I am doing this for fun and no profit is being made. All this belongs to Mr Lucus and Mr Zahn. Witty disclaimer suggestions welcomed.
Mara Jade stood facing the heavy wooden door, her fingers tracing the intricate carving. It had been so long since she had stood here last. It seamed like a lifetime had passed, much had changed. A polite cough from behind reassured her of that, if she could ever have forgotten. She risked a wry smile. Palace security, whether Imperial or New Republic, were, as ever, impatient.
"Ms Jade, if you can disarm the system as you claim, I ask that you proceed swiftly," the elder of her escort began. "It may have escaped your notice but we are anxious to gain control of this section ".
Dust that clung precariously to the rich dark wood continued to be dislodged and spiralled towards the lavishly tiled floor. The diminutive red headed woman before him remained oddly distant. The guard glanced nervously to his colleague who in return let his hand rest on his blaster. They knew the rumours.
"The TEC boys have identified this as the input source", he began to move forwards, gesturing to a small data pad located to the side of the door and stopped abruptly. Emerald eyes held him for a split second.
It was Mara's business to keep informed and her network of contacts would have shown even that of Leia Organa Solo to appear amateurish. She was well aware of the latest passion rippling through the New Republic's bureaucracy. It had amused her deeply until her thoughts rested on what they might find. Her sources had kept her apprised of their attempts to open up various locked sections of the palace. These were the more sensitive areas of the imperial court, the sleeping chambers of Moffs, or more frequently their mistresses, private libraries and other areas fitted with localised security features. It was deeply embarrassing for the legitimate government, especially as their best people had little success eradicating these remnants of the Imperial past, which was why they offered such a high fee for help with this sensitive issue. Jade, never one to turn down an opportunity to so easily increase her personal fortune, allowed herself to finally be persuaded to help. The credits though had little to do with her change of heart.
With deliberate slowness she traced the pattern until her fingertips found what they sought. The pain was sharp but expected. She continued to run her fingers smoothly over the concealed blade allowing enough blood to spill from the small wound and seep in to the analyser.
The technology was, she conceded, primitive but almost undetectable, powered by the small electric charged generated through the friction of her movement. Drawing on the force she reknitted the tissue, marvelling at the stupidity of the New Republic scanning crews and slicers, she smiled. It had taken them months to identify a dummy system. The keypad was little more than window dressing. Perhaps this wouldn't be so difficult and she could get off planet sooner than she'd hoped. She was not going to be notice by anyone that mattered. Her presence in the force was convincingly masked. No one would realise she had been here until she was a few light-years clear. She felt the internal systems power down and threw a glance at the edgy guards.
"The agreement between myself and the Minister of the Interior stated that you had to stay with me whilst I was here," her voice took on the sickly tone of sarcasm, "for my own protection. The Minister made no guarantees for your protection though, do remember that."
The words fell smiling from Mara Jade's lips. Gracefully she turned her attention to the pad and entered a random sequence of numbers, it bleeped encouragingly. Any time she wanted she could open the door - all she had to do was give it a light push. If it was there, she would find it and they would be none the wiser. They would have no chance to prepare and never know a thing if she did it right, but then she always did. Both of her escorts watched with growing excitement. A small light flashed on the display. The elder guard activated his communicator,
"Captain, she has accessed the area, permission to proceed to Stage Two."
"You can tell that can you? Well, I haven't." she stated.
"But it flashed. It's never done that before, and so I...."
"Through that door should be an Imperial Command terminal, if I can find the right file and reconfigure the interface to accept fresh data, there is a chance I might..", she returned.
"But..."
"That assumes that the thing is undamaged after all those attempts to overload the structural integrity field."
He looked at her wide-eyed. How could she have known that? It was restricted information.
Jade pushed open the door revealing the sumptuous interior of what was once her personal suite.
"This might take some time, I'll need some Caf, can you manage that?", open mouthed he just nodded.
Ignoring the four-poster bed, the elegant dressing table and the wide transparisteel window revealing a breath-taking view of the palace's formal gardens, Mara proceeded to a small information point.
"You're in luck, it appears functional," she growled at no one in particular.
Two and a half hours later, she was done. Unnoticed, she dropped the data disc into her jumpsuit pocket. As an afterthought, she disabled the security system on the other rooms and re-engaged the terminal's lock out function.
Mara Jade stood facing the heavy wooden door, her fingers tracing the intricate carving. It had been so long since she had stood here last. It seamed like a lifetime had passed, much had changed. A polite cough from behind reassured her of that, if she could ever have forgotten. She risked a wry smile. Palace security, whether Imperial or New Republic, were, as ever, impatient.
"Ms Jade, if you can disarm the system as you claim, I ask that you proceed swiftly," the elder of her escort began. "It may have escaped your notice but we are anxious to gain control of this section ".
Dust that clung precariously to the rich dark wood continued to be dislodged and spiralled towards the lavishly tiled floor. The diminutive red headed woman before him remained oddly distant. The guard glanced nervously to his colleague who in return let his hand rest on his blaster. They knew the rumours.
"The TEC boys have identified this as the input source", he began to move forwards, gesturing to a small data pad located to the side of the door and stopped abruptly. Emerald eyes held him for a split second.
It was Mara's business to keep informed and her network of contacts would have shown even that of Leia Organa Solo to appear amateurish. She was well aware of the latest passion rippling through the New Republic's bureaucracy. It had amused her deeply until her thoughts rested on what they might find. Her sources had kept her apprised of their attempts to open up various locked sections of the palace. These were the more sensitive areas of the imperial court, the sleeping chambers of Moffs, or more frequently their mistresses, private libraries and other areas fitted with localised security features. It was deeply embarrassing for the legitimate government, especially as their best people had little success eradicating these remnants of the Imperial past, which was why they offered such a high fee for help with this sensitive issue. Jade, never one to turn down an opportunity to so easily increase her personal fortune, allowed herself to finally be persuaded to help. The credits though had little to do with her change of heart.
With deliberate slowness she traced the pattern until her fingertips found what they sought. The pain was sharp but expected. She continued to run her fingers smoothly over the concealed blade allowing enough blood to spill from the small wound and seep in to the analyser.
The technology was, she conceded, primitive but almost undetectable, powered by the small electric charged generated through the friction of her movement. Drawing on the force she reknitted the tissue, marvelling at the stupidity of the New Republic scanning crews and slicers, she smiled. It had taken them months to identify a dummy system. The keypad was little more than window dressing. Perhaps this wouldn't be so difficult and she could get off planet sooner than she'd hoped. She was not going to be notice by anyone that mattered. Her presence in the force was convincingly masked. No one would realise she had been here until she was a few light-years clear. She felt the internal systems power down and threw a glance at the edgy guards.
"The agreement between myself and the Minister of the Interior stated that you had to stay with me whilst I was here," her voice took on the sickly tone of sarcasm, "for my own protection. The Minister made no guarantees for your protection though, do remember that."
The words fell smiling from Mara Jade's lips. Gracefully she turned her attention to the pad and entered a random sequence of numbers, it bleeped encouragingly. Any time she wanted she could open the door - all she had to do was give it a light push. If it was there, she would find it and they would be none the wiser. They would have no chance to prepare and never know a thing if she did it right, but then she always did. Both of her escorts watched with growing excitement. A small light flashed on the display. The elder guard activated his communicator,
"Captain, she has accessed the area, permission to proceed to Stage Two."
"You can tell that can you? Well, I haven't." she stated.
"But it flashed. It's never done that before, and so I...."
"Through that door should be an Imperial Command terminal, if I can find the right file and reconfigure the interface to accept fresh data, there is a chance I might..", she returned.
"But..."
"That assumes that the thing is undamaged after all those attempts to overload the structural integrity field."
He looked at her wide-eyed. How could she have known that? It was restricted information.
Jade pushed open the door revealing the sumptuous interior of what was once her personal suite.
"This might take some time, I'll need some Caf, can you manage that?", open mouthed he just nodded.
Ignoring the four-poster bed, the elegant dressing table and the wide transparisteel window revealing a breath-taking view of the palace's formal gardens, Mara proceeded to a small information point.
"You're in luck, it appears functional," she growled at no one in particular.
Two and a half hours later, she was done. Unnoticed, she dropped the data disc into her jumpsuit pocket. As an afterthought, she disabled the security system on the other rooms and re-engaged the terminal's lock out function.