By Alexandra Pope

---

       The lights of Coruscant glittered far below the former Imperial Palace,like so many stars puncturing their way through the blackness that was night.Despite the late hour,hovercars and airspeeders still crisscrossed the sky,filling the air with the droning hum of repulsorlifts.
Mara Jade Skywalker stood on the roof of the palace,drinking in the scene.A warm breeze fanned her red-gold hair back from her face,and shadows seemed to dance at the corners of her eyes.She gazed south to the Manarai mountains,squinting through the darkness to make out the huddled shapes far in the distance.It seemed,to her,that the entire planet-wide city held a certain anticipation,as if lying in wait.Excitement crackled in the very atmosphere.But then again,it could have just been the excitement that she herself was feeling.
      Mara reflected on everything that had happened in the last month.So much had changed without her even realizing it.She was married to Luke Skywalker,peace had finally been declared between the Empire and the New Republic,and it had been business as usual from then on.Luke had returned to his Jedi academy on Yavin 4,promising that he would send for her soon.Mara had stayed behind to help Leia Organa Solo sort through all the diplomatic intricacies that remained after the treaty had been signed,and to aid General Wedge Antilles with the task of informing worlds of the peace deal.Tonight though,she was travelling to Yavin to be with her husband once and for all.Leia and Han Solo were off to Mon Calamari for a vacation,while Wedge continued with his work,but minus Mara's company.Her head buzzed with the elation she felt.Soon she would be with Luke,and they could finally be alone,just drifting effortlessly through their days at the academy,enjoying the peacetime.
     "You're getting way too soft,Mara," she chided herself gently.Too soft,indeed.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind her.She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw Lando Calrissian step through the doorway onto the roof.His tall figure was framed in pale yellow light from the room beyond,and the almost total darkness brightened just a little.
    "Ready to go,Mara?" he asked.She nodded silently,noting the solemnity in his tone.He had volunteered--yes,volunteered to fly her to Yavin.She smiled slyly to herself.She had always suspected that he had a crush on her,and this only proved it.Still grinning,she followed him back into the palace and into the turbolift.They stopped off at her guest room to get her luggage,then continued on to the landing bay where Lando's ship,the Lady Luck was docked.

       Mara boarded the Lady and put her bag in the cargo hold,then strapped herself into the copilot's seat.Lando took a seat beside her,and talked to her as he started the pre-flight arrangements.
"I still can't believe you ended up with Luke," he muttered softly.
"And exactly what is that supposed to mean?" she retorted,but she couldn't help thinking the exact same thing.Lando didn't answer her, but just shook his head and pulled back on the repulsorlift lever.Within ten minutes,they were off,burning through Coruscant's atmosphere.Mara gazed out the viewscreen,letting none of her excitement show.The towering buildings and bustling crowds shrank more and more,and soon faded away into a swirl of grey and white as they headed out into space.A thought suddenly occured to her,and she felt the need to make it known.
"I just wish I could have said goodbye to Leia and the children..." she murmured,barely loud enough for Lando to hear.He gave her a sideways glance,then pulled back on the hyperspace lever.The stars melted into starlines,then sank into the mottled sky of lightspeed.She smiled inwardly,noting that she really was getting too soft.

   After three days on the Lady Luck,however,any thoughts of becoming soft had been sourly discarded.Mara had spent those three days doing nothing whatsoever,allowing Lando to bowl her over with charm.He did everything for her;prepared fancy meals,made sure her bed was always made,even sang for her! Every so often,she'd had to remind him that she was a married woman,to keep him from getting too close.At first she'd enjoyed the attention,but by the end of the second day,she'd all but thrown him off the ship.Having too little to do annoyed her immensely,because it only made her long for the old days of smuggling with Talon Karrde,and having to fend for herself.
     To pass the time,she practiced with the Force,and her newfound Jedi abilities,moving objects around the ship,confusing Lando by hiding his belongings in places where it would take him hours to find them,and reaching out to see if she could touch Luke's mind at all.The nearer they drew to Yavin,the more she could feel his presence.
     Just when she thought she'd go crazy with boredom,Lando announced that they'd be arriving on Yavin 4 in a little less than an hour.She sat rigid in her seat,staring out at the distorted sky of hyperspace,willing Lando to pull back on the lever that would drop them into realspace,and put her that much closer to Luke.
     Finally, Lando gave a strangled whoop,and pulled back on the hyperspace lever with a dramatic flourish.The starlines flared into stars,and the red gas giant of Yavin hung in front of them,an enormous roiling ball of fire.And just to the right of it was the jungle moon of Yavin 4.
   Lando plowed towards it at full sublight speed,somehow sensing Mara's urgency.He shot down into the atmosphere,diving through mountains of clouds,until Mara could see the endless carpet of jungle below them,dotted with ancient Massassi temples and fertile lake beds.
      The great temple that housed the Jedi academy came into view,and Mara's heart pounded.To her surprise,she felt nervous,and almost scared. Get a grip, she told herself.You're going to see Luke.Why are you frightened?
Mara took several deep breaths to calm herself,then stretched out with the Force.She could sense Luke,could touch his mind.She realized that he was just as anxious as she was,and took comfort in that thought.

      Lando set the Lady Luck down on the stone landing platform,and cut the repulsorlifts.Mara was out of her seat and waiting by the ramp almost before Lando could blink.She tingled with excitement,and had to stop herself from yelling at Lando to hurry up.Finally,after what seemed like an eternity,the ramp extended from the base of the ship,and Mara stepped out into the oppressive jungle heat.The humidity hit her like a blaster bolt,a sharp contrast to the conditioned air inside the ship,but also a welcome relief.She narrowed her eyes against the bright afternoon sun,and stared straight ahead.She had barely taken two steps when Luke came bounding out of the shadows at full speed and swept her into his arms.
"Luke!" She cried joyfully and threw her arms around his shoulders."Mara!"
   He picked her up and spun her around in a dizzying circle.She laughed giddily and clung to him tightly.Her hair fanned out in a shimmering wave,blown by an invisible wind,and her green eyes sparkled intensely.He set her back down on the ground and kissed her warmly,letting his lips linger on hers for a long time.All her anxiety melted away,and she just enjoyed the moment.She hadn't realized until now quite how much she'd missed him.She pulled away from their embrace,and laid her head on his shoulder,feeling the rough fabric of his Jedi robe rub against her cheek."I missed you,"she said quietly.
"I missed you more,"was his reply.She gazed at him for a moment,challenging him,wondering how she could top that,but then she smiled and hugged him again.
It was only then that she realized they had an audience.Luke's Jedi students were all lingering off to one side,watching their soppy greeting with great interest.Mara recognized a few of their faces - Cilghal,the beige-coloured Mon Cal with the huge swivelling eyes;Kyp Durron,the enthusiastic dark-haired kid; Kam Solusar,the estranged fallen Jedi with his perpetual frown,and a few others.Mara grinned sheepishly,and could sense Luke's embarassment as well,but it was Kyp who broke the ice.
"Mara Jade - or,I guess it's Skywalker now,isn't it? Well,nice to see you again."
"Nice to see you too,Kyp,"she gave him a curt nod.She had never really trusted the boy since his brush with the dark side,and he probably knew it,but she decided that it didn't matter much.Luke leaned over and whispered in her ear,"There's no need to be afraid of him now.He's a full Jedi master,here to help me teach the others."
She nodded."I see,"she answered quietly.Then,she raised her voice again."Lando! You can come out and say hello to Luke, you know!"
Lando descended the ramp in his usual dramatic manner,silk cape trailing behind him.He grinned at Luke."Hey there,kid.How's it going?"
Luke shrugged. "Oh,you know.The same."
   Lando raised his eyebrows and gestured to Mara."You've got this fine lady and it's just 'the same'? Oh,I don't know there,Luke..."
Luke grinned and pushed a lock of sandy hair back from his face."You always could see right through me.Are you sure you don't have Force sensitivities?" he joked.
Lando gave his most charming smile to Mara and said,"Nah...I have magical powers of a different kind."
He winked at Mara.She turned and made a slight gagging noise,but then turned back and smiled sweetly at Lando.
"Won't you stay for a drink,Lando?" she asked,hoping against hope that he would decline the offer.
"I don't think so Mara.I've got to be on my way.Long flight,you know."
"I understand,"she said,and sent a mental laugh to Luke.He squeezed her hand in response.
"Thank you again,Lando," she said politely.
"No problem.I really have nothing else to do these days,do I? Although you know that anytime,all you have to do is shout-- "
Luke cut him off. "Uh, yeah.Thanks,Lando.See you later.I'll be in contact with Coruscant before Leia and Han leave on their trip.Give the kids my love."
"I will. Bye now," Lando said,and swirled his cape,winking at Mara one last time before boarding the Lady Luck and streaking off into the sky.
   Luke exhaled noisily."How in the stars did you manage three days with that guy?"
Mara shrugged and raised a finger to massage her temples."I have no idea.Well,don't I get the grand tour?"
He smiled down at her and kissed her again. "But of course,my lovely lady," he said in a mock impression of Lando, then took her arm and led her to the door of the temple. "Right this way."

       Han Solo stood at the entrance to docking bay 45 at Coruscant's spaceport, arguing with the head technician.He couldn't believe the gross amount of time--nearly an hour--he had wasted fighting with the man.
"No,you listen to me," he snapped,"I am General Han Solo, husband of Chief of State Leia Organa Solo.I'm travelling to Mon Calamari with her.Now,tell me again why I need to show you a certificate of authorization signed by the Chief of State?"
   The man seemed to stiffen slightly,and his face paled noticeably, but he drew himself up to his full height (about three quarters of Han's), stuck out his chin and said, "It's the new regulations,sir--"
"I don't care about your regulations,you little...." Han promptly let loose a good string of Corellian curses that made the man shrink back in terror.
"Han-" a female voice came behind him.
"Not now,can't you see I'm reasoning with the man?" he retorted to the unseen person.
"Han!" The voice said again, sharper this time,"It's me, Lei-a." She waved her fingers at his back.
Han flushed a brilliant red color as he turned to face his wife. "Oh,hi sweetheart...I, uh,was just..practicing my diplomatic skills."
   She placed her hands on her hips and smirked."Maybe you should practice those 'diplomatic skills' when the kids are out of earshot!"
Han shut his mouth,knowing better than to pursue this conversation.He knew himself too well,and knew that when he got angry,people had a tendency to get hurt.
"That's better," Leia said,and patted his shoulder affectionately."I think you should let me handle this.Why don't you go help Chewie run those final checks on the Falcon?"
   Han nodded silently,but gave the tech a final glare before storming off to find Chewbacca.
   The Wookiee was hanging upside down on the hull of the Millennium Falcon,with a hydrospanner in his hand and an angry look on his face.
"Does she fly smoothly yet,Chewie?" Han asked.Chewbacca uttered a low growl that clearly meant 'no'.Han tried to smile.
"Okay,let me rephrase that.Does she fly at all,Chewie?"
The Wookiee barked again,sounding slightly more optimistic this time.
"Great," Han muttered. "Just perfect.Where are the kids?"
Chewie waved a hairy paw towards the ramp leading into the Falcon,but slipped as he returned his hand to the underside of the ship.With a clatter and a bellow,Chewbacca crashed to the ground.The hydrospanner went sliding across the permacrete,where it shattered against the wall at the opposite end of the room.
"Chewie!" Han exclaimed,leaping back as the Wookiee got to his feet and looked around for someone to blame."Chewie! Okay,calm down...let me try."
With a resigned sigh,Han mounted the hull and set to work.

      An hour later,they were shooting through hyperspace on the way to Mon Calamari.Leia leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms behind her head.Han,sitting beside her,cast a loving glance her way.
"Good to be on the move again isn't it?"
He grinned roguishly.She smiled back and said,"It's just good to be going on an actual vacation.Do you realize that every time we've tried to have some family time,it's turned into a battle of life and death?"
He chuckled,"You've noticed too?"
She nodded,but turned suddenly serious."Sometimes I have a hard time believing that peace has actually been declared with the Empire-"she paused as Han shot her a strange look,"Well,what I mean is,I've dreamed about this so many times,I think I was expecting it to be much,much different.So many things have changed-Talon Karrde retired for good this time,Luke got married-that probably surprised me the most.I was beginning to think he'd never settle down!"
Han laughed at the relief in her tone when she spoke of Luke.Leia had been very worried about her brother for the last few years.Ever since he had lost Callista,the strange,silent Jedi who he had loved very deeply,he had been different somehow,more withdrawn,launching his whole self into his Jedi studies.It had made him more powerful,of course,but Leia couldn't help but wonder, to what benefit?
     Mara Jade had filled the void that Callista left.Luke had spoken fondly of Mara when he said that she had quite literally knocked some sense into him.Leia couldn't even start to comprehend his meaning,but decided to just be happy for him.
    As for the Empire,it made her want to shout with joy every time she thought about the situation.Admiral Pellaeon had decided on a truce with the New Republic before their government could claim any more of the Empire's worlds.Of course,there were always breakaway groups such as Moff Disra's,but as far as Leia knew,they had all been snuffed out.
It still made her ache inside when she thought about all the friends they had lost along the way.Fifteen years of fighting hadn't done her any good,and she knew the pain would never leave completely,but for now,responsible government had been established.No more people would ever have to go through the suffering that others in the past had endured at the hands of Emporer Palpatine,Darth Vader,Grand Admiral Thrawn,Admiral Daala,and a long string of others.Peace felt wonderful inside and out.
   "What are you thinking about?" Han asked.Leia jumped,startled.She hadn't realized that Han had been watching her.
"You never finished explaining what you meant,"he added,sounding a bit concerned.
"I'm sorry,"she said,patting his hand reassuringly."If only you could read my thoughts!"

     Several hours later,Han yanked back on the hyperspace lever and dropped them into realspace.The starlines faded,and the blue sphere of Mon Calamari,made oblong by the position of it's sun,came into view.Leia gasped and gazed out of the viewport.
"It's more beautiful than I remember,"she breathed quietly.She turned towards the open cockpit door that led to the narrow hallway.She knew that her children were resting in their bunks,but she wanted them to see their approach.
"Jaina,Jacen,Anakin!" she called,"Come and see this!"
The sounds of small feet pattering on the metal floor reached Leia's ears,followed by a chorus of "yes mother" s.Within seconds,the three kids shuffled into the cockpit,straightening their flightsuits and trying to make themselves presentable for their mother.Leia smiled warmly at them.
"I wanted you to see this planet from space,because you will probably never see a more beautiful sight as long as you live."
"That's Mon Calamari,right?" Jacen asked,crossing the cramped space to look out the viewport.
"That's correct,darling."
"Why are we going there?" Anakin asked.Leia glanced at her son,who was scratching his head in confusion.She realized that she had never informed them of the nature of their trip.
"We are going on a vacation.Specifically,a cruise.Your father and I decided that it would be a nice experience for you children." And a chance for Han and I to spend some time alone together without having to worry about which planet is in danger of being wiped out,she added silently to herself.
Jaina was staring out the viewport,nose pressed against the cool plasteel.
"It's very beautiful,isn't it?"she said.
"I always thought so,"Leia answered.She gazed down at the giant ocean planet,coming closer and closer till it almost filled the viewscreen.So peaceful-looking.Leia felt a pang of sadness as she realized exactly what it was that had always drawn her to Mon Calamari.Anakin saw it in her first.
"It reminds you of Alderaan,doesn't it,Mom?" he said without hesitation.
Leia turned to face him.Her youngest son was gazing at her with his cool,ice-blue eyes,eyes that seemed to hold more wisdom than was possible in a boy of his age.Sometimes he scared Leia with how much he knew.He was so strong in the Force-Luke had recognized it in him the instant he was born.He already had abilities that Leia herself could never hope to master,yet he didn't seem to realize the power that lay within those abilities.Leia silently thanked the Force for that,because she knew in her heart just how dangerous a person he could be if he ever turned to the dark side...
   "It does remind me of Alderaan,just a little.Not that it looks like Alderaan on the surface,but rather its...atmosphere,if you will."
    All three of the children and Han were looking at her expectantly,waiting for a story.She smiled sadly,and continued.
   "The last time I saw Alderaan was when I was being held captive on the first Death Star.Darth Vader decided that it might persuade me to reveal the location of the rebel base by making me watch him destroy it.I lied to him,which proved a fatal mistake because it only angered him.He held me in front of the window,and forced me to watch as the only world I had ever known was blown to pieces in a petty demonstration of power.I could do nothing except cry out,and feel the pain and suffering of millions of innocent people.The last thing I remember was seeing my planet drifting there in the viewport,completely unaware of it's fate..." Leia fought back tears.
"And then,Grand Moff Tarkin ordered the officers to fire the laser.That last view of Alderaan-a completely neutral world that had never done anything to defy the Empire besides being my home planet-reminds me so much of Mon Calamari,because it was peaceful." She sighed heavily. "I suppose sometimes peace isn't always a wise choice."
   Han slipped a comforting arm around her waist,but said nothing.The children were silent for once,considering what their mother had just said.Then one by one,they left the room without a word.
Han tapped the comlink,and requested permission to land at Foamwander City.

       General Wedge Antilles engaged his fleet at Coruscant,and prepared for yet another journey of informing worlds of the peacetime.He opened an all-ship comm channel,and spoke into his microphone.
"All X-Wings,prepare for hyperspace jump.Destination-Chad III.Co-ords 59-45-98.Don't forget to pack underwear,and good luck!" He flicked off the comm unit,and leaned back in his X-Wing pilot seat,expecting a relaxing ride.He was just about to doze off,when he noted with a certain degree of annoyance that his private comm light was blinking,indicating an incoming message. He eased himself up on his elbows and pressed the button."General Antilles speaking.Identify yourself."
"Wedge,this is Admiral Ackbar." The Mon Cal's enormous head filled the comm screen,his huge eyes swivelling back and forth,surveying Wedge's cramped cockpit.
"How can I help you,Ackbar?" Wedge asked,leaning slightly back ,away from the image.Even at quarter-size,Ackbar's head still seemed grossly overlarge.
"I just got a message from Admiral Pellaeon," was the Admiral's reply,"he wants your team to do a little research on Chad-just so you can impress the natives."
"No problem,Admiral.I'll get right on it.It'll give me something to do to pass the time,that's for sure.Wedge out."
He pressed the comm button again,and Ackbar's swollen head disappeared.Wedge sighed,and keyed in the coordinates for the hyperspace jump.Then,while the starlines flared,he pushed yet another button,and the X-Wing's built-in research station popped up."Neat trick,"Wedge muttered,then said,"Information on Chad III please."
    Almost immediately,a whole encyclopedia appeared,complete with a detailed diagram of the planet's inner structure.Wedge skimmed through article after article of boring,useless facts.He had no use for anecdotes on how the language came about,or about the mating habits of wander-kelp.
Finally,an article caught his eye.It was titled simply "Background information".
"Excellent,"Wedge said,and clicked down the screen.What was written was basic and in short form,but it told Wedge all he needed to know.
      The system of Chad consisted of twelve main planets orbiting a sun of the same name.From what he could determine,
Chad III was mainly a water planet,with 85% of it's surface covered by oceans.It's main inhabited continent was Ruoy,and it's capital was called Glitterglass city.The city was located on the south coast,and most of it's inhabitants lived on floating farms,called arks.Chad's main export stemmed from those farms.Wander-kelp,renowned for it's medicinal qualities as the main ingredient in bacta,was grown and harvested for three seasons of Chad's year,with the remaining season left for additional harvesting and exporting.The dominant language was Basic, although most of the planet was inhabited by its natives, sociable rodents called the Chadra-Fan.
   The article finished by saying that Chad was once one of the main smuggling capitals of the Empire because of it's high export amounts of the drug sweetblossom, and as far as was known,was still an Imperial world...
   That fact scared Wedge just a little bit.So far,his team hadn't had to inform any planets under former Imperial rule of the peace treaty,and he couldn't help but wonder how they would take the news.He decided to tell the squadron that little tidbit,and resolved to bring sleeve blasters,just in case.He hoped that they wouldn't have to use them.He closed that particular article,and opened another one,a picture file.This showed the city of Glitterglass itself,and as far as Wedge could tell,it was a very beautiful place,with silver towers reaching high into the air,and clear turquoise waters stretching far out in every direction.Every little inch of land that wasn't covered with water or city was instead covered in soft-looking grass,tall cyperill and redwood trees,and picturesque little farms of many bright colors.Each dwelling had it's own dock with ark moorings and gathering nets,and was equipped with a corral for raising the captured Wander-kelp.Everything looked clean and inviting and normal,but Wedge couldn't shake his feeling that,because Chad was an Imperial world,something awful was going to happen.

    The X-Wings dropped out of hyperspace some time later,and the world of Chad hung in view,exactly where it was supposed to be.It even looked beautiful from a great distance,Wedge thought.He gazed down towards the main continent of Ruoy,and suddenly went rigid.A chill crept up his spine when he saw the dark shapes of four TIE interceptors rising up off the ground to meet them.Somehow,he got the feeling that this was not the typical traditional greeting.Suddenly,a green turbolaser blast flashed out from one of the TIEs.
   Wedge snatched for his comlink."X-Wings!" He snapped,"We've got company!" He keyed for automatic pilot,and grabbed for the turbolaser controls.The ship executed a dramatic roll to the side,just as the TIE interceptor whizzed past on Wedge's starboard side,a near miss.Wedge swung his X-Wing back around,and locked onto another one of the TIEs.Green fire lanced out,and the enemy ship exploded in a brilliant blossom of flame.Wedge's wingman,Rogue Two,came corkscrewing aorund out of nowhere,and in the next instant,another TIE was turned into space waste.The comm light blinked,and Wedge snatched it up,keeping one hand on the Fire button.It was Rogue Nine.
    "Wedge!" Corran Horn barked over the comlink,"What do we do?"
Wedge thought about it for a split second,taking another second to realize that there were still two TIEs out there with full turbolaser batteries.
"Keep flying,Rogue Nine," Wedge ordered.In that last second and a half,Wedge had formulated a plan.He opened an all-ship comm channel,and broadcast his idea to the rest of the squadron."The rest of you,keep flying as well.Destroy those Interceptors if and when you get the chance,but if we can reach the planetary surface as a group,it would be real handy.Something tells me we're not going to get a very warm reception."
     Wedge tossed the comlink behind his shoulder."Enough small-talk," he muttered,"Time to get down to some very serious business.I guess all those months I spent polishing my flying skills are going to pay off in the end." With that pronouncement,Wedge shot off towards the surface.A TIE interceptor was coming up fast behind him,so he yanked the controls around.The X-Wing whirled,and Wedge's vision swirled with the mix of space and planet.Rogue Three was coming in behind him,guarding his tail.Wedge aimed,and fired,and the TIE exploded.He let loose a small war-whoop as he saw the remaining TIE fleeing in terror.He grabbed the comlink again,and ordered the Rogues to follow the lone Interceptor."Maybe we can find out who's behind this."
"Whoever it is obviously doesn't know about the peace treaty," Rogue Five put in.
"Well,that's why we're here,isn't it?" Wedge laughed tightly,trying not to let the eerie sense of deja vu overwhelm him."I thought we were done with this kind of thing."

     The X-Wings followed the Interceptor to the surface.Evidently,that had been the perpetrator's plan,because the TIE didn't make any attempts to throw them off course.Whoever was behind this wanted to talk to them.They landed in a grassy field,and as Wedge hopped out of his ship,he noted with a certain degree of disappointment that the planet was really nothing like what it had seemed.The soft,lush-looking grass of the pictures was replaced with browned and dead weeds.He could see the delicate towers of Glitterglass city to the north of their small landing field,and he could tell that they were rusted and broken,and pitted with dents from turbolaser bolts.The clear-appearing ocean of afar was in actuality just a giant oil slick,and the white-sand shore was dirty and brown.Wedge tried to justify this almost exact opposite of what he had read aboard his ship.What in the name of the Force had happened here? He realized that he would get his answer soon enough.The TIE interceptor had landed a short distance away,and the pilot was now climbing out of the cockpit.He was a human,dressed in scattered bits of old stormtrooper armour,with an Imperial gunner's helmet.His uniform was wrinkled and torn,and he wore no insignia.However ragged his appearance was,his expression more than made up for it.He scowled at them from under his helmet.Without a word,he extracted some sort of remote from his pocket and pointed it at the ground directly behind Wedge.He fired a red button,and there came a rattle and a groan.Startled,Wedge whirled around.The ground behind him was--dare he believe it? Yes,it was opening.The burned grass ground split,and revealed a great metal staircase leading into the depths of the planet.A fortress of some sort? The Imperial pilot stalked towards the staircase,and began to descend.Wedge hesitated,wondering just what they were getting themselves into,but then the pilot turned,looking impatient.He gestured for them to follow him.Wedge took a shaky step forward.Wasn't the point of this trip to find someone of authority to inform of the peace treaty? He motioned for Corran Horn,Rogue Nine,to accompany him.Corran stepped to Wedge's side,and they began their descent.The other pilots stood by,ready to leap at any minute into their cockpits and call for help.Corran shot a look at Wedge,and cocked his sleeve blaster.Wedge imitated his action,and they were ready for anything.Almost anything.
     The pilot led them down to the bottom of the staircase,then down a short corridor of the same material as the stairs until they reached a set of heavy blast doors.Wedge held his breath as the pilot punched in a combination on the datapad that was mounted beside the doors,and only exhaled when he reminded himself that he still needed air.The doors slid open,revealing a crowded room full of people dressed in mishmashed Imperial uniforms.Stormtroopers/gunners sat at computer terminals,while others stood guard at various stations around the room.The pilot stood at attention,and yelled in a garbled language,"llik mih htworg ma Norrcay!"
    The room fell disturbingly silent,and a tall,round man dressed in a full Imperial Admiral's uniform stepped forward.He saluted the pilot,and the pilot rushed to stand at attention next to a computer terminal.The man opened his mouth,and spoke in clear,unnaccented Basic,"Are you friend or foe?"
   Wedge cleared his throat,and spoke nervously."I am General Wedge Antilles,and this is my wingman Corran Horn.We represent the New Republic,and we bring tidings of peace." Before the rest of the sentence even had time to leave Wedge's lips,immediately after he spoke the words "New Republic",fifty blasters were trained on him and Corran,set to Kill.

   Wedge backed up slightly,feeling fear inch up his spine.He raised his hands in defense,and stammered,"Now,now,fellows.There's no need for blasters.We bring news of the peace treaty between the former Empire and the New Republic".
The Admiral spoke,"We were not informed of any treaty." He narrowed his eyes slightly,as if trying to determine whether Wedge was lying or not.He decided to lay that aside for the moment,and spoke again."My name is Admiral Norrcay,and this is Capital Base.We subsist under the service of Grand Admiral Thrawn and the Empire.Grand Admiral Thrawn would not make such a horrendous mistake as to arrange a peace treaty with those rebellious fools they call a New Republic."
Wedge was distinctly shaken up at the mention of Grand Admiral Thrawn.He took several deep breaths to slow his pulse,and tried to remain calm."I'm afraid you've been misinformed,Admiral.Grand Admiral Thrawn has been dead for ten years.Admiral Pellaeon has now taken over the Empire's end of the deal."
"This is an outrage!" Admiral Norrcay bellowed,"Kill the liars!" The blasters were cocked with a double snap,and held steady in front of the intruders.
"Wait!" Wedge cried,"Let's talk this over...maybe we can come to some sort of agreement!"
"It's too late for agreements," Norrcay sneered,"Have you taken a look at our planet? The New Republic must not be allowed to destroy more innocent lives!"
Wedge's head spun as he remembered the view from the planetary surface;the broken towers of Glitterglass City,the oily ocean,the ruined grassland.
"What do you mean? The New Republic didn't destroy your planet!"
Norrcay growled,a low,feral sound."Would you like me to spell it out for you?"
"If you would,an explanation would be appreciated," Wedge said cautiously.
"Once,about ten years ago,the Empire was subjected to yet another useless attack from the de-facto New Republic," he paused,allowing Wedge the time to realize that he was referring to the battle at Mount Tantiss.
"Their bombers and Corellian Corvettes swooped low over our ground,destroying everything in sight.It was terrible.Millions died.We still don't know what provoked the attack.But we vowed to get our revenge on the New Republic.And you,Mr.Antilles,have just provided a very good starting point."
Stall!  Wedge's brain screamed,but his tongue felt like lead.He glanced helplessly at Corran,who was just as petrified as he was.
"W-wait,Admiral,maybe I can do something to make amends..."
"The only amends you can make would be to bring our planet back to the fruitful and wonderful place that it once was.Unless you can do that,give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."
He was asking the impossible.Wedge gulped,and raised his hands in a surrender.He had always known this day would come,but he had hoped against hope that it wouldn't come so soon...He had time for a last glance at Corran before he saw the blue rings of a stun bolt arc out and hit him squarely in the chest.His last thought before he slipped into a stunned blackness was, why stun us? There must be a mistake...I was prepared to die...

    Wedge awoke an unknown amount of time later.He was lying on a cold stone floor in almost total darkness.He blinked his eyes to ease them into the new,dim light. Corran.
He looked around for his comrade,but Corran Horn was nowhere to be seen.Wedge tried to move his legs so he could at least sit up,but they were still numb from the aftereffects of the stun bolt.He wished his mind were in the same state.But he was awake now,and his head swam with questions.What had gone wrong? Why would the New Republic destroy an innocent world?
  They wouldn't,Wedge concluded sourly. But if it wasn't the New Republic,and it wasn't the Empire,than who? Who had allowed such a careless mistake go unnoticed? Why was the ruthless Admiral Norrcay keeping him and Corran alive? He decided that he didn't really want to know.But he didn't need Jedi powers to understand that,now that Chad had some real live government officials in their grasp,their plan for revenge would begin.
    Suddenly,Wedge heard voices outside the thick walls of his holding cell.He strained his ears,and could make out Admiral Norrcay's deep voice.
"We have the New Republic right where we want them.It is finally time for us to exact our revenge."
"What shall I order the team to do first,Admiral?" another voice put in.
"Dispatch a full fleet of Star Destroyers on full for Coruscant. Find the whereabouts of Chief of State Leia Organa Solo,and that festering ambassador Ilkhaine.Then prepare a full report for Grand Admiral Ocott. She will be very pleased."
She? Wedge wondered.He knew that gender barriers had been broken down at the hands of Admiral Daala,but a female Grand Admiral? Also,who was this ambassador he had mentioned? From the sound of it, she wasn't very well liked.
   Something horrible was unfolding,and Wedge's being trembled with unpleasantness at the thought that he was powerless to stop it.

   Luke Skywalker led his wife down a narrow stone hallway to a door that shone with polished wood.
"Our chambers,ma-lady."
   Mara gingerly reached forward and touched the door,as if unsure of what would happen.She felt as if a herd of nightbirds had nested in her stomach,and were trying frantically to get out.She pushed on the polished wood,and stepped inside.
   She gasped in surprise. She had been to the academy many times in the past, and never thought that her quarters were particularily luxurious.But the room Luke had designed for them gave a whole new definition to luxury, without overstepping the boundaries of Jedi regulations.
"Luke," she breathed,"It's beautiful!"
   The floor shone with reflective metal panels,and there were three wide windows on the back wall that flooded the room with afternoon sunlight.Those windows were hung with velvety dark blue curtains that swept all the way down to the chrome floor.All the furnishings - bed, couch, chairs - were upholstered in the same soft blue material.
     Mara ran to the window,and wrapped herself up in one of the curtains,peeking out from behind the thick folds of fabric.She rubbed her cheek against it,and to her surprise and delight,it was wonderfully soft.
   "Is all the fabric this soft?" she exclaimed aloud.She ran to the bed and jumped on it,bouncing like an excited child as she snatched one of the blue pillows and tested that as well."It is!" she sighed.She felt slightly crazy, and a little bit hyper, and she could hear Luke's laughter in her mind, see his delighted face. She crossed her legs beneath her and just sat there on the mattress,hugging the pillow.Luke crossed the room and took a seat next to her."Well,I'm glad you like it.I hoped you would."
   "Like it?" Mara gasped,"I love it! I've never seen such luxury.I'll feel bad for all the students here every time I see them! Surely not all the rooms are this nice?" She had such a tone of childish jealousy in her voice that Luke couldn't help but laugh.
"Of course they're not! But I had to have only the best for my Mara."
She giggled girlishly at his endearing tone,but before she could answer him coyly,something triggered in her mind.A random flashback,of an experience she couldn't possibly have had...

    A young girl,maybe ten or eleven,sits crosslegged on her bed, holding her pillow close to her chest."Mommy!" she giggles in delight at the sound of a knock on her door.
"Mommy?"  Mara sat bolt upright.
The girl goes to her bedroom door and opens it,expecting a warm hug and a goodnight kiss,remembering hugging her mother and smelling the scents of the farm - soil, and wet grass, the smells that made her feel safe and relaxed.
"Farm?"
"Mara,are you alright?" Luke asked,sounding concerned.
But it isn't her mother.It isn't her father,either.In fact,it's like nothing she's ever seen before.Soldiers,dressed in white armour,holding blaster rifles.They rush into the room and grab the small girl by her skinny wrists.
"No!"
  They drag her outside,where she sees her mother and father tied to posts.One by one,the soldiers line up,and take target practice on the adults.They light her house on fire,and the flames engulf everything.
It is hard to breathe this close to the towering inferno."No!" the girl screams again and again.She tries to run,but her legs are paralyzed with fear.
"No,no,no!"
Then a soldier strikes her head from behind,and she falls to the ground.It is hard to determine whether her red hair is natural,or if it is just blood...

    "No,no,no!" Mara sobbed,and pressed her face into the soft blue pillows,"Don't let them take me..."
Her shouts diminished to quiet crying.Frightened,all Luke could do was hold her and send her quiet,calm vibes through the Force.But Mara seemed inconsolable.She trembled uncontrollably in Luke's arms,jerking and twisting this way and that,trying to escape an unseen enemy.
"Mara!" he shouted finally,and shook her shoulders roughly."Mara!"
She gazed up at him with wide,frightened eyes,eyes that appeared to stare through him,as if he wasn't there."You.An Imperial stormtrooper," she yelled suddenly,and tried to slap him.
   "Mara! It's me,Luke!"
The vision ended as abruptly as it had begun.Mara stopped convulsing,and drew away from him.Her green eyes filled with tears and she had to look away.Luke gulped.
   "Wha...what happened?"
"I don't know," she moaned,"I had the most horrible vision..."
"I know," Luke said,"I felt it."
"I don't know what it was.One minute I was laughing,and the next...I felt as if my world had ended,and all I wanted to do was cry until I died..."
"Hold on," Luke said,"Let me try and tap your memory.Maybe I can see the vision too."
   He placed his hands on her temples,and sent questing mental tendrils into the far reaches of her memory.Suddenly,he was jerked back by an extremely painful vision.He could see everything,and he understood.He paled very slightly,and found that Mara was just as stricken.
"Well?" Mara asked,"Who's memory was it?"
   He took a deep breath."It was your own."
Mara still stared at him expectantly,waiting.
Her husband shrugged. "That's the way it went when you were kidnapped by the Empire."

     The Millennium Falcon cruised low over the waters of Mon Calamari,following the navicomputer's directions to Foamwander City,the capital of Mon Cal. Soon, coming very slowly into view, Han could see the silvery,clear towers glinting on the horizon.As they drew nearer,they could see the ship that they were to vacation on.Enormous dark shapes swam in the water around it.
"Krakana," Leia murmured,remembering her own near brush with one of the huge sea monsters.
   Han pulled up on the Falcon's descent,and eased them into a perfectly executed turn over the city.Tourists and otherwise rushed to and fro on the ground below,and the majestic watertight gates let ships in and out of the protected paradise.Han swooped in towards those gates,and they opened,recognizing the ship that had asked for authorization just moments before.Within minutes,Han had set the ship down on a floating outdoor platform inside the city.
  "My congratulations,Han," Leia laughed,"for once,a perfect landing!"
He grinned one of his famous lopsided grins and kissed her quickly.
"We had better get going.Our ship leaves in an hour,and we want to be on the uppermost deck when it leaves!"
She smiled,and took his hand,and they left the cockpit together.
"Jaina,Jacen,Anakin," Leia called into the children's bunk area,"Time to go! Grab your things and meet us outside."
A burst of excited chatter erupted from the bunk area,and soon three tousle-headed kids in wrinkled flight suits appeared.Jaina,the oldest was grinning widely,as was her twin brother,Jacen.Anakin looked sort of grumpy,probably angry at having been woken up from a nap.But Jaina nudged him,and he smiled halfheartedly.
   "That's better," Leia said,"We don't want grumpy faces when we're going on vacation."

      They left the ship together and met Chewbacca outside.He was holding all their bags,and looking rather miffed,so Leia suggested they find a baggage carrier.
The three children ran ahead,gazing in wide-eyed wonder at the huge glass and chrome structures towering above their heads.Even further up,Mon Cal's sun shone brightly,making everything look pearlescent and new.Leia knew that that was partially because everything was new.Mon Calamari had been the center of two of the Empire's attempts at power control.It had been destroyed with every weapon the Empire could throw at it,save for a Death Star (and Leia thanked the Force for that!), but had recovered in each instance.
    Now,the planet had never looked better,and Leia felt filled with such gladness that she wanted to scream out in joy and run,just like her children.But her diplomatic side told her she was being ridiculous. The family wandered through the street markets of Foamwander City,feeling the interconnected platforms rocking gently on the waves.Then,they passed through a towering glass archway,and entered the harbour.
   Leia gasped.She had thought she'd seen everything beautiful that the galaxy had to offer,but this put everything to shame.She tightened her grip on Han's fingers to keep from crying out.
"There she is," he said gently,"The Foamwander Pride.She is the most luxurious pleasure ship in the galaxy,and we are going to be on it in little less than an hour."
"She's beautiful,Han!" Leia exclaimed,"How on earth did you afford us tickets for our whole family? It must have cost us the Imperial Palace!"
"Not quite the Palace," he corrected her,"But close enough.It was well worth it.This ship is going to make history."
"How so?" Leia asked.
"She was built just over a month ago,and she was intended as a peace ship of sorts,to celebrate the treaty with the Empire.See the flags? On the bow,there are the New Republic worlds' flags,and on the stern,the Empire's worlds.That's to symbolize that the Empire was part of the past,while the New Republic looks ahead to the future,always blazing new trails,but that in the end,we are all just parts of a whole.This is to be the ship's maiden voyage."
Leia gazed upward,and the symbolism washed over her like a crystal-clear wave.
      The ship loomed in front of them,gleaming white,with ten decks of non-stop excitement.The colourful flags representing every imaginable world flew from the top masts,snapping and flying proudly in the warm breeze,and lights of every shade were strung from every balcony.It looked like the whole galaxy had come together for a gigantic party!
   This time,Leia couldn't contain her excitement.She grabbed her children's hands and ran with them,all the way up to the boarding ramp,where she suddenly put on the brakes,and smoothed her pantsuit.Han and Chewie chased after them,leaving the baggage boy struggling with their luggage.Leia stopped so abruptly that the children slammed into her,Han slammed into the children,and Chewie slammed into them all,knocking them flat.Leia was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.The ticket collector at the bottom of the boarding ramp,a Mon Cal with the trademark swivelling eyes,looked upon them with quiet disdain.
"Welcome aboard the Foamwander Pride," he rumbled,"May I see your tickets please?"

     Some time later,after they had found their staterooms,and gotten past all the excited exclamations from Leia and the kids,they headed up to the very top deck,and looked out to infinity.All Leia could see from horizon to horizon was clear turquoise water,and the occasional krakana popping out of the sea to breathe.Behind them,Foamwander City was still a bustle of excitement,filled to the brim with hopeful passengers and excitable tourists.Leia noted that the crowd on the ground was thinning out,and she realized just how close to departure time it was.
     As if the ship had read her thoughts,the engines started up with a quiet rumble.The crowds on the deck and on the ground cheered,and all over people were waving and throwing colorful streamers and napkins,and calling "goodbye" in every imaginable language.Han swung Anakin into the air onto his shoulders,and Anakin squealed in delight.The twins looked on with jealousy,but they both knew that they were too old to ride daddy's shoulders anymore.Instead,they reached into the bags of colorful paper that Leia had bought them in the market,and threw handfuls over the railing.Then,Chewie uttered a happy roar and picked up both Jaina and Jacen,and they laughed in surprise.They had forgotten how strong Chewbacca was!
The Foamwander Pride plowed out into the waves with surprising ease,gliding gracefully over the blue,blue waters.Soon,as they got farther and farther away,the crowds on deck began to disperse,off to explore the massive ship.The children got antsy,and decided that they wanted to go swimming in the ship's pool.So Leia sent them off with Chewie to get changed,promising to meet them in the dining room for dinner.Then,when she and Han were finally alone,she rested her head on his shoulder and watched the small glistening dot of Foamwander City getting smaller and smaller,until it was just a gleam on the horizon.Han sighed,and slipped an arm around her waist.
"This is probably the happiest day of my life," Leia murmured.
   Han glanced at her in surprise."And what,pray tell,did the day we got married mean to you?"
"Well,that was one of the happiest days of my life,but...we were still under threat from the Empire.There I was,all dolled up and ready to make a commitment to the man I loved,but I couldn't shake the thought that there were innocent people out there,dying,and fighting for justice.Now,I can be happy,without feeling guilty that other's loved ones are dying."
Han felt touched,for one of the first times in his life. "Leia..." he said, "What would you think about renewing our vows?"
   She was silent for a moment."Doesn't that take a lot of time? And money? And half our family is missing!"
"I don't mean that it has to be a huge event.We can do it now,just between us.We'll really make this the happiest day of your life."
"Do you still remember our vows?" she asked,smirking.
"Of course.A smuggler never forgets a promise," he grinned at his joke.
"Alright,then," Leia said,"Let's do it."
   Han took both of her hands in his,and closed his eyes.The wind ruffled his hair,and he could smell sea salt.
"I take thee Leia to be my wife," he said softly, "and swear to be faithful for eternity."
"No matter what befalls us," Leia continued.
"For nothing can come between our hearts - "
"Or this bond that we have formed."
"I love thee,Leia,"
"As I do you,Han,"
"In my heart and in my mind,"
"Forever," Leia finished,then pressed her lips against his,feeling the ocean spray dampening her hair,and hearing the roar of the waves in her ears.Then she stepped back,and just held him close as the sun sank low on the horizon.

   As promised,Leia and Han met their children in the dining room for supper.However,the kids were already halfway through the main course when they arrived!
   Jaina gave a knowing look to Jacen,and the twins giggled.Anakin demanded to know what was so funny,hating to be left out of any conversation,but eventually busied himself with his meal,a sloppy-looking Mon Calamarian dish that probably tasted better than it looked.A waiter noted the couple's arrival,and hurried over to take their orders.
"I'll have what my son's having," Han said,gesturing to Anakin's plate,deciding not to take any chances on the strange-sounding titles on the menu.
"Excellent,sir," the waiter intoned.Leia was a little more adventurous,choosing to go to the buffet instead.The waiter nodded,and handed her an enormous plate.Leia raised her eyebrows slightly,but forced a smile and told her family that she'd be right back.Chewbacca growled a question to Han,but Han only smiled secretively and wagged a finger at the Wookiee.
Jaina shook her head and mumbled,"why are parents so wierd?"
    Leia returned with her plate loaded with desserts.Han eyed it incredulously."Um,Leia? Aren't you going a little overboard on the sweets?"
Jacen was staring at the mound of sugar with quiet,jealous eyes."How come mom gets to eat that stuff,and we don't?" he whined.
"Relax," Leia told her son."These are for all of you.The waiter told me they're called Jeru Cakes.If you're done with your...whatever it is,you can have one."
"Jeru Cakes?" Han asked,"I've heard of Jeru tea,but never cakes.Are they safe?"
Leia grinned sarcastically at her husband."Well,they didn't try to crawl away when I picked them up,so I'm assuming they must be alright."
   Eagerly,the children pushed their plates aside and reached for one of the small,moist,yellow-brown cakes.Anakin bit right into his,but Jaina just stared at hers,studying it.First,she poked it with her fork,then squinted at it.
Han looked questioningly at Leia.
"Jedi thing?" He wondered aloud.Leia shrugged,but chose to disregard her daughter's strange behaviour."More like a teenage thing," she corrected.Then she took a bite of her own cake.
"Mmmmmm," she sighed,"They're delicious! They're so sweet!"
Han tasted a bit,and grinned."Not as sweet as you,sweetheart," He said to Leia.She rolled her eyes,but reached out and squeezed his hand.
   From the children's end of the table came the sound of mock gagging,followed by fierce snickering.Leia groaned.
"Anakin..." Han warned.
"It wasn't me!" Anakin protested,"Honest! It was Jaina!" He pointed accusingly at his sister,who proceeded to lift her cake off the table using the Force,and orbited it around Anakin's head.
"Planethead," Jaina laughed.
   Anakin acted as if this was the worst insult in the universe,and pouted.When that didn't harness any attention,he lifted his own Jeru cake,and threw it at his sister.Jaina deflected the shot with her abilities,and Han didn't need Jedi powers to know in an instant what was about to befall his wife.
   Leia was completely unsuspecting as she stood to brush the crumbs off her dress until the Jeru cake went flying through the air and landed with a wet smack upon Leia's stomach.Startled,her hands flew to her dress,and smooshed the cake all over the pretty,pearlescent fabric.Jaina giggled furiously,but stopped when Leia all but screamed,"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
   Jaina shrank down into her chair.Her mother looked furious,and she probably was.Jaina could sense her anger,and it scared her.She felt several dark ripples orbiting out from her mother's mind.
"Mommy,the dark side!" Anakin screeched,and hid his face.
   Leia's head jerked up as if she'd been stung.She blinked twice.Her youngest child was cringing in his seat,as were Jaina and Jacen.
"You're right.I'm sorry.I have to watch myself.Luke isn't around to keep me in check," she admitted,and walked around the table to hug her children,"I'm sorry.I do have to go and change,though."
   She smiled weakly,remembering the eerie feeling of power that had accompanied her anger.She could have made her children do anything with the mind-bending effects of the dark side. Bow down, beg for forgiveness...
   She shook the evil thoughts out of her head.They were children,and siblings,no less.She thanked the Force for the third time that day that she and Luke hadn't grown up together.If they had,either Han or Mara might have ended up without a spouse!

    Leia practically sprinted out of the dining room,holding her purse in front of the smeared Jeru cake on her dress.She whirled out of the room,avoiding all the strange stares she got from the other guests and waiters.She felt slightly out of control,her mind still burning from her small brush with the dark side,and her cheeks burning with the realization that she had dessert all over herself.
   She was about to rush down the stairs leading to the family's stateroom,but her heel slipped on the tiled floor. She teetered, flailing wildly,anticipating the painful and embarassing fall to come, but something broke that fall.
Or rather,someone. Someone running in the opposite direction.
   With a shout and a moan of pain,Leia and the unseen person crashed to the floor in a heap.
"Owwwwww," the person groaned.The voice was undoubtedly female,and sounded quite young.
"Oh,goodness," Leia cried,picking herself up immediately, and thinking somewhat angrily that she'd mowed down some hyper teenager playing tag with her friends in the corridors. "I'm so sorry! I guess I wasn't looking where I was going!"
   Leia brushed herself off,feeling slightly ridiculous for worrying about dust with the spreading cake stain still present on her dress.
   The person stood up as well,and Leia finally got a good look at her. A giddy teenager she was not.
   She stood almost a full head taller than Leia, although she looked very young. She had a tanned, flawless face,with a strong chin and an opinionated gaze. Her dark blond hair spilled past her shoulders in rippling waves,and the color seemed all that more vibrant when compared to her plain,flowing blue dress.
   But the things Leia noticed most were her eyes.They were brown,but that was possibly the understatement of the year.Brown at first glance,but upon a closer look,one might see that they were rimmed with green,and streaked with traces of pure gold.They were almost like a window to the girl's mind,and Leia knew without a doubt that she was a Jedi. She carried no lightsaber,but her stance said it all.She stared at Leia with childish defiance, not willing to accept her apology.That is, until Leia's famous face had time to sink in,and she realized who it was.
   "Oh gosh!" she cried. "Chief of State Leia Organa Solo, I beg your forgiveness!"
The girl fell to her knees, surprising Leia greatly.
Leia knelt beside her,and lifted her back up. "Please stand, mistress..."
"Ilkhaine. Lilandra Ilkhaine," the girl said quickly, and thrust out her trembling hand to shake Leia's. Her fingers were long and tapered, and ended in bitten-down stubs of fingernails. Her voice was slightly accented, lilting and musical, but at the same time, deep and strident. Commanding. There was something about her entire manner that tipped Leia off as to her social status.
  "Please,if you would,Mistress Ilkhaine.You don't strike me as the type who would kneel for anyone.I get the feeling that you are a dignitary yourself."
The girl straightened up hurriedly, and though she squared her shoulders and held her head high, she looked ashamed.
   "You see right through me,Mistress Organa Solo.I am an ambassador.Not of the highest ranking in goverment,but a ranking none the less." She shrugged.
"Which world do you serve?" Leia asked.
"I serve the planet Chad III,but not with respect," the girl said, and she seemed embarrassed to be sharing that information with Leia.
Chad? Leia wondered.Isn't that where I just sent Wedge's team? I wonder what I've gotten them into...
   "Why not?" Leia asked.
"Are you joking?" the girl admonished, a spark of sarcasm sharpening her tone,"Chad was once a planet of the highest degree.But when the Empire took over...they destroyed our world.We were made to think that the New Republic caused the destruction, but I knew better.I still know better.I had Jedi powers,and being in the government,I knew the real story - it was all a part of Palpatine's rule-by-fear regime. Why do you sound concerned when you ask me about my home?"
   "Well," Leia said,"Since you are a goverment official,you are probably aware of the peace treaty between the Empire and the New Republic;you may have even been present at the signing ceremony.But many worlds are not aware,and Chad III is one of them. I sent a team to Chad to spread the message.I have not heard back yet,but that is to be expected. By standard time,they only should have reached the planet yesterday."
   Lilandra looked slightly stricken."You should not have done that."
Leia paled noticably."Why not?"
"Chad is an Imperial world,and because of the misleading attack that destroyed a good portion of it, they strongly oppose the New Republic. I fear that your team might have met with a bit of a rough welcome."
"Wedge is a strong man and an excellent pilot,as are the other members of the team.They will win," Leia assured her,but even her own voice sounded weak to her.
"I certainly hope so.I only hope that...that they don't get to your pilots first," said Lilandra ominously.
"Who are "they"?" Leia asked, mildly amused rather than concerned.
"Did I say 'they'?" Lilandra started,looking suddenly afraid. Then she giggled, and Leia caught her first glimpse of the girl's smile. It was as radiant and present as the rest of her, and not at all out of place on her lovely face. "I must be more tired than I think!"
   Leia's curiosity was sparked now,and she reached out to shake Lilandra's hand again."It's good to meet you, Lilandra Ilkhaine." She was struck by the beauty of the name as she heard herself say it for the first time. "Why don't you come and sit with my family and I,and we can talk."
"I would love to," Lilandra replied, returning the firm grip in classic dignitary style."But...hadn't you better change your dress first? It looks like you've had a rough evening!"
"You don't know the half of it!" Leia laughed,and gave Lilandra the table number."See you in a bit."
"Yeah," Lilandra said,her youthful nature kicking in with that outdated,immature expression."In a bit."
   Leia hurried on her way down the stairs,while Lilandra turned and walked regally into the dining room, planning how she was going to introduce herself to Leia's family.
   As the two women departed,a single,lone man leapt out of hiding behind a potted plant,and slid the recorded conversation card into his datapad. "Admiral Ocott will be very pleased..." he snickered as he worked.He sent two copies of Leia's conversation out:One to Admiral Norrcay,and one to Admiral Ocott.
"Very pleased,indeed."

   The Imperial Star Destroyer Sojourner glided easily through space,on it's slow,circular orbit above the planet Chad.It's cloaking shield hid it from view,and even without the shield,the ship would have looked like an easy target anyway.Peace had been declared; who had need for a Star Destroyer now?
   Grand Admiral Kerryna Ocott sneered at the question. In her hands she held a full report of the New Republic's treaty with the Empire, and with those hands, she tore it up,and threw the shredded papers onto the chrome floor.To add insult to injury, she ground it uselessly into the metal with the heel of her spaceboot.
Satisfied, she leaned back in her chair and swivelled around to face the viewport.Not that there was anything to see with the cloaking shield up, but it made her happy just to imagine the world of Chad floating helplessly below her.
   "Captain Avye?" she beckoned,using her harsh Admiral's voice.The captain turned to face her,his shoulders hunched in worry and fear.
"Yes,Grand Admiral Ocott?"
"Have any more reports come in from our Imperial spies?"
"Only one,Ma'am."
"From who?" Grand Admiral Ocott raised her eyebrows slightly.It had been days since any spies had checked in.Knowing the incompetent fools,they had probably gone off and gotten themselves killed.
"Let me check for you,Ma'am." The captain scurried away into the recesses of the massive ship,shoulders still bent.They had probably grown that way.Grand Admiral Ocott smiled to herself.She liked to make assumptions.It was rewarding,because she was usually right.
   It was not entirely a fluke that she had become a Grand Admiral.Back in the glory days of the Empire,when it wasn't run by snivelling wimps, Kerryna had served in the ranks of Admiral Daala, as but a lowly navigational officer on Daala's Knight Hammer, quite a far cry from her former position of power as a child in Palpatine's court. Gender barriers had been erased by Daala, and the Empire had entered a new era,one in which equality reigned and the rebels seemed to be faltering at last.If only those festering Jedi hadn't stepped in.If only Callista had not come aboard the Knight Hammer and caused it's destruction.If only,if only.
    Admiral Ocott had once held Admiral Pellaeon in the highest honour.He was,after all,Daala's right-hand man.But he had proved a wimp,and Daala too. Suddenly,she was tempted to throw a tantrum,like a little child,and get all her "why"s out. Why had everyone become so maddeningly soft?
   Kerryna considered herself one of the only people who still asked herself that,and that was why she had re-promoted herself to the rank of Grand Admiral. It wasn't like Palpatine was alive to object, anyway, she thought with a bitter snort of laughter.She refused to be like those other useless warlords who claimed they could make a difference,but only fought inside their own petty circles.
No,Grand Admiral Ocott could make a difference.She had the power.She had the technology.And as Captain Avye came rushing back with a full report from an Imperial spy named Tierce,she realized that she had Chief of State Leia Organa Solo,too. Right where she wanted her.
   Admiral Ocott skimmed the report,then turned to Avye.
"Put me through to Admiral Norrcay on Chad,please." She remembered to say 'please'.A lady always remembered her manners.
   "Grand Admiral Ocott?" Norrcay rumbled from over the comm channel.
"I'll ask you not to use that impatient tone of voice with me," Ocott said contemptuously. "I am your superior,and don't you ever forget it."
Norrcay's perpetual frown deepened,but he didn't say anything further on the matter.
   "Admiral Norrcay,I have just recieved word that Leia Organa Solo and Ambassador Ilkhaine are on the same planet,Mon Calamari.Not only are they on the same planet,but on the same ship,a pleasure cruiser called the Foamwander Pride.They suspect nothing."
"Excellent," Admiral Norrcay growled."I have some good news as well." He didn't wait for Admiral Ocott to answer.
   "We have captured a New Republican team of pilots trying to make peace.Luckily,they did not have time to broadcast any messages to Coruscant."
"Did you kill them?"
"No,Admiral,I thought you might want to interrogate them."
   "Do they suspect anything?"
"I'm sure they do now."
"Admiral Norrcay,did you let anything slip?"
"No,Grand Admiral.I told them exactly what you told me to.They now think that the New Republic is responsible for the destruction of Chad."
   Grand Admiral Ocott grinned evilly to herself. "I hated to do it,Chad being my home world and all,but I needed grounds for Republican treason. Let the rebels get back to their government on that one.With the New Republic tearing itself apart over this,they'll be completely unsuspecting when we launch our initial attack."
"Terrific,Admiral," Norrcay replied,a hint of admiration in his voice,then he saluted."To the Empire Reborn!"
"The Empire Reborn!" Ocott shouted, and everyone on the Sojourner's bridge straightened up and saluted.The sense of pride and camaraderie in the room was overwhelming. Kerryna offered her crew a dazzling, icy smile.
   "That will be all,Admiral Norrcay.Inform your prisoners that they are free to go,and await further instructions."
Grand Admiral Ocott flicked off the comm before Norrcay could answer.Then she stood up and stretched.Her tall,shapely figure expanded and retracted in a feline manner,and her long,sandy-blond hair rippled when she moved.
   She was proud of her appearance,and she knew that her team enjoyed the view as well.She made sure to smile at each and every one of the men as she left the room.
   Once out of sight and in her chambers,though,she could think and not worry about pleasing them.Once again,she sank into a chair,and examined her fingers. Long and thin,they were not strong hands.But they contained unimaginable power.She was not just any warlord aiming to resurrect the Empire.
   She pointed her fingers at a spot on the metal wall,and laughed.A burst of blue electricity shot out of her hands and hit the wall.The metal glowed red for a moment with heat,then returned to normal as the sparks dispersed.
Not just any warlord at all.She had been specially selected and trained by Emporer Palpatine with his finest educators in tactics, martial arts, and the Force. You see,Grand Admiral Kerryna Ocott had a gift.
Kerryna Ocott was a Sith.

    Later that evening,Mara Skywalker stood on the roof of the great temple,enjoying a colorful sunset.She held a warm mug of Luke's favorite drink,something that Lando had shown him. She thought it was called "hot chocolate", but she couldn't remember for sure.She made a mental note to ask him when he joined her.
   The jungle was still brimming with life,as the day creatures went to bed,and the night creatures came out to begin their hunt.Mara gazed skyward,a breeze ruffling her red-gold hair.She couldn't be sure,but she thought she saw a shuttle streaking in through the atmosphere.A shiver ran through her,despite the still-humid twilight.
   She took another sip of her drink,feeling the hot liquid slide down her throat and warm her from the inside out.
Suddenly,a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.She jumped,and reached for her lightsaber,clipped to her belt.But then she heard Luke's reassuring voice.
"Whoa,take it easy,Mara.It's only me."
She turned to face him."I'm sorry.I guess I'm still a bit shaky from that vision I had this afternoon."
"It's understandable.Speaking of which,have you come to any more conclusions?"
   Mara and Luke had spent the better part of the day trying to come up with some explanation as to why Mara's hidden memories would suddenly surface like that.
"Unfortunately,no.I've been trying to get it out of my mind first." She shuddered inexplicably,feeling cold all over.
   "I think I might be coming down with something.I keep shivering," she told Luke.He took off his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Thanks."
   "Mara,I don't think it's just you that's been feeling cold," Luke spoke up."I was just talking to some of the students,and they've been complaining as well.Especially the ones who are almost full Jedi."
"What could be causing it?"
"I don't know.But I've noticed it too,and I recently started feeling a...dark presence.That's the only way I can describe it.I haven't felt anything like it since Joruus C'baoth."
Mara glance sharply at him,feeling her shoulders tense."Another C'baoth?"
   They stared at each other for a second,communicating with their eyes,but both drawing blanks.
Their silent conversation was interrupted by the arrival of one of Luke's students.
   Her name was Ton-Ara,and she was fairly new to the academy - a native of Tatooine - but very strong in the Force.She came dashing up the stone steps,soft blond hair flying in a cloud behind her.Her young face looked both troubled and excited at the same time.
"Master Skywalker!" She called,"Mistress Skywalker!"
"What is it,Ton-Ara?" Luke asked,catching the girl's arm to slow her momentum.She raised a finger to tell him to wait while she caught her breath,then she spoke.
   "Master Skywalker,a lady awaits you in the dining room.She just arrived now in an unmarked shuttle.She requires to speak to you,and says it's very urgent.Will you come now,or should I tell her to wait till tomorrow?"
Luke nodded slowly."No,I'll come now." He shot a look at Mara,who shrugged. Then,they followed Ton-Ara back down the stairs to the temple.Behind them,Mara's hot chocolate slowly went cold.
   Luke walked quickly down the hallway,feeling unsure of what he was getting into.
A lady? he wondered,and Mara heard his thought.
I didn't think you were in the habit of making many lady friends,she thought back.He scowled mockingly at her,then swallowed nervously.He reached out with the Force to sense the woman's presence.The presence was strange,but familiar somehow.It was as if the person had been unable to touch the Force before,but then someone had turned a lightbulb on inside her mind.
Luke gulped and pushed open the dining room door.Ton-Ara and Mara followed him inside,but hung back a little bit.
   The woman was seated in one of the wooden chairs.Her face was shrouded by a brown Jedi cloak,and her long hands were folded neatly in her lap.
"I'm Master Skywalker," Luke said weakly,stepping forward.A nasty feeling was forming in the pit of his stomach,but he couldn't understand why.Then,the woman reached to touch the hood of her cloak,and she brushed it back.Long,rippling waves of malt-blond hair floated down once they were released from the folds of fabric,and her luminous grey eyes shone in anticipation.
"There's a lot of time in the universe,isn't there,Luke?"
Luke had to reach out a hand to steady himself as a million personal memories flooded his mind.
"Callista?"

    Luke felt like he was being sucked into a terrible whirlpool of memories.Each and every one,every single moment of time that he had spent with Callista seemed to grab at him with invisible claws,tearing at his heart.He reached out to hold on to something,but found only air.He floundered there as her face swam before him,a million questions burning in his mind.His vision swirled suddenly,and he felt an agonizing pang in his stomach before the ground rushed up to meet him and he sank into cool blackness.

   He wasn't sure how much time passed before Mara finally revived him.He sat up and blinked his eyes.He realized that he was in his room,lying under the soft blue covers of his bed.He flexed his fingers,and,satisfied that they still worked,finally eased himself up on the pillows.
"Luke?" Mara asked,her voice sounding worried and strained.
"Yeah,it's me...what happened?" he croaked,running a hand through his sandy blond hair to straighten it.
"You fainted.Probably from shock.I thought I was going to go down too,for a second." She gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
   "Where's Callista?" Luke asked,suddenly remembering.
"She's on the roof, getting some air.I think she was probably as overwhelmed as you," Mara answered.Her voice sounded different somehow.She hovered over him,holding a cold compress in one hand and a glass of water in the other.Luke reached out for the water and drank thirstily.His mind buzzed with thoughts.The dominant one was,Callista? Here?
"But why?" he asked aloud.
"I just told you," Mara said,sounding exasperated."She was feeling a little upset."
"Sorry,I didn't mean 'why' in that sense.I meant,why has she come back now,after all this time?"
"Well,why don't you go and ask her? I'm sure there's a good reason for it.But don't forget - you're married!" She smiled down at him,then pulled him up out of bed.She eyed his wrinkled black outfit,but then decided that he was presentable enough.He hesitated for a moment,but she jumped behind him and gave him a shove."Go on! Get out of here!"
He grinned halfheartedly,"Okay,okay,I'm going."
   Then,twisting his wedding ring around on his finger,he started down the hallway to the stairs.

   Callista was waiting for him on the roof.She stood gazing out over the jungle,taking in the night sounds,and staring in wonder at the greenery that spread like a carpet over the entire moon,dotted only occasionally with a Masassi temple or two.
"Callista?" Luke said softly as he came up onto the roof.
"Luke," she replied quietly,but that was all.
Well, this is awkward, Luke thought, and tried to smile at her.
"Why did you come back?"
   She was silent a minute longer,and Luke forced himself to look at her face.Her eyes held a tortured look,as if the reason were too painful for her to discuss,and he could see her jaw working behind her tightly closed lips.As if drawn by an invisible force,Luke put his arms around her and held her close.He expected to feel some spark of romance between them,a reflection of the love they had shared.But there was nothing.She stood as cold and rigid as a statue in his arms.Luke reached out with the Force,and he could feel her presence.It surprised him,but he knew in an instant why she had come back.He stepped away from her,and looked her straight in the eye.
   "You're a Jedi now,aren't you?" he asked.His voice sounded accusing."You might as well talk,because I don't have all night."
"Don't get rude with me,"she snapped finally,"Yes,I'm a Jedi now,and no,that's not why I've come back."
"Then why? Why bring back all this pain? I know this wasn't easy for you,I can see it in your eyes."
"This is very painful for me,especially considering you're married,but if you don't have all night,perhaps I should wait until morning to tell you," she said.There was no mistaking the emotion in her voice as she crossed her arms in front of her like a defiant child.
   "I'm sorry.I didn't mean for that to sound like an accusation,"said Luke,"I do have time,so we should talk.Mara won't mind."
"Alright," Callista sighed. "I'll begin where we left off.Bring yourself back to Nam Chorios,and allow your mind to become one with mine.That way it will be much easier on both of us..."
Luke closed his eyes and allowed his mind to slip into a strange,dormant state.Callista placed her long fingers on his temples,and began her tale.
   "After you left Nam Chorios,I didn't have time for grieving.There was still so much to be done.I had to help those strange oldtimers clean up their planet.I hated it there.I felt frustrated and alone without you,so I buried myself in my work,so as not to let myself miss you too much.It practically killed me to let you go,but I vowed I would be strong,if only for Umolly and the others' sakes.About a week after you left,I began to train with the old Jedi excercises again.At first,it was only something else to keep myself occupied,but when I actually started to feel something,I realized that I had finally found my powers.My first brush with the Force in more than a decade was when I moved my lightsaber across the canyon to slice through a cluster of crystals.That was when I made my decision to return to my homeworld,Chad III,to continue my studies.
     "When I arrived,I arrived to find different world there from the one I had left all those years ago when Geith and I set out on our soul-seeking adventure.Things were horrible.The crime rate had skyrocketed.The beautiful cities were all but destroyed.The farms were bankrupt. All that remained of my ark was a charred mess of melted I-beams.I was devastated.I was so unsure of what to do, although I hadn't expected at all to return to the simplistic time of fifty years previous, when all that Chad had been was a homely, lonely world. I knew in my heart that such a beautiful place could not remain unspoiled by the cruelty of the new governments, and many times throughout the first few agonizing weeks,I considered just giving up and going back to Nam Chorios,my home away from home.But the thought of that dreadful planet kept me going.I studied for weeks on end,just sitting amidst the wreckage of my planet.
       "Then,finally,after what seemed to me like eons,my former master,Djinn Altis,came to me in a vision.Actually,it was more like a playback message.He had tried to visit me when I was closed to the Force,shortly after you came to Nam Chorios.As I listened to the message I had recieved too late,I realized what he was saying.He told me that you had returned,but that I should be careful.He said that to regain my powers,I would have to make a sacrifice.Although I wasn't consciously aware of it at the time,I think deep down I knew that my sacrifice would have to be you.That is why I left."
     Luke came out of the vision slowly.Callista withdrew her hands.He blinked,contemplating what he had just heard.Although her reasoning had become much clearer,he was still confused.
"That tells me why you left,and now I respect your decision.But...why did you come back?"
"This part is much easier for me to tell you,so I won't beat around the bush.I came to ask for your help."
"Why? What do you need help with? Peace has been declared with the Empire."
   "You are more than slightly naieve,if you take confidence in that fact.You of all people should know that not all threats come from the Empire,"Callista scolded,"The truth is,after a few more years of study and practice,I became stronger.Much stronger.I could feel things,hear minds.And then,about a month ago,I sensed more.Dark ripples,spreading through space,and beaming out at no one in particular.I could sense them so strongly,and I was frightened,because I thought that they might be coming from me,without me knowing it.But a week ago today,I realized they weren't.Luke,listen carefully to what I say: there is a Sith lord out there.I don't know where,and I don't know why,but I feel that they are centered somehow around my home planet, and their purpose is clear:They intend to destroy the government you fought so hard to establish."
   Suddenly,the magnitude of Callista's speech sank into Luke's brain.
"That's why my students have been feeling ill.They claim to sense the dark side,but it has no focus.My wife had a vision,or rather a memory of the Empire,but had no idea why it surfaced..." He trailed off,feeling sickeningly helpless.A Sith lord could only mean trouble for the newly-established government.And with cleanup efforts still taking place,that was the last thing they needed.
   Callista and Luke stared at each other,mouths silent,but minds working furiously.Finally Callista said,"Why don't we discuss this in the morning with the other Jedi students,when we're more focused and unafraid? Things always seem better in the daylight."
Luke nodded slowly."Yes,that's a good idea.You can sleep in one of the guest chambers.I'll have Artoo-Detoo show you to your room.I'll see you in the morning,bright and early." He stood to leave,and brushed off his pants.
"Oh,and Luke?" Callista called softly from behind him.
"Yes,Callista?"
"Now you know."

      General Wedge Antilles had lost all track of time.Locked up all day,every day in his dark,cold cell,he didn't know if it was day or night.His only visitor was a lone stormtrooper that came to deliver his meals and fresh water,and came to take the usually full trays away again.Wedge was in desperate need of a shower and a change of clothes,and he was sick with worry over Corran Horn and the rest of his team.He heard no more snatches of conversation,and that worried him more than anything.Had these Supremacists already destroyed the galaxy? Or were Leia and Han and Luke and Mara and the children safe and sound and leading their everyday lives,consequence-free?
     Then,after all the endless monotony,he heard footsteps.He had come to recognize the sound of the footsteps of the lone stormtrooper guard who brought his food,and these footsteps were much,much different.They were heavy,and belonged to a person with confidence and pride.The small trap door on his cell door slid open,and one big,wrinkled brown eye peered through.Then the trap door slid shut again,and there came the sound of a key in a lock,and the metal door was flung open.Wedge squinted in the bright light that flooded in from outside.He gave his eyes time to focus,before recognizing his rescuer.It was Admiral Norrcay himself!
   "Wha-?" Wedge exclaimed in disbelief.They were letting him go?
"Get up," Norrcay growled. "You're a free man."
Wedge scrambled to his feet,and staggered to the door,feeling more like a drunk man than a free one.Corran Horn was waiting for him in the hallway.The two men didn't speak,but communicated with their eyes.They drew no conclusions as to why they were being set free.Wedge did know one thing,though:the New Republic was going to be getting one hefty note of complaint about this place.
    Norrcay showed them to the metal stairs leading back up to the planetary surface.Wedge,confused and tired,barely made it up them without falling.When he reached the surface,he wasn't surprised to see that the rest of his X-Wing team had gone,leaving only his and Corran's ships sitting undisturbed in the field.Wedge hoped that they'd made it out without too much trouble.He and Corran scrambled into their X-Wings,and lifted off without hesitation.If this was a trap,they weren't going to give the supremacists enough time to spring it.
   As they whipped through the atmosphere,the strange,disabled planet faded away behind them,leaving only the questions and memories of a civilization in danger burning in Wedge's mind.As soon as they cleared the gravitic field,he opened a comm channel to Coruscant.
   "Hello?" a voice came from the other end.A comm window popped up,revealing the staunch,grumpy-looking face of President Gavrisom.Or rather,Councillor Gavrisom,now that Leia had resumed her duties as Chief of State.
"Councillor Gavrisom,this is General Wedge Antilles.I have a bit of strange news to tell you."
   Wedge told Gavrisom the entire story,and finished by telling him,"...so I need to talk to Chief of State Leia Organa Solo immediately."
"Why,Wedge,she's on vacation with her family...didn't she tell you?"
Wedge winced.He'd forgotten.Leia was enjoying herself on Mon Calamari with Han and the children.
"Sorry about that,Gavrisom.Is there any way I can get in touch with her? I think we may have a situation on our hands."
"I'll ask Chief Slicer Ghent if he can somehow open a channel to Leia's ship."
"Thanks Gavrisom.Wedge out."
   Satisfied,Wedge closed off the comm unit,and pulled back on the hyperspace lever.As the starlines flared,Wedge smiled.He was going home at last...but for how long?

   Meanwhile,back in orbit around Chad,the Imperial Star Destroyer Sojourner was coming to life for the first time in ten years.Grand Admiral Ocott paced the bridge,waiting for a communication from her planetary counterpart,Admiral Norrcay.
   "Why doesn't he hurry up?" she yelled to no one in particular.She didn't expect an answer;her crew had gotten used to her tantrums by now.However,despite her temper,she prided herself in knowing that she wasn't as volatile as Darth Vader had been.
"Grand Admiral Ocott,we have just recieved a signal from Admiral Norrcay.He wishes to speak to you," one of the comm officers spoke up.
"Does he,now?"
Grand Admiral Ocott sauntered over to the comm station,and sat prettily down in the chair.
"Admiral Norrcay?" she said,putting a tone of authority in her voice.
"Grand Admiral Ocott,you will be pleased to know that they fell for it."
"Who?"
"The rebel pilots,of course!" Admiral Norrcay had such a tone of childish impatience in his voice that it annoyed Ocott immensely.
   "I think,Admiral Norrcay,considering that the New Republic is now an established government,it hardly seems fair to call them 'rebels'." She said this just to spite him.His ruddy red face deepened in color just a smidgen.
"But,they did fall for it,nevertheless,and they are at this moment rushing off to Coruscant to inform the New Republic of it's own fatal mistake.The belief that their own ships destroyed Chad is rooted firmly in their heads,and for now,we have the upper hand."
"Excellent,Admiral.You will be rewarded for your work," Grand Admiral Ocott said.Norrcay beamed proudly over the comm window.
"Thank you,ma'am," he said.
   Ocott flipped off the comm switch,and Norrcay's shining red face disappeared.Now,the Admiral turned to her faithful crew.
"Are our plans in place?"
"Yes Admiral," a young officer said brightly,"At this very moment,our Imperial spy on Mon Calamari will be completing his...espionage.With the Ambassador unable to divulge her knowledge to anyone,and Chief of State Leia Organa Solo unable to communicate with Coruscant,we can begin our attack."
"Wonderful," Grand Admiral Ocott said,feeling inexplicably happy all of a sudden.She patted the officer on the head with one black-gloved hand as if he were a child who had completed his homework,then turned and departed from the bridge.

   It was evening on the day after Leia had first met Lilandra Ilkhaine.They had spent the entire day together at the Foamwander Pride's first port of call,Reef Home City,sharing Jedi tricks and secrets,and Leia found herself drawn to the girl's sense of humor and her carefree ways.Jaina had taken a shine to her as well,and as the family sat down to eat dinner,Jaina couldn't stop talking about the all the wonderful things Lilandra had told her.
   "She's a real teenager,you know!" Jaina exclaimed with her mouth full of greens.
"So are you,dear," Leia reminded her.
   Leia had been greatly surprised when Lilandra had informed her that she was only twenty-one.That was such a difficult age to be.Jaina had called her a "teenager", but Lilandra was really caught between the border of adolescence and adulthood,struggling to find her place.It reminded her of herself,in a way,Leia reflected sadly.It didn't seem fair that the girl had been so pulled into politics at such a young age.
   But Leia realized that she hadn't been much different at twenty-one.At twenty-one,she had been part of the rebel alliance,flying a beat-up blockade runner to all parts of the galaxy on supposed "diplomatic missions". Lilandra was an ambassador,and had probably been so for most of her teenage life.
It was hard having to grow up so fast.
Jaina interrupted Leia's musings.
"Is Lilandra going to eat with us tonight?" she asked hopefully.
"I think so,yes," Leia replied,as she looked towards the dining room doors and saw Lilandra waving frantically.Jaina practically jumped on the girl as she approached the table,wrapping her arms around Lil's waist and hugging her tightly.
   "Jaina!" Han cried,"Sit down,and mind your manners."
Jacen and Anakin were rolling their eyes every few seconds,and muttering,"Girls..." to themselves.
Jaina caught hold of herself,and sat back down,politely re-folding her napkin in her lap.Leia nodded in approval,then turned to Lilandra.
"Hello,Lilandra," she said,extending her hand. "We haven't seen you in a few hours!"
"I missed you all," Lil answered,smiling sweetly at Jaina.The child gazed up at Lilandra in admiration,her medium-brown hair falling across her eyes,conjuring up images in Leia's head of the way she had looked at that age.It was remarkable.The twins looked more like her than Han,but had Han's fierce personalities.Anakin,on the other hand,didn't look like anyone in particular,but rather a combination of Leia's chestnut hair,Luke's clear blue eyes,and again,Han's personality.
   Once again,her thoughts were distracted by her daughter.
"Mom,are you okay?" Jaina was staring at her mother skeptically. "You've got that far-and-away look again."
"I was just thinking about something," Leia said distractedly.She was in a distinctly nostalgic mood.
The waiter arrived out of nowhere. He was a young human,with sandy blond hair and brown eyes,and a big,innocent grin.
"Would you like some water,miss?" he asked Lilandra, giving her the once-over.
   "Yes please," Lil answered like a perfect dignitary.The young man bent over and began to carefully pour the water into her glass.
As she found herself watching him, Leia felt cold.She shuddered violently,and stared straight at the waiter.He turned to look at her for a fraction of a second,and Leia thought she saw a malicious gleam in his eyes.He smiled,but it was all an act.Leia sensed his evil thoughts,and they were all concentrated at the water.It bubbled and sloshed in Lil's glass,until it settled down.
   The waiter straightened up,stiff and proper,as Lil thanked him,and he turned to leave.But he glared at Leia again before he left,and that gave her enough time to reach into his mind and search it.To her dismay,she found nothing out of the ordinary-no traces of malice,no evil thoughts.
"It must have been my imagination,"she muttered.
   Meanwhile,Lil picked up the delicate glass,and took a long sip.

     The evening dragged on and on.It seemed to Lilandra like time was moving in slow motion.She kept drinking her water to try and keep herself awake,but her eyes just wanted to close.Leia excused herself early,as did Anakin,but Lilandra figured she might as well make an effort to stay until the end of the meal.Around dessert time,she began to feel the traces of a headache,and by the end of the snack,it was full blown.Her temples throbbed painfully,and her neck felt stiff and sore.She noticed Han looking at her frequently,a worried expression on his face.
"Are you all right,Lilandra?" he asked finally. "You look a little pale."
"I'm actually not feeling very well," Lil admitted,and she realized that her stomach had just started to ache.
"It's probably seasickness," Han said. "Maybe you should take a walk on deck to try and clear your head."
   Lilandra decided that that sounded wonderful,and excused herself.Jaina wanted to go with her, but Han said,"I thought you wanted to go to the show in the lounge?" and Lilandra was all but forgotten.

      Lil pushed her way out of the dining room,feeling dizzy.She went through the doors onto the promenade deck,shoes clicking sharply on the wooden floor.It was very windy outside,and the ocean was a boil of whitecaps and waves.The boat rolled to the side,and a gust of wind moaned down the passage.No one else was around.Lil felt like she was the only person left on the ship.She strolled along,taking deep breaths of salt air,trying desperately to ease her headache and the growing pain in her stomach.
What's wrong with me? she wondered. I never get motion sick.It must have been something I ate.
   She walked and walked,until she reached the bow of the massive ship.A blast of hot wind hit her as she left the shelter of the promenade deck,shoving her back.
Turn away,the wind seemed to moan.Turn away.
"Not on your life," Lilandra whispered weakly.Her stomach rolled violently,and she was forced onto her knees.She gasped in pain,and crawled to the railing.
  Please don't be sick,she pleaded silently with herself.But her stomach wasn't having it.She pulled herself up and was sick over the railing.The wind was deafeningly loud in her ears.She whimpered softly.Something's not right.I feel like something's inside me,trying to claw its way out...
The wind roared,pushing her back.
"Okay,okay," she sobbed.She turned and ran,the wind tearing at her hair and dress.Her head pounded like a drum,and her stomach heaved again.Tears streamed down her cheeks,and she felt panicky."Don't panic!" she cried to herself, the politician's mantra. "Don't panic!"
  But it was hard not to panic when her breath came in ragged gasps,and white spots began to form in front of her eyes.Then,she tripped,and fell on her stomach.The wind was forced out of her,and she lay there sobbing,unable to get up again.The pain in her head was driving her nearly insane,as was her stomach.Another wave of cramps washed over her,and she dragged herself along by her fingers,clawing the wood uselessly.
   She reached the doors,and pulled them open,crawling along the tiles to the stairs.There,she stopped to rest atop the ornately carved steps,running through the Jedi calming activities that Leia had been reviewing with her that day.The pain was impossibly strong.
   "Leia.." she groaned,and started inching down the stairs on her bottom.
"Leia,Leia,Leia." She tried to clear her head enough to get the message through to her friend.At the bottom of the stairs,her vision blurred,and she became disoriented. The walls of the corridor seemed miles high, bent over at the top, glaring down at the poor woman cowering against the floor, and a low, thrumming growl sounded in her ears.
    Barely breathing,her body wracked with suffering,she crept along inch by inch,doggedly plodding towards Leia's room. Her world dipped and swayed,and her stomach heaved, and Leia's door was just inches away.
   Lilandra pulled herself up onto her knees with her last ounce of strength,and slammed her paralyzed body against Leia's door with all the force she could muster.Then, she slumped down on the threshold,and waited for help to come.

   In space,the Imperial Star Destroyer Sojourner crawled along in its orbit around Chad,protected by its cloaking shield.
   Grand Admiral Ocott stood on the bridge,gazing out at the black viewport.She barely looked at the report in her hands.She knew instantly what it said.
"So it's done,then," she said softly.The bridge was disturbingly quiet, save for the barely audible hum of the repulsors.
"It's done,Admiral," Captain Avye replied,his voice just above a whisper.Kerryna Ocott's head and stomach ached dully.
   "I hated to do it to my own sister..." she said, her expression blank and withdrawn, "But it's done."
She turned to Avye, the tight line of her mouth trembling just slightly, as if with. . . tears?
"Launch the intitial attack when ready,Captain."

     Mara Jade Skywalker awoke in the middle of the night from a horrible nightmare.She bolted upright,eyes wide open,but not seeing anything.Her breathing was shallow,and her face and hands were drenched in a cold sweat.She had been dreaming about the Empire again.
   She ran through her Jedi calming techniques,and gradually her breathing slowed,and her heartbeat returned to normal.She lay back down and looked at Luke.
   He was sound asleep,dreaming peacefully,not haunted by strange,disjointed visions,or terrible childhood memories.Mara didn't like that.
"Luke," she whispered quietly.Nothing.Her husband was out cold.
"Luke." Still nothing.She grumbled,"By the Force,why did I have to marry a heavy sleeper...LUKE!"
His eyes snapped open,then closed again.He moaned and tried to pull a pillow over his head.
"Oh no you don't...we need to talk.And we need to talk now."
"Mara,what is it? And why couldn't it wait until morning?"
"Luke,I had another one of those wierd dreams.Besides,you looked too happy in your sleep.If I can't sleep,why should you?"
He grinned halfheartedly at her joke."Alright.Obviously this has been bugging you,so lets sort it out now so we can sleep."
   He drew himself out of bed slowly,stretching the sleepiness out of his bones.He wrapped a robe around himself,and padded across the cold metal floor to the light switch.Warm yellow light filled the room,and Mara blinked to adjust.Then she seated herself on the couch,and Luke sank down next to her.
"Okay.You start," he said,"Was it the childhood dream?"
"No,"she admitted,"If it had been,I probably wouldn't have woken you up.No,this was a different one."
He waved his hands to move her speech along.
   "This one was more like a vision than a memory.Someone, a jedi, was in great pain. A complaint of the stomach and head,I think."
"Was it one of my students?" Luke asked worriedly.If Ton-Ara or someone were to get hurt...
"No,it wasn't anyone I recognized.In the dream,she was a friend of Leia's...Yes,Leia was there too.This woman,she was deathly sick.And she kept calling Leia's name.It was horrible.I could almost feel her pain.That wasn't what scared me,though.What scared me was,at the end of the dream,right before I woke up,I saw a dark lady.She was all dressed in black,with long hands.Those hands...her nails were like claws."
   Mara shuddered."I couldn't see her face,but she was laughing.Laughing in my mind,and saying that it was finally time.Then she tried to electrocute me."
Luke stared straight ahead,not moving."We need to talk to Leia.And we need to talk to her now.I have a bad feeling about this."
"Don't say that,Luke,you're scaring me." Mara reached out to clutch his hand."Just tell me it was all a dream and that nothing's wrong."
   "That's the problem,Mara.Something is wrong.And Leia knows what it is.So does Callista.That's why she came back,to warn me.She has reason to believe that there's a Sith lord out there."
The silence in the room was deafening.Then,Luke stood up."To the comm room."
   Hand in hand,they headed down the dark hallways of the sleeping temple to the communications room.Mara's heart pounded so hard she was afraid Luke could hear it,but one look at his face told her he was just as scared.Luke pushed open the door,not quite knowing what to expect.Mara's dark lady could be anywhere.
   However,she wasn't in the comm room,so Luke let out a relieved sigh.He squeezed Mara's hand and led her into the shadowy room.He flicked the light switch,and light poured into the dark corners.The metal pieces of comm equipment gleamed invitingly.
 "How do we find Leia?" Mara asked.
"It shouldn't be too hard.She's on the Foamwander Pride.She at least thought to give me the name of the ship so she could be reached in case of an emergency."
Luke bent over the chrome switchboard,and patched through to Mon Calamari information.
"How may I help you?" a beige colored female Mon Cal asked.Luke was surprised to see the squid looking so cheerful,but then he realized that it was only early evening on the ocean world.
"I need to speak to a passenger aboard a cruise ship,the Foamwander Pride."
"Just give me the person's name and room number and I'll open a channel for you."
The room number? Luke wondered.Leia never told me that.I'll just have to guess.He had a hunch that it might be 114.He just pulled the number out of the air,but he was almost certain that he was right.
"Leia Organa Solo,room 114."
"Just a moment,please."
   The Mon Cal turned away and busied herself at another switchboard.Strangely, as she worked,her shoulders abruptly hunched in worry.She typed in something else,then emitted a barely audible squeak of surprise.She turned back to Luke,looking stricken.
   "I'm sorry,sir,but all transmissions to the ship have been cut off.It could be a safety drill,so there's no need to worry.Just try again in about an hour."
The tranmission flickered and faded out before Luke had a chance to thank the squid.
   Mara's hand was clenched so tightly around his that her knuckles were turning white.
"Something's not right here," Mara whispered,her voice strained.She sounded on the verge of tears.
"You're telling me.My sister and her family are on that ship!" Luke exclaimed.He drew in a shaky breath.
"I don't like this Luke.I don't like it one bit," Mara moaned. "We have to go to Mon Calamari."
   "Why can't it wait till morning?"
Luke didn't sound as if he wanted to wait till morning, so Mara said,"No,we have to go now.Something is really,really wrong here,and your family is on that ship.They're in danger, Luke!"
Different expressions fought for control of Luke's face,but then common sense won over,and he dashed from the room.
   "Where are you going?" Mara called after him.
"To prep the shuttle! We're going to Mon Cal!" He yelled back.
   Mara began to chase after him,calling his name,but only made it halfway to the hangar bay before she almost ran over Callista.The two women shrieked in surprise,and Mara toppled backwards onto her bottom.
"What in the name of the Force is going on here?" Callista exclaimed angrily,"First Luke comes running by here screaming like a festering banshee,and now you?"
"Don't you yell at me,Callista, it's Luke! His family's in danger; or don't you have a care?" Mara retorted sarcastically.
"This is ridiculous.Let me come with you,wherever it is you're going," Callista said.
"To Mon Calamari.Take it up with Luke,I have to pack!"
   And with that,Mara turned and rushed down another corridor,where she slammed straight into Ton-Ara,sending the child sprawling back into the wall.
"Gaah!" Mara cried,and leapt back in shock."Ton-Ara! Are you alright?"
"Is the temple under attack or something?" Ton-Ara asked worriedly."Why is everyone screaming?"
"Master Luke and I have to leave,Ton-Ara.It's very important," Mara said hurriedly,placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Can't I come with you?" Ton-Ara asked.
"You're only fourteen.Much too young," Mara answered.
"I'm a Jedi,though,I can handle anything!" the child complained.
"Please don't start.Just go back to bed,and everything will be fine."
   Ton-Ara gazed at her with big,tearful blue eyes.Mara wanted to scream.
"Don't cry.You can still be big and important here at the academy.I need you to teach the others while we're gone.Do you think you can do that?"
Ton-Ara nodded eagerly,wiping her eyes.
"Good,now go back to sleep,and think about all the great things you can teach the others.Master Luke will be very proud."
"I won't fail you,Mistress Skywalker!" Ton-Ara pronounced brightly.
"Great," Mara muttered,then hugged the girl swiftly,and hurried on to her room.Halfway there,she heard the whine of repulsorlifts,and thought,Nahhh,and dashed back towards the hangar bay.

      Luke and Callista were already strapped into their seats in the sleek New Republic shuttle when Mara arrived.She ran up the ramp and vaulted herself over the back of the copilot's chair into the seat.Luke sealed the hatch,and the shuttle streaked towards the atmosphere.As they left,the first rays of morning sunlight were already illuminating the trees.
"Hurry Luke.We may not have much time."

     Leia was halfway to falling asleep when she heard a dull thud outside her door.She sat up in her bunk,where she had been reading,and swung her legs down onto the ladder.
"What was that,Mom?" Anakin asked sleepily.
"I don't know,sweetheart.I'll go and see.Go back to sleep," Leia whispered,and padded across the carpet.She had a horrible feeling about what she might find.
   She unlocked the door with trembling hands,and pulled it open. She jumped back as the limp,unconscious body of Lilandra Ilkhaine fell across the threshold.Leia screamed.
"Lil!" she yelled.Anakin came running,clad in only his underwear.Leia's hand flew to her mouth.Lilandra looked near death.Her skin was a pallid grey color,and her lips were turning blue from lack of air.
"Anakin! Help me turn her onto her back! Oh,dear life,what happened?"
   Anakin bent down and helped his mother drag the girl over to one of the bunks.Jaina's bunk.It was the closest to the door,so Leia saw it as an opportunity.Anakin shoved all of Jaina's book chips and clothes off the bed and set Lilandra's legs down.Lil was barely alive,her arms and legs twitching just slightly as if she were having a seizure.
   "What's wrong with her?" Anakin asked worriedly.Leia was gasping for air from the shock of finding her friend half-dead on her doorstep.She began to hyperventilate,so Anakin bent her over and rubbed her back in slow circles.
"Anakin," Leia cried weakly,"Go find your father.Then go get the nurse...Now!"
   Anakin stood in the middle of the room,trembling like a leaf.Then,he turned and ran,grabbing a shirt from the closet on his way out.Leia,still crying,sat next to Lil on Jaina's bunk,and set her hand on the girl's forehead.Her temperature had dropped far below normal.
"Oh gracious," Leia prayed to no one in particular."Don't let her die!"

     Han,Jaina and Jacen were in the lounge,relaxing in luxurious overstuffed chairs and enjoying live entertainment,when Anakin burst into the room,wearing only a shirt and undershorts,and panting frantically.He was flustered and frightened as he grabbed Han's arm.
"Anakin!" Han cried softly,"What is it?"
Anakin could barely get the words out,and all Han heard was,"Lilandra....sick...in room....might be dying...come quick!"
"Lilandra? Sick?" Jaina looked stricken. She was on her feet in a flash, and she tore out of the room at full tilt,with Jacen hot on her heels.Anakin followed suite,but Han veered off to the right and dashed down the stairs to the infirmary.Seconds later,he was tearing down the corridor to his family's stateroom,clutching the arm of a harried nurse.
   The scene in the room was one of organized chaos.Leia and Jaina were kneeling beside the bed,Leia trying desperately to resuscitate Lilandra,while Jaina held Lil's hand,her eyes half closed.Chewbacca had come out of his own special room and was roaring above all the other noise.
"What the-" the nurse cried.She rushed to the bunk as Leia scrambled out of the way.The nurse tried to shove Jaina aside,but Jaina didn't budge.
   "Little girl,please move!" The nurse tried to remain calm,but Jaina refused to move from her friend's side.When asking nicely didn't work,the nurse grabbed Jaina's arm and dragged her away.
"Don't touch me!" Jaina shrieked."She's getting better! I can make her better!" Jaina slapped the nurse with all her might,then snatched Lilandra's hand back and held it tight, pressed against her own forehead.
   Eyes half closed again,Jaina sat motionless on the floor,murmuring to herself. Silenced,the nurse looked on in dismay.
"What makes the child think she can heal this woman?" the nurse asked.
"Yeah,"Han whispered to Leia,"What is she doing?"
"She's putting Lilandra into a Jedi healing trance.It works almost better than bacta treatment in most cases,if the trance is strong," Leia whispered back excitedly.
   The five people and one Wookiee in the room looked on in fascinated anticipation as color slowly returned to Lilandra's cheeks and lips,and her chest rose and fell with normal,relaxed breathing.Jaina hummed to herself,and swayed slightly.Tentatively,Leia reached out a hand and brushed Lilandra's forehead. Her temperature had returned to normal.
   The nurse stepped foreward,avoiding Jaina,and felt Lilandra's heartbeat.
"She's sound asleep," the nurse announced in amazement.The tension in the room seemed to evaporate,as the air was filled with the sounds of relieved sighs and laughs.
"When she wakes up tomorrow,"said the nurse, "bring her to the infirmary so we can find out what was wrong with her."
"I already know," Jaina said quietly, staring dubiously around her with those soulful brown eyes of hers.
"How could you possibly know,sweetheart?" Leia asked,kneeling at her daughter's side.
"Her mind told me," Jaina said as if it were plain as night or day. "She was poisoned."
Han shook his head in disbelief as the nurse left."I will never even begin to understand this Jedi stuff."
   Leia laughed tightly,and hugged her daughter and her husband.But deep inside,she was seething.Who would do this? Lilandra was so young and innocent...why would someone want to kill her? Leia hoped that it had just been an honest case of food poisoning,but the face of the waiter who had brought the water kept flashing through her mind. The fastest way to kill someone, she remembered Winter telling her once, is to contaminate their drinking water. Better even than a blaster or lightsaber, because the evidence is untraceable.
Leia frowned. Yes,indeed,it was time to do a little reconnaissance work.

    The next morning,Lilandra was awake bright and early,perfectly normal and ready to resume activities where she had left off.Jaina,on the other hand, slept late into the morning,exhausted from using her fledgling Jedi powers the way she had.
   Lilandra met Leia on the pool deck for breakfast,looking happy and healthy in the bright morning sunshine.She was wearing a pair of cutoff olive-grey shorts that showed off her long,muscular legs,and a sleeveless blue shirt.She waved to Leia,her hair shimmering reddish-blond in the light.
"Good morning!" she called,and pulled out a chair for Leia.
"Good morning,Lilandra,how are you feeling?" Leia asked,sitting down with her breakfast tray.
"Much better,thanks to your brilliant daughter," she said. Leia smiled at the compliment Lil had just payed Jaina.She saw Lilandra shudder with the memory of the night before.
"My stomach feels really strange and empty,though,like all my innards have been removed," she frowned thoughtfully,and sipped a glass of melon juice.
"The nurse said it would probably take a few days for your insides to return to normal after such a huge invasion," Leia assured her."It's nothing serious.Just be glad you're not in total pain anymore."
"What caused my illness?" Lil asked worriedly.
"Jaina said that your mind told her you were poisoned.Now,I'm not a full Jedi,so I don't really understand what she meant.Do you?"
   "Well,I'm not a full Jedi either.I don't even have my own lightsaber.But I know a few things,and I think your daughter somehow read my mind - the common sense part,that is!" Lilandra laughed,but then she began to cough.She screwed up her face and held her stomach.
"Ouch!" She giggled. "I guess I should try not to choke on my breakfast,shouldn't I! I might not live very long if I do otherwise!"
   Leia laughed,starting to lighten up.A good night's sleep had put everything in perspective again,and she had decided that Lil's poisoning had been purely coincidental.Thus, she was totally unprepared for what Lilandra said next.
   "Why do they want to kill me,Leia?"
Leia sputtered in surprise,spraying her juice all over the pool deck.She snatched a napkin and wiped her mouth quickly,embarassed."Excuse me?"
"Why do they want to kill me?" Lil asked again.
"Who?" Leia asked.
"The Empire."
   This time,Leia managed to hold on to her juice."Lilandra,the Empire has reconciled with the New Republic.We agreed that the Empire could keep the worlds they still held on to,if they would stop terrorizing the New Republic." Lilandra hunched her shoulders,looking uncomfortable.
"Lilandra,there's something you're not telling me,and I need to know what it is.Are there Empire Supremacists about?"
   Lil gulped,trembling,realizing her mistake.
"Lilandra...if you don't tell me you'll be putting a lot of lives - not to mention this friendship - in danger."
"Alright,alright," Lilandra folded. "I'll tell you."
   Leia leaned forward,downing the rest of her drink to prepare for a few surprises.Lilandra kept one hand steady on the edge of the table,and began.
   "There are certain others - and I'm not naming any names - but certain others who are trying to ressurrect the Empire. Leia, when I graduated from the rebuilt Imperial Academy on New Caridia, I went straight into service in the Empire. But only recently have I started attending the New Republican rallies, listening to you and your brother speak. . . and I realized just how wrong the Empire's way of doing things is. Terrorizing, occupying worlds that have no method of fighting back. It's just unheard of in today's society. So I started lobbying for the government of Chad III to switch to the democratic method embodied by the Republics of old." Lilandra looked down at her hands, which she had folded into little fists in her lap. "And you know what? I'm proud to say I won a lot of support in the government, more so after the signing of the peace treaty."
Leia glanced up. "I was not aware that Chad III had recognized the treaty," she said, greatly surprised. "That's why I dispatched my team of pilots there. . . to bring copies of the official document to the Parliament, and to alert the general public of the ending of the Imperial regime."
   Lilandra stared at her. "Oh, we knew. I was at the signing."
Leia began to feel very ill all of a sudden.
Lilandra continued. "I went to the signing to bring proof of the dying Empire. And I was winning my fight! Until. . ."
She lowered her eyes, and her voice. "Until I started getting death threats. Horrible threats, gruesome scenarios. I was so afraid, Leia. I. . . changed my name, and I went to Coruscant, just perhaps to regain the courage I needed to go back and face up to whoever was my opposition. Because that's the funny thing: no one I knew in the Parliament opposed my proposition. In fact, all my superiors supported it, and began to rally for it themselves."
Leia felt cold. "So who was sending the threats?"
Lilandra leaned forward, anxiety in her big eyes. "My. . . my sister, Leia. My sister. Kerryna. Kerryna Ocott." She glanced back down at her knees. "Sixteen years my senior. I've never met her. She was kidnapped long before I was born." Abruptly, she started to cry."I'm scared Leia...I'm too young to die."
   Leia suddenly had a mad flashback of her holding cell on the first death star.She had allowed herself a small measure of time to bawl and be unreasonable,so that she might appear strong-willed and unruffled in front of Lord Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin.She recalled sobbing those same words: "I'm too young to die."
But so were the millions of babies and small children on Alderaan,and did they have time to utter those selfish words?
   "No!" Leia said out loud,and grabbed Lilandra's hand. "You have to be strong,and never let them, never let her see you cry.If you do,then they will have already won,and millions more will lose their lives."
"You're right," Lilandra said,wiping her eyes with her wrist."I do have to be strong.But it's still alright to be scared,isn't it?"
"Perfectly alright."
 Leia didn't see any point in telling the girl not to be afraid.If she did,she would be being a hypocrite,because at the moment,Leia felt more scared than she thought possible.

    The Imperial Star Destroyer Sojourner shot through hyperspace at fast-as-light speeds.The cloaking shield was still up,so the mottled blue sky was blocked from view.Grand Admiral Ocott was in her chambers,standing in front of her full length mirror.
   Her appearance hadn't changed much in ten years.Her hair was definitely longer,but other than that,her figure had stayed neat and trim,her eyes were still hazel,and she still had long hands.At the moment,she was brushing her hair.It had been cut short to her ears before,but now it was past her shoulders.She parted it neatly down the middle,and braided it perfectly down the back of her head.Then she wound the braid into a bun at the nape of her neck.There.Not a hair out of place.Just the way she liked it.She decided that she had to look extra-neat today.It was going to be a messy sort of day.
    She smoothed her already perfect,unwrinkled black jumpsuit,and admired her nails.Her fingers crackled with elecricity as she aimed them at the metal wall and took a practice shot.Again,the wall glowed red,until it cooled and returned to it's normal texture.
   Satisfied,Kerryna Ocott turned and strode out of the room,and down the corridor to the bridge.
"Captain Avye," she started,and the funny little man bolted upright in his seat.He'd been sleeping,and that displeased Admiral Ocott,but she decided to let it slip,seeing as she was in such a good mood.
"Yes,ma'am?" Captain Avye asked, and suppressed a yawn.
"Did the rest of the fleet manage the jump to hyperspace?"
"Yes,Admiral.All one hundred and thirty-two Star Destroyers have checked in."
"Excellent," Grand Admiral Ocott purred.Everything was going perfectly to plan.Lilandra Ilkhaine was probably dead,all the transmissions to the Foamwander Pride had been cut off...and her fleet of the best and brightest was finally going into action.
"About how long till we reach Mon Calamari?"
"About 10 hours,Admiral," the navigator called.Kerryna Ocott rubbed her hands together and small bursts of blue electricity bloomed out of her fingertips.At last,it was time to show the New Republic that the Empire wasn't made up totally of sissies.
    Nine hours and fifty-nine minutes later,Captain Avye pulled back on the hyperspace lever.The blackness remained,but Grand Admiral Ocott imagined the blue ocean world floating helplessly below.One by one,her Star Destroyers checked in as they emerged from hyperspace.She smiled constantly,and that made some of the officers happy,but it made others nervous.Grand Admiral Ocott had a habit of smiling when she was upset.
   Not today.Today was a happy day.She drew in a deep breath and put her voice into it's most authoritative tone.
   "Captain,you may lift the cloaking shield when ready.Officer Bradlee,start charging up the turbolasers. Commander Vries,fire up the sublight engines. Officer Ngun,dispatch the previous orders to the other ships, and Officer Harrier,get me a drink."
   Kerryna sank down into her chair,and enjoyed the flurry of motion that ensued when she raised her voice that way.Almost immediately,a tall glass of her favorite drink was deposited into her hand,and the blackness began to fade into the bright blue sphere of Mon Calamari,dead ahead.The end to all the monotony seemed to lift everyone's spirits.Grand Admiral Ocott could see her elite fleet hovering behind her,ready to jump at her command.Power felt incredibly uplifting.
   "Start heading towards the planetary surface at full sublight speeds.Lock onto the coordinates for the Foamwander Pride,and don't forget to have fun." She couldn't help but laugh.Without communications,the New Republic wouldn't even see them coming.

       It was evening again.On this ship,days seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.Tonight,though,Lilandra Ilkhaine had made it through dinner and a full evening of dancing and entertainment without any mishaps.Jaina stuck by her side like a bodyguard,looking this way and that,and refusing to talk to any waiters,or drink any water.Lilandra had had so much fun with the Solo family that it was disappointing to return to her small little cabin and get ready for bed.
    Her revealing breakfast conversation with Leia had all but been forgotten...until now.Lying in bed,with nothing to distract her,Lilandra's irrational side began kicking in.Overtired and overwrought,every noise she heard in the hallway outside the cabin made her jump with fear and hide under the covers.
"This is silly," she murmured quietly to herself. "I'm being ridiculous.Nothing's going to happen."
But she couldn't shake her creepy feeling.
"Okay,that's it," she said determinedly."I'm going out there,and I'm going to walk every inch of this ship,and prove to myself that there's no one out there to kill me."
   And that's exactly what she did,too.She wandered every deck of the ship like she had promised herself,and found nothing.Gradually,her nervousness faded away,and she headed back to her cabin.Until it hit her.
   "The bow! I forgot to search the bow!"
Heart racing inexplicably,she retraced the steps she had taken the night before,this time without the pain.Her stomach ached dully as if to remind her of her horrifying ordeal.
   Tonight,it wasn't nearly as windy,and there were no whitecaps on the ocean.The stars were out,glittering like diamonds on a black velvet sheet of sky.The beauty of it took Lilandra's breath away as she wandered the deck.A warm breeze blew her hair around,and she hugged herself happily."It's so beautiful..."
She sighed.She had always been vulnerable to beauty.She sat crosslegged on a deck chair,gazing up at the sky.There seemed to be more stars than usual tonight.As she watched the vast expanse of the sky,she saw a tiny point of light moving across the sky.
   "A shooting star?" Lilandra wondered aloud."How wonderful!"
But as she watched,a gnawing fear began to form in her gut.This point of light was no shooting star.Now there were many more,floating much too slowly to be shooting stars.
They were ships.And they were heading straight for the ocean liner.
   "They've found me..." Lilandra gasped,her voice sounding strange and high.The ships were coming closer.There were hundreds,shaped triangularly....
   Suddenly,a green turbolaser bolt lanced out and struck the ocean a few meters in front of the ship.As salt water sprayed everywhere in a violent explosion,Lilandra understood.She waited,thunderstruck,until the full magnitude of what was happening hit her.
"Imperial Star Destroyers!" she cried,then turned and ran.I have to warn Leia...I have to warn everyone! But how?
   All she could do was run,and hope that she beat the Star Destroyers to it.She ran down the steps two at a time,and tore through the corridor at full tilt,hammering on doors and hollering that the ship was under attack.People streamed out into the hallway in various states of undress.A few decided that Lilandra was insane and went back into their cabins,while others donned lifejackets and started heading for their muster stations.    Lilandra rushed on to Leia's cabin,and banged on the door."Leia! Han! Wake up!"
The door opened and Han poked his head out.His eyes widened in surprise."Lilandra,what is it? What's going on? Why are there so many people in the hall?"
"The ship is under attack!" she cried breathlessly.
Leia came to stand beside her husband,while the three children hung back,still waking up.
"What do you mean?" Leia demanded.
"Star Destroyers," Lil gasped," Hundreds of them! Heading this way!"
"Are you sure?" Han shouted in her face.She stumbled backwards,grabbing the wall.As if to answer Han's question,there came a sharp crack from above,and the ship shook violently.
"That was turbolaser fire,all right," Leia said.There was no mistaking the fear in her voice.
   "Children," Han said,"Go with Lilandra and Chewbacca to the muster stations."
"But Han-" Lilandra started.
"No buts,Lil.Take them to the muster station and get yourselves to safety." Behind him,Leia nodded firmly.
"What about you? Where are you going?" Lilandra asked.
"To the engine room.We're going to change this ship's course.Hopefully,we can turn it around in time."
   There was a moment of awkward silence.Anakin sniffled in the background.
"Honey,are you crying?" Leia asked,rushing to her son's side.He nodded.
"What if you don't come back?" He asked,wiping his face on the sleeve of his nightshirt.
 Leia looked at Han."We will,right Han? No need to worry, Anakin. Mummy and Dad have survived worse, and Lilandra and Chewie will take good care of you."
The Wookiee growled in agreement,coming out of his own private bunkroom.
"Just hold Jaina and Jacen's hands,and you'll be fine."
"Good luck," Han said solemnly to Lilandra.
"You too," Lilandra answered.But then,another turbolaser bolt rocked the ship,and it was time to go.Leia hugged each of her children,and whispered,"I love you," to each one.Then,Lilandra grabbed Jaina's hand and pulled her through the crowds of people gathered in the corridor.Jacen and Anakin followed,holding Chewie's hands.
     Once up on deck,the scene was pure madness.People rushed to and fro,carrying children and luggage,heading to muster stations,or just running around like headless gundarks.Chewbacca growled in confusion.
"I don't know," Lilandra said,figuring that the Wookiee had asked her a question.She looked skyward,but she didn't see any Star Destroyers.It was so dark. A green turbolaser bolt whizzed by the deck,slicing cleanly through the railing.Lilandra jumped out of the way,and hit the ground as the boat rocked from side to side.
"Look out!" Jacen shouted,as another blast hit the railing.
   "Okay,now we run!" Lilandra shouted above the noise as the adrenaline rush that accompanied a battle kicked in.Jaina grabbed her brothers' hands,and the three children and the Wookiee formed a human chain.Lil pulled them down the promenade deck as fast as the children trailing behind her would allow.Just then,a bolt of green fire streaked down from the unseen attacker,and the deck directly in front of them erupted in a flash.Flames ate away at the beautiful polished wood.
   Lil screamed in shock and whirled around,only to face another eruption of fire from the other direction.They were trapped,boxed in by flames on each side.
"How convenient," Lil muttered,and Chewbacca growled in agreement.
"What do we do now?" Jacen asked,sounding panicky.
"The only thing we can do," Lil answered immediately,a plan forming in her head. "We jump."
   "Are you crazy?" Jaina cried in disbelief."We're so high up,we'll die when we hit the water!"
Lilandra thought suddenly of crashing into Leia in the corridor the night they'd first met, running from her own fear in a fit of blind panic.
"Not if something breaks our fall..." she said slyly, and looked around for something to fulfill that position.
"Ah-HAH!" she shouted triumphantly.A lone deck chair sat melting in the heat from the approaching flames.Chewbacca realized her idea and reached out one hairy paw to grab it.
"Now what?" Anakin asked tearfully.
Lilandra actually grinned. "We fly."
   Lilandra spread the chair out to it's flattest position.The flames were awfully close.
"Everybody up on the railing," she ordered."Don't fall."
   Lilandra leapt up on the railing,balancing precariously with the deck chair in her hands.Then Chewie jumped up,and helped the children up.When they all stood in a row on the railing,Lil stole a quick glance behind her.The place where they had been standing was now engulfed in flame.Turbolaser blasts were punctuating the night air like green javelins through a black cloth.She tried to keep her fear in check. Don't look down.
   "When I say 'go',everyone hold hands,sit on the deck chair,and push off." Lilandra set the deck chair on the remaining centimeter of railing,grasped Jaina's hand firmly,and thought of Leia.
"Ready...."
"GO!!"
   In a split second,they were all sitting on the deck chair,four humans and a Wookiee,and then they all linked arms,held their breaths,and shoved off the railing.
   The drop was terrifying.They all allowed themselves to scream as the inky water rushed up to meet them.Then,there was a jaw-wrenching thud and a splash as the chair hit the water,and proceeded to sink.But the five refugees stayed afloat,and very much alive.
   "Swim!" Lilandra ordered,and began slicing evenly through the water.Stroke,stroke,kick.Stroke,stroke,kick. The rhythm of the stroke calmed her pounding heart, distracted her thoughts as she thought of nothing but reaching safety.
   The children followed,paddling quickly to catch up.Chewbacca swam clumsily,his fur swirling around on the surface of the water like seaweed thrown up from the ocean bed.
"I see a lifeboat!" Jaina yelled,and sure enough,a boat filled with people came into view.
"Hey!" Lilandra called,"Over here!"
They splashed and yelled and kicked and screamed and made as much noise as possible,and the boat began to drift over to meet them.Within minutes,the passengers had dragged the five exhausted refugees into the boat.
   Safe at last,Lilandra could gaze at the former pleasure cruiser that they had just escaped.The Star Destroyers were still firing from orbit,and more than half the ship was engulfed in flame.However,Lilandra could see that it had stopped moving.
Suddenly,she realized that Leia was still aboard. She sat as still as a statue,hazel eyes wide open.I hope Leia and Han are all right...
   She felt ashamed at not being more worried,especially with their beloved children sitting right next to her,but she had to be strong.No matter what happens,Leia had told her,you must be strong.
Wordlessly,Jaina slipped her hand into Lilandra's,and stared at the burning ship.
"Are you scared?" she asked solemnly.Lilandra didn't answer as she squeezed Jaina's hand reassuringly,because she felt her eyes welling up with tears,and she had to look away.

     The heat was terrible.Leia's eyes stung from the smoke,and her head spun with a mixture of emotions.Fear, and even anger roared through her mind as she and Han raced down the hallway to the engine room.Fear,depression,anger....She could hear Luke speaking in her mind,quoting to her Yoda's familiar words.The dark side are they.
      Leia forced herself to calm down,and focus on the task ahead.Han ran alongside her,deathly silent,which was unusual for Han.His mouth was set in a tight line,and she could see him grinding his teeth.Forget it,she told herself.I can scold him for having bad teeth later.
   "Where to now?" Leia asked as they reached a section of the deck that had been completely blown away.Han didn't answer,but grabbed her hand and pulled her off back the way they had come.Her danger sense flared almost immediately.
   "Duck!" she yelled,and shoved Han to the ground.A turbolaser blast barely missed the spot where he'd been standing,and a new explosion rocked the ship.Leia had been able to sense Han's quiet seething anger for the past half hour now,but suddenly,there came a great emotional explosion from Han's mind,and from his mouth.
   He leapt to his feet,shaking his fists at the sky as he screamed,"What are they doing?! Why? Why don't they just leave us alone?!"
Then he took off running down the deck at breakneck speed.
   "HAN!" Leia shouted,feeling a surge of panic as he dashed out of sight.She forced down the urge to be sick,and chased after him,feeling tired and scared.When she reached the corner,her husband was gone,nowhere to be seen.
   She was all alone on a burning ship,that,if it didn't become rubble first,would probably sink.

      Han Solo couldn't believe what was happening.Everything they'd worked towards in the past month and a half was going up in smoke because of some festering warlord's delusions.Whoever was behind this was going to pay dearly-or his name wasn't Han Solo.There must be a turbolaser cannon somewhere on this boat...I'm sure of it.Even if it is supposed to be a peace ship.
   Han rounded another corner,and entered a former cabin area.Doors hung open,creaking eerily on their hinges as the boat rocked to and fro from explosion after explosion.Pieces of luggage were abandoned hastily in the middle of the beautiful carpet,forgotten in the rush to escape. Then,Han saw something that wrenched his heart.
A child's toy,a small plasteel robot,lay in the midst of the wreckage.For the first time in his life,Han wanted to cry.
It was Anakin's toy.
   Suddenly,the whole magnitude of the attack hit him,and he tilted his head back and let out a cry of rage and pain-for Anakin,for the New Republic,for Lilandra,and for Leia,lost somewhere onboard,through no fault of her own.
   Then,he shot off like a rocket,tearing down the stairs.On the very bottom floor he paused,gathering his bearings.There it was.The engine room,and probably where he'd find that one turbolaser cannon that could deter this pointless attack.He crossed the floor quickly,and pushed the door activation button.Of course,it didn't open,but Han saw the need to try the simple way anyway.Frustrated,he then tried to pry it open with a long sliver of wood broken off from the stair rail.When that didn't work,he let fly a barrage of curses that would've frightened the attackers in an instant had they heard him.
   Angered greatly,he pulled from his jacket his trusty blaster which he had hoped he wouldn't need,and shot the control panel twice.It exploded in a shower of sparks,and the door slid reluctantly open.
   Inside,the scene was a disastrous one.Most of equipment had been disabled and blasted through.He rushed to another control panel,large and covered in buttons.However,most of the buttons' lights had dimmed out,indicating power failures,and more likely,parts of the ship that no longer existed.The attack was still going on,and he feared for Leia's life,realizing with a twinge of guilt that he shouldn't have left her alone.But the thought of his wife only drove his madness further.He searched the labels above the buttons.First order of business,shut down the engines!
   He slammed his fist down on the button,and the massive ship shuddered slowly to a stop.Then,more buttons shut down the power-what was left of it.Perhaps that would slow the ship's burning.Now,where is the festering cannon? Han wondered.Then,he found it.A smaller control panel sat in a dusty corner of the room.It contained a lever for activation,an aiming/steering device,and a firing button.Perfect.
   Han pulled on the lever,and the control box stuttered to life.A viewscreen popped up,showing the view into space.What Han saw almost made him faint.Approximately 132 Star Destroyers - precisely Lilandra's guess - all firing on the peace ship.Their shots were mostly going wide,hitting the ocean dangerously close to the lifeboats.Han felt so frustrated.There was no way he could destroy all the enemy ships,without killing innocent people at the same time.But he could do something.Destroy the leader's ship...whichever one that was, and pray that that would be enough of a deterrent. It was likely that whoever the leader of the ships was, they wouldn't be on board the lead ship. Too risky. Perhaps one of the smaller ones.
He would just have to guess.
   He swung the aiming mechanism around to the left,spanning the view of space.The infrared screen showed the firing ships as orange blemishes on the black expanse.Hundreds,menacing and fully loaded.One of them, conveniently positioned in the back of the cluster, was firing more than the others.The leader's ship,Han thought.That's the ticket.
He positioned the turbolaser,eyes focused on the viewscreen.They won't even see it coming...
He pressed the firing button,and one clean missile whizzed out into space,and the back end of the Star Destroyer exploded in a blossom of fire.
   Han leapt off the seat,waving his hands in the air.
"Han still got it!" he cried joyfully,jumping around like a little child. "That one was for Leia!"
...then he paused,remembering.
"Leia!"
   He groaned.Where was she now? Without a second thought,he dove for the engine room door and raced back up the stairs.

     Leia was royally pissed off,and very afraid.The ship was leaning so far over to the side that she had to cling to the railing to keep from falling over the edge.
I am going to kill him,if I survive this,she thought angrily.She could see the lifeboats,drifting silently on the black ocean.The nearly nonexistent wind was slowly and steadily pushing the boats out to sea,and a few were already just tiny dots on the horizon.Where were they going? Leia had lost her bearings long ago,but what did it matter? I have to get off this ship.
    All of a sudden,Han came running back around the corner,and swept Leia into his arms.All her anger at him dissolved in a second.She pressed her face into his shoulder,knowing that whatever happened,she'd be safe in his arms.
"We have to get off this ship," Han said,echoing her thoughts from just moments before.
"I know we do.But how?" Leia asked,voicing her hopelessness. "It's going to be at the bottom of the sea in about ten minutes,if it doesn't burn to ashes first.All the lifeboats are gone,floating away to who knows where,and we're on one of the highest decks."
"You make it seem so impossible," Han cracked a fake smile.
"It is impossible!"
"Not when I'm around,it isn't.We're going to jump."
Leia just stared at him.
   "Surely you jest," she said finally,her voice dripping sarcasm.
"Nope.Don't argue,just do what I do. Now listen.Did you ever go swimming as a child?" he asked,clutching her shoulders.
"Yes...why?" she asked,puzzled.
"Well,do you remember ever doing a little something called an 'ionic cannonball'? You know? Off the side of the pool?"
   The beginnings of a roguish grin were playing around the corners of his mouth.She nodded slowly,catching on.
Han continued. "We'll run down the deck, and get up on the railing. I'm going to tell you when to go. This is the safest way to jump. Just keep your knees tucked up over your stomach, and jump on a backwards angle, and you should be fine. Oh, and one more thing: have fun." The roguish grin was in full shine now.
"Good thing Threepio's not here to tell us the odds!" Leia exclaimed.
   They stared down the section of deck they were on.Despite the lean,the deck was uncluttered by turbolaser blasts.Han took Leia's hand.
"Ready?" he asked.
"When you are," she answered,and tucked the hem of her nightgown up between her legs to make hasty pantaloons.
"GO!" he yelled,and they ran together,air whistling in their ears.Leia's feet pounded the deck in time with her heartbeat."I can't believe I'm doing this!" she shrieked as they clambered up the railing.
"Don't question,just do it!" Han yelled back.
   Then,they both took deep breaths,and hurled themselves out over the water.Leia shut her eyes,and smiled in spite of the circumstances.She and Han flew through the air,legs tucked up under them,and hit the water just as one final turbolaser bolt hit the ship behind them,and it exploded in a flash of light and flying timbers.
   Leia surfaced,sputtering,and stared at the firy ship.   Suddenly,all her excitement died.Han surfaced beside her,treading water.He sobered up immediately as well.
Leia could sense his disappointment as they watched the ship burn into oblivion.
      Leia paddled in place,unable to tear her eyes from the ship.On the very top decks,the flags of a thousand worlds burned,ashes and sparks fading out the bright,hopeful colors.It was as if the treaty between the Empire and the New Republic were burning along with them.On the absolute highest point of the ship...the place where the two strings of flags met,the flag of the New Republic capital Coruscant flew still,engulfed in flame.The emblems faded,the fabrics melting and twisting,and disappearing into the night air.It was a powerful scene.
   When the flag became completely engulfed,the other flags seemed to succumb as well,giving up the fight as the ship slowly sank beneath the waves.The government was burning,everything they had fought for was burning.
   The last part of the ship to sink was that very top mast...and the place where the peace flags had been.Then it all slipped easily beneath the water,bubbling only slightly as it went down,without even a latent suction.
   Leia couldn't hold in her tears any longer.She only had strength enough to swim to a lifeboat still drifting nearby before her entire mind,body,and soul was wracked with a series of heaving sobs.The cries of hundreds of passengers who had sense enough to realize what had happened rang into the warm tropical night,and the despair of millions of others who had fallen before overtook the motley bunch.
   The peace was falling apart,and this was only the beginning.

     The flight to Mon Calamari was a tense one.Callista sat stony faced in her seat the whole way,refusing to speak.Luke was wondering what was wrong with her,while Mara had the sense to read her mind and see that the woman was raging with jealousy and regret.Mara sat calm and proud beside her husband,but occasionally feeling slightly guilty.Callista was ready to have it out with her,and that unnerved Mara slightly,so she made an effort to touch Luke as little as possible.It was quite difficult with him always leaning over to kiss her,or hold her hand,or slip his arm around her shoulders.
Dinner wasn't much better.
   Mara and Callista sat facing each other,glaring each other down across the table while Luke looked anxiously between the two.
Finally,he asked,"What is wrong with you two? You've barely spoken a word to each other since we left."
Callista just continued to glare,her grey eyes boiling with invisible flashes of green.Mara felt tempted to raise a ruckus,just to see what Callista would do.So,she chose her words carefully,and came out with a frightful response.
   "I think Callista here was expecting a reunion between you two,Luke."
Luke looked so completely taken aback that Mara was tempted to believe his reaction,but after being completely open to his mind,she could see right through him.
"Admit it,Luke.It was a definite possibility."
"Mara,I'm married.To you,no less.Why are you saying these things?"
"I was answering your question," she replied coolly,tucking her legs up under her on her seat.
"Mara,you know I love you,and no one else."
"For the moment," Mara said,staring him down,as if daring him to agree with her.
   "Do you really want to talk about this in front of me?" Callista asked suddenly,the first words she'd spoken since departing.
"Stifle it,duffle-head.This is between me and Luke."
   Callista leapt forward over the table,and Mara shrank back,realizing she'd gone too far.But instead of just killing Mara on the spot,Callista started to cry.
   "Consider yourself lucky,then.I loved him,once upon a time.But,it wasn't meant to be,and I've accepted it.Deep down,you must be a very cruel person if you bring our past up with intentions of getting a rise out of me. Emotionally,it is impossible to go through the whirlwind of loving Luke again,but when I see you together,yes,it does make me just a little bit jealous."
   Mara was not surprised at all by her words,and had a comeback in mind the second they were out of her mouth.
"That doesn't mean you have to be little miss antisocial.If you loved him once,get over it.Find someone else,and stop dwelling on the past."
"Don't be so cocky...how would you like to be in my position?"
"That isn't the point.I'm not in your position,and I'm enjoying every minute of it."
   This time,Callista was not swayed.Mara's sense flared suddenly as Callista jumped up,reached out,and slapped Mara as hard as she could,sending the redhead off her chair and sprawling onto the floor.
   "How can you be so rude? It is not that easy to forget true love.If you can't realize that by now,than you must not truly be in love with Luke.In fact - dare I say it? Yes! You don't deserve him."
   Her voice was icy cold,and filled with pain.She glared a second longer at the woman on the floor,holding her face,then turned and stalked out of the room.
Luke stared after her with an expression of pure horror on his face.
"Is what she said true? Did I make the wrong choice?" he asked sarcastically.Even though he intended to sound indecisive,Mara knew he'd already made up his mind. Made it up about what, she didn't really want to know.
   He glared her down,challenging her,his blue eyes seeming to burn into her green ones.She'd never seen him so angry.
"Mara,why did you do that? Are you deliberately trying to make me hate you? Because after that embarassing display,it's becoming a definite possibility."
   He made no move to help her up off the floor.Mara shrank back,afraid that he was going to hit her as well.She wished to death that she could eat her words,but it was far too late for that.The bond that had been formed between them was bending dangerously close to breaking.
"I think maybe we should spend some time apart," Mara whispered,feeling beaten for the first time in her life.The bond snapped with an inaudible crack,and Mara felt like she was spiralling away into space,with no focus for her whirlwind emotions.Luke stared at her a moment longer,his expression hard and angry.
"I second that." he said coldly,and left in the direction Callista had gone.
   The door slid shut behind him,and the frail,broken bond seemed to shatter on the floor in front of Mara. She slowly picked herself up,feeling withdrawn and tired.Her face stung with Callista's strike,and her mind stung with the truth in Callista's words.She couldn't believe that after everything they'd been through,their love had been destroyed with something so seemingly weak as words.Those words had ruined her,and at the same time,made everything so clear.She was exactly what Callista had said she was: cruel,unfeeling,rude.
   "If I can't appreciate the love he gives me,then why love him at all?" she whispered to the empty room.She walked over to the table,and twisted off her wedding band.Then,she placed it on the polished surface.She stared at it a moment longer,and felt herself slipping into the terrible hopelessness of tears.She choked back a sob,in case Luke might be listening,but eventually allowed herself the pointless pleasure of a good cry.Then,she curled up on her bunk,and slept for a long time.

       As she slept,Mara had another dream,a continuation of the one she'd had when she'd first arrived on Yavin.In her restless emotional state,it was so much easier for the darkness of the dream to penetrate her mind...

    The girl is lying on the floor in a cold,dark room.Her head aches from the blow the stormtrooper hasdelivered to her.The ground is cold beneath her sore limbs,and she feels lonely and afraid.Why have they taken her away? Suddenly,the door of the room is opened,but not much more light fills the expanse.There is a lone stormtrooper guard standing over her,and he grabs her arm,pulling her to her feet.
"Let me go!"
   The child screams,and tries to bite the stormtrooper's gloved hand,but it is no use.He has a firm grip on her,and is pulling her out of the cell and down a dark corridor.Many other doors line the walls,a few with windows,and scared faces young and old peer out through them.The girl becomes very frightened and starts to cry.But she does not have time to be sad.They have arrived at their destination.
   The trooper carelessly tosses her to the floor at the foot of a chair.That is when she finally gets a good look at her surroundings.
   There are many other children of all ages sitting on the floor.Girls and boys lie scattered all over the chrome-lined room.Most are silent,but a few very young ones are crying for their parents,including one small girl about two years old,sitting next to the older child.
"Mama," the child whimpers,wiping at her eyes.
"Your mommy is dead," the older girl whispers spitefully.
The child gazes up at her with large,frightened eyes."Is yours?" she asks.
"Yes."
"Why are we here?"
   The smaller girl decides that she likes the newcomer,and inches closer to her until she is sitting in her lap.
"I guess we are about to find out," the other says.
   The chair looming above them completes a full circle,until its occupant is facing the captives.He is tall,and old,old enough to be someone's grandfather.But he is not kind like a grandfather.He's evil,the girl can sense it,although she does not understand where this sense comes from.
The small child in her lap clutches at her sleeve,crying softly.
   "Welcome,children," the old man snarls,baring his teeth."You lucky boys and girls have been selected to serve the Empire in the the name of Emperor Palpatine,because of your unusual talents."
Palpatine.The very horrible nature of the name itself sends chills up the girl's spine,and she hugs the child in her lap with reassurance she doesn't feel herself.
   "You are all Jedi," the old man continues,"which,although you don't understand your powers,must not be allowed.Jedi are strong,and could be made to destroy me.That is why you are here.You will become my servants,agents of the dark side.Those of you who resist will be shut away somewhere where I will not have to deal with you.I will ensure that no Jedi are allowed to escape..."
   Jedi? What is the meaning of this word? The girl has no more time to wonder because suddenly,a multitude of guards approach the group,armed with blaster rifles.She knows that she might not see the younger child again,so she asks in a hushed whisper,"What is your name?"
"Lilandra Ocott," the child answers tearfully.
   "Not anymore," a voice says from above.A stormtrooper picks the child up and starts to carry her away. The girl chases after him.
"Stop it! Put her down! What did she ever do to you?" she screams.The child reaches out a pudgy hand to grab the girl's,but suddenly,the girl is jerked back from behind.
"Let her go.She is weak and foolish."
The girl spins around angrily to face her captor.
To her surprise,it is another girl,much older - probably almost an adult - and tall,with glasses and short,dusty blond hair.Her eyes are evil-looking and her cheeks are hollow,as if she has not eaten in weeks.
"How do you know?" the younger girl retorts,tears filling her eyes.
"She's my sister.Trust me,she's not worth the effort.She'll never amount to anything but a farmer.Now you and me,we're powerful.The Emperor has sensed it.When you're old enough,you'll understand.But for now,it's just you and me.Together."
   Then the older girl shoves the younger one forward towards the Emperor's chair."My name is Kerryna,and I work for Emperor Palpatine,as will you.What's your name?"
"Mara.Mara Jade."
"What a beautiful name." Without warning,the teenager pulls a blaster set to 'stun',and blue arcs hum towards the young girl.As she collapses like an empty sack of kiwana melons,the older girl smiles.
"Just beautiful."

         Mara awoke howling.Her hands and feet tingled,as if paralyzed,and her mind raged with the horror she had just witnessed.Tears streamed down her cheeks,and she yelled at the top of her lungs,succumbing to full-blown hysterics.
"Luke!" she screamed,"LUKE!"
Gasping for breath,she leapt off her bunk,and immediately collapsed on the ground. "Luke," she moaned.She crawled along the corridor to the cockpit,and pushed open the door with one feeble,shaking hand.
To her horror,the viewscreen showed the peaceful blue ocean,sitting right through a glass arc.They had landed,and Luke and Callista were nowhere to be seen.Panic washed over her,dragging her back onto her stomach."Luke." Her voice broke disconcertingly.She dragged herself up,and staggered out of the cockpit.
"Where are you?" She looked around in wild-eyed fear.
   She could hear the ocean,and realized that the hatch was open.
Cool,salty air blew in,but Luke wasn't outside the ship either.
   Exhausted,overwrought,and upset,Mara sank onto her knees once more,and proceeded to wail.The sound was feral,inhuman,and she felt as if she had lost her entire world.Her entire body shook with horrid,gasping sobs,and she couldn't get control of her breath.Suddenly,her vision blurred,and she collapsed into a thankfully dreamless blackness.

       Grand Admiral Kerryna Ocott felt very... uplifted.Uplifted was the only way to describe her mood.They had successfully destroyed the peace ship,and the powerful demonstration of just how easily the bond between two goverments could be broken had been broadcast to the galaxy. Even though she'd lost one of her decoy ships in the peace ship's futile attempt at defense, it didn't matter now.
   Now, aboard her ship,the Sojourner,she could feel the waves of shock as different parts of the galaxy awoke to the news on holovids everywhere.The New Republic was slowly folding in on itself.Admiral Norrcay's Chad team was slowly plotting revenge,while Coruscant was left scratching it's head in disbelief over the Chad destruction issue.To top it all off,she had just recieved word that Luke Skywalker and his wife had departed from Yavin in a vain attempt to reach the passengers on the Foamwander Pride before it was destroyed.That meant that the Jedi had entered the conflict, unwisely, but that just meant more fun for Kerryna. The Yavin academy had been left nearly completely unattended, save for a few power-challenged students.
It was all so perfect.
   Now,it was time to wait for a bit,until she got the notion to disrupt a planet or two again.
   Then,the notion hit her.
"Captain Avye,have you recieved any more reports from the spy team we dispatched to Yavin?"
"No ma'am," the captain replied."As far as we know,the academy is still unattended,as Skywalker and wife are on Mon Calamari, 'rescuing' the former passengers of the Pride."
Ocott smiled.She had been smiling an awful lot lately.Her life was just too perfect to be imagined!
   "Well then.Why don't we casually saunter over to Yavin,and see what trouble we can stir up with the galaxy's future guardians,hmmm?"
"I was just thinking the same thing,Admiral," Captain Avye grinned."But what about the Coruscant issue?"
Kerryna winced,forgetting all about her other important attack.
"That can wait," she said."First,I want to get our other threats out of the way.Send a few commandos to Coruscant.We'll catch them completely unprepared while they're still buzzing over the Yavin thing."
"Excellent,Admiral."
"Isn't this perfect?"
"Absolutely."
   Kerryna smiled widely,evilly.Then,she threw back her head and laughed,a laugh that had taken her years to perfect.It was just the right combination of grating borishness,and harmless craziness.Appearances were very important.
"Prepare a fleet for departure to Yavin 4,and give the Coruscant team my regards.We're back in business."

     Luke Skywalker's mind was filled with awful thoughts.Still seething mad at Mara's embarassing display aboard the shuttle,he had proceeded to land the ship at Mon Calamari,with Callista as his second in command,and had then stormed out of it,leaving Mara alone to do whatever she would do.Now,though,as he rode in the lead boat of a fleet of rescue skiffs en route to the site of the sinking,he was having regrets.
Callista sat beside him,her newfound Jedi presence swimming with the same kind of remorse.
"We shouldn't have left her," Luke said.
"It was your decision," Callista answered in a monotone."You're the one who went and threw your wedding ring into the ocean an hour ago."
   Luke gulped as he glanced at his ringless hand.The gleaming band that used to occupy his finger was now probably some Krakana monster's lunch.
"Callista..." he said,"I'm really sorry about what Mara said to you.She's always had a quick temper,and I really don't know what got into her..." he floundered helplessly.
"Luke,you don't have to apologize for her.What she said had some truth to it."
Luke looked at her,cheeks flushed with embarassment and remorse."What do you mean?"
   "Well,if you hadn't been married,I guess I was hoping that maybe,you know,we might pick up where we left off.But then I saw your wedding ring,on the very hand that was holding Mara's when I saw you again for the first time.It was then that I knew that we obviously could not ever have the same kind of love we did years ago. But it's not easy to forget being in love."
   Luke stared straight ahead at the shimmering waters,not wanting to acknowledge Callista's remark.It made his mind boggle when he thought of everything they had been through,how deeply he had cared for her,and how upset he had been when she left.
"Luke,don't be like that.What's past is past.You really do love Mara,whether you realize it or not,and I don't want to come between that.However,now that you are almost officially a bachelor-" she grinned when she said that,and gestured to the deep water surrounding them,"How about we just call a truce? Ex-girlfriends are still friends,you know."
   Luke smiled for the first time since the night before,met her gaze and held it.Then he kissed her lightly on the cheek,and hugged her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered into his shoulder,but her mind was at peace at last,and so was Luke's.He knew what he had to do.
"As soon as this is over,I'm going to apologize to Mara."
Callista patted him on the shoulder and chuckled."That's the spirit!"
But then,the boats entered the area where the massive peace ship had gone under,and the light mood was suddenly crushed again.
    The lifeboats floated silently on the calm turquoise sea,filled to the brim with sullen people.They were all alive,but their spirits were dampened severely as the magnitude of the incident burned into their minds.
   One by one,they were taken into the skiffs and given food and water and clean,warm blankets.Callista and Luke watched the people of every race and culture board the boats,meeting up with family members and talking in hushed voices.
   Just then,Luke recognized his sister,Leia among the crowd.She sat alone,sipping a plasteel cup of water,not speaking.Her vibrant brown eyes looked dead and beaten,and her cheeks were swollen from crying.
"Leia?" Luke approached her.Without speaking,she slipped her arms around his neck and held him tightly.
"Where's Han?" Luke asked worriedly.If something had happened to him or the children...
"He's on another boat," Leia mumbled,and her voice was weak and muffled as she clung to him.
"And the children?"
"I don't know."
   Luke swallowed and sat down on the hard wooden bench.His twin was crying again,and this time,he couldn't even offer any words of support.He just stroked her ragged,damp hair and whispered soothingly to her.Callista stood at the railing,her jaw set tightly,helping more disheveled people aboard.No one laughed.No one smiled,not even when greeting a family member who had been presumed dead or lost.It was like a funeral,and there wasn't a single eye that wasn't red-rimmed and tired.
   Han came aboard later,as more boats were emptied,wearing the same expression as Leia.
He took over Luke's duties of comforting his wife,after giving Luke a strained grin.
"Hey kid.Where's Mara?" he asked tiredly.
"I don't know."
   That was as honest an answer as any.When she woke up and found him gone...Luke didn't want to think about what she might do.

    The last people to come aboard were an exhausted young woman,three small,bleary-eyed children,two of whom looked too old to belong to her,and a Wookiee.Leia recognized them immediately.
"Jaina! Jacen! Anakin!" She cried.The three kids forgot about the woman and ran to their mother with cries of, "Mommy!" and," Daddy!" and "Uncle Luke!"
   Their faces were soot-stained and ashy,and they looked about ready to drop.The Wookiee was holding on to the woman's elbow,as if keeping her upright.
"Lilandra," Leia said solemnly,recognizing her friend."Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," Lilandra said weakly.
"She's going to faint!" Luke cried,and Chewbacca roared in alarm,letting go of her elbow and letting her drop.
"Chewie!" Han groaned,"You're supposed to catch her!"
   Luke rushed to the girl's side and checked her pulse.Satisfied,he then proceeded to place his fingers on her temples to send Jedi waves into her mind to wake her.Her eyes fluttered open,and she sat up.
"I feel terrible," she moaned.
"Understandable," Han said,pulling her to her feet.She was without shoes,and her toes were scratched and bruised.
"I can't believe what happened," she spoke again.
"Neither can I," Leia answered quietly,"neither can I."
   The whole time,Callista just stood gazing out at the spot where the boat had gone down,until the skiffs began to move and the empty lifeboats were just dots on the horizon.

        When Mara revived,she was still alone.The hatch was still open,and the ocean still roared in her ears as the waves broke at the base of whatever city the ship was resting on.Angrily,she remembered that Luke had deserted her,and her anger was fueled with the realization that he had taken Callista with him wherever he had gone. Her eyes stung from the acids in her tears,and her lungs ached from sobbing.Her heart ached for a different reason,and several ideas for revenge ran through her head,but she realized that she couldn't hurt Luke worth a darn now.They were bonded,joined at the mind,and all the lessons the Emperor had instilled in her brain were dormant.
      No,the only thing she could do now was go back to Yavin in shame,and eventually return to Coruscant.If Luke ever came to his senses,she didn't want to be a part of it.She walked slowly back to the cockpit and sealed the hatch.Then,she fired up the engines,and shot off into the atmosphere.
   The beautiful blue planet got farther and farther away,and so did Luke.Mara felt slightly liberated,and she kept telling herself that she'd be alright.She pulled back on the hyperspace lever,and let out a triumphant whoop as the starlines flared.

     By the time she reached Yavin 4,though,her mood had dissipated drastically.She was filled with shame.What in the stars was she going to tell Ton-Ara and the other students? She didn't have time to think about that,though,because she dropped out of hyperspace in front of the small jungle moon,and it was time to start the landing cycle.
      Mara set the small shuttle down on the landing pad at the Jedi temple,the same landing pad that Lando had dropped her off on a little less than a week ago.She felt a terrible pang of loneliness as the descended the ramp,remembering Luke's ecstatic greeting,the warmth of his kisses as he spun her around in the bright sunshine.It was cloudy day,humid and dank,threatening rain instead of sun.
   Mara gulped.A small,timid figure was lurking in the shadows of the entrance,with a silver and blue droid whistling at it's feet.Ton-Ara Jaksbin emerged from the darkness with the faithful droid Artoo-Detoo at her back,squinting in confusion.
"Mistress Skywalker?" she asked,puzzled,"Where are Master Skywalker and Callista?"
   Mara looked down at the young girl.She was fourteen,but tiny.Her blond hair was thin and wavy like a little child's,and she was all arms and legs,still adjusting to her increasing height.Mara found her so endearing,she couldn't lie to her.Nobody lied to Ton-Ara without regretting it later.She was simply too strong in the Force,and she could usually see right through a fib.
"We had a disagreement," Mara said sadly.
"Are they coming back?"
"Eventually.I don't know when,though." They walked into the temple in silence,but Mara could see the wheels turning in Ton-Ara's head,carefully fabricating her next question.Then,she asked the inevitable question that only a child would ask.
"Are you still in love with Master Skywalker?"
   Mara chewed her lip thoughtfully.That was a really good question.Did she still love him? She had to fight to keep the tears from springing back into her eyes as she realized the answer.
"Yes.Yes,I do, Ton-Ara,and I hope he comes back soon so I can tell him how sorry I am."
Ton-Ara smiled thoughtfully."Did you ever think of trying to talk to him in his mind?"
"Actually,I didn't," Mara admitted."I think I will." She watched Ton-Ara skip alongside her,listening attentively.Mara smiled at the girl's carefree attitude.
"Ton-Ara?"
"Yes?" The child asked.
"Promise me you'll never fall in love with anyone,okay? It's just way too much trouble."
   Ton-Ara smiled knowingly,then turned and dashed off down the corridor to the common room,hair flying behind her.The droid Artoo-Detoo whistled behind Mara.
"That goes for you,as well,Artoo," Mara grinned.Then she turned and headed back to the shuttle to retrieve her wedding ring from the table in the back room.

      When she was alone in the room she and Luke shared,she leaned back against the soft blue pillows and slipped the ring back onto her finger.Then,she closed her eyes,and sent her mental tendrils out into the galaxy to find Luke.She pictured him in her mind the way she always saw him whenever she thought of him.It was like a mental photograph,her favorite snapshot.It was the way he had looked on their wedding day,dark hair neatly combed,black suit pressed and clean,lightsaber clipped to his belt.He was grinning in that boyish way he always did when talking to Mara.She loved that image so much because it had been so seldom that Luke smiled in those days.But she knew why he was smiling.She had just told him a joke to ease his nervousness.He had laughed all day after that.
     Keeping that picture framed in her mind,Mara searched for his presence.
Luke? she called through the Force.With that,her mind clicked into his presence,like a lens suddenly coming into focus.
Mara? he asked back,recognizing her voice.
It's me! she thought to him.Where are you?
On Mon Calamari,with you.
That's what you think! She laughed.I'm back on Yavin.
Why? he asked.
Why do you think? Her heart ached with guilt at his sudden silence.
About that, Mara. . . Luke hesitated. I spoke to Callista today. She wanted me to tell you how sorry she is for reacting like that.
Mara sighed inwardly. Luke, are you just saying that to make peace?
No, honestly. Although I don't condone your behaviour on the ship, because quite seriously, that was a really stupid thing you did yesterday, Mara, I did feel the need to clarify exactly where I stand with Callista right now.
Mara felt a flutter of anxiety. And what did you decide?
We're friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Mara, that's the way it was meant to be all along. I made a promise to be faithful to you, and nothing is going to break that promise, save for either of our deaths. It hurts me that you felt you had to doubt my integrity.
Mara winced. I felt threatened! she protested. I know how much you loved Callista. Luke, I was there! There when you brought her home from the Eye. I saw how much you were counting on being together.
Yeah, well, the Force works in mysterious ways, Luke sighed. It wasn't meant to be. Maybe if I had been there when she was taken aboard the Eye fifty years ago, it might've worked. If she'd still been a human person, and not just a memory of one, a spirit trapped in the body of a woman she knew for barely a few weeks. Mara, I never believed in love until I met Callista. And for showing me that, I thank her. Because it made me realize that I was in love with you.
   Mara was silent for a moment, considering all he had told her. Not that she needed to doubt his integrity any longer.
Now it's my turn to explain, she said cautiously. Luke, in my entire life, I have never posessed anything that truly belonged to me and me alone. My relationships, my thoughts, my fears. . . all of it, throughout my life, was shared by a dark enigma. Palpatine was like some sort of overlord, watching me wherever I went, no matter where I was. Even when he died, his presence was embedded so strongly in my memory that every thought I had. . . it just escaped. Where it might've gone to him at first, it just escaped. Vanished into the galaxy along with all my self-worth and confidence. You're the first person I've ever met who I felt safe telling my secrets to, without worrying that confessing was going to undermine my ability to live without guilt. And you know I'm posessive, particularly of relationships like that. When Callista showed up. . . it was like her presence triggered some sort of natural reaction in me to defend what's rightfully mine. And I'm so unbelievably ashamed of myself.
   Much to her surprise, Luke actually laughed. Maybe it was because she had just told him more than she'd told even Palpatine about her complicated inner emotions, or maybe it was just because, now that everything had come to air, it was time to move on, to forget about it, and worry about other things.
I'm sorry for leaving you, Mara.
She could hear his voice in her head again,and noted how lonely he sounded. There was more behind that statement than he cared to let on.
I am too, Luke, she admitted, and it felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders when she felt his presence brighten just a bit. When are you coming home?
  Soon, I promise, he said, and there was a pause.We rescued the survivors of the shipwreck today.Leia's safe,and so are the kids.Leia has a new friend, too. A Jedi.I can't wait for you to meet her.
His presence sounded distinctly relieved. Something big's going on here,and I need to do a bit of research.Whoever's behind the accident is going to pay dearly.
I'll bet they will,Mara laughed.Listen,I have to go.It's getting late here.
Let me guess,this call is getting expensive? Luke joked.Mara laughed again.
Yeah,she giggled back.I'm paying twenty-thousand brain cells a minute.
She could hear his chuckling,warming her mind and easing some of her turmoil.
Mara? he asked,becoming serious.
Yes?
I still love you. And Callista says hi.
Mara felt her eyes welling up with tears.I love you too,Luke. Tell Callista. . . I'm sorry. We'll have a talk when she gets back.
   Then,abruptly,their connection was cut off.Mara wiped her eyes,and eased herself off the bed.
"Time to make dinner,I guess," she murmured,and left the room.

       The rain that had been threatening all day arrived during the night.Mara tossed restlessly under the bedcovers,listening to the water beating down on the windows.She couldn't sleep.Rather,she was afraid to sleep,for fear that she would have another dream.Ever since dinner,she'd been getting a creepy feeling that something big was going to happen.She was feeling a new presence,one that she had not felt in a long time,and it chilled her to the core.
      Tossing and turning,it was impossible to get comfortable.She even tried counting mynocks,but she'd only seen three or four in her lifetime,and after five,it began to get tedious.She lay on her back,eyes wide open.A crack of thunder sounded outside,making her jump,which made her uncomfortable,which made her feel the need to change positions again.She rolled over onto her stomach and shoved a pillow over her head.She couldn't hear the thunder anymore,but she also couldn't breathe.
     Groaning in frustration,Mara flipped over onto her back again.She felt like she was slowly going insane.
   Suddenly,a bright flash of light streaked by outside,followed by a tremendous crash which rolled around the humid night like the effects of a Hutt's indigestion.Mara's stomach lurched in fear,and she scrambled out of bed.Crossing the room to the window,she peered out through the thick folds of blue fabric.When she saw a smoldering patch of ground where a stand of jungle trees had once been,it clicked in her mind.
   "That wasn't thunder,it was turbolaser fire!" she cried.Her heart pounded against her ribs.She grabbed a clean jumpsuit off the back of a chair and pulled it on,the fabric cold against her skin.Typical to persona,Ton-Ara, who never seemed to sleep at all, but preferred to walk around the academy, simply observing, burst into the room.
   "Mistress Skywalker!" she shrieked,"The academy is under attack!"

      On the bridge of the Star Destroyer Sojourner,Grand Admiral Ocott paced restlessly.The gas giant of Yavin hung bright and menacing in the viewscreen.In front of it,the jungle moon Yavin 4 orbited peacefully,surrounded by a thick band of clouds that shrouded the surface from view.She watched four of her other Star Destroyers streaking towards the helpless moon.
Something was plaguing her about this particular mission. It seemed a little too. . . hasty.
   "Captain Avye,I want to land and take a few prisoners.That should prove very interesting." And it will add a bit more of a personal touch to this little encounter, she thought with a grin.
"Very interesting,indeed."

   Mara Jade Skywalker tore through the hallways of the temple,banging on doors and yelling.
"To the war room!" she shouted to all concerned.
"Are we going to fight?" Ton-Ara asked worriedly,jogging along beside her.
"With what? Our lightsabers?"
   Ton-Ara didn't ask any more questions.
Jedi students crammed into the war room.Mara punched several buttons on a control panel,and a viewscreen to the outside popped up.Mara stared at it intently,her mind racing.A single Star Destroyer was drifting towards the planetary surface.Mara shivered uncontrollably,her fear threatening to overtake her mind.
"They're going to land," she said,her voice strangled and high.They were trapped.
"What do we do?" Cilghal the Mon Cal asked.
   Mara turned to face the gathering of fearful Jedi.
"Everybody," she said,"find someplace to hide.Don't let yourselves get caught.Above all,don't give in to your fear.You could be drawn in to the dark side.May the Force be with you all." She saluted solemnly,and released the lock on the war room door.The students streamed out into the hallways,spreading out to hide.Ton-Ara hesitated at the door.
   "Aren't you coming,Mara?" she asked.
Mara looked at the girl sadly,and shook her head no.
"Be brave,Ton-Ara.The Force is with you."
   The child held her gaze a moment longer,then turned and ran like the wind. Mara sat slumped in her chair,feeling deflated.Over the viewscreen,she could see stormtroopers pouring out of the landed Star Destroyer,spreading out over the temple grounds,blaster rifles at the ready.She closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable.
   Two troopers entered the war room,and fired stun bolts at Mara.She collapsed without a fight,and the guards took hold of her feet and dragged her out of the room towards the Star Destroyer.

   Ton-Ara crouched in the shadows of a stone edifice,and watched as the stormtroopers took her friend away.A single tear rolled down her cheek as she knelt in the darkness.
"Mara..." she whispered. For the first time in her short life,Ton-Ara was truly alone.
 

      When Mara awoke,she was lying on a cold metal floor.Her head ached from the lingering effects of the stun bolt,and the ground was hard beneath her sore limbs.
It was exactly like her dream.
   She raised her head slowly,and turned it towards the door.It was creaking open,in a mirror image of the dream.There was that lone stormtrooper guard,probably not the same one,but near enough.He strode into the cell,and dragged Mara to her feet.
"Leave me alone," she said,but her words had no power,no meaning.It was all just a dream to her.
       She looked at the scared faces of other prisoners in their cells as the stormtrooper led her down the hall.At the end of the corridor,a shiny metal door slid open,and the guard took her inside,where he tossed her on the floor at the foot of a large chair.A menacing presence nagged at Mara's numb mind,but she was too groggy to acknowledge it.The ghosts of the child prisoners in her dream seemed to dance around her.The scared,swollen face of little Lilandra Ocott loomed in her mind's eye.Mara shuddered,and slumped over onto her stomach.
      The chair completed a perfect circle,and Mara found herself staring into a familiar face.A woman,tall and slender stared her down, hazel eyes shimmering with malice,as they had years ago from behind clumsy glasses.Her sandy-blond hair was long and combed,and hung loose over her shoulders.A smattering of freckles dusted her rosy cheeks,and she smiled.
   "Now there's a face I never thought I'd see again.Welcome back,Mara Jade."
"Kerryna Ocott," Mara croaked,putting all the contempt she could muster into her tone.
"That's me," the woman said,spreading her hands."No longer a skinny,four-eyed teenager,but a Grand Admiral,capable of atrocities even Emperor Palpatine never dreamed of."
Mara glared at her,and hoisted herself up onto her elbows,trembling weakly."You destroyed the peace ship," she accused.
"I was bored," Kerryna replied flippantly.
"How can you be so blatant?" Mara asked angrily.
"Because I can."
"That isn't a reason!" Mara snapped.
"Oh,get over it.You had your chance to serve the Empire.I almost thought you'd succeed.But no,you had to let Luke Skywalker win you over,you had to let yourself get soft.Well,look at you now,Mara Jade.A housewife,who's forgotten how to survive.All you have to show for yourself is this."
     An invisible force tugged at Mara's hand,slowly slipping her wedding band off her finger.
"Leave that alone!" Mara yelled,yanking her hand back.The ring slid off,sailing through the air to land neatly in Kerryna's palm.
"As if I would," she smirked,dropping the ring and crushing the soft metal under the heel of her boot.Mara cried out,reaching for her wedding ring.But it was bent and broken,completely meaningless.
More than that,a barrier had formed in Mara's head,blocking her completely out from the Force.
   "Guards," Kerryna said,snapping her long fingers together."Take the housewife back to her cell.I'm tired of playing with her."
With that,she swivelled her chair back around to face the starry viewport.She waved one casual,destructive hand behind her head.
"Bye-bye,Mara Jade."

      Luke Skywalker was still beaming from his conversation with Mara,content with the knowledge that all was forgiven,and she was safe on Yavin.He could feel her presence again,as the bond had been restored.It was a restless,fearful presence,but a presence nonetheless. He wondered what was going on to get her so agitated,and was still wondering when suddenly,her presence was cut off.It was like a wall had been erected in between their two joined minds,separating them.His heart stopped for a second as time was frozen.Then,he regained a heartbeat,but stayed closed to Mara's mind.
    Leia sensed his disturbance.Sitting up on the bed on which she lay,she gazed at him.
"Luke,what's wrong?"
"I don't know," he admitted,"Mara's presence just disappeared,like someone clicking off a light."
"That can't be good," Leia said tiredly.
   Luke looked around the room in the medical centre in which Leia and her family were recovering,as if searching for some explanation.A single Two-Onebee medical droid puttered around a table in a corner of the room,completely oblivious to their hushed conversation.
"No,it can't," Luke agreed,eyes blank and withdrawn.Suddenly,he whirled around to face the door."I have to go to Yavin.Something's not right there."
He began rushing around,gathering his belongings and tossing things into a bag.
"Luke..." Leia said,easing herself off the bed.All of a sudden,he straightened up and looked at her,as if remembering she was in the room.
"Are you going to be okay?" He asked quietly.She smiled and nodded.
"We still have the Falcon,remember?"
Luke breathed a sigh of relief,and zipped up his bag.Then,he hugged his sister tenderly,placing a kiss on her cheek.
"You're sure you'll be fine?"
"Positive," she said,still holding on to his hands.She looked so tired and frail,Luke was afraid she might collapse at any moment.But in the next second,Han and Lilandra came into the room.
"Where are you going,kid?" Han asked.
"Mara's in some kind of trouble," Luke answered,"I have to go to Yavin right away."
   Han stood silently,but Lilandra chewed the inside of her lip,the wheels of her mind turning slowly.
Resolved, she stepped forward and asked,"Can I go with you?"
Luke turned to face the girl,startled."I don't mean to be rude but...why?"
"She's a Jedi,Luke," Leia spoke for Lilandra.
"It's true," Jaina piped up,emerging from the washroom,"She taught me lots of neat stuff while we were gone."
"Do you mind if I..." Luke gestured with his hands towards Lilandra's head.She nodded quickly.
"Not at all,go ahead."
   Luke reached up and placed his fingers on the girl's forehead,and reached into her mind.He searched the far corners of her mind for the small nub at the very back that would tell him whether or not she was a Jedi.Then,he found it,a small sensitive bump at the farthest point away from where anyone would find it.Tentatively,he pushed it with an invisible mental finger,and was suddenly pushed back by the unseen reaction that told him she really was a Jedi.He stumbled backwards,and Leia caught him.
"Satisfied?" she asked,pushing him forward back onto his feet.
"Yeah,I think that's proof enough.Besides,I want you to meet Mara," he said.
   Lilandra smiled broadly,priding herself on being the newest inductee into Luke Skywalker's famous Jedi Academy.
"What about Callista?" Lilandra suddenly remembered the strange,silent woman Luke had brought with him.
"Oh,of course!" Luke smacked his head in admonishment."Where is she?"
"Right here," A voice said from behind him.
      He spun to face Callista.She was dressed in a plain black flightsuit,and was carrying a dented helmet.
"A ship's all ready to go and at your command,Skywalker," she said,grinning.
"Thanks,Callista.Well,we're off to Yavin," he said,saluting Leia,Han,and the kids.
"Good luck,Luke," Leia said softly."Say hi to Mara for me."
   Luke became very serious at the thought of his wife.What had happened to her?
He went to twist his wedding ring thoughtfully around his finger out of habit,when he realized that it wasn't there.He gulped in shame.More importantly,how was he going to explain to her that his ring was at the bottom of an ocean on Mon Calamari?

       Lilandra Ilkhaine sat very still and silent in her seat aboard Luke's shuttle.She gazed out the viewport at the mottled sky of hyperspace,a familiar sight,but nonetheless thrilling.Her mind was a blaze of questions and dislocated thoughts.Who was this Mara person Luke spoke of so fondly? Why did that name sound so familiar? What had happened to make Luke leave in such a hurry? What was Jaina doing right now? But all those questions were faint memories at the back of her mind,meaningless when compared to the more pressing ones.Who destroyed the Foamwander Pride,and why do I have such a nasty feeling that I don't want to find out?
My sister, Kerryna. Kerryna Ocott. Kerryna Ocott. She felt panic well up inside of her. Certainly not. Even if her sister was a long-lost political radical, surely she wouldn't be so desperate as to. . .
  This could be bad,she thought.If this Mara's in trouble,you're going to find out whether you like it or not.You became part of this adventure the minute you walked into the Chief of State in the hallway,and you're going to ride it out to the end...whenever that may be.
   "Lilandra?" Luke said,leaning over the back of the pilot's chair,"Better strap in,we're coming out of hyperspace."
Obediently,she fastened her safety restraints,and watched as the starlines flared,and Yavin 4 came into view.
There was a strange aura around the moon,a kind of blue haze that wrapped itself around the planet's atmosphere.
"What is that?" Callista asked from beside Luke.
"It looks like...like exhaust fumes,as if many ships just took off minutes before our arrival,"Luke said,peering intently at the viewport.
"Ships?" Lilandra asked worriedly.She had a bad feeling about this.

       When they landed outside the great Jedi temple,Lilandra didn't have time to be enthralled by her surroundings.All she saw was the strange scene of a battle that might have happened,but didn't.
Blasters lay abandoned on the ground,as did bits of stormtrooper armor,and the doors were gouged with cuts from energy bolts and vibro-axes.An entire stand of trees had been vaporized,and the soft soil was blackened with soot.
    In the shadow of the doorway,Ton-Ara Jaksbin sat huddled,with her arms hugged around her legs,and her knees drawn up to her chin.She was rocking back and forth silently,and her eyes held a haunted look.Luke fairly flew down the ramp and knelt at the girl's side.
   "Ton-Ara? Ton-Ara! What's wrong? What happened here?" he cried,shaking her shoulders.
She remained silent and withdrawn,mouth set in a tight line.She just kept rocking back and forth,and her expression was one like Luke had seen on the faces of the refugees from the Foamwander Pride - like she had witnessed the worst atrocity in the universe.Lilandra squatted next to Luke,and gently shoved him aside.Without speaking,she put her arms around the girl and hugged her tightly.The child didn't even try to fight her off. Instead,she flung her arms around Lilandra's neck and buried her face in her shoulder.
   "It's okay," Lil murmured quietly,"Everything's going to be okay.Just tell me what happened very slowly,and I'll see what I can do."
   Ton-Ara slowly drew away from Lil,and stood up.Luke also stood,and motioned for Lilandra and Callista to follow him inside.The four young people entered the temple,and Lilandra could see more evidence of a sort of half-completed struggle.They went into the common room,and sat down in big,comfortable chairs.Ton-Ara sat next to Lilandra and held her hand tightly,while Luke and Callista faced them.
"Now," Lilandra said,"Tell us everything."
   Ton-Ara wiped her eyes slowly,then began her tale,looking straight at Luke.
"Yesterday morning,Mara came home alone in the shuttle you took to Mon Calamari.I asked where you and Callista were,and she told me that you two got in a fight,and you left.She was very upset,and I wondered why.She told me it was cause she was afraid you didn't love her anymore. Well,she didn't say that,but I knew she was thinking it.Is it true?"
   Luke knew what she meant.His cheeks burned with embarassment,but he held Ton-Ara's level gaze.It was so much harder hearing the story from Ton-Ara's point of view,because it made him realize how ridiculous he'd acted.
"It's not true.I love Mara very much,even though I didn't think I did at the time.But that's in the past,and I need to know where she is so I can truly apologize."
   Ton-Ara's eyes welled up with tears,and she waved her hands in frustration.
"That's the problem," she wailed,"I don't know where she is!"
Luke's breath caught in his throat."What do you mean?"
"I mean,last night during the thunderstorm,a Star Destroyer came and lots of troops broke into the temple and started shooting.We,I mean,all the students and me,were in the war room,and Mara was there.She looked so sad.She told us to run,and not stop running till we were safe,and that we should hide.
"I asked her if she was coming,and she said no.I was so afraid,I just ran,but I could hear the stormtroopers going into the war room.Then they shot her with stun guns,and dragged her away.That's all I saw,because by then I was crying so hard I couldn't see anymore.Now you're here,but I don't know where Mara Jade is." She finished,and looked down,ashamed.
"I'm sorry I didn't try to stop them,Master Skywalker.I was scared."
   Luke stared straight ahead,but his eyes were out of focus,not really seeing anything as he tried to form a picture in his mind of Ton-Ara's story.But every time he thought of Mara,he was reminded that she was closed to the Force-or at least to him.He looked helplessly at Callista,but she just shrugged.Then,he turned to Lilandra.She sat rigid as a stone carving,and her face was awfully pale.She looked so frightened.
"Lilandra,what's wrong?" Luke asked.
"Mara Jade?" Lilandra asked,her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Yes...she's my wife," Luke answered.
   Unbidden, a terrible memory flooded Lilandra's mind,a memory she'd locked away for nineteen years,so she'd never have to relive the horror of it again...

    From the arms of the stormtrooper,the little tiny child,Lilandra Ocott gazes after her new friend.She sees the new,older girl standing behind the other.She smiles,and says something mean about Lilandra.
 She wants to cry out,but the stormtrooper has one plastic-gloved hand wrapped in front of her mouth.She screams,but it comes out as a muffled moan.She hears the teenager talking,telling her friend all kinds of outrageous lies,about how wonderful the Empire is.She asks the girl's name,and the redhead answers.
"Mara Jade."
 The loveliness of the name reaches Lilandra's ears.The older girl grins,an evil,dishonest grin.
"What a beautiful name," she says,and reaches behind her back and pulls out the stun gun that Lilandra knows she is hiding.She fires two,quick bolts,and Mara collapses at her feet.
Unable to bear this any longer,Lilandra bites the stormtrooper,right through his plastic armor.He yells and drops her angrily to the floor.She drags herself to her feet,and launches her tiny form at the older girl.
"Kerryna,stop!" she yells.
"Not on your life,half-pint," Kerryna retorts.Then she kicks Mara's paralyzed body,and snaps her long,horrid fingers.Two guards come running and take the girl away.Lilandra is left facing the terrible girl,her own sister.
"Why are you doing this,Kerryna?" she asks."Why did you say you work for that evil man up there?" She points one chubby finger at the Emperor.
"Because,smallfry,it's the right thing to do,if you don't want to be killed.Besides,I'm powerful.The Emperor himself said it.He's going to teach me how to use my powers to do great things.There's a war going on, baby girl, in case you hadn't noticed, and I just happened to end up on the side that's winning. You,on the other hand,are a threat.You're going to be taken away,and shut up in a dark place somewhere where I'll probably forget all about you,and you'll never see the light of day again."
"It's not true!" Lilandra shouts,but Kerryna is making awful clapping noises with those hands of hers,like a door slamming shut,cutting her off from the outside world.
   "I hate you! I don't want to be your sister anymore!" Lilandra yells,and shuts her eyes tight.
"Go ahead," Kerryna sneers."See if I give a care.Guards,take the little orphan away.She disgusts me.Besides,the Emperor and I have work to do.There's still a galaxy to rule out there.When the other one awakens,bring her to me."
   With that,Kerryna turns and marches off to join a line of other children,all standing straight and tall and full of false purpose.
Lilandra is dragged away again,crying and aching with the betrayal her sister has just bestowed upon her.
"I'm not useless! I'm not! I'll show you,Kerryna Ocott!"
Her sister turns and gives her the most awful,narrow-eyed,hateful stare possible.
"We'll see about that,if you live long enough to."

        The rest of that day was lost in the recesses of Lilandra's mind.She knew the rest of the story though.She never saw or heard from Kerryna again,but was eventually set free and sent to live with a politically important family on Chad,called the Ilkhaines. There, she lived a good life, and a rich one, spending much of her time in private school. The Ilkhaines were determined that she should go into politics as they had. She adopted their customs, was sent off to school on New Caridia, and was eventually made an ambassador at the age of eighteen. She forgot all about Mara Jade,the strange,sarcastic redhead who had comforted her for five minutes,and politely informed her that her parents were dead.
    How strange it was that Lilandra would become entangled in a situation with her again,by some wierd twist of fate.She knew in her heart that the memories could stay buried no longer,that she would have to tell Leia's brother the whereabouts of his wife. She had no doubt in her mind now that Kerryna was the one who had sent her the threats, who had forced her to flee from place to place, and fight and fight, never knowing from whom she was running, who she was fighting against. And she knew that Kerryna was the one who had destroyed the peace ship, and kidnapped Mara Jade. She knew that only she had the power to bring Luke back his wife.
   But the thought of facing her sister again scared her to death.Kerryna had let her go once...but would she be as cordial this time around?
   She realized that everyone was staring at her.She blinked and rubbed her eyes,shaking away the last fragments of the memory.
"Lilandra,I sense the conflict within you," Luke said quietly."You share the same memories as my wife,don't you?"
   Lilandra helplessly broke down in tears, feeling strung-out and hopeless.
"We were together on the day the Emperor killed the last of the Jedi.I was just a toddler,and Mara Jade was almost an adolescent.She took me onto her lap,and told me that my mother was dead.She stroked my hair,and told me it would all be alright.But the Emperor got a hold of her first.He knew she was too powerful to be set free.I didn't know what had happened to her,and I eventually forgot all about her.But...she's your wife.And now she's gone."
   Callista looked at her with a mixture of emotions fighting for control of her face.
"I always wondered how it was that Mara came to be the Emperor's Hand.It seems to me now that she really didn't have a choice."
Luke smiled faintly."It seems like myself and Leia were the only ones who didn't fall in with the Imperials at a young age.Obi-Wan Kenobi performed his duty of hiding us very well."
   The room fell silent,as everyone contemplated their complex histories.Ton-Ara broke the silence.
"But where is Mara?" she asked in frustration.
Lilandra looked at them all in turn,making sure they were listening.
"If I'm right,and I'm sure I am,then Mara Jade is with my sister,Kerryna Ocott.And that means that she is in a great deal of danger."

        Mara Jade was back in her cell again after being brutally interrogated.Grand Admiral Kerryna Ocott had dug up an old Imperial torture droid from somewhere,and had used it against Mara on it's highest settings.Mara had screamed over and over that she had nothing to hide,but Kerryna just laughed in her face,taunting her about how weak she was.
"I thought you had a future with the Empire," she had teased,"being the Emperor's Hand and all.I guess I was wrong! Weak-minded fool...you were converted by a worthless Jedi who's probably forgotten his purpose in life and has nothing to do but meditate over nothing!"
   Mara's cheeks burned with hearing Luke insulted so horribly.She wanted to lash out at Kerryna,wanted to make her suffer,wanted to kill her,but the drugs in her system made it impossible.All she could do was scream and deny everything.

      Now,as she lay twitching on the floor of her cell,trying desperately to do something,anything,her anger and frustration overflowed.She wriggled along on her belly,sliding easily on the polished metal floor.She heaved herself up against the door again and again,until she was sitting upright.Her hands shook uncontrollably,and her mind was filled with all kinds of wierd hallucinations from the drugs the torture droid had injected into her.If there was one thing Mara Jade hated the most out of the many things she hated,it was being helpless.And that's what she was now.Helpless.Her body was paralyzed with all the stimulants and mind-altering injections,and she was bruised,cut,bleeding,and tired.With all the power her beaten and broken soul could muster,she screamed.
Not words,just noise.Every breath of air was forced out of her as she screamed,a horrid,inhuman cry of rage,frustration,pain,and above all,loneliness.
   Let Kerryna and the others hear,Mara didn't care.They had no feelings,none of them.Not Kerryna,not Grand Admiral Thrawn,not Daala,not Darth Vader,and especially not the Emperor.Mara's entire being ached with the countless betrayals she'd been faced with over the past;her mother and father killed,the only real home she'd had destroyed,the Emperor's deception...Luke Skywalker was the only person she had felt she could trust in a long time,and where was he now? Who knew?
   Mara wanted to believe his apology from the night before,wanted to believe it with all her heart,but she couldn't.She just couldn't.She was still screaming when the door to her cell was opened,and she fell out into the hall.She struggled over onto her back,and found herself staring up into the evil face of Kerryna Ocott.
"Awww,Mara Jade is all alone and scared," Kerryna mocked.
"Shut up," Mara growled through clenched teeth."Shut up right now."
"She's just so alone without her Jedi knight to save her,and she's unarmed.Whatever are you going to do now,Mara Jade?"
"I could ask you the same question," Mara retorted,trying desperately to get up.Kerryna delivered her a sharp kick in the ribs,and she sank back onto the floor,moaning.
"I have the power.I am a Sith lord.As soon as I am rid of your friends,I will rise to my rightful place of power and restore the Empire in the name of Emperor Palpatine."
"Emperor Palpatine is dead!" Mara shouted,"And so is the Empire! You just don't get it,do you? We've won.People are happy.We have peace.Why don't you just retreat to your backworld somewhere and leave us be?"
   Mara wanted to hurt her so badly,but she was closed to the Force,and unarmed.She futilely raised a hand and tried to strangle Kerryna with the Force,but it was no use.Kerryna just laughed bitterly and thrust her hand away.
"I'll consider your words when your friends are begging for mercy."
   With that,Kerryna kicked Mara again,and slammed the door to the cell shut.It closed with a heavy clang,and the darkness won over again.
   She lay there,stunned,then she crawled to the very back corner of the cell.One of her ribs felt broken,and she winced in pain.It hurt to breathe.
"Why is she keeping me alive?" Mara whimpered,then curled up and fell into a deep,restless sleep.

         Lilandra Ilkhaine was just about ready to tear her hair out.It was already evening,and Luke had done nothing.They had sat there in the common room for hours,just staring blankly at each other.No one seemed willing to move.Finally,Lilandra had had enough.She slammed her drink of water down on the tabletop,and everyone looked up.
   "Look at us!" She cried,"We've sat here forever,and done nothing! Mara is in no less danger,and neither is the New Republic! My sister is insane! She will destroy everything you've strived for,and don't you think otherwise.She is a Sith.Now come on,people.Have you forgotten how to fight?"
She stood towering above them,trembling like a leaf at her outburst.
   "Lilandra's right," Luke said,also rising."It's now or never."
"I'm with you," Callista said.
"Count me in," Ton-Ara agreed,and to her surprise and delight, no one objected. Her involvement in this was paramount, as one of the only witnesses of Mara's capture.
   "Where is the most likely place Kerryna would be?"
Lilandra thought for a moment,then,the answer came to her.
"Chad.Our homeworld,and where I went after I was set free.She'll be there,with her fleet.I'm almost sure of it."
Luke swallowed."Right then.Chad it is.Callista,do you have your lightsaber?"
Callista nodded.
"I do,too.Lilandra,take Mara's lightsaber.It's in our room.Ton-Ara,go get a blaster from the war room,and tell the other students to look after the temple."
Ton-Ara nodded quickly,and hurried off down the hall.Callista ran to prepare their small shuttle,while Luke led Lilandra to his room.
      Lilandra waited at the door while Luke crossed to the dressing table and picked up Mara's lightsaber.He placed it into Lilandra's hands,and pressed it there for a second.
She turned it over a few times,enjoying the feeling of the cool metal over her fingers.Then,she activated it.The blue blade hummed to life,slicing into the growing twilight in the room.She gazed at it,enthralled,waving it around a few times.
   "It's beautiful," she exclaimed softly."I've never had one of these before."
"Mara would have wanted you to have it,if she knew you were alive," Luke said.They stood in silence for a moment,then Lilandra closed down the weapon and clipped it to her belt.
"We'll find her,Luke," she assured him,and he smiled,wanting so badly to believe her.Then,together they headed out to the landing pad where Callista and Ton-Ara were waiting.

     Much later,Luke sat wide awake on the bridge of the small,unnamed shuttle.Ton-Ara and Callista had gone to sleep in the bunks,and Lilandra was practicing with the lightsaber in the back room.So Luke was alone,and that gave him more time to worry.The mottled sky of hyperspace flew by outside,always changing,but somehow still very monotonous.Luke could not keep Mara's face out of his mind for a single second.He was so worried.All he had to cling to was her mental assurance that she forgave him,but so much had happened since then.
     The whole journey,he sat and planned out what he'd say to her,if and when he found her.If he didn't find her...well,he didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't.But Mara was strong,a real survivor,and somehow he knew she'd be alright.
    Still,he needed a second opinion.Suddenly,he got the urge to call Leia.He tweaked the comm switch,and the window popped up.This time,he was absolutely sure of where Leia was.He patched through to the medical centre at Foamwander City on Mon Calamari,and Leia's face appeared.
"Luke?" she asked,puzzled.
"Leia," he sighed,"I'm so glad to see you.How are you feeling?"
"Fine,but,you don't look so good.Did you find Mara?"
"No.No,I didn't.She's been kidnapped by the Empire."
   Leia frowned."What do you mean,'kidnapped'?"
Luke debated whether or not to tell his sister what Lilandra had told them,wondering just how she'd react.Finally,he decided that it would be better for her to know.
"Lilandra's sister is a Sith lord.Apparently,she's insane,and hellbent on taking over the New Republic."
To Luke's surprise,Leia laughed loudly.
"You have no idea how funny that sounds," Leia giggled.
"It sounds funny,but it's the truth.You won't believe this,but when Lilandra and Mara were children,they were kidnapped by the Emperor's troops,around the time when he destroyed the last of the Jedi knights.They're both Jedi,and so were hundreds of other children.The Emperor sought a way to hunt them down out of fear that if they ever became full Jedi Knights,they would overthrow him.This Sith lord,Kerryna Ocott,was one of the Emperor's personal assassins.Now,she's just finishing what she started fifteen years ago."
The twins fell into thoughtful silence.
   "And you think Mara is with her?" Leia asked finally.
"I don't think it,I know it," Luke replied."I need your help.When you're strong enough,I need you and Han to bring the Falcon,and meet me at Chad III.We're going to settle this once and for all."
Leia sighed,suddenly looking and feeling very old."I really thought we were done with this sort of thing."
"Yeah,I did too,"Luke said."I guess I was wrong."

       Before they dropped out of hyperspace,Luke had one more comm call to make,to General Wedge Antilles on Coruscant.He had heard briefly about Wedge's capture and release at Chad,and he needed more information,not to mention a backup fleet.
"Gotcha,Luke," Wedge said after Luke had told him just about everything."I'll have a backup there within twenty-four hours."
"Thanks Wedge.Don't forget to tell Gavrisom that the whole thing about the New Republic destroying Chad was just a hoax."
"Don't worry about it,Luke.See you in a bit.Wedge out."
   Luke leaned back in his seat,satisfied,then he pulled back on the hyperspace lever,and the world of Chad lay at their feet.It was a peaceful-looking enough planet,but when Luke saw what orbited around it,his blood ran cold.
An enormous fleet of no less than one hundred thirty-one Star Destroyers,fifty Loronar-class strike cruisers,several dreadnaughts,and a beat-up B-Wing greeted the lone New Republic shuttle in orbit around Chad.Luke clutched the arms of his seat so hard his knuckles turned white.He heard Callista enter the cockpit behind him,and she placed her long fingers on his shoulders,making him jump.
"What is it?" she asked sleepily.
He grimaced slightly as he surveyed the scene outside the viewport.
"I guess they've been expecting us," he said.Meanwhile,the shuttle continued to fly straight towards the massive front.

       General Wedge Antilles leaned back in his chair at the comm centre on Coruscant,absorbing everything Luke had just told him.Mara,kidnapped by the Empire? Whatever for? He knew about her connections with the Imps,about her being the former Emperor's Hand and all,but the Imperials were all but dead.His brush with Admiral Norrcay on Chad had put him on edge,though,and firmly restored his belief that nothing was ever truly safe.
All of a sudden,he got the notion to do something.If this de-facto Grand Admiral and insane Sith were a real threat,then Luke would know it.And judging by the fact that he had actually called Wedge for help,Luke must be pretty shaken up.
   Wedge eased himself up out of his chair,and strode down the Grand Hallway of the former Imperial Palace.The strange,ancient architecture hovered over him,and stone gargoyles and menacing creatures gazed down at him with unfriendly granite eyes.Vines from alien hanging plants draped down to the floor,occasionally brushing his shoulder.It unnerved him greatly.This was one of the only rooms that Leia hadn't gotten around to having refurbished yet,and coincidentally,it was the room that everyone hated the most,yet spent the most amount of time in.
       Wedge scanned the room,taking in all the couches and chairs scattered about,and all the different races of creatures that lounged in them.Over in the corner, he spotted a lone,white-haired man sitting in one of the chairs.
He looked very inconspicuous,completely ordinary,yet Wedge had a bad feeling about him.
He stopped an Ithorian who was strolling by,and spun him in the direction of the chair.
"Excuse me sir,but can I ask you something?" Wedge asked politely.
"Of course,General," the Ithorian said.
"That man over there...who is he?"
The Ithorian bobbed his hammer-shaped head as he looked in the direction Wedge pointed.
"I do not know.He does not look like any ambassador I've ever seen around here.From a backwater world,maybe?"
"I didn't think they were included in the treaty," Wedge answered.
"Nor did I,but perhaps they wish to join our government.You should ask him."
   The two gentlemen stood silent for a moment,gazing in the direction of the man.As they watched,he stood up,and brushed off his trousers.As he went to straighten his jacket,a long,black coat made of some kind of reptilian-style material,Wedge caught a flash of something in the inside pocket.
A thermal detonator.
Wedge stiffened,and his pulse quickened.Where was the man going with that?
The Ithorian appeared confused.
   "What's wrong,general?" he asked with the utmost politeness.
"Nothing...uh,you can go about your business.An important matter just made itself known to me," Wedge said,waving the Ithorian away.The alien bowed,and scurried off to the Council chambers.Wedge moved slowly through the crowds in the great hallway,following the man in the long coat.His heart pounded-should he call security? No,it might be nothing.If security arrested an innocent man,his home planet might not be too cordial at having one of their ambassadors accosted.
     The man headed out of the great hallway,drifting nonchalantly towards Leia's office,the one she shared with the Empire's leader,Admiral Pellaeon.Wedge's breath caught in his throat. Admiral Pellaeon's in there! His mind screamed.
   Suddenly,Wedge was off like a blaster bolt.He ran past the man and rounded the corner to Pellaeon's office,where he skidded to a stop and tried to look important.He knocked twice and cast a glance over his shoulder.There was the white-haired man,still strolling along towards the office,one hand tucked inside his coat.Wedge jumped up and down slightly,just raising his heels off the tiled floor,willing the Admiral to open the door.Hurry up!
   As if answering his silent plea,the door slid open,revealing the slightly annoyed-looking visage of Admiral Pellaeon.
"General Antilles? What are-"
Wedge cut him off sharply as he leapt inside the plush office and let the door slam behind him.
"There are terrorists about,"he whispered."There's a man outside with a thermal detonator in his pocket, heading this way."
   Pellaeon stared at him for second."Um,Wedge,I don't really have time for a drama presentation.I know you always wanted to be in holovids but-"
"Listen to me!" Wedge snapped."This isn't a drama presentation! You have to evacuate this building right now!" He shot a furtive glance behind him at the closed door.If the man was listening in...
Councillor Gavrisom was seated in front of Pellaeon's desk,watching the two men in fascination.
"Admiral,hadn't we better listen to the man? He's not generally given to lying, and you can't really take a chance with terrorists."
   The office fell silent except for the ticking of the chronometer on the wall.To Wedge,every single noise sounded like that man's bomb blowing up.He fidgeted nervously.Most conveniently, there came a single,solitary knock at the office door.
      Wedge glanced sharply at Pellaeon,who had paled noticeably The window,he mouthed.Pellaeon nodded gravely and motioned to Gavrisom.Gavrisom crossed the room to the window,and slid it open as the knock sounded again.Wedge was the first one out the window,and within seconds he was helping Gavrisom shove his wings through the small frame.Admiral Pellaeon was the last one to squeeze through onto the balcony.The skyscrapers of Coruscant drifted impossibly high above them,and the metal balcony dropped sharply off without even a railing to stop people from falling.It was intended as emergency landing platform for important dignitaries who needed to see the Emperor right away,back in the days of the Galactic Empire,but now it was the last chance of escape for the three officials.
   Smirking grimly,Gavrisom spread his wings and snatched Pellaeon and Wedge up in his talons.Without a word,he soared off into the sky.
"I hope you're telling the truth,Wedge,because you are putting our lives on the line," Pellaeon grumbled as he clutched Gavrisom's wrist.
   But,as nearly half the Imperial Palace was blown sky high in the next instant and a shower of chrome and shrapnel rained on the buildings and hovercars below,Wedge simply shrugged.
"I've never been given to lying," he said solemnly.
   He squinted in the late afternoon sunshine towards the roof of the palace.Surprisingly,only the lower-level offices had been blown out.The roof was still intact,and standing atop it was a lone figure in a stained,olive-grey Imperial uniform.Gavrisom soared towards him,as he was waving frantically.But as Gavrisom and his two passengers neared the lone man,he drew a blaster,and fired one shot into the sky.
   "That one was for Chad!" he hollered,then fired the remaining bolt into the side of his head.As the body collapsed,so did the section of roof the man had been standing on.
   Wedge,Pellaeon and Gavrisom stared in silence,Gavrisom's pale blue eyes glistening with tears. Below them,the city lived on,completely unaware of the turmoil occuring above it.

         Later that evening,Wedge Antilles,Councillor Ponc Gavrisom,Supreme Admiral Pellaeon,and State Advisor Mon Mothma sat in the council chambers,which had thankfully not been destroyed.Bulky builder droids were already whirring about their business of repairing the hollowed out palace.Mon Mothma sat stony faced on her bench,the clear screen separating her from the others making her bright eyes shimmer with anger.
   "General Antilles,Councillor Gavrisom,and Admiral Pellaeon," she began coldly,"Consider yourselves very lucky that I was not in the palace at the time of the bombing.Had I been,you three would have been in very big trouble."
The three men faced her with expressions on their faces like sheepish schoolboys who had been caught with their hands in the biscuit jar.
"It wasn't our fault," Wedge said meekly.
"Then who's was it?" Before anyone could answer,Mon Mothma continued."I know you're going to say it's the bomber's fault,but really.You should have alerted security at the first sign of threat."
She looked directly at Wedge when she said that,and he sank lower in his seat.
   "Because of your selfish mistake,many, many people died who might have survived if the proper authorities had been contacted."
Wedge gulped as he remembered the gracious Ithorian who he had inquired to about the strange terrorist.Where was the alien now?
   "But," Mon Mothma went on,"What's done is done,and now we need to figure out how it happened,and how to prevent it from happening again.Wedge,since this is almost 90% your fault,why don't you start?"
Wedge bowed his head in respect,and stood.
"I suppose I should start at the beginning."
"That would be appropriate," Mon Mothma said,and Wedge thought he detected a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Wedge began by telling them the story he had recounted to Gavrisom not even a week ago,upon his release from Chad.
   "In that case,I can see why this suicide bomber would want to get revenge...if what Admiral Norrcay told you was true," Mon Mothma interrupted.
"That's the problem,"Wedge said,"I'm not sure that what he told me was true.At least,Luke Skywalker doesn't seem to think so.Why would the New Republic bomb an innocent world?"
"In retaliation,perhaps,for a previous blow Chad had delivered to us?" Gavrisom put in.
"Admiral Pellaeon,you were part of Imperial forces back when Chad was supposedly destroyed.Do you know anything about this?"
   "Councillor Gavrisom,I was but a lowly Star Destroyer captain.Why would any leader tell these things to a pilot?"
"Do not forget that you were the captain of Grand Admiral Thrawn's Star Destroyer," Mon Mothma said angrily."He might very well have told you all these things.Unless of course,you are hiding something from us."
"Don't make assumptions,Mon Mothma," Pellaeon growled,"You might find that it is dangerous to your health."
"After several assassination attempts,I have learned to disregard such threats," she shot back.Wedge and Gavrisom looked on in disbelief as the two leaders glared each other down.
   Finally,Wedge decided that this wasn't getting them anywhere,so he took a deep breath,and bellowed,"Enough! This bickering is pointless! It's not making anything more clear,and you're only treading on very dangerous ground."
Mon Mothma and Admiral Pellaeon looked up in surprise at Wedge's outburst.
   "You're right,General," Pellaeon admitted."We're a unified goverment now.It's not good enough to just toss insults back and forth and then destroy a planet or two in retaliation.We need to let Wedge finish his story."
"Thank you,Admiral," Wedge said quietly,then cleared his throat and continued."This morning,I recieved a comm call from Luke Skywalker.I run the risk of sounding foolish when I say this,but his wife is missing."
Gavrisom fought back a smile.Mon Mothma raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"Missing,you say?"
"Kidnapped,is the word Luke used."
   This time,the smile couldn't stay hidden."Wedge,do we really want to get involved in a domestic dispute?" Gavrisom said,grinning mysteriously.Beside him,Pellaeon chuckled softly.
"I think it was more than a simple domestic dispute.Luke has reason to believe that a Sith lord is on the loose and making trouble for our goverment.I'm almost tempted to believe him after this little incident."
Pellaeon had remained silent until then,and he spoke up.
"Another warlord?"
"I know what you mean,Pellaeon.I thought we had finished with those.But,in case there really is a threat,I promised Luke we'd have a backup fleet at Chad within twenty-four hours."
   The room fell disturbingly quiet then,while Mon Mothma thought it over.
"Wedge,you have my permission to lead your X-Wings to Chad.I can't really argue with a Jedi's hunch,now can I?"
Wedge grinned."Thank you,Mon Mothma.Hopefully,I won't be gone very long."

     So,for the second time in just over a week,General Wedge Antilles prepared his Rogue Squadron for takeoff to Chad.
"You guys should have these coordinates memorized by now," Wedge joked over the comm channel.
"Us? Memorize coords? You must be kidding! We've all been too drunk!" Rogue Five replied lightheartedly.
Wedge knew he was joking,but he broadcast the coordinates anyway,just in case his team had been enjoying a bit too much of the local ale.
"Good luck,Rogues," he said,and pulled back on the hyperspace lever.Behind him,the other ships winked out of sight,and they were on their way.

       The scene aboard the unmarked New Republic shuttle was a grim one.Luke Skywalker sat in the pilot's seat,quietly absorbing the view of the deadly fleet.They were in a safe orbit,just behind the ships,but it wouldn't be very long before they were noticed.A shipful of Jedi would mean trouble to anyone but a Sith lord.In fact,although Luke and the others had been trying to keep their thoughts quiet,it was a definite possibility that Kerryna Ocott already knew they were there...
   Lilandra Ilkhaine sat in a passenger seat just behind Luke,wringing her hands in worry.Her thoughts were undistinguishable except for a few snatches of logic,but mostly,her mind was a blaze of questions and fearful queries.
"Why are we just sitting here? We're easy targets!" she cried aloud."They could destroy us with one shot from that Star Destroyer.If my sister finds out I'm here,she'll likely do it,too."
"Lilandra,you have to calm down," Luke said."Fear leads to the dark side,and the dark side means you become a person like Kerryna.You don't want that,do you?"
That made Lilandra's mind focus sharply as she shook her head no.
"Besides,I have a feeling that she wants us to be here...that's why she's keeping Mara alive."
    "If Mara's closed to the Force,how can you tell she's alive?" Callista asked tiredly from the bunk in the next room over.
Luke sat up,startled."Did I wake you?" He asked,avoiding Callista's question.
"No,you didn't.I've been dreaming with my eyes open," she came back.
"I'm too tired to determine whether that was sarcasm or not," Luke moaned,and leaned his head back against the headrest.
"Then I'll determine it for you-it was sarcasm.Honestly,you're talking loud enough to wake the dead," Callista grumbled.
"You're beginning to sound like Mara," Luke said.Callista was finally silent.
"Speaking of Mara,I hope she is alive,because right now,I can't tell the difference."

       Aboard the Star Destroyer Sojourner,Kerryna Ocott was not in a pleasant disposition.She glared out the viewport,seeing the small New Republic shuttle only in her mind's eye.The viewport itself was filled with the oblong turquoise shape of the planet Chad.
"What do you mean,only half the goverment building was destroyed?" She roared angrily.She waved her hands in exasperation at Captain Avye,who stood hunched over in front of her,clutching a report from the Coruscant team.
"I'm afraid the thermal detonator malfunctioned,ma'am.Only the upper levels were blown out."
Kerryna narrowed her eyes to slits.
"Someone will pay for this."

       Mara Jade Skywalker crouched in the corner of her cell,tracing patterns on the metal floor with her fingers.Her fingertips left small heat marks that disappeared shortly after she removed her hands.It was fascinating,and besides,she had nothing else to do.
   But,suddenly,the door to her cell was flung open with a bang,and there stood Kerryna Ocott,silhouetted in pale,dingy light.She was terribly mad,and her eyes burned with an insane fire.Her hair fell across her face,giving her the look of someone who had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
She pulled a blaster from a holster on her hip,and aimed it at Mara's head,point-blank range.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Kerryna growled.
"Because," Mara said bluntly,trying to hide her fear, "I haven't done anything wrong."
This only made the Sith angrier,and she wrapped one long,deadly finger around the stock of the weapon to rest on the trigger.
   "Don't make me enjoy this,Mara Jade."
"You're being stupid,Ocott.You could have killed me days ago and it would have been much more satisfying.In fact,you could have killed me twenty-odd years ago,when you first had the chance.Then,you wouldn't have to burst so many blood cells," Mara retorted.
"But if I had killed you then,you wouldn't have had your chance to impress the Emperor," Kerryna said,squeezing only slightly on the trigger.Mara's heart pounded.How in the stars was she going to answer that one?
She gulped,and took a chance."If you had killed me then,I wouldn't have failed."
   Kerryna slunk back a bit,considering Mara's words.But then,she raised the blaster again.Mara shut her eyes,anticipating the shot that would kill her.How embarassing.After all the escapes from Imperial clutches,she was going to be shot by an insane Sith who didn't know the difference between success and failure.But instead of shooting Mara,Kerryna swung the barrel of the blaster around to strike her sharply in the head.Mara sank to the floor,but she didn't even have the energy to rub her head where Kerryna had hit it.She was too relieved.

    Kerryna Ocott strode back to the bridge,snarling to herself.
"Captain Avye!" She roared.The timid captain spun around to face her."Yes,Admiral?" he asked meekly.
Kerryna thought for a moment.
"Never mind.My thought has escaped me."
The captain's shoulders relaxed as he heaved a sigh of relief.His superior had stalked back to her swivelling chair at the corner of the bridge facing the viewport.She spun around and around in the chair like a nervous child,muttering curses and drawing pictures in the air with those eerily long hands of hers.
   "Admiral Ocott,are you alright?" He asked worriedly.She looked sublimely ticked off,ready to fly off the deep end of sanity at any second.
Instead of just exploding,she took several deep breaths and smiled sweetly at him.
"Of course,Captain.Just fine.It's a sunny day on the Sojourner."
Avye shuddered in terror.She sounded so...senseless.There was no telling what she might do in this state of mind.
"If you say so,Admiral." He turned and shuffled back to his station.All the officers who had turned to watch whether or not Kerryna would strike the captain dead in his tracks went back to work,and left the Admiral to mumble profanities to herself.
    Inside her mind,the sight of the New Republic shuttle just drifting there,unaware that they had been noticed was driving Kerryna crazy.
Why don't they come? Luke Skywalker's wife is in considerable danger...or doesn't he realize it? The longer he hesitates,the more angry I become.And the angrier I become,the more there is a danger that someone gets hurt-and it's usually the person I like the least-and that means that Mara Jade will be the first to die.

      Chief of State Leia Organa Solo lay in a bunk aboard the Millennium Falcon.As promised,she and her family were off to assist Luke at Chad.Evidently,he hadn't found Mara yet,and that meant that they were not out of danger yet.She had gotten over the destruction of the peace ship,although there still remained a few fragments of anger and despair lingering in the dark corners of her mind.
   Above her,Anakin lay on his own bunk,one limp,exhausted arm dangling down in front of Leia's eyes.She smiled and pulled it playfully.She thought she heard muffled giggles from above.So he was awake.She batted his hand with hers,and it swung back and forth before stopping again in front of her face.It was like a piece of hair that you just couldn't get out of your face and back into place.She batted it again,harder this time,and the giggling became full-blown laughter.A lock of Anakin's tousled chestnut hair appeared from over the metal frame,followed by two blue eyes,a nose,and a mouth.
   "Hello,darling," Leia said.
"Hi mommy!" He grinned,then popped his head back up onto the bunk before dropping neatly to the ground.
"Are you awake?" he asked,leaning into Leia's little bunk.
"What does your instinct tell you?"
"Yes!" Anakin giggled,then tried to pull his mother out of bed.She laughed and reached out a hand to steady herself.She stood up and stretched in the narrow corridor separating the bunks from the cockpit.
   "You're all wrinkled," Anakin said,and Leia was confused until she realized he was talking about her flightsuit.
"So are you,Ani!" She smiled,and brushed off the front of his coveralls.
"Where are your brother and sister?"
"I dunno," Anakin said,scuffing his shoe against the floor.
"Well,let's go find them,shall we?" Leia asked,taking his arm like a perfect lady.He chuckled quietly to himself,and followed her down the corridor to the cockpit.
     Han was sitting in the pilot's seat as usual,having another argument with Chewie."I'm telling you,Chewie,it's not the hyperdrive this time-at least,it better not be!"
Chewbacca growled in disagreement.
"Don't use that tone with me,you big,furry-"
   "Han,how are we doing for time?" Leia interrupted his insult.
"Oh,hi Leia," Han said,turning to face her."Hi, Anakin."
"Hi Dad,"Anakin answered,smiling through closed lips.
"Time?" Han said distractedly."Uh,about an hour till we drop out of hyperspace."
"Excellent." Leia said."I wonder how Lilandra's doing with Luke..."
Han looked at her lovely face,now lined with worry.
   "They'll all be fine,don't you worry your pretty head."
She cast him a sideways glance."Who's worried?"

     Luke Skywalker stared out the viewport intently,open with his mind and his eyes for any sign of Wedge or his sister.Suddenly,he saw a flicker of light,and a ship appeared,a Corellian YT-1300 light freighter,beaming towards them at full sublight speed.
"Leia's here," Luke announced,and Lilandra looked up sharply.
"Does that mean we're going to close in on the fleet?" she asked.
"Not yet.We're just waiting for a few more people,and then the party begins," Luke answered.He realized with a pang that that had been a totally Mara-like response.Luke Skywalker would never think of a battle as a 'party',had he not had the Jade influence.
   Lilandra was smiling kindly at him."I heard that thought,Luke.She really must be alive.If she wasn't,you wouldn't be able to think about her that way."
Luke considered her words.They had some truth in them.If Mara was dead,he would know.
   Then,on an impulse,he reached out and squeezed Lilandra's hand for comfort.
Although the gesture surprised her, she realized with a soft sigh that it was more than welcome. It may have been a small comfort, knowing that she wasn't all alone in her fight against Kerryna Ocott, but it was a comfort just the same.
   She smiled inwardly,and just held his hand,feeling warm all over.

      Grand Admiral Kerryna Ocott sat brooding in her swivelling chair.She was incredibly bored,but she decided she had already tortured Mara Jade enough for one day.Enough for one lifetime,actually,but Kerryna didn't think along those kinds of timelines.
Without warning,her sense flashed,and a new presence came into her mind.Actually,several new presences,four of them Jedi.
   "They never stop coming," she muttered incredulously.She marvelled at how,although the Emperor had only let one or two of the Jedi go,they just multiplied like myrmins on fertility drugs.
Now they'll come.I hope they do,because I need target practice.
   Abruptly,her sense flashed again,more violently,and a small fleet of single-person crafts entered the vicinity.Even better,she thought,and gestured to her fleet outside the viewport.Time to see if these things are worth what I paid for them.
   "Captain Avye?" she asked.
"Yes,Admiral?" the Captain sounded distinctly impatient.He was tired of her games.
"The ability to think just returned to me.A small rebel fleet has massed in orbit."
She put emphasis on the word "rebel",just out of spite.
"It's finally time.Fire when ready."

      Wedge Antilles and his X-Wing fleet had just dropped out of hyperspace,and barely had a moment to get their bearings before the massive assault force looming before them opened fire.
"Hope your skills didn't have a chance to get rusty,fellows!" Wedge barked into the comlink,"Cause here they come!"
   He performed a sharp roll to the left,avoiding a turbolaser blast from the lead Star Destroyer's cannon.A wave of TIE bombers and Interceptors came flying out of the ship's hold,and Wedge hardly had time to recover from his maneuver before he was hit with another barrage of gunfire from the incoming fighters.
"Cover me,Rogue Two,I'm going to try to confuse them," Wedge said,and his wingman came into view.
"The rest of you,lock S-foils in attack position and split up.We'll meet them in the middle."
   Wedge punched the button to set his wings into the X-configuration which gave the ship design it's name,and watched with satisfaction as the other Rogues spiralled out into the stars.
   He yanked hard on the steering mechanism,and launched out of the way of an incoming bomber.The ship's shot went wild,and it's pilot lost control of the craft.It exploded moments later.
   Wedge swung back around to face where the other bombers were flying in tight formation.
"Double corkscrew,Rogues," he commanded,and hit full sublight speed.He tore into the circle of bombers,seeing the other X-Wings also roaring in towards the formation.Then,just when it looked like it would be a massive collision,the pilots of the Rogue Squadron corkscrewed out of the circle.The confused TIE bombers weren't sure who to shoot at,and so released a torrent of turbolaser fire at each other.At least eight of the attackers went up in smoke,and Wedge cheered.
"Good work,Rogues,now finish 'em off!"
   The pilots each had their own ideas,and started off in every direction imaginable,a triumphant blossom of firepower and teamwork.
   Wedge opened fire on a lone confused Interceptor,and the poor pilot spiralled out of control.The Twin Ion Engines that gave his craft it's name exploded in a flash.
   Wedge pulled up on the nose of his ship as an ion blast from the lead Star Destroyer nearly left him dead in space.
"Too close," he muttered.He yanked the comlink out of his flightsuit pocket,and as an afterthought,added to his team, "Be careful."

       Luke Skywalker,and his companions Callista,Ton-Ara,and Lilandra all stared out the viewport at the sudden battle erupting in front of their eyes.
"They're attacking!" Ton-Ara cried in disbelief.
"I thought they wanted us to come to them," Lilandra murmured.Her hazel eyes looked deeply troubled,and she absently reached for Luke's hand again.He took it,but his thoughts were elsewhere.
   "Why is she doing this?" Lilandra asked,barely making a noise at all.
Suddenly,one of the X-Wing ships that were fighting so valiantly for them exploded in a mess of engine smoke and failed emergency systems.That was enough for Lilandra.
   She shoved Luke out of the way with surprising strength.
"Lilandra,what-" Luke stuttered,but Lilandra had grabbed the controls,and was steering the shuttle out of their safe orbit,and into the battle.
"Are you insane?" Callista shrieked,"There's no firepower on this thing at all!"
"That doesn't bother me,cause we're not going to fight!" Lilandra shouted back."We're going aboard the Star Destroyer.I have to face my sister once and for all."
   Luke gulped at Lilandra's pronouncement.He glanced quickly at Mara's lightsaber hanging at Lil's waist.He remembered old Ben's words:You must face Darth Vader.He had questioned why,but it was necessary,if he was to become a full Jedi.This was Lilandra's destiny,and he respected her decision.
   Ton-Ara and Callista begged to differ,however.Callista leapt behind Lilandra and tried to wrestle the controls away from her,but they were locked into the Star Destroyer's tractor beam. Kerryna had seen their approach, and she was ready, making sure that they didn't have time for second thoughts.
"This is suicide!" Callista cried,fear raising her voice several octaves.
   Ton-Ara stared silently out the viewport at the shimmery haze of the tractor beam surrounding the shuttle.
"Lilandra,why are you doing this?" the child asked.Lilandra breathed deeply to calm herself and unconsciously fingered the lightsaber clipped to her belt.
"Because I have to know why."
Ton-Ara didn't ask what she meant.She realized she already knew.

     Aboard the Millennium Falcon,Han,Leia and the children were also watching the battle.They also saw the X-Wing explode,and they also saw Luke's shuttle start moving out of the safe orbit around Chad,towards the massive lead Star Destroyer.Han's breath caught in his throat.
"What's Luke doing? The kid's going to get himself killed!"
Leia looked at him,positively stricken. "That's not Luke piloting that shuttle.It's Lilandra."
"Does it matter?" Han cried. "They're flying into a trap!"
   Leia saw the sudden flicker of blue haze as the Star Destroyer's tractor beam lanced out and locked onto the small ship,drawing it into it's massive hangar bay.She fought back the urge to cry out as the shuttle was taken in through the enormous doors,meant for much larger smuggling craft,and tried to tell herself that Lilandra knew what she was doing,and that they'd all be alright.Chewbacca placed a hairy palm on her shoulder,as if sensing her turmoil.
   "Lilandra," Leia whispered,"Just please don't let anything happen to my brother."
She hoped that Lil heard her.

     Grand Admiral Kerryna Ocott stared at the viewport,at the battle raging between X-Wings and TIE fighters,at the small New Republic shuttle plowing doggedly through the chaos.She didn't smile this time.It wasn't a happy occasion.
"Grand Admiral Ocott?" a young voice said behind her.She spun around to face the fresh-faced,sandy-haired officer standing behind her.
"Yes,son?" She said,using a very endearing term with the young man.
"We have caught a shuttle in our tractor beam-do you want us to take prisoners for interrogation?" He stood proudly,his rank insignia gleaming in the dim light of the bridge.The sight of the boy's obvious dedication to his role inspired her.
"Actually," she said,"I would like to meet the shuttle myself.Tell the stormtroopers to keep well clear of the hangar bay."
"Yes ma'am!" The officer saluted and hurried off to spread the news.
   Kerryna leaned over a chrome-plated control panel and admired her reflection in the metal surface.She patted her long,sandy hair,and flipped it playfully back over her shoulders.She always said appearances were very important,especially when greeting family members.
   Then,she turned and stalked off towards the hangar bay.But she had one very important stop to make beforehand.

      Mara Jade Skywalker was still sprawled on the floor of the cell where Kerryna had last left her.She was completely beyond being in pain.With two broken ribs,a bruised head, an aching heart,and an empty stomach,she had grown accustomed to her rough treatment.So it came as no surprise when the cell door was flung open once again.
"What do you want,Kerryna?" Mara mumbled into her sleeve."Are you actually going to shoot me this time,or is this another one of your games?"
"Actually,it's something entirely different this time," the Sith's familiar voice came behind her.
"Oooh.A surprise," Mara said sarcastically.
"Get up," Kerryna said harshly,grabbing the back of Mara's jumpsuit and pulling her to her feet.
"Do I have a choice?" Mara avoided the woman's eyes,and just stared at the floor.Her chest throbbed painfully where her bones had been fractured.
"Of course not."
Kerryna led her down the corridor in a different direction this time.
"Where are you taking me?" Mara asked suspiciously, "neither the bridge or the interrogation rooms are down this way."
"We're going to the hangar bay.Your friends have finally decided to take the bait. By the way, that's you, Mara.Besides,I'm bored again,so it's time for a new diversion."
   Mara gulped,wondering which friends Kerryna meant,and wondering what terrible fate was about to befall them at the hands of the Sith.

       Lilandra Ilkhaine watched as the shuttle was taken in between the massive jaws of the hangar bay,and set gently down on the recieving platform.Without a word,she popped the hatch,and dashed out of the ship,holding Mara's lightsaber in her right hand.Luke,Callista,and Ton-Ara followed carefully,looking around the giant recieving room.There didn't seem to be anyone around.That made Luke more nervous than if there had been a whole barracks of stormtroopers waiting for them.Lilandra was glancing around with quick,sharp motions of her head,and there was a wild look in her eye.
   "She's here," she whispered hoarsely."My sister's on this ship."
Then,she was off,running over the sleek metal platform,up a set of chain-link stairs,and around a corner.Her hair flew behind her in a thick cloud of dark blond strands.
"Lilandra,be careful!" Luke shouted.
But whether she heard him or not,he didn't know.She was already out of sight.

     Leia was just about ready to kill someone.The battle still roared outside,but the New Republic shuttle had disappeared into the bowels of the Star Destroyer,and with it,her brother,and good friend.
"Han,we have to do something!" she yelled,for what seemed like the millionth time in five minutes,and Chewie roared in alarm.
"With our kids on board?" Han snapped back,but there was no mistaking the conflict in his eyes.Leia could see that he desperately wanted to fight,but his paternal instinct was telling him otherwise.
   They stared at each other for a moment,then Leia said,"The kids are strapped into their seats in the back.They'll be fine,right?" The emotion in her voice was painfully obvious to Han.
"Right," he assured her,and hugged her quickly.Chewie growled in approval,and sat back down in the co-pilot's seat.Leia kneeled between them,and watched as Han steered the Falcon out of safe orbit,and into the battlefield.The lead Destroyer had stopped firing,but the other 130 ships were opening their hangar bays and releasing wave upon wave of TIE fighters onto the struggling X-Wings.
   "Help them first," Leia ordered.The X-Wings were running dangerously low on firepower and enthusiasm,and the overwhelming numbers of TIE fighters buzzing through the sky was dazzling them beyond hope.Han pulled up on the controls,and roared into the middle of a cloud of TIEs.
"Leia!" He yelled over his shoulder,"Get up into the gun turret!"
   Leia launched herself off her knees and up the narrow ladder into the quad laser turret.She sank into the seat,and pulled the headphones over her ears.
"How's it look from up there?" Han's voice came through the earphones.
"Pretty bad," Leia admitted.No sense in lying.Two of the X-Wings were nothing but rubble now,and one more was desperately trying to outmanoever a small,menacing entourage of no less than twelve TIEs.
   "Head over that way first!" Leia suggested."We have to help that poor pilot."
Her stomach churned as Han executed a backwards flip and shot off after the Twin Ion Engines.Leia fired at will,destroying ships left and right,swivelling madly in the chair.Her pulse pounded in her ears,and she allowed herself to release her rage upon the unfortunate enemy ships.The last one exploded in a fantastic display,and Han whooped loudly in Leia's ear.
   "Nice shooting there,sweetheart!" he yelled happily.
"Thanks,but we're not out of the woods yet.Look out behind you!"
Two TIE bombers were screaming towards the battered freighter,pelting the back with firepower.Suddenly,the ship lurched wildly.
"We're hit!" Leia yelled.She whirled her chair around to face the two attackers,still shooting.
"We've lost the rear deflector shields," Han muttered into the earphones.Leia could hear Chewbacca roaring in the background.
   "Don't let them touch the hyperdrive," he added,and Leia nodded gravely.Without the hyperdrive,this could turn into another mad rush for survival,and she really didn't want to pull that off with the kids on board.Encouraged by the thought of her children,she aimed carefully,squinting through her flight goggles.She inched just a little more to the left,and fired.Green fire flashed,and one of the TIEs exploded.Without it's partner,the other ship was alone,and he scuttled back to join another group.
"They're outta there,those slimy-" Leia shouted the worst word she could think of after "slimy",but blushed after when she realized that Han's manners must have rubbed off on her more than she thought.
   "I'm heading over to that next cluster," Han said,"Chewie's trying to fix the rear deflector shields."
"Gotcha," Leia said,and checked that her safety restraints were still fastened.Through the clouds of TIEs and X-Wings buzzing through space,she could see that they were much closer to the lead Star Destroyer now.The hangar bay was still closed,and most of the lights on the bridge were dimmed almost to non-existence.The cold,unfriendly triangular structure seemed to will them to go after their friends.
   "No way," Leia whispered fearfully.She'd had enough of holding cells and torture chambers.But by staying out here where it was "safe",that gave Luke and Lilandra less of a chance of surviving.
"We have to do something,Han," Leia said to her husband through the comlink.
"We are doing something! Chewie's trying the best he can to fix that shield,and we're still out here shooting at TIEs.What more do you want?"
"I mean,we have to do something to that Star Destroyer.My family and friends are on that thing,and we need to give them a fighting chance of escaping!"
"Well,what do we do?" Han asked helplessly.He knew he couldn't very well argue with his wife when she was like this,so he decided that he might as well play along.
   "Do you still have those ion cannons on this thing?" Her voice came back,still sweet,but impatient.
"Yes..." he answered slowly.What was she getting at? The ion cannons could either destroy a ship,or leave it dead in space with no machinery if carefully aimed.
"What are you going to do with them if I give them to you?" he asked.
"I'm going to disable their weapons systems."
   Han sighed loudly."Okay,it's your call.Chewie,get me those ion containers and pass them up to Leia."
Chewbacca growled an affirmative from the back.A hairy arm reached up the ladder into the gun turret,and Leia now held in her hands two ion cylinders,ready for loading.She jammed them into the stock of the cannon,and keyed for the ion setting on the control pad mounted on the arm of her seat.The green light flashed,indicating that the cannon was ready."All systems are go," Leia said,smiling.One carefully aimed blast could leave that Star Destroyer without any weapons or electricity.It would make it harder for her friends to see,but easier for them to hide,if necessary.
Yes,it was the right thing to do.
   She swung the controls around,and leaned back in her seat.Perfect,a clear shot without any TIEs blocking the way.She carefully aimed the cannon at the underside of the ship,staring intently through her goggles.Then,she jerked down on the controls with a strangled cry,and the ion blast licked out at the sky.It hit the massive enemy ship with a burst of static electricity,and a blue haze shimmered around the Destroyer for a moment as the opposing electrical currents ran through the structures,disabling every single component that required power to run.The lights flickered a moment,then went out.
The Star Destroyer Sojourner was dead in space.

      Lilandra Ilkhaine was oblivious to fear.Her heart pounded in time with her feet as she ran along the metal flight deck,up the stairs,and around a dark corner.She could hear Luke's concerned cry,but his words were lost in the echo that followed.
   In the next instant,all the lights on the ship suddenly dimmed,brightened,then went out completely.Lilandra skidded to a stop,blinded momentarily until her eyes adjusted to the darkness.She took a tentative foot forward to make sure there was still floor there.
"This must be a trap," she thought,"Another one of Kerryna's games."
   Fear began to seep into her bones,and she stood frozen in place while a wave of panic washed over her.The direction she had come from had all but disappeared,washed away by the ocean of blackness that blanketed the ship,and the corridor ahead of her held no more light than behind.Then,she remembered the lightsaber in her hand.With a snap-hiss,she ignited the weapon,and it's quiet humming seemed louder than any sound imaginable at the moment.
   "She'll find me for sure with this thing going," Lilandra whispered,but she didn't turn off the weapon.The cool blue light that flooded the corridor was just too comforting.
   Lilandra stepped forward again,eyes downcast,searching for some indication that the floor was going to drop out beneath her at any second.That indication never made itself known to her,so she walked quicker.The corridor turned again,where it ended in a large metal door.The control pad had been disabled by whatever had turned off the lights,so the door slid open easily at the touch of Lilandra's hands.She put her arm into the room first,the lightsaber illuminating the far dark corners of the room.
   There appeared to be no furnishings or technical equipment whatsoever in this room,just a spiral staircase winding it's way around a metal pillar in the dead center of what appeared to be a TIE storage bay.Lilandra gulped quietly.The eerie blue glow from her weapon lit almost everything as she entered the space.The door slammed shut with a clang behind her,and she jumped.A strange kind of smoky haze filled the room,hovering around Lilandra's feet and masking her boots in pale white mist,tinged blue by the saber's light.High above her,a platform ran around the top of the room near the cieling,and Lilandra realized that the room was circular.The platform was lined with doors,all closed and barred,and several different pathways branched out into the middle of the air from each door to meet one circular platform above the spiral staircase.
   Lilandra could feel a presence now,a dark one,very near.
Kerryna Ocott was in this room,right now.
   "Kerryna?" Lilandra called,her voice sounding strangled and high."I know you're in here."
She heard three,light footsteps,but she couldn't determine their source.The sound was disjointed,echoing all around the circular room,making it seem as if the Sith was everywhere at once.
Then there came a voice,with a mocking tone,and deadly quiet.
"Look behind you."
   Lilandra felt her skin start to crawl as she turned to face the source of the voice.
Kerryna Ocott stood by the closed door,her tall,slender body silhouetted in the pale,freakish light from Lilandra's weapon.Her stance was one of deadly confidence,defiance even,and she clutched a tired,sarcastic-looking redhead by the sleeve in one hand.
   "So nice to see you again,sis," she said,and her lips curled upward in a sinister smile."It's really been too long,hasn't it?"
"What do you want from me,Kerryna?" Lilandra asked softly."More importantly,what do you want from the New Republic?"
"That's right,Kerryna," the redhead spoke,"what do you want from us?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the Sith asked,admiring one long,manicured fingernail."I want the New Republic to relinquish control of their worlds into the hands of the Empire."
   The redhead had to stifle a harsh laugh.
"You must really be stupid if you think that the New Republic is just going to turn their goverment over to you.What good would you do for the galaxy?"
"My dear,politics has jaded you,I'm afraid."
"And it has dulled you," the redhead retorted.
"Mara,I'd ask you to kindly shut up!" Kerryna raised her voice several decibels on her command,and flung the woman onto the ground.Lilandra stepped backwards,her head spinning rapidly.
"Mara?" she asked incredulously,and the redheaded woman looked up in confusion.
"How do you know me?" she asked.
"It's me,Lilandra Ocott."
   Mara's eyes filled with tears suddenly as the realization that she had spent one terrible day with this young woman dawned on her.
"I thought you were dead," she said softly.
"I thought you were,too.But then I met Luke Skywalker,your husband,and I found out you weren't."
"You know Luke?" Mara asked,her voice filled with relief,"How is he? I mean,is he okay?"
Lilandra was about to answer her,when Kerryna suddenly interrupted her.
   "Okay,that's enough," she snapped."I had forgotten that you two already met.Surprised you remember each other.Oh well." She shrugged,but suddenly,her eyes,which had remained calm up until now,became very dull and frightening as she turned to Mara,still lying on the floor.
   "How does the world look from down there?" she asked,her voice insanely soft again.Mara
squinted up at her in confusion,as did Lilandra.
"Excuse me?" Mara asked.
"I said,how does the world look from down there? "
"It looks...big.Unmanageable,frightening," Mara admitted quietly.
"Exactly," Kerryna said."You don't like it down there,do you?"
"This is ridiculous," Mara started,and tried to get up,but Kerryna jabbed one high-heeled foot into Mara's back,shoving her down again."Just answer the question,Jade."
"No,I don't like it down here," Mara answered,her voice wavering dangerously close to tears.
"Right again," Kerryna said.
   "Kerryna,what is the point of all this?" Lilandra asked suddenly.
Kerryna turned and regarded her sister coolly,with disdain.
"I guess what I'm trying to say,is,how would you like it...to always be looked down upon as I look down upon Mara;to always be regarded as a child,who doesn't know how to fend for herself?"
   Lilandra floundered helplessly for an answer other than the truth,but it came out anyway.
"I wouldn't like it at all."
Kerryna narrowed her eyes."Don't you even think for a moment that I'll accept your sympathies.Because,when the Republic relinquishes control into my hands,I shall let everyone in this galaxy know how it feels to be a child again-in the worst way possible!"
"Kerryna...I don't understand.How could you have been treated that way when,for the better part of your life,you were an only child? You must have been spoiled rotten!"
   "Our parents were always slightly fearful of me-because I had inexplicable powers.No one in our family was a Jedi,so they didn't understand how I had acquired such abilities.Fear,of course,leads to misunderstanding,and when I went to the Jedi academy,I became an outcast on Chad.Even though I knew I'd always be welcome,somehow I realized that I could never go back. Palpatine having kidnapped me made that a little easier on me. So,I never did go back,and our parents moved on.That's how you came into the picture." Despite Kerryna's sarcastic nature,there was some fondness in her voice when she spoke of Lilandra.
   "You say that with a degree of fondness in your tone,Kerryna...could it be that you love me after all?" Lilandra asked.Her voice had a pleading note to it,but Kerryna wasn't buying it.
"How can anyone love a mistake?"
Lilandra coiled backwards as if she'd been stung.Kerryna's vehement words burned into her mind,and her vision swam with tears.A mistake?
   "It's not true,Kerryna," she whispered.Mara lay on the ground between the two women,staring up at them in disbelief.In her head,she was wondering how Kerryna could be so cruel...so unfeeling.
"Please say it's not true," Lilandra pleaded."Tell me I wasn't an accident."
Kerryna folded her arms across her chest and smirked.
"If it wasn't true,then how come our parents didn't have you sooner?"
   The silence in the room was deadly.The mysterious haze swirled around everything;thick,choking tendrils of mist wrapped around the three females facing off in the strange room-without-a-purpose.Lilandra's lightsaber hummed quietly,the blue blade pulsing just inches from Kerryna's face.The Sith didn't even flinch,but her hand drifted absently to her own lightsaber,hanging at her hip.
   "I could kill you,you know," Lilandra said coldly,and there was no mistaking the pain and anger in her voice.
"You wouldn't dare,you little brat.You don't have the guts to." Kerryna meant to sound mean,but her tone held a fearful edge.
"Don't I?" Lilandra intoned,and suddenly,she struck.Leaping backwards,Kerryna had her lightsaber out in a flash,the red blade striking out to block Lilandra's blue one.The weapons crackled with electricity as Lilandra slid her blade down her sister's,and reached up to swing again.The two siblings chased each other madly,each bringing their own blades to hit the other again and again.Kerryna was walking backwards,teetering dangerously close to falling.Lilandra kept advancing,something in her mind urging her on,telling her to kill her evil sister.
   But before she could, Kerryna turned on her heel,and ran,disappearing into the thick fog.Lilandra dashed after her,mind and weapon blazing.
"Come back here!" she yelled,breathing hard.The strange mist filled her lungs,making them ache with every breath,and she wondered fleetingly if it could be some sort of nerve gas.But that thought was discarded when she realized that if it had been nerve gas,she would've been dead by now.
   The lightsaber lit her way,and she could see Kerryna dashing ahead,up the spiral staircase,hair flying.
Lilandra's rage pulsed through her mind,but she remained in control of her anger.
   She mounted the last step,and collided with Kerryna on the circular platform.Through the mist,she could see that there was no railing surrounding them.It was just a sheer,unbroken drop from the top of the staircase to the ground,far below.
   Lilandra saw her opportunity,and pinned her sister to the ground by her shoulders.
"Got you now,Kerryna," Lilandra said quietly,her voice sounding deadly to her ears.
"Get off me," Kerryna growled.
"Not on your life,halfpint," Lilandra replied,the familiar words that her sister had used on her so many years before echoing in the fog."We haven't finished talking yet."
"There's nothing to discuss,"Kerryna sneered."I've won,and your pathetic little goverment will pay for it's mistakes."
"Pathetic?" Lilandra laughed,releasing her sister's shoulders,"Is that what you think of us? Pathetic?"
"You heard me right," Kerryna said,and sat up.She tried to look threatening,but her lightsaber was gone.
   Lilandra reignited her lightsaber,and held it at the ready.She was determined,and she might have succeeded.But strangely,she hesitated,just for a second.And that second of hesitation cost her dearly.In a split second,Kerryna had knocked her back onto the ground,and wrestled the lightsaber from her grasp.
   The Sith pulled her sister to her feet,and held her dangerously close to the edge of the platform,the lightsaber humming loudly in her ear.
"Now who's got who?" Kerryna asked,her voice low and threatening.
Lilandra gulped,realizing her mistake.Her feet barely touched the ground as her sister held her in a death grip.
"Are you going to kill me,Kerryna?" she asked.
"It's not like anyone would miss you if I did.You're a mistake.A nobody,who pretends she's loved so she can keep up appearances on her pointless diplomatic missions.But I can see right through you,Lilandra.I know the truth."
Lilandra clenched her teeth.How could Kerryna say these things?
But her evil sister wasn't quite done yet.What she said next put all the other insults to shame,and Lilandra recoiled as if she'd been slapped.
   "My dear Lilandra Ocott," Kerryna said,her tone terribly mocking,"Who's going to save you? No one loved you nineteen years ago,and no one loves you now."
Tears sprang into Lilandra's eyes."It's not true," she whispered."It's not."
   "That's right,"A new voice said from behind them."It's not."
"Luke?" Lilandra asked in amazement.
"Yes,it's me,Luke.And Ton-Ara,and Callista."
"And Mara." The redhead's exhausted voice drifted up from the staircase.
   Kerryna turned slowly to face them,four newcomers silhouetted in silvery mist.
"You are a horrible,horrible person,and we can't allow that," Ton-Ara,the youngest of the Jedi said.
Both Luke and Callista ignited their lightsabers,her sun-yellow blade vying for control with his green one in the damp air.
"Now," Luke said,his voice deadly,"Put her down."
Very slowly,Kerryna set Lilandra back onto her feet on the edge of the platform,releasing her grip on Lil's collar.
"Hello,everyone," she said with false brightness,for her eyes were dead."I guess this is it."

       Leia Organa Solo watched the massive Star Destroyer hanging in orbit,dark and uninviting.In her mind,she could sense everything that was happening-not much in the way of action,but the emotions aboard the ship were stronger than any weapon,and the words being tossed about were as sharp and killing as daggers.
All the feelings were overwhelming Leia as she still tried to destroy the hundreds of thousands of TIEs flying through the air.It was too much.
   "Han,"she said faintly,"I don't think our defenses can last much longer."
The enemy ships had already knocked out the rear deflector shields for good this time,not to mention the forward shields and numerous other components,like the ion cannon.
"You're telling me," he scowled into her headphones as another blast rocked the ship."So,what do we do?"
Leia gulped as she realized their only choice.
"Well,they didn't touch the hyperdrive..."
"You're not suggesting that we-" Han said incredulously,but he knew the answer already.
"Our kids are on board.In any other circumstance we would hang around until they got our hyperdrive,too,but do you really want to risk it?"
Han was silent for a second.
"Alright," he said finally."We'll retreat.But what about Luke and the others?"
"That's the problem,isn't it?" Leia sighed.The air hung heavy around her in the gunner's turret.
She felt really,really badly about leaving him and the others behind,but there was no other way.They had a ship...they'd be alright.
In the cockpit,Han listened to Leia's resigned breathing in the headphones.He turned to his Wookiee companion.
"Punch it,Chewie."
The starlines flared,and the attacking ships disappeared from view.
"Sorry,Wedge," Han muttered,and the Millennium Falcon beamed through hyperspace en route to Coruscant.

     Aboard the Sojourner,the atmosphere was strained and tense.The only sound in the strange,useless,hazy room hidden in the bowels of the ship was the sound of lightsabers humming softly.
Five Jedi faced one Sith lord accusingly,staring her down as she stood defiantly on the edge of the circular platform.
"This is it," Luke answered her.
Kerryna looked at her sister with such contempt that even Luke could feel it.
"I wasn't aware that you had made so many friends,Lilandra," she said coldly,but her sense was wavering with sadness and defeat.
   "Lilandra is a very good friend of mine," Luke said,and reached out to take the arm of the girl trembling beside him.
"And that's where you got me," Kerryna replied,her face expressionless.Abruptly,something in her sense changed-the sadness won out,and Kerryna looked about ready to drop.She saluted wordlessly,then stepped backwards off the edge of the platform.
"Kerryna!" Lilandra shrieked,"Wait!" But it was too late.Her sister had disappeared.
   Lilandra turned and fled down the spiral staircase,blinded by the thick,choking mist.Her feet fumbled for each step,and several times,she almost lost her balance.She could hear the others clattering down the stairs behind her.Panicked,she lost her momentum,and crashed down the last few stairs.Her head smacked against the banister,rendering her incoherent for a second,but she was back on her feet in an instant,teetering uncertainly to where she thought her sister lay.
   Is is just me,or is this fog thickening? she wondered.She was surrounded on all sides by a white wall of mist,and she could only see the faint glow of the lightsabers,just meters behind her.
"Kerryna?" she called.She could still feel her sister's presence,so she wasn't dead,but where was she,then?
"I'm not afraid of you!" Lilandra shouted,louder,more confident this time.
"I'm so glad of that," Kerryna's voice came from somewhere in the mist.
"Stop hiding! You can't win! I have the love of friends on my side!"
"But I have the dark side of the Force," the disembodied voice taunted,"which is a thousand more times powerful than any love in the universe."
"That's where you're wrong,Kerryna!" Lilandra shouted shrilly.
"Who are you trying to convince,Lilandra? Me,or yourself?"
"You!"
"I don't think it's working.You've lost.The only way you can win is to give yourself in to the dark side."
"Why would I?" Lilandra asked,"I'm happy where I am."
"The dark side has so much more to offer you...wealth,fame,power,and the forgiveness of your sister."
"Those things don't interest me,Kerryna!"
"Not even the forgiveness part?" the voice of her sister said,hovering menacingly in the impossibly thick mist.Lilandra hesitated,feeling torn between two dimensions.Forgiveness from a sister she hardly knew...or friendship.
   "Consider carefully,Lilandra..."
"Don't do it Lil!" a new voice yelled.Mara Jade.Mara was calling to her through the mist.
"You'll stay out of this if you know what's good for you,Jade..." Kerryna threatened.
"When have I ever known what's good for me?" Mara asked,laughing bitterly.
"How true."
   Suddenly,the fog lifted in a flash of a lightsaber,and Kerryna Ocott came flying out of the shadows,eyes blazing.Lilandra whirled in her tracks in time to see Kerryna jump on Mara,knocking her to the ground.Mara howled in pain as her teeth were driven through her lip.She raised a trembling hand to catch the falling droplets of blood.
"Leave her alone,Kerryna!" Lilandra shouted."Your conflict is with me."
   Kerryna ignored her,and proceeded to point one long,deadly hand at Mara.From that hand,a million volts of blue electricity shot out,slicing cleanly through the air to hit Mara square in the back.
She screamed in terror as the streaks of light burned her jumpsuit,scalding her skin and sending charges of electricity coursing through her veins.
"Lilandra!" Luke called , his voice made shrill with fear,"Your lightsaber!"
   The silver handle of the lightsaber sailed through the air,guided by the Force to land in Lilandra's hand.She stared at it for a moment,then returned her eyes to the ghastly sight of Mara Jade convulsing on the metal floor,surrounded by a net of blue sparks.Kerryna stood above her,laughing crazily,barely controlling that hand that held so much deadly power.
   Lil bit her lip in indesicion,but the knowledge of what was right won over.She shut her eyes,and concentrated on the lightsaber in her hand.She could feel it trembling as she sent it vibes through the Force,igniting it.The blue blade hummed to life,and with one powerful blast,Lilandra flung it as hard as she could.It soared through the air,hissing loudly.With a loud crack,the lightsaber connected with the Sith's right hand,slicing it clean through at the wrist.
   Kerryna Ocott gasped in pain as she stared at the cauterized stump.Beneath her,Mara lay twitching slightly as her body still reeled from the massive electrical attack.
   Snarling,Kerryna turned on her sister,but the the lightsaber was back in Lilandra's hand,ready to go for another pass.
"It's not true," Lilandra whispered triumphantly.
Kerryna Ocott stood stony faced,clutching her arm.
Luke,Ton-Ara,Callista,and Lilandra faced her,lightsabers still humming quietly.
   Lilandra moved her lightsaber swiftly,as if making a chopping motion,and silently,Kerryna sank onto her knees.
"Admit it,Kerryna Ocott," Lilandra said."We've won."
There was another minute of silence,save for Mara moaning in pain in the background.
Then,very slowly,softly,Kerryna began to cry.Thick,choking sobs engulfed her entire body and she bent over on the ground,her hair brushing the cool metal surface.
Lilandra clenched her jaw,trying so hard not to feel sorry for Kerryna.
   "Yes," Kerryna said finally,her shoulders heaving with sobs."You've won.Now you can go back to your ship,and your government,and get the hell out of here." She meant to sound threatening,but her last shreds of confidence had unravelled,and her words had no power,no authority.
For the first time in her life,Kerryna Ocott was beaten.

      The four Jedi hovered silently over the defeated Sith.She had no power anymore-her abilities were dormant.Without her menacing appearance,Luke Skywalker saw Kerryna Ocott for what she really was-a child.A child,trapped in the body of a woman who had had to grow up far too fast.A Jedi,who had shown such promise in training,but had turned to the dark side in retaliation to the betrayal that had been thrust upon her.Above all,a sister-to Lilandra.She had not even known she'd had a sister until she was sixteen,and the news had thrown her into turmoil,accelerating her descent into the dark side of the Force.
"You should not have let it happen,Kerryna," Lilandra said softly,reading Luke's thoughts,and realizing the truth in them.
   Luke placed a warm hand on her shoulder as they stared at the frightened,upset young woman cringing on the floor."Look at her eyes," he said.
Lilandra looked,and to her surprise and relief,they no longer held the insane,haunted look of the former Sith.The evil spirit in her had departed,leaving only the shell of a girl who would have to rediscover her identity all over again-have to grow up all over again.
   "Don't blame her for her actions.She didn't know what she was doing," Luke murmured.Lilandra nodded,and slowly,she knelt on the floor beside her sister.She placed a tentative arm around Kerryna,and when the older woman didn't fling it away,Lilandra proceeded to hug her tightly.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Me too," Kerryna whispered back,wiping her eyes and returning Lil's warm embrace.
"I didn't mean the things I said," she added."I know that people love you...heck,I love you.You're my sister,and nothing can ever change that,ever again."
"Never again," Lilandra sighed,and for once in her life,she felt truly content.She could feel Luke's warm smile on her back,and she knew he was thinking of his own reconciliation with his father,Darth Vader.
   He reached out a hand to pull the two women to their feet,and he hugged Lilandra.
"Congratulations," he said,but he lingered in their embrace,seemingly unwilling to let go.She bit her lip,unsure of what to say.She wanted to enjoy the feeling of his arms around her waist,but...
"Mara," Lil reminded him,the corners of her mouth drawing upward in a half-smile.He grinned back.
"Yeah," he said."She needs help."
        Mara was lying unconscious on the metal floor,eyes closed,her hands still raised in defence.Luke knelt at her side and felt her pulse.To his immense relief,she was still alive.But then,something caught his eye.
Mara's ring finger was empty-her own wedding ring was gone as well!
   He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud as he compared his own hand to hers."I wonder what her excuse is?" He chuckled out loud,then gingerly lifted her limp body into his arms.
He saw the reconciled Kerryna looking at Mara with a stricken expression on her face.
Lilandra tapped her shoulder,and Kerryna smiled at her younger sibling.
"We have to get out of here," Lilandra said,"Mara isn't getting any better,and niether is your hand."
She grinned sheepishly at the realization that she'd cut off her own sister's hand. But there was a powerful symbolism in that, without her right hand, Kerryna could no longer behave as a right hand herself. Perhaps it would take some getting used to, writing and thinking with her left, the part of her she'd left behind in the past as a young girl on Chad, but that was a challenge Lilandra knew that they were both willing to face. And deep in her heart, Lilandra knew that for now, Kerryna's pain had ended. The last of the Emperor's servants was dead.
   Callista and Ton-Ara walked silently to the door,and it slid open slowly,revealing the still darkened hallway.
"Lightsabers,everyone," Luke said,and Callista unclipped both hers and Luke's,igniting them.
Huddling together in the light of the sabers,the group made it's way down the corridor to the hangar bay where the New Republic shuttle still waited.
"My crew," Kerryna said suddenly."I can't just leave them here!"
Luke slapped his forehead in admonishment.
"There's still a battle going on out there!" he cried.
Lilandra laughed weakly."You mean,people are dying and there's no one leading their forces?"
Luke sighed with the irony of it all.
   "Kerryna," he said,"This was your doing,you get everyone out of it."
"You're right," she said solemnly."I caused a lot of trouble,didn't I?"
"More than you know,sis,"Lilandra said,and the others all rolled their eyes at the surrealism of the situation. "More than you know."

     Luke Skywalker paced restlessly in front of the med centre doors in the Imperial Palace,every so often peering intently in the glass window.He could see the Two-Onebee droid glancing at him periodically,giving him as strange a look as was possible for a droid.
Finally,the droid became curious,and opened the door.
"Can I help you,Master Skywalker?" it asked in it's mechanical voice.
He hopped impatiently on his heels,feeling childish as he did so,but he asked in his most adult voice,"Can I see Mara yet?"
   The Two-Onebee made a noise that sounded like sigh,but it said,"As a matter of fact,I was just about to wake her up for her medicine.You can do the honors if you want."
   Luke didn't even bother answering,he just rushed into the darkened room.The lights were dimmed to a comfortable level for both sleeping and working,and it was pleasant on the eyes after the harsh light of the hallway.
The doors slid shut behind him,and the droid led him to a work table,and handed him a bottle of syrupy liquid and a spoon.
"What's this for?" Luke asked.
"It contains the same type of material used in bacta,only in an ingestable form.It will help to heal her wounds faster."
"I see,"Luke said.
"If you don't mind,I'll let you do this.I'm going to shut down for a while."
"Go right ahead."
   The droid rolled over to a corner of the room,and shut down it's own power.Luke looked around the rest of the room.An empty bacta tank sat in the middle of the room,and the walls were lined with surgical tables and cupboards filled with equipment and different formulas.
In the far left corner,a row of recovery beds was set up,but only one was occupied.Luke crossed the room to the bed,medicine in hand,and gazed at the cot's occupant.
       Mara was snuggled comfortably beneath the white blankets,her red-gold hair spread out on the pillow around her head in a dramatic swirl.A smile played at the corner of her lips,and her cheeks were tinged with pink.She looked much,much better than she had when Luke had visited her earlier in the week.
  Three days ago,her cheeks had been sunken and yellow from lack of food and sleep,and her face had been a mess of bruises and cuts.A few days in the bacta tank had drastically changed all that,and Mara now appeared healthy and normal.
Luke almost hated to wake her up.Almost.
   He reached out his hand and poked her shoulder gently.She shrugged his hand away,and buried her face into the pillow.
"Hey,Mara," he said,grinning,and poked her again.This time,he caught a glimpse of her smile as she went to wave him away again,and he laughed.
"You little bugger!" he cried,"You are awake!"
She sat up and giggled."Had you going there,for a while!" she exclaimed.
"Nah," he said,"No one fools the great Luke Skywalker."
"Not even the great Mara Skywalker?"
   He became suddenly serious as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Have you decided to forgive me,then?" he asked.
She smiled gravely."Yeah.I think I'm ready to give it another try."
They gazed into each other's eyes for a second,and Luke had to shake himself awake before he was drawn into her brilliant green stare.
   "It's time for your medicine,"he said,changing the subject.
She groaned and fell back into the pillows."Do I have to take that nasty stuff?" she whined,sounding adorably childish to Luke.
"I'm afraid so,Mara.That medical droid isn't going to like me very much if I let you get away without it."
She sighed,and shut her eyes as he poured the clear,thick liquid into the spoon.She made a nasty face as she anticipated the foul medication she was about to ingest.Then,she drank it quickly,keeping one eye on Luke's hand as he drew the empty spoon out of her mouth.
"There," he said,"was that so bad?"
"It was terrible," she said,and shuddered as she tried to rid her mouth of the awful taste."It tastes like Gamorrean dung."
   He raised his eyebrow questioningly."And you would know what Gamorrean dung tastes like?" he asked.
Mara groaned."It's a figure of speech,Luke! You take the horrible stuff three times a day and see what you compare this unique taste sensation to!"
They both collapsed into laughter,until Mara spoke again.
   "What happened to your wedding ring?" she asked,eyeing his bare finger.
"Goodness Mara,I could ask you the same thing!"
"Yeah,well,you go first."
"Alright.Fair's fair.It's at the bottom of an ocean on Mon Calamari."
Mara stared at him,making several faces as she mulled that over.Finally,she said,"I won't ask.I don't think I want to know."
"Your turn," Luke said.
"Okay.Mine's a lot less creative,though."
He chewed his lip in thought,waiting.
"Kerryna Ocott broke it."
"Why am I not surprised?" he laughed.
"I don't know,why aren't you surprised?" she said teasingly.
"I can't tell you how good it is to see that your sense of humour didn't suffer much from this ordeal."
   "Seriously,Luke.The point is,neither of us has our ring,so doesn't that mean we're pretty much divorced by now?"
He gulped."I was afraid of that."
Mara held his level gaze for a moment."Well?" she asked expectantly.
"Well what?" Luke said.
"I'm waiting for you to sweep me into your arms and beg for forgiveness because you just can't live without me," she said,only being half-serious.
"I would,but I don't want to injure you more than you already are," he joked,gesturing to her chest,which was wrapped in a cast that covered her from her collarbone to her stomach,to heal her broken ribs.Her bare shoulders and arms were still covered in fading bruises and scrapes.
"You know as well as I do that I'm basically healed," she said.
"In that case..."
   He smiled and put his arms around her in a loving embrace."This is Luke Skywalker reporting live from Coruscant,and he says that he just can't live without you,Mara Jade,and he begs your forgiveness,but asks that you spare his pants by not making him get down on his knees."
   She blushed at his romantic speech,but he continued,"On a more serious note,I think it would be best to ask you to marry me again.So,without further ado..." Luke reached into his pocket,and pulled out a small black-velvet box.
"Will you marry me?"
   Mara was more red than Luke had thought possible.She allowed him to slip the new,shiny ring onto her finger,and then placed the box on the table next to the bed.
"Yeah," she said quietly,"why not? "
He laughed softly,then tilted her chin towards him and kissed her gently,disregarding the scar on her lip from where she had bitten through the skin.
When they finally pulled away from each other,a giddy smile dimpled Mara's cheeks.
"Let's forget that anything bad ever happened,and start from scratch,okay?" she said.
"Fine by me," Luke agreed,"even if it does mean being late for dinner!"

    Leia Organa Solo was still feeling guilty for abandoning her brother and her friends back at Chad,even now,when they were all safe on Coruscant.She poked at her dinner with her fork,mind working furiously,planning what she'd say to Lilandra and the others when they came for supper.
Han sat across from her,eating hungrily,and her three children sat next to him,not really eating much at all.
"Jaina," Leia said,"quit playing with your food."
"I'm not," her daughter protested."I'm waiting for it to cool."
Leia cast her a sideways glance."It's been cooling for almost half an hour now."
Jaina scowled and stuck her knife into her meat."I happen to like cold dinners."
Leia decided not to pursue the conversation any further,for her daughter was in a terrible mood.
Han looked up from his plate."Where are Luke and Mara?" he asked,glancing around the table.It was very empty,as neither Lilandra,Luke,Mara,Ton-Ara,Callista or Kerryna had decided to show.
   "Who knows?" Leia sighed,rolling her eyes skyward."Luke's been acting really strange the last few days.Something to do with Mara...I think he bought her something as a get-well present,and judging by his actions,he thinks it's the most important thing in the world."
"That's cause it is," a new voice said,and Leia looked up to see Lilandra entering the dining room.
"Hi,Lilandra," Leia greeted her,"Where are the others?"
"Luke's proposing to Mara in the med centre,Kerryna's not feeling-"
   Leia cut her off abruptly."What do you mean,Luke's proposing to Mara? Aren't they already married?"
Lilandra shrugged."A lot's happened.Apparently they got in a fight somewhere along the line,and they both lost their wedding rings.Luke's talked of nothing but apologizing to Mara for this entire week!"
Han grinned at Leia."I guess that explains it then.He must have bought her a ring-that's why he's been so wierd to you lately.He wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well,I'm surprised,all right," Leia said,rubbing her eyes.The children were looking on with their faces reflecting different degrees of boredom.
   Finally,Lilandra said,"I'm going out to get some fresh air.Anyone want to come?"
"I'll come!" Jaina said,leaping up and pushing her plate aside.She glanced at her mother,as if expecting Leia to scold her and make her finish her meal,but Leia just sighed and nodded,and Jaina blew her a kiss on her way out.
        Lilandra led her up to the roof of the Imperial Palace.Most of it had been repaired from the blast that the Chad terrorists had inflicted upon it,but there were still bits of scaffolding and machinery scattered around.
       It was a beautiful evening.The stars were out,winking cheerfully across a velvety sheet of sky,and a warm breeze sighed around the edges of the immense structure.
Jaina leaned against the railing,gazing in wide-eyed wonder over the city.Coruscant hummed with life,spreading everywhere at once,just endless miles of buildings,and hovercars,and people.All the buildings were lit with lights of every colour in each window,and as she watched,Jaina could see lights blinking out and coming on at different times,creating sort of a living masterpiece
She sighed happily,and closed her eyes,letting the wind blow her hair around.
   "What are you thinking about,Jainy?" Lilandra asked,patting the young girl on the shoulder.
Jaina was silent for a moment,then she turned to Lilandra,squinting.
"There's something I don't understand," she said.
"And what's that?"
Jaina looked down."Forget it.I don't think you'd know."
Lilandra tilted her head to the side."What makes you think that?"
"Well," Jaina began,"for starters,I don't think you've ever been in love."
Lilandra laughed suddenly,loudly."Jaina,you are adorable.Who are you in love with?"
Jaina smiled,but shook her head."It's not me,silly.Boys my age are too stupid to be in love with. I was just thinking about love in general."
"And what conclusions have you drawn?"
"None.That's why I'm confused."
   She sidled up closer to Lilandra,and leaned her head on Lil's shoulder.
Lilandra jumped in surprise,but then she placed her hand on Jaina's shoulder,waiting for an explanation.
"How do you know when you're in love?" the girl asked finally."I mean,how did Uncle Luke know that he loved Mara? And how did daddy know he loved mom? Conversely,how come Uncle Luke didn't love Callista for very long? And-"
   Lil was laughing so hard now,tears were beginning to well up in her eyes."Oh,Jaina!" she giggled,"If only your mother could hear you talking like this!"
Jaina stared at her skeptically."I can't talk to mom about this kind of thing...she's too old!"
Lilandra erupted in another fit of hysterical laughter,but Jaina looked so genuinely confused that she sobered up,and tried to think of an answer to Jaina's questions.
"Let's see.How do you know you're in love...I can't really give you a knowledgeable answer,because I've only been in love once myself."
"Really?" Jaina interrupted,"With who?"
"That's for me to know,and you to keep quiet about," Lilandra admonished lightly,then got back on topic."But,I suppose that after you've spent a long time with someone,and really gotten to know them,you begin to realize that you can't imagine living without them.That is the basis for a really long,wonderful relationship."
Jaina nodded slowly,absorbing all this."Then why do people stop loving each other?"
"Jaina,you are way too young to be worrying about this kind of thing," Lilandra said,wondering briefly if she had been this curious about relationships when she was Jaina's age. She decided that she probably had.
"I need to know!" Jaina exclaimed seriously
   "Okay,okay! Hmmm...I think maybe that it's because,after spending some time with the person you thought you loved,you realize that you don't know them as well as you thought,and there could be things about that person that...annoy you.There's no other way of saying it."
"I see," Jaina said.
"Really,Jaina.Don't worry about it-at least,not for another year or so.When you meet the right person,you'll know you're in love with them."
"Okay," Jaina said,then turned to face the door."I'm going inside.Are you coming?"
"No," Lilandra answered,"I think I'll stay up here for a bit.It's a such a nice night."
"Sure," Jaina said."See you in the morning."
"See you."
      Jaina skipped off to the door,and went inside.The door shut behind her,cutting off the light that spilled out from the room beyond.As she left,though,another figure took her place,a much taller,older one.
"I heard what you said to that little girl," Kerryna Ocott said,and stepped to her sister's side.
"Hello,Kerryna," Lilandra said softly,not looking at her sister.
"How true.You speak well on the subject of love."
   Lilandra finally glanced at the woman standing beside her.She was so unfamiliar,even if she was harmless.
She had been gone for most of Lilandra's life,and the only memories she had of her sister were the bad ones-the memories of that awful day nineteen years ago,when she had been so brutally betrayed.
"Tell me," Kerryna spoke again,"Do the same rules apply to the love of family?"
"I never gave it much thought," Lilandra said tightly.What was Kerryna getting at?
"Is it true that if you spend too much time with someone you thought you knew,you begin to hate them? Conversely, what if you never really knew someone in the first place, but you thought they hated you at first? And what if all you knew about that person was hate? Would you just go on hating them back?"
Lilandra just shrugged,feeling her eyes beginning to fill with tears.
   "Do you hate me?" Kerryna asked,her voice soft and hoarse.
"No," Lilandra said,but she felt a guilty twinge in her sense.Of course she didn't hate her sister,but how could she just be expected to welcome her back with open arms after all this time?
"You aren't expected to," Kerryna said,reading her thoughts."But can you make an effort to get to know me?"
"Of course I can," Lilandra answered."It wouldn't be fair if I didn't."
   Kerryna stepped forward,and hugged Lilandra."We have a lot of catching up to do."
They smiled at each other in the darkness,listening to the noise of the city below them.Suddenly,Lilandra frowned.
"There's something still bugging me,though.What happened to Admiral Norrcay and the others?" she asked worriedly.
Kerryna smirked."Let's just say that Admiral Pellaeon took good care of them."
Lilandra grinned shyly, and turned her face to the sky, feeling the warm wind on her forehead.
   "I should go," Kerryna said."It's a long way back to Chad,and I have to start working to clean up the place-that is,if anyone'll trust me now."
She turned,and started heading towards the door.
"Kerryna?" Lil called softly.
"Yeah?"
"I'll come with you."

       Admiral Norrcay grunted as he heaved yet another clay brick into the back of the hovertruck.His round face was red with embarassment and anger,and he felt ready to kill someone.Ready to command someone to kill someone else for him.
   Exhausted,he sat down on a mound of dirt and wiped his forehead with his sleeve.The hot afternoon sun of Coruscant beat down on his back,and he watched the other workers-all former Imperials-working slavishly to rebuild the section of the palace that they had demolished.The irony of it all made him want to explode.
Abruptly,he felt the rough hand of the foreman on his shoulder,shoving him forward.
"Get back to work!" the man barked,and Norrcay stood up,sputtering in anger.
"This is an outrage! What gives you the idea that you can order me around,you impertinant little man?"
"Only the fact that you are an outlaw,and unless you want to spend some more time in the slammer,I suggest that you take me up on my offer!"
"But I haven't done anything wrong!" he wailed,but he heaved a resigned sigh,and joined the other workers massing around the hovertruck,carving clay blocks out of a large,soft chunk of molten rock from the Manarai Mountains.
   He grumbled to himself as he worked."How in the stars did Ocott get away without this treatment? She has the blood of far more people on her hands than I do,and yet I'm stuck here working like a low-class slave.I'm an Imperial Admiral,people!" he shouted,but no one even so much as looked up.

      Admiral Pellaeon stared down from the roof at the workers struggling about their duties.All of them were Kerryna Ocott's former employees.But,the crew of her Star Destroyer had been spared.The New Republic was always in need of good pilots and navigators.
       He smiled inwardly.Peace had been restored again without too much difficulty,and now,everyone could resume their day to day activities.Their biggest worry,Pellaeon chuckled to himself,was deciding how to do Luke's re-wedding to Mara.They had actually debated it in the senate,with Leia insisting that this time they should turn it into a big deal,and Luke arguing that he just wanted it to be a small,unobtrusive event.Mara didn't care either way.She was too happy.
      Lilandra and Kerryna had returned to Chad,politely declining Luke's offer to teach them at his academy.Lilandra promised to visit often though.She couldn't very well stay away,what with Jaina and everyone nagging her to come back.She was obligated now,and in Jaina,she had found a friend for life.
Callista resolved to go with the sisters,to help them rebuild their shattered planet,while Ton-Ara stayed with Leia's family.
     Everyone was pleased with the arrangement,and through the whole ordeal,many bonds had been formed,and many new beginnings made.
Above all, one message stood clear in Pellaeon's mind, something Luke had told him during one of their meetings with Leia: There is a lot of time in the universe.
Indeed, Pellaeon thought, there was. And it was so true; time could heal wounds in the best way possible. And through it all, through every battle, and every struggle, love always won out.