ENTRY 11

"You ready to do this?" Mirax asked as we exited our speeder in front of the elaborate state building.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I replied, handing a credchip to the valet.

"Oh, I don't know. Meeting with the Moff Council…I figured it might bring back some bad memories for you."

"Nah. The moffs are idiots. Now, if we were going to meet with a bunch of ex-Emperor's Hands, then yes, I would be a little apprehensive."

"What, you guys don't have annual reunions?"

"Very funny. Does Booster have annual reunions with his fellow Kessel prisoners?"

"Ha! Good one."

I grinned at my friend as we were led inside the Imperial state building on Bastion. Somehow, Karrde twisted my arm and got me to agree to go on another information-gathering mission for him. Knowing how much blackmail he probably had on me, I guess I figured it would only be prudent to agree. Booster wanted in on it as well, so Mirax tagged along with me. I wasn't looking forward to speaking with the moffs, not because I was uncomfortable with my past, but because meetings with the Moff Council always have a tendency to be extremely long and extremely boring.

By the third hour of the meeting, I knew that my prejudgment was correct. The only reason I hadn't fallen asleep was because Mirax kept kicking me under the table. Of course, I kicked her right back. Isn't that what friends are for, keeping each other awake during incredibly boring meetings?

One of the moffs, Trelk or something or other, was being very belligerent towards Mirax and I. Surprisingly, the rest of the council was polite and accommodating. It might have been because they knew I was a Jedi, or because they knew that Mirax and I had the strength of both Karrde's and Booster's organizations behind us. Either way, I was glad and hoped that the negotiations would go quickly.

But apparently Trelk had other plans, and questioned every single point in the agreement that Karrde and Booster had written up. By the end of the first hour I was ready to strangle him; by the end of the second hour I was reciting the Jedi code to keep myself from snapping; by the third hour I was just tired and wanted a drink. I made a mental note to make that moff's life a living hell when I got back to the New Republic.

Finally the meeting was over, and the Moff Council approved the agreement, with Trelk being the only nay vote. Mirax and I left the building, arguing over who got first dibs on the huge bathtub in the suite we were staying in. We decided to flip a coin for it, and I won. Mirax of course claimed that I had cheated by using the Force (I hadn't, of course, and was extremely insulted by her claim!). Finally she begrudgingly went off into Bastion City on her own while I settled into a nice, long bubble bath.

I only got to enjoy fifteen minutes of a soak before I felt my danger sense tingling. Even after so many years, I could never ignore it, so I jumped out of the tub and dressed quickly, gathering up my lightsaber and holdout blaster. Before heading out the door I grabbed Mirax's wicked-looking, very illegal sidearm.

She was in trouble, I could tell as I wandered the streets. She wasn't in any serious danger yet, but she would be soon, and even though Mirax was more than capable of taking care of herself, I felt obligated to come to my friend's assistance. She would do the same for me.

I finally tracked her down in a dark alleyway. Her hands were bound and she was sitting on the ground, looking very annoyed. She glanced up when I approached and began waving me away.

"Don't, Mara! It's a trap!"

"What?" Then my danger sense flared again and I whipped around, bringing my lightsaber up to guard, just in time to see Moff Trelk pointing a blaster at my face.

"I was hoping you'd come for your friend. Drop your weapon, please."

"Right. Uh-huh. I'll just get right on that."

The noise of another blaster cocking behind me sent me whirling around. Standing there was a man, looking entirely smug.

"Hey, Mirax. Isn't that the guy who peed his pants in front of us?"

"You mean Jarvix, the most inept bounty hunter in the galaxy?"

Jarvix grinned wickedly. "Not anymore, Terrik. You'll pay for what you did."

"Okay, sure," Mirax scoffed, betraying no fear at all, even though I could sense that she was starting to get worried. But then again, so was I. This wasn't Corellia; this was Bastion, and both Mirax and I didn't have the best of histories with the Empire. This moff had it in for us, and even though I was putting on an air of bravado, I didn't want to get caught overconfident. Luke would never let me hear the end of it.

"You will," Jarvix snarled. "Now you heard the moff; drop your weapons."

Begrudgingly, I agreed. The situation was about to get nasty very quickly, I could tell. "What you do you want, Trelk?" I asked, putting as much contempt into my voice as possible.

"I want the two of you in jail for a very long time," he stated plainly.

"And why would that be?"

"Because you two are smugglers. I hate smugglers. You deserve to be punished for your actions."

Mirax and I shared a glance. "I don't know what you've heard, but I run a shipping business, Moff Trelk," she said. "I'm not a smuggler."

"Spare me the excuses. I know who your father is. I know you took over his organization while he was serving time on Kessel for his crimes. I know you smuggled on your own after he got out. You can pretend that you're legitimate all you want, but you will always be smuggler scum, just like your father. And you—" He turned to me with a sneer. "Traitor to the Empire and smuggler scum to boot."

"I'm not a smuggler," I protested.

"Oh sure, not anymore, Jedi," he hissed at me. I almost rolled my eyes at the irony of someone calling me a Jedi in contempt. How many times had I done the same thing to Luke? I could almost hear him laughing at me in the back of my mind, the little jerk.

I could also hear him telling me to be calm and trust the Force, so I guess he's not all that bad.

As Trelk kept going on and on about the atrocities smugglers have committed throughout the galaxy, I began to slowly undo Mirax's bindings through the Force. She was tied together very well, but it didn't matter; after a minute, she was free. I could see her body posture change as she prepared to strike but I shook my head slightly, waiting for the right moment.

It came when Jarvix stepped toward me to bind my own hands. I lunged towards him, catching him off guard, and dove towards the ground before Trelk could get off a shot. Using the Force, I summoned my lightsaber while tossing Mirax her blaster. "Now!"

She sprung into action, bringing the blaster around to slam into the moff's head. He dropped to the ground immediately while I tangled with Jarvix. He got off a shot but I deflected it, sending it back to his thigh. He yelped in pain and I used the distraction to elbow him in the head, knocking him out.

We lay on the ground for awhile, breathing heavily. Eventually Mirax turned to me with a wicked grin. "We should do that more often."

"No; I think I prefer the bubble bath."

"You've really gotten soft, Jade."

"It was a very nice bath!"

...

I don't care what she says; kicking ass with Mara is one of my favorite hobbies. Kicking ass with Corran isn't nearly as fun. - MTH

tbc