Chapter Six

The hotel rooms that Mara and Artis had located were small but clean, and served their purpose. Hal Horn was done resting; it was time for action and he'd made his decision. "Threepio, you will stay behind in the hotel room with the child. Artis, Mara and Leia will come with me, as well as Artoo, since we may need his skills during the rescue operation."

This bit of news did not bode well with Threepio. "Why is Artoo considered more important than me? Who will interpret for his electronic babbling? Besides, I am not programmed to be a nanny droid!"

Artis put his arm around the golden droid's metal shoulders. "So… you'd rather risk your limbs and circuits and have dozens or maybe hundreds of angry CSA officers firing blasters at you, while trying to dodge multiple lightsabers? I'm proud of your bravery, Threepio. Willing to risk total disintegration on our behalf."

"Total…. disintegration? Blasters? Lightsabers?" Threepio questioned, backing away from the human. "Perhaps staying behind and tending to Callian is necessary. After all, someone has to take care of the human youngling, since she is incapable of doing much by herself."

"Thank you for your sacrifice, Threepio," Artis said, following the Jedi toward the door. "You are very brave. Maybe even braver than we are."

"What? Why do you say that?"

"Have you ever changed a diaper?" Leia called out, right before the door shut in Threepio's alarmed face.

"Diapers?" Threepio asked aloud, even though the only one left was Callian. He turned to gaze at the little girl, who was sitting in the middle of a large bed and had somehow managed to get her little hands on a small water cup that the hotel provided for their guests. "Aren't you too old to still be using diapers?"

"NO!" Callian cried out, even though she didn't know exactly what Threepio was saying. Threepio had no clue that 'no' was her favorite word in almost any situation and she understood the word 'diaper' quite well.

"No? Well, perhaps you are a bit young for that type of bodily function. I apologize."

"NO!"

"No? You won't accept my apology?"

"NONONONO!"

Flustered, Threepio threw up his arms. "What would you have me do? Perhaps you would like something to drink? Is that why you are holding a drinking cup?"

"NONONONO!" Callian yelled, throwing the cup at the confused droid, managing to hit her target directly on his metal head.

"My stars! I must say, that was extremely rude of you, young lady!"

"NONONO!"

"It was most certainly rude. I know rude when I see it!"

Callian burst into tears, screeching at the top of her little lungs, her face turning red with the effort.

"You must be quiet! The hotel management will not appreciate this high volume noise you are emitting."

"NO!"

"We don't seem to be communicating very well," Threepio said with a sigh. "I wonder if I am allowed to reconsider facing blasters and lightsabers."

Han bit his lower lip and ignited the blade, driving the glowing rod into the prison door's locking mechanism, melting it into slag. A few moments later he gave the door a push and it swung open. "Well, that was easy."

*Hurry, before the guards hear us,* Chewie woofed quietly.

"You are taking me with you, right?" Padme said from behind her locked door from across the hallway.

"Sure thing, Senator," Han replied. "Especially since you're my only connection to getting my daughter back."

"I'm so very glad I can be useful to you," Padme remarked dryly, stepping back as Solo and the Wookiee used the sabers to open her door.

Chewie quickly handed Padme the third lightsaber, and she smiled down the weapon. "This is my son's weapon."

"Have you ever used one of these things?" Han questioned, motioning them to hurry down the corridor.

"Never."

"Well, that makes three of us, then," Han replied, stopping at the next locked doorway, watching as Chewie cut through that one, as well. "Maybe the CSA police force will think we're Jedi and run the other direction in respectful fear."

"We're you respectfully fearful of Master Obi-Wan, my son and Corran?" Padme questioned.

"No, can't say that I was."

*Han's hoping that the CSA guys are smarter than he is.*

"Stifle it, Chewie."

"What did he say?" Padme asked.

"He said I'm too smart and brave to fear anyone."

*Sure... that's what I said,* Chewie growled, shaking his head in dismay.

Chewie pushed open the next door, and a loud alarm started wailing. The sound of dozens of heavy footsteps sounded in the distant, getting louder with each passing second.

"Or, maybe I misunderstood what Chewie just said entirely," Han said worriedly.

"Now what do we do?" Padme asked. "Didn't you think this through first, before escaping from your cell?"

Han's expression grew indignant, then he pointed at Chewie. "He's the brains."

"We can't go back the way we came," Padme said, repressing the urge to whack Han upside the head.

"No kidding." He glared up at Chewie. "Now what, pal?"

Chewie shrugged. *I'm fresh out of ideas.*

"You didn't have an idea to start with!"

*I did so! I had the lightsabers hidden under my fur!*

"Again…in case you've forgotten, we are NOT Jedi!"

"If you two can stop arguing for a moment, I have an idea," Padme stated. "Boost me up toward the ceiling."

Looking at Chewie, Han jerked his thumb toward Padme. "You heard the lady. Boost her up."

*Why me?*

"Cuz you're the brawn, pal.*

*I thought I was the brains!*

"I must've gotten mixed up there for a second. I'm the brains and you're the brawn, so let's not ever forget that again."

"I'm pretty sure that I'm the brains, Chewie's the brawn, and you're just annoying, Solo," Padme stated.

Chewie gave a groan before grabbing Padme by her waist and thrusting her high above his head toward the ceiling.

Standing in an area that was clearly marked 'off-limits' and 'no trespassing' at the rear of the Prime Minister's grand palace, the group tried to appear to be awe-inspired tourists while Artoo, hiding next to a well-trimmed bush, pushed his control arm into a socket. Moments later, a large and ornate dura-steel door quietly slid open.

"What makes you think Limpan is keeping your Jedi friends inside the palace instead of a regular prison?" Artis questioned Horn as they all hurried inside the imposing fence.

"Jedi are capable of a great many thing, Artis," Hal replied politely. "Sensing a particular beings presence is just one talent. Kenobi, Luke and my son are here, trust me."

"But inside the palace?"

"I would hazard a guess that they're being kept in the dungeon."

"Ah. All good palaces have dungeons, don't they?"

"The Royal palace back on Naboo doesn't have a dungeon," Leia argued, annoyed. Why did civilians always assume royalty kept their enemies locked up in dank, underground dungeons.

"Your loss," Artis returned. "Dungeons are totally galactic."

"Stay behind us, so you don't get hurt," Mara ordered Artis. "This could get ugly."

"I can't hide behind you," Artis objected. "I'm your husband… I'm supposed to protect you., not the other way around."

Mara blinked and her mouth worked silently for a few moments. "Are… are you serious?"

"He's joking with you, Mara," Leia said, stifling her laughter. "I think."

Mara's green eyes narrowed at Artis. "He'd better be joking."

"Here comes two security guards," Hal said softly. "It's time to put our plan into action."

The ornately uniformed guards rushed up to the group. "Halt! You cannot come past the gate without permission!"

"We have permission," Hal replied, nodding as the breathless guards came to a stop in front of them.

"You do?" the first guard asked, surprised.

The second guard, obviously the man's superior, glared at his companion. "That's not possible!"

"We have permission," Hal repeated. "We are special guests of Prime Minister Limpan. He requested we use the back entrance."

"How else do you think we got inside?" Mara added, crossing her arms in front of her chest, trying to look intimidating. "We were given a passcode."

"But… we would have been informed of any visitors," the second guard insisted, refusing to back down.

"Maybe Limpan forgot to tell you," Leia said. "I've heard his mind hasn't been the same since he caught his wife cheating on him with his personal valet."

The first guard's eyes widened with surprise. "His valet? Really?"

"That's ridiculous!" the second guard snapped, reaching for his comlink. "I'm calling for backup."

Artis leapt forward, pulling out not one, but two lightsabers, igniting both blades simultaneously. "Do so at your own peril, ye mangy curs!"

The shocked guards immediately pointed their blasters toward Artis, who promptly sliced the ends of the weapons off. "Consider thy selves lucky that it twern't thoust heads rolling on the ground, ye scurvy cads!"

"Have you lost your flaming mind?" Mara yelled at Artis. "Why are you talking like a ryll-biter?"

"My mother was an actress," Artis said with a grin. "I grew up watching lots of holo-shows and stage shows."

"So that's an excuse for talking like a juiced-up Hutt?"

Hal's headache was coming back. "Mara, Leia… truss up the guards and let's all hurry. We'll be lucky if we haven't attracted the entire palace security force by now." He looked down at Artoo. "You need to wait outside and monitor the situation. We'll contact you if we need help."

Artoo gave a soft coo and rolled back outside the gates to wait for further instructions, while Hal gave a strange look toward Artis. "You're pretty impressive with those sabers. Where did you learn how to work two of them at the same time?"

"Self-taught," Artis said, puffing his chest out with pride. "Sometimes I amaze even myself."

"What's amazing is that you still have your head attached," Mara groused, watching as his expression became deflated.

"Darling, Mara… You shouldn't be mean to your beloved!"

"You are not my beloved," Mara snarled, wondering what it was going to take to put Artis in his place. "As soon as this mission is over, we're getting a fake divorce to go along with our fake marriage."

"I love it when you talk smack," Artis returned happily. He gazed across the expansive green lawn and winding walkway which led to the palace.

"How are we going to make it to the building without being noticed?" Leia questioned.

"We'll use the Force to disguise ourselves and appear to onlookers like palace guards," Hal instructed.

"What about me?" Artis asked. "I don't know how to do that trick… yet."

"You just look down, and we'll escort you inside like you're our prisoner," Leia said, pleased when Master Horn nodded his agreement.

They had made it about fifty yards when an ear-splitting alarm sounded, and Mara jumped in surprise, glaring at Artis. "Who tripped the alarm?"

"It's not my fault, Sugar-plum!" Artis objected.

Yoda looked up from his meditations. "Time, it is."

Master Kenobi put down his cup of brackish water. "Already? Hal is in a great hurry, apparently."

"Perhaps a plan, Master Horn has," Yoda replied, pushing himself off the chair.

"So my father's here and we're ready to make our escape now?" Corran questioned eagerly. "Sounds great to me. Do you suppose Leia has missed me?"

"I wonder if Mara has missed me," Luke added.

Yoda sighed, his ears drooping. "All Padawans think about now, is this?"

"But what about Mother?" Luke asked. "She's still being held prisoner, and I thought that's why we couldn't leave."

"Your Mother has taken matters into her own hands," Obi-Wan said with a knowing smile. "I should have known she wouldn't need us to rescue her."

Yoda approached the dungeon door and turned on his lightsaber. "Meet them halfway, we should. Time it will save."

"I'm all for saving time," Obi-Wan agreed as he watched Yoda removed the ancient lock.

"This place isn't very secure for a dungeon," Luke commented. He pushed at the heavy wooden door, and way surprised when loud klaxons started blaring out a warning.

"Spoke too soon, did you," Yoda commented, although he could barely be heard over the noise.

*There are probably spiders in here,* Chewie whined as the three escapees crawled through the ventilation system. *I hate spiders.*

"Quit complaining," Han whispered, although the small space was making him feel claustrophobic. He could only imagine how it was making the much larger Wookiee feel. "The Senator an' me are crawlin' in front of you, so we're probably smashing all the nasty spiders before you get to them. You just have to crawl through spider guts."

*I can barely move, much less crawl,* Chewie continued, unfazed by Han's orders to stop complaining. He let loose with a loud sneeze. *Plus, it's dusty in here. You'd think they'd occasionally clean these out.*

"It's a prison," Han replied. "They're not overly concerned with health and welfare."

"Would you and your cohort mind keeping the volume down, Admiral Solo!" Padme hissed over her shoulder. "Sound does carry, you know, and making noise is a bad thing since we don't want to get caught."

"Captain."

"What?"

"I'm not an admiral anymore," Han replied. "Not that I was one for very long, mind you, but since my arrest I'm just a plain ol' captain again. I like the title 'captain' better, anyway."

Padme sighed. "Fine, then, Captain. Keep your voice down."

"Do you know where we're going, Senator?"

"No. I can't say I've ever been inside this particular ventilation system before in my life, and Limpan wasn't thoughtful enough to provide me with a building design of this place after I was arrested."

"You don't have to be sarcastic."

"Apparently, it's the only way to get through to you."

"So, what's your plan? I'm not trying to be pushy or anything, I'm just asking out of curiosity."

"Well, once we find an exterior wall, my plan is that we leave the premises."

"Isn't that plan kinda vague and lacking in details?" Han asked.

Padme stopped crawling so quickly that Han's forehead bumped into her rear and Chewie crashed into his behind.

*Hey, warn me next time you stop!* Chewie barked.

"It wasn't my fault!"

Padme twisted around to look at Han. "Do you have any brilliant suggestions… Captain?"

"Well, none that come popping into my brain."

*Why am I not surprised … Brains?*

"I didn't ask you for your input," Han snipped at Chewie.

*Of course not, because if you had, I would be bumping into the lady's butt, and not into yours.*

"Now what?" Corran yelled, covering up his ears to protect them from the high-pitched alarms. "The guards will be down here in seconds."

"We need to create a distraction," Obi-Wan said, looking around for inspiration. Then he spotted some metal, old-fashioned skeleton keys hanging on a hook. "Grab those keys and start opening up the other doors."

Luke quickly obeyed, but frowned in confusion. "Why are we doing this? You don't suppose there are other prisoners being kept…" He trailed off as the first door creaked loudly open, and a scrawny yet powerfully strong Gamorrean rushed past him, screaming incoherently at the top of his lungs.

"Most of them have been here for so long, they've basically been forgotten," Obi-Wan told the two younger men as more doors were opened, and more prisoners of various species rushed out and into relative freedom. "I'd say their minds aren't exactly normal anymore, either. Use the Force to make them ignore us, or this plan may very well backfire."

Luke noted that a large number of the prisoners were Duros. "Limpan must have had a lot of enemies of his own kind."

"That's not too surprising," Corran said. "They would be the ones likely to know him the best, and therefore know secrets he wouldn't want to be made public."

At this point, a garrison of palace guards had arrived, but were instantly overwhelmed by the outraged and insane prisoners. Their immediate focus turned from stopping the Jedi from escaping to defending their own lives, and Yoda quickly led the way past the melee, hurrying up the stone stairway while using his lightsaber as illumination. In their haste, the guards had left the main outer door unlocked, which knocked a few more seconds off their escape time. Rushing outside, they skidded to an abrupt halt.

"Mara!" Luke proclaimed happily upon seeing the slender redhead. "I was so worried about you! I'm happy you're okay."

Leia frowned at her twin brother. "I'm thrilled you were worried about me, Luke. After all, I am your one and only sister."

Corran gave his father a quick hug, not wanting to appear emotional over their reunion, but then turned his attention to Leia. "I was worried about you, Leia. I never stopped thinking about you."

"Thank you," Leia told Corran. "I appreciate your concern."

"Time for reunions, we have not," Yoda snapped out, pointing toward the gate. "Hurry we must."

Obi-Wan nodded his agreement. "We still have to locate Padme and leave Roonadan before Tarkin gets here and demands our hides."

The group hurried toward the exit, and Luke finally noticed the newcomer. "Who are you?"

"Artis Jinn," the young man said, grinning broadly. "I'm Mara's husband."

"You're…. what?!"

Before Artis could answer, a volley of laser fire started raining down at them from the palace roof, and Yoda, Hal and the girls quickly jumped forward, deflecting the shots with their sabers. Artis turned on his two lighsabers, giving everyone an impressive demonstration of his own, forcing the bolts backwards toward the startled CSA guards.

"Hey, you could share those lightsabers with us," Corran informed Artis.

"Go buy your own; these are mine!" Artis snapped possessively.

"You're a Jedi?" Obi-Wan asked in surprised, while trying to push a speechless Luke toward safety.

"Not yet," Artis replied. "But my lovely wife has promised to teach me everything she knows." He spared a glance toward Luke. "About being a Jedi, that is. She's already taught me everything she knows about true love."

"M..Mara…." Luke stuttered, his face flushing with growing rage. "This clown's a jokester. Right? He's not really your husband!"

"Why would you question Artis?" Mara asked, tilting up her chin, vividly recalling Luke's goodbye scene with Shira Brie. "You don't think another man could possibly be attracted to me? You think I'm just sitting around mooning over you, while you mess around behind my back with other women?"

"What… what other women?"

"Brie!"

"Huh?"

"I saw you kissing her!"

"She kissed me, not the other way around," Luke protested.

"Really? I don't recall that you pushed her away."

"What about you and Tredway?" Luke returned defensively.

"What about Tredway?"

"Kyle told me you and Tredway had a thing going," Luke argued while they were running across the neatly manicured lawn.

"Katarn's a rotten liar, and when I get back to Coruscant, he's going to be sorry," Mara snapped back.

"NONSENSE THIS IS!" Yoda yelled, startling the humans into silence as they made their way into the back alley behind the palace. Yoda glared up at Obi-Wan. "See exactly why the Old Order forbid attachment? Understand now, do you?"

Obi-Wan was about to reply when Artoo rolled out from his hiding place, rocking on his feet. Grateful for the distraction, Obi-Wan asked, "What's the matter, Artoo?"

The astromech droid promptly rolled over to a terminal, and inserted in his 'arm' which turned on a viewscreen. Hal read the scrolling words aloud, "Breaking alert…. There has been a prisoner escape at the jail located at 46679 Berry Bliss Way."

"That's a strange street to put a prison," Leia said. "You'd think they'd pick a road name like 'Dreary Drive' or 'Languish Lane.'"

"Padme is the escapee," Obi-Wan said with certainty, ignoring Leia. "We need to head over there immediately."

"All of us?" Corran asked.

"No," Hal replied, shaking his head. "I will go with Master Yoda, Obi-Wan, Luke, Corran and Leia to help Padme, and Artis and Mara can head back to the hotel room. Threepio is probably beside himself trying to take care of Callian by now."

"Why can't Leia go back to the hotel room?" Mara asked, trying not to sound whiney. "I've already told you I'm not good at taking care of babies."

"Baby?" Corran questioned. "Who had time to have a baby?"

"Leia's temporary foster baby," Hal explained to his son, repressing the desire to roll his eyes.

"I should go on the rescue mission," Leia said, feeling a bit torn, since she was also worried about Callian. "It's my mother, after all."

"Maybe I should go with Mara," Luke said, unable to keep his jealousy of Artis hidden. "Hotel rooms can be dangerous, too, you know."

"You will come with us," Obi-Wan informed Luke. "This is your mother, Luke."

"Artis, would you be kind enough to please allow Obi-Wan and Luke to borrow two of your lightsabers.," Hal asked Artis. "They will give them back, I promise."

With great reluctance, Artis handed over two of his three lightsabers and Artis and Mara watched as the group of Jedi took off toward the prison. Artoo stood alone for a moment, temporarily forgotten until Obi-Wan waved for him to follow.

"We're finally alone, Sweetie-cakes," Artis told Mara with a wink.

"Ah, ha!" Padme said, coming to a stop in front of a louvered panel. "I knew we'd locate an outside air vent, eventually."

"Great," Han said. "My knees are killing me. My back isn't feeling too wonderful, either."

*Now who's complaining?* Chewie woofed.

Padme turned on Luke's saber, and drilled through the dura-steel bolts, pushing out the panel and hoping it didn't make too much noise when it hit the ground. All she heard was a far-away, muffled thump. "That didn't sound too promising."

"What's the problem?"

The petite woman leaned her head out of the newly created opening, and looked down. "We're about six stories above ground."

"Please tell me there's a nice, big pool filled with deep water right under our only escape hatch," Han moaned.

"No, sorry. Just hard duracrete. And we're surrounded by an extremely high security fence."

Han sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with beings that design prisons, anyway. What are they thinking, making it so difficult to leave?"

*Maybe you could jump down there and make a nice, soft landing spot for the rest of us, Han,* Chewie suggested.

"Listen!" Padme said.

"To what? I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. The alarm has gone silent."

"Have you turned off the power grid to the entire prison?" Hal asked Artoo, looking down as the little droid worked his own magic. "I would hate to get hit with ten thousand volts when we cut through the gate."

"Breep-bee."

"I think that means 'yes,'" Obi-Wan said as he cut through the gate. "Artoo, did you deactivate the security droids?"

"BREEP-BEE!"

"Well, you don't have to get snippy about it," Obi-Wan replied, smiling.

"First we break out of a prison, then a few minutes later, we break into a prison," Luke commented as he watched. "And we wonder why people think Jedi are weird."

"We're not weird," Master Horn corrected. "We're unpredictable."

"Speaking of predictable, I hope Artis isn't trying to get fresh with Mara," Luke commented glumly. "Threepio isn't a very good chaperone, you know."

"Know this you do, how?" Yoda asked, his eyes narrowing up at Luke.

"Well, um, see…"

Corran laughed. "Luke's had a lot of experience turning poor Threepio off when it's necessary."

"Distractions, distractions," Yoda moaned. "Move to a swamp and retire from this profession I should."

Once again, Artoo stayed behind while the Jedi headed off into the unknown.

"Well, we can't jump down that far and survive, so we'll have to keep moving, and hopefully find a shaft that goes down… but not too far down all at once," Han said, starting to feel a bit desperate. There was only so much time they had before the prison guards figured out where they were hiding, and once that happened….

"Hey!" Padme said, her head still poking out of the vent. "I can't believe what I'm seeing."

"A trampoline? Large mattress? Hoverbarge?"

"No…. it's my son, daughter, Master Yoda, Obi-Wan and Hal and Corran Horn!"

*The Jedi brigade's all here,* Chewie woofed.

"Horn? That name sounds familiar….isn't he with Corellian Security?" Han asked, sounding concerned.

"Not anymore," Padme said. "Hal is a Jedi Master now." She leaned further out, and gave a loud whistle. "HEY! WE'RE UP HERE!"

"So much for keeping our voices down," Han groused.

"MOM!" Leia yelled, running toward the prison wall, trusting that Master Kenobi and Master Horn would keep the security forces at bay. It did cross her mind to wonder where all the security was, since no one had moved to intercept them. Even with the droids deactivated, the sentient forces should be aware of them by now. But she didn't have time to ponder that mystery for too long, and she craned her neck to shout, "What are you doing up there?"

"Tell her we're having tea and biscuits and we have plenty to share if they can find a way to get up here," Han told Padme, who ignored the Corellian.

"We're in the vent shaft, but we can't jump down that far," Padme told Leia once she was directly below.

"I'll lift your mother down with the Force," Obi-Wan told Leia, then called up to Padme, "JUMP! I'll catch you!"

High above the ground, Han was incredulous. "Catch you? Is he on spice?"

"He's a Jedi," Padme said, then without hesitation, flung herself out of the hole.

Han quickly scooted forward, although part of his mind said, 'don't look' he looked down anyway, astonished to see Padme landing softly on her feet, no worse for the experience.

"Solo and his partner are still up there," Padme told Obi-Wan.

"Solo is up there?" Luke asked, annoyed. "Let's leave him."

"Callian's father is here?" Leia questioned. "I agree with Luke, for once."

"Leia!" Hal chastised. "We are not leaving Solo behind."

Leia flushed under her mother's curious gaze. "Of course not. I was just .. kidding."

"Jump, Captain Solo!" Padme yelled up. "You'll be okay, I promise!"

*Jump, Han,* Chewie said upon seeing Han's reluctance. *Or I will push you out.*

"Fine, but if I die I'm never speaking to you again," Han said, shutting his eyes and jumping.

Back inside the austere hotel room, Mara and Artis were greeted at the door by a frantic Threepio. "Where have you been?" the droid cried out, trying to be heard over the screaming child. "The un-developed human female refuses to stop creating a high-pitched noise. Management has contacted me four times – twice by coming directly to the room. They are threatening to make us leave, and they won't listen to reason any more than the child will."

"Calm down, Threepio," Mara said, pushing her way past the flustered droid. She picked up Callian from the bed, and the girl quieted, hiccuping softly against Mara's shoulder. "There, there… it's okay. Everything's okay."

"You found her 'mute' button?" Threepio asked in surprise. "May I ask where it is located?"

Ignoring the droid, Artis smiled and said, "That's a nice picture, Mara. You'd make a good mother."

Mara glared at Artis while walking the girl around the small room. "Bite your tongue."

"Do you love him?"

"Him? Who would that be?"

Artis sighed. "Tredwell, of course."

"I've barely ever spoken to Tredwell. I don't know where everyone is coming up with that… that stupidity."

"I'm kidding." Artis held up his hands to signal Mara to calm down. "I meant, Luke, anyway."

Mara flushed and turned away from Artis. "He's okay. I like him."

"Why did you go along with me when I introduced myself as your husband?"

"I…. I…."

"You wanted to make him jealous," Artis said knowingly. "So it's obvious then that you must love the guy."

"Your lightsaber skills are quite impressive," Mara said. "Who taught you?"

"You're changing the subject."

"Maybe."

Artis shrugged. "Self-taught, mostly. After I found my first one, I took it apart to see how it was made, and then I gathered up the necessary parts and made one of my own. It was thrilling when it actually worked."

Mara was impressed. "You made your own working lightsaber? That's a skill only a Force-sensitive has."

"I never really knew that I was Force-sensitive until I met you Jedi. I do know that I was always drawn to things that belonged to Jedi Knights."

"Why didn't you come to the Jedi Academy on Coruscant? You could have found out a long time ago if you were Force-sensitive."

"Because of that very reason… it's on Coruscant. It's my home planet, and I didn't want to go back."

"You do plan on coming with us now, though, right?"

"You know, if you'd have asked me that question five or ten years ago, I wouldn't have hesitated at answering yes." Artis plopped down on the edge of the bed, studying his fingernails. "But to be honest, I haven't made up my mind."

He could hear the surprised click of her tongue, and hurriedly continued, "It's not that being a Jedi wouldn't be Wiz an' all, but it's kind of regimented. I'm not sure, after all these years of independence, it's something I would be able to fully commit to. Besides, someone stole my ship and I was kinda of attached to her, so I intend to track her down and that may take some time."

"I see." Shifting Callian on her hip, Mara sat down next to Artis. "If you don't become a Jedi, it will be our loss."

For some reason, her comment pleased Artis a great deal, and he leaned over to kiss Mara, quite pleased when she didn't initially rebuff his advance.

She finally pulled away, her cheeks flushed a rosy-pink. "We should, um, see if there's any news regarding Senator Amidala." Mara hurriedly stood up and turned on the holo-viewer. Instantly, King Tarkin's scowling, skeletal hologram face filled the space and Callian started crying again.

Slowly, Han Solo opened his eyes. Leia looked up at him, her hands on her hips. "See? You're still alive."

"You must be Padme's daughter."

"And you must be So-Slow."

"The last thing I am is slow, sister. Name's Captain Solo," Han returned hotly. "Where's Callian?"

Leia paused before replying, impressed despite herself that his first question would be about his child. Maybe he wasn't a bad father, but that didn't mean she was about to change her mind about taking Callian to Coruscant to have her become her padawan.

"She's safe," Master Horn quickly reassured Solo, sensing that Leia was about to escalate the situation. "Leia's been taking very good care of her."

"Leia? Where's Jessa?" Han asked, fearing the answer.

"I'm sorry," Hal replied, putting his hand on Solo's shoulder. "She didn't make it off."

"Why couldn't you get Jessa off of Urdur?" Han questioned, his face contorting in fresh emotional pain.

"Your wife was very loyal to her citizens. We wanted her to leave with us, but she felt she needed to oversee the evacuation."

"That would be just like her," Han said, nodding. Losing his wife hurt deeply, but in that moment Han silently vowed he would raise their daughter to the best of his abilities, and Cally would always know her mother died a hero.

Luke pointed up. "Watch your head… here comes your partner."

Han looked up, and watched worriedly as Chewie floated gently to the ground. *Told you so,* Chewie woofed with a toothy grin.

"I guess I'm still speaking to you," Han admitted.

Padme pursed her lips in confusion, looking around the prison grounds. "Where are all the guards?"

"That's a good question," Obi-Wan said, putting his arm around her shoulders. He wanted to be much more demonstrative, but with everyone watching – especially Yoda - it didn't seem like the time or place. "We should be warding off dozens of prison guards by now, but… nothing."

"Maybe there's a really good smash-ball game on the holo-net, and they're all busy cheering," Han said. "But whatever the reason, I say let's not look a gundark in the mouth and get the heck outta here."

The large group hurried to the gate where they found Artoo still waiting. The street had become abnormally busy with hover-craft, and people were running down the sidewalks. "This situation seems oddly familiar," Master Horn stated.

Leia pointed at the sky, her blood running cold. "There's a mass departure of ships, too."

"Much fear and panic, I sense," Yoda stated grimly. *Contact Jedi Jade, we should.*

Onboard the Death Star

Tarkin folded his hands in front of his stomach, scowling at the projector that was transmitting his image down to all beings on Roonadan. "It pains me greatly to inform the citizens of Roonadan that your Prime Minister has failed you. Limpan promised me that he would turn over Jedi, and yet, not more than ten minutes ago, he informed me these Jedi had mysteriously escaped. What kind of leader goes back on his word, I ask you? Perhaps he was lying? Perhaps there were no Jedi at all. Which, of course, means that I am a very unhappy King. My Battle Station made this trip to Roonadan, and Limpan thinks I should simply leave with nothing to show for my time and effort. Does he not recall what happened to Urdur only a few short days ago? Is his memory so faulty?"

The man gave a humorless smile. "Of course, if Limpan can make good on his promise, I will prove to be quite forgiving. Your elected leader has exactly one time-part to offer up the Jedi. After this one time-part, I must, unfortunately, show my disciplinarian side once again."

The outgoing viewer was cut off and Xizor stepped forward. "Very good speech. There is already mass panic on the planet, and once again, everyone is trying to leave all at once."

"This time, fewer will find success." Tarkin turned to Admiral Daala. "Order our Clone Troopers to man their fighter ships. Shoot down as many departing ships as possible, and focus on those that have CSA military insignia."

Obi-Wan listened to Jedi Jade's description of Tarkin's threatening speech. "We need to leave Roonadan."

"And watch as another planet, and millions more beings are murdered in cold blood?" Padme asked. "There has to be something we can do to stop this from happening yet again."

"Short of launching a squadron of fighters to try and destroy it, there isn't much we can do at this point," Corran said. "Getting back to Coruscant and organizing the other Jedi to come up with a decent plan is our only option right now."

Padme sighed, shutting her eyes. "Tarkin is insane."

"Yes, he is," Obi-Wan concurred. "Both our shuttles were left onboard the Independence. Finding a ride off-planet is going to be tricky."

Hal looked over at Solo. "My shuttle certainly doesn't have enough room to carry everyone. Can we ask you to take us back to Coruscant?"

Han gave a quick mental count. "Ten human passengers, me and Chewie and two droids. It's gonna be a tight squeeze, even on the Falcon. I hope everyone is feeling real friendly."

"Friendly, we will be," Yoda said. "Docking bay number we need to provide Jedi Jade."

"CSA Military Port. Docking bay number twelve," Han said. "At least, that was where I left her. I sure hope they didn't do anything to my ship."

"Did you get that location, Jade? Leave the hotel and return to the space-port," Horn ordered Mara over the comlink.

"We'll meet you there in ten minutes," Mara's voice spoke over the comlink before cutting off.

"Too bad she doesn't lose Artis on the way," Luke grumbled. "I don't like that guy, and I don't believe for a second he's Mara's husband. I'm gonna neuter him with my lightsaber as soon as I get him alone."

Padme was appalled. "Luke Naberrie! I can't believe what I'm hearing!"

Luke looked down at the ground, kicking at the gravel. "That Artis guy is a jerk, that's all I'm saying. I probably won't really neuter him."

They wasted no time getting to the spaceport, and once inside the gates it became apparent that the vast majority of the military ships had already left the surface. Fortunately, the Millennium Falcon's hyper-secure locks had not been breached, so she sat, apparently untouched. "Everything looks okay," Han said, mostly to his co-pilot as they hurried toward the ship.

"You fly around in this thing?" Leia asked in surprise. "You're braver than I thought!"

"Nice," Han growled, stopping at the raised ramp. He was about to enter the code when he heard a shout, turning to see two droids, and two more adult humans hurrying in their direction. Then he saw who the red-headed young lady was carrying. His breath caught in his throat. "Cally!"

Han rushed toward the new arrivals, snatching his child from Mara's arms. "Cally… Cally…" he repeated, his voice raw with emotion, burying his face in her soft hair. "I love you, my little baby bantha cub."

"Dada, dada, dada," Callian gurgled, her little face glowing with happiness as she wrapped her chubby arms around Han's neck.

"I hate to break up this reunion," Hal said. "But we do need to hurry, Captain."

Han swallowed hard, trying to collect his thoughts. "Of course."

"I can take care of Cally while you fly," Leia said suddenly, her tone brittle with barely repressed jealousy. Without asking, Leia reached over and took Callian from her father. "She trusts me."

"Sure…" Han muttered, then turned to walk up the ramp that Chewie had lowered. He barely started to clear the entry when suddenly the outer ramp cycled unexpectedly shut, slamming violently downward. Han stumbled backwards trying to avoid the hatch, which managed to catch the lower portion of his boot, and he fell awkwardly to the ramp. "Get it back open!" Han yelled at his partner, grabbing at his leg while his face contorted in agony.

Chewie howled in disbelief, quickly working the controls. Moments later, the hatch raised again, freeing Solo's foot. *Are you okay?*

"What kind of question is that?" Han gasped out. "My ankle is broken!"

The Wookiee scooped up his partner, carrying him the rest of the way inside the ship. *How in the stars did that happen?*

As Padme, Artis and the Jedi followed, they could hear Han's response as they disappeared around the curve of the corridor, "It's never done that before, Chewie. I don't understand it… there are safety backups to prevent those kinds of things…"

"That was strange thing to have happen," Padme said, watching Chewie and Han head down the corridor.

"Very," Leia agreed, her expression unreadable.

Obi-Wan looked at Leia. "Jedi Leia… did you have anything to do with that door coming down?"

For a long moment, Leia just stared back at Kenobi. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Master Kenobi." Holding Callian, Leia tossed her head back and walked away from the group.

"We are long past due to have a serious discussion with your younglings, Padme," Obi-Wan said.

"I agree."

"In the meantime, do you suppose Captain Solo would mind if Corran and I fly his ship?" Hal asked. "We can't waste more time."

"Great idea that would be," Yoda said, his expression grim. "Flying the ship and discussing issues with wayward padawans, both."