1 A Jedi's Return
Chapter 2
PG
By Maara
1.1 Sarlacc Pit/Sail Barge
The battle raged on at the Sail Barge when she got there, and Mara realized she was too late to make sure Skywalker died in the belly of the Sarlacc. She saw only one option left, she would have to join in the battle and slay him while he fought off the others. As she watched, Skywalker launched himself through the air and landed on the side of the barge, pulling out one of Jabba's guards out of the opening port and throwing him towards the Sarlacc's beak. Then scaled up the side to try to save his friends still on board.
Mara made her decision in an instant and flew her skiff to the other side and scaled up the side herself. As she jumped over the railing and grabbed a gaffe stick, she sensed a presence behind her and spun around to ward off blows raining down on her from one of the guards on deck. He kept coming at her pounding away at her. Just as she got her bearings, a shot hit her left shoulder sending her to the deck. The guard she was fighting raised his weapon over his head to finish her off, when Luke Skywalker was there, fending off her attacker and saving her.
Suddenly an idea came, unbidden, into her mind. She would play the part of the wounded ally and lure Skywalker away and dispose of him at her leisure. It should be easy. He was a male and they all wanted the attentions of a beautiful woman. Then she remembered the Emperor ordering her not to have contact with him. She knew he did not want her to be controlled by him, but Mara was confidant that would not happen. She could keep her barriers up and keep him out of her mind. It took only a moment for her to decide that this would be the best route to complete her mission. She only hoped that her master would understand and forgive her after she carried out her mission.
It took only a moment for these thoughts to pass through her mind as she watched Skywalker drive back and slay the guard and turn to face the beautiful redhead that had been attacked.
"Are you all right?" Luke asked her, quickly checking her injured shoulder as she leaned against the railing. She had no time to answer, however, as he spun around again, sensing an attack coming from behind. After downing his opponent, Luke turned and grabbed her arm, steering her towards the skiff his friends had found.
"Yes, I'm fine, now can you let me go?" She tried to shrug him off her arm, but he had a firm grip on her. Being this close was somewhat disconcerting. When he touched her, a small shock wave traveled through her.
Skwyalker let her go and turned to look into her eyes. He seemed about to say something, when blaster bolts flew close to their head. Quickly, he pushed her out of the way and deflected the bolts. Mara grabbed a fallen guards weapon and turned to fire, dropping into a crouch, ignoring the pain and light headed feeling that was coursing through her. The guards shooting at them began to fall as a gold bikini clad Princess Leia appeared on the deck.
Mara had only a moment to wonder how she had gotten away from Jabba, when she was again dodging blaster bolts. Shooting back, she heard Skywalker yell to Leia to point the gun at the deck, then waved her over to them. He quickly tied a rope around her and called out to the wookie, getting his attention. As the furry being looked up, Skywalker sent Leia over the edge sailing over to the skiff. The wookie grabbed her and untied the rope from her waist. Skywalker then grabbed another rope and grabbed Mara around the waist, pulling her to him, trying not to hurt her shoulder more than was necessary. He turned and shot the gun into the deck twice and swung over the edge of the barge onto the skiff. "Let's go, and don't forget the droids."
"On our way." A dark skinned man answered. Mara recognized him from Jabba's palace. He must've been put there to help them escape. Then the skiff was picking up the droids and heading away from the sail barge just as it exploded.
As they cleared the carnage and flew off towards Mos Eisley, all eyes turned to Mara. "Who is this?" The dark skinned man piped in while he watched Luke tend to her wound.
"I'm Arica. Who are you?" She asked, trying to find out what she could without giving anything away.
"I'm Lando Calrissian, my dear." Mara rolled her eyes upwards as she recognized he was flirting with her. Then hissing as Luke hit a sensitive area of her wound. A fresh wave of dizziness swept over her.
Leia looked at her a moment, "Are you ok Arica?"
Mara shook her head, trying to clear away the fogginess that wanted to claim her. "Yes." Mara took a deep calming breath, "I'll be ok."
Leia looked doubtful, but didn't question her. "Thank you for your help, Arica." Pulling Han Solo closer to her, "We really appreciate it."
Mara was slightly taken aback, she expected them to interrogate he about what she was doing there, after all, Leia had been with Jabba when she begged to go along. So she knew Jabba told her no. To her credit, she said nothing about this. "You're welcome." she replied hesitantly. No one had ever thanked her for anything before and it made her somewhat uncomfortable. She had endured many things through out her life and training, but was unprepared to deal with gratitude.
Skywalker looked over at her strangely, "Are you sure you're alright? You look a little pale."
Mara was starting to get fed up with everyone asking her if she was ok every few minutes. "Yes, I said, I am fine. Will you quit asking me that?"
Skywalker smiled at that. "Ok, I won't ask again. My name is Luke, and this is Leia, Han, Chewbacca and you already met Lando." Everyone lifted a hand as they were introduced, and the little droid starting tooting at him. Skywalker just laughed, "And of course this is R2-D2, and C-3po."
The little droid twittered at her and C-3po greeted her politely. "A pleasure to meet you?"
Mara shivered, feeling a strange sensation run through her. "Charmed, I'm sure." Mara looked around uncomfortably, "You can just drop me at Mos Eisley and go about your way."
"We can't just dump you off somewhere. You're injured, we should get you back to our ship and take care of it." Skywalker protested.
Mara wasn't quite sure how to react to that. Of all the reports she had of Skywalker, none of them portrayed him like this. ~ Maybe he's using this as some kind of cover so those with him would follow him. ~ "Why do you care so much?"
"I just want to make sure, you're ok." Luke seemed almost bashful and continued to regard her strangely, making her uncomfortable, then looked away. They both seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.
Chewie and Leia were fawning over Han, but Lando, who was piloting the skiff, saw his friend and the beautiful dancer, looking anywhere but at each other.
Lando shook his head. A girl like that would be good for someone like Lando, not someone like Luke. ~ I know what she needs to take her mind off her troubles. Dinner with me. ~ Grinning he turned to watch as Mos Eisley approached on the horizon.
Mara sat there, wondering how she would get them to ask her along. She had to ingratiate herself into the group somehow. She sat on the floor of the skiff, her legs drawn up, with her arms wrapped around them, resting her chin on her knees. She figured she had her barriers were up strong enough, judging by the look on Skywalker's face. So she just settled in for the ride, hoping an idea would come to her.
A short while later, they pulled up to a spaceport, and Mara watched as they helped Han Solo out of the skiff, then she got up and started to get off herself. She was startled when Luke turned and helped her down. "Thanks for getting me out of there. See you around." Mara turned to leave before Skywalker could say anything, hoping that would be enough to capture his interest.
According to the dossier she had, he was quite the man to take women and do what he wanted with them. For some strange reason he didn't strike her as the type, but she continued to play the game according to what the reports said. Sure enough he did call her back.
"Wait." He called out to her and jogged to catch up with her. She stopped and turned, crossing her arms over her chest, wincing at the slight pain in her shoulder.
"I said thank you, what more do you want?" She replied indignantly.
"I don't know, I." Skywalker seemed almost bashful as he ran a hand through his hair. "I was hoping you would stay with us. At least long enough for a meal."
Mara considered a moment. She couldn't make it too easy for him or he would get suspicious. "Why would I want to do that?"
He looked at her questioningly for a moment. "I don't know, Arica, maybe because you might be hungry." A smile blossomed on his face. He held out his hand to her and she hesitantly shook it.
"Well, I am a little hungry." Mara looked down at their hands and back up at Luke. "I guess I could use a hot meal. Then I'll be on my way."
"What will you do?" Luke asked as he dropped her hand.
Looking around her, she had an idea. "I guess I could get a job as a dancer or barmaid in one of the cantinas around here."
"That's a pretty rough job? Why would you want to work at a cantina?" Luke seemed genuinely interested.
"Look, Luke, I've been on my own for quite awhile, I can handle myself."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just meant that you could be so much more than that." Luke looked to Mara to really mean what he was saying. ~ damn he's good ~ she thought to herself.
"Like what? The only thing I can do is dance and fight." She turned her head away, "I've been doing that my whole life."
"Come with us, Arica. You're good in a fight. You'd be a great help to us." Luke promised.
"Help with what? Keeping your bed warm at night? You're just like all the other men I've run across." Mara stopped as Luke quickly raised a hand, cutting her off.
"No." Luke suddenly sounded a little angry. "I'm not like that, Arica." He sighed, trying to find a way to make her understand. "I only want to help you. I expect nothing in return."
Mara regarded him closely. She thought he was playing a game, but he seemed so sincere just now, it was hard to tell if he was lying without revealing her own Force powers.
"Why should I believe you?" Mara looked down at the ground. Then she felt his hand on her shoulder.
"I sense you were destined for better things than just dancing Arica." Luke's gaze seemed to penetrate her soul.
"Sense? What do you mean sense?" Mara wanted to see how much he would tell her about himself.
Luke dropped his hand from her shoulder. "Have you ever heard of the Force?" He couldn't believe he was talking to her about the Force, but it just felt right to do so.
"Yes, I've heard of it. There were tales of great Jedi when I was a kid, but they haven't been heard of in awhile. That is, until you showed up at Jabba's claiming to be one." She wasn't sure where this was going, but went along for now. "I had heard all the Jedi had been destroyed."
"Not all. Most of them, yes, but not all." Luke hesitated a moment. looking straight into her eyes. "I am one of the last."
"How could you be a Jedi, if they were destroyed?" This was an enlightening conversation. The Emperor might need this information.
"A few did survive. One introduced me to the Force. The other trained me in the ways of it." Luke stopped, seeming unwilling to say too much.
Mara regarded him a moment, "You don't look big enough to be a Jedi."
Luke couldn't stop the smile from reaching his face. "Size matters not." He burst out laughing. "My master told me that once. You wouldn't believe how many times I have heard that."
Mara smiled back. "Why do you laugh?"
Luke continued to smile. "Private joke." Putting his hand on her shoulder again, "Come on, have a bite to eat with me, and we can talk more."
"Well, ok. I guess a meal wouldn't hurt."
"Good." Luke turned and Mara walked with him, talking more about the Force and Jedi, knowing she had found her way into the group.
Later after the meal Lando, the dark skinned man posing as a guard at Jabba's, and Chewbacca, the wookie, headed off to the lounge area arguing over some holo chess move.
"Arica, are you coming with us?" Leia had asked, pulling Mara out of her reverie.
She looked down at her now empty plate. "I don't know. I've never done anything but be a dancer. What would I do with you?"
Leia smiled at her. "You can do anything you want to, Arica. I want to offer you the chance to get away from here and do something more for yourself."
Mara found it hard to feel patronized, Leia seemed very genuine. "I don't know maybe."
"We'll be leaving in a few hours, just let me know." Leia helped Han stand up. "I'm getting him to bed. He needs some rest."
"See you in a while, Kid." Luke laughed lightly as Leia led him out.
Mara picked up hre empty plate feeling Luke's gaze follow her. "So are you going to go?"
Mara put the plate in the recycler then turned to lean against the counter. "Why do you want me to go so bad? I thought I had a few hours to decide?"
"You do, but I just hoped you had already made up your mind." Luke continued to smile at her.
"Where would I stay? With you?" Mara was sure she didn't want that to happen.
"No, no." Luke held up his hands, "I know that being around cantinas and Jabba's palace, you ran into a lot of beings like that, but it's just not me." Luke paused a moment to let his words sink in. "I think Leia will be staying with Han, so I thought you could use her cabin."
His answer had thrown her off guard somewhat. She had expected him to make a pass at her and that of course she would stay with him, but he seemed to be embarrassed at the thought.
Mara considered him a moment. She had her opportunity, she shouldn't blow it. "Well, I do want off this dust ball of a planet." She smiled a small smile. "I guess I could go with you."
Luke smiled and stood up. "Good, I'll show you to your room."
"Ok, sounds good." Mara followed him out of the galley and down the corridor. This promised to be an interesting trip.
As Luke walked down the corridor, Mara watched his back. She would have to wait to get somewhere she could disappear easily, then she could take him out and blend into the crowds.
Luke stopped at a doorway and walked in, "Here you go." Luke waved his arm around. "It's nothing fancy, but all we need to do is get your things and go."
Mara stopped short. "Uh.. my things are at Jabba's palace, and I have no intention of going there to get them. I'll have to get new clothes." Mara brought her hand up to her chin. "I wonder if I could get one of the traders to let me do a little work to pay for them."
"I have a better idea. Why don't I buy you what you need, and you can pay me back when you can." Luke waited for her to accuse him of trying to curry favors from her, and was surprised when she didn't.
"Well, that would be better than getting work and then them not paying me. That's happened to me before." Mara blew out a breath. "Now just to find a merchant who has what I need without charging me too much."
A smile blossomed on Luke's face. "I know just the place. Come on, I'll take you there."
Luke led her out and they sped off to the marketplace. A few short hours later, they flew through hyperspace, off to meet up with the Rebel Alliance.
TBC.
Chapter 2
PG
By Maara
1.1 Sarlacc Pit/Sail Barge
The battle raged on at the Sail Barge when she got there, and Mara realized she was too late to make sure Skywalker died in the belly of the Sarlacc. She saw only one option left, she would have to join in the battle and slay him while he fought off the others. As she watched, Skywalker launched himself through the air and landed on the side of the barge, pulling out one of Jabba's guards out of the opening port and throwing him towards the Sarlacc's beak. Then scaled up the side to try to save his friends still on board.
Mara made her decision in an instant and flew her skiff to the other side and scaled up the side herself. As she jumped over the railing and grabbed a gaffe stick, she sensed a presence behind her and spun around to ward off blows raining down on her from one of the guards on deck. He kept coming at her pounding away at her. Just as she got her bearings, a shot hit her left shoulder sending her to the deck. The guard she was fighting raised his weapon over his head to finish her off, when Luke Skywalker was there, fending off her attacker and saving her.
Suddenly an idea came, unbidden, into her mind. She would play the part of the wounded ally and lure Skywalker away and dispose of him at her leisure. It should be easy. He was a male and they all wanted the attentions of a beautiful woman. Then she remembered the Emperor ordering her not to have contact with him. She knew he did not want her to be controlled by him, but Mara was confidant that would not happen. She could keep her barriers up and keep him out of her mind. It took only a moment for her to decide that this would be the best route to complete her mission. She only hoped that her master would understand and forgive her after she carried out her mission.
It took only a moment for these thoughts to pass through her mind as she watched Skywalker drive back and slay the guard and turn to face the beautiful redhead that had been attacked.
"Are you all right?" Luke asked her, quickly checking her injured shoulder as she leaned against the railing. She had no time to answer, however, as he spun around again, sensing an attack coming from behind. After downing his opponent, Luke turned and grabbed her arm, steering her towards the skiff his friends had found.
"Yes, I'm fine, now can you let me go?" She tried to shrug him off her arm, but he had a firm grip on her. Being this close was somewhat disconcerting. When he touched her, a small shock wave traveled through her.
Skwyalker let her go and turned to look into her eyes. He seemed about to say something, when blaster bolts flew close to their head. Quickly, he pushed her out of the way and deflected the bolts. Mara grabbed a fallen guards weapon and turned to fire, dropping into a crouch, ignoring the pain and light headed feeling that was coursing through her. The guards shooting at them began to fall as a gold bikini clad Princess Leia appeared on the deck.
Mara had only a moment to wonder how she had gotten away from Jabba, when she was again dodging blaster bolts. Shooting back, she heard Skywalker yell to Leia to point the gun at the deck, then waved her over to them. He quickly tied a rope around her and called out to the wookie, getting his attention. As the furry being looked up, Skywalker sent Leia over the edge sailing over to the skiff. The wookie grabbed her and untied the rope from her waist. Skywalker then grabbed another rope and grabbed Mara around the waist, pulling her to him, trying not to hurt her shoulder more than was necessary. He turned and shot the gun into the deck twice and swung over the edge of the barge onto the skiff. "Let's go, and don't forget the droids."
"On our way." A dark skinned man answered. Mara recognized him from Jabba's palace. He must've been put there to help them escape. Then the skiff was picking up the droids and heading away from the sail barge just as it exploded.
As they cleared the carnage and flew off towards Mos Eisley, all eyes turned to Mara. "Who is this?" The dark skinned man piped in while he watched Luke tend to her wound.
"I'm Arica. Who are you?" She asked, trying to find out what she could without giving anything away.
"I'm Lando Calrissian, my dear." Mara rolled her eyes upwards as she recognized he was flirting with her. Then hissing as Luke hit a sensitive area of her wound. A fresh wave of dizziness swept over her.
Leia looked at her a moment, "Are you ok Arica?"
Mara shook her head, trying to clear away the fogginess that wanted to claim her. "Yes." Mara took a deep calming breath, "I'll be ok."
Leia looked doubtful, but didn't question her. "Thank you for your help, Arica." Pulling Han Solo closer to her, "We really appreciate it."
Mara was slightly taken aback, she expected them to interrogate he about what she was doing there, after all, Leia had been with Jabba when she begged to go along. So she knew Jabba told her no. To her credit, she said nothing about this. "You're welcome." she replied hesitantly. No one had ever thanked her for anything before and it made her somewhat uncomfortable. She had endured many things through out her life and training, but was unprepared to deal with gratitude.
Skywalker looked over at her strangely, "Are you sure you're alright? You look a little pale."
Mara was starting to get fed up with everyone asking her if she was ok every few minutes. "Yes, I said, I am fine. Will you quit asking me that?"
Skywalker smiled at that. "Ok, I won't ask again. My name is Luke, and this is Leia, Han, Chewbacca and you already met Lando." Everyone lifted a hand as they were introduced, and the little droid starting tooting at him. Skywalker just laughed, "And of course this is R2-D2, and C-3po."
The little droid twittered at her and C-3po greeted her politely. "A pleasure to meet you?"
Mara shivered, feeling a strange sensation run through her. "Charmed, I'm sure." Mara looked around uncomfortably, "You can just drop me at Mos Eisley and go about your way."
"We can't just dump you off somewhere. You're injured, we should get you back to our ship and take care of it." Skywalker protested.
Mara wasn't quite sure how to react to that. Of all the reports she had of Skywalker, none of them portrayed him like this. ~ Maybe he's using this as some kind of cover so those with him would follow him. ~ "Why do you care so much?"
"I just want to make sure, you're ok." Luke seemed almost bashful and continued to regard her strangely, making her uncomfortable, then looked away. They both seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.
Chewie and Leia were fawning over Han, but Lando, who was piloting the skiff, saw his friend and the beautiful dancer, looking anywhere but at each other.
Lando shook his head. A girl like that would be good for someone like Lando, not someone like Luke. ~ I know what she needs to take her mind off her troubles. Dinner with me. ~ Grinning he turned to watch as Mos Eisley approached on the horizon.
Mara sat there, wondering how she would get them to ask her along. She had to ingratiate herself into the group somehow. She sat on the floor of the skiff, her legs drawn up, with her arms wrapped around them, resting her chin on her knees. She figured she had her barriers were up strong enough, judging by the look on Skywalker's face. So she just settled in for the ride, hoping an idea would come to her.
A short while later, they pulled up to a spaceport, and Mara watched as they helped Han Solo out of the skiff, then she got up and started to get off herself. She was startled when Luke turned and helped her down. "Thanks for getting me out of there. See you around." Mara turned to leave before Skywalker could say anything, hoping that would be enough to capture his interest.
According to the dossier she had, he was quite the man to take women and do what he wanted with them. For some strange reason he didn't strike her as the type, but she continued to play the game according to what the reports said. Sure enough he did call her back.
"Wait." He called out to her and jogged to catch up with her. She stopped and turned, crossing her arms over her chest, wincing at the slight pain in her shoulder.
"I said thank you, what more do you want?" She replied indignantly.
"I don't know, I." Skywalker seemed almost bashful as he ran a hand through his hair. "I was hoping you would stay with us. At least long enough for a meal."
Mara considered a moment. She couldn't make it too easy for him or he would get suspicious. "Why would I want to do that?"
He looked at her questioningly for a moment. "I don't know, Arica, maybe because you might be hungry." A smile blossomed on his face. He held out his hand to her and she hesitantly shook it.
"Well, I am a little hungry." Mara looked down at their hands and back up at Luke. "I guess I could use a hot meal. Then I'll be on my way."
"What will you do?" Luke asked as he dropped her hand.
Looking around her, she had an idea. "I guess I could get a job as a dancer or barmaid in one of the cantinas around here."
"That's a pretty rough job? Why would you want to work at a cantina?" Luke seemed genuinely interested.
"Look, Luke, I've been on my own for quite awhile, I can handle myself."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just meant that you could be so much more than that." Luke looked to Mara to really mean what he was saying. ~ damn he's good ~ she thought to herself.
"Like what? The only thing I can do is dance and fight." She turned her head away, "I've been doing that my whole life."
"Come with us, Arica. You're good in a fight. You'd be a great help to us." Luke promised.
"Help with what? Keeping your bed warm at night? You're just like all the other men I've run across." Mara stopped as Luke quickly raised a hand, cutting her off.
"No." Luke suddenly sounded a little angry. "I'm not like that, Arica." He sighed, trying to find a way to make her understand. "I only want to help you. I expect nothing in return."
Mara regarded him closely. She thought he was playing a game, but he seemed so sincere just now, it was hard to tell if he was lying without revealing her own Force powers.
"Why should I believe you?" Mara looked down at the ground. Then she felt his hand on her shoulder.
"I sense you were destined for better things than just dancing Arica." Luke's gaze seemed to penetrate her soul.
"Sense? What do you mean sense?" Mara wanted to see how much he would tell her about himself.
Luke dropped his hand from her shoulder. "Have you ever heard of the Force?" He couldn't believe he was talking to her about the Force, but it just felt right to do so.
"Yes, I've heard of it. There were tales of great Jedi when I was a kid, but they haven't been heard of in awhile. That is, until you showed up at Jabba's claiming to be one." She wasn't sure where this was going, but went along for now. "I had heard all the Jedi had been destroyed."
"Not all. Most of them, yes, but not all." Luke hesitated a moment. looking straight into her eyes. "I am one of the last."
"How could you be a Jedi, if they were destroyed?" This was an enlightening conversation. The Emperor might need this information.
"A few did survive. One introduced me to the Force. The other trained me in the ways of it." Luke stopped, seeming unwilling to say too much.
Mara regarded him a moment, "You don't look big enough to be a Jedi."
Luke couldn't stop the smile from reaching his face. "Size matters not." He burst out laughing. "My master told me that once. You wouldn't believe how many times I have heard that."
Mara smiled back. "Why do you laugh?"
Luke continued to smile. "Private joke." Putting his hand on her shoulder again, "Come on, have a bite to eat with me, and we can talk more."
"Well, ok. I guess a meal wouldn't hurt."
"Good." Luke turned and Mara walked with him, talking more about the Force and Jedi, knowing she had found her way into the group.
Later after the meal Lando, the dark skinned man posing as a guard at Jabba's, and Chewbacca, the wookie, headed off to the lounge area arguing over some holo chess move.
"Arica, are you coming with us?" Leia had asked, pulling Mara out of her reverie.
She looked down at her now empty plate. "I don't know. I've never done anything but be a dancer. What would I do with you?"
Leia smiled at her. "You can do anything you want to, Arica. I want to offer you the chance to get away from here and do something more for yourself."
Mara found it hard to feel patronized, Leia seemed very genuine. "I don't know maybe."
"We'll be leaving in a few hours, just let me know." Leia helped Han stand up. "I'm getting him to bed. He needs some rest."
"See you in a while, Kid." Luke laughed lightly as Leia led him out.
Mara picked up hre empty plate feeling Luke's gaze follow her. "So are you going to go?"
Mara put the plate in the recycler then turned to lean against the counter. "Why do you want me to go so bad? I thought I had a few hours to decide?"
"You do, but I just hoped you had already made up your mind." Luke continued to smile at her.
"Where would I stay? With you?" Mara was sure she didn't want that to happen.
"No, no." Luke held up his hands, "I know that being around cantinas and Jabba's palace, you ran into a lot of beings like that, but it's just not me." Luke paused a moment to let his words sink in. "I think Leia will be staying with Han, so I thought you could use her cabin."
His answer had thrown her off guard somewhat. She had expected him to make a pass at her and that of course she would stay with him, but he seemed to be embarrassed at the thought.
Mara considered him a moment. She had her opportunity, she shouldn't blow it. "Well, I do want off this dust ball of a planet." She smiled a small smile. "I guess I could go with you."
Luke smiled and stood up. "Good, I'll show you to your room."
"Ok, sounds good." Mara followed him out of the galley and down the corridor. This promised to be an interesting trip.
As Luke walked down the corridor, Mara watched his back. She would have to wait to get somewhere she could disappear easily, then she could take him out and blend into the crowds.
Luke stopped at a doorway and walked in, "Here you go." Luke waved his arm around. "It's nothing fancy, but all we need to do is get your things and go."
Mara stopped short. "Uh.. my things are at Jabba's palace, and I have no intention of going there to get them. I'll have to get new clothes." Mara brought her hand up to her chin. "I wonder if I could get one of the traders to let me do a little work to pay for them."
"I have a better idea. Why don't I buy you what you need, and you can pay me back when you can." Luke waited for her to accuse him of trying to curry favors from her, and was surprised when she didn't.
"Well, that would be better than getting work and then them not paying me. That's happened to me before." Mara blew out a breath. "Now just to find a merchant who has what I need without charging me too much."
A smile blossomed on Luke's face. "I know just the place. Come on, I'll take you there."
Luke led her out and they sped off to the marketplace. A few short hours later, they flew through hyperspace, off to meet up with the Rebel Alliance.
TBC.