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In The Shadows
By Sienn
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Rating: PG - 13
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Spoilers: See Chapter 1
-----------------Chapter 9
The blare of sirens cut into his head and pain sparked through his whole
body. The cold texture of permabeton beneath his cheek told him that he must
have blacked out – Han Solo had no idea how long he could have been
unconscious. The Corellian slowly forced himself on his back and his teeth
gritted together at the waves of agony emanating from his forehead and his
right shoulder.
Had he broken something? Was he bleeding? He felt sluggish and incapable of
assessing his condition through the nausea that was welling up inside him.
Having been in more scrapes than he could count, Han recognized the signs of
a concussion and grimaced. Even though he supposed he owed destiny – and the
Force – his thanks for these minor injuries sustained in what should have
been a deadly crash, he felt too miserable to be appreciative of the
situation.
Determined to simply stay put and wait for the medics to pick him up and
shoot him with a painkiller, it was the scent of smoke and the sound of
crackling flames that sent a rush of adrenaline through the Corellian’s
veins. Battling against dizziness, Han slowly sat upright and stared, mouth
agape, at the wreck of his speeder. Fire was consuming it, angrily licking
at the remains of the vehicle, and the frizzing and popping told of
superheated nerf leather smothering out of existence. The stink let him
wrinkle his nose.
There had been no fire when he had lost consciousness, he was sure. And
unlike the way it was shown in the cheap action stories that were so popular
on the Holonet, in reality, vessels rarely had the habit to simply start
burning after an accident. Especially not if they hadn’t connected with a
wall at full speed in the first place.
Puzzlement drew his eyebrows together and he might have vented his
irritation aloud had there not been a mutter, unnerved and aggressive. The
voice was unknown to him, and without a thought, Han’s hand fell to the
blaster at his side. He was grateful as he found it there, the thought that
his trusted weapon might have been burning inside his wrecked vehicle
unsettling to him.
Careful not to give himself away, he slowly turned around. More adrenaline
was pumped through his system as he took in the situation with the quick
glance of someone accustomed to making split-second decisions - the
lightsaber lying abandoned on the floor, the aft of a speeder visible behind
one of the massive pillars that supported the vast storage hall they had
landed in and a pair of booted feet dangling limply from the opening of its
storage compartment.
Hazel eyes narrowed as the Corellian rose to his feet and picked his way
over, his light steps soundless underneath the noise of breaking
transparisteel and metal screaming as it melted.
The human man bent over the storage compartment saw the reflection on the
aft viewport as Han stepped behind him, but before he could so much as move,
the nuzzle of the former pirate’s blaster pressed into the small of his
back. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Ethmak Dren.”
He had immediately recognized the emaciated face and the steely eyes, the
features that had been hovering above Admiral Ackbar’s desk only an hour
ago, and satisfaction filled him. This was a lead more substantial than
anything they could have discovered on Mon Calamari. Bringing HIM in for
investigation would eventually lead them to the one who held all the strings
in the background. “Don’t you know how unwise it is to turn your back to a
live enemy?”
Dren’s voice was soft as he answered, “You have no idea how much I wish to
kill you, Solo. If not for my orders, you would already be dead.”
“Is that supposed to shock me?” Han nudged him none too gently with his
weapon, “Take him out of there and be careful about it. He gets a scrape on
his body, you get a hole in yours.”
The sirens were deafening as the man bent low to comply.
*~~
Ethmak Dren’s mind was racing. Security and the medics couldn’t be more than
two or three blocks away from them. He had minutes at best to find a way out
of this situation. Not for the first time did he curse his superior.
For all the admiration he was deserving of, for all the genius with which he
planned his schemes, he was no warrior and focused on things that cost you
dearly in battle. An enemy was to be killed. Playing with him meant giving
him the opportunity to gather strength and strike back. It was a basic rule,
a law of nature, and every soldier or mercenary in the universe would heed
it.
As far as Ethmak was concerned, revenge was a just and honourable goal, but
the fine distinction between the simple murder of the hated individual and
slow torture escaped him. He had disapproved of his Master’s choice to spare
the Corellian and the fact that Solo was holding him hostage at the moment
strengthened his determination to make a point of standing up to insane
plans in the future - no matter whether it meant immediate punishment or
not. He would rather take physical agony than bear the humility of surrender
to such scum a second time.
He bent low at the other man’s order and as his eyes found the way out of
this mess his mind had been searching for, Ethmak Dren congratulated himself
on his resourcefulness.
“I might need to hurry, though, looking at him.” He helpfully remarked.
*~~
Han’s gaze strayed instinctively and shock cursed through him as he
consciously regarded the Jedi Master for the first time. Luke Skywalker’s
lips were bluish, his face pallid and blank. In the darkness of the
compartment he had been dumped into, there was no way to determine whether
he was breathing at all.
Fear gripped Han’s heart, sickening him to his very core. What if Dren
hadn’t had orders to kidnap Luke? What if he was just going to bring a
corpse back to his superior as a proof of his accomplishments? Battling
against the panic that was building inside him, Han realized his mistake a
second too late.
Pain erupted in his abdomen and blackness rolled over him as he sank to his
knees, weakly keeping upright with his right arm. His left was clutching his
belly while spasms of cold energy rippled over him, intent on plunging him
back into oblivion.
As if from far away, he heard the storage compartment whoosh shut and boots
click on the floor as Dren passed him. Blurry eyes recognized the sizzling
form of a stun baton in the spindly man’s left and the contemptuous sneer as
he passed the Corellian to get behind the wheel and be gone, his bounty
secure and his mission fulfilled.
Sheer stubbornness and desperation gave Han the strength to battle down the
stupor that was threatening to engulf his thoughts. With a curse he hoped
was coherent enough to be understood by Dren, he hurled himself forward and
into the legs of the other, landing them both entangled on the floor.
The stun baton went flying as they rung with each other. It was but a
question of time until Dren would overpower him, weakened as Han was by his
injuries and the lingering effects of the electric charge, but the Corellian
knew that he had to hold him up only long enough for Security to get here.
He wished they would hurry and felt the bite of failure along with the one
of the knife as it slid over his throat.
One hand flew to the wound instinctively and Dren used the opening to
administer a well-aimed kick into his ribs. Han remained dazed on the floor,
wheezing to get air into burning lungs, paralyzed and incapable to do
anything as engines flared to life behind him.
He had no idea how much time had passed until the first Security unit
arrived and prayed to the Force that he would stay conscious long enough to
tell them what had happened.
*~~
She had been at Cilghal’s quarters in the Imperial Palace when the news had
reached her, wrapped into the exhilaration brought by the confirmation of
her unborn child’s excellent health. Engaged in an animated discussion about
beautiful names for a girl, both women had not been prepared for the message
about to be relayed to them.
While she had been racing through the corridors of the behemoth building
towards the hangar her own speeder was waiting in, Mara Jade Skywalker had
desperately wondered why she had not picked up any sign of distress from her
husband. There had been no indication whatsoever of trouble, least of all of
a narrow speeder chase through the industrial district and a crash to top it
all of.
She knew that there were situations in which Luke sucked so much of the
Force to himself that it almost negated their bond - the energy he clasped
tightly around himself then eclipsed anything that might want to get out and
be transmitted. This thought did not reassure her any – for the Jedi Master
to resort to such an extensive use of the Force, for him to make himself so
complete a vessel for the all encompassing power, the situation had to have
been dire. More than dire, in fact – desperate almost.
She paid no heed to other traffic as she shot out of the hangar, following
the directions a Security officer had given her. The former Emperor’s Hand
vaguely noticed another speeder veering onto the same vector, starting from
a hangar on the opposite side of the Palace. She supposed it would be Leia,
ripped out of an Advisory Council meeting and now every bit as frantic to
get to her husband and brother.
The thick plume of smoke was visible long before she could make out the
gaping mouth of the abandoned storage hall and her heart contracted
painfully as Mara saw the shine of flames licking the grey walls. She thrust
her senses out into the Force and called for Luke, thirsting for the
smallest flicker of awareness, the most minuscule of contacts to his gentle,
bristling presence. What she found was stillness.
She sent her speeder down at a precarious angle and made sure to leave
enough room for Leia’s vessel to fit in next to hers. She could be no more
than seconds behind her.
Neither of them saw the vehicle that was veering away from the industrial
district on a clear cut course chosen for speed. By the time Mara jumped out
of the canopy and onto the floor of the storage hall, it had filed into one
of the regular lanes and been swallowed by the traffic.
Smoke bit into her eyes as she tried to take stock of the scene before her.
Han’s speeder was a lump of blackened metal, coated with white extinguisher
foam. Half a dozen beings wearing the insignia of the Coruscant Police Force
were swarming over it while more of their colleagues scanned the perimeter.
An ambulance was parked in a secluded corner, protected from the acrid
stench that lay in the air.
She recognized the figure of her brother-in-law, surrounded by several
humans and a floating MD droid of the latest kind. There was no sign of
Luke. Heart hammering in her chest, Mara felt her throat go dry and broke
into a run. She was intent on reaching him first, on questioning him as to
where her husband was, but she was overtaken by a petite mass of burgundy
gowns and flying chestnut hair and could only stand by as Leia Organa Solo
squatted down next to the stretcher and cupped the face of her husband.
Horror was written all over her features and looking at Han, Mara could
understand it.
Gashes on his forehead and at his throat had tinted his shirt red with blood
and the medics were busy setting his obviously dislocated shoulder. A
heavy-set, elderly human gave the Chief of State an encouraging smile,
astonishingly honest in appearance, and at least part of the tension that
had been gripping the former Emperor’s Hand fell off.
“Don’t worry, your Highness, your husband will get through this. The cuts
are superficial. He’s got quite a concussion, but with the help of bacta,
he’ll be as good as new within a day or two.”
Relief washed through the Force and died as quickly as it had come when the
Princess’ hazel eyes did not find a second stretcher, did not find a second
team of medics. Her stomach sank and she sent an anxious look to Mara. The
redhead’s lips were thin and her skin pale as she stared at the still
smoking remains of the vehicle that had served both Han and Luke as
transport
Leia came to stand and fixed the medic in her gaze, “Where is my brother?”
Puzzled grey eyes blinked at her and through the terror that suddenly welled
up inside her the clipped voice that interrupted them would have almost gone
by her. Mara had heard it very well, though, and turned on her heels to
focus on a Security officer. The young man bowed his head as a way of
greeting before he met her questioning stare.
“Mistress Jade Skywalker, is this your husband’s?”
Mara’s hands trembled as they took the metallic cylinder – Luke’s
lightsaber. “Where did you find that?” It was all she could do not to shout
at the man before her.
Black hair flew as the officer gestured over to one of the numerous pillars
in the hall. “Over there. There is no trace of soot on it, not a dent, in
fact. It was thrown out of the vehicle before it started to burn. We are
confident that the same happened to Master Skywalker.”
“Then where is he?” Leia demanded, the absence of her twin an ache so deep
and burning that it took the air out of her lungs. Where was he? What had
happened to him? Why couldn’t she feel him? Why was Mara unable to feel him?
The officer pursed his lips, “We don’t know. Captain Solo was unconscious
when we came. But we found this and lingering traces of fuel.” He presented
another metallic object. It was a lot smaller than a lightsaber and fit
perfectly into Mara’s right. A small circle of microscopic needles stuck out
on one end and there were several tubes. Residues of a golden-coloured
substance coated the inside of one of the tubes. “An injector.” Mara
murmured.
“We suspect the presence of at least another speeder,” the officer supplied.
A frown had worked itself on his face and he slowly shook his head, “We
cannot yet determine the trajectory, but my men are already looking into it.
I was going to ask the medic droid to give me an analysis on that stuff.
Madam President,” He turned to face Leia, “I was told by Palace Security
that you have received a threat to your family several days ago. Is that
true?”
She could only nod, the implications of what had been found too obvious. Her
gaze strayed to Luke’s lightsaber. Mara’s knuckles were white as she
clutched at it. For a moment, it seemed as if the former Emperor’s Hand
would shed tears, that her carefully maintained composure would burst, but
she caught herself with stubbornness. She softly placed the handle of Luke’s
Jedi weapon in her sister-in-law’s hands and crossed her arms in front of
her chest.
“Any lead as to the guys who chased them here?” Mara’s voice was cold and
clipped. Even if the Security officer would have disagreed about having a
Jedi get involved in his investigations, he would not have dared to voice
his disapproval. Not towards Jedi Master Luke Skywalker’s wife.
“None whatsoever. There have been numerous testimonies, but all they could
provide us with was the colour and the model. If anything comes out of that,
it will take days at the least.” He paused for a moment and gazed at the
prone man behind the two women. “To be honest, our biggest hope at the
moment is Captain Solo. As of yet, we have no real idea what happened here.”
Mara did not reply. Her eyes scanned the horizon while emotions bubbled
within her. It was not the first time Luke had been abducted. The last time,
it had almost destroyed him and their marriage had suffered for weeks on end
with the consequences of his imprisonment and the torture he had undergone.
Back then, she had at least known who had had him and why. This time, she
only knew that he was gone. And that she would never again permit someone to
inflict so much pain and fear upon him – or her.
“Leia, accompany Han to the clinic. He needs someone to look out for him.”
The Princess sought her sister-in-law’s eyes, fear and sorrow burdening
them. There were tears glistening in the chocolate depths, but Mara knew
that the Chief of State would not cry in public. Even if the memories of the
horror that had held their family almost two years ago was as fresh in her
mind as it was in Mara’s own. “What about you?”
The female Jedi softly pushed her in the ambulance’s direction, “I’m going
to find Luke.”
*~~
He was wrapped in darkness as he regained his senses for the first time. It
was comfortably warm and his muddled brain did not see why he should wake
up. On the contrary – had they not just found out that Mara was once again
pregnant? Were they not lying in their bed, intertwined, sated after their
lovemaking and filled with happiness and impatience for their second child
to arrive?
Luke Skywalker was almost persuaded that this was the case. If it were,
though, why did the soft hum of a speeder’s engine drone in his ears,
steadily and persistently? Time went by while the Jedi pondered this
irritating fact, caught in a state in-between sleep and wakefulness,
insecure where he was and what was going on.
When memory caught up with him, the shock made his heart race. He remembered
the ambush, the crash and he remembered seeing Han collapse after he had
scrambled out of the wreck that had once been his speeder. He remembered
arms clutching him from behind, remembered a sharp, pungent stench and a
gaunt face swallowed by nothingness as he sank into a sea of oblivion.
The conclusions to be drawn did not please him and he felt profound fear as
his limbs did not obey his commands. They were heavy and numb and the more
he tried to move them, the more did fatigue grip him anew. He was not even
sure whether his eyes were open. All in all, a complicated situation – Luke
felt unable to put much thought into possible ways of flight and the fact
that he was content to slowly sink back into the world of his dreams told
him that his tiredness was everything but natural.
He fell back to sleep, his last thoughts lingering on his wife and his
family as he unconsciously sought to draw comfort from their bond.
*~~
A mere whisper, brought to her by the currents of the Force as she basked in
them. Mara’s eyes flew open. “Luke,” she said to no one in particular. A
smile of relief escaped her and she had started the engines of the speeder
before the sound of her husband’s name had ebbed.
She had spent the last half hour in her speeder, sitting deeply immersed in
the Force, all her senses focused on the bond she had with her beloved. It
had been strangely silent for too long and she felt as if she had found
water after days of draught as it flickered to life.
‘Mara,’ She could see his smile, could see his eyes blink in satisfaction,
but he seemed elusive to her. There was no way she could get a firm grip on
him. Fortunately she didn’t need to have one to find him. Her hands guided
her vehicle automatically as she listened to the promptings her bond gave
her.
‘Luke, can you hear me?’
‘Mara,’
It was the only word she could get out of him. He recognized her touch, but
he seemed not aware of the mess he was in, not even aware of the fact that
she wasn’t with him. He did uphold his mental contact, though, and that was
all she needed.
With a flick of her thumb, she let Security know where she was headed and
hit the throttle. As she flew into the rapidly falling dusk, Mara Jade
Skywalker granted herself a satisfied little smirk. Whoever had dared lay
hand on her husband, by the end of this day he would regret ever having laid
eyes on him.
*~~
Darkness had almost fallen when Ethmak Dren brought his speeder to a halt
and slipped out of the canopy. He had flown all day, ever since he had
picked up his hostage, and was reasonably sure that no one had followed him.
It was time to give the responsibility over to one of his Master’s trusted
aides and as had been promised, they were on time.
The choice of their vehicle, on the other hand, brought a frown to the
human’s forehead. It was unlikely anyone would watch them – even unlikelier
that anyone would realize the significance of what was going on. Still,
there was always a risk and if fate was not with them, the speeder they had
chosen would give obvious hints.
He made a mental note to tell his Master about the slackness of his chosen
partners and waved over to them. They were quick to react as three beings
stepped out of the shadows – one sported a heavy blaster, another was
steering a hover stretcher and the third carried a small case.
Dren waved a last time over to them and rounded his vehicle. The Jedi
blinked as the storage compartment slid open, but his eyes remained
half-closed and he did not move. The increasing darkness around them would
be advantageous for the minutes to come, as it only multiplied the effect of
the drug he had given his hostage. It was still circulating in his
bloodstream and the reason he was compliant and unresisting as he was pulled
out of the compartment and directed towards the waiting trio.
One of them, a tall human, bald and massive, approached them and critically
eyed Skywalker up and down. Dren gestured at the small case he was carrying,
“You’re the medic we have requested?”
Bald nodded and produced a small lamp from one of his tunic’s pouches. The
Jedi tried to avert his face from the light that was stabbing at his eyes
and struggled for the first time against the hold Ethmak had on his arm. “I
shot him two hours ago,” Dren supplied, “I suppose he’ll need another dose.”
He watched as Bald prepared an injector with the same golden liquid he had
used on Skywalker and smirked maliciously as the Jedi tried to avoid the
needles – a sure sign that it was about time to send him yet again into
utter unconsciousness if they wanted to spare themselves trouble. His gaze
seemed more awake, less hazy, and even if the process was slow, his brain
was beginning to catch up with the situation.
*~~
The figures moving about on the private landing platform were crystal clear
in the visor of her blaster as Mara watched the exchange below. Rage had
threatened to engulf her and tempted her with the powers of the Dark Side.
It would have been easy to scorch them out of existence for what they were
doing to Luke, and her fury had only flared more when she had seen Dren drag
the lean form of her husband out of the vehicle’s storage compartment.
Luke’s steps were insecure, his head held down and he was altogether too
acquiescing with his captors to be in his right mind. Aside from that, he
seemed unhurt, though, and that fact helped Mara to calm down. Drawing a
deep breath, she scanned the rooftop before her for a safe way to get closer
and made sure that her lightsaber was clasped securely to her belt. She
didn’t think she would need it.
In an eerie way, this whole scene seemed like a flashback from her past. The
redhead couldn’t even count how often she had been stealthily lingering on
rooftops, spying on exchanges, spoiling acts of sabotage, blackmail and
bribery. It had been during a time in her life when she had been unaware of
her potential in the Force and resentful of the Jedi as a whole. The violet
blade that Palpatine had given to her all those years ago had served her
well in some delicate missions, but she had always preferred other means if
it had been possible.
Mara flicked her tongue against the small micro/earpiece combination she was
wearing and was already crawling forward to the edge of the roof she was
lying on. It was situated in the dark above the lighted platform and above
the construction for the lift tubes leading into the building on whose roof
it had been manufactured. The experience of decades let her pinpoint the
right place for a drop within seconds and by the time she was crouching
behind the encased vents pumping air into the lift shaft beneath, the comm
in her ear crackled to life.
“Mara?” It was Leia’s voice and only for a moment did Mara feel surprised.
She did not know why she had thought her sister-in-law would be willing to
sit next to her husband’s bed in the clinic and simply wait. It was as much
in the Princess’ nature as it was in the former Emperor’s Hand’s to take
matters into her own hands.
She clicked the micro again to tell her friend she had heard.
Relief was evident in the other’s voice, “We’re getting your signal loud and
clear. Security’s already under way. Did you find Luke?”
Mara gave a positive click and swept her gaze up and down every person she
could see. Her delicate brows drew together at the lack of armament. They
had to be very sure no one had follow Ethmak Dren here. They would be in for
a surprise.
The assignment of threat levels came to her as naturally as breathing and
within seconds, she knew that she could take care of the situation with four
shots at the most.
“Reinforcements will get to you within minutes.” Mara acknowledged that
information, too, and heard the Chief of State sign off. Although she hadn’t
said it aloud, the Jedi Master’s wife felt it within the Force – the plea of
her husband’s sister to bring her twin back home, safe and in one piece.
Mara was determined to fulfil her sister-in-law this wish as she took aim.
*~~
Clarity was teasing him for seconds only to abandon him anew to the
disorientation and mind-boggling haziness. He heard voices and tried to
understand what they were saying, but his efforts were in vain. At least he
had recognized the face next to him this time. Ethmak Dren.
Luke knew it was his hand grasping his right arm and he knew that it was the
other’s hand that was now tipping back his head to expose his throat. Facts
learnt long ago came back to him – drugs were always injected through a
prisoner’s neck artery, so that they would start their work with a mere
second’s delay. If you were quick, as a Jedi, you could use the Force to
sift them out of your blood, to isolate them the moment they were injected
and thus at the very least delay and sometimes even negate their effect.
It was difficult to conjure up the image of a net, hewn from the Force, and
picture it bar the artery that was presently pricked. His brain was trying
to tell him that he had never before seen a net in the first place and
though the Jedi Master knew that was not true, the drug’s voice within his
head was stronger than his reason.
Luke felt his legs give way beneath him and saw himself unable to straighten
them out, no matter how much he wanted to. His sight, only so recently
restored to him, was blurring anew and he knew with utmost certainty that
the stretcher he had glimpsed was meant for him. Absurdly, as the drug took
hold of his thinking, the residues of the first wave refreshed by the influx
of the new injection, he found himself eagerly awaiting the opportunity to
lie down again.
There might have been reasons to struggle, but they had escaped him, had
been blown away like dried leaves in the winds of autumn, and the Jedi
Master was obedient when he was guided to place his arms and feet into the
restraints. He vaguely felt them snap shut before fatigue claimed him wholly
and he dozed off.
*~~
It had been difficult to wait as she had seen Luke nearly collapse in the
hold of his captor and Mara had to will her finger to not yet trigger her
weapon as the group of people below her had placed her husband on the hover
stretcher and strapped him in.
This had obviously been meticulously planned and the touch of the one who
seemed to know so much about them was obvious wherever she looked. There had
not yet been a result as to which potion had been used on Luke, but she was
sure it would turn out to be one of the strongest and one of the most
expensive. It took much to knock this Jedi Master out, to space him out so
much that he did not put up any kind of struggle when restraints were put
around his wrists. Not even stun bolts at high setting could drop him if he
was aware of the danger.
Of course Mara did not assume that he had been aware of any danger. What she
did assume was that Dren had snuck up on him after the crash, like a coward,
exploiting her husband’s momentary weakness and daze to overpower him. If
they maintained this high a dosage within him with the right timing, they
would be able to keep him in this quasi artificial coma for as long as they
wanted and he would not stand a chance to gather enough awareness to so much
as think of counteracting the chemical substance within him with the help of
the Force.
Whoever had given the orders, he or she was familiar with the Jedi - too
familiar to be just your usual overambitious crime lord or another
high-ranking Imperial on a quest for revenge. Palpatine had always made sure
that his underlings were aware of any strength and weakness in an adversary,
but anything that had had to do with the Jedi had been kept from even the
highest ranks in the Empire. Only Darth Vader had had the permission to
access this information and Mara supposed he had hardly ever had the need to
do so. She herself had not been taught much about the Jedi and most of what
she knew Luke had shared with her.
The thought that one so influential and so knowledgeable was out there
scheming against them unsettled her as much as the way her instincts told
her that Ethmak Dren was not the genius, only the servant.
The chance he would break under interrogation and talk was slim. It was
there, though. Mara decided she would sacrifice her personal satisfaction
and try to capture the emaciated human alive.
Her aim was secure as the last restraint around Luke’s ankle slid shut and
Mara reached out into the Force. Brushing by the oblivious presence of her
husband, she pushed at the hover stretcher and grinned as it started to
move, as if of its own accord, away from the kidnappers and into the shadows
opposite them.
The three new arrivals turned, gaping, and before they had had the chance to
start moving, Mara shot. The giant that had drugged Luke had the dubious
honor of being the first target and the obvious misfortune to be in the
sights of his prisoner’s wife. He howled in agony as a lance of red energy
pierced his left knee and went down like a stone. No need to kill them. Hit
at the right places, they would be out of commission for quite a while.
Number two and number three had barely time to lay their palms around the
butts of their rifles. They both dropped, screaming, as she pierced their
arms. Mara tried not to feel too satisfied at their pain and set her sights
on Ethmak Dren.
Only he was left standing between her and Luke. He would now find out that
this was a very unfortunate place to be indeed. She had to give it to him,
though, he was a quicker thinker than his accompanies. She found him ducking
in and out of shelter, crossing the width of the platform in pursuit of the
hover stretcher and its life cargo.
Trying to nail him with her blaster would cost too much time – she didn’t
doubt that she would get him eventually, but there were only so many places
she could steer Luke to and she was not willing to take even the smallest
risk where he was concerned. Aside from that, she ached to get him into
qualified medical care. Remembering all too well the state they had found
Han in, the former Emperor’s Hand was sure that her husband had not come
through the crash unscathed and she was fully aware that whereas whoever
these guys were, they wanted him alive, they would not have stopped to
examine him properly. They would have merely hoped that the drug they had
injected him with would not kill him.
Mara rose and tucked her blaster into its holster in one fluid motion before
she took off and jumped down onto the platform and in the glare of the
artificial lights beaming down on it. The Force and her ears warned her in
time and she threw herself forward, rolling over the pavement and coming up
in a crouch, lightsaber humming and at the ready. The ferrocrete bore a
smoking hole where she had first landed – she turned, following the
trajectory of the blast that had been meant to kill her.
Her gaze met icy eyes, wide with surprise and the first hints of fear. She
gave him a feral smile and basked in the feelings of disquiet she felt
explode off him. It was one thing to face New Republic Security commandos.
It was another to see yourself confronted with the Emperor’s Hand.
Dren’s paralysis lasted not even a minute. He loosened a barrage of bolts in
her direction and set out to backtrack to the speeders. The hover stretcher
was hidden by the darkness beyond the lights of the platform, its soft hum
seemingly everywhere at once as it was carried by the gusts of air this high
up.
Mara sprinted after him, her azure blade singing in the air. Ethmak Dren
cursed as ricocheting bolts flew through the air and hurried his steps. He
stopped trying to shoot her and obviously trusted that a Jedi would not
place a shot of her own while he was turning his back to her.
The redheaded beauty wondered whether she would have if Luke had still been
in immediate danger but eventually decided that such thoughts were vain. The
important thing now that she had made sure he would be safe was to keep
Ethmak Dren from getting away.
Still running, she flipped her lightsaber from one hand into the other,
brought forth her blaster a second time and aimed. Mara didn’t need the
Force to coordinate this in less than two seconds – she had been the best
long before she had learned to use the Force to this extent in the first
place.
The superheated plasma passed Dren with a hair’s width between it and his
hip and melted the door control to the speeder that had brought him and Luke
here. He shied away, cursed once again and turned to the second speeders.
Its doors suffered the same fate and the spindly human whirled around with
murder in his eyes, his blaster pointing straight at Mara’s belly. He did
not shoot.
Her respect for his abilities went up another notch. He knew there was no
chance he could have hit, not with a lightsaber and a blaster of her own in
her hands.
“What now, Ethmak Dren?” She queried pleasantly. Would he try to strike a
bargain? Would he come to show the same amount of honor common among the
lowlifes of the galaxy – none at all? Would he turn traitor on his Master
and provide them with the information they needed.
She saw his pale eyes scan the shadows behind her, saw the hand that held
his blaster twitch and knew what he was hoping to do. “I won’t let you.”
Mara simply said.
He cut his chips of living ice towards her. “I don’t care if you kill me,
Jade. Skywalker deserves death, if not at the hands of my Master, then at
mine.”
With a nudge of the Force, Dren’s blaster sailed over the edge, plunging
into the depths of Coruscant City, and the tip of Mara’s lightsaber settled
threateningly under his chin. “If you knew how many people have regretted
saying this over the years you would not dare utter it. Especially not to
me.”
“I’m not afraid of you, Emperor’s Hand.” Dren spat, straightening his gaunt
frame even more.
Mara cut her eyes at him as she stepped closer, “You should thank whatever
gods you worship that the Emperor’s Hand is not standing before you. Who’s
your Master?”
The man before her remained silent. She let the blade of azure light hover
closer to the other’s skin and smiled as he twitched, “Who sent you to kill
my husband?”
There was no answer and when she saw his jaw clench, she knew she would
never get one. Ethmak Dren crumpled to the floor, white foam trickling from
the corners of his mouth as his eyes bulged and turned inward. He was dead
before he hit the ferrocrete.
Not your usual lowlife scum, then, Mara decided. Loyal to his Master to the
point of killing himself rather than reveal any bit of valuable information.
She shook her head, wondering which of their enemies could have enough might
and connections to pull all this off. Coruscant Police would hopefully find
more clues as soon as they arrived. The female Jedi swept her gaze over the
surroundings a last time, making sure that there was no threat left, then
she extended her Force sense anew and nudged the hover stretcher back into
the circle of light.
Tension fell of her the moment she could cup Luke’s cheek with her hand and
Mara finally allowed her emotions to rush back in. No one had arrived at the
scene yet and so she did not bother to wipe away the tears that wetted her
face as she breathed a kiss on his lips. They were white and too cool, but
she could feel a pulse, slow and steady.
Mara busied herself with loosening Luke’s restraints before she slipped out
of her cloak and tucked it over him.
*~~
Leia awaited them when they entered the Coruscant Medical Centre’s private
wing. The Princess was next to her brother in a heartbeat, the cascade of
her hair obscuring his face as she bent over him. He did not react as she
addressed him softly and she cursed her helplessness as another medic gently
pushed her away and the stretcher with her twin on it vanished around the
next corner.
The Chief of State looked after it for several moments and as a wave of
tiredness swept over her, she decided that she had seen way too many medics
in her life and wondered whether she would ever find a way to change that.
“His condition is stable. They don’t think we need to worry.” Mara’s voice
was composed and even though Leia felt a last remnant of anxiousness simmer
underneath the cool façade of the former Emperor’s Hand, she knew that this
was the best indication for Luke’s well-being she could get. She smiled at
the redhead and the two women looked at each for a while before they folded
into an embrace – hesitant, at first, but they were both too much in need of
comfort as that they could have parted soon.
“How is Han?” Mara finally asked, taking a step back and straightening her
clothes.
Leia’s fatigue was obvious, but she was glowing with relief and her
sister-in-law felt at least every bit of fear evaporate. “He is in a Bacta
tank.” The Princess gestured and they both started a slow walk towards the
rooms in the back of the wing. “They said he suffered numerous injuries, but
none of them was really serious. He was very lucky. They think he’ll be out
by tomorrow morning.”
“That’s good,” Mara touched Leia’s shoulder, unaccustomed to this way of
contact even after years of being a member of the Skywalker family. She had
been well on the way to fit in what seemed a long time ago – then Ithor had
happened. At times, she still felt as if Leia were reserved towards her
because of that, but then she lived through situations as this and wondered
whether it was her own reservation against herself, her own pain at what she
had done back then that made her feel so insecure.
“What about Luke?”
Mara gestured over to a medic that had just left one of the treating rooms
and directing his determined steps towards them. He bowed respectfully
before them and focused on Mara. “Mistress Jade Skywalker, our databanks
have identified the substance your husband has been injected with.” He
consulted his datapad and shook his head, “Nytinite - highly concentrated
and in fluid form. It’s very seldom and very expensive.”
The Chief of State frowned, “I’ve never heard of it.”
“It was very sought after on the black market during the Old Republic,” Mara
mused. Her eyes had strayed to the toned transpariglass doors at the end of
the corridor. Shadows were moving behind them and she knew the nurses and
medics were tending to her husband. The urge to go to him was almost
overwhelming, but she knew that there was no justification for doting right
now. “It’s one of the strongest sedatives there are and many wealthy crime
lords kept their own stock. It was the only anaesthetic that had at least a
slight chance to knock out a Jedi if they managed to catch them by surprise.
As the Jedi vanished, the demand for Nytinite dwindled significantly. It is
strong enough to kill even in small doses if not carefully administered. It
was simply impractical and was abandoned for potions easier to handle.”
Leia’s chocolate orbs focused back onto the medic, “My brother…”
The doctor smiled, “He is fine, Madam President. The dose was high, but not
dangerously so. He’s in excellent physical condition and with a bit of help
from our part, he’ll soon be fully recovered. We’ll put him in his usual
room and he will sleep through the night, but I expect him to awaken by the
morning. I assume the two of you will want to stay?”
Both women nodded and the medic bent over another time in respect before he
excused himself to oversee Luke’s transit to his room.
When he had rounded the corner, Mara gave a soft chuckle and shook her head,
“I guess it’s time we invite him over for birthdays. He sees them almost as
much as we do.”
Leia grinned and was about to give a retort when she grew serious all of a
sudden. Mara turned in surprise and felt her own relaxation leave her as she
identified the Security officer that had been in charge of the investigation
at the crash site.
“Are there any news?” The Chief of State waved his hasty bow away and looked
expectantly at the datapad in his hands.
The black haired young man pursed his lips, “Yes and no. The bad news is
that we haven’t yet found anything that could possibly lead us to the pilots
of the speeder that attacked your husband and brother, your Excellency. They
have hid their traces carefully. The corpse of Ethmak Dren is on its way to
the medical examiner. I don’t think we’ll have any results before noon
tomorrow. But we found this in a pouch on his belt.”
He presented a small, quadratic object – a holo cube identical to the first
one Leia had received. “Is there a recording on it, Officer…”
“Ginde Nodan, Madam President.”
Leia nodded and gestured to the cube, “Well, is there, Officer Nodan?”
“Half a recording. We are sure that Dren was supposed to add more footage to
it, footage of…” He looked insecure for a moment and took a small breath
before he continued, “Well, footage of your brother. We have already
examined it and there are no substantial hints as to where it could come
from. We hoped that maybe you’d be able to tell us more. If you would look
at it?”
“Of course. We can use the lounge. This wing is reserved for my family and
I. This way.” The Chief of State turned to her sister-in-law, “Mara, do you
want to…”
The former Emperor’s Hand’s only answer was a perched eyebrow as she
squeezed past Leia and took the lead. While the woman settled into the
comfy, plush couches, Ginde Nodan busied himself setting up the cube and
continued with his report. “We haven’t been able to identify the guys Dren
met up with yet. They are all alive, but refuse to give away their names.
The only thing I know for sure is that they haven’t been in trouble with the
authorities before. We could not find them in our databanks. The speeder
they used was a very expensive model. Not really rare, but seldom enough to
limit the circle of suspects to a couple of thousands here on Coruscant. It
isn’t much, but it’s a start.”
Leia and Mara exchange a glance at that information. Neither of them had
forgotten the way Senator Anandan Kele had been drawn into this web of
deceit and how skilfully their hidden adversary had used insider knowledge
to set up the trap. In light of the events of this day, any doubt they might
still have harboured had made room for a certainty that everything that had
been brought forth against Cal Omas came from the same source. Which made
Senator Fyor Rodan a prime suspects.
They didn’t need to say his name out loud – they could see in each other’s
eyes that they were thinking along the same lines.
The young Security officer cleared his throat, “Of course he obscured his
features and the voice sounds scrambled, but we thought you might recognize
gestures.”
Leia nodded for him to continue and Nodan pressed the start button on the
device.
She felt Mara straighten next to hear as a black robed figure materialized
in front of them. Its features were hidden in the shadows of his cloak’s
cowl and his hands rested in the overly wide sleeves of its tunic. “ Quite
the sense for drama, hasn’t he,” the redhead murmured as she settled back
into the couch and glared at the holo.
The voice that began to speak was raspy and deep and Leia had never heard it
before in her life. She was sure of it. Yet the fact that it was scrambled
in the first place suggested that she would have been able to identify the
speaker had he not resorted to the latest mechanical means.
From the very beginning of this mystery on had she had the suspicion that
she was in some way or the other the centrepiece of this intrigue, yet she
had not been targeted by anyone. It had puzzled her at first. Listening to
the words that came out of the small speaker grille, she understood why it
had been so and received the confirmation to her suspicions. It let her
blood freeze.
“As you can see, Your Excellency,” though electronically modified, the voice
dripped with disgust and the mockery laid into her title stung her even
though she would not have expected respect from whoever had taped this,
“there is something we should talk about. I have something that is precious
to you and I’m sure you don’t want it to come to any harm. You will receive
instructions and you will obey them.”
There was a pause and Ginde Nodan murmured, “Now comes the important part,”
The scrambled voice continued, “I have sworn to you revenge many a time,
Princess, and now the opportunity has come. You have destroyed my life, you
and all your family, and I’m very eager to pay back the favour.”
The holo dissolved and left them in silence. It was Mara who broke it
eventually, “They would have killed Luke – Han, too. Someone’s pretty mad at
you, Leia.”
The Alderaanian had blanched visibly. Being in the sights of an unknown
enemy that bore a grudge against you that you couldn’t explain was
unsettling enough – the knowledge that he wanted to get his revenge on her
by taking her family from her was like nothing the petite woman had ever
felt.
She could vividly imagine the footage Ginde Nodan had talked about – could
imagine images of Luke, drugged and helpless, and could hear this
synthesized voice give her instructions that she would have fulfilled, only
to watch her brother be killed in front of her eyes. Leia knew it would have
happened and deliberately folded her hands in her lap to keep them from
shaking.
“Any idea who it could be?”
The officer’s voice was composed, with a touch of hesitancy to it and an
even smaller note of hope. He was disappointed.
Leia shook her head, “I have no idea. I have always had enemies – I still
have many and they’re influential, but these are not their means of fighting
with me. This is not based on a political squabble I’ve had with some
Senator.”
Mara frowned, but kept silent. Did Leia suddenly exclude Fyor Rodan from her
circle of possible suspects? Luke had told his wife all about the scene
between the Commenorian Senator and the Chief of State and the attempt on
Han’s and Luke’s life would fit perfectly with that.
Ginde Nodan sighed, “I did not really expect you’d recognize him, Your
Highness.” He rose and bowed, “I will inform you of any new developments. I
wish you a good night and quick recuperation for Master Skywalker and
Captain Solo.”
Only when the Security officer had vanished did Mara speak up, “Why didn’t
you tell him about Rodan’s little faux-pas yesterday?”
Leia seemed lost in thought for a moment before she focused on her
sister-in-law, “Fyor does not have any personal grudge against me that goes
deep enough to organize this. It’s too elaborate, it’s too….. brutal, for
him. He prefers stylish revenge.”
“So you don’t think he’s involved?”
The Alderaanian smirked, “Of course I think he’s involved. But we cannot
prove it. Not yet. He is not the one to do this kind of dirty work. He’s the
one to reap the fruits of it. And he’s the only link left to the instigator
of all this.”
Mara nodded slowly and reciprocated the smirk, “And you want to stage an
investigation of your own, am I right?”
Leia shrugged, “It’s obvious there are sources of information for them we
don’t know about. They knew where Han and Luke would be. I feel better if
the really important stuff stays between those I can trust blindly until we
know for sure who’s involved and who isn’t.”
*~~
He had heard of Ethmak Dren’s demise shortly before he had boarded his ship.
It had not lightened his mood. He did not mourn the loss of a life, only the
loss of a valuable tool that would need to be replaced.
Things should have been different. At the end of his little voyage,
Skywalker should have awaited him, drugged into senselessness and embodying
the means he needed to begin the final stage of his revenge. Instead, Ethmak
Dren was dead, and three henchmen of one of his most important contacts were
in New Republic hands.
This complicated matters. It required that he have a close eye on the
developments on Coruscant.
With a low growl, he decided to take matters in his own hands from now on.
Sacrifices would have to be made – of whom and in which form would be
decided as soon as he reached his destination.
The new failure stung, but he had not really expected quick satisfaction
seen that Organa Solo and her family were concerned and he soothed himself
with the old saying that the revenge would be the sweeter the longer he had
to wait for it.
To be Continued...