Chapter Thirteen:
The Jade Shadow settled gently onto the deck of the Wild Karrde's main docking bay, with an assembled crowd of one awaiting their arrival. Mara smiled upon seeing her former employer… and the closest thing she had ever known to a father-figure.
"I can shut the Shadow down, Aunt Mara, if you want to go ahead," Jaina offered.
Mara glanced at her niece, and was about to object when something stopped her. It would be nice to have a moment with the man. With a smile, Mara nodded.
"Thank you." Mara unstrapped and headed aft, calling over her shoulder to the third and final occupant of the ship. "Artoo, come out with Jaina."
Artoo-Detoo beeped in response, and helped the brunette with the shut-down sequence. Mara opened the hatch, and waited for the walkway to lower before she strolled out. She paused at the base of the ramp, gazing at clear hazel eyes. A stale mate ensued hat lasted about four seconds.
The moment ended and a smile graced lips outlined by a mustache and goatee.
"Mara, it's very good to see you." Talon Karrde stepped forward and embraced her gently. Mara returned both the hug and the grin.
"Thank you for doing this, Talon," Mara murmured.
He pulled back and gave her a look. "Of course. I will do anything it takes to help get Luke back."
Mara nodded once, accepting his words with complete faith.
"Tell me what you already know," Talon said, getting down to business.
That was one of the things Mara appreciated most about the man: his ability to get to business without a hitch.
"We managed to get a hair sample from one of the Whiphids, and I am certain it belongs to the leader," Mara began, glancing over her shoulder as boots and wheels sounded on the ramp behind her. "I also took some dirt from footprints, which will need to be tested. Lastly, we found one of the darts they used on us; it could have traces of the serum in the delivery chamber. We should also be able to trace the dart's origin, and get an idea of where it came from."
Talon took this all in as they began to walk, Jaina and Artoo in tow. He now nodded, stroking his goatee thoughtfully.
"We can begin all these tests right away." He pursed his lips. "I do not know how long this will take, Mara: there are millions of people in this galaxy."
"Yes, but the list should be narrowed substantially because we know we are looking for a male Whiphid." Mara pointed out.
Talon had to agree. "You are of course welcome to stay on board as long as you will need. I had your old room cleaned, and a cot added for Jaina." He winked at his adopted niece.
"Thank you," Mara replied. "Artoo is holding all the samples."
The droid tootled his eagerness to proceed.
"I'll get my best men working on the dart," Talon went on. "I am also curious what could take the Force away. All I am aware of are the ysalamiri, and I know for a fact none have been sold off of Myrkr in the past year."
"What if it's chemical-based?" Jaina asked.
Mara shuddered. "It had to have been, because it hurt like hell."
Talon lifted a brow. "What do you mean?"
"Luke took the first dart for me, and it incapacitated him for several crucial minutes from the agony," Mara explained. "So either they added a pain-inducing drug, or it was something else."
Talon looked thoughtful. "I'd be willing to bet it was an additional ingredient. Making drugs that cause pain is not an easy practice. It is a delicate science, one which is only handled by a very few."
"That could help us narrow things down too," Jaina said with rising confidence.
"Only if we can get a sample of the drug from that dart," Mara countered matter-of-factly.
They arrived at a lab, and Talon ushered them inside. Mara stopped in her tracks to see several workers already set up at stations. She turned questioning eyes on Karrde, who shrugged slightly.
"I know you don't like wasting time, so I planned ahead some." Talon indicated the table in the center of the room. "Put the samples there."
Mara gestured at Artoo, who opened a compartment and allowed Mara to retrieve the bags. She laid them out with care, while the scientists and splicers stepped close, awaiting instruction.
Jaina hovered near Artoo, letting her aunt take the lead. And that she did; issuing instructions with the ease of a woman who'd been giving them out all her life.
"Take the soil samples and test them for materials not found on Endor." Mara indicated the two separate satchels. "Keep the selections separate, since one is from a ship's landing gear, the other from a human shoe."
A pair of scientists stepped up; each took a bag, and then wandered off to their stations. Mara held up the hair fragment next.
"I need to know who this hair belongs to. I can tell you that it's going to be an adult male Whiphid." She relinquished her grip on the sack when a Twilek came for it.
"And last but certainly not least, the dart." Mara turned to both the chemist and the splicer. "I need to know exactly what this chemical is, and— if you can— who produced it and where. Also, see if you cannot trace where the dart itself came from."
"Yes, Ma'am."
With the directions given, and each team working on their given assignments, Karrde turned to Mara.
"Why don't we get you ladies cleaned up and fed?"
Artoo bleeped indignantly, causing Karrde to smile. "Of course, Artoo can recharge as well."
The trio of humans chuckled as they wandered away.
00000
It took Luke another three days to become confident in his ability to walk the underground tunnel system without getting completely lost. Skye had been correct: now that he knew what the color coding meant, he could avoid restricted areas, making navigation easier.
The only thing that frustrated him was the lack of anything to do. He was bored out of his mind, and he desperately wanted something to do… except fight again. He knew a second round in the arena was inevitable, but Luke hoped it would be delayed.
Skye, on the other hand, seemed to have plenty to do. He didn't see her as often as he would have liked, due to her numerous jobs during the day, and her shifts in the lounge every few nights.
She had been in the arena numerous times, he surmised by the amount of scars and marks her body bore. Luke had balked when he'd seen the hideous bite mark on her arm, one that was fresh compared to her other, more faded wounds.
That? She'd dismissed. That's nothing. I've had worse, trust me.
Luke shook his head. His opinion of her had risen then, as had his respect for the woman. He also knew that there as more to Skye than she let on. There was something about her, but he couldn't quite place it.
He paused in his stride as his stomach tweaked uncomfortably. With a frown, Luke rubbed his abdomen, trying to ease the ache. He was halfway to Maxx's kitchen to see if the Besalisk needed assistance with anything, and so he continued on.
Maybe the chef would have something to help ease his stomach. The Jedi only made it a few more steps, however, before his head began to feel light and his skin turned a little clammy. Luke stopped and leaned a hand against the wall, trying to halt his world's inexplicable spin.
He was only mildly successful at steadying himself, and finally had to kneel before he collapsed helplessly.
00000
It was dark, but that wasn't a problem for her: she was used to navigating in the night. Skye crept in absolute silence down the hall, keeping all her senses peeled for passerby. She stopped at a junction and peered about the corner.
Seeing and hearing nothing, she continued onward. This tunnel was connected to an older series that had long since been abandoned by the majority of the Geonosians. Even so, there was always the possibility of some of them returning.
Skye crept along, confident in the walk she had made more than a few times. She did not know if anyone else knew of her 'secret' tunnels, or the enormous chamber it eventually led to, but she had used the vast unused chamber to hide her more… sensitive equipment.
At last she reached an ancient metal door, one that had to now be opened manually since power had not run to this area in decades. Skye reached up and hauled the ponderous thing ajar just enough for her to fit through.
Shifting her backpack, Skye took very careful steps, having memorized the route even through the pitch blackness. It wasn't until she reached the edge of the platform without incident that she switched on her glowrod.
If anyone was going to find her or stop her, they'd have done so by now. Skye flicked it on and shone the beam about the massive space, creating a play of shadows in a mixture of depth along the copious amounts of machinery.
Skye allowed herself a moment, and then found the rope she'd left from her first time in here. Carefully lowering herself into the cavernous room, Skye stopped several meters from her entry point and faced the wall, where a ledge jutted out. It was just wide enough to hold two persons, but it also stood outside a small cave.
Skye carefully swung on the rope and caught the ledge with her feet, being sure to keep the rope in hand. With great care Skye secured the line, and walked into the hole in the wall. The light from her glowrod shone bright in the much smaller space, and it was nothing for her to locate her duffel.
Zipping it open, she ruffled carefully through the contents until she found what she needed. A tiny vial with a tasteless, odorless liquid inside that would make anyone who drank it very talkative… and then put them in a deep sleep, not to remember the night before.
Next she carefully took out eight highly illegal directive-blast EMP charges: just enough to take out the shield above the arena.
Skye had mapped out the locations of all eight generators needed to create the massive shield that Lady Resmi had purchased for the safety of the crowds. She'd also thought long and hard about how to best take them out without any unnecessary casualties, for explosions of the generators would result in the death of many spectators.
That was not something she wanted on her conscience.
So at long last, and after an unintended suggestion from a drunk workman in the lounge, Skye had settled on the EMP's, which would render the machinery completely unusable… thus taking out the shield.
The small, inconspicuous detonators could be placed well before they were needed and set to go off with a remote… all while remaining completely undetectable.
They had cost Skye a great deal of money, funds she had graciously 'borrowed' from Lady Resmi's business fund when she'd helped the inventory manager place his orders a few months ago. The devices had arrived one by one via her friend in the smuggling world: Darien Shane, who was one of a few that made supply runs for the complex.
Skye finished collecting her needed materials and checked her chrono.
She still had two hours before she had to report for her shift in the lounge: plenty of time to get back to her room, hide the contraband under her mattress in the hole she'd cut out, and finally meet Lady Resmi for her latest bout of fashion embarrassment.
With a satisfied smile, Skye secured her duffel and made her way back to the main areas of the complex, careful to hide any traces of her presence in the forgotten tunnels.