For it wasn't always so. Back in the days when he was merely Senator Palpatine, the galaxy had been a Republic of stars, cared for and protected by the Jedi Knighthood that had watched over it for centuries. But inevitably it had grown too large - too ma.s.sive a bureaucracy had been required, over too many years, in order to maintain the Republic. Corruption had set in.

A few greedy senators had started the chain reaction of malaise, some said; but who could know? A few perverted bureaucrats, arrogant, self-serving - and suddenly a fever was in the stars. Governor turned on governor, values eroded, trusts were broken -fear had spread like an epidemic in those early years, rapidly and without visible cause, and no one knew what was happening, or why.

And so Senator Palpatine had seized the moment. Through fraud, clever promises, and astute political maneuvering, he'd managed to get himself elected head of the Council. And then through subterfuge, bribery and terror, he'd named himself Emperor.

Emperor. It had a certain ring to it. The Republic had crumbled, the Empire was resplendent with its own fires, and would always be so - for the Emperor knew what others refused to believe: the dark forces were the strongest.

He'd known this all along, in his heart of hearts - but relearned it every day: from traitorous lieutenants who betrayed their superiors for favors; from weak-principled functionaries who gave him the secrets of local star systems' governments; from greedy landlords, and s.a.d.i.s.tic gangsters, and power-hungry politicians. No one was immune, they all craved the dark energy at their core. The Emperor had simply recognized this truth, and utilized it - for his own aggrandizement, of course.

For his soul was the black center of the Empire.

He contemplated the dense impenetrability of the deep s.p.a.ce beyond the window. Densely black as his soul - as if he were, in some real way, this blackness; as if his inner spirit was itself this void over which he reigned. He smiled at the thought: he was the Empire; he was the Universe.

Behind him, he sensed Vader still waiting in genuflection. How long had the Dark Lord been there? Five minutes? Ten? The Emperor was uncertain. No matter. The Emperor had not quite finished his meditation.

Lord Vader did not mind waiting, though, nor was he even aware of it. For it was an honor, and a n.o.ble activity, to kneel at his ruler's feet. He kept his eyes inward, seeking reflection in his own bottomless core. His power was great, now, greater than it had ever been. It shimmered from within, and resonated with the waves of darkness that flowed from the Emperor. He felt engorged with this power; it surged like black fire, demon electrons looking for ground ... but he would wait. For his Emperor was not ready; and his son was not ready, and the time was not yet. So he waited.

Finally the chair slowly rotated until the Emperor faced Vader.

Vader spoke first. 'What is thy bidding, my master?' 'Send the fleet to the far side of Endor. There it will stay until called for.'

'And what of the reports of the Rebel fleet ma.s.sing near Sull.u.s.t?'

'It is of no concern. Soon the Rebellion will be crushed and young Skywalker will be one of us. Your work here is finished, my friend. Go out to the command ship and await my orders.'

'Yes, my master.' He hoped he would be given command over the destruction of the Rebel Alliance. He hoped it would be soon.

He rose and exited, as the Emperor turned back to the galactic panorama beyond the window, to view his domain.

In a remote and midnight vacuum beyond the edge of the galaxy, the vast Rebel fleet stretched, from its vanguard to its rear echelon, past the range of human vision. Corellian battle ships, cruisers, destroyers, carriers, bombers, Sull.u.s.tian cargo freighters,' Calamarian tankers, Alderaanian gunships, Kesselian blockade runners, Bestinian sky-hoppers, X-wing, Y-wing, and A-wing fighters, shuttles, transport vehicles, manowars. Every Rebel in the galaxy, soldier and civilian alike, waited tensely in these ships for instructions. They were led by the largest of the Rebel Star Cruisers, the Headquarters Frigate.

Hundreds of Rebel commanders, of all species and lifeforms, a.s.sembled in the war room of the giant Star Cruiser, awaiting orders from the High Command. Rumors were everywhere, and an air of excitement spread from squadron to squadron.

At the center of the briefing room was a large, circular light-table, projected above which a holographic image of the unfinished Imperial Death Star hovered beside the Moon of Endor, whose scintillating protective deflector shield encompa.s.sed them both.

Mon Mothma entered the room. A stately, beautiful woman of middle age, she seemed to walk above the murmurs of the crowd. She wore white robes with gold braiding, and her severity was not without cause - for she was the elected leader of the Rebel Alliance.

Like Leia's adopted father - like Palpatine the Emperor himself-Mon Mothma had been a senior senator of the Republic, a member of the High Council. When the Republic had begun to crumble, Mon Mothma had remained a senator until the end, organizing dissent, stabilizing the increasingly ineffectual government.

She had organized cells, too, toward the end. Pockets of resistance, each of which was unaware of the ident.i.ty of the others -each of which was responsible for inciting revolt against the Empire when it finally made itself manifest.

There had been other leaders, but many were killed when the Empire's first Death Star annihilated the planet Alderaan. Leia's adopted father died in that calamity.

Mon Mothma went underground. She joined her political cells with the thousands of guerrillas and insurgents the Empire's cruel dictatorship had sp.a.w.ned. Thousands more joined this Rebel Alliance. Mon Mothma became the acknowledged leader of all the galaxy's creatures who had been left homeless by the Emperor. Homeless, but not without hope.

She traversed the room, now, to the holographic display where she conferred with her two chief advisors, General Madine and Admiral Ackbar. Madine was Corellian - tough, resourceful, if a bit of a martinet. Ackbar was pure Calamarian - a gentle, salmon-colored creature, with huge, sad eyes set in a high-domed head, and webbed hands that made him more at home in water or free s.p.a.ce than on board a ship. But if the humans were the arm of the Rebellion, the Calamarians were the soul - which isn't to say they couldn't fight with the best, when pushed to the limit. And the evil Empire had reached that limit.

Lando Calrissian made his way through the crowd, now, scanning faces. He saw Wedge, who was to be his wing pilot - they nodded at each other, gave the thumbs-up sign; but then Lando moved on. Wedge wasn't the one he was looking for. He made it to a clearing near the center, peered around, finally saw his friends standing by a side door. He smiled and wandered over.

Han, Chewie, Leia, and the two droids greeted Lando's appearance with a cacophony of cheers, laughs, beeps, and barks.

'Well, look at you,' Solo chided, straightening the lapel of Calrissian's new uniform and pulling on the insignias: 'A general!'

Lando laughed affectionately. 'I'm a man of many faces and many costumes. Someone must have told them about my little maneuver at the battle of Taanab.' Taanab was an agrarian planet raided seasonally by bandits from Norulac. Calrissian - before his stint as governor of Cloud City - had wiped out the bandits against all odds, using legendary flying and unheard of strategies. And he'd done it on a bet.

Han opened his eyes wide with sarcasm. 'Hey, don't look at me. I just told them you were a "fair" pilot. I had no idea they were looking for someone to lead this crazy attack.'

'That's all right, I asked for it. I want to lead this attack.' For one thing, he liked dressing up like a general. People gave him the respect he deserved, and he didn't have to give up flying circles around some pompous Imperial military policeman. And that was the other thing - he was finally going to stick it to this Imperial navy, stick it so it hurt, for all the times he'd been stuck. Stick it and leave his signature on it. General Calrissian, thank you.

Solo looked at his old friend, admiration combined with disbelief. 'Have you ever seen one of those Death Stars? You're in for a very short generalship, old buddy.'

'I'm surprised they didn't ask you to do it,' Lando smiled.

'Maybe they did,' Han intimated. 'But I'm not crazy. You're the respectable one, remember? Baron-Administrator of the Bespin Cloud City?'

Leia moved closer to Solo and took his arm protectively. 'Han is going to stay on the command ship with me ... we're both very grateful for what you're doing, Lando. And proud.'

Suddenly, at the center of the room, Mon Mothma signaled for attention. The room fell silent. Antic.i.p.ation was keen.

The data brought to us by the Bothan spies have been con firmed,' the supreme leader announced. The Emperor has made a critical error, and the time for our attack has come.'

This caused a great stir in the room. As if her message had been a valve letting off pressure, the air hissed with comment. She turned to the hologram of the Death Star, and went on. 'We now have the exact location of the Emperor's new battle station. The weapon systems on this Death Star are not yet operational. With the Imperial fleet spread throughout the galaxy in a vain effort to engage us, it is relatively unprotected.' She paused here, to let her next statement register its full effect. 'Most important, we have learned the Emperor himself is personally overseeing the construction.'

A volley of spirited chatter erupted from the a.s.sembly. This was it. The chance. The hope no one could hope to hope for. A shot at the Emperor.

Mon Mothma continued when the hubbub died down slightly. 'His trip was undertaken in the utmost secrecy, but he under estimated our spy network. Many Bothans died to bring us this information.' Her voice turned suddenly stern again to remind them of the price of this enterprise.

Admiral Ackbar stepped forward. His specialty was Imperial defense procedures. He raised his fin and pointed at the holographic model of the force field emanating from Endor. 'Although uncompleted, the Death Star is not entirely without a defense mechanism,' he instructed in soothing Calamarian tones. 'It is protected by an energy shield which is generated by the nearby Moon of Endor, here. No ship can fly through it, no weapon can penetrate it.' He stopped for a long moment. He wanted the information to sink in. When he thought it had, he spoke more slowly. The shield must be deactivated if any attack is to be attempted. Once the shield is down, the cruisers will create a perimeter while the fighters fly into the superstructure, here ... and attempt to hit the main reactor ..." he pointed to the unfinished portion of the Death Star '... somewhere in here.'

Another murmur swept over the room of commanders, like a swell in a heavy sea.

Ackbar concluded. 'General Calrissian will lead the fighter attack.'

Han turned to Lando, his doubts gilded with respect. 'Good luck, buddy.'

Thanks,' said Lando simply.

'You're gonna need it.'

Admiral Ackbar yielded the floor to General Madine, who was in charge of covert operations. 'We have acquired a small Imperial shuttle,' Madine declared smugly. 'Under this guise, a strike team will land on the moon and deactivate the shield generator. The control bunker is well guarded, but a small squad should be able to penetrate its security.'

This news stimulated another round of general mumbling.

Leia turned to Han and said under her breath, 'I wonder who they found to pull that one off?'

Madine called out: 'General Solo, is your strike team a.s.sembled?'

Leia looked up at Han, shock quickly melting to joyous admiration. She knew there was a reason she loved him - in spite of his usual cra.s.s insensitivity and oafish bravado. Beneath it all, he had heart.

Moreover, a change had come over him since he emerged from carbonization. He wasn't just a loner anymore, only in this for the money. He had lost his selfish edge and had somehow, subtly, become part of the whole. He was actually doing something for someone else, now, and that fact moved Leia greatly. Madine had called him General; that meant Han had let himself officially become a member of the army. A part of the whole.

Solo responded to Madine. 'My squad is ready, sir, but I need a command crew for the shuttle.' He looked questioningly at Chewbacca, and spoke in a lower voice. 'It's gonna be rough, old pal. I didn't want to speak for you.'

'Roo roowfl,' Chewie shook his head with gruff love, and raised his hairy paw.

That's one,' Han called.

'Here's two!' Leia shouted, sticking her arm in the air. Then softly, to Solo: 'I'm not letting you out of my sight again, Your Generalship.'

'And I'm with you, too!' a voice was raised from the back of the room.

They all turned their heads to see Luke standing at the top of the stairs.

Cheers went up for the last of the Jedi.

And though it wasn't his style, Han was unable to conceal his joy. 'That's three,' he smiled.

Leia ran up to Luke and hugged him warmly. She felt a special closeness to him all of a sudden, which she attributed to the gravity of the moment, the import of their mission. But then she sensed a change in him, too, a difference of substance that seemed to radiate from his very core - something that she alone could see.

'What is it, Luke?' she whispered. She suddenly wanted to hold him; she could not have said why.

'Nothing. I'll tell you someday,' he murmured quietly. It was distinctly not nothing, though.

'All right,' she answered, not pushing. 'I'll wait.' She wondered. Maybe he was just dressed differently - that was probably it. Suited up all in black now - it made him look older. Older, that was it.

Han, Chewie, Lando, Wedge, and several others crowded around Luke all at once, with greetings and diverse sorts of hubbub. The a.s.sembly as a whole broke up into multiple such small groups. It was a time for last farewells and good graces.

Artoo beeped a singsong little observation to a somewhat less sanguine Threepio.

'I don't think "exciting" is the right word,' the golden droid answered. Being a translator in his master program, of course, Threepio was most concerned with locating the right word to describe the present situation.

The Millennium Falcon rested in the main docking bay of the Rebel Star Cruiser, getting loaded and serviced. Just beyond it sat the stolen Imperial shuttle, looking anomalous in the midst of all the Rebel X-wing fighters.

Chewie supervised the final transfer of weapons and supplies to the shuttle and oversaw the placement of the strike team. Han stood with Lando between the two ships, saying good-bye - for all they knew, forever.

'I mean it, take her!' Solo insisted, indicating the Falcon. 'She'll bring you luck. You know she's the fastest ship in the whole fleet, now.' Han had really souped her up after winning her from Lando. She'd always been fast, but now she was much faster. And the modifications Solo added had really made the Falcon a part of him - he'd put his love and sweat into it. His spirit. So giving her to Lando now was truly Solo's final transformation - as selfless a gift as he'd ever given.

And Lando understood. 'Thanks, old buddy. I'll take good care of her. You know I always flew her better than you did, anyway. She won't get a scratch on her, with me at the stick.'

Solo looked warmly at the endearing rogue. 'I've got your word - not a scratch.'

'Take off, you pirate - next thing you'll have me putting down a security deposit.'

'See you soon, pal.'

They parted without their true feelings expressed aloud, as was the way between men of deeds in those times; each walked up the ramp into a different ship.

Han entered the c.o.c.kpit of the Imperial shuttle as Luke was doing some fine tuning on a rear navigator panel. Chewbacca, in the copilot's seat, was trying to figure out the Imperial controls. Han took the pilot's chair, and Chewie growled grumpily about the design.

'Yeah, yeah,' Solo answered, 'I don't think the Empire designed it with a Wookiee in mind.'

Leia walked in from the hold, taking her seat near Luke. 'We're all set back there.'

'Rrrwfr,' said Chewie, hitting the first sequence of switches. He looked over at Solo, but Han was motionless, staring out the window at something. Chewie and Leia both followed his gaze to the object of his unyielding attention - the Millennium Falcon.

Leia gently nudged the pilot. 'Hey, you awake up there?'

'I just got a funny feeling,' Han mused. 'Like I'm not going to see her again.' He thought of the times she'd saved him with her speed, of the times he'd saved her with his cunning, or his touch. He thought of the universe they'd seen together, of the shelter she'd given him; of the way he knew her, inside and out. Of the times they'd slept in each other's embrace, floating still as a quiet dream in the black silence of deep s.p.a.ce.

Chewbacca, hearing this, took his own longing look at the Falcon. Leia put her hand on Solo's shoulder, She knew he had special love for his ship and was reluctant to interrupt this last communion. But time was dear, and becoming dearer. 'Come on, Captain,' she whispered. 'Let's move.'

Han snapped back to the moment. 'Right. Okay, Chewie, let's find out what this baby can do.'

They fired up the engines in the stolen shuttle, eased out of the docking bay, and banked off into the endless night.

Construction on the Death Star proceeded. Traffic in the area was thick with transport ships, TIE fighters and equipment shuttles. Periodically, the Super Star Destroyer orbited the area, surveying progress on the s.p.a.ce station from every angle.

The bridge of the Star Destroyer was a hive of activity. Messengers ran back and forth along a string of controllers studying their tracking screens, monitoring ingress and egress of vehicles through the deflector shield. Codes were sent and received, orders given, diagrams plotted. It was an operation involving a thousand scurrying ships, and everything was proceeding with maximum efficiency, until Controller Jhoff made contact with a shuttle of the Lambda cla.s.s, approaching the shield from Sector Seven.

'Shuttle to Control, please come in,' the voice broke into Jhoff's headset with the normal amount of static.

'We have you on our screen now,' the controller replied into his comlink. 'Please identify.'

'This is Shuttle Tydirium, requesting deactivation of the deflector shield.'

'Shuttle Tydirium, transmit the clearance code for shield pa.s.sage.'

Up in the shuttle, Han threw a worried look at the others and said into his comlink, 'Transmission commencing.'

Chewie flipped a bank of switches, producing a syncopated series of high-frequency transmission noises.

Leia bit her lip, bracing herself for fight or flight. 'Now we find out if that code was worth the price we paid.'

Chewie whined nervously.

Luke stared at the huge Super Star Destroyer that loomed everywhere in front of them. It fixed his eye with its glittering darkness, filled his vision like a malignant cataract - but it made more than his vision opaque. It filled his mind with blackness, too; and his heart. Black fear, and a special knowing. 'Vader is on that ship,' he whispered.

'You're just jittery, Luke,' Han rea.s.sured them all. 'There are lots of command ships. But, Chewie,' he cautioned, 'let's keep our distance, without looking like we're keeping our distance.'

'Awroff rwrgh rrfrough?'

'I don't know - fly casual,' Han barked back.

'They're taking a long time with that code clearance,' Leia said tightly. What if it didn't work? The Alliance could do nothing if the Empire's deflector shield remained functioning. Leia tried to clear her mind, tried to focus on the shield generator she wanted to reach, tried to weed away all feelings of doubt or fear she may have been giving off.

'I'm endangering the mission,' Luke spoke now, in a kind of emotional resonance with his secret sister. His thoughts were of Vader, though: their father. 'I shouldn't have come.'

Han tried to buoy things up. 'Hey, why don't we try to be optimistic about this?' He felt beleaguered by negativity.