The silence of the cargo bay after breakfast brought Luke to want to power up Threepio just to have someone to talk to. Han had been in the cockpit with Leia for over an hour and Shneya was still hiding in the bowels of the ship. The tension distracted Luke from his homework trying to interpret Frakkan's Usak request and his Force senses only augmented the bitterness of everyone on board.
The Lieutenant seemed to calm down only a little when she emerged with a datapad in one hand and a tool bag in the other. Luke noted the way her long braids were rolled up behind her ears like the way Leia had her hair on Endor, Luke thought, when it was all over. A sour taste filled his mouth at the memories of Endor, despite the event being the birth of the New Alliance and the establishment of their i
