At point blank range
Part 2: Escape
By SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
02-02-02/06-02
________________
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. Also, everything related to the spoken parts of Heir to the
Empire belongs to Timothy Zhan. I'm only borrowing it to make more sense with
Mara's or Luke's missing thoughts (when we follow Luke's thoughts in the novel,
this story will cover Mara's, and vice versa ;). Naturally, everything related
to events of Heir to the Empire also belong to Timothy Zhan. Please don't sue
me, it's only for fun; I'm not making any money out of this.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of
your precious time, my friend :)
__________________
Back in the main barracks, Mara Jade tossed yet again on her bunk. She tried to
force herself to sleep, she really did, but her mind seemed to be against her
tonight. It simply wouldn't stop thinking about the Jedi who was less than
twenty meters away from her at the moment.
Ever since she had begun her hunt for him, she had never managed to get this
close to him... And now that she was within firing range... she was not
fulfilling her master's last command.
At this thought, a new surge of hatred directed at the Jedi filled her, fully
awakening her; she angrily flung her blanket away and stood up. Just great, she
cursed the far away man; not only was he inhabiting her nightmares too often to
her liking, but now, he was also keeping her awake---
And that was it, she suddenly decided. She was going to finish it once and for
all... then perhaps she'd be able to sleep.
As she put on her leather suit, she thought back to the only other time when she
had had the necessary resources to go after Skywalker.
When she had gotten her mission at Jabba's Palace.
'She knelt before her Emperor, a humble servant waiting for his bidding.
"Rise, my Hand," he told her conversationally. "I have a new mission for you."
"What is thy bidding, Master?" she inquired respectfully
In answer, a huge screen flicked alive beside and behind her master's throne.
On the screen was the picture of a fair-haired, dangerous-looking young man; the
image was accompanied by text. She naturally knew that she had to read it, but
for the first time in her life, she found her gaze lingering just slightly on
the man's features.
She somehow knew that face, her inner self told her, but she couldn't place the
memory. She also reflected that he was handsome---
"You will kill Luke Skywalker," her master suddenly ordered coldly.
She snapped to attention, abandoning her study of the man's blue eyes... so like
her farmboy's, she had finally remembered, but forced those thoughts out of her
mind.
That man would die very soon.
"Do not underestimate him," her master continued, pushing a button on his
throne; the screen changed to be filled only with text.
Luke Skywalker, she read. Rebel Commander... 'typical,' she sneered then read
on.
Jedi in training.
'Not typical.'
Very dangerous and not to be underestimated
She threw a gaze at the Emperor, understood that he believed in the Jedi part.
She read on.
Wanted dead or alive for the following crimes:
- The destruction of the Death Star and the resulting death of more than a
million officers and imperial soldiers.
- The massacre of Vhala.
- The destruction of several Imperial facilities.
- The death of more than a thousand imperial sympathizers on Tihi.
And the list went on.
"This Jedi must die for his crimes, Mara Jade," her master stated with finality.
"He uses the Force to mislead his targets, then strike when they are totally
helpless. He is a very dangerous murderer."
"I understand, Master," she bowed in respect, her eyes hard with determination.
The Jedi fiend wouldn't be breathing for much longer.
"One more thing," her master added coolly, leaning forward in his throne.
She looked back up into his cowl, her gaze fastened where his eyes were.
"Lord Vader must not know about this mission," he informed her with barely
concealed disgust.
Mara frowned slightly at that. The Emperor fist tightened in anger as he
continued to reveal to her what he knew about her new target.
"He and Skywalker faced-off on Bespin; Vader offered him a treacherous
alliance. The Jedi scum escaped him, but there is no telling if he will return
to make this alliance come true or not."
"Will you also eliminate Vader, Master?" she queried seriously, almost
hatefully.
She didn't 'particularly' care about the arrogant Dark Lord of the Sith; he was
powerful, hence useful to her master, but otherwise... he was a constant danger
to monitor.
"No," the old man answered her, leaning back in his deep throne, as he did every
time he had the situation well under control. "Lord Vader sometimes is a fool,
but he is still useful to me. With the Jedi's temptation out of the way, he
will forget his intentions of treason."
"As you wish, Master," she bowed.
"You will wait for Skywalker at Jabba's Palace, on Tatooine. One of his allies
is detained by the Hutt."
"It shall be as you wish, Master. Skywalker will die," she promised him even as
she bowed one last time, then turned around and focus on her upcoming new
success...'
Which had turned out to be one of her worst failures ever.
Even when she had begun to actively serve the Emperor, she had never failed as
miserably as she had on Tatooine. She hadn't been able to influence the fat
slug's mind, then had completely lost track of her target in the Dune Sea.
When she had finally caught up with the sail barge, it had been too late. The
Jedi had already been gone, leaving yet another chaotic destruction in his wake.
Of course, she conceded, the Hutt's gang hadn't been a big loss, but still, they
hadn't been supposed to die. Naturally, the Emperor hadn't been pleased with
her results, but instead of dealing with her right away, he had sent her on a
new mission... then her world had burst into tiny pieces which she had never
been able to stick back together ever since.
Only now was she beginning to recover some of the 'tools' that she had once
enjoyed without any control nor questions asked.
Now armed and dressed, she exited her room and headed for the Jedi's location.
On her way across the courtyard, she admitted to herself that the mere
possibility of being able to leave this place without waiting for money and
public transport meant a lot to her. Especially since she was about to defy
Karrde's orders.
Karrde, she reflected, her swift pace slowing down as doubt crept up in her mind
once again. He had taken her in her organization without much questions, had
always implicitly trusted her, and was now grooming her to be his second-in-
command.
And unlike the Emperor, he didn't order her around; he discussed with her.
He was also offering her a better life than she could have hoped for after the
past miserable five years... Did she want to ruin this, she inquired with
herself? Even for the Emperor? He was dead, and she was alive. Wasn't she
more important in the long run?
And Skywalker...
They had caught him once, if it came to that, she would be able to catch him
again, she reflected, hastening her pace once again. Unless, she thought more
slyly, she tried to arrange for his escape--- then hunted him down and killed
him. Just as she had told him she could do earlier today.
However, would Karrde immediately suspect her? Or would he believe her
explanation of the Jedi's unknown tricks and that she was there at the right
moment?
She continued to debate her question for as long as she hadn't reached the
deserted barrack.
******
That night, Mara wasn't the only one struck with insomnia.
Luke, who had been sleeping for the whole day, also woke after a very light nap,
and didn't go back to sleep. Instead, he turned on the floor lamp of his cell,
then decided to clean up a little.
Anything to take his mind off his predicament, he thought earnestly as he turned
on the cold-water tap and threw water in his face. The shock of the cold water
woke him further, both a bad and a good thing.
On the good side, it cleared his mind and allowed him to recover a more aware
alertness, but on the bad side, his thoughts also began to fill his mind, both
with plans to escape and scenarios of what might happen to him.
Aware of what the scenarios might do to him, he forced them down and focused on
his hopes.
First, he conceded as he took off his tank top to continue his cold ablutions,
he had to consider his options now that he couldn't use the Force. He wasn't
completely helpless without it, but it did give him an edge which he had taken
for granted up to now.
When he failed to find a towel, he returned to his bunk, pulled his old tank top
from its end, then returned to the small sink. At the moment, he reflected
while he gazed at his own grim eyes, it was like when he had been a young,
inexperienced rebel. He hadn't had the Force back then, not consciously at
least, yet he had managed to escape from similar cells.
One good point, he thought seriously, he wasn't bound in any way----
A sudden physical complaint attracted his attention back to his chest. Lifting
his makeshift towel, he didn't notice anything wrong thanks to the near
darkness, but he had been hurt often enough to know that there was something
there. Leaving his sodden shirt behind, he walked closer to the only source of
light and knelt beside it. The moment that he entered the more brightly lit
area around the lamp, he understood was wrong.
His safety straps had indeed done quite a good job of saving his life, he
admitted grimly as he studied the large black and blues which were now adorning
both of his breastbones against which the restraints had been resting. Without
them, he knew that he would have hit his head on the dashboard of his x-wing
thanks to the effect of the imperial tractor beams, but still... He would wear
them more tightly next time, he decided as he gently probed his bruises.
They were tender to the touch, but if he didn't make brusque movements, they
weren't painful at all. Well, he sighed silently, one more thing to consider in
his escape attempts. He then checked himself up, just to double check; he
discovered another bruising against his ribs. He thus understood that it was
what had been barely annoying him for the past hours.
He stood back to his feet and returned to the sink.
There, he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he never noticed that someone was
observing him as he continued to clean himself.
Mara meant to go in the barracks and study the possibilities of the lock when
she caught sight of the barely lit cell.
'The Jedi was not sleeping', she thought even as she carefully crept closer and
closer to the window, expecting to catch him in an escape attempt which would
more than enough justify an injury in the knee, or any other very painful place.
However, she discovered that she was entertaining more naughty thoughts than
their prisoner was.
Skywalker wasn't looking for a way out; instead, he seemed to be settling in,
moving around--- bathing himself, she realized with a start when she finally
identified what he was doing.
She instantly stepped out of the dim light that was coming out of his window,
debating with herself if staying around was a good idea.
Her eyes seemed to decide for her though; they didn't leave the Jedi's mostly
shadow-hidden body. For a long moment, nothing else entered her mind but the
image of the apparently well-built, bare torso man who was taking advantage of
his access to cold water to clean himself up.
Mara couldn't believe what she was seeing.
What kind of murderer and outlaw would care more about his personal hygiene than
saving his life?, she wondered confusedly. Were she in Skywalker's place, she
would be scavenging the place to find a way out. Heck, she conceded that she
would even take her chance with the 'trapped' window. Unless, she reflected
while her eyes traveled up and down the shadowed muscles of his back as he
cleaned it up, he was vain.
Yes, she decided in resurfacing contempt, that was it. The invincible Jedi was
so proud that he wanted to die and be clean. Well, she smirked coldly, she
could grant him that. She remained where she was and waited for him to finish--
- but instead, he removed his boots, undid the sleeves of his flightsuit, which
he had tied around his slim hips, and stepped completely out of his garment,
leaving him in nothing but his thigh-long underwear.
Even though the shadows were keeping her from seeing any details, she felt her
jaw slackened at the sight of the definitely enrapturing Jedi. Too bad he was a
target, she thought dimly while she watched him, dumbstruck.
Were it not for her shock, she conceded that she might have considered being
attracted to him, physically speaking--- then caught her thoughts and berated
herself; it was against the code. She couldn't develop any kind of link to a
target except one of hatred. 'For some reason however,' her mind stated shyly,
'applying that principle to the hated Jedi is more easily said than done.'
As if to prove herself right, the more she watched the young man, the more her
thoughts turned into wild and completely unusual ideas once again---- then her
brain caught up with her.
'Whoa, Jade, what was that about?!' she asked herself in utter shock. 'You are
not going in there except to kill him,' she then sternly reminded herself, 'and
there's no way to make it look like an accident for the moment.'
'Right,' she pouted slightly, then shook herself.
Whatever that Jedi had done to her, she wouldn't give him the chance to sway
her.
As she backed away from the window, cutting off the sight of the oblivious man,
she decided to stay away from him until she had the green light to kill him.
The strange power he was using on her was more powerful than she had first
estimated; no need to take any chances with him, she admitted seriously.
Meanwhile, unaware of his being spied on, Luke continued to scrub his shins
clean. After waking up in the presence of a self-assigned assassin, he had
never expected to be able to freshen himself up.
He dimly wondered if it was Karrde's idea, or Mara's.
Mara Jade, he thought again, his thoughts taking on a new course as the image of
the fiery red-head came back to him. Was it her real name? Or was it due to
her jade eyes?.. he wondered wistfully, then shook himself out of his naive
reverie.
Whatever it was, he sternly reminded himself, the lady was anything but jaded,
and she was more than dedicated to her private calendar with him.
Which once again led to the question of who she was, he reflected as he
straightened up and gazed once again at his shadowy reflection. He knew that he
was responsible for more deaths than he could count, and no matter what the
others thoughts or said, he wasn't proud of those. He didn't regret destroying
the Death Star, nor accomplishing his several missions since he had joined the
Rebel-Alliance-now-turned-New-Republic.
However, he conceded, casting his eyes down as his old pain resurfaced, he felt
ashamed of being responsible for the loss of so many lives. Sure, he had saved
countless more with his actions, but he still wished that he could have helped
to free the galaxy without sacrificing that many souls...
His father's included.
He frowned slightly as a memory of his father came forth in his mind once again;
he wondered why he brought it back to mind right now...
Was he somehow attached to Mara?
Not likely, he thought seriously, dismissing his wild thought. The woman looked
like an ex-dancer, or even a concubine he conceded, but at the same time, he
knew that it wasn't it either. Had it been the case, she wouldn't have
displayed the cold confidence he had seen earlier today.
In fact, he admitted, she had seemed confident enough to mow him down if he had
tried anything against her. Her dark glares had certainly not left any doubts
as to whether she was daring him or not to take a jump at her.
It puzzled him. He knew that several individuals in the galaxy were interested
to test their skills against his to prove themselves strong, or something like
this, but this Mara Jade was different. She was definitely more than she
looked, he decided, then reflexively smiled as a warmer thought entered his
mind.
She was not only cold either; her pained eyes had showed him that she had buried
her heart far under all her resent and hatred, yet he could still feel that it
was there. Like it had been with his father... he then understood.
Like he had done for Anakin, he could help Mara to fight whatever he had done to
her, but hopefully less naively than he had been with his father. After all, he
had to stay alive to do so.
He turned away from his reflection, then began to clean up the little corner
where he had cleaned himself. He didn't have anything else to do anyway.
******
Two days and three nights passed. Luke didn't see anybody but a droid who
brought him food for each day.
The more time passed, and the less he felt very threatened by his captors.
Mara hadn't tried anything behind Karrde's back, nor had he been questioned nor
drilled for information.
It was, he reflected, as if they didn't know what to do with him. Well, he
sighed as he leaned against the side of the window, it could be worse---
As if on cue, his door suddenly opened and in stepped Mara. As it had been the
last time that he had seen her, her weapon was unwaveringly trained on him.
He decided to not pay attention to this, instead trying to establish some kind
of contact with her.
He had had much time to think about her and her secrets, and he had come to the
conclusion that whatever he had done to her, the only way to convince her of his
trustworthiness would be to behave when she was around. Only then would he be
able to perhaps breach through to her and apologize for what he had done to her.
As he gazed at her features, he noticed the same pain in her eyes than when he
had been staring down her blaster's nozzle. Whatever he had done, he thought
sadly, he had truly hurt her more than he had anybody else in his entire life.
He wished he could have saved her this torment.
'She must have been amazing before hatred ate up her soul,' he reflected glumly.
The silence hung a little more heavily between them, then she finally bit out an
order at him even as she motioned with her blaster.
"Karrde's made a decision?" he asked calmly as he obeyed her.
Since he was still gazing in her eyes, he saw a new debate enter her mind... Her
need for revenge was still very vivid, but whatever it was that tempered her won
again.
However, she answered him as sarcastically as ever.
He preceded her out of his cell, then into the strangely deserted courtyard; he
had seen much activity in that same courtyard since he had arrived here.
Belatedly, he understood that Karrde still kept his presence mostly secret.
They finally reached the said sheds, then after a cursory check, Mara left him
alone to his peaceful 'environment'... and perhaps an unplanned possibility to
escape, he discovered a few minutes later.
******
Still furious that she had yet again held the Jedi at point blank range but
hadn't fired even a near miss, Jade remained beside the closed doors to make
sure that the Jedi wouldn't be able to escape.
She heard him rummage around for a while, then nothing.
"Stay cool, Jedi," she spat in disgust even though he couldn't hear her, then
left the storage area.
Her day of recognition hadn't come yet, but it was coming closer, she knew it.
Karrde was beginning to lean closer to the imperial solution than the
Republic's, and she herself had decided that it would be a good compensation for
her not killing the Jedi.
Unless, she thought darkly, she crept aboard whichever ship he would be taken
to, then allowed the imperials to torture him before she herself killed him.
Nobody would know, and she herself would finally be done with her master's last
command.
She would also be free from the Jedi's sickening influence.
Ever since she had spied on his ablutions, she had kept seeing flashbacks of his
enticing body, making her lust for a man like never before. Kreth, she cursed
as she walked toward the main building, she had been having nightmares about him
for years now, had watched all the news about him and had compiled them before
studying them until she estimated that she knew him almost as much as if she had
met him, but she had never, ever felt attracted to him.
Except now.
Thankfully, his wearing his black uniform had woken up enough hatred and anger
in her to keep her from reacting in any way to his close presence during the
transfer from the barracks, but her eyes had still wandered all over his body,
trying to imagine what he would look like in the daylight.
Curse him!, she mentally spat, furious at her nemesis. Just like he had
obviously used an unknown trick to kill the Emperor, he had managed to
spellbound her the same way--- but she wouldn't fall for it, she resolved
adamantly. The ysalamiri were protecting her from his complete brainwash, which
left only one question, which she had already asked herself at least a
thousandth time in less than two days: how could he use his powers here?..
******
Two hours later, she was still pondering that mystery, although with less
intensity. Instead, her full attention was once again riveted on two of her
enemies: Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, friends of the Jedi murderer.
She knew that they weren't here to rescue him, that they would leave without any
mishap, but how she wished she could hurt the Jedi through them. She knew that
they too had fought against her master; further more, both of them had a hand in
the destruction of the last Death Star.
Skywalker had killed the Emperor, but his two friends had destroyed the only
mean for the Empire to not disappear after that. What disgusted her the most,
she reflected as she listened to Karrde's still ongoing conversation with them,
was that like Skywalker did, they acted as if they weren't responsible for the
murder of too many souls to count and the resulting destruction of many more
lives.
In the days of the Empire, those who had been responsible for killings or
justified invasions had been aware of their responsibility for such actions and
they had assumed it.
Not at all like the coward rebel scums.
And to think, she reflected as she slightly shifted her glare away from Solo's
inquisitive glance, that the galaxy didn't see any of this. Instead, they were
caught in the lies of those so-called heroes, believing their stories of good
actions and that they would do their best for the galaxy.
Yeah, right, she thought sourly; 'as if they cared about them'. They only
wanted power, and now that they had it, they didn't do a thing for the
population.
Were she not with Karrde's group, she admitted angrily, she would be after the
Jedi 'and' his friends. With a little more money, she conceded that she would
even be able to make this mission come true. However, she also admitted that
she didn't really want to leave Karrde's organization.
Her work for him was different from her old life... and she found it
challenging.
Suddenly, Karrde's comlink went off; she gazed up just in time to understand
that something bad had just happened. She waited for his confirmation, then
stood up and followed him outside.
"Bad news?" she whispered.
"Bad enough," was his short answer as they entered the close-by control room.
And indeed, the news were not encouraging at all.
Grand admiral Thrawn had just come for a visit.
Ten minutes later, she stepped out of the main building, cursing life with every
expletive she knew.
How dare Karrde patronize her with his righteous 'rules of hospitality'? He
wasn't her father, and she hadn't disobeyed his orders in any way. However, she
might just do it now, she thought angrily as she stomped toward her room.
If that was how Karrde was rewarding her for not giving in to her unbearable
urge to be done with the Jedi, then she would stop resisting it and be done with
him. Even more since there was still the risk that Karrde might just change his
mind thanks to his annoying moral code and return the Jedi to his friends.
She knew that he wasn't convinced about Skywalker's fate. She wouldn't give him
the chance to free the Jedi, she decided as she retrieved the lightsaber from
her room, then took care of her two other assignments.
While she did so however, a growing hesitancy made her doubt that killing
Skywalker would be a wise move.
Her debate went on...---- until she heard a skypray's repulsors whine to life,
then saw the ship lift off.
It didn't take her long to understand what had happened; she was right on
Skywalker's heels. However, unlike the Jedi, she knew the ship; she was
airborn and hot on his tail before the other had managed to kick in the main
engines. She reflexively armed her ship's weapons, brought her thumbs on the
trigger--- then hesitated yet again.
It would be so easy, she reflected as her thumbs sank a little more on the
deadly buttons. Just two well-placed shots in the stern and he would be gone
forever... and her future with Karrde would also be over. Not to mention, she
reflected---- then pulled sharply on her stick when the crazy Jedi almost rammed
into her when he dramatically slowed down.
She was too close to avoid the collision; her ship took off his tail fin even as
his own cut one of her wing--- then they entered the denser foliage of the
forest and she could only protect her head from the incoming impact.
Thirty seconds later, she slammed hard against her restraints as her ship
burrowed itself in the hard ground, then nothing.
******
When her senses returned to her, the first thing she became aware of was the
pain that was coming from her right ankle. Gathering her strength, she pulled
it free from its tight wedge under the dash board, then studied her
surroundings.
They had crashed; Skywalker's ship was just in front of hers, also intact. She
thus surmised that the Jedi had survived the crash. Well, she decided, she
wouldn't let him get away this time. She was moving out of her seat when a
movement caught her attention outside.
Skywalker had picked his way out of the wreckage. For a moment, she glared at
him, wishing to have the Force back to strangle him right there and then, even
if she had never had the ability to do so, then something surprising happened.
He headed toward her ship.
What the?.. she frowned in distrust, then decided to use his curiosity to
recapture him. If he wanted to capture her, she smirked to herself as she
pulled her blaster free, he would have a bad surprise.
She settled in to wait.
Tbc in part 3: Forest Trek
Well, liked it? Had fun? Hope so ;)
2002, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff will be thrown down the
Sarlacc's throat without even being read.)
Part 2: Escape
By SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
02-02-02/06-02
________________
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. Also, everything related to the spoken parts of Heir to the
Empire belongs to Timothy Zhan. I'm only borrowing it to make more sense with
Mara's or Luke's missing thoughts (when we follow Luke's thoughts in the novel,
this story will cover Mara's, and vice versa ;). Naturally, everything related
to events of Heir to the Empire also belong to Timothy Zhan. Please don't sue
me, it's only for fun; I'm not making any money out of this.
See my homepage for more details.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702
Special thanks to my shy, secret beta-reader and best friend, Adrianne, for her
help with the final editing of my new stories. Thanks for giving me some of
your precious time, my friend :)
__________________
Back in the main barracks, Mara Jade tossed yet again on her bunk. She tried to
force herself to sleep, she really did, but her mind seemed to be against her
tonight. It simply wouldn't stop thinking about the Jedi who was less than
twenty meters away from her at the moment.
Ever since she had begun her hunt for him, she had never managed to get this
close to him... And now that she was within firing range... she was not
fulfilling her master's last command.
At this thought, a new surge of hatred directed at the Jedi filled her, fully
awakening her; she angrily flung her blanket away and stood up. Just great, she
cursed the far away man; not only was he inhabiting her nightmares too often to
her liking, but now, he was also keeping her awake---
And that was it, she suddenly decided. She was going to finish it once and for
all... then perhaps she'd be able to sleep.
As she put on her leather suit, she thought back to the only other time when she
had had the necessary resources to go after Skywalker.
When she had gotten her mission at Jabba's Palace.
'She knelt before her Emperor, a humble servant waiting for his bidding.
"Rise, my Hand," he told her conversationally. "I have a new mission for you."
"What is thy bidding, Master?" she inquired respectfully
In answer, a huge screen flicked alive beside and behind her master's throne.
On the screen was the picture of a fair-haired, dangerous-looking young man; the
image was accompanied by text. She naturally knew that she had to read it, but
for the first time in her life, she found her gaze lingering just slightly on
the man's features.
She somehow knew that face, her inner self told her, but she couldn't place the
memory. She also reflected that he was handsome---
"You will kill Luke Skywalker," her master suddenly ordered coldly.
She snapped to attention, abandoning her study of the man's blue eyes... so like
her farmboy's, she had finally remembered, but forced those thoughts out of her
mind.
That man would die very soon.
"Do not underestimate him," her master continued, pushing a button on his
throne; the screen changed to be filled only with text.
Luke Skywalker, she read. Rebel Commander... 'typical,' she sneered then read
on.
Jedi in training.
'Not typical.'
Very dangerous and not to be underestimated
She threw a gaze at the Emperor, understood that he believed in the Jedi part.
She read on.
Wanted dead or alive for the following crimes:
- The destruction of the Death Star and the resulting death of more than a
million officers and imperial soldiers.
- The massacre of Vhala.
- The destruction of several Imperial facilities.
- The death of more than a thousand imperial sympathizers on Tihi.
And the list went on.
"This Jedi must die for his crimes, Mara Jade," her master stated with finality.
"He uses the Force to mislead his targets, then strike when they are totally
helpless. He is a very dangerous murderer."
"I understand, Master," she bowed in respect, her eyes hard with determination.
The Jedi fiend wouldn't be breathing for much longer.
"One more thing," her master added coolly, leaning forward in his throne.
She looked back up into his cowl, her gaze fastened where his eyes were.
"Lord Vader must not know about this mission," he informed her with barely
concealed disgust.
Mara frowned slightly at that. The Emperor fist tightened in anger as he
continued to reveal to her what he knew about her new target.
"He and Skywalker faced-off on Bespin; Vader offered him a treacherous
alliance. The Jedi scum escaped him, but there is no telling if he will return
to make this alliance come true or not."
"Will you also eliminate Vader, Master?" she queried seriously, almost
hatefully.
She didn't 'particularly' care about the arrogant Dark Lord of the Sith; he was
powerful, hence useful to her master, but otherwise... he was a constant danger
to monitor.
"No," the old man answered her, leaning back in his deep throne, as he did every
time he had the situation well under control. "Lord Vader sometimes is a fool,
but he is still useful to me. With the Jedi's temptation out of the way, he
will forget his intentions of treason."
"As you wish, Master," she bowed.
"You will wait for Skywalker at Jabba's Palace, on Tatooine. One of his allies
is detained by the Hutt."
"It shall be as you wish, Master. Skywalker will die," she promised him even as
she bowed one last time, then turned around and focus on her upcoming new
success...'
Which had turned out to be one of her worst failures ever.
Even when she had begun to actively serve the Emperor, she had never failed as
miserably as she had on Tatooine. She hadn't been able to influence the fat
slug's mind, then had completely lost track of her target in the Dune Sea.
When she had finally caught up with the sail barge, it had been too late. The
Jedi had already been gone, leaving yet another chaotic destruction in his wake.
Of course, she conceded, the Hutt's gang hadn't been a big loss, but still, they
hadn't been supposed to die. Naturally, the Emperor hadn't been pleased with
her results, but instead of dealing with her right away, he had sent her on a
new mission... then her world had burst into tiny pieces which she had never
been able to stick back together ever since.
Only now was she beginning to recover some of the 'tools' that she had once
enjoyed without any control nor questions asked.
Now armed and dressed, she exited her room and headed for the Jedi's location.
On her way across the courtyard, she admitted to herself that the mere
possibility of being able to leave this place without waiting for money and
public transport meant a lot to her. Especially since she was about to defy
Karrde's orders.
Karrde, she reflected, her swift pace slowing down as doubt crept up in her mind
once again. He had taken her in her organization without much questions, had
always implicitly trusted her, and was now grooming her to be his second-in-
command.
And unlike the Emperor, he didn't order her around; he discussed with her.
He was also offering her a better life than she could have hoped for after the
past miserable five years... Did she want to ruin this, she inquired with
herself? Even for the Emperor? He was dead, and she was alive. Wasn't she
more important in the long run?
And Skywalker...
They had caught him once, if it came to that, she would be able to catch him
again, she reflected, hastening her pace once again. Unless, she thought more
slyly, she tried to arrange for his escape--- then hunted him down and killed
him. Just as she had told him she could do earlier today.
However, would Karrde immediately suspect her? Or would he believe her
explanation of the Jedi's unknown tricks and that she was there at the right
moment?
She continued to debate her question for as long as she hadn't reached the
deserted barrack.
******
That night, Mara wasn't the only one struck with insomnia.
Luke, who had been sleeping for the whole day, also woke after a very light nap,
and didn't go back to sleep. Instead, he turned on the floor lamp of his cell,
then decided to clean up a little.
Anything to take his mind off his predicament, he thought earnestly as he turned
on the cold-water tap and threw water in his face. The shock of the cold water
woke him further, both a bad and a good thing.
On the good side, it cleared his mind and allowed him to recover a more aware
alertness, but on the bad side, his thoughts also began to fill his mind, both
with plans to escape and scenarios of what might happen to him.
Aware of what the scenarios might do to him, he forced them down and focused on
his hopes.
First, he conceded as he took off his tank top to continue his cold ablutions,
he had to consider his options now that he couldn't use the Force. He wasn't
completely helpless without it, but it did give him an edge which he had taken
for granted up to now.
When he failed to find a towel, he returned to his bunk, pulled his old tank top
from its end, then returned to the small sink. At the moment, he reflected
while he gazed at his own grim eyes, it was like when he had been a young,
inexperienced rebel. He hadn't had the Force back then, not consciously at
least, yet he had managed to escape from similar cells.
One good point, he thought seriously, he wasn't bound in any way----
A sudden physical complaint attracted his attention back to his chest. Lifting
his makeshift towel, he didn't notice anything wrong thanks to the near
darkness, but he had been hurt often enough to know that there was something
there. Leaving his sodden shirt behind, he walked closer to the only source of
light and knelt beside it. The moment that he entered the more brightly lit
area around the lamp, he understood was wrong.
His safety straps had indeed done quite a good job of saving his life, he
admitted grimly as he studied the large black and blues which were now adorning
both of his breastbones against which the restraints had been resting. Without
them, he knew that he would have hit his head on the dashboard of his x-wing
thanks to the effect of the imperial tractor beams, but still... He would wear
them more tightly next time, he decided as he gently probed his bruises.
They were tender to the touch, but if he didn't make brusque movements, they
weren't painful at all. Well, he sighed silently, one more thing to consider in
his escape attempts. He then checked himself up, just to double check; he
discovered another bruising against his ribs. He thus understood that it was
what had been barely annoying him for the past hours.
He stood back to his feet and returned to the sink.
There, he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he never noticed that someone was
observing him as he continued to clean himself.
Mara meant to go in the barracks and study the possibilities of the lock when
she caught sight of the barely lit cell.
'The Jedi was not sleeping', she thought even as she carefully crept closer and
closer to the window, expecting to catch him in an escape attempt which would
more than enough justify an injury in the knee, or any other very painful place.
However, she discovered that she was entertaining more naughty thoughts than
their prisoner was.
Skywalker wasn't looking for a way out; instead, he seemed to be settling in,
moving around--- bathing himself, she realized with a start when she finally
identified what he was doing.
She instantly stepped out of the dim light that was coming out of his window,
debating with herself if staying around was a good idea.
Her eyes seemed to decide for her though; they didn't leave the Jedi's mostly
shadow-hidden body. For a long moment, nothing else entered her mind but the
image of the apparently well-built, bare torso man who was taking advantage of
his access to cold water to clean himself up.
Mara couldn't believe what she was seeing.
What kind of murderer and outlaw would care more about his personal hygiene than
saving his life?, she wondered confusedly. Were she in Skywalker's place, she
would be scavenging the place to find a way out. Heck, she conceded that she
would even take her chance with the 'trapped' window. Unless, she reflected
while her eyes traveled up and down the shadowed muscles of his back as he
cleaned it up, he was vain.
Yes, she decided in resurfacing contempt, that was it. The invincible Jedi was
so proud that he wanted to die and be clean. Well, she smirked coldly, she
could grant him that. She remained where she was and waited for him to finish--
- but instead, he removed his boots, undid the sleeves of his flightsuit, which
he had tied around his slim hips, and stepped completely out of his garment,
leaving him in nothing but his thigh-long underwear.
Even though the shadows were keeping her from seeing any details, she felt her
jaw slackened at the sight of the definitely enrapturing Jedi. Too bad he was a
target, she thought dimly while she watched him, dumbstruck.
Were it not for her shock, she conceded that she might have considered being
attracted to him, physically speaking--- then caught her thoughts and berated
herself; it was against the code. She couldn't develop any kind of link to a
target except one of hatred. 'For some reason however,' her mind stated shyly,
'applying that principle to the hated Jedi is more easily said than done.'
As if to prove herself right, the more she watched the young man, the more her
thoughts turned into wild and completely unusual ideas once again---- then her
brain caught up with her.
'Whoa, Jade, what was that about?!' she asked herself in utter shock. 'You are
not going in there except to kill him,' she then sternly reminded herself, 'and
there's no way to make it look like an accident for the moment.'
'Right,' she pouted slightly, then shook herself.
Whatever that Jedi had done to her, she wouldn't give him the chance to sway
her.
As she backed away from the window, cutting off the sight of the oblivious man,
she decided to stay away from him until she had the green light to kill him.
The strange power he was using on her was more powerful than she had first
estimated; no need to take any chances with him, she admitted seriously.
Meanwhile, unaware of his being spied on, Luke continued to scrub his shins
clean. After waking up in the presence of a self-assigned assassin, he had
never expected to be able to freshen himself up.
He dimly wondered if it was Karrde's idea, or Mara's.
Mara Jade, he thought again, his thoughts taking on a new course as the image of
the fiery red-head came back to him. Was it her real name? Or was it due to
her jade eyes?.. he wondered wistfully, then shook himself out of his naive
reverie.
Whatever it was, he sternly reminded himself, the lady was anything but jaded,
and she was more than dedicated to her private calendar with him.
Which once again led to the question of who she was, he reflected as he
straightened up and gazed once again at his shadowy reflection. He knew that he
was responsible for more deaths than he could count, and no matter what the
others thoughts or said, he wasn't proud of those. He didn't regret destroying
the Death Star, nor accomplishing his several missions since he had joined the
Rebel-Alliance-now-turned-New-Republic.
However, he conceded, casting his eyes down as his old pain resurfaced, he felt
ashamed of being responsible for the loss of so many lives. Sure, he had saved
countless more with his actions, but he still wished that he could have helped
to free the galaxy without sacrificing that many souls...
His father's included.
He frowned slightly as a memory of his father came forth in his mind once again;
he wondered why he brought it back to mind right now...
Was he somehow attached to Mara?
Not likely, he thought seriously, dismissing his wild thought. The woman looked
like an ex-dancer, or even a concubine he conceded, but at the same time, he
knew that it wasn't it either. Had it been the case, she wouldn't have
displayed the cold confidence he had seen earlier today.
In fact, he admitted, she had seemed confident enough to mow him down if he had
tried anything against her. Her dark glares had certainly not left any doubts
as to whether she was daring him or not to take a jump at her.
It puzzled him. He knew that several individuals in the galaxy were interested
to test their skills against his to prove themselves strong, or something like
this, but this Mara Jade was different. She was definitely more than she
looked, he decided, then reflexively smiled as a warmer thought entered his
mind.
She was not only cold either; her pained eyes had showed him that she had buried
her heart far under all her resent and hatred, yet he could still feel that it
was there. Like it had been with his father... he then understood.
Like he had done for Anakin, he could help Mara to fight whatever he had done to
her, but hopefully less naively than he had been with his father. After all, he
had to stay alive to do so.
He turned away from his reflection, then began to clean up the little corner
where he had cleaned himself. He didn't have anything else to do anyway.
******
Two days and three nights passed. Luke didn't see anybody but a droid who
brought him food for each day.
The more time passed, and the less he felt very threatened by his captors.
Mara hadn't tried anything behind Karrde's back, nor had he been questioned nor
drilled for information.
It was, he reflected, as if they didn't know what to do with him. Well, he
sighed as he leaned against the side of the window, it could be worse---
As if on cue, his door suddenly opened and in stepped Mara. As it had been the
last time that he had seen her, her weapon was unwaveringly trained on him.
He decided to not pay attention to this, instead trying to establish some kind
of contact with her.
He had had much time to think about her and her secrets, and he had come to the
conclusion that whatever he had done to her, the only way to convince her of his
trustworthiness would be to behave when she was around. Only then would he be
able to perhaps breach through to her and apologize for what he had done to her.
As he gazed at her features, he noticed the same pain in her eyes than when he
had been staring down her blaster's nozzle. Whatever he had done, he thought
sadly, he had truly hurt her more than he had anybody else in his entire life.
He wished he could have saved her this torment.
'She must have been amazing before hatred ate up her soul,' he reflected glumly.
The silence hung a little more heavily between them, then she finally bit out an
order at him even as she motioned with her blaster.
"Karrde's made a decision?" he asked calmly as he obeyed her.
Since he was still gazing in her eyes, he saw a new debate enter her mind... Her
need for revenge was still very vivid, but whatever it was that tempered her won
again.
However, she answered him as sarcastically as ever.
He preceded her out of his cell, then into the strangely deserted courtyard; he
had seen much activity in that same courtyard since he had arrived here.
Belatedly, he understood that Karrde still kept his presence mostly secret.
They finally reached the said sheds, then after a cursory check, Mara left him
alone to his peaceful 'environment'... and perhaps an unplanned possibility to
escape, he discovered a few minutes later.
******
Still furious that she had yet again held the Jedi at point blank range but
hadn't fired even a near miss, Jade remained beside the closed doors to make
sure that the Jedi wouldn't be able to escape.
She heard him rummage around for a while, then nothing.
"Stay cool, Jedi," she spat in disgust even though he couldn't hear her, then
left the storage area.
Her day of recognition hadn't come yet, but it was coming closer, she knew it.
Karrde was beginning to lean closer to the imperial solution than the
Republic's, and she herself had decided that it would be a good compensation for
her not killing the Jedi.
Unless, she thought darkly, she crept aboard whichever ship he would be taken
to, then allowed the imperials to torture him before she herself killed him.
Nobody would know, and she herself would finally be done with her master's last
command.
She would also be free from the Jedi's sickening influence.
Ever since she had spied on his ablutions, she had kept seeing flashbacks of his
enticing body, making her lust for a man like never before. Kreth, she cursed
as she walked toward the main building, she had been having nightmares about him
for years now, had watched all the news about him and had compiled them before
studying them until she estimated that she knew him almost as much as if she had
met him, but she had never, ever felt attracted to him.
Except now.
Thankfully, his wearing his black uniform had woken up enough hatred and anger
in her to keep her from reacting in any way to his close presence during the
transfer from the barracks, but her eyes had still wandered all over his body,
trying to imagine what he would look like in the daylight.
Curse him!, she mentally spat, furious at her nemesis. Just like he had
obviously used an unknown trick to kill the Emperor, he had managed to
spellbound her the same way--- but she wouldn't fall for it, she resolved
adamantly. The ysalamiri were protecting her from his complete brainwash, which
left only one question, which she had already asked herself at least a
thousandth time in less than two days: how could he use his powers here?..
******
Two hours later, she was still pondering that mystery, although with less
intensity. Instead, her full attention was once again riveted on two of her
enemies: Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, friends of the Jedi murderer.
She knew that they weren't here to rescue him, that they would leave without any
mishap, but how she wished she could hurt the Jedi through them. She knew that
they too had fought against her master; further more, both of them had a hand in
the destruction of the last Death Star.
Skywalker had killed the Emperor, but his two friends had destroyed the only
mean for the Empire to not disappear after that. What disgusted her the most,
she reflected as she listened to Karrde's still ongoing conversation with them,
was that like Skywalker did, they acted as if they weren't responsible for the
murder of too many souls to count and the resulting destruction of many more
lives.
In the days of the Empire, those who had been responsible for killings or
justified invasions had been aware of their responsibility for such actions and
they had assumed it.
Not at all like the coward rebel scums.
And to think, she reflected as she slightly shifted her glare away from Solo's
inquisitive glance, that the galaxy didn't see any of this. Instead, they were
caught in the lies of those so-called heroes, believing their stories of good
actions and that they would do their best for the galaxy.
Yeah, right, she thought sourly; 'as if they cared about them'. They only
wanted power, and now that they had it, they didn't do a thing for the
population.
Were she not with Karrde's group, she admitted angrily, she would be after the
Jedi 'and' his friends. With a little more money, she conceded that she would
even be able to make this mission come true. However, she also admitted that
she didn't really want to leave Karrde's organization.
Her work for him was different from her old life... and she found it
challenging.
Suddenly, Karrde's comlink went off; she gazed up just in time to understand
that something bad had just happened. She waited for his confirmation, then
stood up and followed him outside.
"Bad news?" she whispered.
"Bad enough," was his short answer as they entered the close-by control room.
And indeed, the news were not encouraging at all.
Grand admiral Thrawn had just come for a visit.
Ten minutes later, she stepped out of the main building, cursing life with every
expletive she knew.
How dare Karrde patronize her with his righteous 'rules of hospitality'? He
wasn't her father, and she hadn't disobeyed his orders in any way. However, she
might just do it now, she thought angrily as she stomped toward her room.
If that was how Karrde was rewarding her for not giving in to her unbearable
urge to be done with the Jedi, then she would stop resisting it and be done with
him. Even more since there was still the risk that Karrde might just change his
mind thanks to his annoying moral code and return the Jedi to his friends.
She knew that he wasn't convinced about Skywalker's fate. She wouldn't give him
the chance to free the Jedi, she decided as she retrieved the lightsaber from
her room, then took care of her two other assignments.
While she did so however, a growing hesitancy made her doubt that killing
Skywalker would be a wise move.
Her debate went on...---- until she heard a skypray's repulsors whine to life,
then saw the ship lift off.
It didn't take her long to understand what had happened; she was right on
Skywalker's heels. However, unlike the Jedi, she knew the ship; she was
airborn and hot on his tail before the other had managed to kick in the main
engines. She reflexively armed her ship's weapons, brought her thumbs on the
trigger--- then hesitated yet again.
It would be so easy, she reflected as her thumbs sank a little more on the
deadly buttons. Just two well-placed shots in the stern and he would be gone
forever... and her future with Karrde would also be over. Not to mention, she
reflected---- then pulled sharply on her stick when the crazy Jedi almost rammed
into her when he dramatically slowed down.
She was too close to avoid the collision; her ship took off his tail fin even as
his own cut one of her wing--- then they entered the denser foliage of the
forest and she could only protect her head from the incoming impact.
Thirty seconds later, she slammed hard against her restraints as her ship
burrowed itself in the hard ground, then nothing.
******
When her senses returned to her, the first thing she became aware of was the
pain that was coming from her right ankle. Gathering her strength, she pulled
it free from its tight wedge under the dash board, then studied her
surroundings.
They had crashed; Skywalker's ship was just in front of hers, also intact. She
thus surmised that the Jedi had survived the crash. Well, she decided, she
wouldn't let him get away this time. She was moving out of her seat when a
movement caught her attention outside.
Skywalker had picked his way out of the wreckage. For a moment, she glared at
him, wishing to have the Force back to strangle him right there and then, even
if she had never had the ability to do so, then something surprising happened.
He headed toward her ship.
What the?.. she frowned in distrust, then decided to use his curiosity to
recapture him. If he wanted to capture her, she smirked to herself as she
pulled her blaster free, he would have a bad surprise.
She settled in to wait.
Tbc in part 3: Forest Trek
Well, liked it? Had fun? Hope so ;)
2002, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff will be thrown down the
Sarlacc's throat without even being read.)