A/n: Is it just me or do they *always* end up having something to do with Jabba?
"Hey, what're you-Let go! How dare y-ack! Hey! Hey, don't pull that, you imbeciles!"
Li-Sen struggled to her feet after the armed escorts threw her down. She hurriedly pulled the strap of her outfit up to where it'd been before. She might have to wear this utterly tasteless ensemble, but she was determined not to let them see anything they shouldn't.
She looked around, wrapping her arms around herself as tightly as she could. She gasped as her eyes wandered to what was in front of her.
The…being, if indeed, it could be called that, was a huge, slug-like thing, with pudgy little arms and beady eyes set in its equally pudgy head. It was a Hutt.
And his name was Jabba.
Li-Sen let out a gasp of horror.
Jabba looked her up and down. "Exotic," he said. "You've done well." Li-Sen was instantly glad she was very good with languages. Her teachers in school had suggested she learned as many as she could, and thankfully, Huttese was one of them, even though it wasn't that common a language except in the outer regions of the galaxy. It happened to be the one Jabba was speaking now, and though with a bit of difficulty, she could understand him.
She didn't, however, feel the need to speak back to him in said language. He probably wouldn't be able to understand her dialect, anyways, so she settled for the much safer Basic nearly everyone spoke. "What are you talking about?
Jabba ignored the question, and instead yanked a chain the guards had fastened around her neck right after dragging her in. "Dance!" he commanded, again in Huttese. A chorus of alien cat-calls agreed.
"You're...kidding, right?" Li-Sen was thoroughly appalled by the suggestion. "No way am I dancing for you, especially not in this ridiculous excuse for an outfit!"
"DANCE!" Jabba repeated, all patience lost. He yanked her chain, pulling her closer to the throne his massive body was seated upon. "NOW!!!"
Li-Sen stood defiantly from where she'd been knocked from the pull. "I WILL NOT!" she shrieked. She was forced to jump out of the way when a laser bolt came too close to her feet for comfort, though. An obscenely ugly creature across the way laughed and grinned at her.
Jabba let out an awful laugh, as well.
"Let me go!" Li-Sen cried, mad as a nest full of hornets that had been disturbed. "I'm not dancing!" Another laser found itself forcing her to move back.
"Dance!" Jabba insisted. "Now, or we kill your companion!" He seemed to find this extremely funny, although Li-Sen failed to see the humor.
She gasped at his new incentive. "You wouldn't!"
As if to prove her wrong, though, two guards, much like the ones who had dragged her in, came pulling Lando along with them. He apparently didn't like being paraded for the enjoyment of others anymore than Li-Sen did, for the instant they entered the room he began to fight to be let go. "Li!" The guard on his left swung a fist at him, which made him sink to his knees, biting his lip to hold back a cry of pain. "Don't lower yourself on my behalf," he said, looking her right in the eyes. But, she pried her eyes away from sheer embarrassment and he glared up at Jabba. "Go ahead, kill me, you big ugly slug! Just let the lady go!"
Li-Sen's eyes widened, and she jumped up before Jabba had a chance to reply to Lando's proposal. "No let him go. He's only here because of me. Let him go and I'll do whatever you want."
The Hutt gave another loud laugh. "Deal!" he agreed, and pulled her closer by the chain around her neck.
"No!" Lando exclaimed, struggling against the guards.
"Shut up!" the one on his right snapped.
"Exactly! Shut up!" Li-Sen repeated. "I'm handling this!"
He tried to jump up, but the guard swung at his head again, though he ducked in just enough time to make the guard miss.
"You said you'd let him go," Li-Sen said calmly, looking up at Jabba, not frightened.
"Release him," Jabba told the guards, raising one tiny arm almost lazily.
The guards did, and Lando took his chance, running at the huge alien. "LET HER GO!"
"Lando, you idiot!" Li-Sen yelled, grabbing him just before he reached Jabba. She leaned in close to whisper in his ear what little hope they had left. "They let you go. Don't lose that chance. Get out, get to the Falcon, then come back for me. Da-Doxie will be able to get you in."
Lando looked up, saw that she was positive about what she was telling him. "I'll be back," he whispered, nodding. "I promise!" He stood, pulled her to her feet and turned to leave, sending only one look back at her, to show that he meant what he said.
Li-Sen watched the entrance as long as she could before Jabba pulled
sharply at the chain again. "Now dance!" She bit her lip, and
began to dance.
Damien looked up as the Falcon's hatch opened. Ah, Lando Calrissian, just the guy he'd been waiting for. He stood up after glancing down at Vuffi Raa, who had finished checking himself over hours before and had long been planning with Damien a way to infiltrate Jabba's palace and recover Li-Sen and Lando. Damien's violet eyes twinkled as he stepped into the corridor to greet Lando.
Lando promptly balked at the sight of him. I do look slightly odd, Damien mused. Yes, it was perfectly reasonable that Lando have such a reaction, what with his not-quite-human appearance. Damien's ears were furry and blue, shaped like a cat's nestled among his dark blonde hair. He had whiskers, three of them on either side of his face, and a blue fury tail, which was twitching, agitated at not knowing about Li-Sen for so long. This was all, of course, excusing the fact that Lando had never seen him before, didn't know who he was, and could very well think he was someone Jabba had sent to look over the ship.
"Who are you?" Lando asked coldly before Damien had a chance to say anything.
He didn't, however, find answering this to be very important. "Where's Li?"
Lando gave him a dirty look, didn't seem to know what to make of him. He could be a friend...but then, he could be faking. This could all be an elaborate trap set up by Jabba to get him back, probably to use as leverage to get Li-Sen to do whatever he wanted for longer, or just for the sick pleasure of torturing him to the point of death. No, it was better knowing who was on your side than just jumping head first into something. "Who are you?" he repeated, louder.
Damien answered calmly, but he was obviously annoyed. "My name is Damien Kenobi. Li-Sen is my caretaker. Where is she, Lando?"
The gambler still wasn't sure, and came upon a solution to finding out if this "Damien" was really on his side. "Where are Doxie and Vuffi Raa?"
The droid peeked into the hall. "I'm here, Lando," he said.
It wasn't as reassuring as Lando expected it to be, though.
They could have easily reprogrammed him to say that.
Damien was obviously getting angrier as Lando ignored his insistent
question, but Damien was doing the same to him, so they were even.
"Where is Li-Sen?" he asked again.
"Jabba got her," Lando replied grudgingly. "Tell me where Doxie is."
"WHAT?" Damien's eyes became large as he gasped. "Where? Which way?" He grabbed Lando, pulling him into the cockpit, shoving him into the captain's seat. "Take me there!"
The panic seemed sincere, and that was enough to convince Lando. But, one thing was still bothering him. "Where's Doxie?"
Damien rolled his eyes. "I'm Doxie, you idiot!" He placed
Lando's hands over the controls. "Now, do you mind, Li-Sen is in
trouble!"
Li-Sen winced as the giant ugly slug on her right tugged at her chain, trying to pull her closer. She resisted, though, and he gave up after only a few moments.
"Hurry up, Lan," she whispered. She was depending on him.
No sooner than as the thought passed through her mind did Jabba's Twi'lek second-in-command, Bib Fortuna fall in the doorway, out cold.
"Hey, you big slamo!"
A figure stomped in, one Li-Sen recognized immediately. "Damien!"
"Get him!" yelled Jabba, and all the court members spread around the room scrambled to get to the cat-boy. They didn't notice as one snuck towards Li-Sen, shooting the chain and breaking it.
She knew instantly who it was and jumped at Lando, hugging him happily. There wasn't much time, though. Damien had floated to far above the crowd, floated for an instant, but obviously couldn't hold it much longer. Jabba was shouting orders at everyone, not noticing, it seemed, as Lando and Li-Sen ran-or, rather, he dragged her-to the exit.
Lando whistled sharply once before ducking outside. Li-Sen only
had time to see Damien disappear and everyone look around in surprise before
Lando pulled her away completely.
It was a mad dash across the sand to the Millennium Falcon. Li-Sen and Lando jumped inside the hatch, Lando pounded on the button to close it, and they took off. Damien was already inside and barreled down the hall at Li-Sen.
"Oof!" she grunted as he hit her.
"Momma Li!" he exclaimed, burying his head in her stomach.
"Damien, honey, I missed you, too, but you need to let go, please," she murmured, trying to pry his hands loose. He did so and she kissed the top of his head. "Go help Vuffi Raa, okay? I need to talk to Lando."
Damien looked down. "Yes, ma'am," he sighed, and went to the cockpit.
Li-Sen turned to Lando. They looked at each other and it seemed inevitable.
There was only a minute or two of indecision, and then their lips met.
"Thank you," Li-Sen whispered when they broke apart.
"Anytime," he whispered back, kissing her again.
They stood for a few minutes, silent, in each other's arms, until Lando spoke up at last.
"You know, Li…"
"Hm?"
"You should really put something else on…"
She turned red and looked at him with that indignant look he loved so much. She would have said something, but he cut her off with another kiss.
A/n: One more short chapter and then it's done! Eep!
Anyways, slamo means slimeball in...Huttese, I think. I think it was in Episode One...can't be sure, though. Need to watch that and Trilogy again. The trilogy's so much better...
Oh, and I know it's sappy, it's supposed to be that way! *sob* I have retained my title as Queen of Sap! Seriously, though, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.