Aboard the ship, watching Han Solo walk towards his niece, James bit his lip. He hated having to put Ace up to this, but he had no choice. The girl belonged to the Sith anyway, and who was he to try and stop them from using her to put a hold on the shipment of parts? The group "We the People" had close ties with the Sith. They made frequent stops at their base, and swapped information and supplies constantly.
Jason bit his nails as he thought about it, What if the Force told Ace something that it shouldn't? What if it warned her that she was just feet from her real father? Apparently the Sith had the same worry. The one who had come to check on Ace every so often came over and watched with Jason.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The Sith asked.
"Yep. That girl is the strongest person with the Force I've ever met. I've got a feeling that this little meeting is going to let the cat out of the bag." Jason replied, not taking his eyes off Ace. There was no way he could explain it to her if she found out. She would hate him. And knowing his "niece" like he did, she would kill him.
Ace flipped her hair as she waited a moment as the notorious smuggler Han Solo walked toward her. In a moment, he stood just feet from her.
"I wasn't expecting a girl, although I must admit, I'm pleased." He said, a smirk on his face.
"Let me set the record straight Captain Solo. I do not like to be looked down upon because people think that just because I'm a girl doing a mans job that I'm not suited for it. If thats what your thinking, let me tell you something. I could do your job 100 times better, and faster, even on one of my bad days. Just think about that while you wipe that stupid smirk off your face. If you think it makes you look smart, its not working." Ace said, her arms crossed.
Taken off guard, Hans eyebrows shot up. Never had he been talked to like that by a girl who couldn't be more that 18. She reminded him of Leia a lot. This kid had spunk and guts, just like Leia. The features were remarkably like Leia also. The eyes were just like Leias, only harder, and gave the teen a tougher look than Leia had. Han wondered what this kid had seen or done in her short lifetime to have made her so tough and hard. He could only imagine the horrors she had seen.
Han nodded at her statement. "Don't worry, I don't think of you that way. You look like you know how to do a lot. I'm sure you could do my job pretty well." Realizing that this wasn't going to get them anywhere, Han tried a different approach when he saw that the girl had been ready to have another lecture. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot. I apologize if you think I shouldn't have smirked or thought what I did. Are we good?"
The girl nodded. "I suppose. And I apologize also. I shouldn't have let my short temper get in the way of my judgement. We're good." A smile escaped her lips and Han smiled also.
"So, Miss, uh… what'd you say your name was again?" Han asked, feeling stupid for not asking her name.
"I didn't. My name is Ace. Ace Steele." Ace replied in her usual, bold manner.
"So, Ace, I assume you brought the shipment of parts?" Han asked. The answer he got was not what he wanted. The smile left Ace's face.
"I don't have the shipment. I know whoever you talked to promised you that the parts would be here but when I went to pick them up, they weren't there. Apparently that 'We The People' group had gotten there just an hour before and cleaned them out. I'm sorry."
Slamming his palm against an x-wing that had been left there, Han cursed. He needed those parts. His ship, the Millennium Falcon, was in desperate need of repairs. That was his last chance to get the parts he needed. Looking back at Ace, he saw her looking down at her boots. Not knowing whether she felt sorry for him, or guilty, he sighed. He knew he needed to control his temper before he flew into a fitting rage.
"Oh well, That's that." He said, running his hand through his hair. "Why don't you come with me and have dinner with me and my family?"
Ace looked up too fast, her teeth clenched together. She knew who Hans brother-in-law was. Luke Skywalker. And Luke was married to Mara Jade, an ex sith herself. Ace knew that if anyone in the galaxy would recognize her instantly, it would be Mara and Luke.
Although Ace hadn't even been born when Mara switched sides, Ace knew that the force would tell Mara who she really was. Just like the force was practically screaming at her that there was something about this man standing in front of her that was familiar. Something that made her want to ask him what it was. But knowing that with another Sith and her uncle in the ship watching her every move, she would be endangering not only her own life, but the life of Han.
"I'm sorry. I have an engagement tonight." She said, hoping it would satisfy him.
But it didn't. "Oh come on. You look like you could use a good meal. And I'd like you to meet my family. My wife would be pleased." That was the truth on both counts. The girl looked like she hadn't eaten with a week. Her stomach looked like it was that of a photoshped model. She was skinnier than anyone he had seen for her size, and although it was not large, she should have had more meat on her bones. Plus, he knew Leia was always happy to have guests over for dinner.
Still, the force screamed at her. Ignoring it, Ace tried to convince him. "No, I really must be going." Being an amazing liar, Ace tried to think of an excuse to leave. But with the force pounding in her ears, she couldn't think. It was maddening that she couldn't get the fact that she somehow knew this man out of her mind.
Able to tell she was having some kind of difficulty, Han stepped towards her. "You're not scared of me are you?" He asked.
Taken by surprise, Ace looked up at him. "No! I'm not scared! I ain't scared of nobody!" She almost scream at him. "The day I'm scared is the day I die!"
Han raised his hands innocently. "Pardon me. I didn't mean to offend you. I simply meant that you're hesitating and I'm curious."
"You're implying that you're a busy body then" Ace reported, not knowing what else to say. She couldn't go to this dinner. If anyone came onto the ship, she was dead. Literally. And so were her uncle and that other Sith. Plus Mara and Luke would recognize that she was a Sith instantly. So would Solos children, who were all force-sensitive. No, she couldn't risk it.
But Han wasn't about to back down. "If thats how you want to say it, then yes, I am." He said, with that sick grin on his face.
Ace heard her uncle talking to her through the Force. "Just go with him Ace. You can't talk your way out of it. He's getting suspicious. We'll get out of here and come back for you. Don't worry, it'll work out. Just be the innocent, sweet, little girl that you are." He said. Ace almost gagged. No matter how nice her uncle was, he always put one person first: himself. She knew they would be back, but probably too late to keep her from being recognized.
Not responding to her uncle, Ace sighed. "Captain Solo, you are very hard to convince otherwise. Therefore, I must surrender."
The look of satisfaction on Hans face almost made Ace smile. "Well then we haven't a moment to lose. Dinner is being prepared as we speak." He motioned to the door leading out of the docking bay, and the two walked out.
Not liking the silence between them, Han decided to try to make small talk. "So, we're you from?" He asked.
"Boy, you ARE really nosey! But regardless of that fact, I'm from everywhere." She replied, sticking her hands in her pockets after flipping her hair.
"Everywhere hu?
"Yep. I fly wherever I please, which is everywhere. I fly solo."
Han chuckled. For some reason when Ace said the word "solo", it made him feel funny. It was odd. It was almost like the force was talking to him. Oh bloody hell, he thought, I can't stand the force. That weird spirit like thing that Luke talks about the time drives me nuts. But something was telling him that there was something going on with this girl. Something seemed familiar with her.
She reminded him of Leia so much. They were both gutsy, and strong. The only difference that he saw between the two was the fact that Ace was a few inches taller than Leia. Her eyes were dark and cold, and looked like they had seen many horrific things in their short time, that she could never tell.
Walking down the hall still, Ace kept her eyes forward and straight. She didn't pay attention to Han. She tried to think of an escape. She could sense that there were Jedi were around. This was not the situation that she wanted to be in. There would be no escape she realized. She would be discovered, and she would never make it back. The Jedi would try to make her tell who she worked for, and where the Sith hideout was, and things like that.
But Ace would never talk. She knew for a fact that she wouldn't. She knew from her past experiences how to keep her mouth shut. Such as the time she was kidnapped by smugglers and abused in more than one way. They had demanded information about where her boyfriend at the time, a smuggler, was. But being the loyal and loving girlfriend she was, she wouldn't talk.
They had beaten her and abused her more, until her boyfriend had finally come after hearing from a friend that she was taken. By the time they stopped abusing her and let her boyfriend take her with him, she had 7 broken ribs, a broken arm, a sprained ankle, she was bruised everywhere, and even worse. She had been in the medcenter for nearly 3 weeks, and when she had been allowed to go home, she hadn't left her house for several weeks.
When she had left, it was only for one reason: she needed to get away from the nightmares. They were horrific nightmares about what had happened, and also things that had never happened to her before. For instance, there was one that kept repeating itself. It was of a baby girl being ripped from her mothers arms. The mother scream and cried, and tried to get her baby back, but the man taking her left with the child.
Ace shuddered remembering it. Han noticed.
"Are you cold?" He asked.
Not wanting to appear childish, Ace shook her head, although it was very cold in this section.
Han raised an eyebrow but said nothing. A moment later, they arrived at the dining room. It was the room that Leia had converted from a storage room into the room that everyone ate in when there was guests for dinner.
Aces eyes widened slightly. The room was 40 times the size of her room back home. The lighting in the room was all natural; the sun shone through the windows that took up one side of the room. There was a glass chandelier, but Ace figured they only used that for dinner partys. The table had seating for around 10 Ace guessed, just by taking a glance. The chairs were premium leather. The walls were whiter than snow.
Han checked quickly to make sure there were enough seats for dinner tonight. Lets see, Leia, Me, Jaina, Jacen, Anakin, Mara, Luke, Ben, Ace… That'll be enough. Han thought to himself, making a mental note of who sat where. He always sat at the head of the table. It was just customary for him to be at the top. Leia naturally sat next to him. Well, by him would probably fit better, considering that there was only one seat at the head. Next to Leia sat Jaina, followed by Jacen, and then Anakin. On the other side would sit Ace, followed by Luke, then Mara, and then Ben. Knowing Leia, she would have the droids make some kind of foreign food that everyone would gulp down.
Ace looked around the room and a smile made its way onto her face. It was a very nice room. The light reflected off of the white walls, making the lighting in the room brighter than an ordinary light.
"It's beautiful" Ace said, more to herself than to Han.
"Yes, it is" He replied, watching the teen as she made her way to the windows.
Looking out of the planet, Ace felt that slight tug of the Force again. She tried to shove it away like you would a puppy tugging on your pant leg, but it held on tight. Focusing her thoughts on something else, she gazed down the several hundred feet to the ground. She had a fear of heights, but was working on getting over that fear. She couldn't let anyone know her weak spots.
Han watched as Ace was lost in her thoughts. She reminded him so much of Leia. Her stomach was one of the smallest that he had seen. He wondered if this girl ate often, or if she even could afford to. But his thoughts were interrupted by Leia's voice drifting over to him from the hallway.
"Oh, I remember that. That was a couple of years ago, wasn't it?" Han heard his wife saying to someone. Hearing someone's voice other than Han's, Ace turned around and left the window. She looked at him with the unspoken question on her face.
"My wife" He replied simply to the girls 'who is that' look.
Ace smiled again. She had heard of the Solos and their many adventures, and she had heard much about his wife, Leia. She had heard that she was a remarkably beautiful woman, and that her attitude was that of humble and generous person. She was always caring and kind, according to what she had heard. Leia's voice was soft and sweet, but purpose filled.
As Leia entered the dining room, accompanied by Mara, Ace knew that everything in the stories she had heard were true. Leia, being only 5 foot 1 inch, was a very petite, but gently looking woman. Her hair was pulled back into a long braid down the middle, and she walked with the swagger of a princess.
Leia immediately noticed her husband, and the teen standing next to him.
"Oh, Han, I didn't know you were here. I thought you were in the meeting about the supplies" She said, a slight look of confusion crossing her face.
"I did. I'll explain it to you later, when we can talk alone. But in the mean time, Ace, I would like you to meet my wife, Leia Solo. Leia, this is Ace Steele. She was bringing the shipment." Han moved out of the way so that the two women could speak.
"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Solo. I've heard many good things about you." Ace said, stepping forward. She ignored Mara as she looked the girl over, using the force to asses her. All Ace could do was wait.
"Hello Ace. I'm glad to meet you, although I must say, I was expecting someone a little..."
"Older? Taller? Another gender perhaps?" Ace said with a charming smile. "Yes, I was too. But at the last minute, the transporter that would have been bringing the supplies was…. injured, to say the least. I was next on the list to fly the supplies, so I got the job." Han couldn't help but smile at Leia's obvious approval of the girl. He could tell she was thinking the same things we was. The two looked frighteningly similar when put next to each other. The only differences were the height, and the eye and hair color.
Han looked at Mara who was obviously having a hard time keeping her mouth shut. About what, he did not know. But he could tell that she kept her right hand, her dominant hand, ready, next to her lightsaber. He caught her eye, and she motioned with a quick glance at the door for him to step out with her. He did so with a quick nod to the talking "twins".
Mara seemed nearly about to snap and start saying something that she shouldnt, and Han spoke up as soon as the door shut behind them.
"Mara, what's going on? What's wrong?" He asked.
She pointed at the closed door, "That's what's wrong with me! That kid in there? That's no smuggler. She's a Sith. And if I were you, I wouldn't trust her around your wife"