Chapter Four
Partners
Luke arrived early to Uncle Sheev's office the next morning, his bag slung over his shoulder and an eager grin on his face. He couldn't help wondering about the type of ship he'd fly…fly far away, out of the Coruscant system. And on a secret mission for the Emperor himself!
Wearing his Imperial Academy uniform, crisp and pressed, he approached the Emperor's office and was immediately admitted. Entering the luxurious suite, he found two people in the room, seated across from one another at a conference table. Uncle Sheev, facing him, smiled upon Luke's arrival, rising. The other remained seated, Luke only able to see the back of a head with rich red hair.
"Luke, my dear boy, have a seat and meet your partner for the upcoming mission to Yavin 4," Uncle Sheev said jovially, gesturing for Luke to join them at the conference table.
Luke cast his bag aside and took a seat, a droid immediately coming to fill an empty mug in front of him with caf. Momentarily distracted by the droid, as well as searching his mind for everything he knew about Yavin 4, Luke finally looked up to see the other person at the table. His heart skipped a beat.
A beautiful young woman, looking to be about his age, stared at him with her bright green eyes, her red hair framing her face and cascading over her shoulders. She frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing, and he could feel her judging him in the Force. Yes, he could feel she was powerful in the Force, and the look of ridicule she gave him now left Luke self-conscious.
He swallowed hard, trying to collect himself. "Hi, I'm Luke Skywalker."
The woman continued to stare, an increasing look of displeasure on her face. "Mara Jade," she said finally, her words clipped and low. She turned to Uncle Sheev. "I don't see why I need a pilot. I can fly…"
"Luke is Force-sensitive and may be of use on the mission," the Emperor said. "Also, you have destroyed the last three ships and…"
"Master, I had no choice! I simply had to…"
But Uncle Sheev raised a hand, his face serious, firm. "My decision is final. You need a partner for this. Luke will fit the bill nicely." He sat a data chip on the table in front of them, activating the hologram that jumped into view. A globe spun. "This is Yavin 4. You may remember this as the former stronghold of the Rebellion, which Darth Vader annihilated a few years ago."
"Darth Vader!" Mara exclaimed, looking again at Luke. "Skywalker…you are Vader's son." She raised a well-manicured eyebrow, and Luke could not decide whether she was impressed or disappointed.
"Yes," the Emperor confirmed. "Archeologists studying the ruins recently came across a new underground tomb, and all evidence indicates this belonged to an ancient Sith lord. I immediately shut down the project, as only those trained in the Dark Side should access the artifacts within. I am sending you to do the initial survey, bring back a few items for me to study."
A Sith lord? Luke felt even more excited. He not only got to pilot a ship out of the system, but he could learn more about the Sith to impress his father.
"All you need to know is on this data chip," Uncle Sheev said, deactivating the hologram and handing the chip to Mara. He turned to Luke. "Your ship is in spot D94 in the hanger. Safe travels and may the Force serve you."
Mara stood swiftly and moved from the room, grabbing a duffel bag along the wall. Luke looked at her, startled by her speed.
"You better go, my boy," laughed Uncle Sheev. "She moves fast."
Luke trailed behind Mara all the way to the hanger. They found D94 quickly, and Luke's spirits fell. He expected some sort of new TIE, tricked out like his father's. Instead, an aging Imperial transport, which didn't even seem to have a name but a mere set of serial numbers, awaited them.
Mara did not hesitate, but quickly entered, throwing her bag onto one of the three bunks in the hold and moving to the cockpit, slumping down into the co-pilot seat. Luke shut the back of the ship hesitantly, placing his things on the bed opposite Mara's, surveying the space. Well, it was a ship.
"Move it, Skywalker," Mara called, her voice stern, demanding.
Luke came into the cockpit, eyeing Mara, who read something on her data pad. Her long legs stretched out, boots up on the dash, her close fitting black trousers and tunic showed off her athletic form well, and Luke could feel himself blushing. No…no…he needed to focus on the mission. And who was he really, she a special trainee of the Emperor himself, he a recent Imperial Academy graduate with very little experience with women?
Settling in behind the controls, Luke immediately felt comfortable, as he always did at the helm of a ship. Concentrating on getting them out of the Coruscant atmosphere, he dared not look at Mara. Finally pushing them into the first hyperspace jump, Luke could not help but grin foolishly, looking over at the unimpressed Mara.
"This is my first time leaving Imperial City in over a decade," he said excitedly.
"I need to meditate, focus on the mission," Mara said rising. "Get us to Yavin 4 safely, city boy."
She moved back to the hold, and Luke could have sworn she'd given him a small smile as she exited.
Darth Sidious watched Luke and Mara's transport disappear into the sky, a wry smile spreading across his lips. Both Skywalker twins away. Yes, that should delay Vader's plans, for the moment.
The idea to use Mara Jade in his strategy came easily to Sidious. He'd discovered her as a youth, trained her as an Emperor's Hand. Like Vader, he withheld some of his more interesting Dark Side knowledge from the girl. No, not girl…woman. Yes, Mara grew up to be a wise and powerful Force-user, and she seemed occasionally like a daughter to Sidious. He could not be more proud of her accomplishments, her willingness to go the distance on missions, no matter how dangerous.
And she was beautiful as well. Dangling an attractive and intelligent woman in front of the elder Skywalker male worked years before. Hopefully Luke could be as blinded by a woman as his father.
Ah yes, Vader. Enough pondering the Skywalker children. Now back to his apprentice.
Sidious walked down the corridors of the palace back to his office, smiling and nodding at passersby in his "friendly old man" guise. As he walked, he wondered who should replace Vader. Perhaps Mara. While she hadn't been conjured into existence to be his apprentice, like Vader, she had been trained from a young age, and her skills and values resembled his own.
No, he would decide later. He had a lot of choices, others he'd trained without Vader's knowledge, maybe even the Skywalker twins themselves. Now he needed to focus on Vader. And with the children out of the picture, for the time being, he needed to get other parts of his plan going.
Upon returning to his office, he pulled up his comm, dialing Grand Moff Tarkin.
Leia looked around the Imperial Embassy offices on Cloud City, satisfied with the organization of the space. She arrived the previous evening, spending time making her suite in the upper floors comfortable. Throughout the day she put together the rarely used office space. Sending away the stormtroopers accompanying her hours ago, as they just proved to be in the way, Leia enjoyed working on her own, reveling in her first position.
Sitting at the desk and logging onto her computer to check her messages, Leia looked up after a knock sounded at her open door. A handsome young man entered, his dark skin, hair, and eyes accented by pearly white teeth set in a perfectly dashing smile. He wore black trousers and a blue tunic, complete with an elegant cape. He looked quite dapper indeed, and Leia found herself smiling and rising to greet him.
"Hello, Ambassador," the man said, his voice smoothly flirtatious. "I am Lando Calrissian, the administrator here on Cloud City." He took Leia's hand, bringing it to his lips in a lingering kiss, his eyes twinkling up at her.
Leia kept the girlish giggle she felt bubbling within her at bay, remaining the professional. Her mentors during her internship would be proud.
"I am Leia Sky…Ambassador Leia…you may call me Leia," she stammered, damning herself for sounding hesitant. But whenever she said her last name, people seemed to flinch, particularly young men who took a fancy to her. These men could not get away fast enough when they discovered her to be Darth Vader's daughter. Perhaps she'd keep that fact to herself, make friends…maybe more, as she'd never had much of an opportunity to date, and flirting a bit would be nice.
Lando brought Leia out of her thoughts. "My goodness, you are lovely. The Empire sends only the brightest and most beautiful to Bespin."
Leia smiled coyly. Tall, dark, and handsome…and smooth, that's for sure.
"We do hope you are enjoying your stay so far," came a voice behind Lando, and another man, pale with cyborg implants in his skull, entered. "Will you be playing in the sabacc tournament?"
"Lobot here is always business before pleasure," Lando said, gesturing to the newcomer.
"I was just trying to suggest some entertainment for the new ambassador, as that is our main specialty here on Cloud City," Lobot said back.
"I am an official of the Empire. Playing in the tournament would be unprofessional and…" Leia began.
"Nonsense. Those folks up in the ruined orbital used to play all the time," Lando said, raising an eyebrow at her. "And any winnings you can donate to some charity."
Leia thought for a moment. Yes, a sabacc tournament would be fun. She was a decent player. And this was the main event happening on Bespin. She would get to meet new people. Shouldn't the ambassador be with the people?
"The game is partners sabacc. You will be assigned a partner to go through the tournament with, only separating in the final round. We do need one more entry to have an even number," Lobot explained.
The two men looked at Leia expectantly.
"All right," she said in a dignified voice, her insides twittering with excitement. How marvelous, to be somewhere new, doing something new!
Lando's face lit up, but Lobot just nodded, turning to his data pad and entering some information.
"Marvelous!" exclaimed Lando. "We look forward to having you. There is a mixer in three hours, in the main night club on the fortieth floor. You will meet your assigned partner, which we will go randomly take care of right now. Until later, Ambassador…"
"Leia. Just Leia," she answered.
"Leia," Lando repeated, winking before slipping into the hall, Lobot following close behind.
Leia listened as they walked down the corridor talking.
"Make sure she is not paired with any young handsome men," she heard Lando say before they left earshot.
The comment made Leia finally let out a laugh, placing the back of her hand on her lips to stop herself, but still grinning.
Three hours later, elegantly but professionally dressed in flowing green gown, Leia approached the desk outside the club, receiving a nametag to pin to her clothing and the name of her partner for the tournament.
"Ben," said the bored-looking man at the table. "Grey hair, beard. Think he's at the bar. Next."
Leia shuffled in, her eyes taking in the room, which moved with loud music, sentients of all sorts dancing, talking, laughing.
Ben…her partner's name was Ben. Grey hair…looks like Lando got his wish with the older man. But how did he know what Leia liked? She shook her head and smiled to herself at Lando's arrogance. Still, he was handsome and charming. Getting to know him might be fun.
Leia moved toward the bar slowly, taking in the sights and sounds. So many different sentients. In Imperial City, one rarely saw other beings, but here, in this room, Leia saw more different species than she had in the past year on Coruscant in the Palace District. Watching two Falleen dancing rather seductively together on the main dance floor, Leia ran headlong into a giant brown-furred Wookie.
"I…I am so sorry," she stammered, looking up, a little frightened.
A Wookie! The Empire usually employed them as laborers. She knew many helped construct Uncle Sheev's pride and joy, the Death Star.
The Wookie looked down at her, roared a reply, and moved along, leaving the bar now clearly in Leia's view. Her eyes locked on an older human male with a beard. Ben perhaps?
"Hello," she said formally, moving into the seat next to him, putting her hand out. "I'm Leia. I think you might be…"
The man turned to her and shook her hand firmly, his hair and beard grey, offset by his bright blue eyes with seemed to twinkle with delight and something else…mischief?
"Ben," he said, finishing her sentence. "Hello there, Leia. So nice to meet you. What would you like?"
The bartender now stood before her, waiting.
"Wine. Red, please," she said.
"And another ale for me," Ben said, and he turned to face Leia fully.
Ben wore brown trousers and a light, sandy tunic, simple but elegant. He seemed pressed and clean, yet Leia sensed a ruggedness about him, a difficult life lived. Perhaps the Force sent these feelings, as was often the case when she met people for the first time.
"Where are you from, Ben?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Here and there. I'm a bit of a spacer these days. But you are far more interesting, I hear. The new ambassador on Bespin."
"Interim," she corrected, then sighed. "But hopeful ambassador. Being here," she gestured to the busy space about them. "Is…is just amazing. I've been stuck on Coruscant forever. I want to meet new people, see new things."
Ben laughed. "And you are. Seems you are eager to take on the galaxy. I used to be like that. But just be careful, my dear. Sometimes the galaxy hits you…can strike you down." He grew quiet, seeming pensive. "Yes, strikes you down in unexpected ways."
Leia studied him as their drinks arrived. Ben seemed kind, yet slightly beaten down by life. Yes, the Force told her this.
Then they were chatting and the minutes turned into an hour. She enjoyed talking with him. Something about him seemed familiar, yet she felt certain she'd never met the man. She told him of her work, her life on Coruscant, even about some adventures with her brother, being very careful not to mention her father. No, she did not want to be Darth Vader's daughter here. It occurred to her that in her position and status with the Empire, she might never have encountered somebody like Ben, a space transient, obviously in the lower classes. How nice to have this opportunity.
She realized she'd mostly been talking about herself, answering Ben's occasionally placed questions for some time, enchanted by the interest he showed with those piercing, knowing eyes.
"A spacer? Where have you traveled? What do you do for work?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I hop from ship to ship for work. I came here because I like to play sabacc, and I need some extra credits. And speaking of, perhaps we should talk strategy."
And so they did, for another fifteen minutes, before Leia sensed a sudden tension from him. He stood with a jolting movement, his palm pressed to his chest, his face paling, body hunched.
"Ben," she said, rising, placing her hand on his shoulder in concern.
"He okay?" asked the bartender.
Ben stood with his eyes closed, his breathing beginning to steady, his back straightening slowly. Finally, he opened his eyes, smiling down at Leia.
"No worries, my dear. Just a medical condition, that's all," he said, again with the playful smile. "Until tomorrow. Pleasant dreams."
And he soon disappeared into the crowd.
Leia mingled a bit more with some of the other players, but by that point in the evening, most were planning with their sabacc partners, giving suspicious looks around the room. She retired to her quarters, deciding to enter her first official log as ambassador before bed. Nothing interesting to report…professionally. But her two new acquaintances, Lando and Ben, proved to be fascinating. She looked forward to the game the next day.
Author's Note: Next time, we focus on Leia as she begins the sabacc tournament with Ben, running into a handsome scoundrel between games.
Thanks for reading!