Note: All Star Wars elements belong to George Lucas.

Ameliora

Chapter 16: En Route

by ArchFaith

“…take care, son.”

Anakin Skywalker frowned, tapping the buttons on the complicated dashboard once more. The control system aboard Dengar’s ship was quite different from the regulation, factory-standard systems manufactured by the major ship-building companies; according to the ship’s computer, his transmission had been sent, from the far reaches of a ruined base on Hoth to a small Arfour unit somewhere on Coruscant. Still, the Punishing One’s transmission levels appeared to be low on power; apparently, the bounty hunter did not think it important to replenish the ship’s long-distance communication systems. Well, no matter; even if the message were to become lost, they could always contact Luke once they had arrived safely on Naboo.

“Able to reach your companion?” a gruff voice asked from behind him. With a rough smile, Dengar appeared behind him, his hands on his hips as he patted the back of the captain’s seat. “Apologies if my systems aren’t quite up to par with what you use.”

“It’s alright,” Anakin replied nonchalantly. “Should have worked well enough.”

“Good to hear,” the hunter responded. “Your woman’s already given me the necessary payments. We’ll be going in about fifteen minutes.”

“Understood,” Anakin replied. “I’m glad we can be of mutual service to each other.”

Dengar gave him a short, stiff bow. “The pleasure’s all mine.”

This could be ugly, Anakin thought to himself as moved away from the dashboard, allowing the bounty hunter to sit down at the captain’s chair to test out his controls. Bounty hunters were slippery beings indeed; though a certain code of honor existed amongst them, there was no telling what kind of circumstances dictated a good outcome. Though they placed their faith in Dengar and his vessel, they needed to be on guard at all times; there was no telling when the time would come to fight.

He walked down the length of the short corridor, his worn, dirty boots echoing against the cold steel floor. Stopping in front of a doorway, he quickly punched the controls; the door slid open, revealing a space roughly the size of a large walk-in closet. It was completely bare, save for two cots which had been propped up on opposite sides of the wall; thin blankets had been carelessly thrown on the mattresses. In another corner of the room were the packs of supplies they had hauled from the destroyed shuttle; much smaller than when they had first started, their rations were nearly almost consumed. The only advantage to this fact was that the packs were easier to carry; mobility was a quality they would need to possess.

“Everything alright?” came a voice from the bed. Leia was seated on one of the cots, her boot-clad feet tapping the floor as she sat up; in her hands she clasped the long blaster, her trusted weapon since leaving Endor. To her and Anakin’s surprise, one of Aurra Sing’s Gamorrean guards had deposited their blasters outside the door of their small dormitory a few minutes before they made their way over to Dengar’s ship. It seemed everyone on Echo Base had been talking about this unlikely pair of bounty hunters—the young man with the fearsome temper, and the short woman who seemed to have an unending supply of confidence. Though they had been basically overlooked and dismissed by most of the lowlife denizens on the base, a few had taken a marked interest in them. Some were merely curious; others seemed eager to take advantage.

Still, Sing had managed to keep her word, though Leia surmised that she had only returned their weapons because she felt they were not a threat. Though she and Anakin had been short on funds, Leia had managed to secure a good deal on blaster shells from one of the slave traders before boarding Dengar’s ship; there was no telling when they might be of use.

Next to her, Artoo let out a few questioning beeps.

“Seems like it,” Anakin answered. With a sigh, he sunk down onto the opposite bunk, a tired expression upon his face. “But remember—“

“—be on guard,” Leia finished, a faint smile illuminating her serious face. Her fingers danced up and down the butt of the blaster, quickly snapping the used shells out of place. “I think I can take of myself at this point.”

Anakin leaned forwards, propping his elbows against his knees. “Just checking,” he said, with a half-smile. His momentary grin quickly turned serious, however, as he suddenly thought of the conditions to their transport.

“We haven’t met this ‘colleague’ of his yet,” he said in a low voice. “It’s making me a little uneasy.”

“Then let’s not go looking for him,” Leia replied. “Dengar said he was pretty aloof. I hope it stays that way.”

Anakin shook his head stubbornly. “We’d have a better chance at surviving this if we knew what this other hunter was like.”

Leia sighed in slight exasperation. “Looking for trouble again, I see. Look, if you want to go check this man out, be my—“

Her words were interrupted by the sudden thrusting of the ship’s engines; in a few seconds a low hum had descended upon the entire ship, coupled with the strong sounds of the engines turning below them. “Sounds like we’re finally getting out of here,” Leia observed, her fingers absently clutching the rifle once again.

“With our luck, the ship will explode once we leave base,” Anakin remarked suddenly. Artoo turned his dome, letting out what appeared to be a series of chuckles as Leia gently shook her head, a thin smile set against her lips.

“Let’s just hope Luke’s having better luck than we are,” she mused, propping her head against her hands as she leaned forward, elbows balancing on her knees.

In spite of the situation, Anakin grinned. “That old Skywalker charm will see him through.”

-

The streets and hangars of CoCo City buzzed with workday action; the morning had begun with a renewed sense of duty, further strengthened by the copious amounts of alcohol consumed in bars the night before. From every nook and cranny workers and employees crawled out, some delighting in their newfound success, others cursing their helpless misfortune. Dwarfed by the immense buildings, and seemingly aware of their insignificance to the rest of the galaxy, the commuters scuttled along the dirty streets, most hurrying towards the cargo areas to retrieve new shipments of goods. Others scampered into the various agencies and offices that had managed to squeeze themselves into the cramped city blocks; yet others headed straight for the public air transporters, which zoomed off into the skylanes bound for other regions of the planet.

At this time of morning, not many couples were to be found; after all, morning was a time of commerce and profit, scarcely fit for companionship or entertainment. Yet, through the throngs of citizens two cloak-clad figures walked hand in hand; quickly striding past the large open spaces of Pom Plaza, scarcely daring to stop for even one moment. A red-plated astromech droid rolled swiftly behind them, every now and then slowing down to turn its curious domed head this way and that. Having never been to Coruscant, Arfour’s sensors were currently on overload; from the carts selling spicy ahrisa and nutmeat to the cages of tame Kashyyyk land shrimp on display in front of an ornate pet store, the little droid had never before guessed that such a variety of life could exist through the galaxy.

Sensing that they were missing part of their group, one of the figures quickly turned his head to look over his shoulder. A pair of azure blue eyes, partially obscured by the dark blue synthfabric, darted furtively over to the awestruck droid. “Arfour,” he said firmly. “Come on. We don’t have time for this.”

Letting out a quick series of whistles, the droid quickly resumed its advance, rolling up to its masters with a low, apologetic beep.

Resuming their brisk pace, man, woman, and droid soon found themselves in a relatively quiet side street; aside from a few loitering teenagers, the small path was populated only by a few storage bins and trash receptacles. The man paused, scanning the area before deeming it safe to speak. “He should be arriving soon,” Luke whispered, turning back to his companion. “A few minutes or so should do it.”

A sudden breeze swept through the alleyway, causing the woman’s white cloak to flutter gracefully against her body. She folded her arms over her chest in anticipation, revealing a complete replica of her familiar battle suit beneath the heavy fabric. “The ship’s name is…the Millennium Falcon?” Padmé asked, frowning, the hood rustling gently against her tightly coiled hair.

Luke nodded. “To everyone in the Alliance, that is. When we’re on the move, the ship’s legally registered with the name Jaina’s Light. That’s what will be showing up on the each of the radar systems in CoCo Town.”

Padmé sighed, pulling her cloak tighter around her body as the artificial wind gently ruffled Luke’s hair. “And you trust this man completely?” she asked, looking up at her son. “There’s no chance of him selling us out to…the remnants of the Empire?”

Luke firmly shook his head. “I trust Han with my life,” he said gravely. “We’ve been through too much for him to turn his back on me now.”

“He didn’t seem to take it very well two days ago,” Padmé replied emphatically, recalling the litany of curses and profanity that Luke had received during his long transmission to Endor.

Luke scratched the back of his head, drawing his eyes to the ground. “He was just worried about Leia, that’s all,” he said in a low voice. “And to tell you the truth…so am I.”

As it turned out, Luke had not been the only one with secrets to share; it had taken over two hours for Luke to relate his adventures after his battle with Vader on the second Death Star. Han had already had an inkling of what had become of Vader; he knew Luke too well, and Luke had been unable to completely mask his lie from his comrade’s notice. However, to Luke’s surprise, the confirmation that Vader had indeed become Ani Naberrie was a fact that seemed to give Han more relief than shock.

So, let me get this straight…that pretty boy who fixed my ship is Darth Vader, huh? Figures.

Finding Padmé in carbonite, however—that had been something that Han needed some convincing on. After all, two incredibly coincidental events involving the restoration of long-lost parents did not happen every day. Still, it took only a few minutes of persuasion to make Han see the truth, which he readily accepted after Luke’s continual assurance. But he was still quite angry about being played for a fool, left to baby-sit the Alliance on Endor while all kinds of excitement seemed to grip Luke and Leia.

Luke had been eager to hear any information Han could impart; the comment concerning Leia sneaking about a shuttle had triggered an avalanche of fear within him, and he rushed to know what had happened. Apparently, Leia had hidden herself aboard Anakin’s shuttle; according to the message left with Threepio, she had been deathly serious regarding her suspicions about Anakin. The boys’ plans had been in vain; Leia had been too deft, too skilled at detection to elude their thoughts. So that could only mean she was with Anakin aboard a shuttle that presumably landed—or crashed—on Hoth.

“You told me she could take of herself,” Padmé interjected, noting Luke’s reflective eyes. “Do you think she’s in much danger?”

Luke shook his head in slight frustration. “Maybe,” he said simply. “She tried to communicate with me a few days ago—I felt some of her thoughts. Anakin, too…I guess they were with each other when I blocked their thoughts from entering me.”

“Then you suppose she and Anakin are together?”

“I guess,” Luke answered. Though I hope they aren’t. He well remembered Leia’s acute hatred for Darth Vader and her refusal to acknowledge him as their father—he could only imagine what Leia would do when placed in a situation with Anakin. If she had found out the truth about Ani Naberrie—as well as the fact that Luke had concocted an elaborate scheme to keep his plans hidden from her—then Luke wasn’t sure if Anakin would arrive in one piece. Mastery of a lightsaber was nothing compared to the anger and rage of a princess bereft of her throne.

Padmé sighed, not knowing quite what to make of the situation. Luke had told her of the loss of Alderaan due to the Death Star’s incredible firepower. Though Vader had not directly ordered the destruction of Leia’s home planet, he had done nothing to stop it as Tarkin gave the signal to fire. It was, then, no wonder that Leia should take such a strong stance against Vader—he had indirectly caused the destruction of the planet that was hers to inherit. And her adopted father, Bail…

A few quick beeps from Arfour ended both of their light reveries; with a small screech, the droid shook itself and angled its dome up towards Luke. “No need to tell me,” Luke answered, patting the droid’s head.

At the prompt, a small slip of paper appeared near the slot on the droid’s head. Luke took it up and quickly scanned it. “He’s in Hangar Four East. He says he’s been waiting here for ages,” he read aloud. “We must’ve taken the long way over.”

Padmé nodded absently. “Well, I guess it’s time,” she said slowly.

Luke nodded gravely, but said nothing in return.

The two stood facing each other in a fleeting moment of silence. A sudden feeling of fear raced through Padmé, seizing her mind as though it had been placed in a vice. She was not afraid to go forth into this new galaxy—as a queen and senator, she has grown accustomed to being thrust into different, unexpected situations. From the new rules and codes she had created as queen, to the controversies she had aroused as a senator, she was used to adversity and uphill battles. But this strange, altered galaxy—one in which Palpatine’s Empire had assumed a chokehold on its people, and the only opposing forces were a motley crew of rebels—held a new kind of challenge. It was one that she was willing to face head-on, as she had countless other adversities. Still, she felt her mind racing at the thought of being parted from Luke.

Luke…

Though she had never known her son as a child—and had returned in strange circumstances to find him a fully grown man—a sudden tremor of caution raced through her. Though millions of other mothers in the galaxy had years, decades to nurture affection for her children, Padmé’s instincts had been forced to rise in only a few days. The last time she had seen Luke, he had been a crying infant, wailing softly as Obi-Wan caressed him in his arms. In the span of only a few minutes, it seemed, he had grown into a young man. A Jedi knight. She quickly brought her hand up to gently touch Luke’s face.

“Promise me you’ll be safe, Luke,” she whispered, looking up into her son’s eyes.

Luke smiled, and quickly moved forwards to draw his mother into an embrace. “I’m a decorated commander of the Rebel Alliance…and a Jedi,” he said teasingly. “You don’t need to worry about me.” Though he knew Padmé would be safe traveling with Han aboard the Falcon, he could not help but feel the same uncertainty with which he had had bid Anakin goodbye on Endor. The sense that he was about to be separated from a parent whom he never thought he would ever meet suddenly disquieted him. Though he had felt this emotion for Anakin, it seemed awkwardly magnified when he turned towards his mother.

Perhaps it was the fact that she had been so helpless, so confused when she had emerged from the carbonite thawing procedure; he had protected her and looked after her in her time of need. Though Anakin had also required protection in his vulnerable stage, Padmé had needed more than protection; she required comfort, and to an extent, guidance about the new world that had developed around her while she lay dormant within the carbonite. The countless hours of history, explanation, and stories Luke had related to her had brought them closer than he thought possible in the span of only a few days.

So it had been decided: Han would take Padmé aboard the Falcon, while Luke would journey with Arfour on his trusty X-wing. Yet it seemed almost cruel to part from his mother after forming their bond in such a short time. But Anakin—and Leia—would be awaiting Luke on Naboo. And Padmé’s seemingly impossible arrival would hopefully bridge a gap in their relationship as well. Though somehow, Luke was sure Anakin and Leia did not even have much of a relationship at all.

He slowly pulled away from her, giving her a light kiss on the cheek as he held his hands on her shoulders. “Goodbye, Padmé,” he whispered.

Padmé’s eyes narrowed slightly, suddenly reminding Luke of Leia’s own trembling visage, back on Endor when Luke had told her he was going to face Vader for the last time. Had it really only been about a week or two before? Or years ago? Time seemed to speed up on Coruscant; perhaps he was experiencing the same type of disorientation Padmé had felt upon being recovered from the carbonite.

Padmé blinked, knowing that lingering would only cause suspicion. “Goodbye, Luke,” she whispered, giving him a last, quick embrace before she quickly turned, her footsteps echoing along the walls of the narrow passageway. Luke watched her, his face grave as she continued away from him, gently sidling past the small stream of people passing through the alleyway.

As she reached the end of the sidestreet, she could not help but turn back to glance at him once more. Her liquid brown eyes met his azure gaze, and she suddenly wanted to return to him. All the awkward moments of their relationship—the inversion of their roles as mother and son, her innate confusion at finding herself twenty-three years into the future, and the realization that Anakin had spent the last twenty years as a Sithlord—came flooding back to her, and she gave silent thanks that Luke had been there to see her through the fog of incomprehension. Silently hoping the future would hold more clarity, she turned away and went off down the corner of the alley, disappearing from Luke’s view.

Unconsciously Luke found his fingers drumming against the new lightsaber which had been so recently bestowed upon him. One of Obi-Wan’s lightsabers—in his haste to place Padmé into carbonite as soon as possible, it had probably been the only weapon available for him to give her. As he moved his hands over the hilt of the slightly scratched surface, it suddenly occurred to him that this lightsaber was probably the same one that had bested Anakin on Mustafar; according to Padmé, there had been no other. So it’s come full-circle, he thought, mildly bemused as he continued staring off down the alleyway. Silently wondering if his old mentor knew how things would turn out, he quickly tucked his lightsaber behind his heavy cloak.

Rolling up from its spot behind Luke, Arfour uttered a series of low beeps that, Luke assumed, were supposed to be some form of comfort.

“Thanks,” he said appreciatively, laying a hand on the droid’s domed head. “I’m just hoping she’ll like Han.”

-

She was sure it had been a mistake.

Tucking the white synthfabric hood back from her head, she quickly glanced upwards at the large, flashing signpost with its blocky Aurebesh labels.

Hangar Four East.

It had to be a mistake, she reasoned; but no. It was a relatively slow day for the East CoCo Hanger facility; while the other, larger hangars handled mostly cargo ships and large transporters, the East CoCo Hangar specialized in passenger vehicles and personal spacecraft. There was only one ship parked in the large, bare space of 4E, and it was far from the sleek, polished spacecraft she had been imagining.

It was a dirty-looking, flat vessel with rusted landing legs, sitting squarely in the center of the hangar. A series of large, burnt out holes, no doubt made by a laser cannon or a large blaster, marred its surface. Though it seemed the ship had originally been a dull grey in color, a few odd-colored surface fixtures had been painted red with no seeming pattern or purpose.

Luke did say it was a heap of bolts, Padmé reasoned, her incredulous stare still leveled at the small freighter set before her. Though, she reasoned, it would be far easier to slip past the Imperial remnants if she were to travel in a ship such as this. A larger, more capable-looking ship would surely arouse more suspicion than this barely-functioning mass of junk. As unattractive and beat-up as it was, if it was as fast as Luke claimed it to be, she had no doubt it would be able to transport her to Naboo.

With a resigned sigh, she approached the ship slowly, looking for any sign of movement within the interior. She could clearly see the cockpit from her vantage point on the floor; there was no one within it. Though she did not doubt that Luke placed an incredible amount of trust in this Han Solo, she was also aware that relationships could quickly change. From what she had overheard from Luke and Han’s prior conversation, Han had not exactly been thrilled about the prospect of helping out a former Sithlord—especially one who had subjected him to torture following his refusal to divulge any information concerning Luke. She could only hope that Han would be able to lay these negative sentiments aside; though he harbored no ill feelings towards Padmé herself, he might think of her as guilty by association.

With a sudden clanging noise, the Millenium Falcon’s metallic landing ramp slowly slid down from the underbelly of the ship, coming to rest with a loud thump on the floor. Padmé could not help but chuckle as a few nuts and bolts came loose, landing on the floor of the hangar like a packet of loose change. Gushes of smoke and steam appeared out of the vents lining the ramp; a pair of black boots suddenly became visible, pausing for a second to let the ramp settle onto the floor.

“You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought,” Padmé said half-jokingly, approaching the ramp with just a sliver of caution.

-

Han Solo was not quite sure what to think.

As the steam and smoke cleared, all he could see was a mass of white, a ghostly vision emerging from behind the thick carpet of fog. As he descended, the hazy image seemed to glimmer and ebb; going closer, he could just about make out the figure of a beautiful young woman. She was clad in a tight white jumpsuit, with a heavy cloak strung about her shoulders; in an instant a fleeting image of Leia, clad in her thermal snowsuit on Hoth, suddenly came into his mind. Suddenly reminded of his missing lover, it was all he could do to keep his mind on the task at hand as he stepped down from the ramp and came nearer to the woman on the floor.

Though she did not exactly look like Leia, it was clear that they were somehow related—the same brown hair, the same liquid eyes. Even their stance appeared identical; though she stood casually, the woman had an air of confidence and authority which seemed to be just below the surface of her calm character.

“Captain Solo?” she asked, looking up at him.

A familiar smirk appeared on his lips. “You got it,” he replied. “Nice to meet you, Queen….uh, Senator…”

“Padmé will do,” she responded.

Han nodded, conscious that a sudden awkwardness had descended upon his normally suave personality. Though he was quite used to dealing with all sorts of women—mercenaries, barmaids, and diplomats alike—this was a new sort of situation. He had women of high rank before, but this woman was not only a former queen and senator. She was…

Bringing a hand to scratch the back of his head, his smirk quickly turned to a serious expression. “Sorry ‘bout all this, by the way,” he said, tossing his head to indicate the Falcon’s sorry state. “I did a bang-up job on ‘er right before we left Endor. Luke didn’t give me much time to prepare. But she’s a good ship. She made the Kessel Run in—“

“—twelve parsecs?” Padmé interjected, with a slight smile. She extended a white gloved hand to him, and he automatically took it. “Luke told me all about it.”

“He did?” Han asked, gently helping her up the shaking ramp. As they clambered aboard, Padmé found herself in a dank, dirty hallway which curved around the length of the ship. “She’s small, but fast. What she doesn’t have in looks she makes up for in speed,” he continued, his voice swelling with pride. “We won’t have any trouble getting to Naboo. It’ll be one hell of a reunion for you all, I reckon.”

Padmé nodded, a smile growing on her lips as she thought of being reunited with Anakin once again. And meeting Leia…

“Luke tells me you have—“ she began, only to be interrupted by a sudden metallic noise emanating from a side room. In a moment a protocol droid appeared in the hallway, its once golden sheen now darkened from the days it had spent helping the Alliance in the forests of Endor.

“I am sorry to interrupt, Captain Solo,” he began, moving its arm upward as if signaling towards Han. “But it seems….oh! How rude of me. I did not know we were having guests. Greetings, Madam,” it continued, with a slight bow. “I am See—“

“Threepio?” Padmé whispered, incredulously. She rushed forwards, catching the surprised droid by its shoulders. Luke had told her about the two droids his uncle had purchased from Jawa dealers four years ago; though he had insisted they were the same two droids who had belonged to her and Anakin during the Clone Wars, she swore she would not believe it until she saw it. “It is you!”

“Oh dear!” Threepio ejected, surprised by Padmé’s sudden show of recognition. “I am sorry Madam…but I do not recall you in any of my memory logs. I apologize for my inability to remember…it is quite impolite of me.”

Han leaned back against the wall of the hallway, crossing his arms in bemusement. “Luke mentioned you knew Threepio,” he told Padmé. “I thought you’d get a kick out of seeing him again.”

Padmé nodded, turning back to give Han a smile. “Thank you,” she said softly. She swiftly let go of the still-confused droid, with the grin still on her face. “Well, Threepio, it looks like we have a lot to catch up on.”

“We do?” Threepio echoed, shaking his head. “I hope you have not mistaken me for another droid, madam. Sometimes we protocol droids appear very similar.”

“I think the lady knows what she’s talking about, Goldenrod,” Han said, giving the droid a less-than-playful slap on the shoulder. “Now we don’t exactly have time to stand around and chat, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna rev ‘er up and get us into hyperspace.’

“Of course,” Padmé answered. “The sooner we’re out of here, the better.”

Han quickly turn and set off towards the cockpit as a flustered Threepio took a long look at Padmé. “I am terribly sorry for faulty memory, Madam,” he began. “A thousand apologies.”

“You must have had a memory wipe after Mustafar,” Padmé answered reflectively. “Well…it doesn’t matter any more.”

“May I inquire your name?”

“Padmé…Padmé Amidala.”

“My, that name does seem familiar.” Threpio’s brightly-lit eyes seemed to suddenly glow with faint recognition. “Ah, I remember now. I am not much of a historian, but I do know a thing or two about galactic history. You may find this surprising, but you share your name with a pre-Imperial senator from—“

“Sena…uh, Padmé?” Han’s voice echoed from down the hallway. Turning her face away from Threepio, she saw Han half-emerge from the cockpit, his upper body visible as he leaned out of the rusted door.

“You might want to sit up here with me,” Han continued awkwardly as she came nearer. “The sector turbulence is pretty bad over Coruscant. Might do you some good to strap yourself in ‘til we make the jump.”

Truth be told, he wasn’t quite sure how to act around her. There were really only three types of women he was used to dealing with, and he had devised elaborate scripts for playing their little games. To Mon Mothma and the other women of the Alliance, he was distant and businesslike; to the girls he used to meet at spaceports around the galaxy, he was suave and charming. The third category of women consisted of just one person—Leia. With Leia he had developed a sort of understanding, a balanced mix of playfulness and honestly which had somehow evolved into a deep relationship.

Padmé fit none of those categories; she was Luke and Leia’s mother, and as such, Han suddenly felt as though to look after her at all costs. Still, this was a completely new type of situation to him; though he had countless girlfriends and pseudo-relationships before Leia, he never had to play “meet the parents” before. He had already made a rather bad impression upon Anakin, but making good impressions on former Sithlords had never been his strong point. And though Luke had assured him that Anakin would do nothing to harm Leia…as Darth Vader, he had been eager to inflict torture upon her.

“Wouldn’t want anything happening to you…you being Luke and Leia’s mother…and all…you know,” he finished awkwardly.

Padmé smiled at his invitation, noting the nervous tones in his voice. Perhaps there was more to the scruffy-looking pilot than she had previously thought. “Sure, Han,” she said, stepping away from the momentarily-forgotten Threepio.

Still confused, Threepio watched as Padmé moved to the doorway of the cockpit. “Well, then…I shall go prepare for departure in the main hold,” the droid announced to no one in particular. Quickly noting that no one had heard him, his circuits sputtered out an electronic version of a sigh. “I do hope that Mistress Padmé was not offended,” he said to himself as he shuffled back to his familiar position in front of the holo-chess board.

The cockpit’s doorway itself was partially blocked off by wires blown out of a panel on the ceiling; brushing them away with her arm, Padmé ducked to avoid a fallen transmission box that balanced precariously on a make-shift ledge. The Falcon’s dashboard was in great disarray; everywhere, it seemed, live wires emerged from behind the panels, dangling helplessly among tubes and burnt-out buttons. Though Han, Lando, and Chewie had labored to return the Falcon to her former condition, there were clearly weeks of work ahead. The only space that retained even a slight semblance of organization was the main control panel, where Han was rapidly punching several switches in no seeming pattern. Silently marveling at the poor condition of the vessel—and praying that it would hold together during the flight to Naboo—she strapped herself into the empty co-pilot’s chair as Han started making preparations to depart.

“Didn’t bring my first mate,” he remarked absently as Padmé noted a small wisp of coarse brown hair clinging to the hyperdrive button on the control panel.

“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I’m not such a bad pilot myself.”

-

“Ship in Hangar Four East took off a few minutes ago,” the Togruta hangar attendant drawled, lifting his head-tails up from his half-lounging position against the hangar’s control panel. “If you were looking for someone on there, you just missed ‘em.”

The cloaked figure cocked its head, and slowly folded its arms over its chest. After a half-minute of silence, the human-looking mouth broke into a slow smile.

“It’s alright,” a smooth, calculating voice whispered. “I’ll just have to catch them at a better time.”

-

To be continued.

Coming up: Leia and Anakin are en route to Naboo, albeit through rather shady means of transport. Meanwhile, Han and Padmé soar through the skies on the Falcon’s wings. And last, on his X-wing, comes Luke. Everything seems set up for a perfect reunion…right? Stay tuned for the next chapter!!

End notes: Alright guys, it’s been a year since I last updated! My last chapter was published January 11, 2008…today it’s January 6, 2009. A rather long hiatus, eh? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I had a particular difficulty writing the scenes with Han and Padmé, and they ended up coming out quite awkwardly. I was trying to envision how Han would act towards Padmé in a situation like that. He wouldn’t be stiff and formal as with Mon Mothma, but he wouldn’t be all buddy-buddy like is with Lando and Chewie. So in the end, Han comes out acting…awkwardly, because he doesn’t know how to act! I already stated this in the story, but I hope I was able to write it with at least a little bit of finesse.

So, I’ll say it right now…this story hasn’t been abandoned. But unfortunately, it’s hard to me to finish new chapters…I mean, this one took a whole year! So it might be a while before the next one comes out. Hold tight, though! There are plenty of other amazing SW fanfics out there, so there’s plenty to keep everyone occupied. I know I’ll be reading them!

VFSNAKE: Nope, Luke and Anakin’s plans keep getting thwarted! Poor them.

Valkyrie Nienna Helyanwe: Well, here’s the new chapter! A Skywalker reunion? Maybe…just maybe it will happen. Eventually.

ILDV: Haha I guess I get another welcome back…after a year!

fictionfrek101: Yeah, Luke calling on Han to help him out was a bit predictable. But I needed some way to get Han involved in the main storyline…he couldn’t be stuck on Endor while everyone else is having fun!

Baby Daydreamer Wiley: I’m glad you liked it!

StormieSkywalker: Yay, someone who likes my Luke/Padmé interactions! Yup, this was the chapter of revealing secrets, though not all of them have surfaced yet.

elrina753: Wow, I’m glad I changed your mind about the “Anakin regeneration” storyline. Though the story seems to have deviated from that quite a bit, eh?

Vicster's Jar of Dirt: It HAS been a while, my friend. Hope all’s well with you! And yeah, Han is just one big lovesick puppy hehe.

SOONsoonSOON: Han deserves another medal for all I’ve put him through! Haha. Maybe he and Anakin should go drinking together. Then they can have a contest where Han will quickly beat him!

SkyBlueSw: Haha hangovers are the worst!! I hate having them, and so try to have them as little as possible. But my very first one was…yeah…not fun.

The Chaotic Soul of Demons: Yeah, my interest in SW fluctuated so much between writing Chapter 15 and writing this!!

PadawanMom: Haha I did end up taking as long for the next one!! I hope Han’s reaction to the truth is satisfactory.

Beth Weasley: Haha! And another new chapter finally. I do wish I was more active in writing fanfic, but real life calls. I’m graduating from college this year and getting a job, so….eeek!

DanaeMariSkywalker: Hey there! Actually, the lightsaber Obi-Wab gave to Padmé is his own. I’d like to think Obi-Wan made another one on Tatooine.

dragonflysky: Thank you!!

elven-cat2: Ha! Hopefully I can incorporate a discussion of Anakin’s drunkenness into a future chapter or something.

Hieiko: Well, Luke IS worried! Of course, he just doesn’t know how well Anakin and Leia are getting along with each other.

mlhkvh5: Yes, I love Skywalker family reunions too! Let’s just hope this one happens eventually. But yeah, Han does need some time to forgive Anakin.

ElusiveMaverick: Yes, I wanted to have Leia feel some sort of protectiveness for Anakin, since lately it’s the boys who have been feeling protective lately.

ILDV: Oh man, I LOVE that suggestion! If this story had been a comedy, having Han think Anakin is Luke’s brother would be priceless! Don’t worry though…I don’t think you’re crazy at all. I mean, look at me!

Yashida: Han is pretty worried about Leia, though it didn’t end up coming out in the chapter as much as I would have liked it to!

Sakura Lucy Li: I’m glad you liked it! I love the idea of Luke and Ani together, so I hope I did some justice to the idea.

Alien Roxi: Yay, I was able to write humor well! I find comedy so hard to write, so I’m happy you liked it!

XXX: Wow, a Sithlady? Quite an honor!!

The Epic Tale of Eternality: Although this wasn’t very soon, I’m glad you’re enjoying my fic!!

Nel: I’m glad you liked my story, and hope I haven’t disappointed you!!

indigrl: Hey there! Yup, to break up the “duos” that the Skywalker family finds themselves in (Luke/Padmé, Leia/Anakin) I decided to shake it up and put Padmé with Han instead. And don’t worry…I have a pretty clear vision of where this story is headed. I just thought it might be fun if I tapped into anyone’s head and saw if they had any plotbunnies that needed to be written! But thank you so much for your support.

Karakot: Haha…not very soon, I’m afraid, but it’s here nonetheless!

The Dark Lord Redrall: Now I have broken it up and stuck Padmé with Han instead! This kind of breaks off the Luke/Padmé for a while, so hopefully this new duo is up to par with my old one.

Shaitanah: Yay, thank you! One of my biggest concerns was having the characters be as IC as possible…I’ve seen some great fics ruined when someone suddenly turned into a sap, even when their personality dictates they wouldn’t be.

Allie-grrl4: You got it, sister!

Rose-Aislin: I think Padmé in carbonite would make a great action figure, come to think of it!

Tagere: Here ya go!

kenobigirlliz: Hmm, I never quite thought of it as an Ani redemption fic…but I guess it is, in a way! Among the many other things it is…

jaz-lil-bai: Haha hopefully the rebellion will never find out…Mon Mothma would not be too pleased.

I’d also like to say that, while I have a fully sketched-out idea of where this story is headed, I would love to hear input from you reviewers! So please make any suggestions and comments you want…I’m listening. I want to make this story amazing, so if you have an idea for a certain situation, please tell me! I also love speculation, so feel free to go wild with that! Allayloo ta nuv!