Chapter 53 - The Lost Mark
This whole bodyguard business was new, but if there was anything Leia was sure about, she was not supposed to lose the princess.
"Oh Sith Snot!" Leia swore as she raced off.
Nearly 24 hours ago:
"Clear," Aretti said after dumping the contents of a trash bin down the shoot.
"Clear," Leia said after rifling through a desk's contents.
Rob stood there with the comm in his hand, eying Leia.
"Yeah Robb, nothing's here. You can tell the Captain," said Aretti.
"Your custom weapon, I want to see it." Robb demanded, eying Leia with a hot gaze, filled with intent.
"Uh-hhh" Leia drawled. Though she had permission to carry her lightsaber, she wore it hidden under her uniform. After listening to her troopmates rant about the Jedi, she did not intend to use it unless she had to.
Aretti growled across the room.
Rob put his hands up. "I just want to see it. We've gotta have each other's backs out here."
"I didn't bring it," Leia lied. "It needs repairs."
"Awe, that's too bad then." Rob pulled out his commlink. "All Clear."
Leia and her team stood back as Captain Donael walked Princess Mara to her pod. The girl wore an expensive dress and carried a bag over her shoulder. She smiled politely at the troop as she passed.
"I'm sure the summit won't be as grueling as you expect," said Donael.
"I'm sure not." Mara politely replied. A smile was on her lips, which did not reach her eyes. "You may seal the door, I have a lot to learn."
From either side of the pod, Leia and Rob pushed two doors closed. When they met in the center a sound of mechanics hissed as the pod sealed shut.
Donael nodded to the team. Aretti and Rob walked with him, leaving Leia to take the first shift on guard duty. Two hours later, Rob took her place, and then Arietti took over when his shift was done.
At the end of the first eight hour day Leia took the closing shift. Mara opened her pod from the inside, and stepped out. Leia noticed nothing amiss as she walked the Princess back to their ship. Except perhaps that Mara's bag was bulkier, as if it had been emptied and repacked in a hurry. But that wasn't alarming to the Private.
The next day began in roughly the same manner. Leia, Rob, and Aretti climbed in to search the pod before the Princess went to take her classes.
"Clear," Aretti said.
"Clear," Leia confirmed. "It doesn't look like her father's getting his money's worth out of this course. Look, the notebook screen is completely blank."
"I'm sure the Princess has her own way of learning. Some of us don't write down notes to study," Aretti defended.
"Yeah, we don't all have Memnii to get us by," Rob said. "Whatever the Princess is doing during these classes is not our mission. Getting her safely to and from them is our mission." he pulled out the commlink and spoke into it, "All clear."
The princess came out with Donael carrying the same bag over her shoulder. She entered her pod and they closed it behind her.
Leia stood on duty for some time after that, until she thought she heard something down the hallway. Not wanting to leave her station, she closed her eyes and used the Force to expand her senses. There were no dangers approaching, but that didn't shock her as much as what she didn't find in the pod behind her.
Nothing, it was empty. Leia forced the doors open and stomped in to see for herself. The expensive dress the Princess wore was carefully hung on a coat stand, and the bag she carried was lying open and empty on the floor. But there was no princess anywhere.
These pods were designed to maximize learning potential. There was a desk and computerized notepad. A viewscreen overlooking the lecture hall, and soundproof walls to keep the student focused on the lesson. But designed as prisons they were not. Under each seat was an emergency escape hatch and this one was opened.
Present:
Leia quickly jumped down the escape hatch and ran towards it's exit. She swore colorful language as she ran out a back alley exit and into the street. Her boot stomped in a muddy puddle and Leia swore even more. She couldn't find any traces of the princess or her kidnappers, so she tuned into the Force. It led her left at the main street and round a bend thereafter.
Fumbling with her comlink attached to her wrist, Leia called her commander. "The Mark is gone. I'm on Fifth Avenue in pursuit. Request Backup."
"Skywalker!?" Donael croaked. Leia reckoned she probably interrupted a late morning nap for the man. "Understood, backup on the way."
Leia stopped at a building in the inner city. She could feel it in the Force that Mara was inside. She cased the outside of the building, determining two possible exits, before her backup arrived.
"How many perpetrators are we dealing with? Which way did they go in?" Rob began to drill her with questions immediately.
"I don't know," Leia started to say.
"How far back were you pursuing them from?" Donael asked.
"Pretty far," Leia took a deep breath before she started to ramble. "I know she's in here, and there are two exits. If one of you were to block this one, We can enter through the other one."
Just then a young red haired girl stepped out of the building carrying a large basket of laundry. She was wearing casual work clothes. "Oh no!" she exclaimed on seeing them.
Leia and her crew turned at the same time to look at her.
"Mara, is there something wrong?" another woman stepped out to ask the first. She turned to look at the three Rebellion soldiers standing there and eyed them with confusion.
"No, no ma'am. They are friends," Mara whispered.
Leia's eyebrow rose. She was sure she looked comedically like her Uncle Ben then, but she didn't care now.
Mara sighed as she motioned for them to follow her into the building. "Last semester I was writing a piece for my Tutor about the plight of Refugees from the Empire damaged worlds. I realized I couldn't write about it without seeing it for myself. So I started sneaking out to places like this." Mara motioned around her. They were in a large room, filled with cots and people of all different species. "Mrs. Benson," she motioned to indicate the woman who'd come looking for her, "Yeah that's her. She runs this place and tries to help as many as she can. It's the reason I agreed to come take these lessons. They were close enough that I could slip out and volunteer here with the refugees."
"Wait," Leia put up a finger. "You didn't agree to come. You argued with your father the whole way onto the ship."
Mara let a smirk show. "I had to keep up appearances, or my Father might actually think I enjoy these lectures. Believe me, if I didn't want to come, we'd still be at the hangar. I didn't mean to scare anyone. You were never supposed to realize I was gone."
Donael glared at her, and Rob growled slightly.
Leia knew she should be angry too, but she only felt Mara was right. Her father wanted her to learn about the universe around her. Sometimes those lessons don't come from books and classroom lectures.
"Alright, come with us Princess. We'll reevaluate your safety from the ship. Aretti... " Donael started to order.
Their fellow soldier was staring off into space. A look of abject horror on her face.
"Aretti," Leia stepped over to her when Rob breathed.
"There's nothing you can do. She's in a Memnii," said Rob before Leia could touch her.
"The Memories?" Leia asked.
"Almost, Caamasi Memnii are stronger, like you're actually there. And they can share them with family members," Mara spoke up. "My father took in a bunch of them as refugees years ago."
"Yeah, and Aretti watched her family burn when the Empire went after her Remnant. She was once in a place like this with so many refugees fighting over the limited food and water they could acquire. It likely triggered them for her. She'll be out til it's over," Rob explained.
"Could I ask you for a favor," the older woman, Mrs. Benson, spoke up.
"I can't say we're prepared to offer anything, but at the moment we don't have anything better to do," Donael said.
Mrs. Benson motioned them to follow her as she led them over to one of the beds.
"We get orphans through here all the time, and usually it's simply a matter of paperwork to get guardianship. But this young man informed us he has a mother. Only she was supposed to be on a different transport." As the older woman explained the little boy in the bed smiled and waved.
Leia was struck with his bright eyes and cuter than cute face. She hoped they could help him. The way Mrs. Benson began, it sounded like an issue with paperwork.
She then led them past his bed and into an office, where she continued the story. "Thing is the people I work with would never separate a family like this. It led me to look into it and what I learned is…" she got closer and whispered, "There never was another transport. Not from us anyway."
"But young Jimnii is convinced he watched his mother and older brother board," Mara protested.
"Yes, I believed him, too. The next thing I did was interview the other Refugees. The stories I got were of people being lined up and pulled out based on fitness. The ones left behind were just told to wait for the second transport." Mrs. Benson continued. "A contact of mine was able to get an ID on that ship. They headed straight for Herdessa."
"That is unfortunate," Donael spoke next. I can report it to the Rebellion command, however our current mission protocol is to protect Mara, here."
"As a member of the Alderaan Royal family, I have some sway with the Hersessan prime minister," Mara offered.
"No," Donael ruled.
"Last I heard, they wanted to join the Alliance," Mara went on. "If these are rogue pirates, the Herdessan Navy will be thankful for the information."
No. Herdessa is not an ally yet. For all we know, he might turn you in, to the Empire, or sell you to the pirates," Donael insisted.
Mara looked around for allies. Leia wanted to help, but Donael was right about the risks. Still she couldn't get that boy, Jimnii's eyes out of her head.
When they left Mrs. Benson's office, Aretti was coming around then. She looked embarrassed to have phased out like that. Leia tried to make it easier, offering her a kind smile.
Their path back to the ship involved going through the town, and Aretti wanted to know what she missed, and why Mara was now in such a bad mood.
"There's a mysterious second ship that picked up some refugees from one of the worlds and took them to Herdessa. Mara wanted to go there to investigate, but…" Leia paused for a second and Rob took the opportunity to fill in.
"Butt Herdessa is not a safe stop."
"Say Mara, Have you ever been to see the Herdessan Prime Minister?" Leia asked.
"What do you want to know that for?" Donael turned to ask her.
"No, it's been years since they and Alderaan had any dealings. In fact their request to join the Alliance came as quite the surprise," Mara answered.
"I was just thinking," Leia started. "My mother used to have a bodyguard double she'd switch places with whenever her life was threatened. Mara and I don't look exactly identical, but if the Herdessans don't know what she looks like."
Rob squinted his eyes as his mind likely weighed out the question 'What does her mother do to need a bodyguard?'
Aretti smiled and jumped excitedly. "You just need some hair dye, and a makeover. We'll have you two looking Identical."
Mara smiled at this and nodded enthusiastically.
"Wait," Donael put his hand out before the two woman could run into a local shop to buy the hair dye. "This is a potentially dangerous mission. Are you prepared for it?"
"Yes, I am." Leia confirmed.
Donael gave the girls a nod. "Very well then."
I'm really sorry, this chapter took longer to get out to you. I had another story idea that was playing keeps away with my inspiration. But good news, I wrote it all down, and I've started another story. I will continue to write this one, but chapters may take a bit more time to come out.
As to this chapter, Mara's personality never seemed very political. She's an active girl, who digs in and gets her hands dirty doing what she feels is right, whatever anyone else may think. Here she has a different background than in Legends 'verse, but some personality is genetic.
In the next chapter I might just summarize the rest of this adventure and move on to the next yearly time jump. I've already established the needed facts here, and the next half will just be filler adventure anyways. It's their next adventure, when Leia's nineteen, that will be more important anyways, and which will bring us back to Tatooine too.
My newest Piece is based on the premise that Yoda time travels back to the days of Phantom Menace. He's going to be encouraging some changes to the timeline, but things won't all go as planned. When do they ever! Please click my profile to read my newest piece, Time Travel: To the Past Yoda Goes, and leave me a comment with some feedback too.