Star Wars: The New Rebellion Read Online Free PDF

and reflected sunlight in a rainbow effect, illuminating the center of the room. The Emperor had designed this little trick to strike awe in those observing him. Leia was glad for the sun and the rippling light. It would distract the new representatives, who had never seen it before.
    She started down the stairs. The smell of bodies, human and alien, filled the Chamber, already too warm from the proximity of so many beings. Leia studiously looked ahead, noting, as she passed, M’yet Luure sitting beside his new colleague from Exodeen. Both Exodeenians had six arms, and six legs. They barely fit in the regulation chairs that Palpatine had built in the days when nonhumanoids were considered to be among the less important species. By looks, it was impossible to tell theformer Imperial Exodeenian from his rebellious fellow senator. Indeed, she couldn’t tell any former Imperials by sight, only by reputation.
    Like Meido, the first and only senator from the planet Adin. Adin had been an Imperial stronghold, and Leia still wasn’t certain if Meido’s election had been fair. She was quietly having some of her people investigate him. She had memories of his seamed face from her Rebel days, but she couldn’t place him.
    Finally she reached the front of the Chamber. The chamberlain announced her as she took her place behind the spotlit podium. The senators applauded, or did the nearest equivalent. The Luyals pounded their tentacles on the desks. The eel-like Uteens had their droids applaud for them. She rested her hands on the podium’s wooden surface, careful to avoid the computer screen. She had no prepared speech, a fact that relieved her now.
    The Senate Hall doors closed and the guards moved in front of them. The applause was loud and favorable. Leia smiled, nodding toward old friends and ignoring the new faces. She would deal with them soon enough.
    “My fellow senators,” she said over the din. The applause slowly faded. She waited until it was gone before continuing. “We begin a new chapter in the history of the Republic. The war with the Empire is long over and finally we have extended the hand of friendship—”
    An explosion rocked the Chamber, flinging Leia into the air. She flew backward and slammed onto a desk, her entire body shuddering with the power of her hit. Blood and shrapnel rained around her. Smoke and dust rose, filling the room with a grainy darkness. She could hear nothing. With a shaking hand, she touched the side of her face. Warmth stained her cheeks and her earlobes. The ringing would start soon. The explosion was loud enough to affect her eardrums.
    Emergency glow panels seared the gloom. She could feel rather than hear pieces of the crystal ceiling fall to the ground. A guard had landed beside her, his head tilted at an unnatural angle. She grabbed his blaster. She had to get out. She wasn’t certain if the attack had come from within or from without. Wherever it had come from, she had to make certain no other bombs would go off.
    The force of the explosion had affected her balance. She crawled over bodies, some still moving, as she made her way to the stairs. The slightest movement made her dizzy and nauseous, but she ignored the feelings. She had to.
    A face loomed before hers. Streaked with dirt and blood, helmet askew, she recognized him as one of the guards who had been with her since Alderaan.
Your Highness
, he mouthed, and she couldn’t read the rest. She shook her head at him, gasping at the increased dizziness, and kept going.
    Finally she reached the stairs. She used the remains of a desk to get to her feet. Her gown was soaked in blood, sticky, and clinging to her legs. She held the blaster in front of her, wishing that she could hear. If she could hear, she could defend herself.
    A hand reached out of the rubble beside her. She whirled, faced it, watched as Meido pulled himself out. His slender features were covered with dirt, but he appeared unharmed. He saw her blaster and