Forbidden Hero: A Star Wars Tragedy

Chapter 14

~~ though hope is frail, it's hard to kill ~~

The bridge of Valkyrie was tranquil as we began our trip back to Coruscant. Unfortunately, I had failed to convince my mother to join, which weighed heavily on my heart. I paced the entire hyperspace jump as I thought over what I could do to help. I knew I had minimal options, but my first idea was to bring this to the senate.

"We're two hours from Coruscant, ma'am. If you want, I can take the bridge." Commander Laymar reported as he stood next to me.

I had been staring into the swirl of hyperspace for; I don't know how long. "Thank you, Laymar," I replied as I drew myself away from it. "I will take you up on that."

"Good," Laymar replied with a smile.

Saluting him and handing him the log-datapad. "Commander Laymar, you have the bridge." Stepping into my suite, I felt a small part of the weight fall from my shoulders.

"Hey, you okay?" Hirsi asked as she placed a tray on the bed.

"I'm fine," I replied, trying to be convincing. "I do have a plan, though."

"Oh?"

Laying on the bed, all thought about my provisional plan. "If you can, can you make an appointment with Senator Organa, Senator Mon Mothma, and The Emperor?"

"The Emperor?" Hirsi asked, almost dropping the cup in her hand. "I know you must be desperate, but maybe don't go down that path."

Looking into her eyes, I saw that she was more than concerned. "I want something passed in the senate, and go ahead, I must bring this to him, somehow make it something that is to his benefit. But, unfortunately, it is the only way this will work."

"I know," Hirsi replied. "I just don't want to lose you."

"It is a risk I have to take," I replied, taking the hot cup of deychin tea. As the steam rose up and around Hirsi's face, I knew my request was hard for her to take.

With a gentle nod, she agreed and kissed me with a kiss of resignation. "Where you go, I will go also." Then, taking my hand, she looked into my eyes. "I won't let you do this alone."

~~~

Waking up to the sound of knocking on my cabin door, I forced myself to wake. "Hirsi?" I asked as the door slid open.

"We're just dropping out of hyperspace now." She said, handing me a thermic of decaf. "Did you sleep?"

"I must have, but I feel like I haven't," I said with a yawn as we walked to the shuttle bay.

"Well, I've set everything up," Hirsi said.

"Okay."

As we took the shuttle down to my apartment, she talked me through my coming schedule. As usual, she fit everything in with room to spare. Landing at 01.30 am Coruscant Local Time (CLT), I longed to climb back into bed. But instead, my first appointment was with Senator Organa at 8 am at his private Coruscant apartment.

"Go to bed," Hirsi remarked as the service droids carried our luggage, "I'll join you soon."

The following day came far too soon. After a quick breakfast, I was headed to the senatorial district. A golden protocol droid met me at the lift and guided me into a sitting room. The sound of soft jazz filled the room, along with a very giggly little girl.

"Ah, General Spinka!" exclaimed Bail Organa as he saw me enter. The little princess lay on the shaggy rug, her hair in loose curls.

"I didn't realise you had Leia with you." Crouching down, I gave a small smile. "You've grown a lot since I saw you last," I said as I looked into my eyes.