The next day, the Caridan ambassador contacted the ship and the comm officer told Leia as soon as she woke. "The ambassador has proposed giving you a tour of this city, madam. Will you accept?"

Leia rubbed her eyes blearily and grabbed a pot of warm stimulant tea."Yes, I will. When should we expect him?"

"Within the next few minutes." Leia cut the comm and swore a mild oath, drinking a cup of the stimulant quickly and fixing her hair. She was on the bridge with an obscenely awake Wedge when Felar showed up, looking cheerful.

They both looked at her with the condescension of morning people. She looked at her wristunit and protested. "It's two hours before dawn on Coruscant!"

Felar laughed. "You ought to be used to traveling by now, madam. In a few days you will have adjusted to our time. Follow me." Once out of the docking bay, they were joined by three stormtroopers as always. The ambassador led them to a small hovercar that was only big enough for three humans. He dismissed the stormtroopers with a curt gesture and beckoned to his companions. "It's just the right size. Let's go." Soon, the Yavin was far behind them. "I am sure the pair of you appreciate the humanitarian aspects of the Empire as much as anyone," Felar began as they moved through the streets of the city proper. "For instance, here we have the complex used to monitor our troops. Any absent soldiers are recorded here, and whether they were killed, missing in action, absent without leave or taken prisoner. Any soldier not having proof of death is put into the suspected Rebel files. I am sure you know quite a few people in there."

"And why aren't you in there with us?" Wedge asked almost casually.

"I don't object to the Empire. What have they ever done to me?" Felar gestured out the window, distracting attention from himself. "The great stormtrooper education facilities," he said. "Boys come in without direction and leave the Empire's most dedicated troops. Truly a monument to our departed Emperor in every way."

"Very much so," Leia responded. From the careful way he was speaking, she could tell that they were being monitored. "Where are we going?"

"To the Atrium and the Entertainment Center. I thought that after your journey you would enjoy a few hours of relaxation. The Atrium in particular is one of my favorite places, as it includes many plants from Imperial worlds." A giant greenhouse lay ahead of them, and Felar stopped the hovercar and helped Leia out. The interior of the plasteel structure was hot and humid. "The jungle sector," he informed them.

"That was obvious," Wedge commented. The air itself was oppressive. Exotic trees loomed all along the artificially created path. Some had shockingly colored bark and foliage, while some had bizarre shapes. Leia stopped to examine one which seemed to be upside down, with many 'branches' coming directly out of the ground, thickening as they sprang upwards and the meeting in a single trunk. Leaves drooped lazily off of the branches, but there were no recognizable blossoms visible.

"The Capetc of Berrfya in the Dhis system," an electronic voice informed her. "Its growing pattern remains unstudied." She stepped out of the computer's sensory range and the information tape cut off.

"In three days you will be imprisoned," Felar told them in the same matter of fact voice that the computer had used. "And here we have the Baen of the Coperis system, known for its restorative powers. The natives have long used it as we use bacta. The monitors in this atrium have an erratic cycle, so expect many conversational tangents. These plants bloom on their own time, and hibernate in between. Your comms are being monitored and Coruscant should not be notified, or the custody will begin sooner." He led them to a door in the wall. "The plains section, home to the grasses of our agrarian planets." An artificial breeze stirred, welcome after the humid jungle. "I am sure you have some sort of contingency plan." He bent by a single plant. "Native Caridan feathergrass. The seeds float away when ripe. Hopefully Solo will have quick reflexes. You will bring in Skywalker, won't you? It's been so long since I've seen him."

"I hope he will be well enough to come. Luke's been very sick, and he left active duty to recuperate." That was the official reason he had gone off to Agra, and only a few people knew the real reason. Felar nodded, accepting. Leia bent by a patch of pale blue flowers. "Yes, I recognize these Alderaanean fiyla flowers. They remind me- of home." Her voice was a little choked. "It's been so long since I saw one; they were my mother's favorite."

"I doubt anyone would mind if you took one, Madam Organa," Felar said gently. "We have a static preserver in the entryway, and it will work well. Hopefully you will not go the way of Alderaan, you and Commander Antilles." He picked a single flower and cradled it in his fingers, carrying it carefully to the stasis unit. In a moment he handed it to her, sparkling with minute crystallized chemicals.

"Thank you," she said after a moment. "Thank you very much." She brushed at her face and wiped away a tear.

"Enjoy it. I had forgotten that it was here, or I would not have reminded you of everything. Would you like to go on to the ice and desert portions of the Atrium or return to your ship?"

Leia composed herself, tucking the now stiff flower firmly into her hair. "I have no heart for botany at the moment. What would you like to see, Wedge?"

Wedge thought for a moment. "I would like to see the stormtrooper training facilities, if you don't mind. My cousin was taken there when he was twelve, and they would have taken me too had I been more than four standard years old."

Felar considered. "I personally don't mind, although we may meet some resistance along the way. I will attempt to give you a tour of our illustrious facilities, Commander Antilles. Follow me." He led them back through the jungle and to their transport. Streets flashed by, and then they reached the stormtrooper buildings. The edifice towered white and sterile above all around it. "This is not the only facility onplanet. There are several others on Carida, and single ones on some of the other Core worlds. They had to be built to keep up with the new- inductees." Two stormtroopers stood guarding the door with their blasters at the ready. "Caridan Ambassador Darklighter with guests Ambassador Organa and Commander Antilles to observe on a diplomatic mission," Felar announced. One of the animate statues took his identification card and verified it in a scanner, then gestured them by, returning the card.

The foyer was small and two more guards sat there, observing a set of visual monitor displays and oriented more to prevents escapes than entry. The guards allowed the trio through without a comment. "Right this way we have the first course of instruction," Felar told them as they entered a dark classroom. About a score of boys sat in it avidly watching a holoprojection of the late Emperor. The children were repeating every phrase and the recording paused to allow it. Leia recognized the speech immediately: it was the Emperor's third lecture to the Imperial Senate about his New Order. The conviction in the voices of the boys and their surety horrified her. She listened to the grotesque caricature of education and shuddered. Wedge touched her shoulder, trying to be reassuring. "This is just the beginning, Lady Organa," Felar told her. "Shall we continue?" She nodded, a dull ache growing in her heart.

A little further into the building lay another evil tableau. It was devoid of humanity, but the purpose was obvious. There were rows upon rows of scales, mechanized calipers and other measuring equipment. Wedge surveyed the many objects and asked, "What happens to the ones that don't measure up?"

"Well, I believe that those who are too tall usually make do with somewhat less padding in their helmets, but those who are too short and won't grow any more are sent to the Academy with highest recommendations, but it is a major loss of status to these boys. From the stormtrooper facilities to the Academy is a change in their whole world view and a huge demotion. Stormtroopers are only sent on the most important missions, the ones dearest to the cause of the late Emperor's New Order, but the troops from the Academy are the common rabble. They are sent everywhere for every battle." Felar shook his head. "These future stormtroopers truly feel that it's better for them to die in the training than to fail and become a mere naval ensign or even a commanding officer. Boys sent away from here suicide seven times out of ten. Those that do not rarely fail to achieve the rank of Commander at the very least."

"I wonder what happened to my cousin," Wedge mused. "I don't know whether to hope, for his sake, that he died in training, had a successful naval career or became a stormtrooper."

"Your cousin or any other recruit's fate would take a great deal of research for us to discover. Let's move on, shall we?" They bypassed the long hall of instruments and entered another, one where the floor vibrated ever so slightly with the working a huge computer. "Here we have billions of operations a second, all to keep track of stormtrooper candidates' progress during their training. Every whisper is here, every nightmare and every faltering millisecond. Enough disturbance in one boy, and off he goes to the Academy. If one explodes into mental illness without warning, he is terminated immediately so as not to allow that failure to affect the rest. Perfection means pride, superiority, life. Flaws are shame and death."

"That's awful!" Leia burst out, finally voicing her disgust at the operating methods of the Emperor. "And people are surprised that there are rebels? These are children, and they are being warped from humanity into actions more fitting to droids!"

"That is the point of stormtroopers, madam. You have not seen all of this yet. These children lose their names, learning to answer only to strings of letters and numbers. It makes record keeping much easier and distances every memory before the training. Buried somewhere- and I don't know where- are the records of the real names and former homes of every number. It is considered almost irrelevant information."

"Hence the difficulty in locating my cousin," Wedge commented.

"Yes. I doubt that he would even recognize your name by now." Next, they entered a gymnasium of sorts, equipped with both classic weights and more esoteric simulator chambers. "The physical training arena. They build strength here so that the Empire's will may be done.Fully monitored, of course. Weakness or refusal here is unforgivable."

"I can't begin to imagine what happens to those who exhibit such characteristics," Leia commented.

"I am sure you could not, lady. My only real worry in surveying this place is what will become of the stormtroopers will do without an Emperor. Certainly, the galaxy has enough people devoted to the New Order to keep that movement functioning for a long time, but without its figurehead and driving force, what will become of them? I am sure that someone else will claim the title of Emperor soon, but few could have the personal power of our Palpatine. I do not presume to predict what will happen to this system without his strength."

"I have a feeling we'll be finding out quite soon. I assume the admirals have been running the fragments for this amount of time, but unclaimed galactic thrones are a very rare commodity."

"Very true. We can only wait, and the universe will not be long in changing.

"Now you have seen the majority of our facilities other than armor fitting area and target ranges, but if you believe you can picture those well enough for yourselves we can move on, or you can go back to your cruiser."

Leia and Wedge shared a glance, and Leia nodded. "Yes, let's go back to the Yavin now. Thank you for the tour. I understand my adversaries better now, don't you, Wedge?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. I know more about them, anyway." Wedge shook his head. "Although I'm not so sure I want to know anymore, it's too late now."

Leia could hardly leave the building fast enough to suit herself.





Han Solo put aside his breakfast and answered the holocomm. An unfamiliar Calamarian face sprang up. "General Solo?"

"Speaking."

"I am the communications officer Bliffnik of the cruiser Yavin, General. We have not heard from Ambassador Organa or Commander Antilles in over three standard hours. We have, therefore, closed the Yavin to all who would enter and recommend that you come as soon as possible."

Han felt his heart begin beating again. "Understood, sir. We will leave for Carida immediately." He went the end the comm, but the Calamarian protested.

"Be wary, General Solo. The Caridans are highly hostile and will not take kindly to having another Alliance ship in their sector."

"Understood, sir. Thank you." Han clicked off the comm and opened a channel to Mon Mothma and another to Admiral Ackbar. "Leia and Wedge have gone missing," he told them abruptly.

"I have already cleared you the Corellian Corvette Tantive in anticipation of this circumstance. Is your own ship in optimal condition, General?" Ackbar asked.

"I believe so, sir. May I have leave to assist them?"

"You may, General. Check back with us daily- especially if you take Commander Skywalker." Mon Mothma's concern was evident in her face. "Good luck, General. May the Force be with you." The comms cut off, and Han was already opening another.

There was a minute of static, then two. Finally there was a slight jog in the connection and it completed. The calm face of Valena came into view.

"Hello, Han. I presume you want to talk with Luke?"

"Please talk to him for me, Valena. Leia and Wedge have fallen into a trap on Carida, and I am going to help them. If you think Luke is all right to come with me, I sure could use the help." The woman's face clouded with reluctance.

"He is not, really, or at least he would doubt that he is. I believe that Luke would be fine under pressure, but there is no real way to prove which of us is right here on Agra. It's so peaceful, and the only stresses are imagined." She hesitated. "I don't want to endanger you or anyone else, but Luke- well, I hope that he is ready. Having a Jedi along can't hurt the mission, if he is able to overcome his own weaknesses. Are you leaving immediately?"

"Yes. I hope to be on Carida within a standard day, and if I have to go to Agra first it will seriously delay me. Could you send Luke to rendezvous with us there?"

"I will indeed. Good journey." Han closed the holocomm and fled his office.

He and Chewie left Coruscant with the Falcon and the Tantive less than an hour later. Han spent the journey worrying. He still didn't know what to think about Luke. The kid had started out the epitome of innocent, and then learned about the world the hard way. Han didn't blame Luke for cracking a little- or, as it turned out, quite a bit- after everything that had happened to him. But turning to the Dark Side or whatever he had done and whatever that meant, well, that was something else. It still was frightening to think about everything that had happened. First there had been all that noise about attacking Coruscant, then Vader turning out to be Leia's father, and the kid trying to kill them all. It was only Han's second casual experience with Luke-the-Jedi and it didn't make him eager for any more. Valena wasn't irrelevant, not at all, but she wasn't going to come with them. If the Emperor came back to take over Luke on Carida, they'd all be in Imperial interrogation cells before they knew it.

And yet- Luke was the best chance they had. He could find Leia through the Force and make everything a hundred times easier. Carida would hardly put up a 'This Way to the Captive Rebels' sign for them, and the security was probably even tighter than Coruscant's once was. The last passcodes entered in the Imperial system on Coruscant were eleven months old, and certainly had been changed. While the Tantive and the Falcon could probably enter the system as 'diplomatic assistance' and only arouse a small amount of suspicion, there were no slicers willing to take on the system. Therefore, a Jedi was a very useful person to have around, even if he was a possible liability.

Chewbacca took them out of hyperspace in the Carida system. The Tantive appeared a few seconds later, almost perfectly where the nav computer had projected. The Falcon's sensors picked up a small fighter in the vicinity, and Han hailed. "How are ya doing?"

"Han?" Luke's voice was tired, but seemed friendly. "I'm all right, I suppose. Let's get Leia out of there as fast as we can."

"I hear you, kid. The Tantive has space in her hangar for you, go right in."



Wedge woke up on a hard bunk with a pounding headache. He tried to figure out where he was, but he had no idea. If he tried to reach too far into his mind, he felt like he would black out. There was nothing he could remember before lunch, the last meal he thought he'd eaten. He experimentally moved his hands, and discovered a pair of binders. He had apparently been taken hostage. He winced a little as he inadvertently moved his head too far. Damn Imperials. Wasn't enough that he was bound to a bunk, without destroying his cranium too?

Lunch had been uneventful, and after that there had been another meeting with the ambassador. Nothing had been decided, even when the monitors were off. The mission was pointless, really. All the Alliance had gained was further knowledge of Imperial diplomatics. And a splitting headache.

After lunch, he and Leia had left to return to the Yavin. Their stormtrooper escort was right behind- and then the world went black in his memory. Wedge pulled his wrist up as much as he could and craned his neck to look at his wristchron. A full day and several hours had passed since lunch. The cruiser's crew had certainly called up Coruscant quite a while back, and reinforcements should be arriving soon if they hadn't already. Who knew what Solo had done already.

Wedge wondered just how the rescuing was going to go. It was only partially the responsibility of the rescuers to figure out how to do it, and if he could ignore the pain long enough, he could work out a plan to supplement theirs. He took stock of his situation.He was wearing a pair of binders on his wrists, and they were linked to a plasteel ring on the bunk he lay on. He could just barely sit up, and the agony in his head told him just what a good idea that was. His cell was dark, and the door opaque. There was nothing to be done from his side of the door, since he couldn't even stand. Frustration welled up in Wedge and he cursed softly, then lay back to nurse his injuries.

Poor Leia, he thought. Her simple mission could end up getting them both killed. His own duty had been, however unintentionally, shirked. Han would be angry once their was time and they were all safe. All Wedge could do was wait and hope. He hated waiting, but at least he was not being interrogated. There was something to be said for being a political prisoner instead of a prisoner of war.



Leia was in the same helpless position that her escort was. She, too, had a pounding headache. It was severe enough to prevent her from calling out to Luke through the Force. She had faith that they would find her and save her, though, after all, she thought, Luke had gotten her out of the Death Star when he hadn't even known her, and Han had helped him. Now they were her brother and her lover, with much better reasons to save her. Carida wasn't nearly as terrifying as that place had been, and they had an ally here. If only she had been able to tell them about Felar, but Luke ought to be able to speak to his old friend and work it out. She didn't feel the need to worry at all.

So why was she worried? Leia ran through a Jedi relaxation exercise Valena had taught her and sighed. She wished she could speak to Luke, but all she could hear was her own pain. He did frighten her some, still. The memory of the Emperor using his body was far too vivid to be overrode by images from before or after that time. Opaquely, she felt much more comfortable with Anakin now than her own brother. Considering her relationships with both of them over the years, that was very contrary. If it hadn't been for Valena, though, she knew that both of them would be lost. If only she could reach Valena, or Luke. Her mind kept running in the same useless direction. Luke would try to reach her when he got to Carida, though, and Han had insisted on bringing him.

She had nothing to do but let her mind wander. Memories of life in the Senate came to her almost as visions of a past life, the calm formality a huge contrast to the constant run her life had become afterward. The parallels of her current situation to the one she had faced on the Death Star came to mind again. That had been terrible and hopeless, and she had sat in the detention cell certain that she was going to die and positive that she had caused the destruction of an entire planet, only to be saved by a short stormtrooper. He was coming again, was in the system, she knew it but still could not reach out. This time, instead of her father's old friend, he brought a ship of allies.

Her father's old friend. She repeated the phrase, realizing how true it seemed to be. She had never considered Kenobi as anything but an old general who had run off into oblivion after the Clone Wars, but he was both of her fathers' old friend. Leia made a mental note to ask Anakin if he had ever known Bail Organa, once she got back to Coruscant. It would be such a relief to be able to share memories of Alderaan with someone, anyone- even one of the people responsible for its destruction. She knew in her heart that she had not forgiven that crime yet, but perhaps reconstructing memories would help, even if it did mean thinking about one of the most horrific experiences in her life. Not that, overall, the past decade had been a vacation. She had been constantly on the run with the Alliance forces, never knowing exactly when they would have to leave their base behind and run for the stars.

Before she had come to Carida, though, everything had seemed to be calming down again and working itself out. Living with Han was good for her, she thought, then smiled. What would her colleagues in the Senate have thought of her living with a smuggler and confirmed scoundrel? But he was right for her and seemed to think that as well. Leia's royally trained conscience insisted that they marry soon, and she had been ignoring it too long. When he got her out of this damn cell, she resolved, she would propose to him. No matter who else was around.



"Leia's in the capital city, I know that much," Luke told Han. His hands tugged at the old Imperial uniform, tracing the nearly invisible place where the blaster hole had been repaired. Both he and Han were in the clothing of maintenance workers for the expedition they were about to embark upon.

"Do you know where exactly? We don't have time to search a whole city."

"No, I don't. She's unconscious now, and was in pain when she was awake. It's nothing major, I think, but she couldn't reach me through the Force," he reassured his friend after glancing at Han's troubled expression. "I'd know if anything else happened."

"Let's find her as soon as she wakes up, all right?"

"I'll be listening for her. We've got to stop Chewie from following us. Wookiees aren't very common on Carida, and having the only one sounds like a great way to be noticed." Chewbacca complained at that, protesting that he had a lifedebt to Han and could not abandon him on a strange and hostile planet.

"All of us can't be in the first wave, Chewie. What if we get caught? Who's gonna be there to save us from the Imps, if you're stuck too?" Han patted his copilot on the back and was rewarded with a huge rib-crushing hug. "No, I won't let anything happen to me while you're not around. I promise. You just need to keep as low a profile as you can while we're gone. It shouldn't take very long, should it Luke?"

"Well, I doubt that it'll be more than three hours out and back. If it is, we probably won't get back, because I don't think I can handle monitors and humans that long." Chewie chided him for being overly optimistic. "I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, that's all. Wait-" he held up a hand and his eyes went slightly out of focus. "She's awake."

Luke! You came for me. Thank you.

What are brothers for, Leia? Try to stay conscious again until we reach you, because I can feel where you are, but I couldn't before. Han and I are coming as fast as we can.

I'll try. Be careful with yourself, Luke.

Luke looked up at Han with clear eyes. "I think she's underground, and not too far away from here, really. I think I can track her, now that I have touched her mind. Come on." He took Han's hand and began leading him out of the ship, looking into the distance with a distant expression on his face.

"Hey, where are we going?" Han asked, disconcerted.

"To Leia. I'm going to do my best to search for her, but it'll help if you're not trying to talk to me, all right?" Without waiting for an answer, Luke strode off confidently down a corridor in the Caridan interior, only to pause a minute later to look at the floor in confusion. "The monitors cycle on and off," he mused. "This could be very useful." He pointed towards the end of the hallway and a lift appeared there. In it stood a pair of low ranking Imperials. Han caught his breath nervously, but neither paid the slightest attention to the janitorial staff standing in the hallway, simply walking obliviously past them. Luke beckoned to Han when the officers passed him, and he followed his guide into the lift. Luke's hand hovered over the controls for a moment before pressing down the lever for what Han assumed was the appropriate level. "Hopefully I won't have to triangulate much," Luke commented, half to himself.

When the lift stopped, he smiled. "This is the level!" he said triumphantly. "The detention area is- this way." He strode off again without any more warning than that, leaving Han to chase after him and hope that with all the concentrating Luke was having to do, he would not forget about the monitors. Seemingly endless hallway flashed by, wall section upon wall section, and all was empty and sterile. "She's right here," Luke said with certainty, pausing by one monotonous panel that seemed undifferentiated from the rest to Han. He unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it.The hum reverberated, reminding Han just how conspicuous Jedi really were. Deftly, Luke sliced through the wall panel, appearing to aim for a specific spot. A lock mechanism burst under the power of the blade and the wall slid open to reveal a door. "Hidden detention cells. I'm stopping the alarms," Luke told Han tersely, then stepped into the open doorway. The lightsaber crackled upon impact with something, and then Leia stepped into the hall, looking exhausted and grimy.

Totally disregarding the dust on her face and clothes, Han embraced her. "That Commander Antilles is going to get an earful about this one," he whispered in her ear. She smiled up at him.

"I love you, too. Don't be too hard on Wedge. It wasn't really his fault, and we discovered an ally here who might not have come forward without him," she whispered back.

Han looked at her in shock. "An ally? On Carida? What is the universe coming to?"

"Luck and coincidence, or maybe the Force is with us more than we know."

A sharp sizzle from the lightsaber interrupted them. Luke disappeared into a new hole in the wall and walked out again with Wedge a moment later. Then, he closed both doorways. Without the holes, the wall seemed unscathed. Luke had been very careful with his lightsaber. "Let's get out of this place, now," he told the others, his voice sounding strained. He led them to the lift he and Han had taken down to their current level, almost running.

Five Imperial officers were waiting for the lift when it arrived at the level of the spaceport, Luke paled noticeably, but none of the grey suited men seemed to notice that anyone of importance had left the lift. The corridor to the docking bay was much more heavily populated than the other had been, and patrols of stormtroopers passed by at intervals, as well as everyday Imperials. Luke kept urging them faster and faster in between the passing of the Imps, so that as they neared the docking bay they were sprinting and then stopping totally as every person passed. "Hurry," Luke commanded, nearly pushing them out into the open air at the docking bay. The Falcon's door was wide open and they ran in, not heeding the roar of the engines. Chewbacca was just inside and embraced Han, then Leia and finally Luke. The Jedi collapsed in his strong arms.

"Luke!" Leia cried, then closed her eyes a moment and seemed to compose herself. "He's exhausted," she told Han, "but he'll be all right in a while. Chewie, just set him in a bunk." Tenderly, the Wookiee carried Luke's unconscious body to the lounge and set him in a chair, strapping him in in preparation for hyperspace. Wedge, looking anxious, remained with him.

Han glanced at Chewbacca and Leia. "Let's get off this planet, folks, but first I've got to talk to the Yavin and the Tantive," he said nervously. Chewbacca nearly ran to the cockpit, informing Han as they went that everything was ready. Han slid gratefully into his familiar seat. "Unfortunately, we might be monitored still." He took up the comm link and opened a channel. "Yavin, Tantive, General Solo speaking. Consider your diplomatic mission complete."

"Understood, Tantive," the comm officers answered, nearly in chorus. "The end of mission procedures will be completed in two minutes." The comm beeped with an incoming call as soon as Han cut the transmission. Carida was trying to contact them, but they did not acknowledge. The ship shook slightly as they left the planet's atmosphere, and then the stars stretched to lines as Han put them into hyperspace.

He sighed deeply in relief and accepted another embrace from Chewbacca as well as some gentle admonitions. "I know it was dangerous, but we pulled through, didn't we? Space knows what the Caridans will do now, but that didn't really matter anyway." As the Wookiee released him, he looked Leia over. "You have no idea how glad I was to see you all in one piece. They didn't interrogate you or anything, did they?"

"No one touched me except when they abducted me," she answered, rubbing the back of her head ruefully. "And you know, I was pretty glad to see you too."

Their reunion was interrupted by a shout from the lounge. "What are you doing here?" Wedge asked someone. Han and Leia stood and went to investigate. Luke was still out cold, and Wedge was holding a blaster on a man in an Imperial uniform- and the man was holding a thermal detonator.

"Felar!" Leia identified him in a rush. "What in space are you doing?"

The Imperial held the detonator rather distastefully. "They- the Imperials- put this in the cabins of your ship. I had to come in to get it, and it's not easy to sneak by a Wookiee without formal training, trust me. I knew I didn't have a chance of getting off again holding explosives, and I didn't want to stay there, anyhow. But let's get rid of this thing first, before it blows us all into bits." He handed the detonator to Han, who stared first at him, then at it and finally at Leia.

"You know this man?"

"Yes. He's an ally. Now get rid of that bomb, would you?" Han carried it gingerly back to the cockpit and placed in one of the smuggling compartments that could dump directly into space, then emptied the compartment. When he walked back into the lounge, Wedge, Leia and the Imperial were sitting around the table, talking quietly.

Leia smiled and stood when she saw Han waiting in the doorway. "General Han Solo of the Rebel Alliance, please meet Felar Darklighter, formerly Caridan Ambassador, formerly of Tatooine."

Han shook Felar's hand, then laughed. "Leia, you have the oddest capacity for introducing me to people," he said when everyone looked at him oddly. "First it was 'Here is the Rebel Alliance, all around good guys' and then 'My brother, Luke Skywalker' or 'one of the Jedi, you know, the people everyone thought were all gone'. The worst one was certainly 'My father, Anakin Skywalker,' though, but I guess I got over that pretty quickly. And now it's the Caridan Ambassador, an ally. I can accept that, and you, Mr. Darklighter. Goodness knows you're more benign than some of the people she's introduced to me. What's next, Leia, my long lost cousin Boba Fett come back from the dead to haunt me?"

Leia laughed, too. "I don't know, but I'll tell you when I see him whether there is any family resemblance." She winced and placed a hand to her head again. "You wouldn't happen to have a medkit on this bucket of bolts, would you?" He opened a compartment under the lounge table and pulled out a small bottle of painkillers. "Thanks."

"Anytime, Leia."

Wedge took the bottle from her after she had taken one of the tablets inside. "I for one am exhausted," he told his companions. "Mind if I borrow a bunk?"

"Go right ahead. The guest cabin is third door on the right," Han replied. Wedge smiled and stood to go. As he left the lounge, Han called him back. "Oh, and Mr. Antilles? You're forgiven for nearly losing Leia, but you're never going to get the assignment again."

"Fine with me!" Wedge answered and entered the cabin.

Felar looked at Han. "If you don't mind, I'll just stay out here and keep an eye on Luke."

"Go right ahead. I for one am about as tired as the rest of you." Han went to his own cabin. A minute later, there was a knock on his door. "Come in."

Leia entered, yawning. "Being held hostage really takes it out of a girl," she told him sleepily, "and those painkillers aren't helping."

Han pulled off the boots he had worn, then stood and embraced her. "Well, princess, if you don't mind sharing a bunk, I certainly don't."

She grinned and pulled away from him, opening the door. "I was hoping you'd say that. I'll go nap with Wedge--" He grabbed her arm and she stopped, her eyes still teasing him.

"I don't think you will, Leia." He shut the door, engaged the lock and began rummaging through a small compartment of things next to the bed. After a moment, he found what he was looking for. "Close your eyes." She complied and he pressed a small rectangular object into her hand. She looked at it and saw that it was a small box. "Will you marry me, Leia?" he asked her, his voice softer than she could remember ever hearing it.

Her own voice failed for a moment before she was able to answer. "Yes, I will." Han embraced her closely and she returned it full force. "I will," she repeated, overcome with happiness.

"Took us long enough, didn't it?" Han asked, grinning, not trying to break the mood but unable to remain serious in his relief.

"It certainly did," she answered and forestalled any more flip comments with a kiss.