Luke sat listening quietly as the senators droned on and on. He had no idea why Leia had requested he be at this meeting, and even less idea why Gavin had come very close to making it an order. After several minutes, something of interest came up.
"And now on to further business." Borsk Fey'lya, the current Chief of State said. "We have been planning for some time for a diplomatic mission to a forgotten system. This system, while very important to the Alliance, left the New Republic shortly after the incident at Wayland. I have been communicating with the leaders of this system trying to see if we can get their valuable resources back in the New Republic." He paused and looked at Luke for a moment, then at Leia.
"As many of you know, first contact with these people was made by Leia Organa Solo and Major Luke Skywalker. The leaders of this system have requested Leia's presence as the chief negotiator. This will be a simple mission as was requested by the chancellor. Leia will head the discussions. Given the incident that occurred the last time this world was visited, I have spoken with Colonel Darklighter and Rogue Squadron will accompany her. This is also because Major Skywalker is part of the team."
"What system are you talking about?" One of the senators asked.
"Circarpous V" Luke noticed that Fey'lya was looking right at him when he said this. He threw Leia a dirty look. They discussed the details of the mission for the next few minutes, then went on with further senate business. After about an hour, the meeting was finally over. When everyone stood, Leia walked over to where Luke was sitting.
"I know what you're thinking-" Leia began.
"No, you don't, because if you did you wouldn't be within arms reach." Luke interrupted. He stood and started to walk away.
"Why are you so angry?"
"I'm not so much angry as I am hurt. Why didn't you tell me about this? All you said was that there was a senate meeting I really needed to sit in on. You couldn't tell me what was going on?"
"You would have said no."
"Actually, I would have agreed. You think I am going to let you go to Circarpous without me?"
"So you want to go?"
"No, I don't want to go, I want to protect you and the only way I can do that is if I go." For some reason Luke found himself unable to look her in the eye. Leia took a moment to read her brothers emotions. What she found was astounding.
"You're afraid. Are you afraid I'm going to get hurt?"
"When Fey'lya first mentioned where we were going, I got this severe sense of dread. I know that this is important to the New Republic, but can't they send someone else?" Leia shook her head.
"They requested me specifically. Apparently we made an impression the first time we were there. They want to talk to me again, and you."
"Well, they better want to talk to me, because I'm not letting you go anywhere without me while we're there."
"Anywhere?"
"You know what I mean. I just have a really bad feeling about this."
"I promise you, I'll be careful."
"Hopefully, history won't repeat itself."
"We will have every ship checked out thoroughly so that there won't be a reason for anything to go wrong."
"Leia, trust me, the way I'm feeling about this mission, everything will go wrong."
"You okay, Luke?" Wedge Antilles asked as he walked up to his friend.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You don't look it. Even without Jedi abilities I can tell when something's bothering you. You want to talk about it?"
"To be honest, not really. You wouldn't understand."
"Let me guess. You've got a bad feeling about the mission. You're afraid something will go horribly wrong and someone you care about will end up getting either hurt or killed, right?" Luke nodded.
"It's more than that, though. You remember the first time Leia and I went to Circarpous?"
"Yes."
"I never told anybody this, but for a while after that, I had these nightmares that I couldn't get out from under the rock that had me pinned and I watched Vader kill Leia. I know that Vader's not around anymore, but the dream has come back. Not only that, but there are vivid and very obvious changes."
"Like what?"
"Like, our age for example. It's very obvious that we're not in our early twenties in this dream. Plus, it's not Vader that is after her, it's someone else. And before you ask me who, I don't know. It's just this dark figure that I can't ever see. It's really freakin' me out, Wedge. I don't know what to do. I've talked to Leia about it, but the more I talk about it the worse I feel."
"Luke, just calm down. All of the ships have been checked out and none of them has any problems, plus you'll have all of Rogue Squadron with you. That includes Jaina. Do you really think she would let anything bad happen to her mother?"
"That's not it. I know that Jaina will do everything in her power to keep Leia safe, but the worst part about this dream is that it takes place in the same temple. It's not on Circarpous V; it's on Mimban in the Temple of Pomojema. Tell me how the hell we're in the Temple of Pomojema if we aren't going anywhere near Mimban."
"That, my friend, I can't tell you. All I can say is that it is just a dream, you said so yourself. If you thought there was any possibility of this happening, you would be questioning whether it was a dream or a vision. You aren't. You're very sure that it was just a dream, so go with that. Tell yourself it's just a dream and that nothing bad is going to happen. And you better believe it, too, because if you are convinced something bad is going to happen, subconsciously you will make it happen." Wedge gave Luke a pat on the shoulder, then turned and left. Maybe he's right; maybe this is just all in my head.
"Hey, Luke. You almost ready to go?" Gavin asked as he walked up.
"Just doing a few minor checks. Should be ready to get going in no time."
"Good, because everything has been moved up. We're leaving in twelve hours."
"What? Why?"
"The Circarpousians have asked us if we can get there as soon as possible. Apparently something has happened to the Chancellor and he's dying. They want to become part of the New Republic before that happens. Is that a problem?"
"Well, kind of." Luke sighed deeply. "After the senate meeting, when we were told we had three weeks to prepare, I went home and gave Mara this information. She said that would be good because she wanted to go with Mirax on the next supply run to the Academy. She wanted to talk to Tionne about something. She won't be back until tomorrow, so I won't get to say good-bye."
"I really wish I could help you out, but there's nothing I can do. Orders are orders. I'm sure she'll understand."
"Yeah." Luke said as Gavin walked off. "She won't be happy about it, but she'll understand."
"Darling, I really wish I could have said good-bye to you in person. Apparently something has happened to the Chancellor of Circarpous V and he's dying. It was his wish that the planet become a member of the New Republic, so they want that to happen before he dies. When you get this message, I will have been gone for almost twenty-four hours. Unfortunately this means that it will be another month before we get to hold each other again. I really wish that weren't the case, but there was nothing I could do. As Gavin put it, orders are orders. I will try to talk to you as soon as we get in system. Take care, love. May the Force be with you." Mara froze the image before the screen went black. She studied her husband's face. She could see in his eyes that something was bothering him.
"I hope that whatever has you worried turns out to be nothing." She kissed her fingertips, touched them to the image on the screen, then let the screen go back.
The jump into hyperspace was uneventful. Everything was going smoothly. They had three days before they would reach the Circarpous system, which gave Luke plenty of time to worry. Luckily enough, those three days did not have to be spent in his X-wing. The squadron was being transported on the Ralroost, which had unofficially become an important part of the squadron. Admiral Traest Kre'fey always seemed to insist on transporting Rogue Squadron wherever they needed to go. Luke was standing on the observation deck looking out at the mottled hyperspace sky when the admiral walked in.
"I'm sorry, major. I didn't realize anyone was in here."
"That's okay, admiral. I was just thinking."
"You seem a bit troubled."
"I didn't realize it was that obvious." Luke shook his head and looked down at his feet.
"A good leader knows his men. We may not have spent much time together, but I've talked to those who know you. It was one of the first things I did when I found out you had joined the squadron. Working with you throughout the Yuuzhan Vong crisis helped me understand the Jedi Master, but I didn't know the fighter pilot. Even though you may deny it, they are two separate entities of the same person. One thing that I learned about both is that you only spend a great deal of time alone when you are either meditating, or when something is bothering you. I'm no expert, but I'd have to guess you haven't been meditating."
"No, sir, I haven't. I've learned something, too." He paused a moment. "Apparently there are a lot of people who know me a lot better than I think they do. I didn't realize that there were so many people that took the time to find out the little things about me. The things that a lot of people find important. And yet, I know practically nothing about them."
"That's one of the things that command teaches you. To pay attention to the details."
"You'd think I would know that considering that I was commander of Rogue Squadron for roughly five years. Not to mention that I was a general before I resigned."
"I never understood why you did that. From what I hear, you were a great leader. You could have done any number of the things that General Antilles or Colonel Darklighter have done with the squadron."
"That's just it. As commander of Rogue Squadron, I wasn't completely in charge. I had people that I had to answer to and the only people that I had to worry about were eleven pilots. Then, I got promoted to general and all of the sudden I had more than just eleven people depending on me. I couldn't handle it. Why do you think I've left someone else in charge of the Jedi Academy? When it first started, there were a handful of students. Then, as the classes got bigger, I seemed to get smaller. I felt like I was being suffocated, so I left and put the first class in charge. I can handle being in charge of a small group, but you put me in charge of twenty people or more and I freeze."
"The fact that you can handle leading even a small group says something. Some people can't handle being in charge of just one person, let alone a dozen. I do have one question, though. Colonel Darklighter never explained to me why he made you a major."
"Well, my prior time in service was enough to make me a captain. He also took into account all of the things that I have done for the Alliance and the New Republic. From what Wedge told me, he wanted to make me a lieutenant colonel, but Wedge new I wouldn't accept that. Maybe someday."
"Do you think you could ever be Rogue Lead again?"
"That's another maybe. You know, I am the oldest member of the squadron. Leia and I will be fifty in about two weeks, and I'm back in Rogue Squadron. It's not that I'm not glad about it, I just don't know why I did it."
"I think I know. You want to try to recapture some of your youth. A big part of your younger years was spent in Rogue Squadron, and you want to get that back. You want to see the twenty-year-old kid that destroyed the first Death Star. You want to relive your days as the youngest member of the squadron. You want to make sure that no one takes away your title of youngest commander in the history of the Alliance and the New Republic combined. Or, in other words, you're going through what is more commonly known as a mid-life crisis." Luke laughed out loud at this.
"You really think so? I never thought about that. What a way to go through it, huh?"
"I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner." Just then, the Admiral's comlink beeped. He spoke into it softly for several minutes, then looked at Luke.
"I have to go. I hope this helped."
"I think it did, sir." Luke came to attention and saluted. Admiral Kre'fey returned the salute, then turned and left. Luke walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. He reached out with the Force and turned the lights off. It had been a while since he had used the Force for something so minor, but it didn't really bother him that he had done it. He sat there in the dark for several minutes thinking about the admiral's words and wondering if he was right.
"Uncle Luke?" The familiar voice startled Luke. He opened his eyes, and then used the Force to turn the lights on. "You told us not to do that." Jaina walked over and sat down beside him.
"Well, you were also told that, in a military setting such as this, you shouldn't call me 'Uncle Luke'. I am, however, glad that you do, and that you restrain yourself to when others are not around." He looked down at his wrist, and remembered that he left his watch in his quarters.
"What time is it?"
"It's about half past fourteen hundred hours. You dozed off not long after the admiral left."
"You saw me?" Jaina nodded.
"I came to see how you were doing and I saw that you were asleep. I figured, since you hadn't been getting much sleep lately, I'd leave you alone. When the admiral asked about you shortly after that, I told him that you were asleep. He not only understood, but he made an announcement that the observation deck was off limits until further notice. He's a lot nicer than some people think." She stopped for a moment. "Are you afraid that mom might get hurt or something?" The question caught Luke by surprise. He didn't say anything for a moment.
"Yeah." He answered. "I just keep worrying about her."
"It's understandable. Jacen and I worry about each other all the time. Sometimes when there's no reason to be worrying."
"There's an element here that you don't understand, though. You and Jacen have known each other your whole lives. It was a very rare moment to see the two of you apart when you were kids. It was an even rarer moment to see you when you weren't getting into some kind of trouble, but that is beside the point. Your mother and I never got to have what you and Jacen have. We were twenty before we new each other existed, and almost twenty-five before we found out we were twins. I can tell you, no matter how much time your mother and I spend together, we will never have the connection you and Jacen have. I envy you in that way."
"Can I ask you something?" Jaina looked at her uncle with a sincere expression.
"Sure."
"Would you change anything?"
"What do you mean?"
"About your life. They way you grew up. Whatever, would you change anything?"
Luke thought about this for several minutes before he answered. When he did, his niece was shocked.
"To be honest, I would have to say no. While I would love to have grown up like you and your brothers, I wouldn't be the man I am today if I had. Please don't take offense to what I am about to say, but it's the truth. Growing up the way I did gave me an edge that you and Jacen and Anakin don't have. I was twenty years old before I even knew what the Force was. Because I grew up without it, I can live without it. Granted, all these years with the Force make it a little difficult to remember what it was like without it, but could you honestly say that you would be able to last for three days in the forest on Myrkr?"
"No, I don't think I could."
"That's because you were raised in the Force. You were raised as Jedi. I did last three days in the forest and a lot longer out of the forest on Myrkr because I know life without the Force. I don't need it to get by. I saw the look in Callista's eyes when she realized that she was blind to the Force. She was devastated. While I wouldn't exactly be happy about something like that happening to me, it wouldn't bother me as much as it did her. Plus, there are lessons that Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru taught me that no one else can. Living on Tatooine taught me how to survive. Not having a real family like all of my friends taught me how important family is. Everything I've learned was because of the way I grew up.
"And there was another very important lesson in there. All of my life, I wanted to know everything there was to know about my father. I wanted to be a pilot just like him. I longed to learn about him. Then, the moment comes along that I find out exactly who my father was, and I wished I had never known. I regretted finding out. Every ounce of me that had been wishing to learn more suddenly wanted to forget. I realized that what you make someone out to be isn't who they really are. I stopped fantasizing, in a way. Besides, if Leia and I had grown up together, she never would have met, let alone married you dad. Then, you kids never would have been born. I wouldn't be able to handle that." He reached over and patted Jaina's shoulder.
"Do you really think something bad is going to happen to mom?"
"I really hope I'm wrong on that one. I tried to convince her to travel aboard the Ralroost, but you know how she is. I would make me feel a lot better if she was here, instead of on Sabre Fire." In severe protest, Luke had loaned Leia his personal ship. The Sabre Fire was a gift from Mara for their fifth anniversary. She said that it was her turn to buy the family yacht. The ship was designed with elements of both the Jade's Fire, and the Jade's Sabre, Mara had named it the Sabre Fire, because she said that ships with Jade in the name seemed to run into a bit of bad luck. Also, she said that since the ship was designed after both of her previous ships, she thought she'd name it after both of them.
The rest of the trip passed without incident. Luke was notified two hours prior to reversion, because Rogue Squadron would launch moments after that. The plan was that the Ralroost would stay at the edge of the system to assist if needed while Rogue Squadron escorted the Sabre Fire to Circarpous V. Because of this, all of the pilots had to be strapped into their X-wings and ready to go before the reversion to real space. After everyone was strapped in, Gavin ordered that all pilots check in. Luke listened as each pilot counted off. Gavin had decided to break the squadron into four flights instead of just three. This would have been fine except for the fact that Gavin had decided to put Luke in charge of two flight and make Inyri in charge of four flight. This made Luke Rogue four. On top of that, Gavin put Jaina in Luke's flight, making her under his direct command. This made Jaina Rogue five, as she was Luke's wing. The three person flights worked really well for the most part, but every now and then they had to break into pairs. When this happened, two's odd man would pair up with four's and one's odd man would pair up with three's. Even though everyone told Gavin what he was doing was a bad idea, the squadron always seemed to make it work.
"Luke, you there?" The question brought Luke back to the present.
"Yeah, sorry."
"You need to be paying attention." Gavin's voice was tinny through the speakers.
"It won't happen again."
"I know." It was when Luke heard the click that he realized Gavin had been speaking to him on a private channel. This raised Luke's level of respect for him. He needed to get Luke's attention, but didn't want to do it in front of everyone else.
"Okay, Rogues, listen up. This could be tricky. As soon as the hangar doors open we're out and around the Sabre Fire like it was made of gold. We've gone over formation so no one should be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is that clear?" There were several affirmatives.
All of the pilots could feel when the ship came out of hyperspace. Almost immediately, the hangar doors came open. Gavin was the first out, then the rest of the squadron followed. As soon as the last fighter was clear, they moved into formation around the Sabre Fire. Leia's voice came over the speakers.
"Glad that you could join me, Rogues. Everything all set."
"We're ready when you are." Gavin replied.
All together, the ships started moving in system. Luke had to speak to Leia before they got too far, but he didn't want everyone listening in on there conversation. Luke reached out with the Force and touched his sister's mind. In that brief moment, he conveyed the message for her to switch to a private frequency.
"What is it, Luke?" Leia asked. He could hear the concern in her voice.
"Is everything still running smoothly?"
"Yes. No problems so far. Listen, everything is going to be fine. Don't worry." Just then, Luke heard two alarms simultaneously. One came over the speakers and one came from his own ship. Just then, Major Varth's voice came over the main channel.
"We've got targets straight ahead and coming in hot."
"Okay, one and two flights will follow me to intercept, three and four will stay behind and guard the ship. On my mark." Gavin ordered. Luke knew his reasoning behind this, but didn't exactly agree with it. Before he had time to protest, Gavin gave the order.
"Mark." The six X-wings broke formation and headed straight for the oncoming fighters. At first glance, it looked like there were about ten of them. Artoo expanded sensor readings and came up with about twenty-four.
"Lead, I'm reading two dozen ships out there, maybe more." Luke said.
"There's no way we'll stop them all." Rogue three said.
"Especially with that kind of thinking, three." He paused for a moment, then opened the channel to the Sabre Fire. "Sorry Princess, looks like there are more then we thought. I'm gonna have to leave you with only three escorts. Think you can handle that?"
"I think we'll manage." After the last two problems with ships, Mara had made sure that the Sabre Fire was heavily armed and shielded.
"Okay, three flight get out here."
"As ordered." Major Varth responded, and three more X-wings joined the fight. Luke wasn't quite sure what they were up against. These fighters were unlike anything he had ever seen. He hoped that it wasn't another unknown species coming to take over the galaxy like the Yuuzhan Vong.
The fighting started as soon as the first ship came within firing range. The enemy ships fired first. Luke used the Force to help avoid getting hit, and he could feel Jaina doing the same. These pilots were good. The ships they were in were very fast. Faster than the X-wings, and it was hard to get a good shot at them. The fighting had been going on for several minutes when Luke heard Leia's voice coming through the speakers.
"We've been hit. We need some back up here, now." Luke suddenly realized that he had been so engrossed in the fight that he hadn't seen the fighters slip passed them.
"I'm on it." He said. "Five, you're with me."
"You didn't even have to say it." Jaina replied. They both headed back toward the ship. Luke noticed at that moment that there were no X-wing's around.
"Leia, what happened to four flight?"
"I'm not sure. When the fighters got to us, they started fighting them off. After a few minutes, they just disappeared." As Luke headed for the nearest fighter, he sent a message back to Gavin.
"Lead, we've got a problem. Four flight is MIA."
"We'll find them. You keep that ship in one piece." Luke switched to a private frequency before speaking next.
"Jaina, you know what to do."
"We'll get her out of this in one piece." It took a while to end the fight around the Sabre Fire. The fighters were good, very good. There were several near misses and Luke's shields were losing power. After the last fighter exploded, Luke opened up the mike.
"Leia, is everything okay?" he could sense his sister's agitation.
"We've got a problem. They hit us before we got the shields up. The main engines are shot. We'll have to repair them before we can go any further." Before Luke could say anything, Gavin spoke up.
"Four, Five, you got the situation taken care of?"
"Yes, sir." Luke said. "Do you need us out there?"
"No, the fights over out here, are we ready to get moving?"
"There's a problem," Leia commented. "The engines have been shot up pretty badly. We're going to have to repair them before we can go any further, and we're going to have to set down to do it."
"Well, where's the nearest landing point?" Gavin asked. Luke's blood suddenly turned to ice.
"Let me guess." He said. "Mimban." There was an affirmative answer.
"No. We can call the Ralroost, get them to come pick you up, but you are not setting down on Mimban."
"Major, there's no other way." Luke knew that when Leia used his rank instead of his name, there was no talking her out of it. "Besides, there shouldn't be any energy mining so we won't have to worry about that."
"Energy mining?" Rogue eleven asked.
"It's a long story that is apparently repeating itself." Luke said.
"Okay, Rogues, you heard the princess. We set down on Mimban long enough to fix the engines, then we're out again. I'll send a message to the admiral telling him what's going on so he can tell the chancellor." He switched over to the private frequency again.
"Luke, I realize that you will be doing this anyway, but I'm making it an order. You and Jaina are going to be on that ship like a Krayt Dragon on a womprat. You hear me? Wherever that ship lands, you will be within view of it."
"That's an order I can agree with. You get that, Jaina?"
"I think I can handle this one." They heard the click as Gavin went back to the main frequency.
"Okay. We wait for a response from the admiral, then we go."
After the admiral's response came with a message that he would inform the chancellor of what was going on, they headed for the surface. Luke began to remember what it was like the first time he had visited this planet. Some of the memories that came to him were not the best. He remembered facing Vader for the first time. He remembered being in the governor's office and crying like a baby to try to get them out of trouble. He remembered dying and being brought back to life by the miraculous Kaiburr crystal, a piece of which was the focusing crystal in Leia's lightsabre. He remembered going up against that Coway warrior and almost drowning. He had not been nearly as in tune with the Force then as he was now, but somehow he managed to use it to win the fight and the Coway's respect.
He also remembered old Halla. That old woman helped them out of a lot of, and gotten them into to a lot of trouble while they were here. He also started to remember some of the situations he and Leia had been put in and the feelings that occurred during those situations. He shuddered at some of the thoughts he had had about Leia and had to remind himself that he had no idea she was his sister at the time.
They got to the surface with no problems. The hard part was finding a place to set down. Inevitably, at least in Luke's mind, the only clearing that was large enough for the Sabre Fire, and the X-wings, was a stone's throw from the Temple of Pomojema. While doing some scans of the area before coming down, it was determined that four flight had been shot to pieces leaving them with only nine fighters. Gavin hated the fact that he had lost three excellent pilots, especially Inyri, but he dreaded more having to replace those pilots.
Luke climbed down from his X-wing and walked over to the Sabre Fire. When he got to the entry ramp, he keyed in the access code and the ramp began lowering. When it touched the ground, Luke walked onto the ship and found Leia.
"Anything I can do to help?" he asked.
"You can go back there and make sure that those guys don't mess anything up. I'm not sure that they know exactly what they're doing."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, they have to think about the fact that if they mess it up too bad, they'll have an angry Jedi Master to deal with." He gave her a smile. After a moment of silence, Luke looked at her.
"Do you have your lightsabre with you?"
"Yes, why?"
"The focusing crystal that I used was actually part of the Kaiburr crystal. I was just thinking that, if you didn't mind, we could use it if we need it, since we're here." His expression conveyed that he was joking.
"We're where?"
"You don't recognize the place. It's the Temple of Pomojema. I bet that monster thing is still half buried under the collapsed roof."
"Or what's left of it, anyway. That was almost thirty years ago."
"Don't remind me. I noticed that the vehicle we used to get out here is still here, and I know that Hin and Kee's skeletons have to be here."
"Why are you thinking about that?"
"Because they helped us a lot. If it hadn't been for Hin, I never would have gotten out from under that rock and we both would have died here by Vader's hand."
"I know that. I just don't like to think about it."
"So I'm guessing you don't want to go look around. Maybe see if we can find a Coway entrance."
"Don't even joke about that." She hit him hard in the arm. "Besides, what about your dream."
"I realized that I'm worrying for nothing. I had this sense of dread until we touched down safely. After that, it went away. I guess I thought we would crash again. I kind of want to go see if I can find what's left of my first X-wing."
"You're acting like you're twenty all over again." She smiled at him. "I like it. You know, I never told you this, but the time that we spent here created some of my fondest memories of you. The way you fought for the others and me. The way you were willing to do everything you could to protect me from everything."
"Including myself." Luke said. He thought he had said it to where she wouldn't hear, but he was wrong.
"What?" Luke sighed.
"Well, we didn't know we're brother and sister back then, and you are a beautiful woman. I love you now, and I loved you then, but not in the same way. If you knew about some of the thoughts I had about you while we were here, you'd slap me clear into next week. But, I decided that I was here to protect you, even if it meant protecting you from me. There was one time that I came about this close to kissing you." He held up his fore finger and thumb and had them about a centimeter apart.
"Well, I'm glad nothing came of it. That would have made it really awkward when we found out about being siblings." That was when Luke realized that Leia had completely forgotten about Hoth. He smiled.
"You don't remember do you?"
"Remember what?"
"Hoth."
"What about it?"
"Do the words 'stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf herder' bring back any memories?"
"Yeah, that's what I called Han just before I-" she paused a moment.
"Just before you what?" Luke prompted.
"Just before I kissed you to make him jealous." She said as she buried her face in her hands.
"Yes. Now, I knew that it was just to make Han jealous, so I played it up a bit, but, even though it makes me shiver when I think about it, I can't say I didn't enjoy it."
"Gross!" Leia said as she looked up at him.
"You have to remember that we didn't know at the time. That makes it a little less sick."
"But, just because we didn't know we're related doesn't change the fact that we are. That still makes it gross."
"Well, I just wanted to talk about it anyway. Especially since when I told you that you're my sister, you said that somehow you've always known. I wanted right then and there to ask you, if you knew, then why did you kiss me. I guess it's because we just kind of had the feeling that we were connected in some way and just didn't know how."
"That was really it. When I first met you, I felt like I had known you my whole life. Especially after I got to know you."
"You know what sticks out the most in my mind about when we first met?"
"What?"
"Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?" He laughed slightly.
"It was a valid question."
"I know that's why it sticks out. Of all the people on the Death Star, you were the only person that noticed. Doesn't that seem sad to you?"
"That's the Empire for you." Just then, Luke's comlink beeped. He spoke into it softly for a moment.
"Sorry, Gavin's called a meeting. I really wish I could stay and talk some more. We don't get to do this that often."
"I know, but you have to do what you're told." She smiled at him warmly. "Come back when you get another free moment." Luke saluted with a smile on his face.
"Yes, ma'am." Then he turned and left, laughing as he did so. It was a sound that Leia enjoyed. It had been a while since she had heard him laugh, and she wished those times weren't so few and far between.
"So, what did you and mom talk about?" Jaina asked as they walked together.
"Old times." Luke responded.
"Well, something she said sure cheered you up. You've had a smile on your face for the past five minutes."
"Well, we just happened to be talking about some fun old times." The conversation ceased as they joined the rest of the group.
"Well, the report from the mechanics is that it'll take about a week to repair the engines. That'll give us some time to come up with a nine-man defense plan. I know that we all miss everyone in four flight, but unfortunately, we don't have time to grieve right now. We have to find out more about those fighters that attacked us. We know that their not skips which is a good thing. We also know that they aren't anything we've ever come up against. They seemed pretty easy to beat off, but they did get four flight, and almost got Luke and Jaina. So it makes me wonder if they were just trying to distract us so they could get at the princess." Gavin continually referred to Leia as Princess because she had no formal title on this mission. And without a title, he didn't know what to call her.
"Who could possibly want to keep her from reaching Circarpous?" Major Varth asked.
"Someone who doesn't want Circarpous to become a part of the New Republic, probably."
"Could be the same person that did something to the Chancellor." Jaina said. Several pilots nodded in agreement.
"That is a possibility. From the latest report the admiral sent me, it was discovered that the Chancellor was poisoned. It was also discovered that there's a militia group that is against joining the New Republic. That's why the Chancellor wanted to speed up this meeting. He wanted to try to avoid further problems. No one knows that the meeting has been changed except for us and the chancellor."
"I don't understand why they don't want to join." A young man said. Luke only knew him as Rogue eight.
"Unfortunately we don't know why, we just know that someone doesn't want this to happen. So, what we have to do is get the princess to Circarpous V in one piece with only nine fighters. Any ideas?"
"Well, we could use the standard six-man box formation with the other three flying back up." Rogue seven commented.
"That's a possibility, anything else?" There was silence for several minutes.
"Okay, we'll do it that way, then. Two flight will take port, aft, and dorsal, three flight will take starboard, fore, and ventral, and one flight will fill in the gaps." Gavin looked at his watch. "I want all of you to spend one hour checking out your X-wings. Make sure there's no damage you didn't know about. This should happen everyday until we leave. After that, your time is yours. Dismissed."
The hour of maintenance on his X-wing dragged by slowly for Luke because all he could think about was going and talking to Leia again. After the hour was up, Luke realized that he hadn't called Mara yet. He hopped into the cockpit and pushed a few buttons on the control panel.
"Artoo, get me Coruscant. I want to talk to Mara." The little 'droid beeped at him. "Yes, I know what time it is there, just get her for me." After a few moments, Mara's face appeared on the screen. She had obviously been asleep.
"Did I wake you?" he asked.
"Yes, but I don't mind. How's everything going?"
"We got attacked as soon as we got in system by two squads of these fighters we've never seen before. We lost four flight."
"I'm sorry." She said. "Are you okay?" He nodded.
"The Sabre got hit pretty bad, though. We had to set down on the nearest planet to make repairs, and just guess which was the nearest planet."
"Oh, no. Mimban?"
"Yep. Leia and I spent a few minutes reminiscing about the first time we were here."
"Luke, I miss you."
"I miss you, too. I think this'll be the longest amount of time we've spent apart since we were married."
"Maybe second longest. As soon as you get home, we need to talk about something."
"What?"
"It's a surprise. I want to save it for when we're face to face. That'll only be in about a month, right?"
"Should be, unless something happens, which it won't."
"Okay, well, as much as I don't want to. I have to get some sleep. I promised Mirax I'd help her in the morning and I have to be up early."
"I'll see you when I get home. I love you." Luke touched the screen with his fingertips.
"I love you, too." Mara said as she did the same. After a moment, the screen went black. Luke stared at the screen for several minutes. Artoo's beep behind him made him lose his train of thought.
"What?" The 'droid beeped a response.
"Tell Leia that I had to call Mara and I'll be right there." There was an affirmative whistle, then Luke climbed out of the cockpit. The world teemed with life to the point that Luke felt he could waste such concentration of the Force. Instead of using the ladder, he lowered himself to the ground.
"Yet another thing you told us never to do." Jaina scolded as she walked up.
"Which one of us is the Master, I keep forgetting?" he said with a laugh.
"Point taken." Jaina conceded. Before Luke could say anything else, Gavin walked up.
"Luke, you said that you've been here before?"
"Yes."
"Do you know the area pretty well?"
"Not really. It was almost thirty years ago. I can tell you, though, that the structure over there is the Temple of Pomojema."
"Well, some of the men want to do some exploring and I was wondering if maybe you could keep them from getting lost."
"I don't know my way around that well. They should go explore that temple. They'll find some pretty interesting stuff in there. They need to take a lot of light with them, though. There's a sacrificial well in there that goes on forever."
"I'll pass that along to them. Thanks."
"What kind of stuff will they find?" Jaina asked. Luke could tell she wanted to go with them.
"Go ahead." He said to her. "I'll tell your mother where you've gone."
"Thanks, Uncle Luke. I mean, major." She ran off toward the group that was heading for the temple.
"One of these days you're going to call me Uncle Luke at the absolute wrong time." He said as he walked toward the Sabre Fire. Before he got there, Gavin walked up to him.
"There's been a slight change in plans. The chancellor sent a message to Admiral Kre'fey saying that they only wanted to talk to Leia. They said that the chancellor would have a few bodyguards with him and that's it. He said that Leia could have bodyguards with her, but no one else."
"So, we tell them I'm her bodyguard."
"I suggested that. The chancellor knows that Leia uses Noghri bodyguards. It comes down to the fact that you're not allowed in the meeting." With those words, Luke's sense of danger returned and had doubled. "At least she is allowed to have the Noghri with her."
"That doesn't make me feel any better about this." Luke responded.
After repairs were finished on the Sabre Fire they got ready to take off. When they got into the upper layers of the atmosphere, Gavin spoke.
"Okay, everybody, let's stay on our toes and make sure we all get to Circarpous V in one piece."
The trip to Circarpous V went without a single interruption. They landed safely and the meeting with the chancellor was set up immediately. Throughout the meetings Rogue Squadron was able to use the time however they saw fit. Luke decided to hang out with Jaina and get to know his niece a little better. Luke laughed every time he thought about how close his friends were getting. About two years ago, Jaina had married Wedge's nephew Jagged Fel, which made him technically related to Wedge. Anakin had been dating Corran's daughter for quite some time and had just recently proposed marriage, which she accepted, which would make Luke technically related to Corran. The thing that amazed Luke the most was the fact that of all of his direct blood relatives, Luke was the only one that hadn't married, or was going to marry, a Corellian.
"I'm sure you've been asked this, but are you planning on having any children?"
"Not really planning at the moment, but if it happens, it happens" Jaina replied.
"What will you do about Rogue Squadron?"
"If, one day, I find out I'm pregnant, I'll resign. Even though I don't regret the way I was raised, I want to be able to be there for my kids."
"That's understandable." Luke paused for a moment." You have no idea how much of your parents I see in you. You have Leia's smile, and her leadership skills. You have your father's eyes, though. You certainly act more like your father."
"I'd say that I've inherited their best qualities."
"I can agree with that."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You only say that when it is something that is going to completely shock me, but go ahead."
"Mom said one time that you're afraid of becoming exactly like your father, is that true?"
"Yes, it is."
"What you are actually afraid of is becoming exactly like Vader. You have told me on more than one occasion that they are not the same person. In a way, you don't have to worry about becoming exactly like your father, because you already are."
"What do you mean?"
"You told me that your aunt told you that Anakin Skywalker was a kind, loving, generous man who would do anything for the people he loved. You always say how Vader wasn't your father, Anakin Skywalker was. If that's the case, then you've become exactly like the man you call father. Uncle Luke, you are one of the nicest men I have ever met. I see the way you look at Aunt Mara. You love her with all of your heart and soul. This is a woman that wanted you dead when you first met, but you've put that aside and love her more than life itself. I've also seen the way you look at mom, and me, and Jacen, and Anakin, even dad. You would rather die than let anything happen to us. To me that sounds like someone who is kind, loving, generous, and would do anything for the people he loves."
"I never thought about it that way."
"Maybe you should. It would make your life a lot easier and get rid of one more fear. Goodness knows we could all do with a little less of that." Luke put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you." When he stepped back, she had a confused look on her face. After a second she broke into a lopsided grin that reminded Luke exactly how much she was like her father. After they got back to the hotel, they found the rest of the squadron in the hotel restaurant having dinner, so they decided to join them. They got about halfway to the table when there was an explosion in the distance. That explosion was coupled with an explosion of pain in Luke's gut and he doubled over and landed hard on his knees. He looked over and saw that Jaina was in the same state. Gavin came running over to him.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Luke uttered one word before the pain overtook him and he passed out.
"Leia!"
When Luke had regained consciousness, his first request was to be allowed to help in the search for survivors. While it was partially a selfish request in that he wanted to find Leia, it was also true that his Jedi abilities would help find those people that others could not find. Jaina had also volunteered for this same reason. Luke stretched out with the Force and almost collapsed because of all the devastation. He had to remind himself that he was there to help. He knew that Leia was alive, that was certain. The pain that he had felt was strictly because of her injuries. Several years ago they reached the point in their connection through the Force where they could feel each other's pain. This was good in a way because it would help him find Leia. As they got closer together, the pain intensified. This was bad, because it meant that Luke knew exactly what injuries Leia had. Judging by the amount of pain he was in, and the fact that he wasn't very close to Leia, this meant her injuries were severe.
He and Jaina had both agreed that they would help those closest to them, then work their way to Leia. While they wanted to run to where she was and ignore all the others, they couldn't do that. If anyone died because they had passed them by, Luke would never feel right about it. After helping to locate about a dozen people, Luke searched for his sister. He hurried to where she was and started digging. He had to us the Force to dampen the pain enough that he could function. Jaina looked up and noticed him, so she went over and started to help. She noticed that her uncle was a bit more sluggish than usual, and could feel the Force flowing around him. After several minutes of digging, they finally found her. She was alive, but barely.
"Leia, can you hear me? Leia." Luke said as he continued to dig. "Leia, it's gonna be okay. We'll get you out of there and everything'll be just fine." The words sounded empty in his ears. He had no idea whether or not everything was going to be fine. A medical team with a stretcher came over to assess Leia's injuries. After she was uncovered and put on the stretcher, she was taken and put with the critically injured group. Luke walked alongside the stretcher holding her hand.
Jaina had never seen him like this. He was frantic. Luke seemed to be losing control. Under the circumstances it was almost understandable, but she never expected it from him. She guessed that all of the years that she saw him as a Jedi Master and mentor, she never really realized that he was just a normal human like everybody else. With fears and dreams and weaknesses. At that moment, she felt very sorry for him while she hoped that her mother would recover.
They started moving the more critical patients to a near by hospital. Leia was one of the first to go. As they started to load her onto an ambulance, Luke tried to go with them.
"Sir, you have to stay here." The driver said.
"No, I want to go with her." Luke protested.
"I can't let you do that."
"But I'm her brother." He was almost yelling.
"You can get a ride to the hospital with someone else, but I can't let you ride with her and the longer we argue about this the longer it will be before she gets any help." When the man said that, Luke stood back and let him take her away. He then walked over to Gavin.
"Go on, you don't even have to ask. Tell Jaina she can go to." Gavin said. "I'll find someone who knows where the hospital is to take you." As Gavin went to get someone, Jaina walked up.
"He said we could go. He's getting someone to take us to the hospital that she's being taken to." Luke ran his left hand through his hair.
"You're bleeding." Jaina said.
"What?"
"You're bleeding. Apparently while you were digging through the rocks you cut your hand. Here." She tore the sleeve off of her tunic and began to bandage his hand. Moments later, Gavin came back with a guide.
When they got to the hospital, they were told that she had been taken into surgery and that they would have to wait. They went and sat in the waiting room.
"Do you need anything?" A nurse asked them.
"For my sister to be okay." Luke responded.
"Some caf would be nice." Jaina said. The nurse nodded and went to get the caf. Jaina looked at Luke and for the first time noticed the glazed look in his blue eyes. She wondered where he was, because he certainly wasn't there in the hospital. When the nurse got back with the caf, she thanked her. As the nurse started to walk away, Jaina remembered Luke's hand.
"Nurse." The young woman turned.
"Yes."
"My uncle cut his hand while he was helping find people. Can you get someone to look at it?"
"I'm fine." Luke said. Jaina made a motion that indicated the nurse should not believe him.
"I'll get a doctor." She said and she walked off. A few moments later a doctor walked up.
"Sir, if you come with me we can take a look at your hand." Luke looked up at the doctor.
"I'm not going anywhere until I find out how my sister's doing."
"Uncle Luke, if you don't go get it looked at, it could become infected and then you'd have two prosthetic hands. Go. I'll let you know if anything happens." Luke looked at her a moment, then got up and went with the doctor. His movements were slow as if he was in a great deal of pain. While the doctor cleaned, stitched, and bandaged Luke's hand, he tried to make conversation.
"Are you and your sister close?"
"Very." Luke answered.
"That young woman called you uncle-"
"I only have one sibling." That was obviously the conclusion of the question because the doctor nodded.
"The nurse told me that you were helping to get people out of the rubble."
"I'm a Jedi. I was able to find people that no one else could. I was really there to find my sister, though."
"You said you're a Jedi? And your name is Luke?"
"Before you ask, yes, I'm Luke Skywalker and that's my sister Leia Organa Solo and that's her daughter Jaina Solo Fel." Luke's voice conveyed more anger than he realized because the doctor seemed to shrink back and avoid asking any more questions.
"I'm sorry." Luke said after a moment of silence. "I really didn't mean to snap at you like that."
"It's completely understandable. There. You're all fixed up. Try not to get it wet and change the dressing every four to five hours if needed."
"Thank you." Luke stood, then turned and left. When he got back to the waiting room, Jaina was nowhere to be found. One of the nurses walked up to him.
"Your niece had to leave for a moment. She wanted me to tell you that she would be right back."
"Do you know where she went?" The nurse shook her head.
"She did say that it was important and asked that you stay here."
"Thank you." Luke said as he sat. Several minutes later, Jaina returned. Before Luke could ask her where she'd been, she told him.
"I went to call dad. He needed to know. Especially since Jacen and Anakin were talking to him when the bomb went off. There reaction wasn't as strong because they are so far away, but dad knew immediately that something was wrong. He said he's on his way."
"Does he realize that there is the possibility that she won't be alive when he gets here?" Luke's voice broke toward the end of that question.
"We can't think like that. Everything will be just fine. You'll see."
"I truly hope you're right."
Leia had been in surgery for almost twelve hours when the doctor finally came out. One of the nurses had gone in to tell him who was waiting for him while he was operating. When he walked into the waiting room, Luke and Jaina were both asleep.
"Major Skywalker." He said. Luke jumped slightly and almost fell out of his chair. When he realized who had said his name, he got up and walked over to him.
"How is she?"
"She had several severe internal injuries. We managed to stop most of the bleeding but there are still a few problem areas that we're trying to keep an eye on."
"I want you to be honest with me. Will she live?"
"In all honesty, we don't really expect her to make it through the night. There was too much damage. We've done what we can, but I'm afraid it's not enough."
"Can we see her?" Luke was trying very hard to keep from breaking down.
"Luckily, she has regained consciousness, at least momentarily, and she asked for you. I'll take you to her room." Luke walked over and woke Jaina. He explained the situation and they followed the doctor to Leia's room. When they entered, she looked pale. Luke walked over and took her hand in his.
"Hi." Was all he could manage. Jaina couldn't even say that much.
"Hi." Leia said. She looked at her brother. "You don't have to pretend that everything's going to be okay. I know I'm dying."
"Han is on his way. He and Jacen and Anakin. You have to stay alive long enough for them to get here." He almost couldn't get the words out. He pulled a chair over and sat down. Jaina did the same on the other side of the bed.
"I can at least try." Leia said. She smiled weakly, then closed her eyes and went to sleep.
The doctors were astounded that Leia not only lived through the night, but the next several days as well. She stayed alive long enough for Han and the boys to arrive. Han had asked for some time to spend alone with Leia so Luke and the kids sat in the waiting room. Luke didn't know until they got there, but Mara had come with them.
"Trust me, love, you need me more than Mirax does." Was her response when he asked her why she had come. Over the time since Luke had joined Rogue Squadron, Mara had become an integral part of Mirax's business. Mara mainly did the books, though, as she had done for Talon Kardde. She said that it gave her something to do while Luke was busy.
They all sat talking in the waiting room. They would take turns going to get something to eat so that only one person would have to be contacted if something changed. It had been a week since Han and the others had arrived. Most of the time was spent in the hospital. Han and Luke would take turns sleeping in Leia's room. None of the others were really comfortable doing that so it was left up to them.
Luke and the others were in the waiting room giving Han some more time alone with Leia, when Luke suddenly doubled over. This time, however, it wasn't pain as much as it was that he was sick to his stomach. It was a strong enough sensation that he came very close to vomiting. He looked up and noticed the expressions on the kids' faces. They were in the same position. Since Mara was not as close to Leia, the effect was not as strong on her, but she certainly felt it. Moments later, Han walked out of the room. The tears rolling down his cheeks only verified what Luke already knew. Leia was dead.
He got up and walked over to his brother-in-law. The two men just looked at each other for a moment, then they embraced each other. They stood there like that for several minutes before either could move. Then, Han walked over and hugged his children while Luke turned to Mara. She could see the pain in his eyes and feel it radiating off of him through the Force. She new that more than just losing a sister, Luke had lost one of his best friends. They sat down together. For a moment, the just sat there, in silence. Then, Luke turned and faced Mara. She put her arms around him and he rested his head on her shoulder. She felt her tunic get wet as Luke wept. She just sat there, holding him.
Han looked over and saw that Luke was crying. He and the kids moved to where they were sitting. All of them did what they could to comfort him, and themselves. While they had all suffered a great loss, Luke seemed the most hurt. Jaina and Jacen and Anakin had lost a mother that had always been there for them. Han had lost a wife and friend. Luke had lost a sister that he should have known his entire life and didn't. He had been denied the chance to grow up with her and now he was denied the chance to learn what he never knew about her. It wasn't until that moment that he realized exactly how big her part in his life was, and that is what hurt the worst. Han was weeping just as openly as Luke was, as were the kids. Mara also had tears streaming down her cheeks. It was several hours before any of them moved, or even spoke.
Luke was not surprised when he walked into the room and her body was gone. Not because anyone had moved it, but because Leia had filled her place in the Force. He walked over to the nightstand by the bed and opened the top drawer. The nurse had placed all of her personal belongings there. Luke turned and looked at Han as he entered.
"I'm sure you want this." Luke said as he held up her wedding ring. Han nodded and took it. Next was the watch that Luke had given her for their thirtieth birthday. Leia hadn't taken it off since that day. He turned it over and read the inscription.
"With all my love, Luke." He said aloud. He didn't try to stop the flow of tears that started. He turned the watch over and saw that it had stopped and that the face was cracked. That was when Luke realized exactly what day it was. He collapsed landing on his knees. He had laid his head on his folded arms on the nightstand. His entire body shook as he cried. Han walked over and knelt beside his friend and brother-in-law.
"What is it?" Han asked. Luke looked up and wiped the tears from his eyes. He handed Han the watch.
"Today's our birthday." Luke almost couldn't get that out before he started crying again. After a few moments, he stopped and stood. "Everything else in there are things that you'll want to keep."
"Here." Han said as he handed the watch back to Luke. "You gave it to her. I'm sure she'd want you to have it back." Luke nodded then stuck the watch in his pocket.
Mara sat with the kids as Luke and Han went to get Leia's belongings. Mara felt the sudden wave of sadness come over Luke. She saw a nurse passing by and caught her attention.
"What's today's date?" she asked.
"October twentieth." The nurse said. Mara thanked her and she walked away. Suddenly she understood. Jaina looked at her with a questioning glance. After a moment, she realized why Mara had asked.
"Today's their birthday." Jaina said aloud. Jacen and Anakin looked up.
"Well, it's very obvious that Uncle Luke will never have a happy birthday again." Anakin said. Everyone nodded in agreement.
After Han and Luke left the room, they all went back to the hotel. Gavin was waiting for them when they arrived. As were Wedge and Admiral Kre'fey. Luke was the first person they saw.
"Luke, I'm so sorry." Wedge said as he put his arms around his friend. Luke returned the gesture, but there was no emotion in it. When they backed away, Wedge looked at Luke. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Today's our birthday." Was all Luke could say before bursting into tears again. Mara walked over and helped him to a chair. Wedge hadn't even realized what day it was. He walked over and knelt in front of his friend. In that moment, Wedge saw the idealistic kid he had first met before the battle of Yavin. He had suffered such great loss then, but hadn't let it get to him. He hadn't had time to grieve back then. Now, however, there was plenty of time. There were already people investigating what happened. Everything that Luke could possibly think about doing to get his mind off of this was being taken care of by someone else. There was nothing for Luke to do but grieve and Wedge did not envy him that. All Wedge could manage to say was.
"I'm sorry." Not long after that, Han and the kids walked in. Wedge walked over to talk to Han as Gavin walked up to Luke.
"Luke, listen. If you need some time off I'll understand. As a matter of fact, you're on leave until further notice. I know how much Leia meant to you. Take as much time as you need."
Luke couldn't understand a word that was being said to him. Everything was muffled. He nodded strictly out of reflex. He knew Gavin well enough to know that it was safe to agree with what he was saying. Luke looked up and for a split second saw Biggs standing in front of him and not Gavin. This did not help matters much at all and Luke started crying again. He hated this. The complete lack of control. He had completely lost his hold on his emotions and the tiniest little thing could make him burst into tears. He looked at Mara. She was so understanding. He could feel her concern for him. He took her hand in his.
"I want to go to sleep."
"What?" She asked. She was in the middle of a conversation with Gavin.
"I want to go to sleep." He repeated, his voice was almost a whisper.
"Okay." Mara helped him up and they walked to the lift. "What floor?" she asked. Luke's response was to take the key card out of his pocket and hand it to her. She saw the room number on it and pushed the button for the right floor. Luke didn't even want to think at the moment. He was so tired, so emotionally drained. All he wanted to do was to go to sleep. When they got into the room, Mara helped Luke with his boots as he removed his tunic. He kept his pants on and crawled into bed. She turned the light of and started to go into the living room area of the suite.
"No." he said.
"What?"
"Don't go, please." Mara walked over and lay down on the bed next to Luke. She put her arms around him. After a moment, he was sound asleep. She knew that if she moved, it would wake him, so she stayed there holding him. It wasn't long before she fell asleep herself.
The next morning, when Mara awoke, Luke was gone. She noticed a piece of flimsiplast on the bed next to her. A not was scribbled on it. Had to go look for something. Be back later. See you then. Love, Luke.
"What could he possibly be looking for?" She wondered aloud. She got up and walked into the living room. Artoo was hooked into a computer terminal. He beeped at Mara when she walked in.
"Hello. Do you know where Luke went?" At first, Artoo tried to answer in beeps and whistles, but when it became obvious that Mara didn't understand, he showed her. A map appeared on the screen. There was a spot labeled Sabre Fire, a spot labeled "meeting hall", and a moving dot that was labeled "Luke." From the looks of it, he was moving from the ship to what was left of the meeting hall. Mara took the time to change her clothes, then she went after him.
"Luke, what are you doing?" Mara asked as she walked up to him. He was digging in the rubble. She noticed that the bandage that was supposed to be on his hand had come off. The cut did not look good and he was only making it worse by digging.
"Luke, you need to stop that. You're cut looks like it's infected." He seemed to ignore her for a moment.
"It wasn't on the ship, so she had to have it with her. It has to be here." He said.
"What?" she asked. Luke stopped digging and looked up at her.
"Leia's lightsabre. She said she had it with her. I didn't think she would bring it, but I checked out the Sabre, and it's not there, so it has to be here somewhere." Mara could see the desperation in his eyes. Finding that lightsabre was the most important thing to him at that moment. She pulled out her comlink and thumbed it on.
"Darklighter here." Gavin's voice came over the speaker.
"Gavin, this is Mara. Can you spare any of the squadron right now?"
"Yeah, they won't really let us do anything so we're just sitting around. Why?"
"I need to borrow everybody that is willing to get out here and do some digging. Luke's trying to find Leia's lightsabre and he said that it has to be out here in the rubble somewhere. It'll take him forever if he's the only one looking. Plus, the cut on his hand looks really bad. I need an excuse to get him to a doctor."
"I'll see who's willing to help, and we'll be there in a few minutes."
"Thank you." She turned the comlink off and put it back in her pocket, then began helping him look. Moments later, the rest of Rogue Squadron showed up, as well as Admiral Kre'fey and Wedge. The admiral was in charge of the search team and gave them specific areas to search.
"Will they know what they're looking for?" Kre'fey asked Mara.
"There should only be one lightsabre out here. If you need a point of reference, come take a look at Luke's. They're very similar." All eight pilots nodded, then started digging. Mara walked over to Luke.
"Luke, everybody is out here to help you find it. Admiral Kre'fey and Wedge came to help, too. You need to get your hand cleaned up. Please." Luke looked up at Mara. He could see the concern in her eyes. He saw that the admiral was standing beside her.
"Don't make me make this an order, major." He said. Luke stood and started to move past Mara. When she caught up to him, he put his arm around her shoulders.
"Thank you."
"Well, it's infected." The doctor said. He had said that he was the doctor that treated the cut in the first place, but Luke's memories of that day were so hazy he had to take the man's word for it.
"You've also torn the stitches. What have you been doing?"
"I was in the rubble trying to find one of my sister's personal belongings." The doctor nodded in understanding.
"Luckily enough, the infection isn't that bad. All you'll need are some antibiotics and a clean bandage and you'll be fine. Now, you have to promise that you'll keep it clean. I'm giving you a prescription for the antibiotics. Take one pill three times a day for ten days. You need to take this or the infection will spread and you could end up losing your whole arm." He handed a piece of flimsiplast to Luke. "You should be able to fill that before you leave. The pharmacy is down the hall."
"Thank you. I'm sorry I've been such trouble."
"It's no problem. I am going to say to you what I say to all my patients."
"What's that?" Luke asked.
"Please don't take this personally, but I never want to see you again." He smiled. Luke returned the smile, then stood. The doctor had made Mara sit in the waiting room. Luke walked out and joined her. While they were at the pharmacy, Mara's comlink beeped. She spoke softly into it for a moment. When she looked at Luke, her eyes were filled with excitement.
"They've found it."
Luke almost left without getting the bottle of pills. He felt like running the whole way back to the damaged meeting hall, but Mara made him get into a cab. When they got to the site, everyone was standing around waiting for them. Luke walked up to the group. Wedge was the one that was holding the lightsabre in his hand.
He handed it to Luke. After examining it, Luke's expression was anything but happy.
"What?" he asked.
"This isn't Leia's." Luke said.
"What do you mean?" Major Varth questioned.
"I thought that Leia's was the only lightsabre that was supposed to be out there." Gavin said.
"Leia's was the only lightsabre that was supposed to be there, but this isn't Leia's, meaning it isn't supposed to be here."
"So whose is it?" Mara asked. Luke turned to her with a cold expression.
"It's Kyp's."
"Blast!" Kyp almost shouted. Then the reporter started listing off the names of the casualties that had been identified. They started with the list of critical injuries then went to the ones that were less severe. They mentioned the names of the deceased last.
"And we have recently found out that among those that died was New Republic representative Leia Organa Solo who died this morning." Kyp didn't wait for the report to end before switching off the screen. He picked up his comlink.
"Wurth, we have a problem."
"What?" The other man's voice was tinny through the microphone.
"Master Skywalker's here."
"So."
"So, his sister was in the meeting hall when the bomb went off. She's dead, Wurth, and we killed her."
"And if he finds out, he's going to kill us."
"We have to get out of here. Tell the others, we're leaving as soon as possible." That's why I recognized those X-wings. I was flying against Rogue Squadron. Kyp was getting ready to leave and reached for his lightsabre only to find it missing.
"Where did I put that thing?" he asked aloud. After a few moments of looking, he suddenly remembered.
"Oh, no."
Once it was discovered that there was something in the rubble that wasn't supposed to be there, the local authorities began the search. They informed Luke that they would notify him if they found Leia's lightsabre. That gave him time to concentrate on other things.
"Why?" he asked as he took one of the pills. "Why would Kyp have been in the meeting hall?" Mara shrugged.
"Maybe I can answer that question." A tall man was standing in the doorway. He had long dark hair that was pulled back. He was wearing robes that indicated he was one of the chancellor's aides.
"Please forgive me. My name is Yaren V'Ja'Vly. I am Prime Minister and cousin of Chancellor V'Ja'Tuk. I believe I know why Kyp Durron was here."
"Come in." Luke said. He motioned for the prime minister to take a seat.
"Thank you, but I would prefer to stand." He pulled a recording rod out of his pocket and handed it to Luke. It reminded Luke of the one that was in the Governor's office on Mimban. He shivered at the memory.
"I was unable to convert the information before I could present it to you as I had to steal this from my cousin's safe. It will explain everything."
"What is it?" Mara asked.
"It is a recording of a conversation between Chancellor V'Jatuk and Kyp Durron. In it, they make arrangements for Kyp to sabotage the talks with the New Republic. This was something that my cousin did not want, but was being forced into by the government. He was willing to die to make sure that Circarpous V never joined the New Republic. He had poisoned himself so that he would not suffer during the explosion. He timed it so that he died seconds before the bomb went off."
"How can you time when poison is going to take effect?" Luke questioned.
"On the recording, it explains that the bomb was to go off exactly one hour after the talks had started. Since my cousin knew what time the talks were going to start, he new what time that would be. The poison that he used is very precise. The victim's death can be calculated down to the second. My cousin injected himself far enough in advance that he would live long enough for the talks to start, but not far enough in advance that he would feel any pain. There is a recording of the meeting that is currently being studied by the authorities. It shows that a few minutes before the bomb went off my cousin made sure that he was the one who was speaking and that he was walking around while doing so. He was at ground zero at the exact moment it exploded. He did this because he thought that no one had learned he had been poisoned and he did not want any remains left to autopsy."
"No remains, no poison traces. Smart man." Mara said.
"Not smart enough, I'm afraid, otherwise this recording would not be in existence. There is discussion of a fee and Kyp states that he has a few fighters that he can use, but not enough. He also said that he needed unrecognizable ships. You see, the original plan called for you to never make it in system. My cousin provided Kyp with the ships he, and with pilots. My cousin had the bomb as a back up plan. As soon as he got the message from Admiral Kre'fey that you were coming anyway, he injected the poison and told Kyp to plant the bomb. I'm still not sure how the young man's lightsabre was left behind."
"That's why the fighters that were going after the Sabre were so hard to beat." Luke said. "We were going up against Jedi. That was probably Kyp and Wurth up there at the very least. The way Jaina and I were using the Force, I'm surprised they didn't realize we were out there, and that we did know it was them. They must have been hiding themselves in the Force on the off chance that someone might find out who they were."
"So, Kyp has decided to become a mercenary, huh?" Mara said.
"It appears that way." Prime Minister V'Javly said.
"Thank you." Luke told him. "This is very useful information."
"I thought so. I am deeply sorry for the loss of your sister and I hope this does not mean we can not become a part of the New Republic."
"I'll make sure of that myself." Luke said. The prime minister bowed, then turned and left.
"That conniving little snake. I'll kill him!" Han said after Luke told him about Kyp. He started to storm out of the room. Luke grabbed his arm.
"That won't bring Leia back." Han pulled his arm out of Luke's grip.
"Maybe not, but it'll fell good to wring his scrawny neck."
"No, it won't and you know it. We have to find him first, anyway. If I know Kyp, he's probably been watching the news reports on the bombing. He's just egotistical enough to want to check up on his handiwork. If that's the case, then he knows that Leia was in there and that she died as a result of injuries he inflicted. We'll be lucky if he's still in the system. He most likely left the minute he found out. Especially considering that he knows who will be coming after him."
"So, where do we start looking?" Han asked.
"That's a very good question." Just then, Corran Horn walked up.
"I got here as soon as I could. I figured I could help. Sorry to hear about Leia, you two." He said. Both men nodded their thanks. "So, do we know anything yet?"
"Yeah, we found out that Kyp's involved." Luke said. "Maybe Wurth and some of the others, too. They were hired by Chancellor V'Jatuk to sabotage the talks because he didn't want to join the New Republic and the government did. From the recording we saw, he didn't even ask why the chancellor wanted it done. He just took the money and did as he was told."
"Do you think he knows exactly who was involved?"
"We think so." Han answered. "It's been all over the news the last couple of days. He's probably long gone by now."
"Well, we can start the search in the chancellor's office and go from there. Maybe there are some clues as to where they were hiding out and stuff like that."
"I knew your CorSec training would be good for something someday." Han told Corran. The younger man just gave him a dirty look.
DISCLAIMER: George Lucas owns all the rights and I am doing this for free.