CHAPTER 6
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Pulling her cloak tighter around her slight frame, Mara strolled through the streets of Worlport, a seemingly innocent girl way out of her league in the big city. She received stares but ignored them, her right hand resting on her blaster and her hard eyes observing the busy nighttime streets.
This was her element. Alone, on a mission, with singular purpose, armed with all the tools to accomplish her task. She had nobody weighing her down; nobody she had to make concessions for. It was just her and her talents, against the galaxy.
When Mara had first joined Intelligence, it had been difficult for her to use her old training and knowledge to her advantage. In her mind, all of that was irrevocably connected with the Emperor, and she wanted nothing more than to forget that part of her life ever existed. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget, and eventually she'd been forced to admit that her time as the Emperor's Hand could have a positive effect on the Rebel Alliance, if only she'd use it. After all, that was why Cracken had been so accepting of her deceptions, and so anxious to get her into Intelligence.
To her surprise, Mara found that slipping into her old Emperor's Hand persona was not accompanied by the negative feelings she'd expected. She was using her skills to restore freedom to the galaxy, and using Palpatine's training against him felt better than she could have imagined.
Stepping aside to allow two rather drunk pedestrians to pass by without bumping into her, Mara stretched out with the Force, searching for any nearby Force-users. As had been the case the past several hours walking the streets, Mara couldn't sense anyone strong in the Force, and certainly nobody who would call him- or herself the Emperor's Hand.
She did, however, sense someone nearby with malicious intent. That in and of itself wasn't unusual, especially not in a city like Worlport, which was filled with undesirables. What was alarming was that once she sensed the person—a human male, if her feelings were correct—her danger sense spiked dramatically. Almost as if this person posed as much harm as an Emperor's Hand.
Pulling up the hood of her cloak, Mara glanced around the street to search for the source of the danger. She found nothing so she fell into the Force and allowed it to guide her. Opening her eyes, she felt pulled toward an entrance down the street.
Stepping into what appeared to be Worlport's seediest cantina, she saw a man at the bar, clad in green Mandalorian armor and carrying a large array of weapons. He was a bounty hunter named Boba Fett, famous throughout the galaxy and often employed by Darth Vader when the Sith Lord was tired of dealing with Imperial fleet bureaucracy.
What was Fett doing here? Was he looking for her? Was that the reason she felt danger? Mara had trouble believing that; if her former master suspected that she was on Ord Mantell, Vader would be the one looking for her.
No, Fett's mission was different, but she knew that whatever it was, it also placed her in danger. She decided to throw caution to the wind and find out why he was on Ord Mantell by going directly to the source.
Luke would blow a gasket when he found out that she did this. He'd certainly find out—he always did, no matter how much she tried to hide things from him—and although she did feel badly for causing him to worry, his concerns weren't her problem. She was a grown woman, and she'd survived all of the Emperor's missions and then defecting from his service.
Sorry about this, Farmboy, she thought to herself. But I'm sure you've done something equally as brash in the few days since I left Hoth, so let's call it even.
Harkening back to all her training as a spy, Mara casually made her way across the room to where Fett was standing at the bar, speaking to the Rodian dispensing drinks. They were conversing in Huttese, a language Mara knew socially. She caught a few words that caused her danger sense to heighten even more—bounty, death mark…Solo.
Mara had to force herself not to gasp. Fett was looking for Han!
Sweet stars, what had that man gotten himself into this time? Whatever it was, it wasn't pretty, not with someone like Fett on the case.
Mara couldn't leave the bar just yet without appearing suspicious, so instead she signaled to the barkeep. Pausing the conversation, he stepped to her and nodded. "What'll it be?" he asked in accented Basic.
"Brandy, the cheapest you got."
The Rodian nodded, not bothering to ask for identification, not that this kind of establishment worried about those sorts of things. While she waited for her drink Mara glanced to her right. Fett was watching her intently.
She decided it was time to call on her old acting skills. Shifting her weight to a more seductive stance, she leaned in and practically purred, "Looking for a good time?"
The bounty hunter remained facing her direction, then shook his head deliberately. With his helmet blocking his facial expressions, she focused instead on his body language. "Not interested." He definitely wasn't.
Time to step up the game. "Oh, come now," Mara said, running her hand up and down Fett's gauntleted arm. She batted her eyes and offered a demure smile. "I'll give you a discount."
"Not interested," he repeated firmly. He wasn't biting, so Mara decided it was time to change her tactics.
"What, are you busy or something?" she nearly pouted.
"Yes."
"Doing what?" The Rodian placed the glass of brandy on the counter, and Mara tossed him a credchip.
"None of your business." Fett tossed his own chips onto the bar. He turned to her and nodded. "Evening."
"Wait." Mara reached out and grabbed his arm, knowing that she was playing with fire, but willing to risk it to get him to talk to her. Leaning up, she whispered to his helmet, "Maybe I can help…bounty hunter."
Fett glared at her, his body language turning hard and dangerous. Mara didn't back down, knowing that she had him now. Looking over his shoulder, Fett gestured to a dark corner of the bar. Mara nodded, grabbed her glass, and followed him. When they arrived, he whirled on her and Mara felt his blaster shoved against her side. She had expected it, and wasn't alarmed.
Her holdout blaster was hidden safely under her cloak, at the ready.
"What do you want?" Fett growled.
"I want to help," she demurred. "I know everything in this city. You have questions, I have answers."
"Who are you?"
"A friend."
"I don't think so."
"Try me."
Fett paused, seemingly weighing his options. Deciding that he'd be able to space her quickly if she was playing him, he answered simply, "Han Solo."
Mara nodded, both to gain Fett's approval and also to keep herself from showing too much concern. "He's wanted by the Empire."
"Who he's wanted by isn't your concern. Do you know where he is, or not?" His blaster jutted into her side, warning her of the punishment for deception.
Mara held his gaze. "He's here. Staying at the Blue Sky hotel. His ship is docked at the West spaceport."
The blaster shoved harder into her ribs and Mara had to bite her lip to keep from crying out in pain—not to mention stop herself from flooring him right in the middle of the bar. "How do you know this?" he growled.
"I told you, I know everything." She batted her eyes. Doing this would be risky, but if she didn't ask for payment, her cover would be blown… "Now…shall we discuss payment?"
Fett reached out and grabbed her throat, then shoved her against the wall. "Your payment is not having your guts blasted against this wall. Get out. And if I find that you've lied to me…you're dead."
Mara smiled and reached up to gently remove his fingers from her throat. "Don't you worry, bounty hunter. I never lie."
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Leia stared unblinking at the ceiling, lost in thought, and barely aware that her skin was still pressed up against Han's. Her mind raced with a million questions—what did this mean? Was he serious about her? Did he regret what they'd just done? Did she? Did he love her?
Did she love him?
His leg brushed against hers, harder and with intent. She turned her head to find Han watching her with a faint smile.
He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "You need to stop thinking so much."
Even now, her protest was automatic. "I'm not thinking."
"Uh-huh, sure. I can tell when the wheels are turning behind those pretty brown eyes of yours, and right now they're going a klick a minute."
"Okay, fine. But it's your fault. You've given me a lot to think about."
Han leaned back on his pillow and crossed his arms behind his head. "Oh, have I?"
Leia rolled her eyes. "Shut up."
He grinned. "As you wish, Your Highnessness."
She tried to throw him a glare, but couldn't muster the indignation. He really had given her a lot to think about. What was going on between them? Was it just a fling, or something more? Leia's gut instinct was telling her that Han would never take advantage of her if he wasn't serious, and she wanted to believe it so badly…
Han leaned over her shoulder; his breath was warm on her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "You're doing it again."
She turned in his arms to face him. "I can't help it."
Han cupped her face with his hands. "If I told you that I don't regret this, will that help?"
"I…" Leia trailed off, partly bursting from his declaration, partly scared to death of his intensity. Then he kissed her again and all her misgivings were swept away.
She smiled as they broke apart. "I don't, either." She leaned in for another kiss…
Then there was a triple knock at the door, the agreed-upon signal if there was trouble and they needed to enter the other room. Leia pushed away from Han and gripped the bedsheet tight around her body. Han grabbed his blaster and leveled it at the door.
But his precautions were unnecessary; the door slid open and Mara stepped through. She shrugged off the hood of her cloak, a worried expression on her face.
That expression turned to mirth for just a moment as she spotted them lying in bed together. Then she began hurrying around the room, grabbing all of the necessities. Leia noticed that Mara was carrying her own bag on her shoulder.
Han was the first to come to his senses. "What the hell's going on, Mara?" He went to stand but realized that would make the situation even more embarrassing, so he remained on the bed with the bedsheet securely over his waist.
"Trouble. Here." She threw Han's discarded shorts at his head. "We need to leave Ord Mantell."
Leia sat up a bit. "But—"
"We need to leave now, Leia." Mara gathered up Leia's clothes and placed them on the foot of the bed, then turned around. "Hurry up, get dressed. Time's wasting."
Leia shared an awkward glance with Han, then did as instructed. "Um, Mara…about this…"
"Look, there are more important things to worry about right now than you two finally knocking boots. Let's get the hell off Ord Mantell and I'll make fun of you all the way back to base."
Han nodded. "A woman after my own heart." Leia glared at him, and Han made a face. "You know what I mean." He grabbed his comlink. "I should alert Chewie."
"Already did it," Mara informed them. "He's ready to take off."
"What's going on, Mara?" Leia asked. Finally changed, she took her bag out of Mara's hands and made sure her blaster was secure in its holster.
Mara turned around. "I told you, we've got trouble. We gotta leave."
"How do you know?"
Mara shifted her weight uncomfortably and paused for just a moment. Then she glanced at Han. "You familiar with a bounty hunter named Fett?"
Han's gaze turned icy. "Yeah. I know him. Why?"
"He's here, looking for you."
"Krell!" Han flew into a frenzy, grabbing the rest of their belongings and practically pushing them out the hotel room door. "Did you see him?"
Mara paused again, as if she was hesitant to explain how she'd come across the bounty hunter. Leia studied her face, trying to get a read on her emotions, but it was pointless. Mara had always been very good at hiding her feelings, even among her closest friends. "I noticed him. Knew who he was, and decided to find out why he was on Ord Mantell of all places. I talked to him, he said he was looking for you, so I fed him false information."
"He won't be fooled by that for long."
"I know, which is why we are leaving right now." Mara led the way through the hotel's hallways and stairwells. "We'll take the back exit, try to avoid him in case he tailed me. If we see him," she glanced back at Han and Leia, "you two turn away and start making out. If he sees us, run like hell."
"Sounds like a plan," Leia said sarcastically.
"This is serious, Leia," Han said, all sense of humor gone. "Fett's dangerous."
"Why is he after you?" Leia demanded.
"Jabba must've decided he got sick of waiting."
"Jabba? The Hutt?"
"You know another Jabba?"
"Hey, as fun as storytime is, can you two please hurry up?" Mara snapped at them from several paces ahead, where she had already reached the exit.
"She's right; let's go." Han grabbed Leia's arm and hurried her forward, so the three of them were in line together as they walked down the busy street.
"Why did you work for Jabba? He's notoriously bad-tempered."
"Yeah, well, he also pays notoriously well. I took a risk. I got boarded, dumped the shipment. I never paid him back, and I guess after two years he's tired of waiting."
"Why haven't you paid him?"
Han smirked at her. "I took a job that would've paid him off, but I ran into some Imperial trouble while rescuing an Alderaanian princess, and I haven't been able to leave her since."
A few paces ahead, Mara suppressed a chuckle. Leia blushed. "Oh."
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They walked for awhile longer, disappearing into the evening crowd. Suddenly Mara paused, hackles raised. "Inside, now!" she hissed. She practically dove inside the entrance to the nearest club. Han grabbed Leia's arm and pulled her inside, belatedly realizing that he'd nearly yanked her arm out of its socket. He gave her an apologetic grimace, then followed Mara into the crowd.
"What's going on, Mara?" he demanded. The ex-Imperial agent raised a finger while observing the room. Her eyes narrowed, then she visibly relaxed.
"Come on, we gotta find another way out of this club," Mara whispered.
"Is he here?"
"No."
"Well then why don't we stay here?"
Mara gave him a patient look. "Because he's on our tail. I don't know how, but he is. Now, do you wanna be in this club when he finally catches up with us? Come on, I see a back exit." Not waiting for a response Mara ducked out the doorway, glanced around the street, then fell into the pedestrian traffic.
"How does he know where we are?" Leia asked. The traffic was heavy and Han was hopeful they'd lose Fett in the crowd, but he doubted it. Fett was a pro, the best there was, and if he'd gotten tipped off to Han's whereabouts there was no way they'd lose him until they were off-planet, and even then Fett might still be able to track their movements.
Mara shrugged. "We can figure that out later, once we get off this rock."
Finally they reached the spaceport. "What if he's got people inside, waiting for me? The Falcon isn't that inconspicuous," Han worried.
Mara shook her head. "Don't worry; it's clear."
"How do you know?"
Mara stared at him blankly. "Isn't it obvious? Chewbacca's in the cockpit. Wouldn't he tip us off if there was any danger?"
"Oh. Right."
Sticking to the shadows, the three of them crept toward the back of the spaceport, where the Falcon was berthed. Han hoped that the out of the way spot would keep Fett from catching them, and that almost was the case.
"Drop!" Mara yelled just as the ship came into view. Han complied without thinking and fell to the ground just as red blaster fire flew over his head. Han managed to turn and saw the familiar form of Boba Fett stalking toward them, still a good fifty meters away.
"Go!" Han grabbed Leia's arm and pushed her toward the Falcon. She ran as fast as she could, not bothering to return Fett's fire. Han did so instead, leveling his blaster at the bounty hunter while Leia and Mara raced to the ramp.
The Falcon was already on its repulsorlifts, ready to lift off. Han turned back to the ship and ran, stopping only when when one of the blaster bolts flew by him and grazed Leia on the leg. The Princess yelped and nearly collapsed, but managed to pick herself up and hobble to the ramp.
"Leia!" Han's breath caught in his throat and he remained frozen in fear. It was only when another blaster bolt grazed his hair that he shook himself back to life, pushing his worry out of his mind so he could focus on the task at hand. Rushing to the ship, he lifted Leia into his arms. Mara was on the ramp now, laying down suppression fire while Han carried Leia into the ship. Once they were inside he laid her down on the ground. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "It's not bad. Hurry, get us out of here!"
"I got her, Han," Mara said, coming in behind them.
"See?" Leia said. "Now go!"
Han took a deep breath, then kissed Leia on the top of her head. "As you wish, sweetheart."
Then he headed to the cockpit and forced himself not to think about what could have happened to Leia. That the blaster shot could have hit her head, or her back…that she could have been killed.
It was stupid, of course. Leia was always in some sort of trouble. It was the story of her life in the Alliance. He should be able to deal with it by now.
But after tonight…he didn't know if he could deal with seeing Leia hurt ever again.
Especially not when he was the reason she'd been in danger in the first place.
If he didn't pay off Jabba the Hutt, he'd be a dead man. Fett and the other bounty hunters wouldn't rest until they had him in their clutches. If they finally caught up with him while Leia was around…
Han couldn't let her get hurt, or possibly worse, because of his past mistakes. He wouldn't do that. He cared about her too much to let that happen.
As much as it would hurt both of them…he only had one option.
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Finally safe in the ship, Leia allowed herself to relax as Mara tended to her leg. She smiled to herself, remembering the first time Mara had been on the Falcon, while Leia tended to Mara's leg. Apparently the irony was not lost on Mara because she smiled, too. "It's time I repaid the favor, don't you think?"
"Yes. Although I think your wound was a lot worse than mine. The blast just grazed me, thankfully."
"Yeah, you shouldn't even need any bacta." They fell into silence as Mara finished bandaging Leia's leg. "There. Good as new."
Leia glanced up and met Mara's gaze. "Thanks."
Mara shifted awkwardly. "Yeah. Um. Perhaps I should go to the cockpit, see if everything's all right—"
"Wait. I have to ask you something."
"If it's about you and Han, don't worry. I won't say anything. I'm just glad you two finally came to your senses."
Leia blushed. "Oh, yeah…thanks. But that's actually not what I wanted to talk about."
Mara's head snapped up, and she suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "It's not?"
Leia shook her head. This was uncomfortable for her as well, but she had to ask. "How did you really know Fett was looking for Han?"
Mara blinked. "I told you what happened."
"I know, but why did you feel the urge to talk to him in the first place? He wasn't what you went out looking for—was it?"
Mara was silent for long moments as she contemplated her answer. "No," she finally answered. "It wasn't."
"And then, when we were heading to the ship, you knew where to go and when Fett was following us. It was like you could sense him. How?"
Mara finally looked up, her fake brown eyes glowing with intensity. "The Force," she stated simply.
Leia let out a breath, then nodded. She was right. "Does anyone else know?"
"Other than Cracken, Madine, and Luke, no."
"Is that why you and Luke…" Leia trailed off, not wanting to be rude, but Mara caught her drift anyway.
"It's not why we're together, no. But it is why we felt such a strong initial connection. It's…it's hard to explain, to people who can't use the Force."
"No, I understand." And Leia did, of course; she had felt the same connection with Luke the first time she laid eyes on him in her cell on the Death Star. It had been an instant connection, as if she had known him forever. Obviously it was different from what he and Mara shared, but perhaps some people were just drawn together, no matter what, Force or no Force.
Mara's expression grew concerned. "Please don't tell anyone, Leia. I don't want to be another hope for the Alliance, or another target for the Empire."
"Are you ashamed of what you can do?"
"No! It's not like that at all. It's just…it's complicated."
Leia patted her friend's arm. She didn't understand why Mara would deny the power that had been granted to her, but she would help keep Mara's secret as long as she desired. After all, what were friends for?
With a grin, Leia answered, "If you keep my secret, I'll keep yours."
Mara returned the grin. "It's a deal, although I think you have the much better secret, shacking up with a hot Corellian."
Before Leia could retort, the ship lurched and they felt the familiar whirring of the hyperdrive. "I guess we made it," Mara said.
"Yes. But we'll need to drop out of hyperspace several times before arriving to Echo Base, in case we're being tracked. I should go tell Han."
"I'm sure he's thought of it already."
"But—"
"Look, I know you're anxious to see your sexy flyboy, but you need to go lie down. I'll go tell him."
Leia huffed, but she knew that Mara was right. Besides, there would be plenty of time to see Han later. "Fine. But if Han asks where I am—"
Mara grinned. "Don't worry. I'll tell him to meet you in bed."
Leia rolled her eyes, then headed to her cabin. As she settled down in her bunk, she ruminated on Mara's revelation. For some reason, it hadn't surprised Leia that Mara could use the Force. Her danger sense and keen instincts were similar to Luke's. It was amazing to Leia that she hadn't connected the dots before now.
Or maybe it was just that she hadn't tried to connect the dots before now. Perhaps it was instinct speaking to her, showing her what she needed to see—just like on Dantooine. Just like during the mission briefing where Luke had lied to Command. Han had once accused Leia of only being in tune with her feelings when it concerned Luke, and Luke's relationship with Mara, and Leia had to admit that Han was right. Now she'd once again had a gut feeling about Mara which had proven to be correct. These instincts were getting stronger and stronger, and were becoming harder to ignore…
And Leia had no idea what that meant.