Chapter Seven
Boba Fett landed on the opposite side of Cloud City using a false identity transponder which indicated he was a vacationing businessman.
Stepping into the busy street, the bounty hunter smiled. A wide variety of beings lived and worked in this vast city. He would be able to blend in, even wearing his uniform. As he strolled along, Fett realized what was missing - stormtroopers. Cloud City had its own security forces, and by their laid-back attitude it was easy to see this place had a low crime rate.
It also occurred to Fett that he should contact the Emperor, and tell him where he was, or more importantly, where Vader was. Involuntarily, his hand went to his throat. No, the Emperor could wait. Maybe he could even wait for a long time. After all, what was the rush?
"How do you know where to look for her?" Leia questioned, trying to keep up with the long strides of her father.
"I can sense her signature through the Force. Everyone has a unique Force signature, even those that are not Force-sensitive. You will learn how to use this skill," he replied, stopping in front of a lift and pressing buttons.
Luke looked thoughtful. "Do you think she knows we're here?"
"She only knows we are coming, not that we have already arrived."
The elevator door opened, and they entered. Anakin pressed buttons on the inside door, looking up as the door shut. However, it did not stop at the floor he requested, opening instead much sooner. Lando Calrissian stood waiting when the door parted.
"You entered a restricted number. You're not allowed to go to that floor," the Baron stated, his face betraying his tension at confronting a Sith Lord.
"She is expecting us," Anakin said simply.
"I'm sorry - "
The former Sith cut him off with a step forward, grabbing the front of his expensive silk shirt with his gloved hand. "Do not try my patience, Calrissian. Padmé is my wife, and these are her children. She is expecting us," he repeated, his voice low.
Lando's eyes were wide. "I'll have to contact her first..."
"Do it. Now."
The Baron fumbled for his comlink, entering a code and turning it on. "This is Baron Calrissian. I need to speak to..." His eyes flicked over to the Sith, and he used a pre-determined password. "Blue Watto Wings."
A man's voice came over the speaker. "Blue Watto Wings, here."
"The pod racer has arrived," Lando spoke clearly. "Is the race ready to begin?"
"Lady Naberrie is expecting the pod racer, and all systems are a go."
Anakin released his grip on the Baron. "I told you she was expecting me."
"I'll have to come with you," Lando mumbled nervously. "It takes a series of stops and code re-entries to get to that floor."
"Then you will come with us."
Lando stepped into the lift, and pressed the first series of numbers. The elevator rose several floors, stopping twice - and twice more he entered numbers. Finally the door slid open at the very top floor, revealing a spacious, well appointed suite.
And one occupant.
"Mesa bored," Jar Jar complained as Han and Chewie sat watching the HoloNet, while keeping an eye on Jade at the same time.
"Too bad," Han mumbled, trying to ignore the Gungan.
"Mesa wanna plays a game."
"Go find Threepio."
That idea seemed to perk Jar Jar up. "Yousa think Threepio plays da hide'n game with mesa?"
"Sure... that sounds like a great idea," Han answered, not really listening as the HoloNet gave the latest smashball scores.
The Gungan leaped up, clapping his hands together. "Clouds City hasa lotsa places to hides!" He hurried out of the room to get Threepio, who was across the hallway in Leia's room.
*Do you think that was a good idea, Han?*
Without taking his eyes off the viewer, the Corellian mumbled, "What idea?"
*Letting Jar Jar and Threepio run around alone. What if they get lost?*
"We should be so lucky."
Anakin Skywalker could only stare at the woman in the room, unable to move or speak. Then she took a few tentative steps toward him, before breaking into a run, throwing herself into his arms. "Anakin..." she breathed against his chest plate. "You're back."
The former Sith forced his tightened throat to form words. "Yes, my love. I've found my way back, thanks to you." Twenty years... all this time, he'd believed she was dead. Now they were finally together and he was determined never to break his family apart again.
Luke and Leia had been standing at the back of the lift, slightly behind Calrissian. The Baron moved aside, indicating they should move out of the lift and into the room, then he pressed the button as he left the family reunion.
Slowly, the twins moved forward, standing nervously next to their father as they stared at the beautiful, petite woman with dark eyes and long, dark braided hair that was mingled lightly with strands of gray.
Padmé pulled back, wiping her teary eyes. "My babies... you've grown up." She embraced her daughter, first. Then quickly hugged Luke, her arms shaking with emotion. "I can barely believe you're all here."
"I can hardly believe we've found our parents, and discovered Leia's my twin, too," Luke admitted, his voice hoarse. For all the years growing up, he had fantasized about finding his parents, wondering what had happened to them. His aunt and uncle's claims that they were both dead never rang quite true. It was as though the Force was allowing him to see the truth, without really knowing the truth. Now, here they were, and Luke felt that perhaps Anakin was right - it was destiny that the Skywalkers reunite. Maybe his Father's belief that they were destined to rule were true, too. "It seems like a strange dream."
"It's pretty hard to grasp," Leia acknowledged. Unlike Luke, Leia had never grown up with those same dreams of finding her parents, since she always felt extremely loved by the Organas. Finding out that Vader was her father had been a cold shock. Finding out her birth mother was still alive made her feel a slight sense of betrayal, by both her mother and her adopted parents. "I still can't believe Darth Vader turned out to be my biological father."
The older woman nodded, thinking she understood her daughter's feelings. "After hearing about Alderaan, it must be even harder for you to accept."
"Heard?" Leia shook her head, still struggling with the endless grief that came whenever she thought about her home. "I was forced to watch as my planet was destroyed."
The Naboo woman gave a short gasp, putting her fingers to her mouth. "How awful... I didn't know..."
"I have much to atone for, Padmé," Anakin said sadly. Perhaps he should have come here alone and spoken to his wife before she met their children. "You may not want to forgive me when you learn everything I was part of... all the terrible things I stood by and watched happen, or even did myself."
"Darth Vader did those things, not Anakin Skywalker," Padmé said firmly. "You are no longer a Sith." She hesitated, then asked, "Have there been any further dark side incidents since the Moorlands?"
"No." He looked over at Leia, pleased to see her nod in agreement, even if her senses seemed to be reluctant to admit that he had been trying to make amends.
"I think you've been behaving better. Although Han still won't tell me exactly what you said to him on Naboo," the Princess said, vaguely annoyed.
Puzzled, Padmé asked, "Han?"
"A friend," Leia quickly explained, hoping Anakin wouldn't say anything more. It was a vain hope.
"Our daughter is in love with a Corellian smuggler by the name of Han Solo," Anakin augmented. "But they both seem to have issues with accepting this fact."
The older woman's expression changed from puzzlement to shock. "A smuggler?"
Luke laughed nervously, also feeling his sister's tension. "Han's a good guy, Mother. You'll like him - eventually."
"After you get past the desire to put durasteel tape across his mouth," Anakin added with a smirk.
The Princess decided to go on the offensive. "Even if I do love Han, it's no worse than my brother falling for the Imperial assassin that tried to kill him." Leia was pleased to see Luke squirming in embarrassment. Having a brother could turn out to be fun.
"I'm not falling for Mara," he mumbled, realizing his protest sounded weak even to his own ears.
Padmé looked over at Anakin, her eyes showing amusement. "An assassin? A smuggler?"
"We can fix them, Padmé," the former Sith promised, the humor in his voice disguised by his respirator. "Jade needs some feminine advice to fix Palpatine's brainwashing. If you could get through to me after I was so far gone, I know you will be able to make her see the truth. Solo should be easier... he'll just need some etiquette lessons, as well as some adjustments to his grammar."
Taking his hand, Padmé smiled. "Speaking of fixing, I have something to show you, Anakin. There was a purpose behind my choosing Cloud City to live." She looked over at her children. "You should see this, too. It's quite impressive."
The family followed her out of the main living area, down a long hallway, and through several doors. As the last door opened, everyone's mouth dropped open in awe.
It was easy for Boba Fett to stun the guard in the control room. The man had been so engrossed in watching a swoop race on the HoloNet he never even knew what hit him. Once inside the control room, the hunter quickly accessed the main computer terminal. He watched the holo-recording of Solo and his passengers disembarking from the old freighter before greeting the Administrator of Cloud City.
Leaning back in the seat, Fett zoomed the viewer on the face of the young redheaded female. This one was new, and since she was wearing binders, obviously a prisoner. The question was - who was she? If she was wearing binders, that meant she was considered an enemy, and Vader's enemy could turn out to be the hunter's friend. Would she assist him with his plan?
The hunter punched in some more numbers, accessing the recent arrivals and the locations of where they were staying. A few rows of names listed, along with hotel name and room numbers. Even though Solo and his friends were not registered under their real names, it didn't take Fett long to figure out the details. One room number and description caught his eye - 'Secure Room.' And the name listed as the guest was Tara Green.
It was time to visit this 'Tara Green,' and see if she'd like to turn the tables on her captors.
Threepio hurried to keep up with the much faster Gungan, shuffling along on his metal legs. "Wait up... you're going too fast for me!"
"Mesa like'n dis place," Jar Jar said, peering down over a ledge to a busy wide street one floor below their present position. The Gungan wadded up a stray piece of flimsy from the floor and dropped it off the edge, watching in glee as it hit an unsuspecting shopper on her head. "Dis alots like Otoh Gunga, onlys it'sa not unner water... an it's notsa have Gungans. Or big fishies outside der dome. Or Gungan foods..."
"In other words," Threepio said, finally having caught up to the much faster Gungan, "it's not really like Otoh Gunga at all."
Jar Jar threw back his head and hooted in laughter. "Yousa rights! It'sa nuttin like Otoh Gunga ata all!" He focused on the moving staircase not too far away, leading down dozens of levels. "Mesa think we'sa goes down der." He pointed at the stairs. "All dey ways down, down, down."
Threepio turned his gold eyes up at the flashing directional sign. "It says the lowest level is where the gas is mined and shipped. I really don't think..." He trailed off as Jar Jar went running toward the staircase. "... that we should go there." Throwing his hands up in despair, he followed. "Maybe Artoo was right... I should have stayed in Mistress Leia's room."
Mara wasn't happy. Nothing in this room could be used as a weapon - even the lamps were bolted firmly to the tables. The ceiling was a solid piece, and only someone that could fly would try to leave through the windows. She had tried to override the door lock for several long minutes, until the comm unit buzzed and Solo's voice came over the speaker, warning her to stop trying to escape or he'd have to shoot her.
The Imperial glared at the tiny cameras pointed in her direction, annoyed that she was being watched. Why was Solo watching her, and not Skywalker? Then she remembered that the Skywalkers were probably busy having their big family reunion. The assassin felt a pang of ... jealousy? No... it couldn't be...why should she be jealous? She didn't want a family, since Palpatine was just like a father, she tried convincing herself. Jade thought about her failure with stopping Vader from finding his wife. Palpatine would not forgive her, not unless she somehow managed to kill the entire Skywalker family. And that didn't seem like a strong possibility at this point.
Han blinked his tired eyes, looking back up at the monitor. He watched as Jade threw herself onto the bed, pulling a blanket over her body. Then he glanced over at Chewie, who was sitting in a comfortable recliner. The Wookiee had his head thrown back, mouth open and snoring loudly. The HoloNet reporter was droning on and on about some idiotic, pretty boy Prince that was found murdered on some distant Hapan system, like anybody actually cared.
He felt his eyelids getting heavier. I'll just shut my eyes for a few seconds...
Luke stepped into the enormous room, filled with scientists and doctors of all races, busy at their laboratory stations. Humans, Bothans, Biths, Twi'leks, Wookiees, and many others were working side by side. "What's this place?"
"These are scientists whose lives and families were threatened when the Emperor took over," his mother explained. "Many of them could not continue working because they weren't human. Others were simply in the process of developing new technology that Palpatine either wanted stopped, or wanted to pervert for his own purpose." She gave a sad smile. "Just like me, they are in hiding, since even their home planets are not safe. For all these years I have done what I could to enlist the Naboo resistance cells into financing this work to continue. Dormé and her parents have been a huge help by passing on encrypted messages."
"Calrissian knows about all this?" Anakin asked, sounding surprised.
Padmé nodded. "We were lucky it wasn't some Imperial loyalist that took over Cloud City. Baron Calrissian has been very sympathetic to our cause, and our needs."
"Cause?"
"Many of these scientists either had to create terrible viruses and weapons for Palpatine, or run away with their families. Instead, they've spent the past twenty years working to cure diseases to help make the galaxy a better place." Then her smile grew, and became genuinely pleased. "This is what I want you to see, my dear Anakin." Pulling him by his sleeve, she guided him into a separate lab, where rows of jars and beakers sat stacked on shelves.
A Bothan doctor turned around as they entered, and he inclined his furred head to the older woman. "Padmé." His large eyes looked at the masked human. "This must be your husband, and children."
"Yes. I'd like you to meet Anakin Skywalker, and my son Luke, and daughter Leia," she answered proudly. "Anakin, this is Doctor K'ynna. He is one of the specialists in cell cloning research."
Leia felt a wave of apprehension. "Cloning?"
"Not the cloning of entire beings," Dr. K'ynna said quickly. "Cloning things like eyes, teeth, internal organs..."
"Arms and legs," Padmé added, looking at her husband.
Anakin remained silent for a long moment. "Is that possible?"
"Absolutely," the Bothan replied. "We can remove cells from your tissue, then create whatever we need to create. When it reaches full size, in about eight months or so, we simply graft the limb onto your body. Since it's your DNA, the success rate is over ninety-eight percent on the first try."
Luke felt a rush of joy as he realized the implications. "You can be whole again, Father. Walk on your own legs, breathe with your own lungs."
"Please, Anakin. Will you agree to do this?" Padmé pleaded softly.
"I... I would be a fool not to try." He turned his face to the Bothan. "Is this a new breakthrough in medical science?"
"Not really," the doctor answered. "We were testing the techniques during the Clone Wars, but once Palpatine took over, he ordered us to stop the experiments. Of course, that's when many of us simply left Coruscant and came here to continue our research."
Anakin felt stunned. All these years, Palpatine had assured him he was having his best scientists working on finding a way to restore his body. In truth, the Emperor had done whatever he could do to keep that from happening. The former Sith fought down a surge of anger, not wanting his son to sense any dark side emotions coming from him, but it was difficult.
He turned to his children. "Will you stay here for the length of time I require? During that time, I can continue your training as Jedi. Palpatine knows he cannot defeat us, not if we are united and strong."
Luke nodded. "I would love to continue my training." He looked at his sister. "What about it? You said you'd train if Father was telling us the truth."
"I know," Leia conceded. "I guess we'll have plenty of time if we have to stay here nine or ten months."
"What about Mara?" Luke questioned Anakin. "Could she be trained as a Jedi?"
"She is strong in the Force, but I cannot train her unless she rejects the dark side teachings from the Emperor. It would be too dangerous."
Padmé put her arm around Luke's shoulders. "I'll do whatever I can to help turn your girlfriend back to the light."
"I just feel sorry for her," Luke muttered, looking at the floor so Leia wouldn't see his face. The young Jedi would never make a good sabacc player, unless he learned to disguise his feelings better than he could now. ""She's not my girlfriend."
"Not yet," Leia teased. "We'll work on her, though."
"Just like Mother and Father will work on Han?" Luke said, deciding to play Leia's game.
"Children," Padmé admonished lightly. "It's not nice to tease each other." She turned and gave a wink at her daughter. "I can't wait to meet your Corellian, Leia."
Leia opened her mouth, about to protest that Han wasn't her Corellian. Then she smiled at Padmé. "I can't wait for you to meet him, either."
"Why don't you two go back to your rooms for a while?" Anakin suggested. "I'd like to spend a little time alone with your mother. We have a lot of catching up to do."
"Sure. We'll wait for you there," Luke said, thinking that maybe Mara might agree to have lunch with him. It wouldn't hurt to ask, could it?
The protocol droid continued to tag after the enthusiastic Gungan as they reached the lower levels of Cloud City. The area now looked like a factory, with huge, bulbous ships that slowly docked with the City after rising up from the murky, unseen surface of the planet. Once docked, the ships would unload their cargo - a steaming, sulfurous gas that would be put in storage containers and flash frozen for long term storage and transportation.
Sweat-soaked Ugnaughts grunted and pushed the large containers from the rusty old freighters onto repulsor lifts. It was hard, physical work, but the beings didn't complain. It was better than a life of slavery under the Imperials.
Threepio leaned in close to speak quietly to Jar Jar, who was watching the muscled Ugnaughts with his mouth hanging open. "Master Jar Jar... this place looks dangerous. Perhaps we should go back to the higher levels."
"Nosa...mesa wants t'a look around," Jar Jar whispered back, quite loudly. "Mesa thinks dis'a good place to plays hide'n finds Jar Jar."
"Here?" Threepio drew back, shocked. "You want to hide HERE?"
Jar Jar bounced up and down in happiness. "Mesa goes hide'n nows..."
The droid watched in alarm as the Gungan went running wildly down the hallway, his ears flapping. "Master Jar Jar! No... come back! This is a truly terrible idea!" Desperately, Threepio tried to hustle after his friend, but when he turned the corner, Jar Jar Binks was nowhere to be seen. "Master Jar Jar?" He twisted his body around, only to see five Ugnaughts heading his direction, all carrying large metal pipes. "Oh... dear me..."
Han was awakened by someone roughly shaking his shoulder. "Han! Get up!"
His eyes snapped open, and the Corellian jerked himself upright. "I'm awake.." He looked up a bit groggily into the annoyed expression of Lando Calrissian. "Hey, Lando. What's up?"
"What's up?" Lando snapped out. "Maybe you should wake up your Wookiee, since you seem to have a problem, which I'm sure will actually turn out to be my problem, too."
"Problem?"
Lando pointed to the monitor. "Your prisoner has escaped."
Shocked, Han jumped to his feet, his tiredness instantly gone. "No, it can't be. She must be in the refresher."
"The door has been cut open with a laser tool. She's gone, trust me - I checked."
"Aw, kest! How in Sith did she get a laser cutter?" He swiped his hand across his face. "Vader's gonna kill me."
"Better you than me," Calrissian groused out as he watched Han shaking Chewie to wake him up. "But she didn't have a laser cutter... it was opened from the outside. She had some outside help."
"Help? Who would have helped her?" Han asked, watching as Lando threw up his hands. "With Jade free, we're all gonna be dead if I can't find her before she contacts the Emperor."
"Why is it every single time you come into my life, everything goes to hell?"
Han opened his mouth to argue when Luke and Leia burst into the room.
"Han!" Luke exclaimed, his eyes wide. "What happened to Jade? Her door is open!"
"She sorta, um, escaped... I guess."
"Escaped? How?" Leia demanded. When Han shrugged, she looked around the room. "Where is Jar Jar?"
"Jar Jar?"
"The Gungan!" Leia elaborated with a hiss.
"Oh... yeah. Well, he took off with Threepio to go play games."
"You were supposed to be watching everyone," Luke shouted at his friend in frustration. "We come back two hours later, and everyone is missing... how could you let this happen?"
*I told you letting them run around on Cloud City was a bad idea,* Chewie woofed. *But do you ever listen to the Wookiee?* He shook his head sadly. *Noooo. Of course not.*
"It's not my fault!" Han protested weakly, backing away and holding his hands up in a defensive posture. He looked desperately at Luke. "We have to find Jade, or your father's gonna skin me alive with his lightsaber."
"Sometimes, I feel like doing that myself," Luke muttered. "Come on, we'd better start looking."
"I'll go check the security monitors throughout Cloud City," Lando put in. "I'll comm you if I see anything."
"Thanks, Lando," Han said, trying to stay upbeat. "You're a great friend."
"I'll be sure to put that in my obituary, Solo."
Mara was suspicious about the hunter's motives, and decided to press him for more information. "It's not that I don't appreciate your help, Fett, but I could have escaped on my own."
"Perhaps," the bounty hunter remarked as they hurried to move down to the lower levels, where they were less likely to be spotted. He had been pleased to hear Mara Jade's story and to learn she was an employee of Palpatine. Helping her escape would certainly work in his favor with the Emperor. "But you escaped much faster with my assistance."
"I wonder why Solo and the Wookiee didn't try and stop us?"
Fett shook his head, puzzled by that question. "I wish he would have, actually. I would have enjoyed killing him as he tried to stop me. But it doesn't matter - I don't care about Solo."
"Then why are you here?" she questioned as they moved into a maintenance lift and headed down.
"The Emperor sent me to follow Solo, only because he is wondering what Vader is doing."
The assassin felt a rush of indignation. "The Emperor sent you to spy on Vader?" Why would he feel he had to hire a bounty hunter? Wasn't it her job to do things like that? Unless he didn't believe she was capable, and that thought increased her outrage.
The Hunter either didn't notice, or care, about Jade's anger. "I went to him with information, thinking he would pay me. Instead I ended up ordered to find Solo, and follow him around. It's getting on my nerves, to tell you the truth."
"Are you implying you don't wish to serve the Emperor?" Jade asked, her green eyes hard.
"I don't wish to serve anyone. I work for myself."
"Then why help me?"
"Because I don't want the Emperor to kill me and I want a reward. Rescuing you seemed like a good step in that direction," he admitted casually. The lift stopped, and Fett stuck his head out, checking both directions before stepping out. "Come. We have to find a place to hide and make our plans."
Reluctantly, the assassin followed her rescuer, wishing she had her lightsaber. I will make my own plans, Fett. And they don't include you, she thought bitterly.
"You were the one making Leia watch as Alderaan was destroyed," Padmé said.
It wasn't a question, but Anakin answered anyway. "I forced her to watch." Then he took a deep breath, and admitted what he had been dreading. "I... I tortured Leia while she was my prisoner. Injected her with truth serum, and other pain-causing chemicals to make her talk."
Padmé was stunned. "How... could you?"
"I told you that you might hate me when you heard what I've done," he said sadly. "I was trying to get her to reveal the Rebel location. She wouldn't talk, and I didn't understand how she could hold out against my mind probe, not until I discovered she was my own child."
"Yet, somehow, she's managed to forgive you."
"That comes from you, and her upbringing by the Organas. Both our children have turned out to be remarkable adults."
"Yes, they have," she agreed quietly. "I just wish I never had to hide them. We should have been able to raise our own children."
"Do you really believe they will accept their birthright, and rule with us as the Royal Family?"
"I've told you all along, my darling husband, that this must be our ultimate goal, one this family must work together to achieve. No one, not Palpatine, not Mon Mothma, can stand in the way of our destiny." Padmé hesitated, then asked, "Are their future spouses pliant to our needs?"
"Mara Jade has to realize the Emperor will kill her if she returns. She seems like an intelligent young woman, and is very ambitious. Plus, she's Force-strong. She will make a good wife for Luke, as well as a good addition to our family."
"There is nothing inherently evil with being ambitious. If beings were not ambitious, we would still all be living in caves, sleeping on grass mats, and eating raw fish. It's certainly not wrong to want the best for yourself and your family," Padmé said firmly, although a bit defensively. "And what about this Corellian? Will he be a problem?"
"He's in love with Leia. Already I can sense he will do anything for her. Anything at all."
Padmé nodded. "Good. Then everything is going as planned."
"I'm glad you contacted me, my love," Anakin whispered. "I would never have been able to break free of Palpatine's evil grasp without your persistence."
"And without you, our family could never be whole. Things will start going our way now, Anakin. I believe this with my entire soul."
Luke entered the lift, followed by his sister, Han and Chewie. "I think they went down," Luke commented.
"How can you tell that?" Han questioned.
"The Force."
"Oh." Han sighed, and looked down at the Princess. "How did the meeting with your mother go?"
"Fine, I suppose," Leia answered. "She seems to be nice enough."
"Seems to be?"
Leia's brown eyes looked troubled. "Appearances can sometimes be deceiving, and first impressions can be wrong." She gave a small smile. "My first impression of you was less than... impressive."
Luke was listening to this exchange, frowning. "Our mother is a wonderful person, Leia. She's brought Father back from the dark side, and she has spent years helping those doctors develop a way to repair all the damage to his body. How can you say she's not what she seems to be?"
"I don't know," Leia said with a sigh. "Maybe it's just a feeling. I'm not saying she's a bad person. It's just..."
"Just what?" Luke snapped, getting slightly annoyed. Why did he always have to be the one defending his parents to his sister? Why couldn't she just accept that she was wrong, and let the past go?
"Nothing, Luke. It's nothing at all."
Threepio was busy hurrying away from the nasty looking Ugnaughts, glancing back over his shoulder to see if they were following, but apparently they had better things to do, or perhaps the sight of a droid walking around was commonplace. Finally he felt secure enough to stop, looking around at his surroundings. "Master Jar Jar?" Threepio called out carefully. "Can you hear me? I really don't think this is a good place to play games. You should come out now." He waited, hoping the Gungan would magically appear, but he had no such luck. "I should have thought to bring a comlink with me," he said with a sigh.
This processing area was quite intimidating, especially for a droid. Fiery cauldrons steamed in the distance as metals - even pieces of dismantled droids! - were melted down and processed. Wandering further, he could hear humans talking. Finally, some humans! Perhaps they would be kind enough to point him in the proper direction, maybe even tell him if they'd seen a Gungan hiding around.
The protocol droid moved closer, listening to the conversation as it became clearer -
"What makes you think I want to help you?" a familiar female voice said. "I work best alone."
"So do I," snapped an artificially modulated voice. "I could have left you in your prison, but I thought we could work together, Jade."
Jade? Threepio stopped walking. He couldn't mean Mara Jade!
"I would have escaped," she argued back. "I already told you that."
"We need to kill the Skywalkers. Between the two of us, we can make short work of all of them."
"I need my lightsaber," the woman said. "It's on Solo's junk freighter. You wait here, and I'll be back."
"What if you don't come back?"
"That's the chance you'll have to take, Fett."
Threepio drew back into the shadows as Mara Jade headed out, alone. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to follow her. Someone had to warn Master Luke and Mistress Leia that foul plans were afoot.
The golden droid peered around the corner as the assassin entered a lift. The door shut, leaving the flustered droid behind. Somehow, he had to quickly find his way back to Princess Leia's room, or his human friends would be in serious danger.
He shuffled further along in the corridor, his circuits in a panic. He had only gone a short distance when his audio receptors heard different human voices. This time he was certain they were friendly. "Master Luke!" he yelled loudly. "Master Luke! Is that you?"
A few seconds later, Luke came running down the hall, with Han, Chewie and the Princess following closely behind. "Threepio! How'd you get down here?"
"Oh, Master Luke... thank the Ma-..., stars! I'm so pleased to see you," the droid said happily. "Master Jar Jar decided it would be a good idea to come down here, and he wouldn't listen to me when I tried to discourage that odd notion. I have decided that perhaps having Master Jar Jar as a best friend may not be such a good idea. He seems overly attracted to investigating unpleasant places. Even Artoo, with his ability to find trouble at every turn, has a much higher sense of self-preservation. Do you know there are blast furnaces in this place melting down droid parts? I find it most distressing, I must say. And now I have absolutely no idea where Master Jar Jar has run off to, and I fear he may have had an accident."
Han shook his head in dismay as Threepio prattled on. "I knew Goldenrod would turn up. He always does."
"Maybe you should go back to Leia's room," Luke suggested. "Mara's escaped again, and I think she's down here."
"Oh... that is what I needed to tell you...Miss Jade was down here, but no longer," the droid said, recalling why he needed to find Luke. "I just overheard her discussing the desire to retrieve her lightsaber. They said they needed to kill all the Skywalkers! You are all in great danger!"
"They?" Leia questioned sharply. "Who are they?"
Threepio turned his gold eyes toward the Princess. "I have no idea but she referred to him as 'Fett', directly before she left to return to the 'junk freighter'."
"Junk?" Han spluttered out indignantly. Then he frowned in concern as the droid's words sank in. "Fett? Boba Fett's here?"
The droid pointed back down the hall. "Someone named 'Fett' is down that direction, although I cannot say if that was his given name, or his surname, or perhaps his only name, since I only heard 'Fett.' There are probably several thousand beings with the name 'Fett' in the galaxy, but I suppose it is possible that - "
"Isn't he one of the bounty hunters you said Jabba hired to find you?" Leia interrupted.
"Yeah," Han replied. "Real nice guy, too. I wonder why he's here. Maybe he hasn't heard Jabba's dead and ain't gonna be paying out any reward money."
"I'm going to the dock and intercept Mara," Luke said suddenly. "I have to stop her before she contacts Palpatine."
Leia put her hands on her hips. "I don't think you should go alone."
"This is something I have to do," Luke insisted. "The three of you need to locate the bounty hunter. He has to be stopped, too." Luke grasped the hilt of his lightsaber, and gave his sister a quick hug. "Be careful."
"You be careful, too, kid. Jade's a trained killer," Han warned. "Come on, Princess. We have a bounty hunter to find."
Threepio looked around in confusion. "What should I do, Master Luke?"
"Go back to Leia's room," Luke repeated out as he hurried away.
"But..." He turned his glowing eyes to Leia. "What about Master Jar Jar? He's down here, somewhere. Hiding, I think.
"Threepio, we don't have time right now to look for Jar Jar. Don't worry - I'm sure he's fine," Leia said, trying to reassure the droid. "Listen to Luke, and go directly back to my room." With those final instructions, Leia, Han and Chewie left the protocol droid, ignoring him as he continued to worry and fret.
Lando focused in on the hallway in front of Jade's room, watching the recording of Boba Fett cutting open her locked door. A second after the door was opened, a well-placed kick sent the man stumbling backwards, landing on the floor. The redhead looked at her rescuer with scorn plastered across her face, and the bounty hunter stood up, waving his arms around angrily. The Baron wished he had audio on the surveillance disk, but he guessed by their gestures that neither the hunter nor the Imperial knew each other. Nevertheless, after a few seconds, they both headed off together, entering the closest lift. Han could consider himself lucky Fett either didn't know he was in the next room, or that he wasn't the hunter's prey.
The Administrator switched to live feed, searching each viewer for any sign of the escapee. He couldn't see her anywhere, but then something else caught his attention. The Gungan named Jar Jar had somehow gotten inside the carbon freezing room and was busy poking around at the delicate controls. Lando felt a surge of outrage as he stood up, glaring at the monitor. That equipment was valuable, worth hundreds of thousands of credits... if that Gungan destroyed anything, it was coming out of Solo's hide, even if he had to stand in line behind Vader. With that in mind, Lando hurried off to stop Jar Jar Binks before he could do any damage.
Holding blasters ready, Han, Leia and Chewie slowly and quietly made their way through the labyrinth of wide corridors. Occasionally, a small group of Ugnaughts would come trudging down the hall, forcing the three to hide inside the nearest door, or behind some equipment. They checked each room, every possible place Fett could hide. The hunt was slow and nerve racking.
They finally came to a 'T' in the hallway, so they stopped, uncertain which direction to take. "Have any idea, sweetheart?" Han whispered.
"Why would I know?"
"Woman's intuition? Jedi Force stuff? A wild guess?"
"Maybe you could take a nap and make a decision when you wake up," Leia said dryly.
Chewie woofed in amusement, and Han glared at his partner. "What are you laughing at, furball? You fell asleep before I did."
A blaster shot rang down the left hallway, narrowly missing Leia's head. Without hesitating, Han spun around, firing back, while Chewie and Leia both dove for cover around the corner, and Han quickly ducked down. For a few seconds the bounty hunter and Solo exchanged shots, then Fett took off, disappearing behind some machinery.
"Let's go," Han shouted, taking off in Fett's direction. "We can't let him get away."
Luke approached the Falcon with caution, reaching out with his senses. She was here, somewhere close, but the ship's ramp was still raised and there were no signs of forced entry. The Jedi knew for a fact Han's ship had the most advanced security system available. A person could enter the ship three ways - by code, by palm scan, or by destroying the hatch. For years, only Han and Chewie knew the code, or had the scan keyed to allow them entry. Shortly after Yavin, Luke and Leia had been given free access to the ship. It was an act of trust on the smuggler's part to allow them that access, and although neither Luke nor Leia said so, they felt a sense of privilege Han would trust them to such a huge extent.
Out on the open-aired walkway, Luke knew he was an easy target. If Mara had a blaster... He shook his head, trying to focus on the Force. Could he block a blaster shot with his lightsaber?
When the blaster bolt fired from behind the Falcon's landing struts, Luke knew the answer to that question.