A/N: In response to the comment on my characterization of Luke, I assume you are referring to his personality in Dark Empire. Please keep in mind this takes place quite a few years before that, when Luke had experienced far less losses and battles and was still quite innocent. Guest 2 is correct in that this takes place shortly after ANH, before Luke trained with Yoda, faced Vader, lost his father, or any of the other things which prompted his turn to the Dark Side. If you read Choices of One, which this fic starts with, you will find Luke is rather unskilled and untrained and very naive.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this so far. I know I was a bit slow in getting this chapter up. Hope it was worth the wait. :)
As she stepped down the ramp, Mara saw a middle age man waiting for her. Paget was thin and unpleasant looking… almost like a younger Tarkin she mused to herself. Stepping brisk towards him she nodded to Paget slightly. "Captain Paget I assume?" she asked. The man nodded at her and leered.
"I am indeed Captain Paget. I have heard of you Emperor's Hand, but I never imagined you to be so young… I wonder if you truly are the Emperor's Hand?" he said, his voice oily. Mara bristled.
"I think you will find age has little to do with ability." she warned him sharply. "You are treading on very dangerous grounds Captain. I highly suggest you change your tone. The Emperor is not known for his mercy towards those who are disobedient or over step their ranks… nor is his Hand. You would do well to remember that." Paget shrugged at her and looked bored. Mara swore to punish him before they left… but duty came first. Her priority here was her mission. Captain Paget's monotone voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Perhaps… but you are hardly more then a child, and a woman at that. I doubt the Emperor would bother-" Paget's sentence was cut off as Mara lunged at him, kicking his legs out from under him and dropping him face first to the floor. Grinding a booted heel into his back her held her lightsaber to the base of his skull.
"You were warned Paget. Do you have any final words?" she asked.
"Please spare me! I was just being cautious! I heard the Rebel leader was young and feared you might be her… that you had somehow gained codes…" Paget whimpered. Was the really the best the Academy could turn out?
"You should listen to your superiors." Mara told him as she raised her blade.
"Stop it Jade." a voice called out to her. Turning to face the new comer, Mara scowled. Of course he would be here. Sate Pestage, one of the few people the Emperor trusted as much as herself. Though her Master trusted him implicitly, Mara disliked the man. Still, he was one of the few men who could command her without rebuke and she shut down her lightsaber.
"You have a serious problem with disobedience and authority questioning here Sate." she told him. "The Emperor does not tolerate such disrespect in his ranks." Sate's mouth twitched. The girl might be Palpatine's special project, but she was very vexing to deal with. Still, he knew of her more lethal qualities and decided it was best to humour her.
"Perhaps I do" he said spreading his hands broadly "But I shall deal with it. I presume that is not why you are here." Mara glared, but clipped her lightsaber to her belt.
"No it's not. We have a traitor in our midst and I need access to the station's tech read outs as well as a tour it to verify certain things, as well as determine where our leak stems from. That is all I will tell you." she said.
"A traitor? Surely you jest. Who would risk their rank on such a thing? Or their life?" Sate said.
"The Emperor's Hand does not jest about such matters. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do." she said, noticing as she did Sate was eyeing the troops and Solo. Kriff.
"The Emperor's Hand also typically works alone." he said, nodding towards them.
"Time is of the essence, so I have commandeered a small squad to assist me. I wish you to take my troops on a tour of the station. Commander Oslo and I will need access to the technical centre… and privacy. You can understand this is a delicate matter." Mara said. Sate scowled at her skeptically, but knew better then to deny her.
"Very well. If I can be of further assistance let me know." he said. "Just keep my men in one piece Jade." he said as he strode from the room. Mara removed her heel from Paget's back and let him up.
"You are a lucky man." she told him "Are you ready to assist us now?" Mara asked. Paget nodded.
"Absolutely Ma'am. I will personally escort your troops on a full scale tour. Do you need assistance in locating the tech centre?" he asked.
"No, I know where I'm going. You are dismissed. Be sure to show my troops everything, even the most insignificant details." she ordered him, before motioning to Solo. "Commander Oslo, this was please." she said marching towards the tech centre. So far, so good, but Sate was definitely suspect, especially of Solo. They would need to work fast and get out before he put it together. If not… they were all in a huge load of bantha poodoo.
As they made their way down the various hallways and corridors, La'Rone and the other troops tried to form a mental map, lest the needed to run for it, but it was proving impossible. Still, at least they were able to discretely record the tour for later review by Jade. Their helmets had been fitted with micro holo recorders, allowing them to be Jade's eyes and ears. Captain Paget apparently did not consider this a possibility as he had the nerve to try interrogate them as soon as they were out of earshot from Mara. "Tell me, how did you lot come to be picked by the Emperor's Hand. I would of figured she would use Imperial Guards if anything."
"We were each hand picked for our skills." La'Rone answered, giving away as little as possible.
"I see. So you served other units? Or were you recruited from the Academy." Paget pressed.
"If the Emperor's Hand has not discussed such matters with you, it is not our place to." Macross answered curtly. Backpeddling slightly Paget tried to cover his failed interrogation attempt, suddenly realizing these men would report back to Jade.
"Ah ah, no you misunderstand. I am simply curious it all." he said.
"Curiosity killed the nexu." Grave told him sternly. Paget scowled but continued the tour. Her troops were are rigid as her. No wonder she picked them.
"Anyways, as you can see the facility is state of the art! Our weapons system will be online by tomorrow. Would you like to see it?" Paget asked and La'Rone nodded. "Very well, come this way. I am certain you will be impressed." he said walking to a nearby door. As he touched the panel the door slid open and La'Rone frowned.
"No passcode? That could prove a major security flaw." he said. Paget gave him a withering glare but nodded.
"I will see to it that is fixed." he said. It was bad enough being bossed around by a girl who was barely out of her teens, but now to be ordered around by storm troopers? What had he done to deserve this indignity? For that matter why did the girl obey Sate Pestage and not him? Yes, Sate was a member of the Imperial Court, but he held no military rank. He was Grand Vizier, yes, but the girl did not seem one to be impressed with such titles. He would look into it more later. Motioning to the command board he demonstrated the controls. "You see here" he said turning a knob "You can adjust the amount of firepower. On full it is able to destroy a large planet, on lower settings it can be used against ships, without endangering the nearby planet… though it would really only be useful against larger, slow moving vessels as the targeting system takes several minutes to lock on and charge the guns. We do of course have smaller lasers for defence mounted on the surface which will auto fire at anything that comes within rage. It's also equipped with a fire back system… or will be very soon." Paget said.
"And past weaknesses have been fixed I assume?" La'Rone asked.
"Ah, they will be by the time the Death Star is complete. However, our planetary based shield protects us until that day arrives." Paget explained. "Now the next stop on our tour will be the comm centre… unless you wish to see the storage lockers and cleaning units."
"We were told everything, so yes, we wish to see those as well." La'Rone told him. Paget frowned but motioned them to follow him.
"Very well, the storage lockers are just through here…" Paget said.
Luke was practicing in the gym with a remote, wishing Mara were with him to spar with. Remotes got boring quickly. He jumped slightly when he heard a voice call out to him. "Hey farm boy, you up for a match?" Shira called out as she stepped into the room. Luke hesitated. His father had warned him to stay away from her, but he was bored. The Emperor had told him to work on his training when he had sought orders to occupy his mind… so what could one sparring match hurt? It wasn't like he would be talking to her.
"Alright, you're on." he said. Shira grinned and for a split second Luke swore he saw a flicker of yellow in her eyes, but dismissed it. When he looked again they were their normal green.
"Excellent." she said.
"I didn't know you used a lightsaber." Luke said as she unclipped one from her belt and ignighted a blood red blade.
"I'm learning." she said "Anyways, how did you think I was going to fight you?" she asked. Luke shrugged.
"Hand to hand maybe?" he said. Shira flashed him a feral grin.
"I think your girlfriend might have issues with me having my hands over you, but if you want…" she offered and Luke glared, choosing to lunge at her instead, his lightsaber raised to meet hers. Their blades met hard and fast, bouncing rapidly between offence and defence. Luke had to admit she was a formidable fighter. Still he was determined not to let her win. Seeing a break in her guard he ducked under her lightsaber and held his to her chest, pinning her so she could not move without causing him serious harm. It was in that moment she did the unexpected. She brought her blade down on his, cutting his hand off. His lightsaber switched off as it fell, and Luke looked at it horrified as Shira shut her own blade down and walked from the room. Over her shoulder as she stepped out she said to him "I win. I will always win. Never forget that." Pain radiated up his arm and panic filled his body and force sense. The lightsaber had cauterized the wound of course, but he was still going into shock. He made the mistake of glancing at his severed hand and felt ill. As he heaved he felt dizzy. Spots began to cloud his vision and his ears rang. He felt cold. He needed help, and he needed it soon. Thankfully his pain and shock radiated on a broad signal and his father came in. He lifted Luke and carried him to the med ward just as Luke lost consciousness entirely. Vader swore. Shira would pay for this. She would pay dearly for daring to harm his son. Once he made sure the med droids were taking care of his son, Vader stalked off towards the Throne Room to confront the Emperor with what his beloved little pet had done. He was sure he would not be pleased, and would take Shira down a peg or two. Vader knew he could not harm her directly without aiming the Emperor's wrath at himself… but he could ensure she was punished for her actions.
Reaching the Throne room, Vader bowed before the Emperor. Looking down at Vader, Palpatine could feel his rage boiling. It had been a long while since Vader had been this entrenched in the Dark Side and Palpatine enjoyed the crackles of Dark energy rolling off Vader. Motioning him to rise, Palpatine asked "What troubles you Lord Vader?"
"Shria Brie has gone too far. She cut my son's hand off in a sparring match." Vader ground out. His fist was clenched and shaking with rage. His original mechanical hand Palpatine noticed.
"I will see to it he is fitted with the finest prosthetic." Palpatine said.
"What of Shira? Her desire to win at all costs, even harming an ally, is a problem." Vader pressed. Palpatine frowned.
"So it is. I will deal with her Lord Vader." he said.
"She will be punished for her actions?" Vader asked.
"I will deal with her as I see fit Lord Vader." Palpatine said, warning in his voice not to press the issue. Vader scowled beneath his mask, but didn't dare press the issue further. "Was there anything else you wished to address Lord Vader?" Palpatine asked him.
"What of Jade? Is she still investigating?" Vader asked. He knew he was pressing his luck, but his son would want to know.
"Yes… and I have received word from my advisor she is keeping strange company these days. Do you recall a Commander Oslo, Lord Vader?" Palpatine asked and Vader looked at him confused.
"Should I my Master?" he asked. Palpatine rested his chin on his hand.
"That's my trouble. I can not recall any Olso. I'd hoped with your military involvement you could shed some light on who our mysterious commander is." he sighed. Vader considered it and had a hunch… but he would not speak it to Palpatine. If he was right, Jade was walking a very fine line. He hoped she knew what she was doing. Answering out loud, Vader shrugged.
"So many pass through my ship so quick, I seldom remember names unless an officer proves themselves extraordinary in some regard." he offered. Palpatine eyed him suspiciously but let it go.
"Perhaps. I believe I shall need to keep a closer eye on my Hand though. She's been rather reluctant to reveal her contacts." he sighed. Vader remained silent. "If you have no further issues, you are dismissed Lord Vader. Go see your son." Palpatine said motioning Vader to go. Taking a hint Vader nodded to his Master and turned to leave.
"Yes my Master." he said as he stepped from the Throne room and made his way towards the med bay to check on his son's progress. He felt less pain from Luke now, so they had clearly medicated him. Still, the prothesis fitting was an uncomfortable procedure and he wished to be with his son when they started it.
In the tech centre Mara carefully copied all the readouts to a data card. As she did she punched an override code in to shut down all recording devices within the room and the rooms nearby as an extra precaution. Pulling up a few displays she turned to Han. "We'll review these in detail once we are back on my ship, but does this look accurate so far?" she asked. Han nodded.
"More updated, but yeah, it's basically the same." he confirmed.
"Kriff, that's what I was afraid you'd say." she muttered. Pressing another button she pulled up records for the crew and builders, along with the military elite involved and the high level bureaucrats who donated their funds to the project. "Any names or faces seem familiar?" she asked. Han shook his head.
"Nope. They're all human." he answered. Mara cocked her head at him.
"Your contact wasn't human?" she asked. Han shook his head.
"No, Bothan. They said their source wasn't human either but wouldn't say more." he told her. Mara frowned at that. Mentally she began crossing off people who she knew were extreme haters of aliens and would never work with them, no matter what the cause. Unfortunately that still left over a hundred suspects. She needed to narrow it down.
"When did you receive the data?" she asked.
"About a day before we contacted you." Han answered. Mara nodded and punched in a few more keys, narrowing down which suspects were in the comm centre that day. That took it down to ten… assuming the transmission originated from the Death Star. If it had come from elsewhere… Mara pondered the problem. Whoever it was needed motive. Reading through files she could see no motive for any of them to have risked everything to send a transmission to the Rebellion. Whoever it was was not on the Death Star. So it was a member of the Court… probably hoping to ally themselves with the Rebels when the time was right and make a bid for power. Copying the data anyways to review further, Mara erased her search history and shut the terminal down.
"We've got what we came for. The troops should be back soon. I want to be ready to leave as soon as they are. Paget is too curious for his own good and I don't trust Pestage." she said as she pulled the data card and pocketed it. She started to walk towards the ship when she felt a wave of pain and nausea and stumbled. Han caught her before she fell, and helped hold her upright. She was wide eyed and pale, and looked like she was searching for something. "Luke! Oh no!" she said. Han looked at her confused but didn't dare ask. "Comm the troops. We're leaving now." Han nodded.
"Yes Ma'am." he said. Flicking on the comm he said "Captain Paget, this is Commander Oslo. Requesting immediate recall of troops to the docking bay." Captain Paget's voice came over the comm.
"As you wish. We are mostly finished our tour anyways." he said. "We will meet you there in five."
"Rodger that." Han said, flipping the comm off. Turning to Mara he said "Come on, lets get to the ship. We'll leave soon as they arrive. You ok?" Mara nodded weakly, but seemed to recover herself as she marched towards the ship. As Han ran the preflight sequence she waited on the ramp for the troops. Sure enough they rounded the corner into the docking bay and she motioned them onboard. Once they were on the ship, Mara turned to Captain Paget.
"We have been recalled to Imperial Centre. I hope you provided a satisfactory tour." she said. Glaring he responded.
"I did my best. Everything they wished to see I showed them. I have recorded their recommendations and will see they are implemented Emperor's Hand." he said
"For your sake I hope so." Mara said as she turned on her heal and made her way up the ramp. Moments later they left the station and make the jump to hyperspace. Not trusting Paget or Pestage not to have put a tail on her ship she jumped to a different system from the rendezvous and searched the ship for tracers and bugs both with the ships computer and through the force. Once she was satisfied the ship was clean, she dropped out of hyperspace and recalculated the jump. If anyone had followed her trajectory this would throw them off. Once she finished the course correction Han approached her.
"What happened?" he asked. "Is Luke in trouble? Is he-" Han broke off not wanting to say it.
"He's hurt… but he'll live. I just… we're bonded in the Force. I felt his pain." she explained.
"Across the galaxy?" Han asked surprised. Mara nodded.
"I need to get back to him. As soon as I compare my data with what is on your ship I'm gone. I should turn you in… but I have other priorities right now, so it's your luck day." she said. As they dropped back into real space Mara saw the last thing she wanted to see. Pirates surrounded the waiting ships. "Oh shavit…" she swore. "Get to the guns Solo- get Graves on the other gun. I'm going to fly in hard and fast and try catch them off guard. Be ready." she said as she took the ship into a full throttle dive towards the nearest pirate. They would regret the day they messed with the Emperor's Hand