It was a few hours later. The Rebellion had gained approximately 250 new members. The battle on the ground still went on, but it was solidly in the hands of the Earth forces. Mostly the ground war was mopping up stormtroopers. The heavy military equipment had been destroyed. The undestroyed technology very quickly made its way into the hands of various militaries around the world.
Luck was on our side in one respect. The Imperial commanders had decided to put their forces down in remote areas of the globe. The Montana/Canadian border. The Argentinean Pampas. An area about 100 km from Tunguska Russia. For what reason, I do not know. Perhaps they wanted to be able to regroup on the ground before they made their move. This meant interaction with the public was minimal at best.
Rebel repair teams were busy getting the Star Destroyer back into working order. Moving the ship out of visual range of the Earth was of paramount importance. While they worked, Earth scientists and technicians watched to learn how to maintain the equipment. We were very careful to disable the ships transponder system, to make sure that the Empire had no way to learn about what happened. False reports were allowed to ‘slip’ out, saying that a Rebellion owned CC-7700 Frigate had pulled the Pinnacle out of hyperspace before arriving at Earth, and that the Imperial warship had been destroyed. A debris field was also created in the area to simulate the ships destruction.
I sat on board the Dreadnaught, now orbiting the moon (it would have been spotted orbiting Earth). A small victory party had been put together by the Dreadnaught’s command staff. Myself and several members of the Earth’s leaders had been invited to celebrate the wonderful events. I, however, felt somewhat less than satisfied. What would we do now? The Emperor would no doubt contact us about what happened, or send ships to investigate what had happened. It would most likely have to be me doing the smooth talking to get us out of the mess. What would I say?
I determined it would be best if I made the first move. If I went to the Emperor asking about the diplomatic team, it might take some pressure off me. I excused myself from the party, got on the Gaea, and left. I needed to go to Alderaan. I knew that they would have a holonet transceiver that I could use to contact the Emperor. The trip took a few days, but that was all right. I took the time to study a non-propaganda filled version of the galaxies history. There was not a lot of new information for me, but it was good to read anyways.
When I arrived at Alderaan, Viceroy Organa again greeted me, and I was treated similarly to my first visit. I asked about using a holonet transceiver, and was immediately granted access. I sent a quick message to Imperial City, informing members of the Emperor’s staff that I wished to speak with him directly. He was busy at that moment, so I was forced to wait several hours. During this time, I took a quick tour of the planet surface. Simply flying in did not do the planet justice. I was truly the garden spot of the galaxy. A shame it would be gone in the next few years.
When I returned, the Emperor was waiting.
I began, “My lord, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I was not told how long I would need to wait for you, and I wanted very much to view some more of Alderaan. I requested an audience with you to express some concern. I was hoping that your Imperial ambassadors would have arrived at my planet by now, but they have not.”
The Emperor seemed surprised, “Really. I had assurances that the ship had left, and they were to arrive a few days ago.”
“Well, I can tell you for sure that it did not. Lord, I must be honest. I visited several planets during my trip home. I learned of the various, small pockets of rebellion against you. Would it be possible for one of them to be responsible for preventing that ship from arriving?” I asked.
“No. I firmly believe that.”
I quickly asked another question. “Alright then. Will you be sending another group of diplomats to speak with us?”
“No, perhaps it would work best if you sent diplomats to us. I see less of a chance of anything happening to your people, since you are not well known.”
“That is fine. I will transport them myself. I will need some time for our world to pick adequate people for the job, and then we shall come. I will stop here on Alderaan and send you word when we are on our way.”
With that, the conversation was done. I said good-bye to Bail, and returned home. After a two-week process, four diplomats were chosen, in addition to myself, to represent Earth. We were given strict orders as to what we were to try to negotiate for, which would set us in a position to not continue to be considered “technologically behind the rest of the galaxy”. If our terms were rejected or met with high requirements, we were to essentially say, “Thanks, but not thanks” and leave. Then we would get help from the Rebellion and other outside parties.
We left for Alderaan. When we arrived, I contacted the Emperor, informing him that I was on my way. He informed me that I would have the opportunity to speak, not before him, not with his diplomats, but before the Galactic Senate. I only hoped my acrophobia would not give me any problems standing on the repulsorlift platform. We stayed on Alderaan for a few days of relaxation before leaving for Imperial City.