ENTRY 4

The rest of the trip to Corellia went off without a hitch. The boys were perfect gentlemen, and even went so far as to cook for us and clean up the ship. When I entered my bunk on the last night of our trip, my covers were turned down and there was even a piece of chocolate on my pillow.

Ahhh, the wonders of blackmail, I thought as I popped the candy into my mouth, closing my eyes to settle in for sweet dreams of my husband.

We landed in Coronet City and parted ways with Kyp and Ganner, wishing them good luck on their diplomatic mission. (Why Luke chose them to act as diplomats will never make sense to me, but he was persistent that all Jedi need to learn diplomatic skills to use in a peacetime galaxy. I pointed out that sending Kyp and Ganner on a diplomatic mission was the best way to throw the galaxy into another war. He chose to pretend that he didn't hear me.)

I went off on my own to speak to some clients of Karrde's, while Mirax dropped off some shipments and made arrangements to pick up the rest of her supplies the following morning. Once our business was finished, we rendezvoused in one of Coronet's seediest tapcafes—the perfect place for us to blend in with the crowd and enjoy some much-needed adult beverages.

"Oh, I went back to the ship while you were still out. There was a message from the Praxeum. Luke says hi and asked you to comm him whenever you get the chance."

"Is something wrong?" I asked, confused, as I hadn't felt anything odd from him through the Force.

"Didn't seem like it," Mirax assured me. "I think he just misses you," she added, winking.

I laughed. "You'd think that after ten years spent avoiding each other as much as possible that he wouldn't be so damn needy," I joked, trying not to show just how much I was missing him, too.

"Either that or he just wants to make sure that you didn't kill two of his best Jedi Knights."

"Haha," I replied, sticking my tongue out at her. I downed the rest of my glass of Whyren's. "Want another drink?"

"Sure," she replied, tossing me a credchip. "This round's on me."

"Whatever you say, boss," I smiled, making my way towards the bar. I ordered our drinks and leaned my elbows on the table's surface, stretching out with the Force. I felt a sense of peace wash over me…but before I could revel in that too much, I felt a pulse of shock coming from Mirax. I immediately whipped around, hand already on my lightsaber, my drink order forgotten.

Mirax was still sitting in our booth, but she wasn't alone. Across from her stood a menacing-looking Devaronian, looking far too casual for the alarm that was pouring from Mirax through the Force. Slowly I made my way back to the booth, sneaking behind the Devaronian so he wouldn't see me. As I got closer I could see what had made Mirax so alarmed—the alien held a nasty-looking blaster in his hand, one that I knew was illegal on most star systems, including Corellia.

"Going somewhere, Terrik?" the Devaronian growled as Mirax tried to extradite herself from the booth. He blocked her path, and Mirax was forced to sit back down. He took the empty seat across from her.

"Well, if it isn't Jarvis, the most inept bounty hunter in the galaxy. How'd you find me?"

"My boss happened to recognize the Skate when it landed. You really need to get some new codes for your ship, Terrik."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mirax noticed me then, but didn't make eye contact with me. I could feel her confident presence through the Force, as if she was trying to reassure me that she had everything under control. "And as I've told you numerous times, it's not Terrik anymore, it's Horn."

"Trying to threaten me with your Jedi husband?" the bounty hunter sneered. "I don't see him around anywhere right now, so your threats fall on deaf ears, I'm afraid."

"How about a Star Destroyer coming to blast apart your ship and your home, does that threat fall on deaf ears?"

"Your father doesn't threaten me, either! He's going to have even more enemies if he keeps cheating people out of their rightful earnings!"

Mirax rolled her eyes. "Ohhh, so you're working for Compton, then. How many times does Booster need to tell him that his shipment was shoddy and he refused to pay for bad parts?"

"That's a lie!" Jarvis yelled, pointing his finger in her face. I could sense Mirax's annoyance, and hoped that she'd be able to resist slapping his finger away or, worse yet, throwing the rest of her drink in his face. (Those drinks aren't cheap!) "Those parts were fine and Old Man Terrik knows it!"

"If you say so," Mirax drawled. "Look, I was enjoying a nice evening of drinks and entertainment before you showed up; can't we do this another time?"

"I'm sorry Horn, but I've been given orders. If your father won't pay, then you will…one way or the other."

"Oh, now that is not the smartest thing you've ever said. Compton is going to be in big trouble when Booster hears about this, and you'll be lucky if your body parts aren't strewn across the Errant Venture's airlock."

"Sorry, Horn, but I'm afraid you'll be dead before then. If you have any last words, now is the time to—"

Jarvis's sentence was cut off by a bright blue lightsaber blade placed directly over his throat.

He stared down at the blade in shock, then turned to me with wide eyes. "Hello," I said casually. "I don't know if we've met before. I'm Mara Jade Skywalker, Jedi Knight."

He gulped. I picked up on his train of thought and went with it. "Yes, that's right. Former Emperor's Hand. Wife of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Both of them taught me everything I know.

"Now, would you please stop pointing your blaster at my friend?"

Jarvis nodded, and I spared a glance down at his pants, which now had a growing wet spot down the front. I suppressed a chuckle as I tried to maintain my threatening demeanor. The blaster dropped on the table and I used the Force to throw it towards Mirax, who caught it with one hand. "Thanks, Jarvis. This will be a nice addition to my collection," she smiled.

"Now, Jarvis," I said, pulling his head around to face me again, "you're going to leave the tapcafe and contact your boss Compton. Tell him that if he takes out another hit on any of my friends ever again, he will find my lightsaber blade shoved so far down his throat that it'll come out the other end. Do you understand?"

"Yes…yes I do!" Jarvis managed to stammer out.

"Good." I gave him a curt nod. "Now go. And leave us some creds for our inconvenience, please."

The bounty hunter obliged, tossing a few chips on the table before turning tail and heading towards the door. I made sure he was out of the building before hooking my lightsaber back on my belt, then retrieved our drinks at the bar and rejoined my friend at the booth.

"You know I had that situation completely under control," Mirax scowled as I pushed a glass towards her.

"Oh, I know," I smiled.

"So then why the unnecessary use of Jedi force?" she asked.

I sat back in the booth and grinned. "I couldn't resist. Luke always gets annoyed and gives me one of his Jedi Master lectures whenever I do stuff like that when he's around."

...

Well, at least Mara admitted that I had everything under control! …And I did. My trigger finger was resting right on my holdout blaster the entire time. -MTH

tbc