they did so, they spotted Merrick coming towards them. "Flight Officer Merrick reporting!" he said.

"At ease," Lasky replied. Once the man was at ease, he asked, "What's the status of the Tantive IV?"

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Merrick asked.

"Granted."

"To be honest, it's lousy right now," Merrick said. "The entire ship's been banged up, likely from a previous incident if they're saying their 'Hyperdrive Motivator's' bad. I don't know what the hell a 'Hyperdrive Motivator' is, but this ship looks like it was last serviced during the Insurrection."

"Hhmm. According to Cortana, the motivator's the primary FTL thrust initiator for their ships."

Merrick whistled. "Damn. No wonder they want that thing fixed up as soon as possible. Without that, they'd have to hitchhike to get anywhere. Good thing that we came onto them when we did, otherwise they'd be in a pickle right now." Taking a breath, he said, "We're currently working on getting the front door open. Hopefully we -"

"Sir!" came a shout from Barnard. "We've got the doors working again!"

"Perfect timing," Merrick remarked. "If you'll excuse me, sir, I've got to coordinate with the damage control team."

"Please do," Lasky said. Looking at Melody, he said, "You ready for this?"

Azikiwe looked determined. "I'm ready to make first contact, even if I have to argue long and hard with these new people."

Lasky smiled. "All right then," he said. "Let's go make a giant leap for mankind." The two advanced to the door, just as it opened…

On the other side, Leia waited for the doors to open. Nearby, her guards looked at her with concern. Antilles came over. "You OK?" he asked.

Leia nodded. "I will be fine," she reassured Antilles. "We are about to make history, Antilles. This is the first time that we have encountered a faction that is capable of building a battlecruiser. We have to make peaceful contact, otherwise things will turn sour real quick."

"I know the feeling," Antilles said. "I feel that kind of pressure every time I go into battle with this fine crew of mine. No matter what happens next, Leia, know that I'm with you one hundred percent of the way. I'll do whatever is necessary to keep you safe, be it transporting you from one side of the galaxy to the other, or waging war against the Empire."

"I didn't know you had a way with words."

Antilles shrugged. "I have my moments, Ambassador. I might not be as eloquent as you, but I certainly know how to give a speech." Looking at the door, he said, "We're about to meet the newcomers. Time to go to work."

"Agreed," Leia said. "You ready, 3P0, R2?"

R2 beeped out an affirmative, while 3P0 said, "Certainly. However, I am always nervous when meeting a new peoples. What if they try to harm us and melt me down into scrap?"

"We'll be fine," Leia reassured him. "I'm certain that the Infinity and it's crew are much more reasonable than the Empire. Now, let's delay no longer."With that, the door opened. At that moment, she laid her eyes on the two people standing at the door.

The first of the two, Leia, noted, was a handsome human male. He stood tall, around the same height as Captain Antilles, and was wearing a white tunic, over which was a jacket that was also white, along with white pants and black boots. A pair of black bars adorned the left breast of the jacket, as well as a few colored ribbons. A pair of epaulets were on his shoulders, with each one having four gold bars, and a gold five point star above them. A pair of five point stars also adorned the left and right sides of the single breasted jacket's collar, and on the man's head was a black cap that had a white brim.

The handsome part came when she looked at his face. Both the man's eyes were a dark brown color that matched his equally dark brown hair. His facial features were slightly rough cut, though that only served to accentuate his appearance instead of detracting from it. The eyes, though, held both wisdom and sadness. This is an experienced leader, she noted to herself.

Then there was the woman, also human, that was standing next to him. Her skin was dark, much like that of Saw Guerrera. Her braided hair was black in color, while her eyes were a dark green color. She wore a black, three piece suit and what looked like a strip of blue in the middle. Odd formal wear, she noted to herself.

Then she noted the guards that were with the two individuals. There were four of them, with most of them in grayish-white armor that covered them from head to toe, while the last one was in olive green armor. Their hands held weapons that she didn't recognize. Bodyguards, she noted to herself.

On the other side of the exchange, Lasky found himself examining the person that he assumed was Leia Organa. Aside from her youthful face, her hair was in a bun that was hidden under a white veil cloth.

Then there was the rather curious pair of individuals nearby. Lasky found himself looking at a gold-plated, humanoid robot of some kind. Between the individual sections of anatomy where what he guessed were motors or hydraulics, though he couldn't see much underneath what he guessed was a protective layer of some kind. Two large optical sensors gazed outwards, while a narrow slit stood where a mouth would be.

The other robot was just as odd as well. It was short and squat, with three legs and tracked feet that extended from the cylindrical body. It's upper portion was round, while a light on the front winked between red and blue.

Azikiwe was also looking at Leia with keen interest. She appeared regal; straight-backed pose, raised chin, calm demeanor, smooth clothing, likely a populist leader.

The woman spoke first, breaking the silence. "Greetings," she said, "I am Princess Leia Organa, a Senator of the Imperial Senate and Ambassador from the planet Alderaan. Thank you for bringing us aboard your ship."

"It was the least we could do," Lasky agreed. "I'm Captain Thomas Lasky of the UNSC Infinity, and a member of the United Nations Space Command. With me is Envoy Melody Azikiwe of the United Earth Government. We are honored to make your acquaintance."

"As am I," Leia agreed. Deep down, she was oddly relieved to see fellow human beings. She brushed it off as a spur of the moment emotion. Seeing Melody, she said, "I am pleased to meet you once again, Melody. I presume you were the person I was speaking to earlier today, yes?"

"You presume correctly," Melody said. "It was a stressful situation earlier, but I am very happy that we all lived to speak with each other once more, Princess Leia."

"I am as well. In addition, Princess is a title used by my people at Alderaan. You may address me as Senator."

"Oh," Azikiwe said. "My mistake. I meant no offense."

"None taken," Leia replied. She turned to the man next to him. "This is Raymus Antilles, the Captain of the Tantive IV."

Lasky turned his eyes towards the man in question. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said to Raymus.

"Likewise," Captain Antilles replied. His voice was rougher, but not by very much. He looked around. "You're the Captain of this ship?"

"Yes," Lasky replied.

"Impressive. It makes the Tantive IV look like a piece of junk." He chuckled at the remark, then said, "Still, she's a nice ship, though as you already know, she's fallen on hard times. The Hyperdrive Motivator's shot, and we're having trouble with the electrical grid. Part of the reason it took this long for the doors to open properly, in fact."

"I'm glad we'll be able to lend assistance then," Lasky remarked. "I've got my top engineer on the way here, as well as the damage control crew for this hangar." Motioning to Merrick, who had been quietly standing nearby, he said, "This is Flight Officer Benjamin Merrick. He'll be helping coordinate damage control."

"Nice to meet you," Merrick said as he extended a hand, a hand that Antilles shook firmly. "I also manage the flight operations crew here, as well as a few other teams. I must admit, the ship has a nice bit of charm, in an industrial manner."

"She does," Raymus agreed.

"Still, like you said Antilles, this ship needs some TLC."

That brought a confused look onto Antilles' face. "TLC?" he asked,

"Tender Loving Care," Merrick explained. "We use it to describe a ship that needs some work."

"Ah," Antilles noted. "I see. Well, she could use a little of that TLC here. You think you can help us out?"

"Between myself and a few others, definitely," Merrick remarked. Looking at Lasky, he said, "Sorry for holding you up, Captain. My boys and I are just eager to get to work."

"I can imagine so," Lasky agreed. His gaze lingered onto the robots.

Leia caught that. "These are my droids," she said. "This is C3P0, my protocol droid, and this is R2D2, our Astromech droid

"Greetings," C3P0 said. "I am C3P0, human-cyborg relations.. As for my compatriot, he is R2D2."

"So you act as a translator while he acts as a repair man and navigator, yes?"

"Precisely," 3P0 replied.

"Good," Lasky noted. "Where's MacCallum?" he asked.

"Good question," Merrick remarked. "I have no idea."

"Over here!" came MacCallum's shouted as he came up onto the gantry. "I swear, I'm still not used to this ship, even after gotten a tour of her!" Spotting the Tantive IV, he scrutinized the ship. "I've never seen a ship like this before."

Antilles looked cross for a moment, then he laughed. "She's not the prettiest ship, I'll admit that," he said, "but she gets the job done. I take it your this 'MacCallum' Lasky mentioned."

"Yes sir," MacCallum remarked. "Ship Systems Specialist Jordan MacCallum at your service. I brought along some Huragok to help work on the ship, took a lot of haggling with In-tel though the ONI division." He then whistled several times, with two new aliens approaching.

Leia had never seen such a species in her entire life, nor could she find any that she could compare them too. To her, the aliens looked like giant floating sacs that were a bluish-purple hue in color. A single head snaked out from the front, with that head having six eyes, no mouth and a sky blue color. A number of tendrils extended out from underneath it.

"Good gracious me!" 3P0 remarked. "What manner of sapient is this?!" As he said this, R2 issued a series of beeps. His single 'eye' focused on the alien.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Leia said.

Lasky smiled. "That, Princess Leia, is a Huragok, or Engineer as we call them. They're a species that, as the name implies, specializes in engineering, maintenance and repair."

"And they're experts at that craft," Jordan added a second later. "I swear, if you threw a ship that was practically destroyed at them, they'd build dozens of smaller ships from teh wreck." Looking at Leia, he asked, "You don't mind if we bring them along, now do you? They're mighty curious, and if they see new technology, they learn about it as much as possible before trying to improve it as much as possible."

Leia pursed her lips slightly as she thought to herself. Technically speaking, she knew that the final decision lay with the Captain and not her, though the politics of the situation did complicate things. I suppose it wouldn't hurt, so long as they have guards and supervisors. "I would be glad to have them aboard," she said at last. "However, it is Captain Antilles decision that has the final say."

"I'm fine with it," Antilles said. "Besides, we'll need all the help we can get. It doesn't matter to me if there aliens onboard my ship. For the duration of your stay, you'll be supervised and under armed guard. Understood."

"Yes, sir," Jordan said. Whistling at Merrick and the others, he said, "Let's get to work, boys! This ship is sick and she needs a doctor!"

"While they work on the ship, we can speak in one of our conference rooms" Lasky said.

"That would be splendid," Leia agreed. Turning to 3P0, she said, "I think it is best that you stay onboard. I doubt that any of us might understand what the 'Huragok' is saying. R2 will accompany me."

"As you wish," 3P0 replied. With that, he went back inside the ship, while R2 remained with Leia.

As he left, Leia turned to Lasky and asked, "Shall we?" Nodding at her, Lasky signaled Blue Team to escort them to the conference room, while Raymus had a few guards do the same for Leia.

Once she stepped out of the ship and into the hangar bay, Leia got a very good idea of just how big the hangar bay was. A truly cavernous space, she thought. To the right, she could see a bluish field that she realized was the atmospheric shield that prevented the ship's atmosphere from being blasted out into the cold, hard vacuum of space itself. Beyond the field, however, were doors that were sealed shut, for what purpose she couldn't guess.

They walked down the gantry and towards the back of the hangar bay. It was here that Leia spotted an oddity. She watched as a tram appeared, with the cars coming to a complete stop quite quickly. The lack of conventional repulsorlift technology caught her attention. "Captain Lasky, may I ask a question?"

"Sure," Lasky replied.

"Why does this tram not use repulsorlift technology?"

"Repulsorlifts?" Lasky asked. "You mean anti-gravity systems?"

"Yes," Leia explained, "if that's your version of repulsorlifts."

Lasky smiled. "We make frequent use of anti-gravity systems, including for the Infinity's tram systems. As for the trams themselves, the ship is over five and a half kilometers in size, so walking to your destination would take too long. The trams are here as a more efficient form of travel."

"I see," Leia said, noticing the non-answer. With that, they stepped inside of the tram, which quickly began to accelerate. Before long, Leia could see the tram tunnel rushing past in a blur.

Eventually, they came to a stop at one of the stations, with Lasky and the others quickly stepping out. Following Lasky, Leia took time to look around the ship itself. Everywhere in the hallways that they moved through, she could see personnel quickly moving to and fro about their daily business. The lighting was also quite ample, with not a shadow intruding anywhere one might need to look. Spotting men in body armor, she asked, "Who are they?"

"UNSC Marines," Lasky explained. "The Infinity has a compliment of ground forces for when we need to go ground side. As such, a compliment from the UNSC Army and Marine Corps are stationed on the ship for such an eventuality."

"And the men that are your bodyguards?" Leia asked.

"Spartans. They're our most valuable troopers, as well as the most lethal." Lasky didn't say more. Leia could tell he meant what he said.

Eventually, they came to a door that had a plaque that said Meeting Room 4-C. A pair of men stood outside the double doors, each one fully armored from head to toe, leading Leia to assume that these were also Spartans. The doors opened to reveal a room that had a long, wood table that had eight chairs arranged around it. The walls and ceiling were a gunmetal gray material, while the floor was a darker shade of gray.

On the back wall, Leia could see the symbol of a bird with it's wings outstretched. Over it's chest was a shield with the abbreviation 'UNSC' in large, bold letters embossed onto it. Beneath the bird was a large sphere with two curving lines stretching from one side to the other. A ribbon underneath the sphere were the words 'United Nations Space Command.' Two smaller globes were on either side of the bird's wings, while a five-point star shone between the U and N on the shield. Their emblem, Leia realized.

As the doors opened, Leia motioned for her guards to remain outside, with Lasky having the Spartans doing the same. Once he, Leia, R2, and Melody entered the room, the doors slid shut, with a very slight hum being heard before all went silent. As they sat down, Leia said, "Once again, Captain, thank you for hosting us."

"It's a pleasure to do so," Lasky said. "Now, you informed Melody that you wanted to speak with us and make contact with your Imperial Senate. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Leia agreed. "The Imperial Senate is one of the major governing bodies in the Empire, though if I'm going to be honest, it's little more than a figurehead at this point."

"Why is that?" Melody asked. "Is the Empire more of an autocracy with an advisory council?"

"Something like that. The Empire is an autocracy, though the military has the final say on most matters. The current head is Emperor Palpatine."

Hearing this, both Melody and Lasky shared a subtle glance. "So your government is a junta," Lasky observed.

"Yes." Leia said. "The Imperial Governors are all members of the military." Looking at Melody, she asked, "What about your United Earth Government, if you don't mind me asking? Is it a junta as well?"

"No," Melody replied. "The UEG is the governing body of Earth and her colonies. We are a representative democracy (republic in meaning) founded over three hundred years ago."

Leia sighed subtly. "I see," she said. "I am quite glad to hear that, though this has me wondering what the UNSC is? Is that your military?"

"Yes," Melody replied. "Captain Lasky can tell you more on that."

"Yes," Lasky concurred. "The UNSC is the exploratory, scientific and military arm of the UEG. We were formed nearly four centuries ago in response to clashing political ideologies that nearly tore apart our home system. Since then, we have served as the sword and shield of Humanity in our galaxy."

"Did you say 'your galaxy?'" Leia asked, picking up on the phrase.

"That's correct," Lasky confirmed. "We're from another galaxy. Your galaxy is our cosmological neighbor."

Leia was practically dumbfounded by those words. "I… I'm…", she stammered. Collecting herself for a moment, she said, "Do you have evidence of this?"

"Why is that?" Melody asked.

"There is a theorized, synthetic anomaly at the edge of the galaxy that prevents ships from leaving the galaxy's edge," Leia explained.

"I see," Lasky replied. "Gabriela? Cortana? Are you two there?"

"That we are," the two AIs replied.

"I remember those two," Leia said. "They helped guide the Tantive IV into your ship."

"That they did," Lasky agreed. "Now you're going to meet the them." As he said this, two panels set into the center of the table moved down before retracting into it. This revealed a holographic projector set into the table, while a similar protrusion deployed from the ceiling.

Leia watched as two individuals appeared in the center of the holo-projector. The first was a woman in a similar uniform as Lasky's, but lacked the shoulder pauldron and had a series of stars on the shoulder straps. Her brown eyes scanned the room, while her brown hair swirled around her. The other was much more esoteric. Leia found herself looking at a woman that was bright blue in color, with black hair and blue eyes. Her blue skin was covered in what looked like computer circuitry, while lines of what looked like code ran down parts of her body.

"Senator Leia," Lasky said a moment later. "Please meet Gabriela and Cortana, two of our AIs."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Cortana said to Leia.

Leia composed herself before responding. "The honor is mine," she said. "I must admit, I've never met droids quite like the two of you before."

"We're a bit different to your droids," Cortana said.

"I see," Leia noted. "So you're droid programs?"

"Pretty much," Cortana said.

"There are few instances of droids becoming sapient.", Leia replied.

Azikiwe pulled up some information readouts. "Here you go. All the evidence you need that we're from another galaxy."

"I see," Leia said. "You understand that I must take this with some doubt, yes?"

"We do. I wouldn't expect anything less."

As Leia looked through the information Azikiwe presented, a confused expression came over her face. "I understand that you had a malfunction with your FTL drive, but didn't know it was that serious. What form of FTL travel do you use?"

"I can explain," Gabriela said. "The UNSC uses Slipstream Space to move faster than light. It's an 11-dimensional plane where the laws of physics allow for such travel. As for how we ended up here, we were testing the ship's drive when we suffered a malfunction that led to us traveling 2.5 million light to your Galaxy. When we cut power to the drive, we arrived over the planet you call Scarif and, as they say, the rest is history."

"I see," Leia noted. "I suppose I should give you an overview of this galaxy then."

She began, "This galaxy has been quite turbulent recently, though this was not always so. Thousands of years ago, the government that precedes the current one, known as the Galactic Republic, was founded to allow all species in the galaxy to live and work alongside each other in peace and harmony. Much of this was possible thanks to the work of an organization known as the Jedi Order."

"Jedi Order?" Melody asked.

"Yes," Leia replied. "The Jedi were a group of individuals that used a mysterious power known as the Force, an energy field that permeates through all living things. They helped keep the peace and maintain order in the Republic."

"I take it that didn't last forever."

"It did not," Leia agreed. "The unity of the Republic was threatened when a number of planets, under the guidance of a man named Count Dooku, seceded from the Republic and formed the Confederacy of Independent Systems, CIS for short. They began waging war against the rightful authority of the Republic. To fight them, the Republic turned to the use of a clone army."

That detail caught Melody and Lasky's attention almost immediately. "Clones?" Lasky asked. "You're saying that the Galactic Republic used clones?"

"Yes," Leia replied. "Prior legislation did away with most of the Republic's military. Without the clone army, the Republic would've been vulnerable to the depredations of the Separatists. Why do you ask?"

"Cloning is a controversial topic in our government for ethical reasons," Azikiwe explained lightly. "Please, go on."

"According to my father, the war waged for three years. It was then that, near the end of the war, that Chancellor Palpatine accused the Jedi Order of an assassination attempt and allying with the Separatists. He issued an executive order that led to destruction of the Jedi Order. With them gone and the CIS defeated, Chancellor Palpatine changed the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. For the past nineteen years, the Empire has ruled over much of the galaxy with an iron fist. However, the Senate was preserved, becoming the Imperial Senate. That is how things have mostly been."

As the room fell silent, Lasky and Azikiwe exchanged looks. Heavy caution, Lasky thought. Turning to Leia, he said, "I take it there's a different perspective?"

"That is correct, and this is one I believe to be true," Leia agreed. "My father said that the Jedi were honorable and noble, and did not wish to side with the CIS. According to him, Palpatine wanted to get rid of the Jedi, as he saw them as an obstacle to him obtaining absolute power over the Republic. To express such an opinion, or even to stand up and resist the Empire (this is treasonous in some countries today), is seen as treason and is punishable by death."

Lasky frowned, remembering the Insurrection.

Azikiwe, having similar thoughts, said, "I see. From the sounds of things, you support the Rebel Alliance."

Leia nodded hesitantly. "I do not agree with the methods used by some cells, but I agree that the Empire needs to change, otherwise it will fall apart and anarchy will ensure. Plus, the Emperor must be held responsible for what he has done." Looking at them, she said, "I've shared with you some of our history. Mind if I hear yours?"

"Certainly," Lasky agreed. "As you know, the UNSC and UEG were formed four centuries ago, to form a common defense and government, respectively, to address an ongoing civil war and restoration efforts."

"Around a century later, we discovered FTL travel and began colonizing other stars. For the next two hundred years, we began expanded out into the stars peacefully, in what was known as the Domus Diaspora."

"I take it that, just like us, things didn't stay that way," Leia observed.

"Sadly yes," Azikiwe agreed. "Things became unstable from this point onward. By this time, human controlled space was broadly split into two; the Outer and Inner Colonies. The organization tasked with managing Outer Colony affairs, the Colonial Administration Authority, had become rampant with corruption and greed, leading to several incidents, worst of which was the Far Isle Rebellion where WMDs were deployed. For three decades, an insurrection bloomed and lashed out from the Outer Colonies. As the UEG began to address the situation, it all fell apart."

"What from?" Leia asked.

"The Human-Covenant War," Lasky replied as he had Cortana and Gabriela bring up related info.

"I'm sorry… I don't understand."

"I can explain," Lasky replied. "It was around 2525 when we lost contact with one of our colonies, an agricultural world known as Harvest. When a UNSC Battle group went to investigate, only one of the ships came back. They faced off against a ship of unknown make that nearly wiped them all out. They got this transmission, though, just as they escaped." A moment later, he played an audio file.

The voice that Leia heard was both human, yet inhuman, at the exact time. "Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument."

"That," Lasky continued speaking, "was the start of our war. The Covenant was a coalition of alien species based on religious ideology. They worshiped an extinct species known as the Forerunners, revering them as gods. As for us, though, they saw us as heretics and defilers of their gods' gifts. Unfortunately for us, they were much larger and more sophisticated than we were at the time. For twenty-seven years we fought against extinction."

Just as he said this, R2, who had been listening quietly, immediately began to beep and whistle. "What's going on?" Melody asked.

"I have an urgent call, may I?" Leia asked, excusing herself.

"Of course," Lasky replied. "Go ahead."

"Thank you," Leia replied. A moment later, she motioned to R2 to begin transmitting the message. A moment later, Lasky watched as a hologram formed from R2's holoprojector. The image resolved into a blue image of a man dressed in fine robes. The man's face, though, was the most eye-catching part, as Lasky could see that he had black hair and a matching beard. His face showed visible concern.

"Leia," Bail said in a smooth and rich voice. "I received your message over a hour ago, and I've been trying to contact you since. What happened?"

"I'm all right," Leia replied. "I was speaking to the Captain of the battlecruiser I am currently on. He was sharing with me his people's past." She took a few minutes to explain to Bail what she had learned.

When she finished, Bail's expression was drawn. "I see," he said softly. "I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm relieved to know that you are safe. May I speak with the ship's captain?"

"Yes," Leia replied. Turning to Lasky, she said, "Captain Lasky, this is senior Senator Bail Organa of the Imperial Senate and former Ambassador of Alderaan. Bail, these are Captain Thomas Lasky of the United Nations Space Command and Envoy Melody Azikiwe of the United Earth Government."

"Pleased to meet you," Lasky replied.

"As am I," Bail said.

"Leia, has her work cut out for her. You must be wary when it comes to dealing with the Imperial Senate. If it doesn't align with the military on their agenda, you will be ignored or attacked."

"We've been well informed," Melody replied, smiling towards Leia. "From the sounds of things, the Empire really doesn't like having to deal with bad public relations"

"That they don't," Bail agreed. Hearing something, he turned to the side and whispered to someone out of view. When he turned back to them, he said, "I'll need to cut this call short. We are approaching Coruscant, I'm headed to the Imperial Senate."

"Thank you for your time", Melody added. "Take care, Senator."

"And you as well," Bail replied. Turning to Leia, he said, "We'll speak another time. See you then." With that, the holo-transmission ended.

"He sounds like a nice person," Lasky observed. "COM and holo transmissions are usually separate."

"He's a good man that wants to help as many people as he can." Turning to Lasky, she said, "You said that your people fought a war. How did you win?"

"We survived," Lasky said pointedly, pain flashing on his face momentarily. "Their most combat oriented species discovered a falsehood in their religion and pulled out of the covenant in a schism that effectively broke it, while we killed one of their leaders."

Leia slumped slightly; pity written on her face as the full weight of what Lasky's people went through sank into her mind. They had waged a war for their very survival and survived through opportune luck and determination. Taking a shuddering breath, she said, "Thank you for sharing your history with me." After a moment, she asked, "What became of the members of the Covenant?"

"With the falsehood discovered, the Covenant shattered," Lasky explained. "The Sangheili, the combat species, are our allies now. Splinter factions that believe in the covenant faith still exist. In fact, I would like to introduce you to a Sangheili, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Leia replied, after a pause . The door opened, prompting her to turn around. The being that came in was evidently tallest in the room, with two digitigrade legs supporting it's upper body, which had a strong, muscular torso. From it's large upper chest came two arms that ended in four-fingered hands; two thumbs and two fingers. The shoulders supported a long, lean neck, which held an elongated head. It had no mouth, but rather four mandibles lined with teeth. Two yellow/orange (pick 1) eyes gazed at Leia with a sharp, predatory intelligence that nearly made her shrink in her seat. The alien wore a black bodysuit with ornately shaped gold plates over it.

Lasky began, "This, Senator Leia, is N'tho 'Sraom , one of twenty four Sangheili onboard the Infinity as representatives."

To Leia's surprise, the alien bowed slightly, placing a fist over it's chest before speaking. He, as the Sangheili was unmistakably male, said in a deep, smooth voice, "Greetings, Princess Leia. It is an honor to be meeting with you."

Recovering herself, Leia stood and bowed slightly as well. "It is an honor to speak with you as well," she said. After a pause, she asked, "Is what Captain Lasky said true?"

Guilt, shame and weariness shone evidently in N'tho's eyes and voice when he spoke. "Yes. The Prophets lied to us, twisting our minds when they set us upon your species. Were it not for the foolish Brutes daring to fell us, we would have continued waging war against your kind."

"I see," Leia noted.

Sitting down, Leia processed all that she had heard. This is delicate. I need to talk with Mon Mothma on this, she realized.

Taking a breath, she said, "I see. It's clear that the Empire made a mistake in attacking all of you. I will speak to the Imperial Senate arrange a meeting that I hope will make clear, your history and intentions."

"That would be nice," Lasky remarked. "We don't want another war if we can help it."

Leia was about to speak when they heard a strange beeping sound. "Excuse me," she said. "That's from Captain Antilles." Keying her comlink, she replied, "Yes, Captain?"

"Princess Leia," came Antilles' voice. "I apologize for the interruption, but we just got word that the Imperial Senate is ready to host the meeting you called. Shall we await your return?"

Leia looked at Lasky, who nodded at her. "Yes," she said. "I will return shortly." Closing her comlink, she said, "I'm afraid we will have to cut this short for the time being. I need to return to my ship and speak with the Imperial Senate."

"Of course," Lasky agreed. "If you don't mind, we would like to accompany you to your ship."

"Of course," Leia agreed as she got up. "We'll need you present to show the Senate that what we say is true."

. . .

While Leia spoke with Lasky and the others, Jordan and his team were up to their knees in the Tantive IV. The hyperdrive room itself was fairly small, mostly occupied by a large, flat rectangle with markings all over it, along with cables joining it to underfloor connections. This, according to Antilles, was the ship's Hyperdrive; what allowed the Tantive IV to achieve FTL flight.

Right now, though, Jordan was more puzzled than anything. "Damn," he grumbled to himself, "and I thought Slipspace Drives were complicated. I don't even know where to start." Turning to Antilles, he lamented, "I'm not qualified to work on hyperdrives."

"Damn," Antilles grumbled. "None of our technicians are qualified to work on it either. It was a long shot, but I'm glad you tried."

3P0, standing near the door, asked, "Is there anything that can be done?"

"Aside from having Cortana find what we need to fix it, no. Mmh, there's one more thing we could try."

"Oh?" Captain Antilles asked.

"We can have Cortana hook into the computer systems and show us the schematics," Jordan suggested. "We can also have one of the Huragok come in and have a look. Still, you're the Captain of this boat, it's your call."

As much as Antilles hated to admit it, he knew that Jordan was right. There was no one on hand that could fix the hyperdrive, and any engineers onboard the Rebel Fleet were inaccessible at this time. Taking a breath, he let it out in a long sigh and said, "Well, if it allows us to fix the ship." Turning to one of his men, he said, "Have the Comms Officer create an downlink to the Infinity. Perhaps she can figure this out."

"No need to," came the reply over the ship-wide intercom. The voice was so sudden that 3P0 yelped. "I accessed the ship systems a while ago. Pretty unique architecture if you ask me."

Antilles frowned. "Does Leia -?"

"Yes," Cortana replied. "Leia gave me her blessing to move into the ship network and help you guys out. Sorry if I startled you, 3P0."

"Good gracious me!" 3P0 gasped. "I didn't know that there was another droid in here."

"Well, I'm here now," Cortana said. "Now, the ship has information on the Hyperdrive aboard it already. Would you allow the Huragok to access fire control systems?"

"You mean one of those strange aliens that came aboard the ship?" 3P0 asked. Right on cue, there was a trilling as one of the Huragok floated into the engine room. While he knew it was friendly, Captain Antilles placed his hand over his blaster holster, so did his guards. Holding in a breath, he watched the Engineer drift closer to them, as 3P0 turned to face it. "Oh, um… Hello. I am C3P0, human-cyborg relations." When he got no response, he asked, "Can you understand me?"

"Let me see if he does." Before 3P0 could ask what he meant, Jordan made a series of whistles much like he had earlier. Much to 3P0's surprise, the Huragok nodded, before trilling while making a series of gestures with it's tendrils. "Slightly Too Heavy says that he's pleased to meet you as well, and that he can understand you as well."

"Slightly Too Heavy?" 3P0 asked. "Is that his name?"

"Yes," Jordan replied. "Huragok are named based on whether they float or sink initially, hence the name, Slightly Too Heavy."

"How strange. I would love to learn the language that your kind speaks, Slightly Too Heavy. I am fluent in over six million languages, and I would love to add another one to my database."

In response, Slightly Too Heavy trilled and whistled. "He says that he would love to teach you his language as well, once he's done improving your individual components that is. What he did just ask for, however, was a schematic for the hyperdrive."

"Splendid!" 3P0 cheered. "I shall do so at once." He walked over to a computer bank, then accessed it. "Um... there's a problem."

"What?"

"The computer database uses a scomp-link. I'm not sure if your Huragok can access it."

"I'm not worried. Huragok are living computers," Jordan explained, as the Huragok went to work. "Their tendrils act as universal connectors."

Slightly Too Heavy floated over to the Hyperdrive and let it's tendrils over parts of the Hyperdrive, before coming to a stop near one of the components. A moment later, it reached inside, and gently extracted the Hyperdrive Motivator. The alien ran a tendril over the surface of the device. What happened next left Antilles' in shock.

In a few seconds, the Engineer disassembled the Hyperdrive Motivator; it's tendrils splitting into hundreds of smaller philia each. It then promptly reassembled the Motivator, repeating the process two more times. Once finished, it floated back to the drive and, following the schematics' instructions, it. Floating back to the rest, it trilled and whistled a few times.

"What did it just do?" Antilles asked out of shock.

"Hang on," Jordan replied. Whistling a few times, Jordan listened as Slightly Too Heavy made some gestures while whistling. "Ah. He says that he repaired a manufacturing defect in the component. Apparently, some of the circuitry was corroded from overuse and age. He says that your Hyperdrive is functional now."

Antilles sighed, relieved to hear those words. "Thanks for coming by. Tell Slightly Too Heavy that he was a lifesaver." Just as he did, Slightly Too Heavy trilled a few times.

"He said, 'you're welcome,'" Jordan translated for Antilles. "In fact, he's wondering if, when y'all have the time, if he could study your Hyperdrive some time later."

Antilles smiled. "I think that can be arranged. First, though, I have to return to the bridge. Princess Leia's about to contact the Imperial Senate." With that, escorted Jordan and Slightly out of the engine room.

. . .

Far from the Infinity, around an hour later, a meeting raged on in the Imperial Senate.

It was in one of the pods, Bail Organa sat, his body tense with anticipation and nervousness as other Senators entered. Some had come from Core Worlds, while most conversed through holo-communications. Once everyone was gathered, the Senate Speaker, a tall and elderly Twilek, announced, "The Imperial Senate is now in session." Once acknowledged that, he continued, "Senator Leia Organa requested an emergency meeting. All in favor of hearing, please vote."

A few minutes, the speaker informed, "The Imperial Senate recognizes and grants Senator Organa's request to communicate with us. Opening a channel now."

A large holographic image of Leia Organa appeared in the center of the Senate Chamber. Steeling herself, Leia was silent for a moment, then began, "Fellow Senators of the Imperial Senate. Today is a day that I have every reason to believe will go down in history as either one of our greatest achievements, or a harbinger of dark times to come." Dragging on the silence long enough, she elaborated, "Around an hour ago, Imperial forces engaged a ship from an unknown faction that appeared over the world of Scarif, in the Outer Rim."

"This happened when my ship, the Tantive IV, was undergoing repairs to its hyperdrive and as such, was also stranded in the system. Before we could make contact, the Imperials assaulted the ship in the mistaken belief that it was reinforcement for a rebel fleet that was assaulting the Imperial forces at Scarif. During the battle, I was able to make contact with the unknown ship, and I was able to learn the identity of the crew and the ship. The ship was a battlecruiser, and I had the privilege of meeting with two people aboard it." At that, she made a slight motion to targets out of view/range."

Bail watched as Captain Lasky and Envoy Melody, walked into view.

"These are Envoy Melody of the United Earth Government and Captain Thomas Lasky, Commanding Officer of the battlecruiser known as the Infinity, and member of the United Nations Space Command; the military, scientific and exploratory arm of the UEG. When I spoke with them, I learned that they arrived due to a malfunction with their hyperdrive, which resulted in a collision with an Imperial Star Destroyer.", she informed as relevant files were uploaded to each attending Senator's pod for viewing.

"My fellow Senators, we must come together as one to avoid a war that the Imperial Navy nearly started. The UEG and UNSC do not wish to wage war, we must show that we do not either."

"To those that can hear my voice, I hereby open a vote to appeal a non-hostile stance towards these new people, to the Imperial Navy. Let us promote the piece we have fought so hard for."

And so the Senate erupted into a ruckus. "ORDER!" the Speaker, Mas Amedda declared. "ORDER IN THE SENATE! WE SHALL HAVE ORDER!"

. . .

While Leia was delivering her speech, another drama went on in the Imperial Palace, which had formerly been the Jedi Temple. Emperor Palpatine sat on his throne. A tall man dressed in flowing black robes, Darth Sidious, looked decrepit and old, as though he had lived a thousand of years. One might be forgiven for thinking this though, as underneath that old and frail exterior was a sharp mind that craved whatever its host's heart desired.

Currently conversing with to two of his servants, the Sith Lord sneered reflexively, a horrid site to most, a silencing order to his subordinates. The first was a man dressed in head to toe in armor, with a black cape extending to his boots. The chest plate, and the control panel one it, prominently visible, as was his helmet.

The other was a man dressed in an officer's uniform. Unlike the first one, his face was visible, revealing sculpted facial features, a sharp nose and bright, blue-gray eyes. All framed by sharp cheekbones and gray hair.

The first, Darth Vader, his sole apprentice and his right hand against threats to the Empire. The second, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, a competent enough man who knew how to please his Lord. Yet, all Palpatine felt towards them right now was annoyance. "Why did you let the Rebel Fleet escape Scarif?"

"It was not my decision to let the Rebel Fleet go, my lord," Tarkin replied. "Lord Vader overruled me on this." The bathed the offender in his steeled, golden gaze.

Darth Vader, sword of the Emperor, apprentice, craver and destined usurper, answered, "We came across an unknown battlecruiser."

"Elaborate," the Emperor demanded in a hoarse, croaked voice, face turning its attention to the Grand Moff, the tool.

"We detected the presence of a ship nearly twenty as larger than a Star Destroyer. According to Scarif Sensor logs, it had not only destroyed the Shield Gate at, but also provided assistance to the Rebel forces on the planet."

Visual log data played out before Palpatine as Darth Vader continued, "The Force raged around that ship. Confrontation was not a viable option without knowing where it came from."

Irritation made its way onto the Emperor's charred visage. He was about to make his displeasure known when, out of the turbolift, came an Imperial Intelligence officer dressed in a red.

"My lord," he greeted, descending to one knee. "We have a development."

Palpatine's eyes narrowed, golden rings staring holes into the man's head. "What kind of development?" he asked, in rising pitch.

"The Imperial Senate held an emergency session over first contact with a new faction," the officer replied.

"And you did not see fit to inform me of this until after it began?", The Emperor accused, right hand slowly rising to deliver his judgement.

"We only found out a few minutes ago, my lord. The Senators avoided the media until most of them arrived in the chamber. Senator H'leph and his associates acted as distractions."

Right hand now fully extended, the Emperor declared. "You have failed me for the last time." The young man's screams were drowned out by the torrent blue embodiment of The Emperor's rage and dissatisfaction. Arcs of force lighting destroyed the man's body quickly, yet his soul died slowly, painfully, regretfully. Fittingly, Palpatine praised himself.

"Clean this", he ordered his crimson guard, as he opened a channel to his podium in the Senate chamber. Leia Organa, the naïve upstart, was delivering an equally naïve, heartfelt speech. As he listened, along with his sword and tool, he sensed a shift in the tides of the Force. With the session concluded, Palpatine turned to his inferiors. "Vader, Tarkin, come to Coruscant at once. Tarkin, follow the Senate's appeal, stay your hand for the moment.", he ordered, mind racing with schemes and plots. Refreshing, it has been a while, he thought.

"Yes, Master," Vader replied, his hologram winking out.

"Of course, my Emperor," Tarkin added, saluting before he too winked out.