Mara glared at the stars streaking by the view port, willing the ship to move faster. It wasn't her beloved Jade's Fire, but instead one of Karrde's lesser known ships, the Katana, under the assumed name of the Skifter. The ship's false name referred to the cheater's card in the game of saabac. Whenever someone tapped the corner, it changes face value. Mara like the name, but still didn't like leaving without her Fire. However, the Fire was fairly recognizable, and being recognized was not what she wanted.
Mara needed to be on planet and off again with the least amount of notice possible. She knew what she had to do, what the visions pushed her to acknowledge.
Someone placed their hand on her right shoulder, and had it been anyone else but Talon Karrde, she would have shrugged their hand off or worse. But since Talon was the only man onboard who would come near her voluntarily, she allowed him to stay there. Upon his insistence on coming along, she had an idea that his reasons were more to the fact that he thought she would finish the Jedi Master off, for endangering his life yet again, for no good reason. Jade had nearly beaten sense into the Jedi Master on several occasions, for that exact reason.
"Halanari says we have eight hours until we reach Coruscant. I hope that the Republic would bring Skywalker there. If he's in as bad shape as you think—"
"As I know," Mara corrected sharply. "I felt him dying."
"Are you sure he's still alive, Mara?" he asked softly.
"I would have felt his death," she answered, sure of herself.
Karrde made sure he kept his tone neutral, although he just wanted to sigh in frustration. The Force. Of all people, his second-in-command had to be a Jedi, weighed down with "feeling" every gods-damned thing that happened in the galaxy. Her intuition was on several occasions what saved him and his crew, but when it didn't help him or his crew…she had said a long while ago that it wasn't something she could just turn on and off when needed. Too bad she couldn't. "But I thought you weren't Jedi."
"I'm not, but I'm Force-sensitive, as well as a …a friend of Skywalker's."
If you're his friend, then at least call him by his first name, for Force's sake. "Well, like I said, eight standard hours. You might want to get some sleep."
Mara felt the ship lurch out of hyperspace, and she pulled herself off the floor. Sometime during her sleep, she must have fallen off the bunk. Standing up, she barely ran a hand through her hair—to get it out of her face—before running out of the room. Typically, all the women shared a bunk room, as did the men, but Talon had made sure Mara would have her won room, small, but her won. She found immediately where Talon was—the comm station. She impatiently waited outside the room until he finished and then she walked in. His back was to her, but he still greeted her by name, seeming to know who would come find him.
"Why have we come out of hyperspace, Karrde? I know we're at least two or three hours off."
"I had to make a comm call, and we can't in light speed. I also guessed you'd enjoy a small break."
"We have to get to Coruscant as soon as possible."
"It doesn't matter if we break records to get to Coruscant, Mara. If we don't have a plan, it'll only take more time."
Mara hated to be chastised, but she was proud that her answer showed none of her frustration. "What is your plan, then?" she asked, resisting the urge to throw her hands up and yell at him.
"I have an informant, a guard, on duty at the Imperial Palace. He also acts as bodyguard for visiting functionaries, for the few who don't bring along their won. He also accompanies well-known scientists and such."
Mara waited for him to continue.
"I inquired of him if he knew about Skywalker's hospitalization. It turns out most of the Republic guards, at least the higher ranking ones, like my friend, know not only where he is, but at least one of them is in the room with Skywalker at all times."
"And your friend, has he guarded Skywalker?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"With little effort on Ghent's part, we're certain my friend will be guarding Skywalker as soon as we get in."
"So immediately we can get into the MedCenter?"
"Basically, yes. The guard, by the name of Cal, Cal Tanalav. Short, a little taller than you, with black hair and pale green eyes. He's lived on Coruscant all his life, and has the clipped accent of an Imperial and everything."
"And the reason we've stopped is so Ghent can hack into the Coruscant Republic's database and change around schedules?"
"Yes. That and I needed to confirm all this with Cal."
"And your friend will do as I
tell him?"
"Depends," Talon said
cautiously. "Like what?"
"I'll need total privacy with Skywalker. I don't want some guy staring at me the whole time."
"Since you're trying to heal Skywalker, and not kill him," At least not yet, "I'm sure Cal won't have much of a problem with that."
"Good. As soon as we land, I'll be ready."
The descent to Coruscant's surface was slower than usual, and the only docking area available was an overpriced skyhook. Karrde was the first off the ship, wearing a mechanic's dirty, greasy choice of clothes. Mara followed, her hair pulled back in a loose braid, and folded under, but the main difference was the color. She had lightened all the red to a dull golden gleam. She wore a flight suit, one she could easily slip out of if necessary to change clothes. She wore a navy blue pilot jacket over it, and black lace-up boots. Karrde had mentioned maybe her going in the MedCenter in the guise of a Republic guard, and everything she wore could be easily discarded and change her description almost immediately.
Karrde hailed a skycab and pulled his cap further over his eyes. He didn't usually wear hats, but he was easily recognizable, and he didn't want that right now.
Mara carried her blaster loosely around her waist, as well as he did, knowing that his would be confiscated as soon as he entered the MedCenter, but he noticed that she had left her lightsaber behind. Blasters were commonplace, lightsabers a little harder to come by. Karrde opened the skycab's door, and told the Sullustan driver that he and the captain needed to go to a small café near the Imperial Palace. Mara slid into the seat next to Karrde and slammed the cab's door behind her. She brushed her hair back over her shoulder, and stared out the side of the skycab window at Coruscant around them. He turned towards the other window.
"How much longer will—" Mara cut her own question off. Karrde glanced over at her, only to see her still staring at the window, but shaking. Visibly shaking.
"Arica?" he asked. She didn't turn around. "Hey, Arica, come on, Capt'n. What happened?"
After what seemed a short eternity, Mara turned back to him. Her face was pale, her eyes wide.
"I can't feel him, anymore," she whispered. He had to lean close to hear her.
"You mean he's dead?"
"I don't know…it was so odd. One moment he was there, dim, but alive, and then it all just disappeared."
"He's dead?' Talon repeated.
"When…when my Master died, it felt like a star going supernova, and then fading. Luke…just ceased to exist. I was cut off from him." She raised her voice so that cab driver could hear her. "Press the pedal all the way. We must get there immediately."
"Mara, if he's dead…" His voice was as soft as hers had been.
"I don't know if he is."
"But I thought you said—"
"He might be dead, but I don't see Skywalker, that strong a Force presence, but disappearing like that." Even as she said that, she could hear the hopeful tone in her own voice, and she hated it. Skywalker was alive, damn it, he had to be alive!
Talon felt a lurch as the Sullustan sped the skycab, and he managed not to grab for his safety restraints.
As soon as the skycab stopped, Talon passed a few extra credits up to the driver, and he climbed out. Mara was already glancing around, and Talon grabbed her arm.
"This way," he muttered. The Corsuca Dusk was a small tapcafé, a block from the Palace, and the place where Cal Tanolav was to meet them. They hadn't even taken their seats when Cal walked up.
"This way," he said, still dressed in his full uniform. Mara watched him carefully, affecting a nonchalant attitude until they were away from the café, then she turned on the man.
"What happened?" she demanded.
Cal seemed to be flustered. "You're lucky I managed to make it out here, lady. It'll be a pain in the ass to get back in that MedCenter." Mara noticed the vague Imperial crisp accent, but it had dulled from years away from Imperial citizens. He nodded towards Talon. "If it weren't for my buddy here, I wouldn't bring you within fifty meters of the Jedi."
"Is he still alive, though, Cal?" Talon asked.
"Yeah, they were transferring him, and my buddy, one of my fellow Guards, he was watching, when a doctor came by, checking the Jedi's chart and all, then he stabbed the Jedi in the neck, with some injection."
"What?! Didn't your friend stop them? You all are Republic Guards, for gods' sakes!" Mara's face didn't betray her feelings—only her words and the tight rein she kept over them. As far as any casual viewer could see, they were having a normal conversation.
"He thought the doc was a real doctor. All we know is Skywalker went into convulsions. They tried to give him drugs to stop the seizures, but too much and he'd never heal. The real docs are trying to figure out what was in the injection. Some type of natural something-or-other. His sister, Organa Solo, she's saying she can't feel her brother at all."
"I must be allowed to see him," Mara said, her tone almost empty.
"No one's allowed in there right now. They've just stabilized him, but like I told Karrde here, I might be able to get you in."
"You will get me in."
"That's what I said. I'll try."
"You will." With that even Talon felt a strange urging to do what she said. He brushed it away.
"I will," Cal said, his voice as empty as Mara's. He shook his head. "Hey, what are we waiting around for? We've got to get in there."
"Good," Mara said. Talon glanced over at his associate, and he could have sworn something had happened, but…no. Impossible. "Come on, Talon. Let's not keep the Jedi Master waiting."