Ten years, two months, and eight days after the Battle of Yavin…
Or forty-five years, two months, and eight days after the Great Resynchronization.
(Eight months and twenty-eight days since the Arrival.)
Cold and pain.
Pain and cold.
Despair, giving way to calm.
Calm, giving way to despair.
A moment of elation.
Disappointment.
Pain.
Desperate attempts to hold on at the edge…
"Leia…"
The young woman's eyes flew open so suddenly that Lando, sitting next to her in the pilot's seat, shifted uncomfortably, casting a suspicious glance her way.
"Luke?" Leia jerked forward, but the restraining straps stopped her, pulling her back into her seat.
"Everything alright?" Calrissian looked concerned. "Your meditation was getting a bit long, you know. Chewie and I were starting to worry."
Leia turned her head and saw the Wookiee standing behind her seat, his head tilted in a silent question.
"I'm fine," she said. "I think."
"Jedi intuition?" the family friend clarified, looking at the hyperspace tunnel.
"I could swear I heard my brother's voice," Leia said.
Chewbacca growled.
"He's in pain," the former princess said after a moment's thought. "Afraid. But it's brief. He's keeping himself together; the Jedi's skills are helping him."
"Helping him with what?" Lando asked quietly.
"Not break," Leia replied just as quietly. "I... I didn't see it, but I felt a pressing, aggressive, evil aura. A presence so vile and repulsive it just makes you shudder... Like... Like..."
Calrissian took a deep breath:
"Like Palpatine?" he asked.
The woman silently nodded.
Lando let out a heavy breath, like a deflating balloon.
"You're not used to crushing my hopes," Lando sighed.
"You're not the only one who believed he was really dead," Leia said with a shiver. "I... Even though Galen Marek and General Kota said they managed to get there and find out what was what, saw Palpatine, I didn't fully believe it. But now... I don't doubt it. He really has returned."
"As I recall, we've been told this before," Calrissian reminded her.
Leia nodded silently.
"Sometimes I think Thrawn wasn't so bad after all," she admitted. "The other Imperials... They're uncompromising, despotic. The Grand Admiral, on the other hand, kept trying to tell us he wasn't like that. That it would be best for all of us to work together..."
"I don't remember his exact words, but it seemed to me he was just asking us not to get in his way," Lando scratched the back of his head. "And demanding we help him build up his armed forces..."
"At least you could have a dialogue with him," Leia remarked. "Palpatine is unlikely to be as talkative."
"That's true too," Calrissian agreed.
He sat in silence for a few seconds, then asked the former princess directly:
"Do you believe Marek, Kota, and Eclipse?"
Leia raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"They were at the foundation of the unified Alliance," she said. "Of course, this Galen wasn't the one who initiated it, but..."
"What bothers me is that they claim to have been in Palpatine's holy of holies — on Byss — and walked out alive," Lando admitted.
"What are you getting at?" the Alliance Minister of Foreign Affairs frowned, her gaze hardening.
"To the fact that something doesn't quite add up," said Lando. "Palpatine knows them all by face, doesn't he?"
"Yes," replied Leia.
"Then how did they manage to get in and come back?" asked Calrissian. "If it's that easy, why hasn't anyone succeeded until now? Why didn't Luke escape from there?"
"I don't think all the other enemies attract Palpatine as much as Luke," Leia said with a strained smile. "Galen, Kota, and Juno infiltrated Byss on the Eclipse, a Super Dreadnought that Tyber Zann once attacked at the Kuat shipyards. They hoped to destroy the ship and everything they found, but by then the vessel was practically combat-incapable. However, they did discover that the fleet in the Deep Core wasn't a myth. Pity we learned it so late. Perhaps if we'd had that information earlier, we might have done something."
"I recall we already tried to verify Thrawn's words," Lando reminded. "It ended with a few scouts sent into known Deep Core systems and…"
"We did what we could," said the minister.
"That's not enough," Lando grimaced. "I don't trust them... It's all too simple."
"I understand how unpleasant this looks from the outside," Leia sighed. "But unfortunately, we can't change the past. We don't have so many friends that we can suspect everyone just because they've been on our enemies' territory. If you recall, we're not without sin ourselves — we were stuck in Thrawn's captivity too long to prevent the Bothans from breaking into the upper levels of power and tearing apart the New Republic."
"You know I don't approve of this split," Lando said. "The New Republic, the Alliance... We gave too much to the cause of restoring the Republic to just walk away and leave the Bothans with everything we achieved over the years."
"Unfortunately, that's what most of our military thought," Leia admitted. "Now we're doing everything to ensure the Alliance doesn't fall victim to the same intrigues as the New Republic. And before it — the Old..."
"I doubt there will ever be a government without secrets from the people," Calrissian snorted.
"Well, you know," Leia smiled, realizing that this "offense" was nothing more than pretense. "It's not just the government that has secrets."
Calrissian looked at her with an interested squint.
"What are you hinting at, Leia?" he asked.
"Iego," said the former princess. "Karrde mentioned during our last meeting that you have some business project there. I don't recall you telling me or Han about it."
"Karrde's tongue has gotten too long," Lando grumbled. "And I'm not obligated to tell just anyone where my interests lie across the galaxy."
"And yet?" Leia arched a thin eyebrow questioningly.
Lando glanced at Chewbacca, but the Wookiee also seemed interested in what new story the one who had "sold them out" to Darth Vader in Cloud City on Bespin a few years ago had gotten into.
"Heard anything about the angels of Iego?" he asked the former princess of Alderaan.
"Just the edge of my ear," Leia didn't elaborate.
"Anyway, there's a little planet in the Ash Worlds sector, not far from here, called Iego," Lando said. "In the Extrictarium Nebula in the Outer Rim Territories, to be precise. The nebula is difficult for astronavigation, so Iego isn't on any public maps, except maybe in data banks on Obroa-Skai or similar places. There's little remarkable for mass colonization — the planet doesn't rotate, and the atmosphere is heated by stellar gases. You can live there, but without much comfort. During the Clone Wars, thousands of spacers got stranded there because of the numerous moons and asteroids surrounding the planet. Though not everyone knows they were essentially poachers hunting Diathim. That's a flying species that lived on forty-two of Iego's over a thousand moons..."
"Lando, if I wanted a long, necessary story about beauties or a description of something, I'd ask C-3PO to give me a lecture," Leia declared. "I just don't understand what you found there that made you decide to go to such a backwater..."
"Ah, but you shouldn't rush the story," Lando grinned. Then the smile fell from his face. "Just don't call C-3PO into the cockpit. Let him keep preparing for the diplomatic reception. Goldrod is impossibly tedious. And he still hasn't forgotten how he was almost shot by Vader's stormtroopers in Cloud City..."
Chewbacca growled an unpleasant remark.
"But you put him back together, didn't you?" Lando pointed out reasonably. "If you ask me, he's better than he was."
The Wookiee had nothing to say.
"You know, I noticed back in Cloud City that you carefully jump from topic to topic when you don't want to talk about your affairs," Leia stated. "Like now, for instance..."
Calrissian sighed heavily.
"Han is lucky with his wife, after all," he admitted. "And how does he live with you seeing right through him?"
"Silently," Leia smiled. "In our family, the rule is no secrets."
Lando threw a questioning glance at Chewbacca, the only one who could confirm or deny the former princess's words.
The Wookiee predictably sided with her.
"When Thrawn tried to recruit me to become the manager of his underwater mining operations, a thought occurred to me: 'Why not do the same thing, but somewhere else?' So I used my old contacts and found out about Iego," Calrissian explained. "But it turned out not everything was as good as it seemed. Notable natural resources there are scarcer than a Jawa's conscience, but there is something remarkable: the concepts of aging and hunger somehow elude its inhabitants."
"No one ages or suffers from hunger there?" Leia asked in surprise.
"At least, that's what they say," Lando shrugged. "Lobot is currently studying what's what there. I had to spend a significant amount to get there and debunk the myth that Iego is just a spacer's fairy tale. The thing is, the name itself is known, but few have managed to get there. And those who did mostly couldn't leave. I managed to hire a couple of Verpins and Givins to calculate a safe course, as they can do. So if I have the means to build a luxury hotel there, the myths about Iego will fill my pockets. I think quite a few sentients will want to come see a planet where no one feels hunger or ages."
"You'd better work on the advertising," Leia advised. "Strange places scare off sentients. And attract bandits. Imagine what a base Iego could become if the only way out through the asteroid field and moons is by knowing the right course?"
"Well," Lando winked conspiratorially. "You see, there's something else that means I don't have to worry about attack."
"And why is that?" asked Leia. "Don't tell me there's a Death Star or some Super Star Destroyer there."
"Better," Calrissian smiled. "A laser defense web. Yes, it's suffered over the years and is incomplete in places — the locals say a couple of Jedi had some fun and took part of it offline. Because of that, many locals managed to leave the planet. But if you invest properly, you won't have to fear any invasion or anything like that..."
"Stop, stop, stop," Leia waved her hands. "What laser web? I don't recall ever encountering any project by that name in the Imperial archives."
"And it's not an Imperial development," Calrissian winked at her conspiratorially. "This project is about thirty years old — it was built by engineers of the Confederacy of Independent Systems."
Chewbacca grumbled discontentedly.
"Yes, it's ancient, but so what?" Lando shrugged. "I know guys who still use CIS technology unchanged. Or should I remind you how Grand Admiral Thrawn used battle droids and Separatist boarding ships?"
"No need," Leia grimaced.
The memories were still too fresh.
And honestly, they felt more like an unhealed wound.
"So what is this technology?" the former princess asked curiously.
"In orbit around Iego, there's an asteroid field and a graveyard of old ship wreckage that were unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This formation is mostly static," Lando explained. "The locals call it the Thicket. The Separatists calculated the orbits of most of the objects and placed a central emitter station there. Upon detecting unauthorized starship movement, the emitter would release a laser beam that reflected off mounts on the asteroids, redirected to other such reflectors — and so on until the entire Thicket turned into a web of laser beams several hundred kilometers deep. I think it's clear that flying through it and surviving is impossible. However," the adventurer paused. "They say that during the Clone Wars, a couple of Jedi did break through — and they damaged a significant portion of the laser web in the process. Now I need investors to restart the project — and that's millions of credits."
Leia looked at Chewbacca.
The Wookiee shook his head almost imperceptibly, indicating that he also didn't believe their friend's candor.
"You know, I think that's excessive security for a resort," the former princess declared.
"Maybe so," Lando said indifferently. "But if Grand Admiral Thrawn brought anything useful into my life, it's the understanding that old technologies are undeservedly forgotten. And also that nowadays any outright madman with a couple of Star Destroyers can fly in and wreck your business."
Leia recalled that exactly this — the invasion and destruction of a mining operation — had happened to Lando's business on Nkllon.
And Grand Admiral Thrawn had done it.
"You're building a refuge," Leia realized.
"Uh-huh," Calrissian grunted. "Maybe the resort idea will work out, but it seems much more useful to have a place in the galaxy that's hard to reach. And with defenses that will simply cut any armed fleet to pieces. Considering that according to your friend Galen's stories, Palpatine has thousands of ships — maybe this place will be exactly what becomes our reliable fortress in hard times."
Leia leaned forward and kissed her friend on the cheek.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have pried all this out of you like that."
"Ah, I'm used to it," Calrissian said sheepishly. "I just thought there's too much unsettled contingent in the galaxy, and a quiet haven would be just the thing."
"That's for sure," Leia agreed. "You know, even though Jacen and Jaina are guarded by the best Wookiee warriors, and Winter as well, I still set off on new journeys with a heavy heart every time."
"We-ell," Lando pretended to think. "A nursery wasn't initially planned for my resort, but I think a few adjustments can be made to the original builder's plan."
"Will you really go through with this?" Leia asked in surprise, looking at her comrade-in-arms with a new perspective.
"Why not?" he shrugged. "But there's a problem — by the time Lobot and I finish there, I suspect the twins will have grown up and become Jedi who can beat up anyone so they won't need protection themselves."
"Investments," Leia nodded understandingly.
"The very same," Calrissian agreed. "It's a significant expense. And I really wouldn't want to bring in big investors. Especially now that you want to hide the children there."
The former princess looked thoughtfully at the hyperspace tunnel that was carrying them through parsecs toward the capital of the Tion Hegemony.
"I think we can invest our family funds there," she said. "It's not much, but better than nothing."
"You know, the Alliance could also help," Lando suggested. "Maybe I'll want to set up a hospital for soldiers or a rehabilitation center for war victims..."
"I'll talk to Mon Mothma," Leia promised. "I'm sure she'll help us finance such a project."
"Maybe," Calrissian replied. "Or maybe not. As far as I understand, her interests lie elsewhere right now."
"What can you do," Leia sighed. "It's the times."
"And apparently, we won't find any different," Calrissian joked grimly, glancing at the instrument panel.
The hyperdrive timer was counting down the last seconds, heralding the journey's end.
"Get ready," Calrissian said to Leia and Chewbacca. "Approaching our destination."
The hyperspace tunnel collapsed into myriad stars, revealing from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon a view of the beautiful planet Tion, glittering in the blackness of space like a diamond set in obsidian.
Leia studied the planet, covered in oceans and green continental plains, which reminded her so vividly of the lost Alderaan that she didn't immediately realize the cockpit had become busy.
Lando was tapping the control panel, activating the deflectors and powering up the weapons.
Chewbacca roared, connecting additional equipment.
"What's happened?" asked Leia.
The Wookiee let out a guttural roar.
The ex-princess vacated the copilot's seat for him, not taking her eyes off Lando's finger pointing at the swift lights approaching the Falcon.
"If that's not a reception committee, then I'll venture a guess that we have a squadron of interceptors on our course," said Calrissian. "Imperial TIE interceptors, may the Maw swallow them!"
The alarm buzzer sounded belatedly in the cockpit.
Chewbacca drowned it out with his roar.
"And they've just locked missiles on us," Lando commented.
And a second later, several more separated from the approaching lights.
And they were approaching with such supernatural speed that there could be no doubt — missiles had been fired at them.
Calrissian threw the Millennium Falcon to the side, evading the line of fire.
"I'll take the top gun," Leia warned, running toward the ship's lounge.
A second later, Chewbacca joined her with the clear intention of manning the bottom turret.
The visit to the Tion Hegemony had begun with anything but a festive dinner and pompous speeches.
* * *
"Man your stations!" the order echoed through the corridors, decorated in the traditional Mon Calamari gentle style, stunning in its roundness and harmonious beauty. "Prepare to exit hyperspace! Activate transponders! Connect all systems! Use the 'secondary identity'."
The orders were given quickly, concisely, with maximum information, and importantly, they were followed.
He could have expected this from anyone, even the warlike locals, but from those who had spent several years just picking their noses and from boredom had forgotten everything they were ever taught at the Military Academy? That was surprising.
The hyperspace tunnel collapsed into sparks of distant stars.
Diluted by the glow of the main engines of ships in orbit around the planet Galidraan.
"Commander, all five cruisers have arrived at the destination point," a subordinate reported. "The 'secondary identity' identifiers have been activated."
"Good," said the operation commander, his voice unwavering and his gaze fixed on the enemy starships' reformation. "Launch our fighters. Distribute targets among the battlecruisers. Fire on the nearest enemy ship."
Ten Kaloth-class battlecruisers were reconfiguring from the standard travel formation to a battle formation, deploying two for each of the invading starships.
While they were occupied with this kind of drilling, the battle had already claimed its first victims.
Interceptor IV-class frigates moved around the sluggish Kaloths, intending to disrupt the attackers' formation with a daring cavalry charge.
It didn't work out very well for them.
Fifteen squadrons of X-wings and the latest K-wings intercepted the defenders' maneuverable forces, leaving not a single ship with any chance of escaping undamaged.
The space between the two battling sides was filled with the fire of turbolasers, laser cannons, missile trails, and flashes of impacts.
With each minute, the battle grew more desperate and bloody.
The Star Cruisers, reforming into a line astern formation, broke through the Kaloths' defensive formation with a furious push, scattering their forces and forcing them into a brawl.
While the Alliance's newest bombers smashed the frigates and the X-wings evaporated the enemy's few fighters, the Mon Calamari-designed ships unleashed their fury on the enemy vessels.
Here and there, the deflectors on the Kaloths were already cracking at the seams.
The hulls of some ships were already blackened in places by turbolaser hits, testifying to the skill of the Mon Calamari gunners.
The MC80a themselves, protected by strong deflectors powered by numerous reactors, still showed no signs of distress in the numerically unequal battle.
A few breaches and scorch marks on the armor of such mighty ships were nothing more than decoration, and did not indicate that the Star Cruisers needed cover or babysitting.
A fiery hell flooded the orbit of Galidraan.
The Star Cruisers, though themselves equipped with not the best turbolasers in the galaxy, used them for their intended purpose.
Each shot found its target with surgical precision.
Each missile or proton torpedo inflicted irreparable harm on the enemy ships.
The battle took no more than thirty-seven minutes, and after its conclusion, having collected escape pods and downed pilots — friend and foe — the Mon Calamari Star Cruisers fled into hyperspace as soon as forces larger than those just crushed appeared in the system.
Unfortunately for one side, the reinforcements managed to record the jump vector of the Star Cruisers leaving the system.
And, just thirty minutes after their arrival, fifteen Kaloth-class battlecruisers set off in pursuit of the retreating forces responsible for destroying the Galidraan fleet group.
The operation commander entered a small compartment for encrypted hyper-speed communication.
He started up all the necessary equipment for such occasions, then patiently waited for the moment when a hologram one quarter of the original's height would appear before him.
"Mission accomplished, sir," the man said calmly, addressing a humanoid in white-and-blue tones. "The ships in the Galidrian system have been attacked and destroyed. As you predicted, they had reserves that arrived a short time later at the battle site."
"Did they manage to calculate your withdrawal vector?" asked the humanoid, thoughtfully stroking his chin.
"Yes, sir, Grand Admiral," nodded Commodore Brandei. "The buzz droids deployed during the battle are already transmitting information to our ships: they are following us closely, heading for Lianna."
"The second part of your operation will begin any minute now," Thrawn reminded him in a tone as if such a thing could be forgotten. "Destroy all those ships — none of the pirates or mercenaries must escape and report what actually happened to them."
"It will be done, sir!"
"How did the clones of former Rogue Squadron pilot Wes Janson perform?" the Grand Admiral inquired.
"The Alliance's new bombers — Janson's clones mastered them quickly and effectively," Brandei reported. "They pilot the new machines slightly worse than X-wings."
"Which is quite logical, given the difference in machine types and manufacturer approaches," the Grand Admiral said thoughtfully. "Good. Continue with your task, then rendezvous with the third Star Cruiser group and return to base. The commander of the third group will report on its successes directly to me."
"Yes, sir."
The hologram of Grand Admiral Thrawn dissolved, leaving Commodore Brandei alone.
Not much time had passed since he took command of all military forces in the Karthakk system.
And in that time, he had already organized the interception of six transports carrying the enemy's latest bombers and distributed them among his Star Cruisers, significantly upgrading and strengthening their air groups.
He had used fake transponders for a Star Cruiser attack on military positions in the Thanium Worlds, forcing those forces' reserves to emerge from cover and rush in pursuit.
Very soon, the five Mon Calamari Star Cruisers would be pulled out of hyperspace by an Interdictor-class Star Destroyer and join the second Star Cruiser group.
After which, the two groups would destroy the pursuers, finally opening the Thanium Worlds to any invasion.
After all, a weakened tasty morsel attracts those who love delicacies.
The mission that Thrawn had assigned to the third Star Cruiser group remained unknown.
But knowing the Grand Admiral, there was no doubt it was an extremely interesting mission.
* * *
If the Falcon were in an atmosphere, such a maneuver could be called a dive.
But in vacuum, it's simply a course change.
The aging freighter, like a provoked bantha, sped away from the missiles fired at it, inexorably approaching the lower geostationary orbit of Tion.
Leia, painfully hitting the back of the chair, climbed into the gunner's seat.
With a habitual, reflex-honed motion, she put on the headphones and gripped the turret controls.
The screen flashed, and a targeting reticle ran across it.
"Lando, how bad is it?" she asked.
"We're up against a full squadron of Imperial interceptors equipped with launchers," Calrissian's voice was far from friendly. "And they're trying to surround us. The missiles..."
Leia saw smoke trails whizzing past the ship.
And then several explosions appeared before her.
."..without homing heads," the former administrator of Cloud City finished.
"I don't have a single ship in range," Leia complained.
Chewbacca confirmed the same information with his roar.
"Because they're staying out of range!" Calrissian explained. "I'm trying to close with them, but… Oh, no…"
"What's there?" Leia asked.
"I've turned off the fake transponder and am transmitting our real call sign," Calrissian explained. "And we're already in range of low-orbit satellites. Our scanners have picked up more ships. I'm broadcasting on all channels that we're nothing more than a diplomatic vessel. They're ignoring us and are unambiguously leading us toward the dark side of the planet."
Using false identification data on long journeys through the turbulent galaxy was one of the precautions Han always employed.
Apparently, Calrissian had the same habits for crossing the galaxy.
"Not so bad if it's just one attack," Leia suggested.
"I doubt that thirty-six Star Destroyers, an Allegiance-class battle cruiser, and fifty Carrack-class ships emerged from the planet's shadow just to show off in front of a lone, old freighter," Calrissian said.
The former princess groaned, gritting her teeth.
Imperial Fleet.
But then, what was there to be surprised about?
The interceptors had to take off from somewhere, after all?
"Do we know their identification data?" she asked, pondering why the Imperials hadn't attacked yet.
"Transponders are off," Calrissian said.
From his voice, it was clear he was thinking the same thing she was.
Several years after the Battle of Endor, when most of the Imperial Navy had been either destroyed in battles with the Rebel Alliance or in the bloody internecine Imperial Civil War, Imperial Space, as the largest "holder" of Star Destroyers, decided to disable transponders on their starships to make it harder for the Republicans to identify and account for Orinda's military fleet.
And they hadn't changed their tactics since.
"Either they have no quarrel with the Millennium Falcon, or I'm not quite sure why they're not shooting at us," Calrissian said, puzzled.
Leia was equally at a loss, not understanding what was happening.
First the missiles, which the interceptor pilots clearly detonated themselves.
Now the destroyers, which see them but aren't shooting.
What kind of Imperials behave like this?
Leia felt her mouth go dry.
She had a suspicion about which of the enthusiasts who exclusively used Imperial ships might not want the Millennium Falcon's crew dead.
But if she was right, then she had nothing else to do here.
The Dominion wouldn't miss its chance.
But she shouldn't despair either!
She couldn't just give in just because she saw ships of Imperial design.
"We're being hailed," Lando announced. "Switching to speaker."
There was a click in the earpiece, and Leia heard a deep bass voice:
"Alliance diplomatic vessel Millennium Falcon. We welcome you to the Tion Hegemony. Transmitting landing coordinates. You need not fear our fleet — you will not be harmed…"
"Thanks for that," Lando said sarcastically. "And your missiles, that…?"
"The duty squadron will escort you to the residence of House Tion," there was another click in the earpiece.
The Tions cut the contact.
"Leia," Calrissian called cautiously. "Please come back to the cockpit. The ship identifiers here turned out to be working."
"Coming," the former Alderaanian princess replied. "Whose are they? Dominion?"
Calrissian snorted.
"I don't know if that's good or bad, but no. Pellaeon has nothing to do with them."
"Then whose?" Leia froze.
"If no one faked their identifiers, then all the destroyers and cruisers are local," Calrissian said slowly. "Leia, this fleet belongs to the Tion Hegemony."
Just gets better and better!
Had the Hegemony really captured the sector fleet of the Empire stationed here, and no one had known about it all these years?!
Her mouth turned sour.
The New Republic had never suspected in the past how much it didn't know about its closest neighbors.
* * *
When Leia reached the cockpit, the Millennium Falcon was already deep in the atmosphere and gliding over a surprisingly even cloud surface, occasionally smoothly rounding the tops of monumental rocks jutting out of the cloud cover like fog.
The Tion interceptors, formed into two escort lines, followed from below left and right, masterfully avoiding mountain peaks and performing aerobatic maneuvers dangerously close to both each other and the terrain folds.
"Wow! And this is the 'duty squadron'?" she asked Lando indignantly, sliding into the seat next to him.
Calrissian, entirely focused on piloting, shook his head negatively.
Then he thought and deigned to comment:
"They're some show-offs sent into orbit to meet us. And also — to give us a good scare."
"For that purpose, they just needed to roll out a Star Destroyer or half their fleet, like they did at the end of the 'diplomatic reception'," Leia nodded. "Firework missiles… Who in their right mind would do something like that? It wouldn't take long to declare war!"
Chewie, who had entered the cockpit, glanced at her, and although the princess had difficulty reading Wookiee expressions, the astonishment and irritation on her neighbor's face were unmistakable.
"The main thing is we're alive," she smiled at him. "And on the surface, we'll surely figure out what's going on here and why we received such a decidedly 'warm welcome'."
Chewie looked at the princess for another couple of seconds, then snorted and turned to the console.
A compact group of very high mountains appeared ahead to starboard; one could make out the dark lacework of buildings clearly crafted by skilled builders.
"Well, well, well," Lando said. "Looks like this is the place we're being taken for the meeting."
"Then it's time to land," Leia suggested, still nervously twisting her fingers.
The "warm welcome" nearly ended in the entire mission's destruction.
But now it seemed all misunderstandings were cleared up, and they didn't have to worry about themselves.
Chewbacca growled softly, pointing ahead.
His furry paw indicated that the complex they saw was far larger than it had first appeared.
And a little above it was a circular platform lit by ground lights.
Calrissian directed the Falcon toward the visible landing pad, then circled the platform several times before beginning his descent.
At first, the princess thought the allotted pad was too small and the Falcon's landing struts wouldn't hold the ship, but as soon as they approached the surface, its circumference increased manyfold.
Looking more closely, the young woman realized that more than two-thirds of the outer part of the circular platform was painted to blend in with the terrain — the rocks and snow on them.
It became clear that the local spaceport could comfortably accommodate not only a small freighter but also a passenger liner or, for that matter, an Imperial assault cruiser.
Like one of those they had seen in orbit.
But she didn't want to think about that now.
The ex-princess assumed the Tions would organize some kind of ceremonial welcome, and indeed: they did organize one.
Two tall, sturdy soldiers in armor polished to a blinding shine stood majestically at attention beside the Millennium Falcon while Chewbacca lowered the ramp.
It was impossible to tell the two apart because their garments, armor, and even cloaks were completely identical.
And their faces were hidden by closed helmets.
Upon reaching the ramp, Leia saw a tall, thin man standing between two guards, smiling at her politely.
She frowned, realizing she could breathe without any trouble, without needing a mask or anything similar.
The air here should have been so thin that she should have felt ill.
But nevertheless, everything was within normal limits.
She didn't even feel any discomfort.
"An atmospheric dome," the greeter explained with a smile. "The residence is surrounded by one."
"Really?" Lando was surprised. "I didn't even notice."
"It's custom-made equipment," the man explained. "The operating frequency of the screens is such that they're practically invisible to the eye."
He looked about forty to forty-five years old.
An aristocratic face, slightly high cheekbones, short hair.
The crest of House Tion was visible on his clothing, meaning he was someone quite significant in that family of beings.
But despite his friendliness, there seemed to be frozen ice crystals in his eyes, and a barely perceptible aura of cold disappointment and irritation lashed like a whip.
Leia walked toward him, hastily summoning all she could remember of Jedi teachings, and praying that no one would notice how afraid she was.
It was hard for her to understand the Tions' behavior at the meeting, and now they were completely at their mercy.
"Princess," the greeter bowed to her as soon as she stepped onto the landing pad. "Pleased to see you. I am Lux Bonteri, adopted son of House Tion. It is a great honor to meet you."
"Likewise, Mr. Bonteri," Leia smiled good-naturedly. "But please. I am the Minister of Foreign Affairs, not a princess. The planet that gave me the title has been destroyed."
"Yes, we know that," Bonteri looked at her as if at an empty space. "I will escort you, Princess."
It became terribly awkward.
So much so that Leia felt a desire inside to turn around and run away.
She was clearly not welcome here.
And now she clearly understood that the Tions were ostentatiously escalating the situation to show their power and the helplessness of the Alliance's envoys.
Such tactics were meant to undermine the diplomats' position, particularly Leia's, and lead to more favorable conditions and results for the Tions themselves in the negotiation process.
Dirty game.
"Yes, of course," Leia murmured again, lowering her hand and feeling like a complete idiot.
Doubt crept in whether the Tions really intended to come to any agreement at all.
It was starting to look like an ultimatum.
Based on what she had seen in orbit, the Tions were doing quite well with their armed forces.
And of Imperial pattern.
Several dozen Star Destroyers — Imperial-class, Victory-class, a couple of others, rare ones like the Tector and Secutor.
The flagship was undoubtedly an Allegiance-class battle cruiser.
How they managed to assemble such an armed force was not entirely clear. But fact is fact — the Hegemony is strong, it clearly demonstrates this and is not ashamed of its strength.
Leia had no doubt that her mission to reduce the Hegemony's "appetites" was doomed to failure from the start.
In theory, she could pack up right now and calmly head to Dac, admitting her powerlessness.
But she forced herself to push away the apathy.
No one was forcing her to sign any documents here and now, or enter into alliances, make promises, or swear eternal friendship.
She would at least listen to what House Tion wanted to offer her, or, to put it correctly, what facts they intended to present her with and what they wanted in return.
But one thing was certain — the Tions were wealthy enough to maintain a pro-Imperial fleet.
Undoubtedly they had brought out the best of the best for show, and there were less combat-capable ones, but fact remains fact.
The Hegemony is ready for war.
Together with Bonteri, she headed toward the main building.
If possible, she needed to refresh her knowledge of the Hegemony somehow to understand what she was dealing with.
If the envoy allowed himself such treatment of a diplomat, then the leadership of the House itself would treat her even worse.
"We experienced an unplanned demonstration of your ships in orbit," she said in a neutral tone.
"Demonstration?" Bonteri was surprised. "No, of course, you are mistaken."
"I don't think so," Leia said emphatically. "We were nearly shot down. And then they chased us all over orbit like wild ku-pa."
"I would express it differently, but since you like fighting ku-pa, so be it," the envoy replied with a chuckle. "I have nothing against our guests' position. And no, you are mistaken. No one was meeting you — the duty squadron was hunting smugglers. Your freighter was mistaken for one because no one even thought you would use that type of ship for travel. We expected to see a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. They say you have new models equal in power to Imperial-class Star Destroyers."
Leia tried to keep her expression impassive.
"A diplomatic mission on a warship is not the best start to mutually beneficial negotiations."
"Yes, that position has merit," Bonteri smiled restrainedly.
"You weren't born a Tion, were you?" she decided to try her luck from a different angle.
"No," he agreed. "I was born into the Bonteri family. I entered House Tion after their last male representative, Lord Tion, fell victim to a hunting accident. I think you know what I'm talking about — you were there, weren't you, Princess?"
Leia felt her fists clench.
She was being deliberately provoked.
Hence these ridiculous nitpicks.
"I sincerely mourn the loss to House Tion," she said. "But, if I recall, the head of the house and several of his sons were still alive some time ago…"
"They died a year after the Battle of Yavin," Bonteri stated. "A most grievous loss from which we can hardly recover."
Leia felt everything go cold inside.
House Tion was an exclusively patriarchal family, with traditions and foundations formed millennia ago.
That there were no men left among them overnight was a very alarming sign.
As was the fact that she was beginning to vaguely guess who she would have to negotiate with.
"So, from House Tion, you will represent the interests of the Tion Hegemony?" she asked.
"You think correctly, Princess," the man said. "Since the Alliance decided to establish itself in our region, we would have needed to meet sooner or later. To my mind — better sooner than later."
"I agree with you," Leia said evasively as they approached massive metal doors inlaid with patterns of precious metal. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to tell me what exactly you would like to discuss. I would like to know the subject of discussion in advance."
"Oh, don't pretend," Bonteri smiled coldly. "You know everything already. It's been obvious for decades. The territories of the Tion Hegemony," with these words the doors swung open and Leia was hit by streams of warm air as they crossed the threshold, "must be restored to their historical borders."
"You have a rather strong fleet," Leia remarked. "Of course, I only saw a small part of it, but I assume you could solve this problem without our involvement."
"And we are solving it," the aristocrat declared. "Part of the problem we will solve ourselves, part — you will, if you want our support."
She remembered the saying about chasing two speeders.
Or would the proverb about wanting to drink from two rivers at once be more fitting?
"The Hegemony's support would be most welcome," Leia agreed. "But we would not want to solve problems, especially long-standing territorial disputes, by force of arms."
"No one is asking that," Bonteri shrugged. "The method does not interest us. But the result — very much so."
"In that case, we need to move on to details, don't you think?" she suggested.
"No," the man stopped in the middle of a vast hall surrounded by five-meter columns carved directly from the rock. "Negotiations should, of course, be held as soon as possible, but we are aristocrats and know the protocols for such events. You will be escorted to your quarters," he indicated a secretary droid that had hobbled over at his request. "Make yourself comfortable, rest after your journey. Your companions," Leia blushed, only now remembering that Chewbacca and Lando had stayed by the Falcon, "will be escorted to the residence a little later."
Something in his tone Leia did not like.
She carefully searched her memory, pulling out appropriate procedures for such meetings…
And found one.
Pale-faced, the former Alderaanian princess met the cold eyes of the head of House Tion:
"Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca are not my servants, and certainly not slaves," she said firmly. "They are my friends and battle comrades!"
"As you wish," Bonteri shrugged. "You will be notified when the negotiation process begins. Excuse me, affairs of state cannot wait."
He added the last as one of the guards approached him, looking exactly like the two who had met her on the residence landing pad.
Despite Bonteri moving away from her, Leia sensed through the Force that he was radiating anger and surprise.
For a moment, the departing aristocrat turned and looked at the Alliance minister.
Leia felt as if she had been drenched in cold water.
Bonteri turned away sharply and disappeared among the columns into one of the residence's corridors.
"Unwelcoming place," Lando commented half an hour later, when he came into her luxurious, truly aristocratic apartments occupying the space of a pair of Corellian corvettes. "But they know how to live large."
"Ostentatious polish," Leia muttered, unable to calm down. "Lando, something is going on here."
"I understood that as soon as they shot missiles at us," Calrissian said. "And yes, those weren't fireworks — the pilots destroyed them before they could put more holes in the Falcon and us. Chewie, by the way, stayed on the ship — he is extremely negative about those thugs with disintegrators on duty on the pad."
"Weapons banned in the galaxy?" Leia asked, stunned, not even trying to hide her astonishment.
"There's chaos in the galaxy," Lando reminded her. "Who is bold and strong enough to enforce bans that were already ignored back in the Old Republic?"
Leia had no answer.