Sorry for the long delay.
For those that didn't know I was expecting a baby and had about 99% of this chapter complete in early April and had about ten days left in my pregnancy when at a routine doctor's appointment I was told that there were some things that had them concerned about the health and safety of both myself and my baby and that I needed to have a C-Section. I went from having three days to come to terms with it to needing to have it the next day and understandably was too distraught to even think of finishing the chapter.
We're both fine and I finally have had the time to finish this chapter and post it.
Thank you ALL for your reviews, favorites and follows. It warms my heart to see them in my inbox and know that there are people excited and eager for the next chapter despite the long gaps in updates.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Rebel Fleet, Unknown Location, three months later . . .
Luke stared at the crate full of holo recordings; wondering for what felt like the millionth time what truth Han thought he would find in it and why Han felt it was important for Luke to learn it.
He had watched most of them but they didn't reveal anything beyond what Luke had suspected and guessed at: Han had known Angel.
Nearly all the recordings Luke had seen were just normal recordings, as far as he could tell, that didn't reveal much if anything about Angel and her family beyond she had two older female cousins, Ryoo and Pooja, and might have a much younger male cousin named Dev.
He had learned that both Angel and her unknown and never fully seen Father, though he did sound familiar, were part of a racing group in the lower levels of Coruscant and that they were quite popular with that group and the spectators.
He had learned that her Father used the false name 'Ani' for the races though he didn't understand why a Human male would use a Human female name for racing swoop bikes and street races; it seemed counterintuitive.
There was one odd recording though but it didn't seem special beyond a very young Angel seemingly interacting with an invisible child. Something though about the recording stirred something in him, a memory of a small brown haired, brown eyed Human or near Human girl that sometimes visited him, mostly when there was no one else to play with and she had also had a Tooka Doll she carried with her, but Aia had been imaginary, she had never been real, just someone a lonely boy had created so he would have a playmate; after all she had never been able to hold his toys and he hadn't been able to hold any of hers.
Luke turned away from the crate and back to the datapad on his desk. They had been planning on rescuing Han for months and everything was nearly ready. Lando would be infiltrating Jabba's Palace as a guard where he would help lay the groundwork to help get the droids into useful places once they were sent in. Once Lando gave the signal he would send the droids in with a message of him asking to meet with Jabba to bargain for Han and give the droids to him so that they could fill their needed roles. Then Pter would enter disguised as a bounty hunter with Chewbacca as a 'prisoner' and collect the bounty on the Wookiee and then the young man would wait for Luke to arrive and when the Hutt was thoroughly distracted, hopefully having taken him out to of the palace to be executed Pter would free Han and Chewbacca and disappear while Luke took out Jabba with Lando's help. Ana would wait aboard on the Falcon for them to return and have the ship prepared to leave.
It wasn't the best plan and it did hinge on several key factors but after a lot of meditation Luke was confident in his plan and those involved in it. He had shared the plan with them and they were confident in their ability to make it happen. Ana had started practicing flying a YT-1300 Corellian Freighter once Lando mentioned that they might need a getaway pilot just in case something went sideways during the extraction part of the mission and Chewie had been teaching her the more unique controls of the Falcon between simulated flights.
Pter was quickly becoming a crack shot with several different blasters and receiving training in one or two hand to hand combat methods on the off chance he needed to prove himself to the bounty hunters that might question his ability to capture a Wookiee like Chewbacca; he wanted it to not only sound convincing but to be convincing if the need arose to help insure that the plan was in no way compromised.
They would be ready and if the Force Willed it the plan would go off without a hitch.
Xxxxxx
Endor System . . .
Vader was trying hard not to worry about his children as his shuttle headed for the second Death Star. His daughter had abruptly decided several weeks ago that she needed time to think and left for only she knew where, she had left the Shadow Angel behind, but he knew that she would return before the Emperor arrived to see the second Death Star for himself.
He assumed she was either training or she just wanted some time to herself before things changed. His Master had ordered, demanded and threatened, that she take her position as her Father's Heir seriously and learn how to govern as well; she hadn't been pleased with the demand but the Emperor had threatened to relieve her of her Command and kill her officer persona if she didn't obey; Leia loved her ability to walk among the officers, soldiers, politicians and civilians under the name 'Angel Naberrie' and be an unknown officer and not Lady Vader too much to jeopardize that.
He knew that she had downloaded hundreds of books and lectures on leadership before she left so he hoped that while she was sulking, wherever that was, she was studying.
Luke still hadn't accepted the truth and would pointedly ignore all attempts to connect with him.
Part of him longed for the time when his children both had been small, Leia had been more interested in learning the basics of the Force, chasing after him and playing with her Tooka Doll and later the pair of Tooka Kits that she rescued off the street of Corellia. When she attended press conferences, meetings with high ranking officials and officers and during celebrations that she had to be silent for she would tug on his cloak or pant leg and later prod his mind with the Force to silently let him know when she wanted him to hold her; it had been a simpler time that couldn't be reclaimed.
While he didn't know much about Luke he expected that in some respects his son hadn't been too different from Leia but you never could be completely sure but he expected that Luke, like Leia, would have had a toy he enjoyed carrying around and chasing after him, like a little shadow, and asking to be held as well during meetings and press conferences. Maybe, if he had had custody of both of his children, they would have entertained each other and kept each other out of trouble or maybe they would have been so disruptive he would have had to leave them someplace else like he sometimes chose to do with his daughter when he knew that she would be bored or leave her in an ante chamber so the children of delegates seeing the Emperor or other high ranking officials could have the company of another child; and sometimes the other children said something that proved useful in different ways and sometimes led them to corruption and Rebel Sympathizers.
On the other hand he would have had a second child to keep track of and even he wasn't sure if he could have done it and not cracked under the pressure of raising two trouble seeking children the odds were good that they would have pushed each other to get into trouble and cause trouble; Force knew how much trouble Leia had caused as a child and if she had had a full time accomplice instead of infrequent ones he had no doubt that there would have been a whole lot more incidents.
On a third hand he would have had twice the entertainment when they got into certain kinds of trouble and from what he knew about Luke the odds were good he wouldn't have been too mouthy and probably would have been the quieter of the two and maybe would have helped keep his twin out of mischief.
All in all, it could have been a wonderful experience.
Xxxxx
Tatooine, eight months later . . .
It felt strange to be back on his home world after being gone for several years. It felt like home yet it felt foreign and unfamiliar.
He stopped by the Darklighters to say hello and they ended up giving him a couple crates full of stuff they had salvaged from his aunt and uncle's moisture farm including some holo recordings of him, his old stuffed Bantha, Boom-Boom, his Tooka Doll, Kitty, a few datacards containing his favorite books, two model ships that hadn't been damaged, a small collection of holo recordings and his aunt's diary.
He had read a good number of entries, starting from when he arrived, searching for anything that might tell him if Lord Vader's claim held any weight, but so far there was nothing to indicate that his aunt knew anything beyond that his parents were dead.
Some of the entries were corrupted from exposure to smoke and sand so maybe any clues or hints to the truth were there.
Most of the entries made him laugh and cry as he could see just how deeply his aunt and uncle cared for him and he couldn't help but feel childish for his ungratefulness towards them at times; they had sacrificed so much to take care of him and, knowing what he did now, did their best to hide him from the eyes of the Empire.
He supposed his favorite entry was his aunt recounting how he had asked and asked for something but between his limited vocabulary and still learning how to speak she hadn't known what he had been asking for until they had been at a cantina in Anchorhead getting supplies when an Imperial News Broadcast had come on and he had pointed at Lady Vader's Tooka Doll and said the word he had been saying for weeks. It had been easy to have one made for his upcoming birthday but his aunt couldn't help but wonder where he had seen a Tooka Doll since none of the children he had interacted with had one, none of few children's books she'd read to him featured one and their Holonet receiver barely worked well enough to pick up signals from other planets so he couldn't have seen one that way.
One entry did catch his attention though and puzzled him. He had had four nightmares within a month, two right in a row, that featured someone hurting a little girl, he would beg the person hurting the girl to stop and when they woke him, he would beg them to help the girl. His aunt and uncle had reluctantly reached out to Obi-Wan for help.
She had asked him about the girl while they waited for Owen to find Obi-Wan and bring him to the farm, she had wondered if the girl he was talking about was Camie Marstrap, but he had told her that the girl was his 'Other'.
He hadn't had another nightmare about a girl being hurt by someone.
Luke didn't remember the nightmares or why he would have called the mysterious girl his 'Other'.
Your Other Half perhaps? A voice suggested somewhere in his mind. Remember the woman you saw in Anchorhead and felt a connection to? She obviously felt something as well if her body language was anything to go by.
He shook his head to silence the voice. Yes, he had felt a connection to the woman but it didn't mean anything. It was more likely he had been Sensing through the Force another Force Sensitive's pain somehow than because he had some mysterious connection to a woman he never met, never spoke a word to and more than likely would never see again.
You told Han that you felt that your paths would cross again. If Han was right about her being a bounty hunter or one of the Empire's Elite there's a high chance you will meet her again. The voice whispered.
Luke grimaced but the voice was right: if the woman was a bounty hunter or one of the Empire's Elite as both a Jedi and Rebel it was more than likely that their paths would cross again.
He put those thoughts aside and started to look at the labels on the holo recordings and frowned when he noticed all of the storage devices but one was carefully labeled with his aunt's clear handwriting.
He frowned at the oddity; Aunt Beru always made sure to label what the holo recordings were. Why had she left this one blank?
Maybe it contained the proof he was looking for that his aunt and uncle knew something. With trembling hands, he somehow managed to get the device into a player and started looking at what was stored on it. A list of dates appeared starting when he was a year old and went until he was five with no notes or titles.
Curious he selected a recording from when he was four and after a few seconds a blue image sprang to life showing him playing a game with pebbles that required two people to play. He watched for several minutes trying to figure out why his aunt had neglected to name the recording or label the storage device when he realized that while he was playing by himself, he was asking someone what move they wanted to make before he moved the second players pebbles.
He stopped the recording and played a different one which showed him playing a game with Aia, Beware of the Sea Killer if he remembered correctly, giggling and laughing. She had taught him a lot of games now that he thought of it including one that required five or more players, hand signals and paying attention; she said her Daddy had taught it to her.
Did imaginary friends have parents or did they have the family structure the person that created them had or wanted?
Luke slowly shook his head; it didn't really matter he guessed because Aia hadn't been real.
He went to the first recording and started it. At first it was nothing special about the recording, it was just him at a year old playing with his meager toys on the floor, when suddenly he looked straight ahead and smiled brightly, clapped his hands and babbled excitedly. At first Luke thought his aunt was just outside the range of the recording device as his younger self reached out for something or someone only to suddenly stare at the floor in confusion for a moment before he giggled.
He watched as his younger self picked up one of his meager toys and seemed to offer it to thin air only for the toy to fall, bounce off his leg and onto the floor before he giggled again.
A feeling of déjà vu overcame him as he continued to watch the recording and then it clicked: the holo of Angel playing with a child that wasn't there.
He quickly paused the recording, ran to where he stored the holo recordings from Han, snatched up the holo recording of Angel, put his back at the beginning, set both devices on the Dejarik Table, lined them up and started it. The two recordings were in perfect sync down to the slightest movements; if it wasn't for the toys falling through chubby little hands and the fact that Luke knew that both he and Angel weren't in the same room, let alone the same sector, he might have believed that he and Angel had been in the same room playing together.
He wondered if it was the Force had connected them and allowed them to see and play with each other.
Was something like that possible? And if was possible why him and Angel?
If it was why had she called herself 'Aia' instead of something that would have sounded more like a child that young saying 'Angel'? As they had grown older though she had never once corrected him on her name.
He wished that he could speak to someone about Angel/Aia and get answers.
Wait, he could speak to Master Yoda once they rescued Han; if anyone could answer his questions about how he and Angel had been able to see and speak to each other despite being light-years apart.
The Force suddenly tugged at him, urging him to follow.
Turing off the holo recordings Luke followed the Force until he arrived in Mos Espa. He kept going until he saw a confused looking dark-skinned Human looking male standing in the street consulting a datapad.
Speak to him. The Force whispered to him.
"Sir are you lost?" he asked the stranger as he approached him.
The man turned and Luke could immediately Feel hope rise in the man. "Are you a local?" He asked.
"I used to live here and am back to visit friends." Luke answered.
"Did you live in the Northern Hemisphere in Grid Ten?" The man asked; his voice shook with nervous hope.
Luke smiled reassuringly. "Yes, I did."
The man immediately radiated relief and visibly relaxed.
"Thank the Lights! I didn't realize just how spread out everything could be! I'm from Polaris and while settlements and homes there can be spread over vast distances, we don't have many farms in the middle of nowhere; well we have ranches that tend to be rather far from civilization but not farms." The man started to ramble.
"It is different from other worlds and I admit it was surprising to learn that on many planets farms weren't as spread out." Luke agreed.
"If you used to live in the Northern Hemisphere in Grid Ten perhaps you can help me; I'm looking for a family that lives or lived in that area so I can tell them that a family member wanted to make amends with them but circumstances prevented him from returning home. Maybe it won't matter because it's been so long but maybe knowing that he wanted to reconcile and was on his way to do just that will just upset them more but maybe it will ease some of their pain." The man explained.
Luke wasn't sure but if he had an estranged family member he hadn't seen or spoken to in years he would want to hear that they were dead. But at the same time not knowing why that family member never attempted to reach back out and stewing in anger or pain would be worse. Knowing that the estranged family member was dead and unable to make amends possibly could bring a measure of closure even if it meant that there was no hope of reconciliation.
A living estranged family member could be reconciled with while a dead one was a lost opportunity and could leave one feeling guilty that they didn't attempt to rebuild that familial connection sooner.
Does that mean you want to get to know your father and sister before they're killed by the Rebellion? A voice asked.
I'm not related to them. He told the voice.
But the Force told you that Vader was telling you the truth. The voice refuted. There's no reason for him to lie about being your father. If he had wanted to lie to you about what happened to your father, he would have claimed that Obi-Wan killed him instead of claiming to be your father.
Luke shoved the voice aside.
"Do you know a family named 'Lars' by chance?" the man asked hopefully.
Luke frowned.
"Yes, but they died about four years ago."
The man's shoulders slumped.
"If only I came sooner." He lamented. "But I was afraid that the Empire was watching me so I waited until I had a reason to travel to Tatooine and now it's too late. Perhaps it's for the best seeing that their family members were dragged away by Red Guards with Raijin no doubt killed and little Alix trained as one of the Empire's Elite." The man said dejectedly.
Luke's mind flashed to the Whetu Recording and Raijin Quell and his daughter; how in one recording he had been beaten by Red Guards and Stormtroopers for no reason while another showed him attacking them a few Stormtroopers and killing several Red Guards and Alix killing one of the Empire's Elite.
"You were there?" Luke asked the man; confused as to why Raijin Quell was heading to the Lars's Moisture Farm. Had he been a Jedi trying to escape the Empire and knew where to find Obi-Wan or had a general idea where he was?
"Yeah, he sat next to me at the Machigonne Spaceport on Whetu. He told me they were heading to Tatooine because they had family, no doubt on Alix's mother's side, and they were hoping to live with them or stay with them before heading into Wild Space or into the Unknown Regions if it meant getting away from the Empire." The man explained.
Luke couldn't remember either Aunt Beru or Uncle Owen mentioning any missing family members but if they were estranged than maybe there was a reason for it.
Your father's mother, Grandma Shmi, married your Uncle Owen's father, Grandpa Cliegg and your father was estranged from them. The voice whispered.
It's just a coincidence; odds are the relation between Raijin Quell or his wife and my aunt or uncle could go back a little further; one of them could have been related to Grandpa Cliegg and didn't know he was dead. Luke reasoned.
"What really happened that day; at the spaceport? The Empire and the Rebellion tell two completely different stories and insist that their version is the correct one." Luke asked the man; after Naboo he wanted to know the truth from someone that had been there.
"The Empire's version depicts the events correctly; he attacked them first after their equipment identified him as a person of interest and they returned and apparently through kicking him below the knee confirmed to them that he was someone that needed to be taken into custody." The man explained.
He paused and shivered. "I don't think I will ever get Alix's pleas for her father to get up out of my head; not even if I live for a thousand years."
A small child's voice screaming 'daddy' echoed hauntingly through Luke's mind and he found himself hoping that whatever fate had awaited Raijin hadn't been too horrific and relatively quick and painless.
He wondered what happened to Alix and the man's speculation that she had become one of the Empire's Elite came back to him. If Alix was Force Sensitive it would make sense for her to end up as one and with her dark hair and eyes she would blend right in with the average Human and Near Human population.
Did she remember being so close to escaping the clutches of the Empire only to be dragged away from her father?
He remembered Angel's reaction to the doctored recording and something, maybe the Force, whispered that Alix did remember how close she had been to escaping the reach of the Emperor only to be captured before she could escape to the safety of the Outer Rim.
The man sighed as he held a datacard with several odd markings.
"Alix threw this away after she killed the female Twi'lek and spilled my datacards so the Empire couldn't find it. There's not much on it except for directions for Alix on the off chance she and her father got separated and telling her where they were heading and some information for the Lars once she reached them." The man told him.
Luke stared at it and wondered what it might have been like if at least Alix had managed to make it to the Farm. He knew he aunt and uncle had struggled to some extent with just one child and to have added another child would have made things harder.
But maybe her father had planned for it and had had an account set up to help his aunt and uncle provide for the added child and rebalance the Farm.
He had always wanted a sister.
Lady Vader is your sister. The Voice whispered.
Even if Lord Vader is my Father she doesn't count because she isn't my sister. He told the voice.
Are you sure? The Voice asked.
Yes, besides, if I had a sister, she would have been raised with me, my aunt always wanted a daughter and she and Uncle Owen wouldn't have turned one child away if they were already going to take one in why turn the other away? He argued.
Maybe she wasn't raised with you because someone didn't want the two of you raised together because the surviving Jedi didn't want you together on the off chance one of you was found; after all they wanted one of you to unknowingly commit patricide and if Vader found both of you that wouldn't happen. The Voice mused.
Luke shivered. He didn't want to believe that Obi-Wan and Yoda would use him in such a horrific manner.
But he remembered Mara's accusation that her Jedi Father had purposely abandoned her and her mother because Jedi didn't believe in love or attachments. If a Jedi had been willing to walk away from the child, he had created with a woman he must have felt something for why would two Jedi not be willing to separate and lie to a pair of children if it served their purpose?
He shook his head to dispel the dark thoughts.
He couldn't afford right now to allow such thoughts distract him.
There was also the chance that Raijin and Alix were just trying to find Obi-Wan and seeing that Ana's father, Bail Organa had known where Obi-Wan was it stood to reason that maybe Bail had told Raijin where Obi-Wan was in order to keep Alix away from the Empire.
"Do you know if the Lars had any family?" the man asked him; bringing him back to the here and now.
"Yes, they had a nephew but he's been offworld for about four years." Luke answered; omitting that he was the nephew.
"Do you know where he went?" the man asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Luke asked the man.
"I thought that maybe he might want the datacard and maybe, once things settle down, he would want to find Alix or at least find out what happened to her." The man explained.
"I know him, we work together." Luke lied.
"Really," the man asked hopefully. "Because if you do that would be great."
"Yeah, we work with the same company." Luke said; twisting the truth.
"Can you take this and give it to him then?" The man asked.
"Sure, we see each other often enough that I can get it to him within a standard month." That was roughly how much longer they believed it would take to rescue Han and return to the Rebel Fleet.
The man handed him the datacard.
"Thank you, I can't imagine not knowing that I have a family out there and even if I didn't know what happened to them." The man told him.
Luke smiled.
Was Alix a relative? If so, he would do what he could to find out what happened to her and her father when the war was over.
"Can I have your name? I'm sure the Lars's nephew will want to know your name and if he finds Alix, I'm sure she would want to know it too so they can thank you for keeping the 'card for so many years and being willing to reunite their family." Luke said; he really did want the man's name so he could thank him later.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself: I'm Denis Outrunner of Polaris, employed by Ember Bird Consultants Firm as a Risk Management Worker." The man, Denis said; sounding a little embarrassed.
"Biggs Darklighter," Luke said; using his dead friend's name.
"A pleasure to meet you Biggs." Denis said, shaking his hand. "Thank you again for being willing to take that datacard to the Lars's nephew. May the Lights Bless your nights." He said before walking away.
Luke carefully pocketed the datacard, vowing to look at it at a later date and began to walk back to the Falcon; pondering on the identity of Raijin Quell and how he and his daughter might fit in with his aunt and uncle.
Suddenly he saw a flash of red hair and turned to see Mara walking up to a Mirialan female and an unfamiliar alien male and speak to them.
He paused in surprise and worry at the sight of a member of the Empire's Elite. If she was here it couldn't be good. Did the Emperor or Lord Vader have people watching Tatooine and Jabba's Palace on the chance that he came to rescue Han?
If they did send them to watch for him than he was facing incredible odds of staying undetected and succeeding in rescuing Han.
Almost as one they turned to look at him and recognition showed in their faces and in the Force. The Mirialan was reaching for something when Mara stopped her and the two briefly shared a look before Mara gestured at him to come over.
He searched the Force and found that Mara meant him no harm so he made his way over to the small group.
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here." Mara said pleasantly.
"I wish I could say the same thing." He said in return.
He couldn't help but notice the confusion that Mara's two companions felt at his statement.
Mara was silent for a bit.
"We need to talk somewhere privately." She told him.
Luke was silent as he debated if she was looking to lead him into a trap and found that neither she nor her companions held any ill intentions; though they were confused and ready to take him if ordered to.
"Alright, I'll follow you." He told Mara.
"Conrí, call Angel and tell her to meet us at the planning area; we might have a snag in our operation." She told the unfamiliar male alien.
"Yes Mara," he said politely.
The red head then led the small group through alleyways until they reached a building that looked old and barely used.
They entered and Luke could see that it was some kind of warehouse or storage area seeing all the crates stacked neatly everywhere.
Mara led them to a room with a large table with a built-in holographic display and sat in one of the chairs; Conrí and the Mirialan also sat.
"She will be here shortly; mentioning a snag got her attention." Conrí reported.
Going by the conversations between Conrí and Mara was enough to tell him that whatever had brought their group to Tatooine wasn't him but something else and that Mara felt that his presence was some sort of snag.
"Empty your pockets and place the contents on the table; your weapons as well." The Mirialan told him.
He hesitated for a moment but the Force told him that it was safe to comply.
He laid his commlink, his money pouch, a few candy wrappers, several bolts and screws, a rock and five datacards; including the datacard that Denis Outrunner had given him in one pile and placed his blaster by itself so that they would be out of reach once he sat down.
The Mirialan moved the contents of the pile apart with a datapad stylus, examining each one carefully before she nodded to herself and moved away.
They waited for twenty minutes before Angel with an assorted group of Humans and Aliens walked into the Briefing Room; her eyes landing on him almost the moment she entered.
"I see what Conrí meant by a snag in the operation." She mused aloud.
Smoothly she sat in the chair across from him and gestured at the others to sit; Luke could Feel them watching him and their inner conflict to do something but wanting permission before they made a move.
After a moment of staring at him for a long moment Angel turned to the rest of the group and said something in an unfamiliar language that immediately lessened the nervous energy in the room.
"You're here to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt." Angel declared.
Luke blinked and wondered if perhaps he had been wrong about his earlier impression and that they were here to capture him and anyone that had come with him.
"What makes you think that's why I'm here? As far as you know I could be here for any number of reasons." Luke deflected.
Angel's lips quirked slightly.
"You could be visiting friends but seeing that so many youths here join the Imperial Academy, or at least attempt to, or find work that will take them offworld and your lack of any deep connections here I doubt you're here for a friendly visit and the day that Jabba would allow Rebels to set up shop here is the day that Tatooine becomes a garden paradise. The only person here that is of any interest for you is Han Solo." Angel informed him.
She was right; he would give her that.
Angel was silent for a few seconds.
"What is your plan and what resources do you have in place to help make it happen?" She asked him bluntly.
Luke hesitated but the Force urged him to tell her.
"My plan is to get people inside Jabba's Palace, I already have one person in place, and will be sending four more in over the next few days. Once they are in place I will go to Jabba and attempt to get Han released with persuasion and threats if need be and if that doesn't work than I'll manipulate him into taking me out to be executed and I will escape while the people inside Jabba's Palace free Han and escape. Once our tasks are complete, we will meet up and leave." He told her.
Several of the people with her nodded slowly and Luke could Feel that they felt that it was a decent plan.
Acting on a hunch, something that the Force was pushing him to ask, he locked eyes with Angel. "What's your plan to get him out?" he asked curious.
More than one person was surprised by his question which told Luke that he was right: she and her group were there to rescue Han.
"Not quite as extravagant as yours but based off of the same ideas in places: insert operatives into Jabba's Palace before entering myself and freeing Han Solo without attracting any attention and getting him out as quickly as possible without too many disturbances. However, I do like the idea of getting Jabba out of his palace and perhaps even putting an end to his reign on Tatooine; too many beings have suffered under his rule." Angel told him.
Her answer surprised Luke as he wasn't sure if she would care about the people of Tatooine but apparently, she did; or at least was only saying it to get him to lower his defenses.
Angel was silent for a moment.
"I suggest that we combine our resources and commit to a joint rescue mission. That way we won't be stepping on each other's toes and can more easily achieve our goal." She proposed.
"Milady, I don-" One of her men began.
"Listen, we need to work together to do this as to not fail and sooner or later the War is going to end and we will all have to learn to live in this galaxy together." Angel said, cutting him off.
"Do I make myself clear?" she asked her men.
"Yes, milady." Angel's allies said softly.
"I would have to consult with the rest of my team to see how they feel and get their input and then hopefully we'll come up with something that we can all agree on and get the result we all want." Luke informed Angel.
"Of course, I don't know any soldier that likes last minute changes to a plan and by not having them in the loop we would only make a bigger mess of things and we then run the risk of neither of us achieving our goal." Angel told him.
Luke nodded in agreement.
"Meet me at the Race Track tomorrow afternoon with your answer and, if your team has decided to work with us, we can than work to get a planning session going." Angel told him before standing.
"Is that agreeable?" she asked him as she stepped in front of him.
"Yes, it is." Luke answered.
Angel nodded and turned to face the table and something rippled in the Force that he didn't quite catch.
"Will you be there all afternoon?" he asked her as he watched her gather his stuff.
"Of course; your team needs time to gather and weigh the pros and cons to joining a group of Imperials." She informed him.
"Kaylin, get some shuura fruit and rock candy for our potential ally." Angel ordered.
Kaylin, the Mirialan, was surprised.
"Milady are you-"
"Yes, I am sure." Angel cut her off; her voice betrayed some emotion that he couldn't quite identify.
Kaylin nodded and left to get the asked for items.
A few minutes later Kaylin returned with a bag and Angel dumped Luke's stuff in the bag and handed it to him; making sure to give him the commlink herself.
Mara gestured at him to follow her and she led him back through the building and out to the street.
"Farewell for now Skywalker." She told him before she turned and reentered the building.
Luke made sure to walk through Mos Espa for several hours to make sure that no one was following him before pausing to double check it for a tracking device; he did trust Angel but he didn't fully trust those with her.
The fruit hadn't been tampered with and he didn't Feel the Force warn him about either the fruit or candy.
He didn't find the wrappers but found his money pouch, with the correct amount of money in it, the rock, the bolts, screws and four datacards.
The datacard Denis Outrunner had given him was gone.
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