Chapter 4

Failed Freedom

The prison cell that Leia found herself in was more elaborate then Han and Chewbacca's. It was located in one of the deepest parts of the palace. The walls were made out a concrete material stronger than granite, reinforced with bars made out of Mandalorian iron. The door was made out of Mandalorian iron as well. In addition, it was locked by an advanced security system that required entering a ten digit code, a NDA scan, and a voice code.

As for the accommodations inside, Leia was chained to the wall by shackles on her wrists and a golden collar around her throat. She was held into place by a force field. Around every three minutes the force field's power would recycle, sending a pulse of energy through Leia's body. It wasn't strong enough to cos any great amount of pain or do any long-term damage. Still, it was enough to greatly annoy the princess, like a small itch that couldn't be reached.

Leia did her best to rest, but between her currant discomfort and what had transpired last night it was a losing battle. Following Jabba's plans to sell Leia to the Empire, she had been sent down to the slave courters. Jabba had decided Leia needed attire that was more suiting for a princess. This off course had greatly alarmed Leia. She had observed what Jabba deemed appropriate clothing for females. Through partially to Leia's relief, the outfit that one of the slaves had given her to change into was a layered, long sleeve maroon tunic with matching pants and black leather boots. It was similar to the outfits worn by Nabooian handmaidens ten years before the Clone Wars. In addition, they had done up Leia's hair into twin buns, like how she appeared in the Imperil wanted holos of her.

Also at the opening of his party Jabba had brought Leia before his court. The young princess had stood in the center of the chamber as the varices criminals had gawked at her and shouted insults. A few slaves had even joined in with their masters. Then Leia had been forced to stand beside Jabba. The oversized slug had forced her to drink from a goblet that contained a foul tasting concoction. Seeing Leia's reaction to the drink, Jabba had sinisterly smiled.

"I am sorry that Nal Huttian Mead does not agree with you, your highness," Jabba had mockingly stated. "Soon I will acquire Alderaanian Wine, along with many other rare treasures from Alderaan."

"I hope you choke on it!" Leia had said, slamming her foot down hard on the tip of Jabba's tail.

This had greatly angered Jabba. If circumstances had been different, Jabba would have survey punished Leia. Though, he did not want his bounty damaged. So, he had found another way to torture Leia. Leia had watched in horror, as Jabba ordered that C-3PO be stripped of any useful software and be incinerated.

To Leia's credit, she had not given Jabba a chance to enjoy watching her suffer. Both her countenance and body language were com and composed. Even though, Leia had had to bite her lip when 3PO had been dragged out of the room.

In a desperate voice he had cried out. "Princes Leia, please do not let this happen to me! R2-D2 where are you when I need you? O why is Master Luke taking so long?

Luke… Just the signal thought of her friend brought Leia out of her self-reflection. She did not understand how, but just like that time on Bespin, Leia knew that Luke was in grave danger.

Outside of Leia's cell there was a commotion going on. The cell's walls dampened noise, so Leia was uncertain of what was happing. There might have been some arguing and maybe the discharge of a blaster. Leia even thought she heard a savage haul fouled by someone shrieking.

A few moments later the door swung open and in stepped Lando, Chewbacca, R2, and Han, who was using a vibro-pike as a walking stick.

"Leia." Han called out.

"I'm here." Leia responded. For the first time sense their situation began Leia could not help but smile and her hart started fluttering in a good way.

R2 rolled over to the control panel for the force field and began hacking it.

"R2, be careful." Said Leia. "The force field has safety protocols. If the shutdown sequence is not done in the right order both the terminal and force field will overload.

The stout white and blue astromeck droid turned his domed head towards Leia. He then whistled in a tone that could be taken as, "Relax, I know what I'm doing."

Less than a second later, the force field shutdown.

"OOF!" Leia exclaimed, feeling surprised by the sudden drop and the chains going tot. With help from R2 and Chewbacca, Leia was freed from both the shackles and collar. Gently rubbing her throat Leia stood up on her own. Leia then moved towards Han, embracing him and giving him a quick kiss. She did this to let Han know that she was at his side and simply because she wanted too.

Lando who had held back, guarding the door, approached Leia and Han. "I hate to break up the reunion here, but time is of the essence. An Imperil taskforce is going to be arriving within the hour," he said. Lando then handed Leia a blaster pistol.

"Of course. Lead the way." Leia replied, tucking the weapon under her belt.

The group exited the cell. They moved through the dark musty hallways in signal file. Lando took point. R2, Han, and Leia were in the middle. Chewbacca brought up the rea, looking behind them with a protective eye.

"I take it you have a plan for getting us out of here?" Leia asked Lando.

Lando looked over his shoulder at Leia. "R2 was able to hack the Palace's computer system. According to what he found there should be a nearby room that contains a secret passage to Jabba's privet hanger and escape ship. Whence we get to the ship it should be a clean getaway."

"What about guards or security systems?"

Lando shook his head. "Right now the guards are too busy. They are ether at the party upstairs or watching the perimeter. At the moment Jabba is more concerned about the Empire coming to take you by force. As for the security systems, R2 has taken care of that."

A few moments later they reached the room that Lando had mentioned. It was a large storage room filled with containers of varying shape and size.

Finding the control panel for the door, which was disguised as a bacta tank, R2 began unlocking it. The group anxiously watched and waited for R2 to finish. Chewbacca moved slightly to the right to get a better look. At that moment a blaster bolt came streaking past Chewbacca, singeing the fur on his shoulder. On instinct, Chewbacca went to protect Han, taking cover behind a stack off crates.

"Chewie are you all right?" Han asked.

At the same time, Leia and Lando took their own defenses positions. Looking down the sights of her blaster, Leia scanned the room for the shooter. In the shadows of a catwalk above them, Leia thought she saw someone leaping down, but could not get a good look at them.

"To our right!" Leia warned the rest of the group.

Less than a second later, the attacker pocked out of cover, firing another shot. She was a young woman, no older than Leia. She had long red hair and seemed to be dressed in some sort of dancer's costume.

Lando and Leia ducked down, the blaster bolt flying above their heads. Leia turned to Lando and saw that he had a perplexed look on his face.

"Do you know that woman?" Leia asked.

"I don't know her personally if that is what you're asking. But, I do recognize her. She is one of Jabba's servants. I believe her name is Arica. She must be an undercover agent for Jabba."

"With the way that Jabba treats his servants it wouldn't surprise me." Han chimed in. "I bet there are more than a few servants that would love to strange the hutt. It seems reasonable that he would place a spy amongst them. "

"Add me to that list." Said Leia.

"R2 can you jam her comlink?" Lando asked.

A small thin dish like device came out of one of the compartments in R2's head in response.

While R2 was trying to unlocking the door, Lando, Leia, and Chewbacca continued firing at their attacker. Leia had to admit that she was impressed with Arica's skills. It was obvious that the woman had received some sort of military style training.

Lando was swopping out a new power cell for his blaster, when R2 whistled in triumph. The secret door to the passage opened.

"Han, Chewbacca get to the passage. Lando and I will cover you." Leia ordered.

Before Han could abject, Chewbacca grabbed him by the back of his shirt. The two of them then ran towards the door. They both arrived at it safely.

"Now you Leia." Said Lando, giving her a look that said there was going to be no arguing about it.

Leia moved out of her cover, firing a few quick shots as she sprinted. When Leia reached the door she laid down covering fire for Lando.

Lando was half way to the door when he was struck in the side by a blaster bolt. He stumbled to the ground, his helmet falling off and rolling a few feet away. With a great effort Lando rolled on to his backside and raised himself up. He aimed his blaster in his shaking hands. Then Lando turned his head towards Han and Leia.

"What are you waiting for? Go on get out of here!" Lando shouted just as he was hit by another blaster bolt. This time the shot was fatal.

Leia looked to R2 who was still at the panel.

"Come on R2!" Leia called out to the droid.

Though, R2 stayed where he was. The light in the center of his domed head changed from blue to red and he turned his head, "No." Then the door slammed shut, with no way for it to be opened from Leia's side.

"No!" Leia softly cried to herself. She then started pounding on the door but stopped when she felt a hand on her tense shoulder. Leia turned around to see it was Han. He was still blind, so he could not make full eye contact with her, but the look on his face was full of concern.

"Look Leia I know what just happened stinks." He said. "But, right now we need to move on. Lando and R2 just sacrificed themselves in the hope that we will be free. Now, if we fail then that sacrifice will have been for nothing."

With that, Han let go of Leia, turned around, and started walking away. Chewbacca was walking right beside him. A few moments later Leia followed too.

Luckily for Han, Leia, and Chewbacca the passage was not that long and the door at the end of it did not require any computer systems to open. The hanger bay was completely deserted. There weren't even droids around. At the fare end was a Horizon-Class Star Yacht, Jabba's person starship. Even from this distance it was obvious that the craft had had some heavy modifications. The hull of the ship was covered in think armor plating. A heavy turbo laser cannon was mounted in the under belly of the ship. In addition, on top there were a pair of blaster cannons, a proton torpedo launcher, and a quad laser cannon in the rear.

"Do think you can fly that" Leia asked Chewbacca.

"Shouldn't be a problem." The wookiee responded back in his native langue.

"Hey wait a second I can fly that thing too." Said Han.

Leia looked to Han in disbelief. "Han you're blind. Do you even know what type of ship we are talking about?"

"Hey, don't worry about it princess. My eyes are getting a lot better now. Plus, I have flown in wears shape than this. There was this one time before I had the Falcon that I was making a quick stop on Naboo…

Suddenly Han stopped telling his story and the group came to a halt when they heard the snap-hiss humming sound of a lightsaber.

"Luke, is that you? About time you got here kid. We are about to leave." Han called out.

"It isn't Luke." Leia responded, looking back behind them.

For Mara Jade it felt good to be holding a lightsaber, having recovered the weapon from the R2 unit that she had destroyed. Do to the roll that she gone undercover as, it had been imposable for Mara to smuggle in her own lightsaber, or any other weapons. The blaster Mara had used earlier was one that she had lifted off an unsuspecting guard. Nether the less, she was grateful to able to have the weapon.

The disguise that Calrissian had been wearing had not fooled Mara. After Princess Leia's capture, Mara had thought about informing Jabba of his true identity but had decided not to because she did not want to draw any attention to herself. If it was discovered that Mara was an agent of the Empire it might hinder their chance of getting the princess. Instead Mara had continued maintaining a low profile, keeping a close eye on Calrissian. When it became apparent that Calrissian and the rest of his companions were going to escape, Mara had had no choice but to intervene.

So now Mara encroached on Captain Sole, his wookiee, and Princess Leia. The vibrant green blade of the lightsaber humming softly as she gained ground.

At that moment the wookiee said something to Sole and Princess Leia. The former said something back that Mara could not quite here. But she didn't need to, the Force giving her a warning of danger. The wookiee then separated from the group and came charging at Mara. Using his blaster rifle like a club, he swung the weapon one-handed at her. Mara easily sidestepped the attack. Though she was cot off-guard when the wookiee slammed her with the full might of his other arm. The blow casing Mara to be thrown several feet back and hitting the ground. The wookiee then approached Mara. Picking her up by the neck, he started to crush the life from her body.

Mara was finding it very hard to breath, much less think, while she desperately felt for the lightsaber. It had fallen from her grasp and rolled a few feet away. Reaching out with the Force, Mara called the weapon to her right hand. She then placed the lightsaber against the wookiee's chest and activated the green blade. The wookiee gave a short sharp haul before his grip loosened and he fell to the ground: dead.

There was no time for Mara to recover from the fight. Sole and Princess Leia were nearly to the ship. Reaching out with her left hand and the Force, Mara sent them tumbling to the ground.

Both Sole and Princess Leia were taken by surprise by the attack. Sole of whom had knocked his head ageist a fuel storage tank. Princess Leia just laid there in confusion.

Mara quickly moved in on them. She held the lightsaber up to strike, ready to finish off Sole.

"Leave him alone!" Exclaimed Leia. She rose to her feet and started firing her blaster.

Mara casually deflected the first two blaster bolts harmlessly into the wall. The third blaster bolt she redirected at Leia, destroying the princess's blaster.

"It's over your highness. Surrender!" Said Mara, raising the tip of the lightsaber at Leia's throat.

"No, not as long as I still have a fighting chance." Leia replied, taking a few steps back and picking up Sole's vibro-pike. She held the weapon in a defensive stance.

Well this should be short and fun. Mara thought, as she gave the princess a mocking salute and took her own defensive stance.

For a few hart pounding moments the two woman circled each other. Leia was the first to strike. Lunging forward, Leia was able to strike Mara's left leg.

The wound was not severe. Having missed any main arteries, it was just a flesh wound. Still, Mara quickly found that it was better if she kept most of her weight off that leg.

Mara was taken aback by the attack. She was surprised by speed and power of the princess. Nowhere in the dozens of Imperial profiles about Princess Leia did it indicate that she had any training in melee combat or swordplay. Mara noted to be a little more cotise.

Once again Leia launched several attacks, lunging and swinging wildly with the vibro-pike. This time however, Mara sidestepped and evaded the attacks. Holding the lightsaber in a two handed grip, Mara began to counter with a thrust attack at Leia. Though halfway threw she changed her approach by coming in at a diagonal slash, severing the head of the vibro-pike from the shaft. Leia tried to strike Mara with the pommel of her weapon but Mara blocked it. With Leia's weapon reduced to a stick smoldering at both ends, Mara moved forward, punching Leia in the gut and bashing her in the face with the hilt of the lightsaber.

"Now Princess Leia will you surrender?" Mara asked, her face less than an inch from Leia's. She also had her left hand firmly place on Leia's shoulder and held the blade of the lightsaber up to her throat.

For a few moments Leia and Mara just stood there; Leia's soft brown eyes giving Mara a defiant look. Through, the princess did not resist.

Mara deactivated the lightsaber and spun Leia around so that she could march her forward, while keeping the lightsaber hilt placed against Leia's back. A few seconds later they boarded the star yacht. Mara quickly found the ship's holding cell and placed Leia inside.

Princess Leia proceeded to sit down on the hard, cold, metal bench in the cell. In a peaceful and composed manner Leia placed her hands on her lap and stretched her legs, which touched the other end of the cell.

"So you are not taking me back to Jabba." Leia causally remarked.

Mara, who was looking over the star yacht's security system, glanced up at Leia. "No. I am not," she replied.

"Then who are you? It is now apparent that you do not work for Jabba. Are you a free-lance bounty hunter, or an agent of a rival crime syndicate?

"Just think of me as the one who will be delivering you to the Empire." Mara shortly and sharply replied.

Leia responded back with a lector about the evils of the Empire. But Mara did not here it because she had already left the room.

Wow, that Woman is such a pain. Normally Mara was pretty good about not letting people get under her skin, but there was just something about Princess Leia that Mara could not tolerate. She was half tempted to simply kill her right now. It was inevitable that Leia would be executed for her crimes against the Empire.

Though, Mara knew that one of two outcomes would happen first. Ether Princess Leia would reveal everything she knew about the Rebellion or the Rebellion would be defeated; thus giving the Emperor no reason to keep her alive. How long it would take for the former to happen would be up to the princess.

Mara came to a slow halt when she entered the entrance module of the ship. The boarding ramp of the yacht had been left open. Moving to the control panel, Mara went to raise it. In the background outside she could see the still on conches Captain Sole.

An idea then popped into Mara's mind. Having noted how strongly Princess Leia had reacted to when Sole's life had been in danger, Mara decided that he could be useful in interrogating her. It would also greatly aggravate Jabba if he found out that his prize captive had been taken away from him. Half looking at her own reflection in the hull of the ship and half Imagining Jabba's reaction, Mara could not help but smile.

So it was decided. Despite Mara being in top physical shape, it was somewhat difficult for her to drag Sole into the ship. Instead of placing Sole in another holding cell, Mara placed him in the cargo bay so that Princess Leia would not even get the chance to see or talk to him.

With Princess Leia and Sole secure, Mara went to the cockpit. She sat down into the pilot's seat and started the takeoff sequence. A few seconds later the star yacht rose off the ground and exited the hanger. Mara was sum what surprised that she did not encounter any trouble as she brought the ship out of Tatooine's atmosphere and towards the dagger shaped Imperil-class Star Destroyer, along with its half dozen smaller support craft, which was entering in orbit around the planet.

However, Mara was not the only ship approaching the Imperial task force. The star yacht's sensors indicated that a Firespray-class Patrol and Attack ship, designated as Slave 1, was closing in. Mara of course knew it was Boba Fett's ship. At first Mara thought that the bounty hunter had been sent by Jabba to shoot her down, but then Mara sensed something ells. It was the presence a Force user on board Slave 1, one that was very strong in the Force and skilled at tapping into that power. It had to be Luke Skywalker there were no other options. Also Mara could sense that Skywalker was on conches, so Fett must have captured him.

As Mara approached the Star Destroyer, she felt a wave of relief flow through her. At last her mission was complete. With the Rebels taking the bait for her master's trap and Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia about to face justice for their crimes, the Rebel Alliance was surly doomed.

Wow! This was a big chapter right? How will the Rebels fair with the loss of the Ewoks' golden idol or the deaths of Chewbacca and Lando, or even R2? What sort of implications does Leia's capture mean for her and how will it affect Luke? The next chapters will answer all these questions. Unfortunately I will not have much time to write starting next week. So think of this as a season finally. This is my first fanic and I am amazed by the number of followers I am getting. It means a lot to me guys. If you want more let me know by following and reviewing.

Also I am still looking for an artist to help me create a cover for this story. (For guidelines and requirements look back at the end of chapter 3). Thank You.