The enormity of the atrium of the New Republic government building never failed to impress Han. It's high glass ceilings were supported by white, almost skeletal pillars that reminded him of the bones of a gigantic animal, with jutting nodules resembling joints supporting the two upper floors. He used to imagine what sort of creature must have had such bones, and how many of them they had to kill to build Hanna City, as the architecture was of a type throughout it's vast expanse.

At the far end of the atrium, a wide marble double staircase swept majestically down from a jutting balcony section and the many conference rooms, offices and guest suites could be seen on the upper floors, the doorways to which were equally imposing. There must have been hundreds of people from a multitude of worlds milling about, but the shear size of the public space almost made it seem empty.

As the four crossed the atrium towards the staircases, Han caught sight of Mon Mothma standing on the balcony where the two staircases met. Next to her were a group of people dressed in various smartly presented uniforms which Han recognised to be Alderaanian security forces and aides.

One member of the group particularly stood out. With more regal dress, his dark hair well groomed, he was impossibly good looking. Han was certain this was the Duke.

When he saw them approaching, the Duke, his face fixed on Leia, broke into a broad smile.

"House Organa," he called from the balcony in a cheery, and strangely mock formal way, and performed the deepest bow that Han had ever witnessed. Leia looked up at the royal party and took a deep breath only noticeable to Han, attempting to steel herself.

"House Alde," she called back, smiling politely, and mock curtseyed, not as deeply. Partly because of her attire but, knowing her social manoeuvrings as he did, probably because she was the outranking royal and it was accentuating her visual point.

The whole performance seemed to be a game because the Duke came bounding down the staircase to meet Leia and, grinning now, they greeted each other like army comrades might after returning from battle.

Han and Chewbacca exchanged glances and Chewbacca gurgled a satisfied noise that it all seemed to be going well.

Pax Alde stood back and drank in Leia's appearance with a look that reminded Han of Lando Calrissian.

"Here you are at last. My favourite member of House Organa," he flattered.

"The only member of House Organa, Pax, so that's not exactly difficult," Leia replied, looking at him ironically. He continued smiling and weighing her up. He took in her array of weapons.

"Ever the warrior," he laughed.

"Ever the bureaucrat," she retorted, smiling at him. "It's good to see you Pax."

"It's good to see you, Leia. You've..." He paused and looked admiringly at her "grown up since I last saw you." She laughed.

"Life does that to you." She had been a teenager when she last saw him and almost a lifetime seemed to have passed since then.

All his observations seemingly out of the way, he held out his hand for hers in order to kiss it politely. She took it. Then her face changed.

For Leia, the atrium went black, as if a thick shroud had been thrown over the sun, and her head was filled with a deafening noise, the smell of molten rock and... death. A painful burning sensation shot up her arm and she withdrew her hand. As soon as she did, the atrium returned to normal. It had all happened in a split second.

"Is everything alright?" Pax enquired about the swift removal of her hand. Han looked concerned. It had been a marginal change in her expression but he had seen it before, and her face paled a little.

"Uh, yes." She smiled but Han knew one of Leia's masks when he saw one. "It's been a long journey." She tried to salvage the situation, not really sure how much had been seen by anyone else. "It would be good to get some refreshment." He noticed her shift her feet subtly away from the Duke and closer to him and he took her arm for support.

The Duke now turned his attention to Han.

"May I introduce General Han Solo?" Leia said formally, seeing the chance to shift the attention away from the awkward moment. The Duke shook Han's hand, vigorously.

"General Solo. I have heard a lot about you from the Chancellor." Han glanced at Mon Mothma who had been observing the introductions from above with the rest of the royal party. He had earned a modicum of respect from the older woman for his contribution to the war and also because she respected Leia's attachment to him, but she was still reticent with regard to his past nefarious deeds. He would have liked to have been a bug on the wall of her offices as she had described him to the Duke.

"I hope it was all good," he replied, returning the handshake, a wry smile on his lips. It was a strong, friendly handshake and the Duke seemed pleasant enough to him, but he had learned to pay attention to Leia's odd turns and made a mental note to be wary.

"Quite glowing actually," the Duke informed him. They began walking up the stairs and along the corridor to the Royal Suite, joined by the official looking entourage. Leia regarded one of the security force officers closely.

"I know you, don't I?" She addressed a young woman, perhaps a year or so older than herself, who stood at the Duke's shoulder. Blonde haired and hard faced, she was surprised and slightly uncomfortable by the recognition.

"Yes, Your Highness," she saluted her officially. "Commander Bel Asarra. I joined the Security Force from the Academy. You oversaw my disciplinary hearing once when I borrowed a quad jumper and took some friends on a night out. I was reprimanded for absconding with Security Force property. " Her face reflected that the bad feelings over this incident had not quite finished for her.

"Oh." Leia was a little taken aback. "Yes. I remember. Well, that was in training and a long time ago. You seem to be doing very well for yourself now, Commander."

They arrived at the Royal Suite and entered through the high doorway into a sumptuous suite of rooms, the first of which was filled with low white tables and luxurious blue and white sofas, scattered with large, soft cushions. The doorways leading off the main room opened onto a dining area with a very long banquet table, bedrooms, offices and more, all tastefully decorated. The floor to ceiling windows, framed with the same skeletal architecture as the atrium, led out onto a balcony overlooking the picturesque State Park. Either side of the main door hung two heavy cloth banners bearing the Organa crest.

The room was sophisticated and elegant and Han felt a little out of place amongst the royalty and the décor, dressed in his usual smuggler's attire. He had been here before with Leia when she had entertained more regal guests. The suite was reserved for her and most of the ornaments and paintings were hers but, unless there was a good diplomatic relationship to cultivate, she refused to use it, preferring the simplicity of standard rooms. He loved that. It meant, when he visited her, he could throw his stuff in a corner or sit on a sofa without worrying about getting things dirty.

Noticing his discomfort, she moved to sit close to him so that he felt included. They accepted drinks from the service droids and the Duke continued his fascination with Han.

"From what the Chancellor tells me, you have won the Princess's heart, besting many eligible men, I can tell you." Han caught Leia throwing a slightly irritated look at Mon Mothma, who smiled politely.

"I don't see Leia as a trophy to be won," Han said as gently as he could. He didn't want to be responsible for starting an incident. "She makes her own decisions."

"She certainly does that," the Duke agreed "As I have discovered on many occasions. Did she mention that she turned down my hand in marriage seven times?" Han wondered if he was trying to unsettle him. If so, he had failed.

"Yes. She did," Han informed him. The Duke looked slightly surprised that he knew this but continued with a polite explanation. "I had thought that she might want to unify our two families but it seems she didn't share the idea, nor did her father."

"I would never marry for such a ridiculous reason and my father would never have asked it of me," Leia spoke up curtly. "Now, if you can all stop talking about me as if I weren't here. It's ancient history." She was matter of fact and the rest of the room deferred to her authority.

After that, Han noticed that the atmosphere seemed to relax, perhaps because of the spice wine, but probably because the obvious Bantha in the room had been taken care of early on. Leia and Pax reminisced about a great many things and Leia explained to Han that Pax had been one of the children involved in the Candala Fruit incident, and had been the one responsible for alerting her father to their crime by falling through the palace window. The conversation was jovial and Pax showed himself to be an intelligent and interesting conversationalist. He wasn't quite a match for Leia's rhetoric but he would have made quite a stimulating dinner guest and she was enjoying the repartee.

The conversation moved to how Pax, after finding a number of other ships stranded off-world when Alderaan was destroyed, had made the decision to find and settle the Iridonian moon, out of sight of the Empire, where the traumatised citizens could recover. A lot of them had been security forces, he had discovered, as they were patrolling the space around Alderaan at the time, others were traders who had been off-world selling their goods. Leia felt slightly annoyed by the security forces' apparent reluctance to join the war, although she kept this to herself. Many of her people in similar situations had chosen to take up the fight against the Empire and joined the Rebellion, something she had always advocated even before Alderaan's destruction. At the same time, she knew, not everyone was as brave.

Chewbacca, who had been snoozing on a rather comfortable looking sofa in the corner of the room, stirred as the door to the suite opened and C-3PO entered.

"Commander Luke Skywalker, Your Highness," he announced, using every ounce of aplomb he could muster, as if he were thoroughly enjoying this role. He stood aside to allow Luke into the room. Leia rose to greet him with a smile. He nodded to Han then turned to the Duke, who had also stood as he entered.

"Pax, this is Luke Skywalker. I asked him to attend. I wanted to introduce you." Luke held out his hand to the other man.

"A pleasure to meet you," Luke said.

"Your reputation precedes you, Commander Skywalker," the Duke replied. His face hardly changed but Han had been playing Sabaac long enough to know a tell when he saw one. He observed that the Duke was not only familiar with Luke's name but was also unsettled by his Jedi status. As he shook Luke's hand, Luke held on to it ever so slightly longer than was necessary as Han watched carefully. Then the moment was over and the conversation began again.

Han took Luke aside while the others were chatting.

"Hey, kid. What's going on?" What are you doing here?"

"Leia sent 3PO to fetch me. I think she wanted some brotherly back up, if you know what I mean?" He looked at Han intensely trying to convey his hidden message.

"Yeah." Han got it. "She had a funny turn earlier." He gesticulated with his hand around his face to suggest what had happened to Leia. "She's not been sleeping well for a while though so she may just be tired."

"Maybe," Luke mused, but they looked at each other both knowing the other didn't believe that. Leia's voice brought their attention back into the room.

"So why is it that you chose to visit us now?" She and Mon Mothma, who had been circulating cordially all afternoon, both waited expectantly for the Duke's explanation. He obliged the two women.

"A few months ago, we paid a visit to the Graveyard." Leia stiffened slightly where she stood. The Graveyard was a term she knew had been given by surviving Alderaanians to the rubble and detritus that was all that was left of the planet, a messy collection of asteroids where Alderaan had once been. A superstitious people, they believed the ghosts of their loved ones were still present in the Graveyard, and patrolled the area, protecting it from looting by pirates or those wanting a keepsake. It was a practice that made her feel slightly sick, but she understood why it helped others. "We retrieved something that I thought you would be interested in. Perfectly preserved," he continued, crossing the room now to stand near her.

"What was it?" Leia couldn't imagine what could have survived the blast but was hoping he wasn't going to say something gruesome.

"A box of toughened metal." He looked meaningfully at her. Mon Mothma was listening intently too. "Leia, it's the Killian Star."