Part 1

A TIME NOT LONG AGO...

IT IS FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE DEATH OF THE EMPEROR AND THE
BIRTH OF THE NEW REPUBLIC. A COUP ATTEMPT AT CORELLIA HAS
RECENTLY BEEN THWARTED, AND THE GALAXY IS ONCE AGAIN AT PEACE.
ON THE CAPITAL PLANET, CORUSCANT, JEDI MASTER LUKE SKYWALKER
HAS EXCHANGED HIS ROLE OF TEACHER FOR ONE OF STUDENT. UNDER
THE TUTELAGE OF CHIEF OF STATE LEIA ORGANA SOLO, HE ENDEAVORS
TO LEARN POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY FOR HIS NEW POSITION AS JEDI
AMBASSADOR TO THE SENATE.

BUT THE DARK SIDE DID NOT DIE WITH THE EMPEROR. MALARIN
BELSARIOS, AN EX-IMPERIAL AND DARK JEDI, IS TRYING TO CREATE A
RESURGENCE IN THE EMPIRE.

A SMALL GROUP OF HIS COMMANDOS BREAKS INTO LUKE'S
QUARTERS IN THE JEDI ACADEMY ON YAVIN 4, WHILE THE JEDI ARE OUT IN
THE JUNGLE TRAINING WITH JEDI HISTORIAN TIONNE AND NEW JEDI
MASTER KYP DURRON. AN OLD, WEDGE-SHAPED MEDALLION THAT LUKE
HAS HAD SINCE CHILDHOOD IS STOLEN...

Malarin Belsarios strode onto the bridge of his flagship, the strike-class Force Storm, and watched his crew squirm. While it was true he didn't have quite the ominous aura of, say, a Darth Vader, he was adept with the dark side of the Force all the same, and his presence always kept his crew a little ill at ease.

Just the way he liked it.

He walked with purpose, his cardinal cloak flowing behind him elegantly. Vader may have favored the solemnity of black for his robes, but Belsarios preferred the fire of red. Red, the color of the Emperor's Guard. Red, the color of...

No, that was the past. His concern here was the future. His future. A future in which the power of Vader and even of the Emperor himself would seem pale in comparison.

Arriving at his destination, the communications console, Belsarios leaned forward on gloved hands and put his face near the nervous comm officer's ear.

"Have we received word from Alpha team yet, Lieutenant Grissm?"

The young man swallowed uneasily. "Yes, Sir. The connection should be finalized in just a moment."

"Good." Belsarios straightened to his full height and stroked his graying beard thoughtfully. If he was right and everything went well with Phase I, then Phase II should present little difficulties. Then he could move onto the real challenge of Phase III. That he would oversee personally. He licked his lips with anticipation.

"Lord Belsarios, we have a connection," the tense Grissm said.

"Very good. Put it on the main holovid."

"Aye, Sir."

Belsarios turned smartly on his heel to face the holovid, which glowed briefly, than displayed the hugeimage of the Alpha team leader. "Have you succeeded?" he asked expectantly.

"Yes, Sir, it was surprisingly easy. The Jedi were in training on the other side of the moon and didn't even register our presence."

"And you found what you came for?"

The man in the image pulled back a little and held something up for Belsarios to view. It was a silver- colored metal wedge, about one-third of a full circle, dangling at its tip from a silver chain. It was approximately four centimeters from its circular edge to its tip, with a circumference of about nine centimeters. Embedded into the tip, right below the chain, was a gemstone that was a deep shade of scarlet.

Belsarios smiled. Another example of the vibrancy of red.

"Well done, Alpha Leader. Very well done."

The image nodded slightly at this praise--about as gushing a compliment as Belsarios was likely to give-- then vanished.

Belsarios turned back to his crew, grinning broadly. "As you were," he said loudly, his voice brimming with satisfaction. He had been right--or more precisely, he had interpreted the holocube correctly--Skywalker did have part of the disk!

Now all that was left was to get the rest of it.

***

And I thought training to be a Jedi was tough!"

Luke Skywalker blew his breath out in frustration. His sister, Leia, was diligently trying to explain to him the finer points of Hapian etiquette in preparation for his first diplomatic mission as Jedi Ambassador. At first he had thought it would be a simple task of remembering when to bow to whom, but it was much more complex than he ever imagined.

"Mon Mothma was right, your job is much more difficult than I ever gave you credit for," he said admiringly.

Leia smiled at him, brown eyes warm and encouraging. "You'll get it, it's just a matter of time."

"Just wait, I'll get there and the first thing I do will be wrong and the whole Hapian system will secede from the New Republic," Luke said through clenched teeth. But there was an edge of humor to his voice.

Leia laughed. "It's not that serious. You still have a few weeks before you leave." She put her hand on his shoulder. Besides, Isolder and Teneniel Djo help you along."

Luke couldn't help but grin mischievously at his twin. "Yes, dear old Prince Isolder..."

Leia swatted at him playfully. "Oh, please! Will I never live that down?" Just before she and Han were married, Prince Isolder of Hapes had proposed to her--and she had considered accepting.

Now, she stood up, letting her flowing white Senatorial robes billow around her. Glancing at the chrono on her wrist, she said "Enough lessons for now. The Senate convenes in fifteen minutes--you're first meeting in your new official capacity- Ambassador Skywalker."

Luke rose beside her, then stooped into a low bow. "At your service, Your Most Gracious and Elegant Royal Highness."

"Now you sound like Han," Leia laughed again.

"Speaking of," Luke said as he took his sister's arm and started down the corridors of the Imperial Palace towards the Senate Chambers, "when do you expect him back?"

"Tonight or tomorrow," Leia replied, her voice full of anticipation. Han had taken their three children to Kashyyyk to visit Chewbacca and his family. They had only been gone a few days, but Leia's voice betrayed how much she missed them. Then she wrinkled her nose at Luke, her eyes as mischievous as his had been a moment before. "I can't wait until he sees how diplomatic you are. I'm sure he'll be impressed."

Now it was Luke's turn to laugh. "Yeah, right. I know how much politics and royalty and diplomacy impress Han."

Leia was about to reply, but instead stopped short. Luke looked at her questioningly.

"Luke, that isn't who I think it is, is it?"

Luke followed her gaze down the corridor towards the huge wooden doorways that led to the Senate Chambers. Standing near the entrance was a woman of medium height wearing a pale-blue robe that draped elegantly around her slight frame. Luxuriant red hair was coiled into tight, neat braids on top of her head. Normally such a sight wouldn't cause either Leia or himself to react with much surprise--it was the common conservative dress of a woman who intended to address the Senate. But this woman was anything but conservative.

"Mara!" Luke exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.

The woman turned towards them and he saw that it was indeed Mara Jade.

"Hello, Jedi Master Skywalker," Mara replied. Only Mara could make that title sound like an insult and an endearment at the same time.

"It's good to see you," Luke said as he and Leia quickly met her at the door. He gave her a quick hug.

"I'd say the same, but every time I see you it usually means trouble," Mara returned, the gentle teasing still in her voice. "And that goes double for you, Madame Chief of State."

"That's what we're here for," Leia quipped in return, then followed Luke's hug with one of her own.

Luke had noticed that his sister's respect and trust for the one-time smuggler, one-time Emperor's Hand had increased dramatically since the two women had managed a perilous escape from the capital on Corellia during the attempted coup. He also noticed that this respect and trust seemed to be returned in kind.

When Leia and Mara parted, Luke said, "It's been a while, Mara. What brings you to Coruscant?"

"Business, what else?" She shrugged.

"That would explain the outfit. A little more frivolous than the tunics you usually wear."

Mara only smiled. "The Emperor taught me well, Skywalker. I know how to fit in anywhere."

There was a time when Mara couldn't mention the Emperor without seething rage at Luke for his part in her master's death. She had even planned on killing him for it. But over the years the intensity of those emotions faded. Her days as the Emperor's Hand were far behind her, and her reverence for her former Master had dwindled as well, even as her respect and friendship with Luke deepened. Though she had never expressed any such sentiments to him out loud, he sensed that she even had some regrets about her time in the Emperor's service. But now, fifteen years after his death, she talked of him as if he was just another employer she had on her way to a successful business of her own.

"What kind of business?" Leia put in, bringing Luke out of his reverie.

"Oh, my new partner and I have a little proposal for your Senate," she said mysteriously.

"Partner? Since when do you have a partner?" Luke queried.

"Since about three months ago."

The response came from a deep voice behind them. Luke and Leia both turned around to see Mara's former boss, Talon Karrde approaching them from behind.

"Talon Karrde," Luke whistled as he shook the other man's hand. "I thought you retired ages ago."

Mara snorted and rolled her eyes. "This man retires more often than I change my socks," she sneered. "I'll believe he's retired when I see him stretched out on the funeral pyre."

"I suppose that's true," Talon agreed heartily. "Actually, I had planned to stay in retirement this time. That is, until a certain beautiful trader with an amazing head for business came to me with a proposal I couldn't pass up."

"So just what is this big proposal?" Luke asked, turning back to Mara again.

"I thought Jedi Masters knew everything," Mara returned. "Or does your new position on the Senate fill up your head with so much political drivel and block out those famed Jedi senses, Ambassador Skywalker?"

Before Luke could think of an appropriate rejoinder, Leia cut in. "The session is about to start. We'd better get in there."

"Looks like you'll just have to wait and see what we have in mind," Mara taunted. Then she and Karrde quickly entered the room and headed for the audience gallery while Luke and Leia took their seats on the chamber floor.

It was Luke's first meeting as an official member of the Senate, but he found it difficult to concentrate on the mundane matters being addressed. He couldn't stop wondering what Mara and Karrde were up to--he even almost missed Leia's introduction of him as the new Jedi Ambassador--not that there was anyone in the room who didn't already know who he was and why he was there.

Finally the routine matters of state were taken care of, or at least tabled, and the time came when the general public could address the Senate. Top of the list: Talon Karrde and Mara Jade.

Mara gracefully rose from her seat and strode toward the podium, her ethereal blue gown billowing gracefully around her. Talon Karrde was not far behind, but it was Mara who stepped up to the microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate," she began, impressing Luke with her warm and respectful tone--unusual for the scowling, sarcastic Mara Jade he knew. "In the fifteen years since the inception of the New Republic, peace has slowly been spreading through the galaxy. The days of civil war ravaging our galaxy seem behind us as every day more and more systems join the ranks of the Republic."

Luke had to grin at the irony of these words coming from the mouth of the former Emperor's Hand.

"And as such, the focus of this Senate, and even of the galaxy, has shifted from war concerns to more everyday concerns such as housing, legislation, and trade," Mara continued. "More and more the military is being called upon to perform mundane tasks, such as establishing trade routes and providing escort through hazardous regions."

Mara paused and eyed the members of the Senate, her green eyes briefly meeting Luke's, then moving on.

"But as recently as several months ago, events have shown us that the New Republic cannot afford to be ill- equipped for battle when necessary. When civil war broke out in the Corellian system, your own navy was not readily available, forcing you to turn to others--the Bakurans, in this case--to help win the battle. What happens when some other insurrection breaks out and the Bakurans are not available?"

Luke could feel the tension in the Senators around him. What was Mara up to, he wondered, that would cause her to be so blunt about the New Republic's shortcomings?

"Yet the New Republic cannot afford to be so concerned with military power that it neglects the aspects of government necessary for everyday functioning. Namely, the things I've already mentioned--especially trade. Which puts the government in a possible no-win situation: concentrate on military pursuits and lose the peace, or concentrate on mundane pursuits and potentially lose a whole lot more." She paused again to let her words sink in, then stepped back to allow Karrde room at the podium.

"Today, Jade-Karrde Enterprises"--Luke couldn't help but wonder how long they battled over the order of that name--"is in the position to help the New Republic in this area. By pooling the tremendous resources in capital ships, manpower, and armament that both Captain Jade and I have amassed over the last several years, we are able to offer you, the Senate of the New Republic, an exclusive contract for trade and other shipping services."

Luke couldn't believe his ears. Talon Karrde and Mara Jade, who both had sworn political neutrality until the end of time, offering to put themselves under government contract? If Luke hadn't been able to sense Mara's strong, cool presence in the Force, he might have suspected that the speakers were mere clones of the originals. He could also sense Leia's reaction, and it was much the same as his own.

But don't forget, Han once swore he'd never ally himself to any government... Leia reminded him silently.

Luke smiled at that. And now he's the husband of the Chief of State.

When Karrde had let his words settle on a surprised Senate, he continued. "With Jade-Karrde Enterprises handling all of the New Republic's trade runs, escort duty, and other non-military functions, the Navy will be free to attend to what should be any navy's first concern--maintaining an organized, fully prepared military."

"Excuse me, Mr. Karrde," a gravelly voice from beside Luke cut in. It was Senator Fleghan, a Calamarian and Leia's second-in-command. Calamarian's were noted for their distrust of smugglers--and ex-smugglers. "Trade and escort and the like are extremely vital to the economy of the New Republic. How can the Senate be expected to leave such concerns in the hands of mere traders?"

Luke shifted in his chair, waiting to hear the response. It came almost immediately from Mara who once again took the microphone.

"Senator Fleghan, I would respectfully submit that Mr. Karrde and myself are hardly 'mere traders.' On the contrary, both of us have distinguished ourselves in service to the New Republic in such military endeavors as the Battle for the Katana Fleet, the Battle of Bilbringi, and the Corellian Conflict. And that was when we had no political ties. Imagine how useful we could be in a direct alliance with the government of the New Republic."

Luke caught Leia's eye. They certainly came prepared, his sister noticed.

The discussion continued for quite some time with Senate members firing questions at Mara and Karrde, and the two partners firing back responses. In the end, it was decided that the Senate would take the proposal under advisement and discuss it in closed session, where a final vote would be taken. Both Leia and Luke went on record as withdrawing themselves from the vote due to their personal relationship with Mara.

More public matters were discussed, but Luke found his mind drifting from the discussion of tariffs in the Orto system to Mara and Karrde's unusual proposal. He still was amazed that Karrde and especially Mara would willingly and somewhat bindingly ally themselves with the New Republic government. The profit margin must be staggering to have not only brought Karrde out of semi-retirement, but to get them to willingly sacrifice some of their independence. Of course, he was sure that any contract Mara and Karrde put their signature to would be sure to include numerous provisions protecting their autonomy.

And then there was the hassle and the cost of relocating. In order to accomplish what they proposed, Mara and Karrde would have to base their operations on Coruscant., a planet on which neither of them really enjoyed spending time. Mara, for her part, had spent most of the first twenty-some years of her life here, under the Emperor's dominion. But then, memories fade, and it had been fifteen years. Truth be told, the idea of Mara setting up permanent residence on Coruscant greatly appealed to Luke, especially now that he would also be spending more time here and less on Yavin 4. He had become quite close to Mara over the years--if anyone could really consider themselves close to the evasive Mara Jade-- and it would be nice to have her close by.

Ambassador Skywalker! Leia's stern voice in his head startled him out of his thoughts. This is your first Senate meeting. The least you could do is pay attention.

Luke nodded contritely at his sister and forced himself to attend to the matters at hand. But not before making a mental note: after the meeting he would corner Mara and find out exactly why she was proposing this strange venture.

***

Phase II should just be getting underway.

Normally, Belsarios wouldn't be so hasty in moving to the second phase of an operation before the first was even fully completed. Ideally, Alpha team would have returned to the Force Storm for debriefing-and delivery of the precious pendant, of course--before being sent on their next assignment. But word from Coruscant was that he might not get a better opportunity than right now. Solo was off-planet with his children, and Organa Solo was tied up in one of the so-called "New Republic's" endless Senate meetings. It was their best chance of making it in and out without detection. So he opted to send Alpha team directly from Yavin 4 to Coruscant.

Now he was once again waiting for word. This time, however, he chose to do so in his private quarters, much to the relief of his crew. But his crew's comfort had no bearing on his decision--the privacy merely afforded him another opportunity to watch the holocube. After all, he hoped to be embarking on Phase III in under a month, and the information the holocube contained was vital.

He smiled as he thought of his cherished holocube. And to think, he had come across it completely by accident. For nearly a quarter of a century Belsarios had devoted his life to the search for the elusive Vader disk, only to turn up no real evidence that it ever even existed. And now, after finally giving up the quest as hopeless, he stumbles across the very key he had so long sought--on a routine freighter "acquisition." His men had almost tossed the damned holocube out when they couldn't open it. But Belsarios could open it. Belsarios had the Force.

Actually, it was really more of a holocron than a holocube--a message inscribed by Jedi for Jedi. Only Force adepts could penetrate its barriers. But holocrons were usually ancient--this cube was modern, less than fifty years old. Drawn to anything pertaining to the Force, Belsarios opened the cube and discovered the prize of a lifetime. The information held within its tiny form alone was worth millions to the right people. But to him it was worth much, much more. There on the cube, strung around that damned Obi-Wan Kenobi's neck, was the disk. Based on the message the cube contained, Belsarios knew exactly where the disk must now be. And Alpha team had proved him right. It was obvious, really, and he wondered why he had missed it before. He should have known from the moment he learned that they were Vader's children that Skywalker and Organa had parts of the disk, but even if he had figured it out years ago, he still would have been missing an important piece to the puzzle.

Until the holocube.

Now, he headed towards his private safe to retrieve his treasure--and was interrupted by a buzzer from the comm system.

"Lord Belsarios here," he said impatiently into the speaker. It was too early for Alpha team to be checking in.

"My lord, a holo transmission is coming in for you. Coded Gamma-three violet sigma."

Gamma-three violet sigma? It was an Imperial code. Back when there was an Empire. It signified a high-ranking officer. He considered this for a moment. What high ranking Imperial officer would be trying to contact him?

"Transfer the link to my quarters," he instructed the comm officer--possibly the same nervous man who had received his holo transmission from Alpha team.

"Aye, Sir."

Belsarios paused a moment, waiting for the link to establish, then switched on his holo unit. The image of a heavy-sit, aging man in Imperial gray materialized before him. He wore the insignia of a Vice Admiral.

"Ah, Lord Belsarios. It is a pleasure to finally speak with you face to face, so to speak," began the other.

"And you are?" Belsarios queried impatiently. He had no time for pleasantries.

"Vice Admiral Gilad Pellaeon," came the quick reply.

Pellaeon? Belsarios had heard the name before. The man had been second-in-command to Grand Admiral Thrawn in the early post-Imperial years. When Thrawn was killed at Bilbringi, Pellaeon disappeared, then resurfaced three years later under Admiral Daala. Another ill-fated leader.

"What can I do for you, Vice Admiral?" In spite of the fact that Pellaeon's rank was quite high and he himself was a civilian, Belsarios spoke to the Vice Admiral as one speaks to a subordinate. Pellaeon, for his part, must have been comfortable in that role. He answered with the respect of a subordinate to his superior officer.

"I understand you have some interest in the Sluis Van shipyards."

Belsarios was instantly furious. How could Pellaeon have received this information? The New Republic shipyard was indeed of interest to him--in fact, it was the prelude to Phase III. How in the Force did this man know that? Belsarios made a mental note: heads-or whatever body part was applicable, should the offender be alien--would roll.

"I see by your reaction my information is correct," Pellaeon continued. Before Belsarios could cut him off, he went on. "I think I may be able to help you along those lines--and I have another proposition you might find interesting. If you're interested, I'd like to set up a meeting with you. At your convenience, of course."

Belsarios thought for a moment. By all accounts, Pellaeon was a loyal and trustworthy second, just short of being an excellent leader.

Though both of the Admirals (no, one of them was a Grand Admiral) he had worked under had failed against the New Republic, Pellaeon might be a valuable aid. After all, he'd need someone to watch over things while he was on Phase III, and he had yet to find anyone suitable in his own ranks.

"I believe we can work something out. I'll make arrangements to send a coded transmission with a suitable location. Would three standard days be too soon to set up such a meeting?"

"The sooner the better," Pellaeon replied amiably. "I'll be waiting for your transmission."

"Very well. Belsarios out."

Belsarios thought about this turn of events for a moment. The workings of the Force never ceased to amaze him. Just when his plan required a large group of starfighters, along comes a Vice Admiral who had been second-in-command at a successful assault on the SluisVan shipyards. This could be a very profitable alliance.

But there was time to think of that later. Now he wanted to view his holocube.

Once again he headed towards his private safe, a sense of deep satisfaction settling on him. He unlocked the safe...

It was empty!

Enraged, Belsarios reached for his intercom. "Captain of the Guard, report to my quarters immediately." The threat in his voice would have been enough to frighten even the most seasoned veteran of the Vader years.

"Aye, Sir."

Belsarios slammed down the comm unit and stormed about his roomy chambers. How could this happen? How could someone have deprived him of his priceless cargo? This was the captain's quarters for the dark side's sake! How could security be this lax in his private chambers? His mind whirled. When did he last view the cube? It must have been yesterday. He looked at it at least once a day.

A buzzer sounded, signaling the arrival of the Captain of the Guard, Major Tessel, an ashen-faced, middle-aged man who hailed from somewhere in the core worlds.

"Major Tessel, who has been on guard duty at my quarters over the past twenty-four hours?" he growled."I-I don't know, My lord," the quivering man stammered. "I'll h-have to check the r-roster."

"Then do so, and have all those men report to me immediately. You and your second-in-command will join them."

"Did something happen?" the major asked.

It was a very foolish thing to do. Belsarios let his rage flow out from him and watched as the man started to clutch his throat. But he did not have the Vader disk, and without it he did not have the same abilities in the dark side as Vader had. He couldn't do the job completely, so he let the man go.

"Consider yourself fortunate that I am giving you one last chance to carry out your orders, Major," he said menacingly, as if his failure to kill the officer was his own choice.

"Yes, Sir!" the frightened major gasped then turned and fled.

He was back less than three minutes later, with six guards and one other officer.

"I want a full report. Has anyone been in my chambers during the last twenty-four hours?" he asked the six duty guards, forcing his voice to stay calm.

"No, Sir," they each answered hastily, almost in unison.

"Then explain how a holocube locked away in my private safe has disappeared?" the Dark Jedi seethed. He went down the line of guards, eyeing them individually, allowing the Force to reach out and faintly press in on their throats before releasing them.

"Are you sure no one has been in my quarters?" he tried again.

"Only you, Captain Yavis, and your valet," one young ensign spoke up.

Belsarios glared at him, taking in the name printed on his nameplate. "Sergeant Daws--I do not have a valet."

Slowly, the meaning of Belsarios' words dawned on the poor guard. His face quickly drained of color and his knees, stiff at attention, buckled slightly.

"Would you care to explain, Sergeant?"

"M-m-my l-lord," he stammered, terrified. The other guards subtly sidestepped away from him.

"This valet," Belsarios prompted, his voice low and even, "please describe him."

The coolness of his voice must have somewhat soothed the rattled guard. "He was an old man, sixty or so standard years, about a meter and a half, white hair, no beard..."

Belsarios thoughtfully stroked his own beard with a gloved hand. Moving to the computer display in the wall, he quickly called up the ships log from the day the freighter containing the holocube had been taken. There he found a picture of the ship's captain. An old man of about sixty.

"That's him!" Daws shouted, relief creeping into his voice.

"Very good, Sergeant. Dismissed," he said with a suddenness that took them all by surprise.

The relieved man started to leave when Belsarios suddenly added, "oh, one more thing." All eight men stopped and turned back towards him, faces full of dread.

"Captain Hawin," he addressed the second-in- command, "you are hereby promoted to Major and assigned to relieve Major Tessel as Captain of the Guard. Your first assignment will be to search the ship for this 'valet.' Your second is the execution of Major Tessel, Sergeant Daws, and the guard who was on Daws shift."

"Aye, Sir," the new major said in surprise. Before the doomed men could respond, Hawin nodded to the other guards present, who immediately drew their blasters on Tessel, Daws, and a Sergeant Matoole. Anxious to leave before Belsarios decided any more of them deserved execution, the four guards and their new commander herded out the three new prisoners, leaving Belsarios alone.

Belsarios stared at the computer screen. He had no doubt that the man would not be found on the ship; he was obviously too smart for that. Somehow this old freighter captain, who had been so easily boarded and pirated, had managed to sneak aboard his flagship, gain entrance to his private quarters, and steal something out of his safe. Clearly he had underestimated the man's determination and ability.

Then a thought occurred to him. Quickly, he called up his personal records on the computer console, then breathed a sigh of relief. His copy of the holocube's contents were still there in the computer's databanks. The information was not lost. But now he did have to assume that Organa Solo would soon be in possession of the cube. Of course, it really didn't change anything-- Alpha team should be completing Phase II by now. But it would be wise to step up his plans for Phase III.

Perhaps he should move up the meeting with Pellaeon. Maybe even see him today.

***

Captain Thymus Corander stared out the front viewport of his ship into the mottled-gray of hyperspace, his eyes red and bleary and largely unfocused. He knew he really should sleep--he wouldn't be pulling out of hyperspace for another thirty- eight hours, and he hadn't slept in two days, but as hard as he tried, he could not fall asleep.

He had screwed up. Badly. And now all he could think about was fixing it-- as best he could, anyway.

Then he would kill himself.

Sighing deeply, he tried not to think of his horrible failure. Yet over and over in his mind he could see Viceroy Organa's face, full of disappointment. Eighteen years after its death, he had failed his beloved home Alderaan.

He should have turned over the cube to the Princess years ago, he realized. There really was no reason not to, once the Emperor was dead. But he had waited, looking for the right time. There were always excuses: first it was, wait until the Alliance takes Coruscant, then it was wait until the Princess' brother established himself as a Jedi, then it was wait until Grand Admiral Thrawn and Joruus C'baoth were defeated, and then there was the resurrection of the Emperor.

That last event had terrified him. He had almost destroyed the cube then and there, but remembered how important Viceroy Organa had said it was. "When the Emperor has been defeated and the Republic restored, give this to my daughter. She needs to understand,." the Viceroy had told him. "But most importantly, this must not fall into the Emperor's or Vader's hands."

It was that last admonition that had put the fear of the Force into him. So he kept the cube, waiting for the right time. Eventually, he had waited so long he nearly forgot its existence.

Until three weeks ago, when his freighter was boarded by Imperials. Imperials under the command of a man who claimed to be a Dark Jedi.

Of course, Corander had heard of Belsarios. He was no Vader, and certainly no Emperor, but Corander knew that the information contained in the cube could be deadly in the hands of any Dark Jedi, even one with such nominal powers as Belsarios possessed. But his powers were enough to command a strike-class vessel with a battery of storm troopers, so Corander was sure he was dangerous.

Fortunately, Imperial storm troopers were not the crack soldiers they once were. After only three weeks of planning, he had been able to sneak aboard the Force Storm, pose as a valet to Lord Belsarios, and break into his cabin, retrieving the cube.

But it was really too late. Belsarios had managed to open the cube, and had probably made a copy of it. The only thing left for Corander to do to try and fix things was to deliver the liberated cube directly into the hands of the Princess, who was now Chief of State of the New Republic. Eighteen years late, but at least she would finally have it.

Corander himself did not know what the cube contained. It could only be opened by a Jedi or a Force adept, but he could clearly remember the importance the Viceroy had placed on its contents.

He sighed deeply, scratching the day-old growth on his chin, then rubbing his aching eyes. Maybe he could try one more time to get some sleep.

But sleep still would not come.

***

Mara stood beside Karrde in the massive corridor just outside the Senate Chambers, waiting for Skywalker and his sister to emerge. Briefly she considered slipping away before he and Leia could detach themselves from the rest of the Senate, but discarded that idea. She could feel his curiosity almost as strongly as if the emotion was her own and knew he would seek her out until he understood exactly why two former smugglers who cherished their political neutrality would align themselves directly with the government.

The truth is, she wasn't sure herself why she wanted this. It certainly wasn't for political reasons-- though she had long ago given up any allegiance to the Empire, she hardly considered herself a flag-waving New Republican. She had accepted that the NR was here to stay, and had even grown to respect its ideals, but she was no patriot. And it wasn't strictly for the money, though the profit potential looked good. She was a very successful--and somewhat wealthy--trader who enjoyed her independence. Yet here she was, setting herself up in a partnership with Karrde and vying for a government contract--about as far from independence as traders-- especially two who used to be smugglers--could get. So why was she doing it?

The only answer she could come up with was, she wanted to come home.

Mara had grown up on Coruscant, under the Emperor's wing. It was the only home she had ever known, and she had lost it when the Emperor died. She had returned briefly about five years later to act as a liaison between a smuggler's alliance Karrde had formed and the fledgling New Republic government, but she had left about a year later, around the time the reincarnated Emperor had re-taken the planet.

And she had wanted nothing to do with that, not after she had betrayed the Emperor by teaming up with his enemies to defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn. So she once again left Coruscant, setting up base elsewhere. For a while she had a partnership with Lando Calrissian on Kessel, but she got out of that when it became clear that she could not dissuade Calrissian from his romantic intentions--a proposition that nearly turned her stomach. Since then she had set up a variety of businesses for herself on a variety of planets. But now, for some reason, she felt drawn back to Coruscant. It was time to go home. She didn't know if she could explain that to Skywalker, but he was sure to hound her until she did, so she might as well not bother trying to avoid him.

Besides, she wanted to see him. She didn't like it-- especially didn't like that his presence here had also had an effect on her decision to try this little enterprise-- but there it was.

Finally he appeared, Leia in tow, and the two New Republic heroes joined the two ex-smugglers.

"That was quite a presentation," Leia started, shaking first Karrde's hand and then Mara's.

"Yes," Luke agreed. "Quite a surprise. Sounds like a new version of the old Smuggler's Alliance. What gives?"

At least he was true to form--no trace of subtlety. Mara looked at Karrde, then at Skywalker and Leia, feigning innocence. "What do you mean? You were all for the Smuggler's Alliance when it was formed. I would think you'd like the idea."

"I didn't say I didn't like the idea," he countered, his blue eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of mischief. "All I'm saying is you dissolved the Alliance because you didn't want to be so closely connected to the government. So why in the worlds would you two be interested in a government contract?"

Karrde answered for her. "Money, of course."

"Surely there are more profitable ventures than this," Leia said doubtfully. "If political contracts were that profitable we'd be up to our ears in smugglers trying to get in on it."

Karrde waved his hand dismissively. "It will only be profitable if it is run correctly. Mara and I know how to run it correctly. And between the two of us we have more capital ships to invest than even the Smuggler's Alliance had."

"But there still has to be other trading ventures-- even legal ones--that could be just as profitable," Leia insisted. "Whatever gave you this idea?"

"Actually, it was Mara's idea," Karrde replied, placing his hand on Mara's shoulder. Skywalker exchanged a glance with his sister, then the two of them looked at her expectantly.

"Your idea?" Skywalker asked, and she could feel his interest increase a notch.

"Yes," Mara replied, crossing her arms somewhat defensively, "it was my idea. I got a little bored trading habbis-root, so I figured it was time to head back to where the action is. Coruscant," she said, indicating the space around her with a sweep of her arm.

Skywalker cocked his head, still not satisfied. "I thought Coruscant held too many memories for you."

Mara sighed. He just wasn't going to be satisfied with a simple explanation. "It's been fifteen years, Skywalker. I think I've pretty much banished my demons." That wasn't entirely true--she still had some memories here that were quite painful, but it was well past time to get beyond that. She paused, searching for the right words, then added simply, "Coruscant will always be my home."

He nodded thoughtfully. "But there's more." It was not a question.

Mara felt her cheeks redden, though she wasn't sure why. No, that wasn't entirely true. She did know why, she just wasn't prepared to admit it. Not to Skywalker--not even to herself, really.

Fighting to regain her cool edge, Mara started to reply, but she was thankfully interrupted by a member of the Palace Guard.

"Excuse me, Madame Chief of State, Ambassador," he said quickly, ignoring Mara and Karrde. "There's a matter that needs your urgent attention."

Leia sighed. "No rest for the weary." She smiled brightly at Mara and Karrde. "I'm very interested in knowing more."

"Me, too," chimed in Skywalker, seeming more the Tatooine farmboy than an Ambassador and Jedi Master.

"Perhaps the two of you could join Luke, Han and I for dinner some time before you leave Coruscant."

Karrde matched her diplomatic tone. "We'd be honored," he answered without bothering to ask Mara if she would in fact be honored. "We're always willing to discuss our business with a member of the Senate, especially the illustrious Chief of State." He gallantly reached for Leia's hand and gave it a kiss. Mara groaned.

"Madame Chief of State?" the Palace guard urged.

"Yes, we're coming," Leia replied, starting to follow the guard. "Luke?"

Skywalker nodded, but before he left he looked at Mara intently. "I'm looking forward to hearing more about this venture of yours." He then gave her an odd smile and turned and followed his sister down the corridor.

"Looks like we have their support," Karrde said after a moment.

Mara nodded. "Of course, they took themselves out of the vote."

"Doesn't matter. If Leia Organa Solo and Luke Skywalker support us, the Senate isn't likely to turn us down."

"Mm-hmm," Mara nodded thoughtfully.

"Mara?"

She looked up and saw Karrde eyeing her with amusement. "There is more to this little venture than profit, isn't there?"

Mara snorted in disgust. "I don't make any business decisions for any reason other than profit."

"I suppose, then, that delivering message cubes to politicians at trade conferences is highly profitable?" he countered, referring to how she got involved in the recent events on Corellia--delivering a message to Organa Solo.

"Information is often very profitable, yes," Mara snapped. "Besides, why would you want to get involved if you doubt my intentions?"

Karrde laughed. "I never said I doubted your intentions. I merely think you have more than one reason for wanting to set up camp here on Coruscant. That notwithstanding, this venture should be highly profitable, not to mention interesting."

Mara cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at Karrde, sensing that his last statement had some kind of double meaning. Well, she was certainly an expert at that game.

"Yes, it should be very interesting," she replied cryptically, then turned on her heel and left Karrde standing in the hallway.

***

"How could this have happened?" Leia cried, not trying to hide her anger.

"They were very skilled, Madame Chief of State," the guard stammered uneasily.

"Very skilled," Leia repeated incredulously. "And the Palace Guard is not?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied quickly.

"Yet they were unable to prevent my home from being broken into?" Leia shook her head angrily. This was unbelievable. She was Chief of State of the largest government in the galaxy, yet the security around her home was lax enough to allow a group of thugs to break in. Leia was not normally authoritarian, but this was unacceptable. Heads would roll for this.

Leia sunk angrily back into the seat of the speeder that was whisking them through the streets of Imperial City towards the presidential residence. In the front seat, beside the driver, sat the Palace guard that had interrupted her conversation with Talon Karrde and Mara Jade. Beside her in the back seat was Luke.

He put his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Leia, I'm sure everything is fine. He said they didn't seem to get anything."

Leia shrugged his hand off. "That may well be, but what if my children had been home? The presidential residence should be more secure than that!"

"Yes, Madame Chief of State," the poor guard spoke up quickly. "We're looking into the matter as we speak."

"You're not the only ones who will be," Leia snapped.

"Yes, Ma'am," the guard responded miserably.

"And if you think I'm upset, General Solo is going to hit the roof when he returns tomorrow."

"You don't have to shoot the messenger," Luke chided her gently. Leia just glared at him. She was not in the mood for any Jedi lectures.

After what seemed like hours, the speeder finally reached her home. They were greeted by the head of Security himself, a stout Bothan named Kany'lya.

"I'm sorry about this, Madame Chief--"

"Just tell me what happened," Leia cut him off abruptly. "Did they take anything?"

The Bothan shook his head quickly. "No, Ma'am. Not that we could tell. It's really rather odd."

"Odd how?" Leia demanded peevishly.

"Odd in that they didn't seem to be interested in anything. They didn't search through your files or your computer. We found them in your bedroom, searching through your personal belongings."

"My bedroom," Leia repeated. "Then they've been apprehended?"

Kany'lya shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I'm afraid they got away."

Leia nodded curtly, unable to shake the thought: what if Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin had been here? "If they didn't go for my files, were they perhaps looking for items of value--computers, holoprojectors, jewelry?"

"It's possible," the Bothan shrugged. "They certainly didn't seem interested in any of your computer, communication, or entertainment systems, but they might have been looking for jewelry of some sort. In some circles you are still thought of as a Princess, and that conjures up images of crown jewels.

Leia caught Luke's crooked grin out of the corner of her eye. This is not funny! she snapped at him through the Force. She saw with satisfaction that her rebuke caused him to take a step backwards and lose the smile.

"I assure you I have no 'crown jewels,'" she said, returning her attention to Kany'lya. "Some trinkets from Alderaan that have sentimental value, but no market value."

Kany'lya nodded sympathetically, then lead her and Luke into the house and up to the master suite. A small army of security personnel where swarming over the room, scanning for evidence.

"They dropped this box when we approached." Kany'lya handed her an ornate wood box. It was indeed the box that held her mementos from Alderaan. She quickly took it from him and searched through its contents.

"Most of it is still here," she said quietly, then stopped. "Wait, I know what's missing." She rummaged a bit more, not finding what she was looking for.

"What is it, Leia?" Luke asked.

"A pendant my father--Bail--gave me. It wasn't valuable--just a metal pie- wedge with a red stone in it. What would they want with that?"

Kany'lya shook his head, but Leia noticed Luke looked surprised. "Did you say a metal pendant with a red stone?"

Leia nodded.

"Was it about this big," Luke made a small circle with his hands, "and about one-third of a circle, hanging on a chain?"

Again, Leia nodded. "Did I show it to you once?"

"No," Luke said slowly. "I have one just like it. I found it in a trunk of Father's things that Ben left for me."

Leia's mouth opened slightly, but before she could say anything, Kany'lya cut in. "Where is your pendant, Master Skywalker?"

Luke's eyes turned upwards as he thought about it. "Probably still in the trunk in my quarters on Yavin 4."

Kany'lya looked from Luke to Leia and back again. "Perhaps you should send for it."

***

The sun shone brightly over the rugged red desert, and the old man had to shield his eyes as he surveyed the landscape from his perch atop a large boulder. Fortunately, it was nearly winter, so the sun was merely warm, rather than the intense heat of summer. Even so, the dark, hooded robe he was wearing was absorbing quite a lot of heat. But Gamiel Tumaric hardly noticed.

There was a disturbance in the Force.

Not a large one. Not like eighteen years ago, when a huge surge of agony from very far away had awakened him in the middle of the night. He knew even without knowing that somehow, Alderaan was gone. Impossible to know such a thing, isolated as he was on this backwater planet, but he knew just the same. It was the first time he had felt even a trickle in the Force since he had arrived here. But he was a Jedi, and time did not erase one's ability to connect with the Force. Distance, perhaps, but not time.

Neither was this current disturbance like the one he had felt three or four years after Alderaan, when the Emperor had died. Again, he had no way of seeking confirmation, but he knew the Emperor was gone.

And he had celebrated alone, sure that their exile would soon be over, that they would come for him and for Allia. He had even gone to see her at the Academy that same day, bursting with joy, finally telling her everything.

That had been a mistake. Not only did she not believe him, she accused him of being insane. She would have nothing to do with him for several years after that.

No one ever came.

Finally, Allia allowed him back into her life, probably at the urging of the man who would later become her husband. And only then with the sternest of warnings: he was not to put his "crazy notions" into the heads of her children. Deciding that it didn't matter so long as they remained isolated out here at the edge of the universe, he agreed and never discussed the matter with Allia or with the children. Her husband, however, was a different story. He was quite intrigued with old Gamiel's tales. Oh, he didn't believe them, mind you, but at least he didn't threaten to keep the children from him.

But now Gamiel realized he could no longer stay safely quite. He would have to broach the subject with her again.

He sighed, pulling his robe tighter around him despite its stifling heat. She had invited him to their holiday dinner--he would have to tell her then. He knew she would be angry, probably throw him out of the house and tell him he could never see the children again. He dreaded that kind of confrontation, but it simply had to be done- -Allia simply had to be prepared.

Because if he was reading the disturbance he felt correctly, someone was coming after all. Fifteen years late, true, but definitely someone was coming.

The only problem was, he wasn't quite sure which side they were on.

***

Malarin Belsarios appraised the man sitting across from him. Medium height, stocky human male, sixty or so standard years, white hair, and unassuming air, despite the Vice Admiral's uniform he wore starched to perfection.

"Not many people are sporting Imperial military uniforms," Belsarios observed.

"Not many people are as loyal to the Empire as I am," Pellaeon answered.

Belsarios nodded. Enough small talk. He leaned forward: "Why now, Vice Admiral? It's been seven years since the defeat of Admiral Daala. What have you been doing with yourself?"

Pellaeon leaned back in his seat, perhaps to compensate for Belsarios' leaning towards him. The Vice Admiral shrugged. "I have been waiting for someone worthy of command to come on the scene."

"Why not take over yourself?"

Again, Pellaeon shrugged. "I'm a wonderful second- in-command. But I'm no leader."

"Yet the leaders you've served under have been somewhat inadequate," Belsarios stated flatly, leaning away from Pellaeon again.

"They lost, yes," Pellaeon agreed. "But then, so did the Emperor." He shifted his stance slightly, as if he was about to take the offensive. "I could ask the same question of you, Lord Belsarios," he added.

Belsarios smiled. "Why did I wait fifteen years after the Emperor's death to reveal myself?" The Vice Admiral nodded.

"Because I didn't have the tools necessary to do the job well. As we have seen with leaders such as Thrawn, Daala, and even the reborn Emperor himself, moving too early can be fatal. I believe we can even look to the Rebels as an example here: it was nearly fifteen years after the Emperor came to power before the rebellion really kicked into full gear. And they were quite successful."

"Then you now feel you have waited long enough?" Pellaeon asked, a little eagerly. "You now have the 'necessary tools?'"

Belsarios leaned forward again. "You sought me out; you tell me."

Pellaeon nodded, taking a sip from his Sullustan ale. "Yes, I did. I understand you've found the mythical Vader Disk."

This took Belsarios by surprise. "How did you...?"

"I have many contacts among Imperial troops," Pellaeon said softly. "Is it true?"

"What does it matter?" Belsarios countered.

"Because if you do have it, then you're in position to be the next Vader--or perhaps," his eyes twinkled slightly, "the next Emperor."

Belsarios had harbored such thoughts himself, of course, but it was quite gratifying to hear them from someone else's lips. "Perhaps," was all he said, however.

"Then I'd like to be of service," Pellaeon continued.

"How?"

"I can help you with your attack on Sluis Van," the Vice Admiral replied. "His eventual defeat notwithstanding, Grand Admiral Thrawn made a very successful attack on the Rebel shipyards ten years ago. I believe we can do it again--it's been long enough that security has slackened somewhat."

Belsarios thoughtfully rested his chin on his fingertips. "Yes, that could be very helpful. I'm in need of fighters, mostly. A-wings."

"Why A-wings?"

"Because they're best suited for my next mission. I need ships that will do well in atmosphere--TIE's are terrible for that, absolutely no aerodynamics. Eventually I'll need larger ships as well."

"How large?"

Belsarios realized this was not an idle question. Suddenly he remembered that in their holo conversation earlier, Pellaeon had mentioned another proposition.

"Why, do you have something in mind?"

Pellaeon nodded thoughtfully. "Something I've been working on for quite some time. I'm working on putting together a fleet. It could take the better part of a year to get in working order, but the flagship of the fleet will be a Super Star Destroyer."

Belsarios sat bolt upright. "Did you say a Super Star Destroyer?"

Pellaeon nodded, eyes gleaming.

"But I thought the Rebels destroyed them all!"

"Not all," Pellaeon disagreed. "I found one that was in pretty bad shape. Been quietly working on fixing it up. Quite a big job."

Belsarios nodded, amazed. Of course, that would explain what the Vice Admiral had been doing these last seven years. "And you expect you can have it ready in less than a year?" He was fairly drooling now.

"Yes."

"That's perfect," Belsarios clapped his gloved hands together. "I'll be going on an extended voyage after Sluis Van, I may be gone almost that long." Then he had a thought. "But what's in this for you?"

Pellaeon shrugged. "Service to the Empire. And I want to be your second in command. I've been hoping to find another good leader after Grand Admiral Thrawn."

Belsarios noted his omission of Daala. Pretty much summed up his opinion of her as well. He eyed Pellaeon, used the Force to see if he could detect any subterfuge. He found none.

"Very well. I believe we have a deal."

***

Han Solo was not a happy man.

After a somewhat exhausting trip--with his three children in tow--to Kashyyyk to visit his Wookie partner, Chewbacca, and his family, Han had been looking forward to returning home to Coruscant and to Leia. His arrival, however, had been anything but pleasant. Somehow,someone ,had gotten through security at the presidential residence and stolen something from them. Well, from Leia to be specific. True, all they got was some old family heirloom, but what if they had been after some important governmental files? Or worse, what if the children had been there? Of all the places on the planet, and perhaps even the galaxy, you'd think the home/office of the New Republic's Chief of State would be virtually impregnable.

No, Han thought, I take that back. An even more impregnable place would be the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. After all, the planet was full of Jedi and Jedi trainees, right? But no. Someone--probably the same someone who had gotten past NR security--had managed to break in to Luke's quarters in the Massassi Temple, apparently taking a trinket that Luke owned that was exactly like Leia's. It would have been downright funny if it weren't so infuriating.

"So tell me again," Han said slowly, barely controlling the irritation in his voice. "How in the galaxy did someone not only get into the New Republic presidential residence, but into the Jedi Academy? And what in the worlds would they want with matching pendants that have no apparent value?"

Leia sighed. "We don't know, Han. That's what we hope this meeting with Captain Kalenda will tell us."

Han threw his hands up in disgust. He hated having to get his information second-hand from the New Republic Intelligence--he preferred the go-in-blasters- blazing approach to all the NRI's sneaking around. On the other hand, Belindi Kalenda had proven herself to be a very skilled agent, winning Han's respect for her efforts during the Corellian coup attempt. In fact, it was that assignment that had won her a promotion from Lieutenant to Captain.

"Fine," he grumbled, settling back into one of the cushy couches that lined Leia's office.

It was only a few moments later when Leia's assistant rang the office comm unit to announce that Captain Kalenda had arrived. The young, dark-skinned, ebony- haired woman was escorted into the room. Leia rose from behind her massive desk as Kalenda saluted smartly. Han suppressed a snicker, remembering that his wife was, after all, the commander-in-chief.

"Captain," Leia began, ignoring her husband, "please be seated. I understand you may have some information for us regarding the unusual break-ins here on Coruscant and on Yavin 4."

"Yes, Ma'am," Kalenda began, eyeing Leia with that disconcerting, not-quite- cross-eyed look of hers. She then looked around the room, taking it in with an expression close to surprise. "Will anyone else be joining us?"

Leia looked confused for a second, then her eyes lit up in understanding. "You mean, where are all the bureaucrats?"

Kalenda only nodded.

Leia waved her hand impatiently. "I'm sick to death of having five hundred beings attending every meeting I have. The thefts were of a personal nature, so I don't see why anyone else besides Master Skywalker, General Solo, and myself need attend." Han once again suppressed a smile. Perhaps his distaste for politics had been rubbing off on his wife.

"Actually," Kalenda said as she took a seat opposite Leia, "I don't think the thefts were personal at all."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, speaking for the first time since having explained to Han about the break- in on Yavin; Han had almost forgotten he was there.

"Have you ever heard of an Imperial named Malarin Belsarios?"

Han racked his brain, but the name was unfamiliar to him. Luke and Leia shook their heads as well.

"He was some kind of underling for the Emperor years ago. Not long before the destruction of Alderaan, the Emperor had him executed."

"Why should we care about an Imperial who died over eighteen years ago?" Han asked impatiently.

Kalenda eyed him evenly. "Because he somehow escaped. We believe he's the one behind the thefts."

Leia shook her head. "People don't just escape executions by the Emperor."

"Nevertheless, our sources say he's alive and well and trying to rebuild the Empire." She opened her briefcase and pulled out a holovid recording. "May I, Madame Chief of State? It's a holo of Belsarios."

Leia nodded her ascent, and Kalenda rose and crossed the office to the holovid projector recessed in the wall. She popped in the recording and played it.

A holographic image appeared in the middle of the room. First it displayed an Imperial era strike-class ship. "That's his flagship, the Force Storm," Kalenda explained. Then the image changed to that of a somewhat dashing man in his late forties or early fifties. His hair was curly and dark, peppered with gray, as was his neatly trimmed beard. His eyes looked like cold, black steel. He also wore a somewhat garish red cloak that but for the color reminded Han of Vader's grandiose style.

"But what does this have to do with the trinkets he took from us?" Luke asked.

"Ever hear of the Vader disk?" Kalenda asked, returning to her seat.

Luke and Leia both frowned and Han saw them exchange looks that indicated that they had just shared something over that weird twin-Force link they had. Simultaneously they responded in the negative.

"I've heard of it," Han said suddenly, surprising everyone there. "What?" he added a bit defensively, "You think maybe because Vader was your father I couldn't possibly know something you don't about the legends that surrounded him? You forget, I used to be in the Imperial Navy," he addressed both his wife and brother- in-law.

"Go on," Leia replied tersely.

He turned to Kalenda. "I remember hearing some kind of story about a Vader disk in my Academy days. I don't remember much, but supposedly it was some kind of power thing that Vader had lost. A lot of cadets thought if they could find it they'd boost their careers pretty quickly."

Kalenda nodded. "We don't know much more than that. Apparently Belsarios is one of those who believed the legend and spent a great deal of time looking for the Vader disk."

"I still don't understand what this has to do with us," Luke prompted.

In response, Kalenda pulled a data card out of her briefcase. Han wondered idly what else she had in there.

"Take a look at this." She handed the card to Leia who inserted it into her desktop player. Instantly a holographic image appeared to float above the desk. It was a line drawing from some sort of history card labeled "Vader disk." The drawing itself showed a flat circle embedded with three stones spaced evenly around its circumference. He was at a loss as to why this was important, but Leia and Luke both gasped in comprehension.

"Our pendants look like that--or at least part of it," she amended.

"Yes," Kalenda agreed. "Judging from the images of the stolen pendants that you gave Palace Security,"--Han was lost for a moment until he realized Leia must have given them their Inventory card which would have had a recorded image of their possessions, including the stolen pendant--"if you put both of your stolen disks together, they make up about two-thirds of the Vader disk."

"Two-thirds?" Leia asked. "Then where would the other third be?"

"That we don't know," Kalenda shrugged. "We were hoping you might have some ideas."

Leia and Luke again shook their heads, but Han interrupted, "Belindi, this is all very interesting, but I still don't understand. Let's say for the sake of argument that Luke and Leia did have pieces of the fabled 'Vader disk.' So what? Why is it so important to this Belsarios character, and why does the NRI care?"

"To answer your first question, we don't really know that, either," Kalenda admitted. "But as to the second question, the NRI is always interested in the actions of people who not only worked for the Emperor at one point in time, but who has managed to escape execution and has recently been seen meeting with an Imperial Vice Admiral."

Leia suddenly leaned forward. "Who?"

"Vice Admiral Pellaeon."

Han let out a low whistle and exchanged glances with the others in the room. "Pellaeon," he said softly. "I thought he was killed with Daala..."

"He was not," Kalenda replied. "And his activities of late have been very interesting to the NRI." She paused. "He seems to be on a quest for ships."

Leia looked as alarmed as Han felt. "Perhaps I should call Admiral Ackbar..."

"Let Captain Kalenda finish," Luke cut in, "and then we can all meet with Ackbar and the rest of the Senate if need be."

Kalenda turned her disconcerting gaze to Luke, then back to Leia. "You can see why we're concerned. If the rumors about this Vader disk are true, and it is some kind of power source, then we should be very concerned about it ending up in the hands of a man who has been meeting with an Imperial who is currently trying to assemble a fleet."

"But what kind of power are we talking about?" Han asked, but before he even got the statement out of his mouth he saw Luke start.

"Leia, do you remember the Kaiburr Crystal?"

"What's that?" Han asked.

"It was a crystal Luke and I ran across years ago, not long after the first Death Star was destroyed," Leia answered. "It was a Force enhancer."

"The stones in my pendant were red, same as the Kaiburr crystal," Luke said.

Leia answered his unspoken question, "Mine, too."

"Could the disk be some kind of Force-enhancer?"

Kalenda shrugged. "We don't really know, but supposedly this Belsarios is some kind of Force adept. Our files say he wanted to be the next Vader."

"Just what the galaxy needs," Han mumbled, getting a vicious glare from his wife for his trouble.

"Even if this Vader disk is just some trumped-up legend, we can't let a Force-adept with dark-side tendencies to team up with an Imperial officer and build up arms," Luke said alarmed.

"That's why the NRI is concerned," Kalenda replied. She paused, then directed her next statement to both Luke and Leia. "We were hoping you might know more about this Belsarios or the Vader disk."

"I'm sorry, I didn't even know what you've told us, let alone have anything to add," Leia said apologetically. "I really do think we need to take this before the military command..."

"First let me do some digging," Luke interjected.

"Why, do you know something about this Belsarios?"

"No, but I know someone who just might." He stood up and stretched his arms. "I think I'll go pay a visit to a certain ex-Imperial friend."

***

Luke pressed the ringer beside the door to the Guest Suite and waited. He heard a movement inside, sensed someone reaching out to him with the Force, then the door opened to reveal Mara Jade. She was wearing robes similar to those she had worn the day before for the Senate meeting, but this one was a light cream color with burgundy trim; she undoubtedly had meetings scheduled with various senators in order to push her project.

"Skywalker, what brings you here?" she asked, giving him a rare smile.

"Do I need a reason to see you, Mara?" Luke returned, also smiling.

Mara scowled. "No, but you always have one. Come in." She motioned him into the room.

Luke laughed. "You're getting good at sensing people's intentions with the Force."

Mara narrowed her bright green eyes. "Who needs the Force with you, Skywalker?" she shot back. "You're as transparent as a deflector shield."

Luke laughed again. "I know, I know. It's that straight-out farmboy upbringing."

At this, Mara smiled again and motioned for him to sit on one of the plush couches that lined the Guest Suite's living room area. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"No thanks," Luke waved his hand as he sat down. "You know," he said eyeing her with a crooked grin, "I like the outfit, but I'm not sure it's you."

She returned his half-smile. "Why, not flashy enough."

"No, not--" Luke considered this a moment.--"not dangerous enough."

Her eyes crinkled in amusement. "Ah, but the loose sleeves are great for concealing blasters." With that she lifted her arm and let the sleeve fall away, revealing her favorite arm holster.

He should have known. "That's more like the Mara Jade I know. I have to admit, I'm still surprised by your business proposition," Luke continued, "but I really hope the Senate goes for it. I'd like to see you on Coruscant more often." Even as he said it, he was surprised at how earnestly he felt that. He was even more surprised to see her blush.

"Why are you here, Skywalker?" she asked quickly as she sat down on a couch opposite Luke. "If it's to discuss my future with the New Republic--"

"Actually," Luke cut her off, sensing her unease, but not understanding it, "I'm here because of your past. In your time with working with the Empire, do you ever remember hearing about something called the 'Vader disk?'"

Mara's eyes narrowed as she sat back in the couch, seemingly more at ease now that they were in familiar territory. "I've heard of it, yes. It was kind of a legend, actually. Back before he turned to the dark side, Vader-- your father, I mean-- he supposedly found some sort of energy disk that could be used to increase weapon power. Some say it was what lead to the idea of super weapons, like the Death Star. Some also believed it may have even had Force-enhancing powers. According to the story, though, Vader lost it in that battle he had with Obi-Wan Kenobi. That's the legend, anyway."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "The NRI knew about the Force-enhancing legend, but this super weapon stuff is new."

"It's just a story, Skywalker."

"Then you don't believe it's true?"

Mara shrugged. "I don't know. I knew some people who thought if they could find that disk they could get in good with the Emperor, but nobody ever had any luck."

"Do you know what it looked like?"

Mara thought a minute. "I think I remember seeing pictures of it. It was a small, round disk, about the size of a human fist. It was made out of some kind of metal, and had stones in it. Why the sudden interest in an old Imperial myth?"

Luke leaned forward toward her. "It may not be a myth. There have been two strange break-ins lately. One in my personal locker on Yavin 4, another in Han and Leia's home here on Coruscant. The only things missing were these." He tossed a data card over to Mara. It was his inventory card, a record of all his personal effects similar to the one the NRI had received from Leia. Mara inserted it into a player located in the end table next to the couch she where she was seated and keyed in the file number Luke gave her. Immediately displayed, she saw a small, wedge-shaped piece of metal attached to a chain.

"It was something I've had since I joined the Alliance. I found it in a trunk of things in Ben's place on Tatooine. It was with some other stuff that was supposedly my father's, so I kept it, but in everything that's happened since, I pretty much forgot about it; I just had it in a locker with a bunch of other odds and ends I've picked up through the years. Then Leia's place was broken into. Turns out she had one just like it."

"So you think these missing souvenirs are pieces of the Vader Disk?" Mara asked incredulously.

"I know it sounds strange, but if you put our two pieces together, it forms about two-thirds of a complete circle which looks a lot like the fabled Vader disk."

Mara shook her head. "That's pretty far-fetched, don't you think? And why two-thirds? Where's the other third?"

"That's why I'm here," Luke said. "I was hoping you'd have some ideas."

Mara shook her head again. "No, I was never really all that interested in the legend myself. Besides, what made you think of the Vader disk in the first place?"

"Rumors we've heard, of some ex-Imperial who's looking for it," Luke replied.

"I'm afraid I'm not much help this time," Mara said, handing the disk back to him as she rose from her couch. Luke rose also. "I just didn't deal with legends when I was in the Emperor's service. I was too busy exposing real threats to his reign."

Luke nodded. "Well, it was worth a try. Let me know if you think of any information that could help us find the third piece." He rose, heading for the door, then stopped and turned back, adding "One more thing. Ever hear of an Imperial named Malarin Belsarios?"

He had hoped the name would be familiar to her, but he was completely unprepared for her reaction. She froze, her eyes narrowing to hard, green slits, and a wave of anger and hate rippled out from her through the Force, so strong he almost recoiled. He hadn't felt anything like it since he had first met her, when she wanted to kill him.

"The only thing you need to know about Malarin Belsarios," she hissed with so much venom she was almost spitting, "is that he's dead."

Luke considered this a moment, a thousand questions reeling through his mind. What had this Belsarios done to her? He swallowed and tried again. "Are you sure? Our sources say he's the one who's after the disk pieces."

Mara glared at him. "I witnessed his death myself," she said with a level and icy voice. "He was executed by the Emperor himself."

Luke frowned, unsure what to do next. He didn't want to contradict her when she was this angry, but on the other hand, he needed accurate information about who they were up against. "The NRI said that Imperial records show he was executed, but that he somehow escaped."

"No one escapes an execution by the Emperor," she spat.

"I did," Luke pointed out, then added cautiously, "Maybe someone is using his name. Can I show you a hologram we have? Maybe you can identify who it really is."

"Fine."

Luke looked at her, concerned. He could feel her rage and something else-- was it pain?--almost as well as if it were his own. He considered trying to find some words that would comfort her, realized he knew none--he didn't even know what was wrong--then gave up and turned to the communication panel in the living room wall. He opened it in and inserted the recording Captain Kalenda had given him. He turned to watch Mara's reaction as she watched the image, her arms folded across her chest, as if to dare the recording to really be Malarin Belsarios.

His concern turned to worry when he saw the change that came over her when the image appeared. Her face turned from crimson anger to ashen white and her green eyes opened wide. She watched the hologram of the man that had been identified as Belsarios until it disappeared, then in one fluid movement, reached past Luke and replayed the image. He could feel her emotions in the Force; a mixture of shock, anger, confusion and hatred so powerful it was causing her to tremble.

"Mara, are you okay?" he asked, his worry for her growing as her face became even more pale.

"It's not possible," she whispered, her voice ragged. "He's dead. I saw him die. I saw the Emperor kill him."

"Mara?" Luke took hold of her shoulders and looked into her wide eyes. She looked up at him blankly.

"He can't be alive, he can't be." Then she wrenched herself from Luke's grasp and turned away. Luke could feel her shock give way once more to rage, which did nothing to abate his concern.

"Mara?" he repeated, then she whirled back to face him again.

"Yes," she said, the color returning to her face. "That is Malarin Belsarios."

"What did he do to you?" Luke asked softly, no longer caring about the Vader disk.

She looked directly at him, sending a chill down his spine. "Something worse than killing the Emperor," she said, her voice low. She was, of course, referring to the reason she had wanted to kill Luke when they had first met.

Luke swallowed. "What?" But Mara said no more.

***

Mara Jade wandered around the Imperial Palace in a daze. She hardly even remembered how she got Skywalker to leave her alone, he had been so worried about her. Nor did she remember leaving the suite herself. She wasn't even exactly sure where she was, though she could find her way around the Palace blindfolded. She had grown up here. And she had watched Malarin Belsarios die here.

Or so she had thought.

Malarin was alive. The thought kept reeling through her brain, giving her a headache. It wasn't possible. But she had seen the recording.

She had recognized him instantly. He looked much older; his curly dark hair and neatly trimmed beard were now streaked with gray, but it had been Malarin just the same. But how was it possible? The Emperor himself had had Malarin executed. And people the Emperor executed simply did not come back. How had he done it?

Mara shook her head. It didn't matter, she told herself firmly. What mattered was that he had done it. The Emperor had failed in seeking justice for her, which meant one thing. She'd have to do it herself.

For Mykos.

Mykos. She hadn't thought of Mykos in years, but now memories of him flooded her. His angular face, his warm smile, his long red hair he always wore pulled back in a neat ponytail. It was only then that Mara realized where she was standing; where she had headed when she left her suite.

She was in front of the Emperor's Memorial room, the place where he had engraved placards listing the names of all those who had died in special service to the Glorious Empire. For some reason, the New Republic had left it alone when they took over Coruscant. They had even restored it when it was partially destroyed in the battle between the New Republic and the reincarnated Emperor. She didn't know why they did it--they names listed here were those of their enemies--most of them killed by the rebellion in one fashion or another. But then, that was typical of the New Republic leaders, full of respect, even for their enemies. The ironic thing was, they had more genuine respect for this memorial than the Emperor had; to him it had really been just for show, to give guests at the Palace the impression that he actually cared about those who served him.

Nevertheless, the room was very important to Mara.

Taking a deep breath, she went inside, heading directly to the far wall. There, third plaque on the right, near the floor, was Mykos' plaque. She squatted down and looked at the marble slab engraved with his name. Taking her finger, she carefully traced the letters of his name while she thought of the good memories: She and Mykos training together under the Emperor's supervision. Mykos telling one of his endless jokes. Mykos encouraging her when she didn't think she could make it through one more of the Emperor's harsh training drills. She and Mykos--and Malarin.

It had happened here, on this planet, right in the Imperial City, more than eighteen years ago and she had witnessed the whole thing. Mara tried to block that final memory, but it came to her unbidden, filling her mind with painful, disjointed images. Images of the two people she had cared most about in the galaxy, Malarin and Mykos, standing face to face. Malarin trying to draw Mykos into an argument, but Mykos not buying into it. Mykos turning his back to end the confrontation. And the last in slow-motion: Malarin pulling out his lightsaber and striking down an unarmed Mykos from behind. She remembered screaming, remembered going after Malarin with her own lightsaber, when the Emperor materialized from nowhere and stopped her. "Justice is mine. I will take your revenge, my Mara."

So Malarin Belsarios had been executed two days later, and Mara was forever in the Emperor's debt. Her loyalty to him was forever sealed--until his death four years later at the hands of Darth Vader.

But now, impossibly, Malarin was alive. He had somehow escaped the Emperor's execution--even though she had witnessed it herself. Mara shook her head again, knocking wisps of fiery red hair loose from the tight braid wrapped around her head. No. It didn't matter how he had escaped. All that mattered was that he didn't escape again.

***

Luke sat alone in the Imperial archives.

[SEARCH FOR?] the computer inquired. Luke typed [BELSARIOS, MALARIN.]

[BELSARIOS, MALARIN:] the computer responded after a brief search.

[BORN:

3/17/14 PRE-EMPIRE

DIED:

2/21/17 IMPERIAL ERA

EXECUTED BY ORDER OF HIS HIGHNESS, THE

EMPEROR PALPATINE.

END OF RECORD.]

Luke frowned. End of record? With only his birthdate and supposed death date listed? What about the work he did for the Emperor? And his connection to Mara?

That gave Luke another idea. He typed in [NEW SEARCH:] [JADE, MARA.]

The computer hummed for a few seconds, then came up:

[JADE, MARA. NO INFORMATION FOUND.]

He should have expected that: Mara had said that her work as the Emperor's Hand was unknown to anyone but herself and the Emperor, and that no records were kept. Nevertheless, he tried again.

[NEW SEARCH: EMPEROR'S HAND.]

Again, the computer hummed briefly, then responded:

[EMPEROR'S HAND. NO INFORMATION FOUND.]

Oh well, it was worth a try. Luke thought for a minute more, then tried a new approach.

[NEW SEARCH: EXECUTION ORDERS, YEAR 17 IMPERIAL ERA.]

This time the response was almost immediate:

[1237 RECORDS FOUND. NAME?]

Luke grimaced. Leave it to the Emperor to have 1,237 beings executed in a single year. He shook his head and typed: [BELSARIOS, MALARIN.]

After a brief search, the response came: [FOR BETRAYAL TO THE EMPIRE, I EMPEROR PALPATINE, ON THIS, THE TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH, IN THE SEVENTEENTH YEAR OF MY REIGN, ORDER THE EXECUTION OF ONE MALARIN BELSARIOS, FOR CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST MY SERVANTS AND THEREFORE MYSELF. EXECUTION TO BE CARRIED OUT IMMEDIATELY. CRIME: MURDER OF MYKOS JADE. END OF RECORD.]

Luke stared at the last part of the order. Mykos Jade? Was he some relative of Mara's? How was that possible? She had said herself that the Emperor had taken her away from her family when she was too young to really remember. Incredulously, Luke typed: [NEW SEARCH: JADE, MYKOS.]

[JADE, MYKOS. NO INFORMATION FOUND.]

Luke snorted. Just like the Emperor: execute someone for the murder of a person his own data banks said didn't exist. He leaned back in his seat, thinking. Who was this Mykos Jade? Could he have been Mara's relative: father, uncle, brother, cousin, or was the name simply a coincidence? Luke shook his head. No, it couldn't be a coincidence. Mara had been too upset at the mention of Belsarios' name for it to be mere coincidence that he was supposedly executed for the death of someone named Jade. So he must be somehow related to her. But how, if she hadn't known her own family?

Then a new thought occurred to Luke. It was far- fetched, but certainly possible. Since she was about Luke's own age, she would have been around seventeen or eighteen when Belsarios was executed. Young, yes, but certainly not so young that it was impossible. What if Jade hadn't been her family name? What if this Mykos Jade had been, not a blood relative, but her husband? It seemed unlikely, but he had to admit it was not impossible. And it would explain why his death would be so horrible for her; even more horrible than the death of the Emperor had been.

Suddenly he realized that, though he had considered her a close friend for the past ten years, there was really very little Luke knew about Mara Jade. And just as suddenly, he wanted to know more.

***

The morning after their meeting with Belindi Kalenda, Leia sat behind her desk, massaging her temples to ward off the headache that was threatening to squeeze into her brain. On the other side of the desk, seated in a rough semi-circle, were Senator Fleghan, her second-in- command, and the top brass of the New Republican military.

"This is very disconcerting," Admiral Ackbar was saying, voicing what they all felt. "We've had our share of military difficulties over the last few years, what with the Yevethans and the Corellian Conflict, but I was hoping that the days of the Imperials were behind us."

"I somehow doubt that will ever happen, Admiral," Leia observed as she stopped rubbing her head and folded her hands before her. "Palpatine wasn't the only megalomaniac in the galaxy. As long as there are would- be emperors, there'll be Imperials."

"That is self-evident," a tall Dornean, General A'baht, put in impatiently, "but it does nothing to address our problem. What do we do about it?"

"What can we do? We must bolster our defense. Perhaps the trade contract proposed by Captains Karrde and Jade is a good idea; we could certainly use the ships that are currently serving escort duty," Ackbar responded. Leia was surprised that support for Karrde and Mara would come from a Calamarian, noted for their distrust of smugglers. But then, Han and Lando were ex- smugglers, and Ackbar learned to trust them.

"Defense isn't good enough," a Manoan humanoid, General Hedonat, disagreed, wagging her finger in Ackbar's direction. "We must strike first, destroy this fleet before it is even formed." Manoans were aggressive warriors, especially the females.

"Then we're no better than the Emperor," A'baht protested.

"I agree," Leia put in. "It's important--" she was cut off abruptly by the loud buzzing of her emergency comm unit. Startled, Leia switched it to speaker setting. "Organa Solo here."

"Madame Chief of State, we've just received word from Colonel Devado, commander at Sluis Van. The shipyard is under attack!"

***

The Senate chambers were crowded as senators and members of the press gathered to hear the report on the Sluis Van attack. Han stood in the back of the hall, Luke beside him, watching with some admiration as his wife and her military Chiefs of Staff--minus General A'baht, who had been immediately dispatched to Sluis Van with reinforcements--tried to sort through the information coming in from the battle zone.

"As far as we know," Leia was saying, "the attack was very brief. They destroyed three corvettes and two assault frigates that were docked for repairs. Several other ships were damaged and a squadron of newly constructed A-wings was captured." She glanced down at the notes in front of her. "At this time, casualties are unknown."

"Madame Chief of State, do we know who is responsible for this attack."

Han saw Leia flash him a look, then she replied, "We believe the attack was led by Imperial Vice Admiral Pellaeon."

This created quite a stir among the reporters. "Are you saying that the Imperials are once again posing a threat?"

"Anyone with imperialistic tendencies is a threat to our Republic," Leia answered quickly. "We do not know for certain that this signals an Imperial revival. Pellaeon could easily be acting on his own."

In a Gammorean's eye, Han thought.

"I'll bet that Belsarios was involved," Luke whispered.

"By the way, what did you find out from Mara?"

But Luke just shook his head, a strange, unhappy look on his face. Han let it drop and brought his attention back to the podium.

"Why A-wings?" another reporter was asking. "Don't the Imperials still have access to dozens of TIE manufacturing facilities? What would they want with A- wings?"

Ackbar fielded this one. "We are not sure at this time," he said in his gravely voice. "General A'baht and the NRI are looking into the matter even as we speak."

"What do you think?" Han leaned in to Luke. "Why the sudden interest in A- wings? Didn't Kalenda say that Pellaeon was building up a fleet for himself? You'd think he'd have some Imperial fighters stashed somewhere."

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe if we look into the reasons someone would choose an A-wing over a TIE, we have a shot at figuring out what he and Belsarios are up to."

The press conference went on for another fifteen minutes or so before Leia finally took the last question, then left the podium. Han and Luke ducked out of the Senate chambers to try and meet up with her. Before they even got through the doorway, Luke suddenly stopped short, a far-away expression on his face that Han had learn to recognize as the Force at work.

"What is it?"

"It's Leia, someone's trying to get past her security entourage!" Luke cried in alarm.

That was all Han needed; he took off running down the hallway towards where Leia would be waiting for them, Luke close on his heels.

When they turned the corner, they discovered that something was indeed amiss. Palace guards were swarming everywhere, and Leia was nowhere in sight.

"Where is she?" Han asked Luke.

Luke paused, then replied, "She's okay, they shoved her into cover."

"What the hell is going on?" But before Luke could even answer, Han could see for himself. Three security guards were hauling someone to his feet, someone who was ranting incoherently that he had to see "the Princess." Princess? She hadn't been called that in years.

Han and Luke pushed their way through the throng of guards to get a better look at Leia's attacker. He hardly looked like a threat--he was a small human, about sixty standard years or so. He was a bit wild-eyed and rumpled, with a few days growth on his chin. He looked as though he hadn't slept in days.

"What's going on here?" Han demanded of the guards nearest the prisoner. "Is Leia okay?"

The guard nodded. "This man appeared out of nowhere, General Solo. He tried to get at President Organa Solo, but we stopped him in time."

"Where's she now?" Han continued.

"I'm over here," he heard her irritated reply as she pushed her way through the guards towards him. They tried to keep her away from her attacker, but Leia had a mind of her own and had never been one to let others protect her.

Suddenly the old man caught sight of her. "Princess, I need to see you, it's urgent!"

"Listen, Pal, the only person you'll be seeing is a lawyer," Han growled.

"Take it easy, Han, he doesn't mean her harm," Luke said suddenly from behind him.

"Doesn't mean any harm?" Han asked incredulously.

"No, he's terrified and--" he paused. "And deeply shamed."

Leia finally reached them, despite her entourage. "Who are you?" she asked, ignoring Han and Luke and questioning the prisoner directly. "What do you need to see me about?"

"Your Highness," the man began, actually attempting a bow even as he was being held by three Palace guards. "I was a servant of your father's on Alderaan."

Great, Han thought. The quickest way to get Leia's ear was to say you were from Alderaan. Sure enough, Leia regally motioned for the man to rise. Some habits die hard, Han thought ruefully.

"Who are you?" Leia repeated, her voice softer now.

"Madame Chief of State--" a guard attempted to cut in, but Leia waved him off. "I would like to speak with this man. Who are you?" she asked him a third time.

"I am Captain Thymus Corander of Alderaan. I was a servant of your father."

"So you've said," Leia replied. "Why do you need to speak with me?"

"Your father entrusted me with something that I was to give to you when the time was right." Han noticed the man looked positively anguished. "I'm afraid I failed, Your Highness. I am only now bringing this to you, after an Imperial dark Lord has already seen its contents."

Han heard Luke take in a quick breath at the mention of the Imperial "dark Lord."

"Who?" Luke asked softly.

"Lord Belsarios," the captain replied.

Han, Luke and Leia all exchanged glances. "What do you mean?"

"I have a message cube, recorded by your father and some of his compatriots. I do not know the contents myself, but Viceroy Organa had made it clear to me that it must not fall into the Emperor's or Vader's hands."

"Then why didn't you bring it to us when they died?" Han snapped, earning a disapproving scowl from Leia.

The man hung his head. "There is no excuse for my failure."

"No," Leia replied gently, giving Han another vicious glare, "it's okay, you're bringing it to me now."

"Yes, but Lord Belsarios must have learned of its contents by now."

"How did he get it?" Luke asked.

Again, Corander hung his head shamefully. "It was stolen from me when he boarded my freighter."

"And how did you get it back?" Leia asked, her voice still gentle, soothing.

"I posed as his valet and stole it back."

"This is ridiculous!" Han erupted. "This guy attacks you and now you're trying to make him feel better?" he shot at Leia.

"He did not attack me; security is just overzealous," Leia insisted.

"She's right, the captain has no malicious intent." Luke put in helpfully.

"Captain Corander, may I have this message cube?" Leia asked, holding out her hand.

"Of course, Your Highness. It's in my bag--the guards have taken it away from me."

"Madame Chief of State, we have to check the devise before we give it to you. It could be anything, a bomb..." insisted one of the guards.

"Fine. How long before I can have it?"

"About an hour--if it's safe."

Leia turned to Corander. "Is that acceptable? I will have the cube in an hour."

"Yes, Your Highness. I only wish I'd have given it to you when the Emperor died."

Leia nodded, still holding her head in that regal way that annoyed the hell out of Han.

"They'll still have to take him in for questioning," he warned her.

Before the guards could even move a centimeter, however, Corander made a sudden twisting move, breaking free from the guards who held him. In one swift motion, he grabbed a blaster out of the holster of one of them. Twenty or so guards dove on top of Leia even as Han and the remaining guards lunged at Corander. But Luke beat them to it. Just as the man turned the blaster on himself and was about to pull the trigger, Luke used the Force to yank the blaster from his grasp.

"No!" Corander cried, distraught. "I've failed the Viceroy! Death is the only honorable thing left."

"No," Luke said firmly. "That would not be honorable at all."

Han gaped at the captain, furious. What if Luke hadn't pulled the blaster away in time, and what if he had been aiming towards Leia instead of himself? For the second time this week, security had done a poor job of protecting either Leia's person or her property. Something would have to be done about this. "Take him away, but stay on suicide watch," Han instructed the guards imperiously. They responded by dragging Corander down the hall, away from Leia, who had by this time pushed off the guards who had covered her.

"Are you okay?" Han asked, both concerned and annoyed.

"I'm fine," she replied tersely, eyeing her security detail. "Let's just go to my office. As soon as the message cube is checked out, I want it delivered directly to me," she instructed.

"Yes, Ma'am."

Then she turned to Han and Luke, and Han noticed for the first time the emotion in her eyes. "Let's go wait in my office to see what my father has to say."

***

While they were waiting for the mysterious message cube to be delivered, Leia received another message from Captain Kalenda. She frowned as she read it.

"What is it?" Han asked.

"It's Belsarios. The NRI found him way out in the rim territories, near the Minos cluster, making preparations for some kind of extended journey."

"Journey to where?"

Leia shrugged. "They don't know. But they did intercept a partial message from him to Pellaeon--it says he'll be leaving in a couple of days, as soon as the A- wings arrive." She looked up from the data pad. "So then Belsarios did have something to do with the attack on Sluis Van."

"We'd better get Ackbar on out to the Minos cluster and see if we can't get those A-wings back," Han said.

Leia nodded. "Ackbar has already seen a copy of this. But I don't think it'll matter. If he's going to be making a jump right after the A-wings arrive, we won't get there in time." Looking at the data pad once more, she told them "It says they don't know where he's going, but he's packing enough provisions to be gone for--" she stopped and frowned again. "This can't be right."

"What?" Luke asked, leaning forward to get a view of Leia's data pad.

"It says he's packing enough to be gone for six to nine standard months."

Han whistled. "Where in the galaxy could he be going that he needs nine months of provisions? Even the rim worlds aren't that remote, and he's already there anyway."

"Yes, but our ships are out for months or years at a time," Luke pointed out. "Maybe he just wants to stay mobile."

"But when our ships go out for an extended duty, they don't take a year's worth of provisions with them, they restock," Leia told him. She had a very strange feeling about this--a sense of dread that seemed blown out of proportion for the information she'd just received.

"Maybe that message cube Captain Corander brought will explain," Luke said, and Leia noticed that he, too, seemed uneasy.

Han snorted. "What is with that guy? I can't believe the melodramatics: 'Death is the only honorable thing left...'"

Leia glared at her husband--he could be so insensitive sometimes. "I'll remind you that he is Alderaanean. Our honor is very important to us. He thought he failed my father."

"Yeah, but when you've failed at something, you dust yourself off and start over. That's honorable," Han argued.

He had a point. "But I'm not from the old school. Many of the elders who served my father believed that death was preferable to failure." Suddenly Leia felt a pang of longing for her destroyed homeworld. She looked up at Han and Luke. "I'd like Winter to be here when we open the message cube. She's the only person close to me who knew my father."

Han's face softened. "I think that's a good idea."

Winter was a tall, majestic, white-haired woman who had been Leia's playmate when they were children on Alderaan. Later, during the war, Winter had been an agent for the Alliance. She had perfect memory, which she used to memorize schematics of Imperial supply houses. After the war, she served as Leia's aide, a nanny to her three children, and a close friend. It was fitting that Winter should be here when the cube was opened.

Leia's friend arrived at about the same time as the message cube was finally delivered.

After the guard left, Leia turned the old message cube over in her hands, examining it carefully. It was of an Alderaanean design, of that she was sure. It was enough to flood her mind with memories.

"Are you ready?" Luke asked gently, pulling her out of her reverie.

"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." she put the cube down on the table in front of her and sat down between Han and Luke. Winter remained standing behind them. Leia went to activate the cube, then realized there was no mechanism to open it. "I don't know how to start it," she said, puzzled.

Luke picked up the cube and examined it. "Wait a second, this looks a little like the old Jedi Holocron you stole from the Emperor," he said to Leia. "Maybe you activate it with the Force. In confirmation of this, the cube came to life as soon as Luke set it down again.

Tears immediately filled Leia's eyes as the image of her adopted father, Bail Organa, was projected out from the cube. He was standing next to two other men, one of whom appeared to be a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. The other she did not recognize. Bail Organa looked much younger than Leia remembered him, probably in his late twenties or so, which would date this recording to about the time she and Luke were born.

"I am Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan," the message began. "I am here with my dear friends, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi of Tatooine, and Gamiel Tumaric of Alderaan. This is the only record that will be made of the events which are transpiring here today."

Leia looked at Luke. "Do you know who Gamiel Tumaric is?" Luke shook his head, then turned back to the hologram. Bail Organa was now the only one pictured.

"The Galaxy is in great turmoil: the Republic has fallen, and Senator Palpatine has declared himself Emperor and established his New Order. The Order of Jedi Knights is, even as I speak, being mercilessly destroyed by Palpatine's forces."

Leia glanced at Luke, who looked back at her, eyes solemn.

"One of the greatest of these Jedi Knights was my dear friend, Anakin Skywalker."

At this, Leia felt a stab of pain ripple out from Luke through the Force.

"It pains me to say that this dear friend must now be considered one of our most feared enemies: Palpatine has turned him to the dark side. He is now a Lord of the Sith, renamed Lord Darth Vader by Palpatine. He leaves behind many dear friends and a wife who loved him. What he does not know is that his wife was pregnant. Pregnant with more than one child. These children were born just last night."

Leia swallowed. "This is a record of our birth!" she exclaimed, grasping Luke's hand. From her left, Han put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Suddenly, the three-dimensional image of Bail Organa stepped aside, and into the picture stepped Obi- Wan Kenobi.

"Ben," Luke smiled, looking as if he wanted to reach out and touch his former mentor. But it wasn't nostalgia that caught Leia's attention.

"Luke, look!" she cried, using the Force to pause the message. The image of Obi-Wan froze.

"What?"

"Around his neck, he's wearing the pendant!"

Luke and Han both leaned closer to examine the holographic image.

"She's right," Han agreed. "Only he's got the whole thing--a whole circle."

"With three red stones," Winter added.

"Start it up again, maybe Ben or your father explains where the third piece is." Han motioned to the cube and Leia started the message again.

"Our dear friend is very powerful in the Force," the image of Kenobi continued, "as will be any children he fathers. Children who could be turned , like their father, to the dark side and become powerful enemies of the light." He paused dramatically. "Or, children that could be hidden from him and the so-called Emperor. Raised in the light side, not knowing of their parentage, these children could become a means of rebuilding the Jedi Knighthood and destroying the Emperor. Palpatine and Vader both know this, that is why the children must be hidden from them. " Obi-Wan took a deep breath.

"Late last night, the children were born. The first was a boy, who we have named Luke Skywalker, just as his father, the true Anakin Skywalker had always wanted."

Leia felt Luke elbow her. "I knew I was the oldest," he joked, but she saw his eyes swell at the mention of how he was named.

"We have no doubt that Palpatine and Vader will one day discover that Vader had a child. His son will likely be the focus of his attention. I will take him to Tatooine to be reared by my brother, Owen Lars. If Vader should discover that he has a child, young Luke will, unfortunately, not be difficult for him to find. This will, hopefully, divert him from knowing that Luke was not his only child."

"Great," Luke muttered, "I was the decoy." Leia squeezed his hand.

"However, we do hope to delay this discovery for a long, long time. I myself will retire to Tatooine to keep on eye on they boy, despite my brother's desire that I stay away and leave him and his wife to raise the child as they see fit. Hopefully, he will stay out of Palpatine's and Vader's way long enough for him to grow up and begin training as a Jedi Knight. Should this fail, however...."

As Obi-Wan let this thought trail, Han turned to Leia and Luke. "I know this is important to you two to see this, but is this really telling us anything we don't already know?"

"We won't know until we see it all," Luke answered. Leia then hushed them all as Obi-Wan left the picture and Bail Organa returned.

"Shortly after Luke, a second child was born. We, all of us," Bail motioned to the two men behind him, out of view, "have decided that she and her mother will stay here, on Alderaan. I will raise her as my own daughter, and have named her Leia Organa. She will be Alderaanean Royalty, and will be raised to hold dear the beliefs of the Republic. Only the three of us present here," again he motioned behind him, "her mother, two of my top aides on Alderaan, and Jedi Master Yoda, Obi- Wan's Master, know of her existence. Hopefully, some day she, too, will receive training in the ways of the Force."

Leia looked at Luke a little guiltily. He touched her mind with the Force: "You've done just fine, Leia."

Bail continued: "Siblings who are strong in the Force are always strongest when they work together. Their bond to each other is always strong. This is even more true of siblings who share the womb: however strong they may be individually, their greatest strength lies in their ties to each other."

Leia thought of how she and Luke were able to defeat the reborn Emperor together, and she thought of her own twin children and the bond they shared. She only wished she had been able to grow up with Luke, sharing that bond all through life as Jacen and Jaina have.

Bail Organa once again stepped out of the picture, and was replaced by the third man, Jedi Knight Gamiel Tumaric, the man none of them had heard of before.

"This is why it is important to keep the children separated. If Palpatine is able to turn one, he will still not have the full strength of Anakin Skywalker's children on his side. It has occurred to us, however, that despite our efforts, both Luke and Leia may be discovered. This will, indeed, be tragic, if the so-called Emperor is able to discover and turn two of Anakin's children: he will have twice the strength with him and the dark side. That is why we will go to even greater pains--and greater risks-- to hide Anakin's third child."

Leia sat bolt upright, accidentally knocking the message cube off the table. She stared at Luke, though she could already feel his shock rippling through the Force.

"Third child!" It was Han who managed to find his voice first, breaking the stunned silence that surrounded the group gathered around the message cube. "What in the name of the galaxy is he talking about?" Leia's eyes were still locked with her brother's, but she felt Han twist around behind her to Winter.

"Winter, do you remember ever hearing anything..." Leia turned to Winter just as Han trailed off, in time to see her friend shake her head, eyes wide.

"No, but I was only a baby myself when they were born. I never knew about Leia's parentage until she herself..." she, too, trailed off. They were all too surprised to know what to say.

"I think," Luke said, with a calm in his voice Leia sensed he did not feel, "that we need to finish watching the message to get any answers."

Leia nodded numbly, then bent to retrieve the fallen cube. She placed it back on the table and clicked it on again.

"...hide Anakin's third child," the recording of Gamiel Tumaric continued, automatically taking up where it head left off. "The third child, a daughter, was born right after Leia. She has been named Allia, in honor of the Alliance we desperately hope to form to restore the Republic and topple Palpatine. "

"Allia," Leia repeated softly. Luke took her hand again. They had a sister named Allia.

"Only her mother, Senator Organa, Jedi Kenobi, and myself know of her existence," the hologram continued.

"With three children--triplets--the need to keep all three from Palpatine's knowledge is crucial. Triplets strong in the Force could easily mean the end of justice in the galaxy forever, if they should be turned. That is why we, all of us, have decided that the only course of action is to remove this third child from the galaxy altogether.

Many years ago, under the auspices of the Republic, six Jedi Masters undertook a perilous journey to discover what lies beyond our own galaxy. This project was known as the Outbound Flight Project."

Leia had heard of the Outbound Flight Project before. About ten years ago, when the New Republic was only five years old and battling Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn and the cloned Jedi Master Joruus C'baoth, Luke had done some research on the Outbound Flight Project. Jorus C'baoth, the Jedi Master that Joruus C'baoth had been cloned from had been one of the six Jedi Masters that had been part of the project. All of them died before they ever left the galaxy, she recalled.

"...believed all of them died before they ever left the galaxy," the image of Jedi Gamiel Tumaric was saying as Leia brought her attention back to the message cube, "but it has been recently discovered that one of the team, Jedi Master Itoka Slopl, did in fact make it out of the galaxy. She even completed the project's mission: she found a planet in a distant galaxy that did, in fact, have intelligent life. What is even more surprising, is this planet has intelligent human life. Unfortunately, the people of this planet were not as technologically developed as we are. They had no space- faring capabilities, let alone hyperdrive capabilities necessary for exploration beyond their own system. Thus, they had never come into contact with alien life, and as Master Slopl was Bith, not human, when she was discovered, the people were very afraid of her and she was killed. Not before, however, she was able to send a detailed message back here, to our own galaxy, explaining exactly how to travel to this planet.

I myself received this message from the late Master Slopl just seven months ago, and after detailed analysis, have concluded that travel to this planet, though dangerous, is indeed possible.

As no one but myself, Senator Organa, and Jedi Kenobi knows of the existence of this passage into another galaxy, we have all agreed that this may be the only place that is safe for this third child of Anakin Skywalker. I will take her there myself, where I hope to be able to blend into one of the planet's cultures and raise her as my own daughter.

In addition, Master Slopl's message contained detailed recordings of several of the many languages used on this planet. I have transferred this information to a suitable translator droid, and expect to begin learning one of the planet's languages as soon as the trip begins. The travel time is expected to take five months, even in hyperspace at top speed, and is fraught with danger, but not nearly as much danger as they entire galaxy will face if Palpatine and Vader get a hold of all three of these children. It is with heavy heart that I prepare to leave all my dear friends and our fight for justice behind, in the hopes that someday this child will have the chance to be reunited with her brother and sister, when the galaxy is at peace and Palpatine has been destroyed. Until then, we prepare for our new life on a planet known as Terra, or Earth."

There was more to the message: brief explanations of the wide variety of cultures, all human, that this planet held; the fact that the residents were known as Terrans; details on how the arrangements were to be carried out; specific instructions on where to locate the information needed to travel to this planet Earth; and where to find the language recordings needed to learn one of their languages, called English. Leia, however, heard none of it. She was in a complete fog, as were the others listening with her. A sister. How could she and Luke have a sister and not known?

She turned to her brother, who look equally dazed. "Did you sense any of this?" she asked, searching for some kind of answer. "Did you ever sense that there were three of us?"

Luke shook his head. "No. I'm completely at a loss. But then, I didn't have any idea that you were my sister until Ben told me. I mean, I guess I sort of knew from the moment we met, but I didn't really know.... But this," he shook his head again. "I had absolutely no idea."

Han turned to Leia and Luke. "This would explain why the medallions you two had were thirds of a disk, and not half. It also would explain where the other third is located."

Luke looked up sharply, and Leia felt his mind come to a sudden focus. "The preparations Belsarios has been making to go into space for so long. Now it all makes sense! He's going after our sister!"

***

Allia Dale awoke with a start, her heart pounding. It was only another nightmare, Ally, she told herself firmly, but the image of that man in the red cape would not fade away. She reached out automatically for Tom, remembering only when she touched his empty pillow that he was on duty in Italy. Like most Air Force wives, Allia was used to her husband being away for long periods of time. Unlike most of the other wives, however, Ally herself was an Air Force lieutenant; a former fighter pilot and current interpreter and language specialist. Her husband, a captain and A-10 pilot stationed at Davis- Monthan Air Force base in Tucson, Arizona, was currently on a one-month tour of duty in Italy. He had left yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving, and was due in just before Christmas. At least they would be together for the holidays.

The holidays. Exactly what had started this series of nightmares Ally had been having-- the little revelation that Gamiel had when he was here for Thanksgiving.

Pushing that thought out of her mind, Allia sat up with a sigh and looked at her clock. Six-thirty. Might as well get up.

Ally pushed her heavy comforter out of her way and padded quietly into the bathroom, squinting against the harsh light as she flipped it on. When her eyes finally adjusted to the light, she quickly emptied her bladder, then examined herself in the mirror, sticking her tongue out in distaste. Her short, straight, blond hair was sticking out wildly in all directions, rumpled with sleep, and her brown eyes were laced with red. Turning away from her own image, she grabbed a thick robe and bundled her diminutive, five-foot-three frame into it, then headed out to the kitchen, where she placed a kettle of water on the stove for some tea. She looked out the window at the sky, which was just beginning to show the faintest signs of light in the east. The kids would be up soon, she thought, then remembered that they, too, were gone. It was Saturday morning, Thanksgiving weekend, and they had spent the night at a neighbor's house. She had the whole house to herself.

Normally, Ally relished solitude, something a mother of a nine-year-old and a six-year-old rarely had the luxury of enjoying. This morning was different, though. She wished for Aaron's teasing, or even Casey's loud "MO- om!" to push the strange nightmare image from her mind.

The kettle whistled, startling her. She quickly pulled it off the stove and poured the steaming water over a tea bag and into a large mug that read "No. 1 Mom!" in child-like writing. She then took her mug and curled up with it on the couch near the bay window, which faced east, so she could watch the sun come up.

As she watched fingers of red creep into the winter sky over the desert, Allia reflected on how beautiful it was here. Raised not far from Yuma, Arizona, she was a born desert rat and had been more than a little thrilled when she and Tom learned they would be stationed at Davis-Monthan. After three miserable years in humid, sticky, Florida, it had been wonderful to come home. Winter in the desert was especially her favorite time, though even in the summer the early morning hours were beautiful. When she was a child, she had loved to get up very early and look for lizards or jackrabbits or roadrunners, while Gamiel explained to her about the life Force that bound them all together...

Gamiel. Apparently she would not be able to get her foster father out of her mind. It wasn't that she didn't love the old guy--he was the only father she'd ever known, the one who had taught her to love nature, to savor life, and most of all, he had given her the love of flying--the love she had given up in order to spend more time with her children. No, she would always love Gamiel, but there was one problem.

Gamiel was insane.

She tried to think back. Was he always crazy? Maybe a little. From early on he had been different, teaching her about something he called "the Force," which he claimed was "an energy field generated by all living things which surrounds and penetrates everything, binding the [universe] together." No one else Ally knew believed in anything called "the Force." In addition to that, Gamiel had been obsessed with her learning how to fence, of all things. She had become quite good at it, even winning many ribbons in fencing competitions throughout the country. But Gamiel wanted her to fence differently: he wanted her to use a two-handed grip. He had even given her some sort of "sword" that looked like a flashlight, but when turned on shot out some sort of laser. It was heavy enough to require a two-handed grip, but with some work she had mastered it, though she never did figure out where Gamiel got the strange thing. He had called it a "lightsaber."

And then there was the language. When Allia was growing up, she had spoken two languages: English, like her friends, and at home a language Gamiel called, loosely translated, "Basic." At first this had not seemed so unusual: she did, after all, live near Indian reservations and not far from the Mexican border. Many of her friends spoke Navajo or Hopi or Spanish at home. But what was strange was that in all her travels with the Air Force, and her extensive knowledge of foreign languages, Ally had never run across anyone else who spoke or had even heard of Gamiel's Basic.

Languages had always been a fascination for Ally, second only to her love of flying. She had discovered early in life that she had an affinity for learning languages, picking up Spanish and several tribal dialects from her school friends. The reason it was so easy for her was her memory. She had a perfect audiographic memory. Everything she had ever heard in her life she remembered as clearly and exactly as if she had a tape recorder in her head. So once she heard a new word and what it meant, she never forgot it. It took her two weeks to learn Spanish, three for Navajo, one each for French, German, and Italian. By the time she was ten years old, she was fluent in most of the major world languages, including Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and several African dialects. Yet, even with her exhaustive knowledge of world languages and her perfect memory, she had never heard a single person, outside of herself and Gamiel, utter a single word in Basic. Which led her to only one conclusion: Gamiel had made it up.

She had to admire the incredible intelligence of a man who could make up an entire language, complete with its own grammar, syntax, and idioms. Though she had heard of several other invented "languages," such as Pig Latin or Esperanto, these were based on other languages and did not have a grammar of their own. Basic did; it was distinctly different from English or any other language she had come across. Actually, it was an amazingly simple language; easy to pronounce, easy to learn. Unlike English, the rules seem to be pretty standard. For Gamiel to be able to create such a simple, yet complex, eloquent language all on his own was quite an astounding feat. A little bizarre, but astounding just the same.

The language thing and the lightsaber thing and the Force thing notwithstanding, Gamiel had provided a fairly normal childhood for her, and had never seemed crazy. A little eccentric, perhaps, but never dangerously insane.

That changed when she was twenty-one years old, a senior in the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

She had returned home late one night after going out with several of her friends to find Gamiel waiting for her in her room. Her surprise at seeing him quickly turned to concern when she noticed how wild eyed he looked. She no sooner entered the room when he picked her up and swung her around joyously, crying, "It's over, it's over! He's dead!"

Allia pulled back, alarmed. "Who's dead, Gamiel?"

"The Emperor."

Ally remembered how puzzled she had been. "What Emperor?"

"Oh Allia, there's so much I have to tell you. I didn't want to tell you when you were little, because I didn't want you to feel different from your Earth friends."

Earth friends?

"Gamiel, what are you talking about. Sit down, you look positively out of your gourd."

She had never been prepared for what had come next: a long, convoluted story in which she was the child of some kind of horrible "dark Lord" who served "the Emperor"--in another galaxy.

Gamiel believed he and she were from outer space.

According to him, she was a triplet with a brother and sister, and all three of them had been hidden away from their maniacal father. Allia herself had the honor of being the most hidden, taken away from her home galaxy. Her father was called Darth Vader, which Allia thought sounded like Dutch for "dark father." That wasn't his real name, however; he had been born Anakin Skywalker (Skywalker? she could remember thinking it sounded like something a Native American would be named) and had once been a Jedi Knight, who were the ones who believed in this "Force" of Gamiel's (who was himself a Jedi, of course.) Her father, however, had been turned by the evil Emperor before knowing that his wife was pregnant with triplets. Together, Vader and the Emperor ruled the galaxy with an iron grip. But fortunately, the Emperor had just been killed by a group of rebels. Vader was dead, as well. How did Gamiel know this? Why, the Force, of course! He could "sense" the Emperor's death in the Force. It was all very much like an episode of Star Trek mixed with Flash Gordon and a dash of Dungeons and Dragons thrown in for good measure.

Now that the Emperor was gone, Gamiel had figured that someone would probably come to Earth looking for them, to bring them home. It was at this point that Allia kicked Gamiel out of her room.

For several years afterwards, she would have nothing to do with him; she refused to speak with him at her graduation from the Air Force Academy and returned unopened all the letters he sent her when she was on her first assignment.

It was only after she met Tom Dale that Ally had a change of heart. An avid believer in family, he had brought her home to meet his parents soon after they started dating. His parents were both deaf, which fascinated Ally: another language to learn. American Sign Language, however, proved daunting to her. It was not auditory, like the other languages she knew, so her audiographic memory was of no help to her. For the first time, Ally took longer than a few weeks to learn a language. She mastered it quickly, taking only a year where most people needed seven to be truly fluent. In the meantime, Tom wanted to meet her family. Allia stalled as long as she could, but finally relented, telling Tom the whole story of her insane foster father. To her surprise, Tom though it was delightful. Then again, she shouldn't have been surprised at all. An avid Trekkie and lover of all things that have to do with space, Tom had applied twice to be a pilot astronaut for NASA, falling short of the cut both times. It stood to reason that the idea that his girlfriend was really an alien from outer space and could be whisked back there at any time would appeal to him.

So Allia hesitantly renewed her relationship with Gamiel, who had been surprisingly well behaved. Having given up on the "rebels" coming for him and Ally, he never mentioned Darth Vader or the Emperor or the Force or her triplet brother and sister. When she and Tom got married, Gamiel gave her away.

Perhaps whatever had possessed Gamiel that day at the Air Force Academy was gone. Perhaps her life could be normal after all.

***

No one said a word for a long time. The four of them, Luke, Han, Leia, and Winter just sat staring into the space where the holo message had been.

They had played it over several times, and each time it seemed to Luke to be more and more unbelievable. Another sister? Why hadn't he known this, why hadn't he felt this?

Of course, he hadn't known about Leia, either, until Yoda's declaration, "There is another Skywalker." According to the cube, Yoda may not have even known that there were two other Skywalkers. But it seemed impossible. He could understand Ben taking him to Uncle Owen's on Tatooine, he could understand Bail Organa raising Leia as his own daughter, but this? Wasn't sending her to a completely different galaxy a bit extreme?

"So what now?" Han asked suddenly, breaking the thick silence. He was sitting very close to Leia, holding her.

"We can't let Belsarios just go and get her," Leia said quietly, her voice thick and a little hoarse. "From what this cube says about the planet she's on, there are no defenses, nothing to stop him."

"There's Jedi Tumaric," Winter pointed out, her voice also hushed.

"We don't even know if he's still alive," Luke countered. "Or, for that matter, if she--" he hesitated, finding it difficult to say her name-- "if Ally is alive."

"But Belsarios doesn't want her, he wants the disk," Han put in.

"We definitely can't let him have that," Leia observed, her voice stronger now. She was the consummate leader, Luke observed.

"How do we stop him?" he asked her.

"We have to stop him before he leaves," Leia answered quickly. "We can't hardly go on a year-long trip to another galaxy chasing after him."

"We may already be too late for that," said Winter. "You said so yourself, our fleet won't reach him in time."

"Hey, wait a second, are we actually considering going after him?" Han said suddenly. "To another galaxy? Is that what we're talking about?"

There was another long silence, no one wanting to answer the question. Then Luke felt his sister reach out with the Force and replay the message cube yet again. She fast-forwarded it to the part that mapped the particulars of the planet Earth, its galaxy, and the passage there.

"It says it takes five months just to get there," Leia said miserably.

"Then we are talking about doing this," Han said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Five months, Han," Leia replied.

"Yeah, but that was thirty-six years ago," Han disagreed slowly. "With today's faster hyperdrives, it would probably only take, oh say three months."

"Three months," Luke whistled, shaking his head. "And three months back."

"I'm Chief of State, I can't be gone for six months!" Leia protested.

"Leia, we have to go after her. If we don't, Belsarios will probably kill her. She's our sister," Luke said, with more emotion than he had intended.

"I know that," Leia snapped back. "But there are literally dozens of commanders we could se