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In The Shadows
By Sienn
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Rating: PG - 13
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Spoilers: See Chapter 1
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Chapter 5
The reception hall of the Radaman House of Ruling was nestled into a
clearing amidst a dense forest of leafy trees. A complex net of paths
originating from the offices and living quarters of the planet's political
elite led to the building. During summer and late autumn, the artfully
conceived monument served as location for dinners, banquets, and festivals.
So Anandan Kele had said as he had visited them at their suite early in the
morning to deliver instructions for the feast to be held in the afternoon.
Open to the air, the construct was held up by a series of pillars alone,
each several meters thick and enshrouded by a mass of blossoming vines. The
roof was fashioned from the same bronze marble that seemed to dominate most
of the architecture on the small planet and glinted in the sunlight.
It was a dazzling display of elegance and beauty and Luke Skywalker halted
in his steps to drink in the vista. It was hard to understand the
contemptuous attitude of so many that regarded the worlds of the Outer Rim
as inferior and unworthy of attention. Many of them were true gems, graced
by rich cultures and untouched nature.
Of course there were those that were nothing much but hubs of crime and
villainy, but in the statistics, their number was astonishingly small. As
with so many other things in life, though, it was those backwater planets
that came to mind when the words Outer Rim fell in a discussion. The Jedi
Master felt a pang of sadness at the thought that this would probably never
change.
For all its splendour, the reception hall still had its disadvantages -
surrounded by foliage and bereft of even the smallest wall, it was
impossible to defend and anyone within was easy prey to assassins and
troublemakers. It was all the more interesting that Senator Anandan Kele had
still insisted on holding the feast here, despite the fact that someone had
tried to kill him less than twenty-four hours ago.
Just another curiosity that had appeared around the complacent Radaman and
it had only added to the feeling of imminent danger that had settled in the
pit of Luke's stomach ever since he had opened his eyes in the morning.
"You know, if this is a trap, it's the most obvious one I've ever run across
in my life." Mara's voice was soft lest they attract too much attention to
themselves while they made their way down a path to the centre of the
clearing. The rest of the event's attendees were travelling other ways to
reach the reception hall and while they should be far enough away to not
understand their words, it would be best to be careful. No one need know how
wary and suspicious the Jedi were at this point.
Luke pursed his lips. "Maybe we're wrong and this isn't a trap after all.
Kele is nervous, but I cannot feel any malice."
"He has no heightened security, he's not telling us who has hired assassins
to kill him although he knows who the culprit is and he is putting himself
out in the open despite the fact that it's hardly likely said enemy is going
to give up after just one try. I don't need to feel malice in the Force to
know something's up."
The Jedi Master sighed softly, "I know. Still. this is like no situation
I've ever been in. The Senator is screaming ulterior motives at me, but at
the same time, I do not feel the way I do when I'm around the likes of Fyor
Rodan. And I haven't figured out yet what that's supposed to tell me."
"So you don't think any longer that our fishy friend Pwoe or any of his
throng is behind the assassination attempt?"
Luke shook his head, "No. I've been thinking about this and if anything, the
difficulties this mission is posing for the Senate and the potential trouble
with the Yuuzhan Vong that lays ahead would be very welcome to either of
them. It stretches our forces and monopolizes our attention. They will
figure they're safer that way."
Mara smiled, "They have no idea."
Her husband smiled back, "No idea whatsoever. With Corran coordinating the
investigations, I figure we'll sooner or later have the proof we need to
neutralize them. I don't care how long it takes, actually, so long as the
end result is satisfying. It won't be easy, but Corran doesn't do this kind
of operation the first time. He'll handle it."
"Nonetheless," Luke picked his comlink from his belt, "I'd like to check
with Leia and tell her about yesterday. There's still a chance we're missing
something."
The Jedi Master's personal comlink was programmed to link with the Jade
Sabre the moment it was flicked on. This allowed quick communication with
either the ship's onboard computer or R2-D2. The faithful, little astromech
had accompanied them on this trip and had been left at the spacecraft as
backup. None of their hosts had the slightest inkling that he was there and
if it were necessary, he could pilot the Jade Sabre to wherever Luke and
Mara were at any given moment to get them out quickly and efficiently.
True to form, a warble of annoyed twitters greeted Luke. The droid didn't
like being left behind, though he enjoyed gloating about successful rescue
attempts to his counterpart C-3PO whenever the opportunity arose.
Luke quickly shushed the astromech. "I don't have much time, R2. I
transmitted a text-doc message to the Sabre this morning."
An indignant hoot sounded through the air and Mara quickly looked around to
make sure no one was listening in. It wasn't as if R2 didn't know the value
of covert operation, he just didn't care if he was unnerved. Not for the
first time since she had married Luke did Mara wonder when she had started
to acknowledge that the tin can had feelings. It should have been impossible
with a droid, but even her son Ben didn't manage to wail as plaintively as
R2-D2 could.
The former Emperor's Hand noted with relief that they were still well out of
hearing range of the other guests and a good distance away from the lawn
that grew abundantly around the building. Luke would have a few moments to
give his astromech the necessary instructions.
The former Tatooine farmboy rolled his eyes, "I know you would have seen it
already. I'm sorry. Listen, just forward it to Leia. It's important."
The channel grew silent for a while until a startled screech let Luke wince
and hold the device somewhat further away from his face. "What was that?"
R2 repeated what he had said, slower and in a tone more comfortable for
human ears and Luke blinked puzzled at the comlink. "What? Why?"
Mara frowned, "What's the problem?"
The Jedi Master held up a hand for her to wait and listened intently to the
binary language pouring from the small object in his hands. Summoning her
patience - always way too thin if R2-D2 was concerned - she marvelled at her
husband's ability to understand the weird language of the droid enough to
not have to rely on translator screens for information exchange.
While Luke was unable to understand every electronic syllable, he and R2 had
learned to communicate via an assortment of short words and sentences that
brought across whatever the Jedi needed to know in as short a time as
possible.
"I see," Luke was saying now, his features troubled. "Keep trying and comm
me if it works or if you find out why it doesn't." He thumbed off the device
and looked at his wife, his azure gaze befuddled and a tad more worried than
seconds before. "Off-world communication is down. No way to get a message
through."
Mara slowed immediately. "That's the last proof we need. The Sabre doesn't
rely on planet-side means of communication. Even if all of Ord Radama
suffered from an energy breakdown, we would still be able to reach Coruscant
without trouble."
Luke nodded, doing a conscious effort not to adopt too grim an expression.
"They're deliberately blocking us. They don't want us to get a message
off-world."
As they continued their seeming stroll, a lean figure stepped out between
two pillars and started its way toward them. Anandan Kele's pure white
clothes stood out clearly via the backdrop of violet and burgundy blossoms
that adorned the reception hall. His black hair gleamed in the sun and his
aristocratic face bore a welcoming smile.
"Do we confront him about it?" Mara gave a smile, too, all too aware that
the Senator would be able to see the smallest of their gestures by now.
Luke had assumed a pleasant expression, but his radiant eyes had cooled down
to the colour of arctic ice. As much as he had insisted that the Radaman
Senator didn't make the impression of a traitor, despite the obvious way he
withheld information from them, he was too experienced to neglect the facts.
Even if Kele were not the one to block their communications, someone did and
certainly not without reasons.
"We don't," he finally decided, his voice barely a whisper. "We continue to
play our part. Supportive of his people's situation, taken in by the beauty
of his world. More politician than Jedi."
Mara nodded. She had expected her husband to take this course of action. It
was the only one that made sense. If you didn't know who was working against
you and why, the best thing to do was pretend to go along and be ready for
everything. While your enemy thought to have the advantage of surprise, you
were mostly one step ahead by expecting the most improbable things to
happen.
And it would not be hard to pretend to be bedazzled by the delicateness of
the Radaman architecture and sense of beauty. The gala wardrobe they had
donned would further help to project the picture of the unsuspecting
stranger. As far as the Radamans were concerned, they were here to inspect
the economic situation of the world only.
Mara wore a combination of tight-fitting red shirt and skirt of an elegant
cut that nicely underlined her perfect figure and barely hindered her
movements. To spice the attire up, she had a shawl made of glistening, black
shimmersilk slung about her shoulders. Resting in the crooks of her arms, it
hid her lightsaber perfectly. She had fastened the weapon to the small of
her back, well out of sight, but close enough to reach in the fracture of a
second.
Luke, on the other hand, wore his lightsaber for everyone to see in a
specially designed holster on his right thigh that was connected to his
belt. It stood out in a nice contrast against his deep burgundy pants and
shirt and the wide, billowing cloak of an even deeper shade of the same
colour made him an appearance as impressive as it was captivating.
The effect it had on Anandan Kele was lost on neither of the two Jedi as the
Radaman Senator reached them and bowed respectfully as a way of greeting.
"It is good to see you, Master Jedi." The obsidian eyes of the humanoid
seemed to move perpetually, and he did his best to focus neither on Mara nor
on Luke for too long.
'Someone having a bad conscience,' Mara remarked in the Force, careful to
not let her smile waver.
Disbelief and even a flicker of disappointment washed over her from Luke's
direction and she was almost sorry for the sarcasm her words had been laced
with. After all these years, he had still retained the ability to be shaken
to the core of his being if someone turned out to be the contrary of what he
had instinctively thought him to be.
"It's our pleasure to be here, Senator Kele. This is truly a beautiful
place."
The compliment seemed to relieve the Radaman from some of his discomfiture
and his gaze settled eagerly on the display of lush flowers all around them.
"Thank you, Master Skywalker. We are very proud of the wonders of our
planet. Follow me. You will be most amazed at the culinary creations our
cooks have fashioned."
The Senator led the way into the hall and a wave of chatting noises and
laughter hit them like a gust of strong wind. Now that they had passed the
pillars, they could see the glint of embedded sound dampers in small
excavations circling around the base of every one of them. The birds' songs
from outside still reached their ears, but no one would be able to eavesdrop
on the things that were conferred upon in here.
At the opposite wall, the Radamans had arrayed a number of elongated, narrow
tables. Decorated with leaves and blossoms, they bore an overwhelming mass
of food. Pastries, meat, vegetables, soups and an uncountable number of
delicacies foreign to them had been amassed and in the midst of it all
throned an elevated pedestal with an assortment of sweets and chocolates
beneath the glass painting of a stylised Yncha flower.
"I will fetch my wife. She has been most impatient to meet you." Not waiting
for an acknowledgment, Anandan Kele dived into the mass of Radamans around
them, granting them a moment of relative privacy.
Mara's jade eyes took in every detail of the room, from the four-seat,
filigrane metal tables and chairs that were placed at random intervals all
through the hall to the sculptures taking up the space between pillars at
certain places. "Impressive", she acknowledged, slipping her right into the
crook of her husband's left arm as she let her gaze wander over the crowd.
She counted twelve males, standing together in groups of threes and fours,
while an equal number of female Radamans, splendid and almost unreal with
their Elven-like appearances, was hovering around the buffet. They evidently
had a good time and were in the best of moods.
"The governors and their wives."
Luke nodded, "They all seem to be in a cheery mood. Even if the governors
still don't really like the reason that led us here."
Mara inclined her head with grace as a bunch of the non-humans held up their
glasses in greeting and turned to the Jedi Master in what had to look like
an expression of delight to them. "They're still going to make sure that
they can all go home and brag about meeting Luke Skywalker."
The former farmboy smirked, "Politicians are always the same. Trying to find
a way to profit from even those things they hate the most."
They were slowly making their way toward where they saw Anandan Kele quietly
talk to a slender female with gleaming auburn hair and almond-shaped eyes as
obsidian as the ones of every Radaman. Her lithe body was hulled into a
complex mix of creamy white and lavender silk. Her features seemed a bit
less aristocratic and fine as the one of her husband, but her smile was more
sincere and resembled a supernova as she caught sight of the Jedi that were
approaching arm in arm.
Leaving the Senator amidst a sentence, she hurried towards them and gripped
Luke's hand in a friendly, if a bit overexcited manner, shaking it almost
furiously. "It is such an honor to meet you, Master Skywalker."
Luke smiled at her and bowed curtly, "I'm glad to be here. This is my wife,
Mara."
"Mara Jade Skywalker!" The woman exclaimed, only a tad less exuberant than
she had fluted Luke's name. "Of course I know her. Your reputation precedes
you. You have many admirers. Among the men, especially." She laughed
lightly, the sound reminding of a bird early in the morning.
A short burst of jealousy travelled over their bond and Mara didn't bother
hiding her grin. Competition always put Luke in a very special mood - a mix
of possessiveness and protectiveness that usually culminated in the most
wonderful nights during which he made a point of showing her why other
suitors should be uninteresting to her.
In the meantime, the Senator himself had caught up with them and graced his
wife with a mildly chastising gaze that made her roll her eyes. "Anandan
thinks I'm unfit for social occasions. And only because I think even the
most serious problem should be taken with a good deal of humour and joy."
The Radaman appeared helpless for a moment, but gathered himself quickly and
laid an arm around her shoulders. "This is my wife, Daliane. The women will
enjoy the feast with us and then leave us to the political discussions."
Mara's eyebrows rose as she gave a not so gentle, "Oh?" and the poor Senator
was sent into an even more flustered state as he realized the indeterminate
quality of his statement. He blinked at her. "Of course that means our
wives. Not you, Master Jedi." Obviously sensitive to the fact that he had
annoyed the former Emperor's Hand, he carefully touched her upper arm and
gestured towards the groups of male Radamans that were slowly coming
together and merging into one big assembly. "Let me introduce you to the
governors."
Daliane nodded, "Right. Go ahead, darling. Master Skywalker and I will
follow you after I have made him taste our Yncha pralines. You cannot leave
our planet before you have tasted one of those." She beamed up at Luke and
gestured over to the buffet. "I'm sure you will love them. If anything,
they'll help you gather energies for the boring politics you're going to
discuss."
Luke found himself genuinely drawn to Daliane Kele. Her openness and warmth
was a rare thing on occasions like this. There were not many who could block
out ulterior motives, serious problems and merciless scheming to just enjoy
the event and the luxury and beauty that were offered.
Standing a bit closer to her than before, he could glimpse fine lines around
her eyes and on her cheeks, testimony to a woman that loved to laugh. She
was a character that instantly evoked sympathies.
He felt Mara's gaze on him as she crossed the hall towards the gathered
governors, trailing a suddenly even more nervous Anandan Kele and sent a
Force tendril in her direction, 'Do keep your eyes open. Any of those could
be it.'
Laughter floated back and through his head, ' I always do. You just don't
flirt with any of the ladies, Master Skywalker. '
Luke's puzzlement rang all through clearly through the Force and Mara's
mental chuckles accompanied him all the way to the buffet while he listened
to the enthusiastic explanations of his hostess.
*~~
The "Bet's Off" was one of many down-trodden establishments that seemed to
fight against the ever-present danger of bankruptcy. The tables were blotchy
and covered by a layer of smeary dirt, the couches and chairs worn and
wobbly and no one seemed to ever bother to exchange broken lighting panels.
Obscured by dense fume from a dozen different tobacco variants and various
other intoxicants, you almost had the impression to be alone when you were
lounging in one of the dingy booths that rimmed one wall.
Amazingly, pubs like this one were among those turning out the highest
winnings. Any number of shady characters counted drinking holes like the
"Bet's Off" their second home. Here they could acquire new working
assignments, buy and sell information, drown their latest frustrating
misadventure in ail or find a consort for the night.
Han Solo scratched his chin and swallowed a curse. The pitch-black fake
beard he had donned was driving him mad with its itch and he wished that the
red one he had more often used - and that did not itch at all - had not been
singed to uselessness during his and Luke's last undercover mission. He was
still persuaded that his brother-in-law had done that on purpose, because he
had made him wear the thing. What else was he to think if the only casualty
to mourn over after a blaster fight was the red fake beard?
Luke had reacted with all the indignance of a righteous Jedi Master - it had
just hardened Han's certainty that the former farmboy had wanted to get rid
of the 'ridiculous face growth'. With his powers in the Force, it wasn't
even difficult to hold his face in exactly the right angle to have a stray
blaster bolt sheer off almost the entire thing and not even touch Luke's
chin.
"If you don't stop that, everyone's going to think you've got fleas." The
slightly accented female voice belonged to Swilja Fenn. The Twi'lek Jedi was
nestled into his side, her body barely covered by a revealing gown of sandy
yellow lace, and looked around with her dark eyes, taking in every customer
and comparing him with the description Han had given her of the contact he
hoped to meet.
They had been able to dock at the Jubilee Wheel without much of a problem. A
smuggler in the accompany of a barely clothed Twi'lek dancer was as common a
sight on a space station as was a Jawa on Tatooine and no one had paid much
attention to them. After making the tour of the black market booths to check
whether they were followed, they had proceeded to the biggest pub on the
Wheel to wait.
This had been two hours ago and to say that Swilja was annoyed was an
understatement. It wasn't a lack of patience on her part - Han had come to
see that she had taken Luke's Jedi lessons to heart and had probably
finished her apprenticeship with an A+ in behaviour. What bugged the Twi'lek
was the fact that she had to pose as a dancer and bear all the lecherous,
sultry looks every second male was giving her.
"Feels like it, too." Han murmured back. He forced his hands away from his
face and spread his arms wide to recline in the bench of their booth.
"Then maybe it's time you get that off your skin. And us off this junk
heap."
"He WILL come. He's never let me down before."
The Twi'lek snorted and her lekku writhed in disdain on her back. "How long
ago have you last seen him?"
"What's that got to do with it all?"
The attractive female face was bereft of any expression, only her eyes held
a kind of exasperation that made Han nervous. He was not accustomed to not
being able to banter. As much as he thought Swilja to be a nice lady and a
good Jedi, her way of refusing to be dragged into banter was disturbing to
him.
She was taking things too serious for his taste. Of course it was a serious
mission, but how much easier was it to deal with the expected complications
by not acting as if the universe was going to collapse any moment?
Shaking his head to himself, Han leaned in close. "We give him another
twenty minutes. Then we go back to the Falcon."
Swilja narrowed her eyes and hid the gesture by showing her sharp teeth in a
grin, but before she could say anything, a hesitant voice sounded out of the
fumes around the table. "Vykk? Vykk Draygo?"
Han tensed and sat up straight. The Twi'lek Jedi shrank into the shadows in
what had to look like a gesture of timidity to whoever had intruded on their
talk - in truth, she'd be ready to spring into action the moment the
stranger turned out to be hostile.
Vykk Draygo was a forged ID Han had used decades ago, a long time before the
Rebellion had sprung up and when he had just begun to make a living for
himself as a smuggler. He hadn't even known Chewbacca at that time. Grief
washed over him, but he suppressed it quickly. This was not the moment to be
overwhelmed by memories. The Wookiee would have a good laugh if that kind of
melancholy were responsible for getting him shot.
Naturally, the Corellian and the Twi'lek Jedi had not docked under their
true names. The Millenium Falcon was travelling under a faked transponder
code identifying her as the Princess of Blood. Still, Vykk Draygo was an
alias Han didn't use anymore. An alias not many people could know about. As
far as he knew, all those privy to it and bearing him ill were already dead.
He wouldn't have survived as long as he had by simply going with such
assumptions, though.
"Possibly. Who wants to know?"
Han kept still while the creature merged out of the fumes and slid into the
booth. The bald head of a Bith, almost pink due to the consumption of too
much glitterstim or worse, leaned forward and peered up at him through
pupil-less black eyes. "My name is Csil D'engan. Roa sent me."
The former smuggler put his elbows on the table and met the other's stare
dead-on. "Is that so?"
The alien seemed to notice his trusted blaster for the first time and shied
away in surprise. Han would almost have laughed. Whatever he was, he was not
a professional. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Swilja scoot back to
his side, their agreed-upon sign that she had not spotted any weapons on the
other's body.
As any pirate would do, Han didn't grace the Twi'lek with even a spare look
and held his eyes fixated on the Bith. "And why would Roa send you to Vykk
Draygo?"
The Bith seemed dumbfounded as his long fingers knotted together. "You are
Vykk Draygo, are you not?"
The Corellian sighed. The difficult thing with beginners and greenhorns was
that they didn't even manage to play along a typical to and fro game. They
were too inexperienced to recognize hints when they were given and whereas
they often held information that would be helpful to you, they were just as
quick to blow your cover. Indeliberately, sure, but that did hardly make a
difference under most circumstances.
Seizing the non-human up a final time, listening into his gut to find out
whether his instincts were warning him off, Han decided to just go along. He
hadn't spotted anyone that bore a grudge against him. At least he was
reasonably certain of this.
"I am Vykk Draygo."
Swilja's features darkened almost imperceptibly, but she didn't say word.
Han appreciated this. She had no idea of the significance of this name. He
hadn't even mentioned this to Leia. The necessity had just never arisen. If
he hadn't missed something very important during the last few years, the
only one still alive who would know about this was Roa himself.
The Bith relaxed visibly. "Good. He told me to give you this note. Clear
skies."
As Han had expected, the alien vanished quickly among the crowd of customers
and left but a small piece of flimsi-plast. A few words were scribbled on
it, a line of numbers below. The Corellian studied it and frowned,
"Shouldn't surprise me."
Swilja plucked the note from his fingers and read it with narrowed eyes.
"Splendid. It's probably unlikely your friend's suffering from paranoia."
Again, there was no humour in her voice and finally, Han knew whom she was
reminding him of. Tenel Ka. She had the same tendency to puzzle everyone
with remarks that should be funny, but never were if they uttered them.
Han shook his head, "If he says he's been tracked since I contacted him,
then he is being tracked. Still, we've not come for nothing." He tugged the
flimsi-plast into his jacket, tossed a few coins onto the table and stood.
"Come on. We're on our way." He added a dismissive hand gesture to stay in
character and strode purposefully toward the exit without waiting for the
Jedi to follow him.
In less than fifteen minutes, they had let the corridors of the Wheel behind
them and were settling into the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon.
"Where are we going?" Swilja buckled herself in, wincing in disdain as the
belts cut into the delicate green skin of her body where the spare dress
didn't cover it. "I hope wherever it is, I'll have the time to change." She
muttered.
"Not likely," Han started the power-up sequence and consulted the
navicomputer to find out the relative position of the Jubilee Wheel to the
planet. "We're going to Ord Mantell. Worlport to be exact."
The Twi'lek frowned, "If this Roa is being tracked ever since you contacted
him, it's pretty probable that whoever is keeping an eye on him is going to
expect us down there."
The Corellian nodded, "Of course. But the line of numbers below the note is
the code for a smuggler's box in one of the abandoned buildings out on the
frontier between the inhabited cities and the wastelands, where the heavy
industry is making living pretty ugly."
"A smuggler's box. And it's supposed to be still there after twenty years?"
Han glared at her, "He may be out of business, but I already said he's
keeping up to date. Whatever information he has assembled - and I daresay
it's quite an important piece of it - it'll be there."
"It and trouble."
The Corellian gave a lopsided grin, "I was becoming bored anyway."
*~~
The feast had been going on for hours. Darkness had fallen outside and night
insects were filling the air with chirps and other, unidentifiable sounds.
Now the female Radamans were getting ready to withdraw and leave the field
to their husbands, so that they could discuss the future of Ord Radama.
Servants quickly carried away the dishes and the rest of the food and ere
long, the twelve governors, the Senator Anandan Kele and the two Jedi had
taken a seat around a long, oval table of black wood that had been brought
in for the conference.
A few minutes of pleasant, non-committal chatter went by before the
governors grew serious. The representative of the largest of Ord Radama's
twelve nations cleared his throat and stood. "I hear that you have studied
the situation of our world's economy. You have come to a decision?"
Luke rose slowly from his seat and turned slightly to the right so that he
could look the non-human squarely in the eye. "The decision is left to the
Senate. But as things lay, both my wife and I are confident that the New
Republic will grant you financial support and give you access to several of
the programs that are available for planets such as yours."
The governors erupted in a soft murmur of agreement that was strongly tinged
with relief. The prospect of help for the people they were responsible for
did not much, but a little to take the sting out of the fact that they had
to ask for help in the first place.
"What about the trade routes we need? Can we count on you, Master Jedi?"
Luke took a deep breath before he answered, "As you are well aware, I'm
sure, this matter is very delicate. The Yuuzhan Vong are a reclusive race.
They have been granted autonomy over their cluster and cannot be ordered to
open their space."
Silence fell over the gathering and numerous faces fell. "Does that mean you
think it impossible?"
The Jedi Master frowned slightly. "That is not what I said, Governor Werda.
What I said is that the outcome is unsure and that nothing can be forced.
The Jedi will gladly bring what influence we have to bear in order to help
Ord Radama, but what I have come to do is to look for alternatives. A trade
route around the Yuuzhan Vong cluster would be an ideal solution."
"So far, we have not even been told which planet you're envisioning as trade
partner." Mara softly interjected, her eyes blazing in the dim lighting of
the hall.
This seemed to puzzle the compact Radaman that had addressed Luke and
several more of the governors sent astonished glances in the direction of
Anandan Kele. Caught, she mused.
"Senator Kele," the one called Werda began, "why didn't you answer the
Jedis' questions yet?"
Kele extended his arms in a gesture of apology, "I thought it would be
prudent to take care of everything at once, this evening."
Luke filed the reaction of the governors away, only mildly astonished that
another piece of the puzzle that set Kele up as a liar fell into place. He
still didn't believe it, not wholeheartedly, but the riddle started to worry
him ever more.
"Which planet, then?" He asked mildly, feeling tiredness well up within him.
It surprised him, but the day had been long. Being on your guard twenty-four
hours on end was exhausting, he had experienced that before.
"Mon Calamari. We have found a company willing to interact with us on good
terms. The deal would turn out a hefty profit and create a large number of
jobs for our people."
"But if you don't travel through the Yuuzhan Vong cluster, the cost of fuel
and the profit-time ratio would explode and negate any winnings. Am I
right?" Mara's voice was sickly sweet as she narrowed her gaze on Anandan
Kele. The Radaman paled, but held the eye contact bravely. "Of course."
"Have there been no other planets interested in your goods?"
Kele smiled thinly, "The company on Mon Calamari offered a deal we could not
withstand."
This answer seemed odd to Luke, but before he could ask for the names of the
planets, a Radaman servant hurried to the Senator's side and whispered a few
quick words. Kele frowned and glanced in the direction from which the aide
had come. He excused himself and quickly followed his compatriot.
A tall human was waiting behind one of the pillars of the reception hall,
half-hidden behind one of the numerous sculptures. The Jedi Master caught a
glimpse of icy blue and of a haughty face with high cheekbones. Then two
things happened at once.
The high whine of repulsor engines ripped through the complacent silence of
the night. It grew steadily louder, and it soon became clear that several
vehicles at least the size of a speeder bike had to be closing in on the
building from the east. At the same time, a wave of nausea rolled over him
and he sagged hard onto his chair.
*~~
Mara had risen along with half of the Radamans at the table when the whir of
the repulsor engines had first broken through the background noise of a
night in the forest. The former Emperor's Hand felt a grim smile blossom on
her lips - this didn't come exactly unexpected. The location of this
conference was no less than an invitation, an opportunity too good to
ignore.
While the non-humans started drifting towards the pillars and - foolishly -
peered out into the night, Mara shook her head in annoyance. If they didn't
develop some survival instinct soon, getting them all out unscathed in case
the new arrivals turned out to be hostile - and Mara was sure they would -
was going to be difficult.
She half turned and was startled to find Luke not next to her, focused on
the problem at hand. Mara completed her movement and felt her heart stop for
just a little moment. The Jedi Master sat slumped in his chair, his face
pale. His eyes were blinking open and closed slowly and he seemed to sway in
his seat.
Mara was next to him in an instant, relieved now that the attention of the
governors was not on her and her love.
"Luke?"
While she was kneeling down in front of him, she felt how he sucked the
Force into himself, but even though she saw him straighten, his eyes still
seemed glazed over and unfocused as she stared into them, her own filled
with worry.
"Luke, what's wrong?"
He blinked again and frowned. "Woozy." He murmured, his voice rough and with
a slight slur to it.
Meanwhile, the whine of the repulsor vehicles was so loud that it drowned
out the nervous voices of the governors. At the fringes of her perception,
Mara noted that Anandan Kele was nowhere to see. The escalation she was
waiting for came within seconds. Blaster bolts shrieked into the hall,
sending the Radamans scattering in a panic.
She would have almost called to them to stay together, to flee through the
opposite wall of the hall and into the forest, but the advice didn't leave
her lips. None of the assailants that were still hidden by the darkness
outside went to pursue any of the governors. Instead, she heard them circle
the building and thought to see the forward fins of speeder bikes hovering
just outside the glow of the lights. The pilots were no doubt equipped with
the latest interactive visors - and they were scanning the hall for their
prey.
The logical conclusion was that they were searching for Kele, but the
Senator was certainly not in the hall. A fact the attackers had no doubt
already realised. And they were still hovering, still circling and still
peeking in. Cautiously. Expecting trouble.
"Kreth," Mara hissed under her breath. She slung her arm around the Jedi
Master's hip and dragged Luke upright, trying to compensate for his buckling
knees. "We've got to get out of here. Fast."
Luke nodded, but didn't answer. Instead, she felt his presence in the Force
close in on hers, merge wit hers, and she willingly opened up to let him
drink in her strength. In the seconds he needed to purge enough of whatever
was giving him trouble out of his system to allow him to stand on his own
and move, she fumbled his comlink off his belt and pressed the button that
would set off a series of alarms in the Jade Sabre's cockpit and send R2 the
signal to pick them up.
The Jedi Master came upright, trying to get his bearings, just when the
first of the speeder bike goons decided to press forward and veered into the
hall, a dozen meters away from where they were standing.
"How many?" Luke's voice was once again steady, but it was obvious to his
wife that he relied more on the Force to get impressions of his surroundings
than on his eyes. He felt sluggish to her, not as much as moments ago, but
enough to hamper him in the fight to come.
"Twelve. Maybe thirteen."
By the time both their lightsabers had sprung to life, the whole speeder
bike gang had followed its leader's example and dared come into the light.
They were drawing a wide circle around the two Jedi, training a variety of
blaster pistols and rifles on them, but not shooting a single time.
'They're waiting for something,' Mara followed the pattern, expertly
assessing the way the masked unknowns handled their weapons and assigning
threat levels to them. It didn't take her long to figure out which one to
take out first. If she timed it right, there would be a chance to survive
until the Sabre arrived.
'No," Luke's voice answered in her head. 'They're waiting for me.'
'What do you.?' Mara bit her lower lip as realisation dawned on her. 'This
better work.'
'Just play along.' He didn't wait for her acknowledgement.
Without so much as a sigh, Luke crumpled to the floor. His lightsaber rolled
along the floor and before it had even knocked against one of the pillars,
the attackers reacted. His half-masked face now bearing a broad grin, the
leader of the group waved three of his partners forward.
For appearance's sake, Mara defiantly lifted her azure blade and glared at
them. Each of the three that were approaching loosened a bolt and each of
the bolts hit the floor of the hall a bit closer to Luke's head.
She cursed inwardly - why did her husband's plans always involve stuff like
this?
Luke didn't budge or twist, neither as the last bolt sprinkled pieces of
permabeton over his head nor as one of the trio landed next to him while the
other two kept Mara away. He could feel his wife's disapproval, but knew
that this was the best way to get out of the mess they were in. The Jade
Sabre would soon be here, but they were badly outnumbered. He still felt
nauseous and infinitely tired and knew that he was no match for twelve
speeder bike jockeys in that condition. If he could manage to get one of the
bikes, though.
The thug that had landed next to him did not hop off his vehicle. Even
though the Jedi Master lay unmoving before him, wariness radiated off him.
Just as Luke had hoped, the humanoid extended his blaster rifle and nudge
him in the side, none too gently, but still hesitant enough to make it easy
for him to stifle an instinctive groan.
When his victim did not react, the assailant laughed and called something
over to the leader and his colleagues, in a language Luke had never heard
before. He didn't waste time wondering what the other could have said.
Drawing on fast reflexes and the Force and pushing through the hazy mist
that was covering his senses, he grabbed the muzzle of the rifle and drew.
With a yelp, the pilot was yanked off the speeder bike and groaned as Luke's
extended right leg hit him square in the stomach. The thug rolled into a
ball on the floor while Luke jumped up and thumped down on the speeder bike.
Even though he felt a drug cursing through his veins, beckoning him with
sleep, his connection with the Force was strong enough to let him manage
piloting, something he had done ever since he was able to walk and that was
as natural to him as breathing.
The group of assassins around him needed a few seconds to realize what had
happened. By the time they opened fire and pressed their engines to pursue,
Luke had picked up Mara and was weaving his way in and out of pillars,
bringing them into the direction of the path they had taken to come here
hours earlier. He had no night-vision visor and felt as if he were stuck in
glue, so he had deemed it best to take an escape route that was at least
vaguely known to him.
Behind him, Mara deactived her lightsaber and hooked it into the small of
her back. Most of the poorly aimed bolts hit the building anyway and the
rest Luke was still awake enough to dodge. It wasn't easy to pilot and shoot
if you were not Jedi.
When Luke turned the bike sharply to the left and veered out into the
darkness, Mara had familiarized herself with the blaster rifle her husband
had taken from the former owner of the vehicle and picked off the first two
of their pursuers as they followed the Jedi outside.
To his credit, the leader of the gang waved his partners off and had them
hover each behind a pillar. He must have understood that whereas they had a
hard time seeing the Jedi and their speeder bike in the darkness beyond,
they themselves were bathed in the light of the reception hole and easy
targets.
"They'll swarm out soon," Mara said as she gripped Luke's waist a bit
tighter with her left arm to compensate the added weight of her weapon. The
Jedi Master was hovering among the first of the trees, eyes and Force senses
trained on their enemies.
"How much longer until the Sabre arrives?" His voice sounded strained and
she had the feeling he was pressing the words out between gritted teeth.
Pouring her strength into him, she felt him battle against still nearly
overwhelming nausea and grimaced in worry. "Maybe it's better if you let me
pilot, Luke."
He smiled over his shoulder, "If I don't pilot, I'll drop out cold. The
adrenaline helps."
In the distance, they saw half of the speeder bike pilots leave the hall
through the far side of the building, impossible to shoot from their vantage
point.
"Coming in from behind and forcing us back into the others. They're clever."
She murmured.
Luke cocked his head to the side and his smile broadened a little more,
"They might be clever, but they're not fast enough." Mara frowned and was
about to inquire what he meant when she heard the familiar hum of the Jade
Sabre's engines practically right over her head.
Her jade eyes darkened, "Do you realize what he did to my ship by getting it
here THAT fast?"
Luke shrugged, "He's a droid. He has risk margins and all that stuff. Don't
worry."
Mara huffed, but refrained from commenting any further on it. They watched
as the Jade Sabre sat down between the forest and the reception hall,
effectively shielding them from the goons inside the construct. The moment
the ship's entry ramp started lowering, Luke hit the thrusters and veered
out of the dense foliage's cover at the highest speed the vessel could
manage.
The ones who had been stalking them were fast. They had not yet been able to
get behind them, but instead of completing their course and trying to catch
them that way, they kept behind the cover of the trees and started filling
the night with blaster bolts. Red lances of light were cutting through the
darkness at random intervals, aimed to have them fly directly into them
without a chance to dodge.
Mara felt Luke's concentration harden to a point where his whole body
quivered, straining against the effects of the drug in his bloodstream. He
was amazing, even in this condition, but there were too many angles the
deadly energy bolts could come from. Even with Mara's lightsaber humming to
life again and deflecting as many as she could, it was not enough.
He shot into the small docking space inside the Sabre and hit the breaks
hard, bringing them to an instant stand that almost catapulted them off the
bike. Mara slipped down immediately and ran toward the cockpit. Luke was a
bit slower, as he programmed the primitive autopilot of the vehicle on a
simple course away from the ship. His X-Wing took up the entire docking
space inside the Sabre and there was no room for anything else - not even a
vehicle as small as a speeder bike.
It felt like minutes to him, but in reality it took him but a few seconds to
send the repulsor vessel off. At the fringes of his perception, he saw the
Jade Sabre's shields shimmer to life - the hull was strong and R2 had thus
diverted all energy to the engines for increased velocity.
The reaction time of shields as advanced as the one of Mara's ship was
extraordinary. The time span between pressing the activator button in the
cockpit and the build-up of working protective energy fields at twenty-five
percent was as long as ten seconds.
It was not quick enough. Two enemy bolts managed to find their way in before
the shields came up. Luke saw them and tried to duck and twist out of harm's
way, but now that his legs had to support his full weight again, the
queasiness had returned. His body didn't react as fast as it was supposed to
and the blasters hit as he didn't manage to turn away fully. Pain blossomed
at the left side of his head and on his chest and the force of the bolts
sent him spinning and tumbling into darkness.
To Be Continued