Jiff Lumin rubbed his eyes, offering them a brief respite from the screen he'd been staring at for hours. It was the same thing every day; come in, get a cup of watery caff, stare at a screen until it was time for the midday meal, eat said meal while staring at the screen, and stare at the screen until the work day ended.

It was a routine he had held to for years now, ever since he'd been pretty much conscripted by the Empire five years ago when he'd been fresh from university.

They had made it sound so exciting at the time: using probes to explore the unknown areas of the galaxy, discover new planets or asteroids for mining and possibly, planets that were suitable for habitation. Or the extremely rare gem: a new race.

Part of the deal was a special commission for each new planet or asteroid discovered but he had discovered what that had been early on in his first year: 50 credits. That was maybe a week of food for a stingy budgeter, forget it being worth much to a bachelor seeking to impress a lady.

Jiff wondered far more than once if perhaps he should have stayed on Chandrila rather than pursuing space exploration. He had wanted adventure though.

And he got a desk job at a space station in the middle of nowhere space.

There were days he pretended to forget the name of the planet he was stationed on. Then there were days he actually did. Like today.

Rising from his station, he headed for the fresher, ignoring the bored look his supervisor sent in his direction. One good thing about working here was that as long as he showed up and attempted to look like he was doing his job, no one cared.

The fresher was small and smelled stale, they had to clean it themselves every so often and he was willing to bet that that day was fast approaching. Maybe he should slip in a glance at the schedule and plan a sick day.

As he unzipped his fly and relieved himself, his thoughts turned back to the last star system the probes under his control had explored. It had been interesting at first due to the three stars and there were even some planets; a rather unusual combination. Multiple stars usually occurred without the formation of planets, especially when there was more than two stars.

That interest soon gave away as the planets were studied. They were sunbaked, far too close to one of the stars, and scanning indicated no mining potential. Another worthless system that he had wasted days studying.

Jiff snorted at his thoughts as he zipped himself up then headed to the sink to wash his hands. Just a few years ago, when he had first started, just finding a new system had been exciting to the point where he had bounced in his seat. Now he knew there were plenty of systems, but most of them weren't of any value.

His probes should be reaching the next system today, this one consisting of a single small star that had a bit of small flickers in the light to indicate some planets. Probably.

Heading back to his station, stopping to grab another cup of their weak caff, Jiff resigned himself to another boring day at a boring and useless assignment.

Two hours clicked by slowly as he checked several of his probes, one of them having found a small field of asteroids that indicated some mining possibilities. He noted the location on his charts and sighed. A possible 50 credits would likely be the highlight of his day.

A beeping drew his attention back to the probe heading for the system and he brought up the information.

The probe had found an orbital path that could possibly belong to a small, almost asteroid size planetoid. It was too far from the system star to be inhabited though so he'd check it out later.

The next orbital path indicated a significantly larger planet and this one he set the probe to pursue. It took several minutes to intercept and then he was staring at a large blue planet. The probe's sensors activated automatically and he didn't need the initial readings to know it was uninhabited. The speeds of the winds were high, higher than normal for a gas giant but the contents were of some relative value. Helium and hydrogen weren't rare by any stretch of the imagination, but the demand was high. The other components such as water, ammonia, and methane also had their uses.

The planet was marked down before his attention moved to the satellites and he nodded at the number. Over 14 noted moons, the largest with an interesting reverse orbit of the planet. It was at a size that a small base for miners could be set up there.

Directing the probe toward the system star again, Jiff could barely hold back his grin as several minutes later, yet another planetary orbit was discovered.

This planet was paler than the previous planet but the composition was near identical. It had a ring system and he noted that the axis of the planet seemed to almost be at a 90-degree angle, and there were 27 moons, five larger than the rest.

Once more he noted the planet and realized that this was likely to be his best day ever, even if the rest of the system was empty.

Another planet was discovered within minutes of departing back to the center of the system and this time, Jiff almost gasped at the beauty before him.

This planet was enormous and the rings were truly beautiful. Readings on resources were more than just slightly promising and his fingers itched to just stop and explore this planet thoroughly before heading into the system, but that was against procedure. He was supposed to explore the entire system before choosing the most promising planet for an in-depth analysis.

Glancing at the clock, he saw that the day was supposed to end in less than an hour, meaning he'd spent two hours exploring this new system alone. For a moment he considered forgoing the shuttle planet-side but tossed out that idea. He wasn't going to find much more and it would still be here tomorrow.

Directing the probe towards the center of the system again, the minutes seemed to drag by before another orbit was discovered, the largest thus far!

The probe took almost 10 minutes to catch up to the planet, and Jiff found himself tapping his foot, watching the clock, urging the probe to go faster. His manner attracted the attention of several of his coworkers as they glanced up from their monotonous work and soon, multiple eyes were watching his monitor.

Gasps came from several people as the stunning planet came into view, its system of moons practically gleaming like gems. Ice moons, volcanic ones, the collection went on and on. But the planet was the truly amazing sight. Bands of yellow, orange, and white whipped across the surface of the planet and an enormous red spot, likely a storm of some sort, raged in a radical contrast to the lighter colors.

Circling the planet, another spot and more moons came into view. Readouts on the gas composition indicated this could have ignited into a second sun if the planet had gained more mass and it had an ocean of liquid hydrogen beneath those clouds.

Jiff noted the planet with pride. Four large gas giants, completely untouched. The system his probes had found had the potential of being a gold mine! And there was more yet to see! If there was a planet that could be inhabited, then a large base could be set up or even a settlement!

His coworkers were congratulating him on his discovery as he entered his codes to lock the probe in orbit of the planet. He was really looking forward to restarting the search in the morning.

Jiff's supervisor did a double take at the number of discoveries he had made that day, noting the coordinates before the group headed towards the shuttle bay, joining the throngs of other sentients stationed at this outpost. They were not important enough to warrant a better station but there were more than a few rumors that some were actually high level researchers working on top secret projects far from where suspicious eyes would look.

As Jiff Lumin boarded one of the shuttles, his mind just kept turning back to the system he was currently exploring. Currently it was unnamed, so perhaps they'd name it after him? That would be a true prize, and not one that he could have obtained by staying on Chandrila.

The shuttle departed before he could change his mind about leaving, the station going into lockdown after the staff had left, and then Jiff was heading towards the planet that served as his temporary home.

Around him, people buzzed and laughed, some talking about work or vacations, or in the case of his coworkers, his new planet.

"Think it'll be a viable system?" one of them finally asked as the shuttle set down at the edge of the settlement.

"Don't know!" Jiff replied with a laugh. "It's been promising thus far."

"Imagine finding aborigines. You'd get a promotion and a new station for certain," one of the men pointed out.

The thought caused a bolt of excitement and trepidation to shoot through Jiff as he stepped off the shuttle.

"There might be a habitable planet," he admitted after a moment before his eyes found a small group of the aborigines of this particular planet. They had been displaced and heavily drugged with spice when the first settlers arrived. Now they begged for whatever jobs they could in order to feed their families and addictions. These particular beings looked like some sort of feline species that walked on two legs and didn't look to have as much hair as many species with that sort of ancestry did.

'But I hope there aren't any inhabitants,' he admitted to himself, even if it would mean not getting off of this world and somewhere more comfortable.

Rejecting various offers to get some drinks, Jiff instead headed straight for his apartment and headed to the fresher for a shower. A quick change of clothes later and he settled down with a drink to stare out of his window at the stars.

They had held wonder for him as a youth and he'd dreamed of exploring them. Reality wasn't as great as his dreams, and the Empire wasn't good to those who might inhabit new planets.

Those thoughts now turned his excitement to dread as he stared up at the station. Tomorrow he'd finish the basic analysis of that new system and though he may have found the system of his dreams…

Sleep did not come easy that night. More than once he woke from nightmares where he was forced to watch some faceless species be forced out of their homes or blasted out of existence. That was a likely outcome if there was a species on an inhabitable planet that far out, especially in a system that would likely hold no value aside from mining.

His supervisor came by that morning before he could call in sick.

She was a firm woman in her 60's, the lines of her face leaving little doubt that she had seen some unpleasant things. He heard that she hailed from Alderaan and had not managed to dodge a conscription after the Empire had stabilized, just barely getting herself inserted into a career far from the battlefield. Her name was Mira Figire and she knew what he'd been thinking.

The walk to the shuttle, once seeming so exciting, now felt like a dark march. Jiff was excited for what he might find but dreaded it as well. To make matters worse, his coworkers were all excited, determined to watch what was found that day.

Too soon he was at his station and entering the codes to activate his probe. The image of the planet from yesterday returned and Jiff directed the probe towards the center of the system again.

An asteroid belt was the first discovery and the alloys that just basic scanning picked up reaffirmed that this system would likely be mined.

Several minutes after passing the belt, another planetary orbit was picked up and Jiff's heart began to speed up as he directed the probe to intercept it. Behind him there were murmurs as people noted that the planet was within the distance necessary to the star for life to form and his heart beat faster.

The red planet only raised his uneasiness as it came into view, then the readouts began and he relaxed. No noteworthy lifeforms. Plenty of minerals and metals, but no life. This planet could be terraformed if necessary but there was no new race to be displaced.

Directing the probe back towards the center of the system, Jiff almost sighed in relief while his coworkers groaned. Almost an hour in and in a few minutes they'd pass the livable zones and…

A beep of a planetary orbit drew his attention and Jiff's heart rate picked up again as the excited murmurs started again.

Turning to intercept, a planet came into view only seconds later. The murmurs behind him rose in volume as the planet proved to be blue in color.

Instruments started to give readouts quite suddenly and Jiff's hands went cold. Radio signals. The planet had a rather large amount of radio signals bouncing around it. Behind him, the murmurs ceased as someone touched a control and garbled noise filled the space.

"There're satellites!" someone behind him declared, pointing out various objects that floated above the surface of the planet.

Jiff felt his breath freeze. The planet was inhabited. Without a doubt.

No one noticed the supervisor take note of the coordinates and send them over a tiny comlink.

It was a day that Mira Figire had awaited and dreaded as she sent the coordinates. With any luck, they would reach her Alderaanian contacts without incident and maybe, just maybe, they could do something. Take this discovery to the Senate, slow down the Empire from whatever they might do to this isolated world.

Her eyes strayed then to the world they were stationed on as she thought this. Figire system was what they called this place, named after she had discovered this system a mere three months after the establishment of the Empire 15 years ago.

In the days of the Republic, ambassadors would have been sent to introduce the sentients to the Republic and help set up an educational system that wouldn't disrupt the culture of the planet. To her horror, that hadn't been the new policy.

Today, she knew what Jiff had been thinking because she had thought it too, seen it put into action. There were people far smarter who had destroyed their probes on 'accident', but that only ever bought time and those people normally disappeared.

By bringing Jiff here today, she may have saved his life but knew they were going to be gambling for time from now on. And as he glanced at her, she saw he knew it too.

Action from the Empire might be delayed a bit, but it would come. Hopefully the Rebellion would manage to reach this new planet and give them warning of the monster that might soon be headed their way.

No, that would soon be headed their way. She was sure of it. The resources found in the Figire system were not remarkable, no mining or luxury items and yet the Empire came to conquer it.

Whoever those people were, she hoped they had the opportunity to either defend themselves or evacuate, if that was at all possible. After all, the Alliance didn't have resources that would allow the second option.

zzzzzzzzzz

The messenger that stood before Bail Organa wore a blank expression, but he knew this man well enough. He was one of the contacts for a Rebel cell located here on Alderaan. He was stationed in the communications department and knew of no other operatives since his position was that sensitive.

This man fielded and filtered all the information that came in from various rebel spies and sympathizers then delivered messages to appropriate drop off points. That he would come to him meant that something had happened that needed his attention either as the Viceroy of Alderaan or as the Imperial Senator.

The messenger said nothing, just handed Bail a piece of flimsy that had a series of numbers written upon it before walking off.

Momentarily confused, the Viceroy headed to his computer and brought up the Holonet, typing in the numbers and felt his mouth go dry as he saw that they coincided with a recently discovered planet, far in one of the Unknown regions on an outer arm of the galaxy. The system was noted as being a promising mining location and inhabited. The report had been filed a mere hour ago.

There was no telling how much time they had, but the listed possible resources would mean not much and the survey of the system wasn't even complete!

Thankfully, Mon Mothma answered his call over their secure commlinks quickly.

"Organa?" she asked.

Bail's response was to reel off the numbers to her and he heard the clicking of keys over the line, indicating she understood.

"Force," she murmured a moment later. "Those people will be annihilated if this system turns out to be as promising as it seems."

"Or used as slave labor," Bail supplied, an outcome neither supported but was a very distinct possibility. "I plan to send an emissary as soon as possible. Give them some warning, possibly some documents for ship building and producing fuel."

"Make sure they take a universal translator droid and are prepared to stay until the droid can crack the language. I'll begin assembling some forces as well, send them some weaponry and engineers."

"They don't need weapons, they-"

"Haven't left their own system yet," Mothma reminded him sharply. "They might not have shipyards and a total evacuation might not be possible. And even if it is, they might prefer to fight for their planet. We can't deny them that."

Bail squeezed his eyes shut, fighting a mild war of ethics. Alderaan had no weapons and he was loath to offer any, but what could he offer otherwise?

"We'll see what they decide. For now, hold your team until mine establishes contact. We'll need to make sure this is publicly delayed as long as possible and not pushed through quietly like the last few invasions were."

"Agreed," Mothma replied before cutting the line.

Bail stared at his commlink before setting it into the disposal pile. These could only be used once with complete assured anonymity and Imperial spies were everywhere. He couldn't risk using this commlink again.

Bringing up his personnel files, he quickly selected a sympathetic pilot then turned his attention to possible emissaries before a throat being cleared pulled his attention to the door.

There stood Leia, his daughter. Her eyes were determined as she stared at him, reminding him too much of her mother. How much had she heard?

"I'd suggest not sending Hric Dalhney," she stated quietly. "He's fine when dealing with calm beings, even if they're talking of war, but I feel he'd be in over his head if he had to explain everything the Empire might do to people who might panic. He might glaze over the worst parts and not fully prepare them."

Bail Organa sighed but nodded before his eyes focused on another name. Ylenic It'kla, his friend who was also a Jedi Knight and negotiator. He wouldn't cut corners even if he was uncomfortable and Jedi tended to learn new languages very quickly due to the Force.

Glancing back at the door, he saw that Leia was already gone, he hoped it wasn't to stowaway on the ship as he placed the requisition order for the best translator droid he had.

zzzzzzzzzz

If anyone asked the average citizen what the worst thing on their mind was, some would say taxes. Some would say ISIS. Some might also say North Korea.

If one asked the upper-level employees of NASA, Roscosmos, or high level intelligence officers of various militaries or the governments, provided the answer was truthful, it would have been the same issue.

A strange object had been spotted by several telescopes just past the orbit of the moon. It had stayed there for four days then began to creep closer. The movements were too approximate to be a random piece of space debris or a meteor or asteroid and all indications were that it was metal.

The Hubble managed to give the first clear picture and alarms had promptly gone off when the form of the object could clearly be determined to be man-made.

Weapons systems were armed immediately and alerts went to all stations world-wide. No one claimed the device and all knew that no one could have launched it.

The hacker group Anonymous were amongst the first to notice something was wrong and they began looking on the fifth day, but their searches were mostly in vain since it didn't occur to them that the threat could be from somewhere off world.

ISIS were the ones to announce the presence of the object to the rest of the world, mass producing pictures and claiming that it was Allah looking upon the world. This was met with a lot of eye rolling and skepticism, which was only surpassed when Kim Jong Un tried to claim it to be the property and demonstrated superiority of North Korea.

Around the Earth, people began to look up to the sky and many began to prepare, whether that be for the end of the world or an invasion.

Finally, ten days after it appeared, the object moved on. It zipped away towards Mars and the satellites and telescopes couldn't keep up for more than a few seconds.

Any relief that was felt was short lived since within a few hours another object appeared. This UFO stayed just within the orbit of the moon for almost a two days before finally, contact was made.

The signal blasted across the airwaves of Earth and in that moment, all cell phones and televisions displayed a message in the language of the region.

"The White House at 2pm, on XX XX XXXX"

Emergency meetings were declared on every corner of the planet, many uncertain of what this could possibly mean. Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada was the first to call the staff of the White House, wanting to know what the plan was.

President Obama was uncertain himself. He felt he should meet this party but didn't know whether they would be hostile or not. So as much as he wanted to request that Trudeau join him in Washington, he did not ask. Trudeau himself asked and was advised that until they knew the intents of these aliens that he remain in a safe house if he did come.

Prime Minister Cameron of England got through next, advising the US President that he would be there as well. He was soon followed by calls from Senators and other world leaders, either wishing him luck or requesting that he consider moving and having a different person meet the aliens.

Courage that was expected of the President was all that Obama had in his corner as he promised that he would meet these people though he advised all others remain away, even ordering the Vice President away. Candidates Clinton and Trump, the main fore-runners of the upcoming election, were notably scarce.

Across the United States, people moved quickly since the date of the meeting was to be the next day. Traffic crowded roadways as people either evacuated or gathered in Washington. Parks, walkways, and even streets were crowded with tents as people arrived, hoping to catch a glimpse of the aliens. Any attempts to make them move were brushed off.

The next day came with different worries for many. Some were terrified of possible hostilities. Some worried of the end of their way of life while still others prayed that this was actually a divine display.

At noon, the gates surrounding the White House were surrounded by a large human wall when another message came, blaring through cell phones and televisions as people across the world watched in fascination. This message requested that a landing area be designated for their arrival and included measurements of what was needed in feet and meters.

A number of the Secret Service who were present in the White House ran onto the lawn, marking off an area of the prescribed parameters using white paint on the grass.

At 1:40pm, sensors around the world went sent out alarms as the object began to move slowly, in a manner most would call non-hostile. It was like they were trying to not cause them to panic.

At 1:50pm the ship entered the atmosphere over the Atlantic Ocean, heading for the main continental US. Several flights that had still gone ahead that day were promptly rerouted.

1:55 had the ship settling on the White House lawn amongst the Secret Service, right in the prepared area. A hush ran through the crowd as everyone waited to see what would come.

Many were relaxing, the ship didn't seem hostile and hadn't opened fire yet, so maybe there wasn't too much to worry about.

Finally, a ramp from the ship lowered and two beings descended the ramp. One was obviously a robot of some sort while, a gleaming silver thing that moved with a fluidness most didn't associate with robots. The other was a furry being that drew even more eyes, his body language seemed peaceful though, friendly even as he offered a slight bow to the men and women before him.

"May I present Ylenic It'kla, emissary of the planet Alderaan," the droid stated in flawless English as the furry being offered his bow.

The cheers started out slow but rapidly grew in volume as people surrounding the White House shouted their welcome, cheering for the visitor who now definitely seemed to be a good, peaceful visitor.

Ylenic glanced at the crowd and seemed to offer a faint smile and bow, garnering further louder cheers before turning to the Secret Service and saying something to the droid.

"We do apologize for any discomfort and for being so abrupt, but we really must meet with your leaders. I'm afraid that time is very much of the essence."

The men and women, some of whom had almost been smiling, straightened up and began to lead the way to the White House.

Across town, the assembled world leaders who had made it to Washington were already headed to a terminal room in order to watch the proceedings. They would be able to hear and see the visitor, it would in turn be able to see and hear them over monitors set up in the Oval Office, but it shouldn't know their exact location. Hopefully.