“Viceroy, may I speak with you, privately?” I asked.
He nodded, and waved his the servants that had been attending us away.
“Is there somewhere else I could speak with you, more securely? What I wish to tell you is extremely, umm, sensitive.”
He began to decline the request, but I interrupted him with something that I could tell surprised him.
“Perhaps it would be better if I discussed this with Mon Mothma or Garm bel Iblis?”
He thought for a second, and then figured out the connection I was trying to draw. He immediately rose and motioned for me to follow. And follow I did. He led me down several hallways and through 2 locked doors to another room. From there, we walked to what appeared to be a closet, and he opened a secret panel in its back wall.
“This is the most secure room on all Alderaan. The 2 locks are genetically based; meaning only someone with my exact genetic structure can open them. We also passed through a number of scanners designed to detect listening devices. What is it you wish to discuss with me?” he said.
“Yes.” I began. “I’ve been hiding something from the Empire and everyone not from my planet, and I have to tell what it is. I feel I can trust you not to say anything. If you repeat this, it would mean everything you fight for would be lost. You must not even speak of it with me after this, alright?”
“Fine, you have my word. But, what is it?” he insisted.
“As far as the Empire knows, my world is just a backward, technologically inferior collection of people. This may be true, but we hold a knowledge that could valuable beyond words. More valuable than all the Krayt Dragon Pearls in the universe. More valuable than the Dark Force. More valuable than the treasure of the Warlord Xim.”
“Ahhh, you’ve been reading up on history, I see.”
“No sir. I haven’t. I checked the Imperial Historical documents during my trip to Imperial City. The Katana Fleet was not mentioned. Nor was the Warlord Xim. No, I knew of these things long before the Empire visited. You see, on my planet, one of our forms of entertainment is 2-dimentional moving pictures. We call them movies. Roughly 25 Earth years ago, a man revolutionized the movie industry with a story he called Star Wars. It followed the exploits of a young man named Luke Skywalker as he goes from a moisture farmer to a legendary Jedi Knight. No doubt you recognize the last name and title he gains??”
At this point, Organa was sitting very still with his head tilted down. He knew exactly what I was talking about. He began to shake his head up and down.
“Good. Well, I was a great fan of these movies. I watched them time and time again, as did millions of other people on my planet. Books were written. Toys were manufactured. It was truly amazing how popular the story had become. Well, via the movies and various other media, the Earth has a recorded history of your part of the universe that extends for the next 20+ years. I know more about it than most on my planet.”
By this point, Organa had somewhat snapped out of his amazement.
“Why tell me all this?” he asked.
“Well, number one, as I said before, I couldn’t keep it held up in me for much longer. Number two; I personally support your rebellion and its ideals against the Empire, as do many on my planet. If they find out the truth, our planet will very likely become the newest asteroid field in the galaxy, while they systematically destroy your Rebellion, piece-by-piece.”
“They don’t have the firepower to do that to a planet!”
“They will.” I replied.
With that, he slumped in his chair again.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“Well, there are a number of things I need. First, I’d like it I could get my ship scanned. I don’t trust the Empire. I need it checked for anything and everything. Bombs I want destroyed. Tracking devices that are found should be removed, but not destroyed. I will return to get them later. If I destroy one now, the Empire will know I’m on to them. Second, if I ever need to contact you, I’d like the frequency of a secure channel I can use.”
“It will be done. Tell me one last thing though. Do we win?”
I sighed and thought for a second.
“Yes, but you will unfortunately not be alive to see it happen, but Leia will. She and the friends she makes will have a long road before them, even after victory is declared. But she will always find a way to survive and win. You should be very proud of her.”
He seemed disturbed for a moment, and appeared as if he wanted to ask when he would cash in his chips, but he then figured I would not tell him. A brave man he was.
The ship was scanned, nothing was found. The ship was refueled and I was given the address for a comm. channel that would connect me with Alderaan. My travels, as for as “learning about the Empire” were over. I was now going to find out what might be in store for Earth.
My next destination was Tatooine.