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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 6
Consciousness had returned to him in a curious mix of clarity and haziness.
The left side of his face throbbed, his chest burned and the metallic taste
of blood was on his lips. He blinked against the harsh lights of the Jade
Sabre’s docking bay and winced as pain shot through his head.
He had awoken to find himself propped against the bulkhead, his limbs heavy
and his wife’s worried face hovering over him. She had moved her lips, but
no sound had reached his ears and it had been then that he had remembered
the drug that had almost knocked him out back at the reception hall.
Luke Skywalker knew he was trying to form words, but Mara’s smile told him
that whatever had come out of his mouth had not been coherent. So he laid
back and tried to stay awake while he felt her tending to his wounds.
Memories of the last few seconds of awareness came back to him and he
recalled the blaster bolts that had streaked towards him through the night.
They could not have hit him fully, he concluded, otherwise he would hardly
be in any shape to ponder the events of the past few hours.
The Jedi Master lost track of time as he floated in semi-consciousness,
dimly comprehending that Mara would focus on stopping the blood flow and
disinfecting the wounds before she would help him get rid of whatever it was
that was trying to push him back into the state of coma the speeder bike
jockeys had expected him to be in when they had hit the reception hall.
Hours might have passed when his vision and thoughts finally cleared. Luke
shivered and glanced down at himself. Mara had rid him of his shirt to
properly treat the nasty burn that was covering his torso from left to
right. Something warm and sticky had been fastened to the left side of his
face and he suspected that it covered an injury just as nasty as the one
Mara was about to bandage.
When she noticed his movement, the female Jedi lifted her gaze from what she
was doing and smiled in relief, “There you are again. I was worried I’d have
to wait for the result of the blood analysis to give you the right
antidote.”
Luke frowned and sat up slowly, giving his sense of up and down time to
adjust. “How long have I been out?” His tongue felt swollen and dry and he
gratefully accepted the bottle of water Mara gave him before she clicked the
medkit shut and helped him rise to his feet.
“A couple of minutes.” She inspected the bandages – strings of bacta badges,
as he could see now – a last time, making sure they would stand him moving
around, then nodded her satisfaction. “This’ll hold. Just scrapes. They’re
painful, though. You’ll need to go into a trance for a while, as soon as
possible.”
The Jedi Master nodded his assent and gazed over to the now closed ramp.
“What happened?”
“I think they hoped for you to tumble the other way.” Mara’s eyes narrowed
as she recalled the moments after Luke had been hit. She had lived through a
few seconds of shock and sheer panic as she had seen him falling to the
floor via the security cameras she had lined the bay with. He had rolled
down the closing ramp, slammed into the port landing strut of his X-Wing and
within seconds, pools of blood had formed around his head and chest.
The wounds had certainly not LOOKED like mere scrapes and she had been sure
he was dead until she had located his presence in the Force, knocked out,
but strong. Feeling her husband’s gaze on her, she dragged her thoughts back
from this terrible experience and focused on him. “They gave chase, no doubt
to try and pick you up from where you’d have fallen, but when they saw you
weren’t there, they broke off and vanished. They were no beginners – they
knew they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Sabre, so they abandoned their
objective.”
Luke carefully rolled his shoulder to work out the pins and needles he felt
in his muscles. “Any idea what exactly that objective has been?”
Mara snorted, “It was pretty obvious to me. They wanted you.”
Her husband frowned and gulped down the remaining content of the water
bottle. With every droplet he felt his strength returning to him, yet if it
came to the problems at hand, revelations would not come.
“I think they wanted us.” He finally said, his voice holding more certainty
than the facts warranted.
“Us? They sure didn’t bother me all too much.” Despite her matter-of-fact
tone and her all-business demeanour, Mara was clearly rattled and Luke had
to admit that he was, too. This had been a close call and he knew it. Had he
reacted only a second too late, the bolts would have caused mortal wounds.
He would have died before Mara would have had a chance to get to him with a
medpack.
The whole trip was fast getting out of control and they could not allow it
to escalate any more. If they didn’t get to the bottom of this soon, Ord
Radama would end up in a situation more problematic than before.
Luke took his wife’s hand and pressed it softly, letting her know that he
understood and giving her all the reassurance and gratitude he could while
still focusing on the problem at hand. “If I had truly been out cold, would
you have abandoned me?” He asked, his voice gentle.
It was not a challenge he was uttering, he just wanted to make her see that
things were not as obvious as she thought they were. Not from his point of
view, at least. He could still be wrong, of course, but he needed her to see
what he meant.
Mara’s expression darkened, “I’d have followed them and gotten you out.”
“Of course. But if they had had a blaster trained on my head, had told you
to shut down your lightsaber and get onto one of the bikes? As a prisoner?”
“I see. They knew they couldn’t take us both, so they tried to take one of
us out of the equation because they knew the other would do what they
demanded. Is that what you’re saying?”
Luke nodded, “That’s what I think has happened.”
“It was a bad idea.” The former Emperor’s Hand concluded after a while and
it didn’t sound as if she were joking. Her husband smiled, “It was. Someone
was too confident. They thought they knew enough about us to foresee our
reactions, but there are things they couldn’t predict.”
“Our bond.” Mara said softly, a wistful smile now gracing her features, too.
The Jedi Master drew her into his arms and kissed her, the one gesture
conveying everything he had not the time to say. How sorry he was for
scaring her, how grateful for her love and her help and how scared at the
thought that she might as well have been in his place.
Mara revelled in the sensations and merged into his chest, careful to not
touch his wound. “They didn’t expect me to help you fight the drug.”
“Exactly,” Luke’s voice was soft as he laid his chin on her head and allowed
himself some relaxation. The necessities of the mission and the adrenaline
that was still circulating in his system would both give him the energy he
would need to tackle what was to come, but right now, he wanted to forget
his close encounter with death.
Reality didn’t permit the humble pleasure for long. A shrill twitter sounded
through the intercom system and they hesitantly separated. “R2’ll have a
connection to Coruscant.” He murmured, unwilling to leave the embrace of his
wife and the safety and warmth it gave him.
Mara sighed, “If we’ve sorted this through.” She whispered, brushing her
lips over his and caressing his shoulder before she stepped away for good
and turned in the cockpit’s direction. “Whoever had a hand in this, he knows
us too well. He dosed you so high that it overwhelmed your Force defences.
The only place where such data is held is…”
“… My medical file.” Luke concluded. He looked at her in amazement. “They
need to have it up to date at all times to give a sufficient quantity of
anaesthetics if I’m in surgery. But no one’s supposed to be able to access
my medical file. It’s highly classified. Just like yours and Leia’s and
Han’s, the kids’….”
The former Emperor’s Hand nodded, her face sombre, “That’s my point. Maybe
your initial suspicions were not so far off the mark, after all. You need
power and influence to ignore limits like these. Some Senators have it.”
“What about Kele? Is he just a pawn?”
Mara shrugged, “That’s what we’ll have to find out.”
*~~
“I knew something was going to happen. Force…” Leia Organa Solo’s eyes were
wide and haunted as she took in the appearance of her brother. Though his
wounds had been seen to, there had been no time for him to clean up. His
hair was caked with blood and so was the largest part of his chest.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Luke quickly assured her. He hated worrying
his sister and would have preferred to take a shower before making the call
to Coruscant, but time was of the essence. It wouldn’t take Radaman Security
long to locate Anandan Kele and by the time the two Jedi landed again and
went to interrogate the Senator, it would be helpful to know whether he had
either the power or the connections to access classified medical data about
the head of the Jedi Order.
“That’s what you always say,” the Alderaanian princess remarked, her gaze
still doubtful.
“Leia, believe me, I’m fine. The shots just grazed me. As soon as I get the
chance to go into a trance I’ll be as good as new.” Seeing that his
arguments didn’t really convince his sister, Luke quickly added, “Mara
wouldn’t let me talk to you if it were serious.”
This seemed to finally satisfy the New Republic’s Chief of State somewhat.
“Where is she?”
“Talking to planetary security about a safe place to put the Jade Sabre
down. This was the second attack in two days… we don’t want to take
chances.”
Leia cocked an eyebrow, “The second attack?” The unspoken question was
obvious. Why did she not know about this? Luke had expected this reaction
and was glad that, this time around, he actually had an explanation other
than wanting to spare her the worry and fear.
“Our off-world communication was blocked. They didn’t want us to contact
you.”
The petite woman’s eyes narrowed, “I don’t think so.”
Luke blinked puzzled, “Hu?”
His twin sister shook her head and bent forward. Brown tresses dangled into
view and eclipsed the glimpses of the room behind her. “They sure didn’t
want any communication between us, but they were worried about ME contacting
YOU.”
The Jedi Master watched his sister for a few moments, noticing the thin line
of her lips and for the first time associating it with something different
than his own condition. “What’s happened?”
Leia wordlessly brought the holo-cube into her brother’s field of vision and
let it play out. When the sequence had ended, Luke was left almost
speechless. “Was there a message attached?” he finally asked, trying to go
about the problem in as analytical a way as he could manage.
The Chief of State shook her beautiful head, “No. This WAS the message. I
thought that maybe it was an ill-conceived joke. It happens sometimes. Then
I tried to contact you and didn’t come through. Now you have narrowly
escaped death. I think it’s abundantly clear what this has been supposed to
tell me.”
The Jedi Master nodded slowly, but there was something about his expression
that told Leia there was more going on. “You don’t agree?” she queried.
Luke blinked at her, as if he had forgotten for a moment that she was still
there, and leaned back in the Jade Sabre’s pilot chair. “I just wonder what
kind of an attempt it was back at the reception hall. Did they want to kill
us or hijack us? Things don’t fit either way. If they had wanted to kill us,
why drug me first? If they had wanted to hijack us, why try to shoot me to
pieces when it goes awry? And why HERE?”
Leia laid her fingertips together and sought his gaze, “You think it’s too
obvious.”
“Way too obvious,” Luke agreed. “Just think about it. I know I’m not trained
in Intelligence, but if Kele wanted to see me dead, it would be incredibly
stupid to have the attempts made on his planet. On the other hand, he IS
behaving in a suspicious way.”
His twin abandoned her regal position and cupped her chin in her hands in
frustration, “So our Senator is somehow part of this, but he is not the one
pulling the strings. He really couldn’t have gotten his hands on this data
about you, anyway. Did the blood analysis check out? Anything interesting?”
“Nope,” The former farmboy scratched his head and grimaced in disgust at the
stickiness of his hair. He really was in need of a shower. “It was a strong
sedative. Incredibly complicated chemical formula. The computer says it’s
been mixed and doesn’t resemble anything out on the market or in the spice
dens.”
“Just like the doctors do it if you have to go into surgery – combine
several ingredients.” Leia sighed, “This is just not helping us any. Have
you talked to Kele?”
“We will soon. Maybe that will give us some new leads. Do you think this is
changing anything for the Radaman people?”
The Chief of State shrugged, “I don’t know. It depends on the outcome. If
none of the governors is involved, hardly. But I cannot promise anything.”
Luke seemed disappointed, but nodded anyway, “I know you can’t.” They shared
smiles and a deep gaze, something that conveyed more thoughts and emotions
than any words they could have shared. There was much reassurance to be
drawn from such a contact, yet it also revealed formerly unaddressed fears
and sorrows.
“You’re worried about Han,” Luke said, his voice soft.
Leia winced almost imperceptibly and her smile wavered. She did her best to
keep it up, but more was needed to fool her twin. “He will be fine, Leia.”
The Princess looked down, “I hope so. I’m scared, Luke.” Her eyes were large
as she focused back on him. “That cube threatened me and now you’ve been
almost killed. Han could be in the same danger.”
“That would mean that all this is connected. The Ord Radama mission and the
trial against Cal. Do you believe that?”
The beautiful woman closed her eyes for a long moment, but they still held
insecurity when she opened them again, “I have no idea. It seems impossible.
Utopian. But I’m not willing to risk Han’s life.”
Luke smiled grimly, “Neither am I. What are his operating parameters?”
Tension fell off Leia as if she was stepping out of the shadows into the
light and she eagerly leaned forward. It was a relief to see him take her
fear seriously. Sometimes she suspected she was acting almost paranoid,
especially when Luke and Han were concerned.
“He’s supposed to check in by tomorrow morning. Coruscant time. Ten hours
from now.”
Luke did a check with the Radaman time system and nodded, “Let me know if he
doesn’t get back to you.”
“I will. And I will see whether I can find any connection between Kele and
Rodan. Or Pwoe and Niuv. You take care of yourself, Luke.”
The Jedi smiled reassuringly, “You, too. Give Ben a kiss from his parents
and tell him we’ll be back as soon as possible.” He reached out with one
hand but paused short of cutting the connection, “I love you, Leia.”
The Princess beamed at him, the smile that had always made his heart
flutter, ever since he had first met her. “I love you, too.”
*~~
The SoroSuub X-34 was an old landspeeder, but it handled well and was in
good condition. With the resources of New Republic Intelligence at his
disposal, Han Solo could have commandeered a newer model, but it was not the
first time he had come to a planet with stealth in mind.
Ord Mantell had its share of wealthy inhabitants, but the biggest part of
the planet’s population was lower middle class at best. Blending in would be
difficult with a state-of-the-art speeder that would draw attention to it
wherever they went.
He and Swilja had landed during the world’s early dawn and by the time the
sun had reached its highest stand, they were already leaving the outskirts
of Worlport behind and heading towards the murky horizon. Ord Mantell relied
on heavy industry to uphold its economy and most of the companies were
situated in the plains outside the cities. Environmental factors were never
integrated in business concepts, though, and as soon as you left the
relatively clean air of the planet’s living areas, you did best to don a
breathing mask.
Both the Corellian and the Twi’lek had taken this advice to heart and were
huddling inside the speeder close to the dashboard to avoid the strong winds
that were a trademark of the Mid Rim world. The X-34 was supposed to have a
cover for the passenger cabin, but as it was with second-hand rented
vehicles, you never got the complete original equipment.
“Are they still behind us?”
Swilja Fenn leaned forward and checked the portable sensor array she had
somehow managed to squeeze between her feet in the already cramped
co-pilot’s seat. It was the latest New Republic Intelligence had to offer
and beat the in-built units the landspeeder was providing. As cleverly as
the Jedi had concealed it, Han doubted their shadow knew about its
existence. They would expect the duo to rely on what their vehicle was
sporting – and that meant they wouldn’t expect Han and his female accompany
to be aware of their presence.
The Twi’lek nodded, “Yes. They’re cutting the distance, though.”
“Creeping closer.” Han murmured. “I’d love to know who these guys are.”
Swilja shook her head softly, “Isn’t this all the proof we need? If Omas
were guilty, it would make no sense to send someone after us. There can’t be
anything more compromising than what Rodan already presented. Someone else
sent those – the Senator is innocent.”
“Life would be so much easier if common sense were enough to persuade a
court.” Han glanced at the terrain sensors and did some calculations. They
were only a couple of minutes away from the group of derelict buildings that
had housed a few hundred beings only a decade ago and was now serving
smugglers to exchange messages without ever being seen together.
“You believe me now that old Roa uncovered some interesting bits of
information?”
The Jedi frowned, “It is obvious. What now? I have four contacts. That could
be as many as twenty beings against us.”
Han looked at her with a broad grin, “You sound as if that could be a
problem.”
Swilja blinked, “We will be extremely outnumbered.”
The Corellian shrugged, “And? Won’t be the first time. Besides, this is why
I brought a Jedi. Luke would be bored.”
The Twi’lek blinked some more, now gaping at him in open astonishment, “You
cannot seriously compare me with Master Skywalker!”
“You trained under him.”
“At times, yes, but most lessons were given by Master Solusar and I have
never…” She fell silent as Han started chuckling and batted one of her
lekkus against his shoulder in annoyance. “General Solo! I wish you would
stop doing this!”
“I’m just trying to teach you some humour. You need to learn to enjoy
missions.”
The dark eyes of the beautiful woman glanced around and she wrinkled her
nose. “This is hardly my idea of enjoying myself.”
“I agree,” Han nodded seriously. “We need to spice things up. You buckled
in?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Don’t get scared.” And with this, Han hit the thrusters and sent the
landspeeder to its point blank velocity. It was clear their pursuers wanted
to keep them from getting their hands on whatever Roa had deposited for them
at the Ord Mantell smuggler’s box and the only advantage he and Swilja had
was the one of surprise. They knew they were being followed and could react
appropriately.
The blips on Swilja’s sensor array were slow to react to the suddenly
increased speed of their prey and seemed to confer a moment as to why the
pilots would hasten up all of a sudden. By the time they prompted their own
vehicles to top speed, the Corellian was veering into a somewhat protected
alley between two unstable ruins.
Han consulted the holo-map of the area for a last time, unbuckled and hopped
out of the speeder. “Cover me. I’ll be back in no time.” The tall man
vanished in the shadows as if he had never done anything else and Swilja
found herself staring after him in dumbfounded awe.
She had grown up with stories of Han Solo, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker
and she remembered how she had felt when she had first met the Jedi Master.
It had been an incredible honour to her and she had found herself in a
similar situation when she had been introduced to Han Solo the morning they
had left Coruscant.
Although she had never doubted the tales she had been told, it was very
different to see them materialize in front of her own eyes. At the same
time, Swilja felt a bit ridiculous. So far, she had been under the
impression that she had come with Han Solo as protection – a Jedi escort for
a civilian on a difficult and dangerous mission. Meanwhile, she doubted that
the Corellian had ever needed her in the first place.
The whine of landspeeder engines ripped her out of her thoughts and she
glanced over her shoulder. A cloud of dust was rapidly approaching,
following their tracks. It would take them a minute, maybe two, to find the
X-34 between the buildings. It would be a bad idea to sit and wait for them
to come. Swilja checked her lightsaber – the trusted weapon was exactly
where it was supposed to be, hanging off her belt beneath her robe and the
young Twi’lek cursed softly in her mother language. Nervousness was uncalled
for. And unnecessary. She had been trained. She had received advice from the
Master in person. She would be able to handle this.
*~~
“Look for a pile of rubble, he wrote. You can’t miss it, he wrote.” Han Solo
murmured under his breath and peeked into another window-less room to his
right. Just as in every other room he had looked into in the past few
minutes, the floor was literally buried under immense piles of rubble. As
deep as his trust in his old partner went, slowly he was beginning to wonder
whether Roa had ever been here in the first place.
By now their pursuers must have caught up. They had probably also spotted
their vehicle – if they were good, they would disable it before they started
looking for its owners. He hoped Swilja had not decided to wait in the
landspeeder itself. She didn’t make the impression to be quite that naďve,
but you could never know.
Luke, when he had been fresh from the moisture farm, hadn’t waited in a
speeder in a situation like this. He had tried to take on the whole gang by
himself, which had not necessarily been a better option but had at least
given Han and his Wookiee friend Chewbacca a bit more time to get the kid
out of the trouble.
Not for the first time did it occur to the Corellian that he should have
taken the time to confer with Swilja Fenn instead of trusting her to do the
right thing, but his brother-in-law had made a point of telling him to give
the Twi’lek Jedi responsibility while they were on their own.
And of course Luke was right. She could not learn to be a self-sufficient,
independent Jedi if she was not presented with situations that demanded
spur-of-the-moment decisions. Han just hoped she wouldn’t make her first
wrong decision when he was with her. Knowing his luck, this was probably
exactly what would happen, though.
The Corellian shook his head, forcing himself to focus on the present
moment. If he didn’t find what he had come looking for, he wouldn’t even
have the satisfaction to die for a cause if worst came to worst.
By the time he had finally stumbled over the rubble pile in question and
managed to extricate a small, black transparisteel box without bringing the
whole house down on his head, blaster fire had erupted behind him. He tensed
for a moment, listening intently for the distinctive hum of a lightsaber
blade. There was none and Han frowned. He would get into trouble if he
didn’t bring Luke’s pupil back.
Tucking the precious box into his belt – it was about the size of his palm –
he pressed his back against the wall and made his way along it to peer into
the alley where he had parked his speeder. Opting for speed and a quick
getaway instead of a good hideout, he hadn’t picked the strategically best
place to leave the vehicle. In fact, he couldn’t have parked it any more
accessible for the enemy than he had.
To his surprise, there were but two Gamorreans standing guard at the X-34.
Wherever the blaster fight was taking place, it wasn’t there. Which was good
for him. The pig-like aliens were easy to trick. The Corellian did his best
not to think of Swilja and the fact that she was most probably the reason
for the abundance of blaster bolts shrieking through the polluted air and
set about securing their ride back to Worlport.
*~~
This was her element. It had always been. Twi’lek females were born with a
talent to move and dance. Acrobatics were their specialty. Their grace was
renowned all through the galaxy. Swilja Fenn had learned the art of movement
from her older sisters and she had been a good pupil.
Eighteen beings were chasing her through the ruins of the old complex of
buildings and had she stopped to make a stand with her lightsaber, she would
not have survived. She knew that she was skilled with the blade, but not
against that many assailants. Master Skywalker might have been able to keep
his own, but she liked to think that he would have preferred her plan. By
far.
The sound of small pieces of rubble hitting the sandy ground alerted her to
the presence of her enemies a split-second before deadly energy ripped
through the air. By that time, though, she wasn’t present anymore. Drawing
on the Force, she somersaulted forward, rolled over her shoulder, came up
and vanished behind another wall within mere moments. Behind her, the two
attackers – a Rodian and an alien of a species she had never before seen in
her life – dropped dead to the ground, hit by the respective other’s bolt.
Swilja smiled, tuned her senses to her immediate environment and waited for
the next opportunity. Within minutes, she had left the group of humans and
aliens in jumbled confusion and a dozen arguments had erupted behind corners
of nearly-collapsed buildings as the ragtag assortment tried to determine
who had killed whom and whether it had been accidents or not.
While they were busy accusing each other of ulterior motives, the young Jedi
had managed to retrace her steps to the landspeeder she and Han Solo had
come in and was ready to search for the Corellian, assuming this was the
point where she came in as the rescue while he was hiding out to protect the
collected data.
She should have known better. When she carefully peeked into the alley to
check for the guard the attackers had doubtlessly left behind, she found the
X-34 undamaged and lonely, and two Gamorreans lying motionlessly in the
dirt. Puddles of oil and coolants were gathering below the vehicles their
pursuers had arrived in and Han Solo himself was about to dump a couple of
initiation keys into what seemed to have been a water cistern at some point.
The Corellian wore a satisfied grin and patted his belt as he saw her,
“Mission accomplished.” The tall human pointed in the direction of the
shouting that was growing steadily louder. “Your doing?”
Swilja gave a short bow, “Stealth and cunning are two invaluable assets to a
Jedi Knight.”
“This lesson can’t be from Luke.”
The Twi’lek cocked her head to the side, “Master Kirana Ti.”
“Thought so.” Han murmured, frustrated at yet another joke his
one-woman-audience had not reacted to. The only one who didn’t have too much
respect for Luke to joke about him was Luke himself. “Come on. We don’t need
to worry about those anymore, but I’m sure they have backup. I’d feel better
facing that from the Falcon’s cockpit.”
They had crossed half the distance to Worlport with the Jedi at the wheel
and Han consulting the data disk he had found in the small transparisteel
box when the Corellian motioned his accompany to stop.
“What’s the problem?” Swilja’s dark gaze was puzzled as she nervously
glanced over her shoulder and scanned the cloudy sky for any sign of air
reinforcements. “Shouldn’t we be hurrying?”
“Probably.” Han murmured, his eyes never leaving the datapad in his lap. Mon
Calamari. Roa had discovered irrefutable proof that the head of Byskaly
Enterprises, the shadow company that had tricked Cal Omas into signing the
two contracts that were presently threatening to ruin his political career
and send him into prison until the end of his life, had organized things
from the watery planet inhabited by the peaceful, amphibian alien species
that had been so vital to the success of the Alliance and later the New
Republic.
It was good data. Important data. Clear data. And it was absolutely
incomprehensible to him how someone who had expertly manoeuvred the
Alderaanian Senator into so brilliant a trap could make it so easy for
Intelligence to uncover the truth.
“General Solo? Han?! Shouldn’t we be on our way?” The Twi’lek’s voice
sounded definitely worried now. Instead of explaining his thoughts to her,
Han twisted in his seat and regarded the distant horizon, scanning the fog
and sand for clouds that indicated pursuit. There were none.
“Now this is a surprise.” Han murmured. The dark-haired man thumbed off the
datapad and seemed to notice the Jedi’s questioning stare for the first
time. “Do you think the proof is faked?” Swilja asked, having caught the
disbelieving expression on his face.
The Corellian shook his head, “Not faked. Planted.”
*~~
Anandan Kele, the Senator of Ord Radama, sat alone in a small, window-less
room, the incorporation of guilty repentance. His face seemed drawn and pale
and his obsidian eyes looked incredibly sad. Then and again, he would glance
upward and into the camera that had been integrated into the interrogation
cell and open his mouth, but no sound ever came from his lips.
Mara Jade Skywalker watched the Radaman on a small screen in a nearby
office, her husband Luke next to her and the head of Radaman Security
perched on the edge of his desk. The native had seemed shaken when he had
led the Senate representative of his planet into custody and was glancing in
a mixture of awe and doubt at the two Jedi.
To the former Emperor’s Hand’s eyes, Kele looked guilty, but she knew Luke
was not agreeing. Not completely, at least. And to her utter surprise, she
found that she herself did not feel anger directed at Kele. That was unusual
– for all she knew, he was the one directly responsible for an attack on her
and her husband. An attack that could have easily cost the Jedi Master’s
life. Although he was standing safe by her side, the mere thought of how
close she had once again come to losing him made her tense all over.
A flash of azure met her gaze and she relaxed as she saw the small smile on
Luke’s face. He would have caught her thoughts, of course, and he clearly
disapproved. Once again, as she had so often before, did she wish to have
his unshakable trust in the Light Side and in forgiveness.
“So he has asked to talk to us.” She finally said, breaking the silence that
had so far lain on the room.
The Radaman nodded, “It was the first thing he said when we found him. He
was on his way back to the House of Ruling. By foot.”
“Did he resist his arrest?” Luke questioned.
“No, Master Skywalker. He seemed almost relieved as we told him the Jedi
wanted him for interrogation.”
Luke nodded to himself, obviously satisfied with this answer. “We would
appreciate it if we could talk to him now. Is it possible? Have you finished
your own interrogation as to the evening’s events?”
The head of Security gave a short bow as an answer, “Yes, we have. You can
go in whenever you want. I will leave a protocol droid outside. It will take
you back to your suite as soon as you’re finished.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Mara interjected. Her jade eyes were hard as she
met the Radaman’s gaze. Meanwhile she didn’t even bother hiding the contempt
she felt towards the planet’s security agents and measures. Their pacifist
orientation was no excuse – Alderaan had had excellent civil and royal
security and no standing army either. “We will be staying on our ship.”
The Radaman seemed frizzled about that, “But Governor Werda…”
“Governor Werda will certainly understand our reasons. I’m sure he doesn’t
want to provoke a third incident in as many days. New Republic Intelligence
won’t be pleased about it as it is. No need to make it any worse.”
The Security Chief straightened and did his best not to glare at Mara. The
redhead suppressed a smile. It was good if he was angry. Maybe it would
prompt him to think about more discipline and training for quicker
reactions. The male bowed again and vanished without another word.
“And you almost ripped Han’s head off when he said diplomatic had never been
a word he had associated with you.” Luke’s voice held much more amusement
than rebuttal and Mara batted her eyes at him in a show of mock-innocence.
“This WAS diplomatic. My kind of diplomacy.”
He grinned, then winced. His fingers flew to his left cheek and stopped only
millimetres from his skin. “This is annoying,” he muttered.
Mara cocked a delicately-shaped eyebrow at him, “I told you to leave the
bacta badges alone.”
Luke made a face, “And I told you I don’t need them. Besides, the impression
I make on others suffers a lot if I look like fresh from the emergency
room.”
“Right. You look really more frightening without the badges covering half of
your face.”
Azure eyes looked at her incredulously, “Ouch,” he said.
Mara laughed, mirth in her brilliant green orbs. “I meant respect-demanding,
of course.”
“Of course.” The Jedi Master shook his head and held open the door to the
investigation cell for her. She smirked as she passed him, the last vestiges
of their playful mood before they switched to the professionalism needed.
They had years ago managed to find their little tricks and techniques to not
let even the most complicated and nerve-wracking political riddles spoil
what they shared as a couple.
Anandan Kele rose immediately and bowed deeply as he recognized them. His
relief was palpable through the Force, and it seemed so genuine that the
situation started to feel surreal. Someone who had plotted the death or a
possible kidnapping should not be relieved to see the potential targets in
freedom and unharmed. Well, relatively unharmed.
“I’m so glad to see you’re safe!”
Luke inclined his head in gratitude, managing to look as if they were
meeting at a banquet instead of a prison. “We appreciate your concern,
Senator.”
‘Do we?’
‘Mara, please. Let him explain. Things might be different from how we think
it to be. Remember the cube.’
Kele shook his head, the sadness returning to push away the radiance of his
relief. “You should not be bothering with what I think or feel, Master
Skywalker. This has been my fault. Yet, by the Force, I do not know how I
could have changed the outcome.”
Mara glanced at her husband and sat down in the chair opposite Kele’s,
gesturing for the Senator to sit down, too. “So you admit that you have
hired these speeder bike jockeys to attack us at the conference? What were
they to do? Kill us? Kidnap us?”
The Radaman paled – the stark contrast of his white skin and dark hair and
eyes was amazing and couldn’t have been painted in any way more fascinating.
But the immensity of his emotions was even more intriguing, considering the
circumstances. “No. No.” He blinked as if in a daze and leaned forward,
peering in desperation into Mara’s eyes. “You have to believe me when I tell
you that none of this happened on my orders. I swear it. By my life. By the
lives of my family.”
“Your family.” Mara repeated. “That is an interesting oath, considering that
it was most probably your wife that drugged my husband.”
“Daliane?” Kele seemed devastated to the core of his being and began to
frantically shake his head. “Never! You do not understand what happened! I
never wanted it to go this far, but what was I to do?”
“Maybe you should explain things from the beginning, Senator.” Luke’s voice
was still gentle, but there was wariness about his eyes that suggested he
was not only going by his instincts and tried to take the facts into
account, too. She knew from experience how difficult this was for him – if
his heart told him something his head could not believe.
“It is all because of this old contract.”
The Jedi Master frowned, “A contract?”
The Radaman nodded, “Yes! You see, my father was no politician. He was a
trader, a businessman. My family has always been wealthy, for Radaman
standards, and he was always intent to give smaller companies with original
ideas loans or hire them for transport, cheap manufacture or similar things,
to give them a chance to make something out of their own concepts.”
Kele scooted a little closer to the former farmboy and Luke saw no reason to
not let him. The moment the word contract had fallen, he had felt like a
current of electricity had run through him. This sounded awfully familiar.
Mara seemed to think so, too. The hostility had left her eyes and she was
leaning forward to study the Senator’s facial expressions as she urged him
to continue.
Anandan Kele cleared his throat, “Naturally, a good number of these small
businesses went broke before there was ever a chance to fulfil the contracts
that had been signed. Most of these written agreements have been forgotten
over the years.”
“Not all, though.” Luke murmured. It was more a statement than a question,
but the Radaman didn’t seem to catch that.
“Yes! Several weeks ago, I was sought out by a human of fine breed, as it
seemed, though he never told me his name. Much less the one of his superior
or the company he was working for. He showed a contract to me, signed by my
father twenty-five years ago, about a trade arrangement between my family’s
holding and a small business association on Mon Calamari.”
“Hence your insistence that the offer from that planet eclipsed all other
potential trade partners.” Mara surmised.
Kele nodded, “I was bound by the contract. I could not refute that or I
would have ruined all my family. We all have shares in my father’s company,
Master Jedi. Had I refused, I would have taken dozens of people that I love
with me into disaster. And truth be told, I didn’t see why I should refuse
in the first place. There was the matter of a route through Yuuzhan Vong
space, but I figured that the Senate would outright forbid it and would
order the contract annulled. Instead….”
“Instead?” Luke prompted.
“Instead my ‘contact’ presented me with the draft of a plan that would mean
financial support from the New Republic and the trade we so desperately
need. It was a way to save my whole planet. And it was all perfectly legal,
you see. I was just fulfilling a contract. It was the human’s idea to
specifically address the Jedi….. he ‘proposed’ it…” Anandan’s sneer was
freely showing how much choice he had really had, “and it was too late for
me to refuse. Through subcontracts, he had me where he wanted me. I could
not go before a court either – he had demanded nothing illegal from me.”
“So what you’re saying is he used you to manoeuvre us into place. And you
had no choice.” Mara summarized.
Kele sighed deeply, “I had a bad feeling ever since he insisted that I
should address only to Master Skywalker. I was afraid he would use the
opportunity to do the New Republic harm in some way or the other. I still
never expected….. I didn’t expect he would try to kill you. I was sure the
first assassination attempt was meant for me. It was just a sham, but I just
didn’t… COULDN’T believe he would try to ambush you. I…. I’m not really
familiar with all this intrigue and bloodlust.” The tall humanoid was
broadcasting insecurity and shame in waves so strong that it was difficult
not to drown in them, even for a Jedi Master with strong shields.
A memory flashed through Luke’s head all of a sudden, a small detail that
had been buried under so many other impressions during the past few hours
that he might have almost forgotten it.
“Senator Kele – the man you met with during the conference. Just before the
second attempt was made. Was this your contact?”
“Yes. It was the second time we met in person. Again, he didn’t give me his
name. I didn’t even understand why he had come to Ord Radama until the
attackers arrived.”
“He wanted us dead and you blamed for it.” Mara glanced at Luke and saw at
the set of his jaw that he had come to the same conclusion.
“Your contact didn’t tell you the name of the company that had taken the
contract over either.” It was another statement and Kele’s silence was
answer enough. “There are security cameras in the reception hall of the
House of Ruling. The head of Security told us. With a little bit of luck, we
will get a holo of your contact. Certainly not a perfect one, but I think it
will suffice.”
Kele frowned, “You have a suspicion, Master Skywalker?”
“If he has, it will be better for you if you’re not privy to it. You’ll be
in enough trouble as it is to prove that you had only the best interests of
your planet at heart. An advice from me, Senator,” Mara rose and smiled at
him. No matter how ridiculous his story might sound to some, in the context
of the things she knew, Luke knew, it made perfect sense. And explained all
the weird emotions they had been picking up ever since they had met Anandan
Kele. “Block your bank account. Whoever your ominous future business partner
was, he’ll try to make it appear as if you’ve been paid for luring my
husband and me to Ord Radama. And you don’t want to face these charges. They
are difficult to refute.”
The Radaman had blanched even more at her insinuation. Leaving the non-human
to his own problems after a goodbye more hearty than the Senator had
expected – they could really not help him much except giving their truthful
testimony – Luke and Mara decided to take care of everything else from the
Jade Sabre. Camera data could be transferred easily without personal
interaction between beings – they would have R2 hack into Radaman Security’s
computer. It would be safer for both them and the Radamans – whoever had
tried to have the Jedi killed the evening before might still be on planet
and very intent on preventing them from getting a glimpse of his face.
“You know,” Luke said as they were finally sealing the ramp from the inside
of his wife’s ship, “I think we might have found our link between this trade
matter and the accusations against Cal.”
Mara nodded thoughtfully, “I was thinking the same. But how do we fit into
this? We thought this would go against the New Republic, but I’m not so sure
anymore. Not after they almost killed you yesterday.”
“And not after the holo cube Leia received.” The Jedi Master leant against
the bulkhead and sought the eyes of his wife, “This is getting really
interesting.”
Mara laid both her arms on his shoulders and looked up at him, “We need to
go back to Coruscant and tell Leia what we have learnt. And we should try to
talk to Cal Omas. He didn’t want to see your sister, but he can no longer
refuse if you make it official. Things are getting too narrow for him.”
“You’re right. But first I need to check whether Han has reported in.” A
spike of worry shot through her husband’s presence in the Force and Mara
softly hugged him close, “He’ll be okay, Luke. It’s Han.”
Luke laughed softly, “Mara, you should know by now that this is as much a
reason to worry as a reassurance.”
*~~
He was reading the reports and wondering whether he should feel satisfied or
not. To weigh simple efficiency against the utmost revenge was difficult.
Dealing with the people he loathed more than anything or anyone else in the
universe held risks. Great risks. The longer it took him to bring his
schemes to fruition, the closer he would come to being associated with the
events.
Yet the closer they came to him, the deeper would be the relish he felt when
he could eventually do away with them in person.
“Why has Cros failed? I provided him with all the necessary data.”
The question was directed at the hologram of a spindly human that was
standing at attention in front of his desk, his expression even more sour
than usual.
“It seems Skywalker resisted the drug. We don’t know how.”
Cold eyes narrowed, “My orders were clear. If they cannot be captured alive
– if Skywalker cannot be captured alive – then he is to die.”
“Master, it is not easy to capture a Jedi. Skywalker is…”
“I KNOW Skywalker.” The feral sneer sent the human a step back despite the
fact that they were not even on the same pla net and he quickly bowed in
deference. He knew his Master’s anger and how unhealthy it was to be at the
business end of it. “This is why we’re doing this, remember?”
“Of course, Master.”
There was a short, uncomfortable silence and when it was finally broken, the
anger had left and been replaced by determination and gleeful expectation.
“All we need is a bit more patience. They will come to me. Eventually, they
will come to me.”
To Be Continued