The Death of the Emperor's Hand
Part 1: Pondering the past
SJ 5-11-99/13 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
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Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. Also, everything related to the spoken parts of The Last
Command belongs to Timothy Zhan. I'm only borrowing it to make more sense with
Mara's or Luke's missing thoughts (sometimes, when we follow Luke's thoughts in
the novel, this story will cover Mara's, and vice versa ;). Naturally,
everything related to events of Last Command also belong to Timothy Zhan. On
equal terms, parts of the audio drama of Return of the Jedi belong to Brian
Daley, and parts of By the Emperor's Hand belong to Mrs Zhan and Stackpole.
Finally, everything related to the events of Return of the Jedi naturally
belongs to Mr. Lucas himself :) Please don't sue me, it's only for fun; I'm not
making any money out of this. See my home page for more details.
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702
Special thanks to Adrianne for her help with beta-reading. Thank you for
giving me some of your precious time, my friend; I appreciate.
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Place in time: The Last Command, in transit to Wayland, aboard the Millenium
Falcon.
After spending nearly three days in close quarters with Skywalker 'and' his
friends, Mara's nerves were frayed and her temper was practically non-existent.
While the company of Skywalker alone had been somewhat tolerable during their
transit aboard her skypray, it was quite another matter aboard a ship as big as
Solo's Millenium Falcon.
Instead of keeping to themselves and focusing on the upcoming mission or
resting, her unwanted companions were constantly talking, teasing, and trying to
draw her into their conversations.
Especially that Calrissian character.
If not for Skywalker's constant presence somewhere nearby, she conceded that she
would have already throttled the man for even looking at her the way he did.
Since the Jedi had assured her that he had kept her true past secret, she
suspected that the dark-skinned man didn't know that she could kill him before
he could blink again.
However, he knew 'enough' about her to understand the meaning of her heated
glares whenever he tried to approach her.
Still, she seethed as she stomped from the once again Wookiee-crowded cockpit to
her cabin, if not for Skywalker's bright plan, she wouldn't have to bear with
all this.
As she rounded the corner, she almost collided with the young man, but before
she could shove him back into the bulkhead because he was in her way, or to
simply vent her frustration on him, he hastily stepped back and closer to the
solid wall, clearing the corridor for her.
"Sorry, Mara, I hadn't heard you" he apologized earnestly.
Darn kind Jedi, she glared at him as she strode past him and toward her assigned
quarters.
Were he not so caring, she raged inwardly, she would at least have an excuse to
vent some of her pent up anger on him. But no, she growled, her temper and
patience reaching their limit, he had to constantly keep her on her toes to ward
off his attacks of kindness and not let them influence her anymore than they
already did.
Couldn't he be just a little more like his Solo friend? Or even that pest of
Calrissian and show some ego?.. But no, she admitted reluctantly, that wouldn't
be Skywalker... selfless, enraging Skywalker who had saved the life of his self-
assigned assassin, then helped her rescue her boss before saving her life yet
again to even the balance.
She reached her quarters and sealed herself in, pointedly ignoring the questions
of the golden droid they called Threepio.
Now there was something else she would take potshots at, she admitted in
frustration. Ever since he had met her 'again', the talkative droid hadn't
missed one opportunity to talk with her, and his prissy voice... He didn't
remember her, but she did and just like when she had talked to him for the first
time, she could barely bear up with it.
The machine was simply more annoying than Skywalker's earnestness!
Taking a deep breath to calm down and recover her composure, she plopped down on
her cot, then laid down on it, crossing her hands behind her head as she gazed
at the gray ceiling of hers... and Skywalker's quarters.
Due to space limitations, she had to share the sleeping space with the man...
again. However, she had yet to 'really' share the quarters with her. As far as
she knew, he hadn't been even once in 'his' quarters since she had come aboard.
Yet another element to unwillingly add on her pad of 'good' qualities in the
man. So far, she hadn't added much on the negative side, and even those she had
compiled were now being erased one by one as she discovered how misguided she
had been about the man...
Misguided... Lied to...
"YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!" the Emperor's voice resounded yet again in her
mind. "YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!"
"Not yet," she muttered after having crushed the reflexive hatred that
followed the repetition of her master's last command. "And not like this."
Besides, one of the first thing to do to obey her order would be to 'find' the
motivation to kill the nice man who was Skywalker. The Jedi was not the man she
had been led to believe; she also knew that she had been lied about him.
In fact, she reflected, had she not been so blindly devoted to the Emperor at
Jabba's palace, she would have recognized the strange, unusual characteristics
for what they were. Unfortunately, she had been utterly focused on her
mission...
******
******
Five years earlier:
Hidden in the shadows of Jabba's main throne room, Mara Jade arranged yet again
her revealing outfit to reveal as little as possible.
Skywalker had better get here soon, she thought in frustration, or she'd start
killing ogling men and scums before the end of the day. He was already two days
late, and she'd yet to detect any unusual activity in the palace. However, she
had noticed that she seemed to be the only one who knew that something was going
to happen.
Of course, she sneered inwardly, lowly scums like them were so self-assured that
nothing nor nobody would get through their defenses that they didn't bother
about worrying... Little did they know that they would be a piece of cake for a
Jedi killer.
Especially one like the man she was after.
Her assignment was to kill the Jedi, yes, but by doing so, she was aware that
she would also protect that filthy Hutt...
She didn't particularly care about the sluggish monster, but, she reminded
herself, it was her Master's will.
She could not question it.
Now that Jabba was done with his visitor, music start anew; Mara joined the
other dancers on the floor and followed their lead as she waited for her real
mission to begin.
In the meantime though, she also allowed herself to enjoy this new dancing
session while keeping her guards up, ready to react to any signal of danger.
None came.
******
Her group had now retired to the alcoves which were adjoining to the 'throne'
room. As usual, most girls were flirting with the scums, hoping to make money on
the side to add to what Jabba paid them for exhibiting their dancing skills.
Mara for her part chose to keep an eye on the main room, as if waiting for a cue
to dance again.
As she stood in the shadows, she once again reviewed the information she had
received about her target.
Skywalker had come out of nowhere about three years ago and had quickly
established himself as a figurehead in the Rebellion. Nobody knew where he had
trained as a Jedi, nor when. He had no known family, but he had close friends.
The closest one was the Alderaanian renegade, Princess Leia Organa; there were
even rumors of them being together.
Still, she reflected meannly, considering who was frozen and hanging on the wall
of Jabba's palace, as well as the circumstances in which the smuggler had ended
up like this, she estimated that the princess had found somebody else to amuse
herself with for the moment...
She continued her professional analysis.
The Jedi's other close friend was the pirate Han Solo, who was now property of
Jabba the Hutt.
She paused once again on this element, this time to ponder what had interested
the Jedi in such an individual. She supposed that the 'hero' was using the pilot
for his own purposes, as was probably the case from Solo's part. Two outlaws,
she sneered in disgust; they were undoubtedly liable to exploit each other, but
not enough to destroy each other, although Solo was as good as dead in his
current situation.
The Jedi, on the other hand, was very much alive and dangerous. Like every
other Jedi before him, he was wanted dead by her Master for the killing of
countless innocent citizens, this time on Diorina. There, he had killed in cold
blood after destroying their defenses and communications. The rebels under his
command had then been ruthless, now showing any mercy to the innocents. Even
more cruel, her Master had confirmed that the young killer himself had taken
part to the operation and had used his lethal skills to confuse the poor
innocent peoples...
Even Lord Vader wasn't that cruel!, she mentally exploded in outrage. Had she
known about the young killer before, she would have taken care of him even
without any order from her master. Him and his friends in fact. She didn't
know if the princess had taken part to the operation or not, but since she was
never far from him, she assumed that she had, as had the smuggler.
The woman was an idiot, she spat in disgust, wasting intelligence and talents in
a lost cause with a crazy, and soon to be dead, Jedi. As she remembered the
holo she had seen, she felt her eyes narrow in hatred. He'd looked so arrogant,
so mean and dangerous on the holo she'd seen of him... He'd pay for his crimes,
she promised herself. He would die like all the other Jedi killer who had
existed before him.
Considering the past carnage of the Jedi Order, she admitted that it was more
than understandable that her master had eradicated the whole order; any Jedi
alive represented a danger for the society.
However, she paused briefly, there was something strange about this latest Jedi.
On the opposite of his dark file, he had the reputation to be noble, an example
of heroism and self-sacrifice, and he was well-loved by the rebel-affiliated
worlds... at least, if she could believe what she'd heard in this den of
thieves.
Still, she frowned doubtfully, even her Master couldn't claim that much. In
fact, she had never, ever heard any such rumors about either her master, Lord
Vader, or any of the superior officers of the Empire even though they were all
working together to insure peace and order in the galaxy.
And yet, according to what she had heard from drunken smugglers, the rebel
'heroes' had a reputation which... well, contradicted what she had been told so
far by her master.
Anyway, she shook her head to clear it from such confusion, this was just a
curiosity she'd have to sort out later, after her mission had been fulfilled.
Calling up yet another memory of the Jedi's features, she admitted to herself
that it was a shame that she had to kill him instead of bringing him in; he did
look kind of attractive... somehow. He wasn't as cute as the Tatooine farmboy
she'd met and left years ago, but his blue eyes had been nice to look at...
until she'd read the rest of his file. And yet...
Thinking about the farmboy, she wondered if she should make a stop by his farm
or not. She could bring him with herself this time, she reflected seriously
while weighing the fors and againsts of this decision.
After a minute of pondering, she decided that now was not the time to think
about him.
She had to focus on her target.
She was moving to change her angle of observation when two droids slowly entered
the throne room, following Bib Fortuna toward the middle of the room. Mara
tracked them with her green eyes, feeling that this was something she had been
waiting for. A signal perhaps.
As she studied the new comers, she noticed that the squat one seemed quite
comfortable with the situation while the spindly one looked nervous. She dimly
wondered how that kind of reaction could be possible with any droid, then
dismissed her strange perceptions as her own delusions.
Robots didn't feel any emotions; they just obeyed programs, and those two had a
message to deliver for Jabba the Hutt.
Less than a second before the holographic projection materialized, she knew it
would be 'him'.
Unfortunately, she could only see his back profile and left side from where she
was standing. He was dressed in blacks, and his lightsaber was dangling at his
hip but she couldn't see his face. She could imagine it though: hard, cold,
dangerous.
As the Jedi spoke reverently, subserviently, she tried to edge her way toward a
better point of view to study him. After a few tries, she conceded defeat to
not betray her cover and settled in to analyze his voice and body language. As
he continued to try and soothe the crimelord, she herself saw through his game.
His good manners and deference were just a trick to make the other lower his
defenses. The message ended and the droids made a show of being afraid to be
left in Jabba's possession.
That she conceded as she followed them with her eyes, was either some type of
program she hadn't even know existed... or else the droids were somehow really
afraid of being left in Jabba's ownership.
Something was wrong there, she frowned to herself as she finally turned away
from the now empty doorway... For the second time in her whole career as top
agent for the Emperor, she simply couldn't say what it was.
And it was once again taking place on Tatooine.
Next time she would be given a mission on this planet, she decided that she
would remember the effect of the planet on her...
Or was it her farmboy?, she wondered, throwing an hopeful gaze out the far slit
which allowed sun to stream in the otherwise darkened chamber.
New music began and her group was called on the job again. She put on a smile
and danced along with the others.
Right, she scolded herself for her slip of composure and focus, time to work
again.
Unlike the previous dance, this one stretched over a good forty minutes before
somebody else replaced her group.
While she caught her breath, Mara watched the alien woman as she swayed and
pirouetted to the beat of the raucous music. Jabba had cleared the floor to
give Oola, his pet dancer, all the room she needed to perform her supple
exercises.
Meanwhile, the music band was playing one song after another, the two singers
giving everything they had, and what they hadn't, in the lyrics. All in all, it
was more noise than real music, but that was far from Mara's preoccupations at
the moment.
While she was in excellent shape, that latest spin on the dancing floor had been
just a little more than what she should normally indulge into just before having
to fight a Jedi. Even after fifteen minutes of break, her knees were still a
little wobbly and she was very thirsty.
As she watched the limber female perform yet another acrobatic, she admitted
that she was very talented. She dimly hoped for her that the rumors about Jabba
and his pet dancers weren't true, then pursed her lips in resignation.
Considering the behavior of the court, she could only deduce that the rumors
were true. In fact, it was a miracle that she had managed to keep them at bay
for as long as she had without blowing her cover.
Without warning, she found herself pushed against the nearby wall; she whirled
around to threaten whoever had dared touched her.
"Hey!" she called vehemently... to Skywalker's droid. "Watch where you're
stepping," she whined superficially, changing tactics and instead playing the
indignant beauty.
The droid apologized profusely before he engaged in an explanation that he
wasn't used to such places.
AS she studied him from a closer point of view, she decided that he looked
absolutely out of place in such a violent and rough place... and that he did
seem to have a personality of his own. He was the nervous, insecure type.
While she continued to talk with him, her brain worked on a way to use this
unusual characteristic to find out about her target's plans. She tried the
curious, trusting approach.
"You used to belong to someone named Skywalker?" she inquired as kindly as she
could.
The robot plunged right in her trap.
"Indeed, and I'm sure there's been a grave mistake. Master Luke would never
abandon me to this den of thieves... at least, I hope not."
"So you really think Skywalker will come for you?" she prompted the stupid
machine.
Before he could answer her though, Oola began to fight against Jabba; the
defiant dancer attracted a lot of attention. Scums, who had been lounging in
the darkened alcoves, came closer; Mara took it as her cue to disappear
somewhere else.
From a previous experience, she knew that Rancor feeding always excited them,
which then led the dancers to have their hands full with them afterward.
Right now, she thought grimly, she had other, more important things to do than
to play with those men.
Her target was coming.
She'd barely left her spot when blaster fire was heard from the main corridor.
Before she could even reach out with the Force and check who was there, a small
bounty hunter walked in--- with a tall Wookiee in chains. The impossibility of
the situation instantly struck her and she froze on the spot. She watched as
the hairy alien strained against the bounty hunter's hold, but was held in
check. He subsided.
Mara frowned further... Where was the Wook's strength?, she wondered even as she
analyzed the unlikely captor of the giant. The Wookiees were known for their
strength and untamable natures. Either that little guy had more up his sleeve
than it seemed, or else he was in with the Wook, she decided as she edged closer
to the front rows of the gathered crowd.
Meanwhile, Jabba recognized the creature by his name; it was Solo's co-pilot.
Which meant that whoever that Boussh was, he was a friend of his, she decided,
her narrowed eyes now focused on the petite figure by the Wookiee's side. The
guy might even be Skywalker himself, she decided but wasn't that convinced
either. She had read that the Jedi was 5' 5''. He couldn't be 5 foot all of a
sudden, could he?
She reached out with the Force and searched for Force uses. She came up dry.
She truly didn't feel anything, not even when the 'bounty hunter' pulled out a
thermal detonator from his hides. Perhaps he was a new player in the gang, she
shrugged as she studied her options. One thing was sure ; this little guy was
part of Skywalker's group. She could feel it.
Meanwhile, Jabba settled the detonator/bartering problem with the new comer and
the situation returned to normal as the Wookiee was led away. Since she kept an
eye on the guy after he discharged his prisoner, she noticed that he kept an eye
on Boba Fett.
She made a note to find out if Fett also suspected something about that 'Boussh'
character.
Throughout the rest of the evening, she kept her eye on the small guy, even
while she danced yet again. He himself never budged from his position near the
doorway, nor did he indulge in any pleasure that was offered to him.
On the other side of the room, Boba Fett also remained where he was, not loosing
the other from sight.
Aware that more was going on than what appeared on the surface, Mara decided to
lay low and wait for more events to unfold before making her move on her very
possible target.
******
Hours later, the evening merged into the night, and the revelry finally came to
an end. All night, Mara had stepped onto the dancing floor whenever a man had
come too close to her, dancing until the guy would get tired of chasing her and
go for an easier prey.
It had been too easy.
Now, however, she could feel that the fun, and serious business, was about to
start. Something was about to happen and the throne room was were one had to be
to see it. Her professional intuition was telling her that it had something to
do with that Boussh character and Solo.
Well aware that seeing a dancer among the ruffians would arouse suspicions, she
discreetly made her way back up on the main level, then headed for the main
throne room. On the way there, she surreptitiously plucked a blaster from a
sleeping thug.
Moving like a shadow, she then disappeared down a sideway corridor, entered the
deserted backstage and sneaked up to the drawn curtains.
She was less than three meters away from the frozen form of the space pirate, an
excellent spot from which she would have a straight line of fire to kill her
target there and then.
She was just in time; the bounty hunter called Boussh was already there and
approaching the frozen form of 'Captain' Solo.
Her feelings had been right, she smirked grimly as she watched the other free
the half-dead man. While the small guy strained against a semi-conscious Solo,
she herself checked her blaster and set it on its highest setting for kill. She
then aimed slowly, preparing to shoot her target----
And froze.
Had he said?: "someone who loves you?!", she gaped in shock.
As if to answer her, Boussh removed his helmet... revealing the features of
Princess Leia.
Cursing herself for her naivete, Mara lowered her aim.
Princess Leia, she scorned in disgust. Of course she should've known that it
would be her in that short a costume with a big Wookiee in tow. Besides, who
else would come after Solo than his temporary lover?, she reasoned with herself,
mentally whipping herself for almost blowing her cover for such an insignificant
woman.
As she watched the other kiss Solo as if they would never end, she sneered at
the thought that the other was pretending to like the pirate when she had, in
fact, probably just missed his body. But then, she added meanly, getting the
princess' attentions probably pleased the pirate.
In fact, she conceded that he probably didn't complain about the fact that the
Jedi was an extremely cold shoulder, or so she had heard.
The princess was helping Solo up to his feet---- when Jabba revealed his
presence. Still hidden in the shadows of the curtains, Mara watched the
procedures with great interest. As she did so, she realized that the princess
had a feisty spirit, something which probably served the Jedi right in his plans
of domination and destruction; because of this trait, she foresaw that she would
attack Jabba again during the next days... and end up rancor food.
And one less dangerous fool to deal with, she smirked meanly as she turned away
from the scene that was unfolding behind her. However, she heard the
alderanian react to Jabba's attempts to kiss her until she had closed the door
of her temporary station.
She made her way back to the dancers' room.
She had barely reached the room when she saw the rebel again. Hence, instead of
resting from the long day, as she had first intended to do, Mara decided to
study her from afar.
The first thing she noticed was that the petite woman looked quite confident for
someone who'd just failed her rescue attempt. In fact, she didn't seem beaten
at all...
Which could only mean that the great Jedi was coming next, she realized with a
surge of anticipation.
Well, she'd be ready for him, she promised herself as she followed the other
women to the dressing wardrobe while remaining out of sight. Watching the
other's reaction from the adjoining room, she smirked meanly when the proud,
bratty princess made a face as the woman in charge showed her her new clothes.
'Thought you'd be given a nice costume that would keep your dignity safe??' she
thought sarcastically to the rebel leader.
Considering that they were both women, she knew that this was a wicked thought,
but, she reasoned with herself, the rebel was only getting what she deserved,
and especially if she had helped the Jedi to kill innocent citizens. Besides,
even if she hadn't, Mara strongly suspected that the other woman had killed her
fair share of imperial troops and other people; it was well known that Princess
Leia was a very adept shooter and fighter.
When other girls came in the room to prepare for a short rest, Mara reluctantly
abandoned her surveillance spot and maintained appearances with the other girls.
However, she never stopped monitoring the rebel every few minutes. To her
surprise, the other behaved like a nice child as the dressing women arranged her
costume, then braided her hair and pinned it in an elaborate pattern on the top
of her head.
Glancing in the mirror to see the princess' eyes, Mara saw nothing but
determination in the woman's brown eyes.
She realized that she was ready for what was coming up next; she made sure that
she too would be ready and allowed herself to rest for a few hours.
She awoke just in time to be aware that the princess was being taken back to
Jabba's throne room for her first day as his pet slave. Like all the other
girls, she hurried to reach the throne room to witness the arrival of this new
element in Jabba's court. While some were motivated by their mean side to jeer
at the captive, well-known rebel leader, others simply wanted to be there if
Jabba needed dancers while others wanted to learn from others' experiences.
Hence, by the time the princess was brought up from the lower levels, they were
all lounging in the alcoves and waiting for her arrival. Mara refrained herself
from smirking too much as she witnessed the way Jabba forced the reluctant woman
to sit very close to himself, then how he touched her expose skin with his
grubby hands and disgusting, muscular tongue.
Judging from the disdain on the princess' face, Mara understood that the
extremely close contact between her skin and that of the Hutt was very
unpleasant. His drooling also made the experience disgusting to the extreme.
As the Emperor's Hand smiled meanly as she watched the gangster amuse himself
with the defiant bitch, she dimly felt a probe through the Force, but it was
gone before she could track it down.
Instead of being angry, her smile sweetened until her expression was anything
but nice.
He was close now. She would soon kill him.
Eventually, the Hutt finally tired of his new pet and went to sleep, keeping the
princess on a tight leash. The whole court quieted down to let him sleep in
peace.
With nothing else to do but wait, Mara used the downtime to analyze what had
been dimly nagging at her mind since her encounter with the droid.
Skywalker was said to be heartless, and she believed the rumors, yet his droid
was truly convinced that his master wouldn't abandon him. Who had ever heard of
such a thing as trust and caring between a droid and its master?, she wondered
in disbelief.
She decided to investigate the matter after her mission would be over,
preferably by downloading the droid's memory banks. What she would uncover in
those would also probably explain why he had such a false reputation of
goodness. Yes, she nodded to herself, that would settle her two problems in
this mission in one shot and she would be able to return to Coruscant with more
than one victory to present to her master.
As she thought about the completion of her mission, memories of her farmboy
returned to haunt her, tempt her with the fact that she was closer to him than
she had been within the past five years. She dimly wondered what he had become
since she had last seen him, if he was still as good looking as when she had met
him---- then decided that she was tired of wondering about him. This time, she
would bring him back with her to Coruscant.
She deserved that much.
With this settled, she resumed her waiting for her target, rehearsing her
actions and how she would proceed to kill him. When it became to easy, she
introduced variables to fool her plan and think of ways to succeed, no matter
what.
******
At first, the presence merely winked in and out in the Force, then it resolved
into a pure point of awareness.
He was here, at last.
However, instead of creeping into the palace as she had thought he would do, he
boldly revealed his presence and sought an audience. The majordomo first
intercepted him at the top of the stairs, but to no avail; Skywalker was even
invited to enter the throne room; that's when the princess really became aware
that her 'friend' had arrived.
Mara for her part adapted quickly to this unexpected turn of events. His
boldness was surprising her, especially since he was unharmed, but she was ready
for anything. She slowly rose to her feet, as everybody around her did.
He couldn't be that fool, she calculated as she made her way closer to the edge
of the crowd; his helpless appearance had to be part of his plan.
Meanwhile, the court literally became unruly as he stepped into the light and
onto the trap doors...
The possibility didn't escape Mara's notice as she slowly edged her way closer
and closer to where she wanted to be. 'It would be so easy to trigger the one
he is standing on,' she thought grimly, 'and the rancor would make an excellent
meal out of the Jedi.' but no, she reminded herself. She had to do the job
herself; it was what the Emperor wanted of her.
As she came within sight of the space between the throne and the crowd, she she
noticed the confident set of the princess' features. So this is what they had
planned, she understood as she studied her options. Well, she was going to ruin
their plan, she smiled meanly to herself. The girl had better get used to her
new master; she'd see a lot more of him for a long while.
Meanwhile, Jabba finally awoke, that big lazy slug..., and got angry at his
majordomo. Through the Force, she felt Skywalker's attempt to twist the Hutt's
mind to his will.
It didn't work.
She herself couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction. The fool wasn't strong
enough to twist minds. Out of frustration, Skywalker drew back his hood and
met his nemesis face to face.
She, for his part, involuntarily gasped as she saw his profile.
That was Skywalker?!, she frowned in complete surprise. He didn't look that
dangerous... In fact, he looked more like a kid barely out of his teens than a
grown man. Surely there was a mistake, she tried to reassure herself, because
the man she was looking at didn't look dangerous at all, nor cold hearted for
that matter.
She scanned him some more with the Force, and sighed in professional relief. It
was him all right; the Force uses were coming from him.
Which only left her one option: she had to fulfill her mission.
Too bad for him, she dimly thought as she surreptitiously pulled a blaster from
a nearby holster---- and froze.
The muzzle of a blaster had just been pushed against the small of her back.
"Drop it, beautiful." the other dancer warned.
Mara glared at her captor, then at the young Jedi.
He'd felt her intent after all and had warned the other woman. Kreth. Well, it
was far from being over, she silently warned him; he had better not
underestimate her for she would be his doom.
Obeying her captor, she let herself be walked toward a back door and left the
confrontation arena.
Once separated from the group, two Gamorrean guards saw the women and
accompanied them. Just as they reached the nearby stairs, a scream of terror
attracted her attention and they all turned around to see what was going on.
By the stray shot that hit the ceiling, Jade deduced that the Jedi had managed
to call a blaster to his hand, but he was also already on his way toward the
Rancor.
Well, perhaps Jabba would be able to take care of him, she thought seriously.
Judging from the princess' fear, this was an unexpected turn of events for the
rebels.
That was good for her own plan.
She walked forward, yielding to the push in her back.
In the stairs, far from prying eyes, she acted.
She pulled the gun out of the other woman's grip, hit her in the throat with her
elbow, then swiftly shot the two pigs in the head.
'Amateurs,' she sneered as she made her way back to the throne room, scolding
herself for not thinking about triggering the trap door when she'd been caught.
When she reached the upper floor, she realized that something had happened. The
court was in upheaval and Jabba was furious. The stairs on the right suddenly
cleared--- and Skywalker was brought up from the lower levels.
What?!, she frowned in unpleasant shock. Nobody could survive a rancor... Yet
this Jedi had killed it, or so she could deduce from the talks that were going
on around her.
He was powerful indeed, she conceded as she watched him from the corner of her
eye while being careful to not attract new, unwanted attention. She also
decided to not attempt anything anymore for the moment.
However, she studied her target's profile most intently.
Hence, when Jabba sentenced him and his friends to the Sarlacc pit, which was
some kind of eternal damnation, she noticed that Skywalker was pleased with the
situation.
So that was it, she nodded to herself; whatever he was planning would happen on
the sail barge. Then she had to be on that barge, she decided, shifting her
determinate focus to the fat slug who was busy playing gods at the moment.
As she waited for most of the court to drain itself out of the throne room, she
dimly wondered if the Jedi was overconfident, or if the frightened princess was
unaware of his true powers.
While the throng of courtesans headed for the Sail barge, Jabba slithered to his
repulsorlift platform, pulling the princess along with him. Then, using a
secret corridor, he flew toward his private docking bay.
Seeing this, Mara gave him a few seconds before following him. She caught up
with him just as he exited the large corridor.
"Your excellency!" she called as charmingly as she could manage.
His guards turned toward her; the slug did so much more slowly. The princess
looked quizzically at her.
*What is it?" he rumbled in annoyance.
"Your Exaltedness? Please? I'm one of your dancers. Could I please come along
with you?" she begged, doing her best to appear beseeching. Meanwhile, she
reached out with the Force and tried to twist his will *You must let me join
you.*
Jabba let out one of his low sounds which she had come to identify with
distrust. Uh-oh...
The golden, annoying droid translated his answer.
"The great Jabba says you are to leave him now. A landspeeder will be placed at
your disposal. You are not to be seen here again," he finished primly, as if he
were serving the Emperor instead of a ten-rate crime lord.
While the platform was steered away, the rebel woman frowned once again at her
before she refocused on the far away skiff... and her friends who were aboard
it.
Kreth, Mara cursed inwardly. That was it. She couldn't cajole the Hutt into
taking her with them... which meant that she couldn't fulfill her mission. She
could only hope that Jabba would do it for her. However, she doubted that he
would. Skywalker had survived a Rancor... he would somehow survive the crime
lord and his hired tugs.
As she watched the receding form of the skiff, and especially the small black
spot that was Skywalker, she debated whether to use Jabba's speeder and follow
them from a distance or to truly leave... without her 'reward' since she didn't
deserve him for as long as she would displease her master.
With the thought of loosing her farmboy once again in her mind, she decided to
settle for an alternative and check with her master before staying on Tatooine
and finish what she hadn't been able to do at Jabba's.
It wasn't over, she promised herself. She'd get him...
******
******
...And she had, yet in a way, she hadn't. She pursed her lips at the memories
of how she had 'indeed', gotten to him once again.
It had turned out to slowly discourage her from killing him instead of pushing
her to obey her master's last command and be done with it...
And now, here she was, en route to Wayland, the Emperor's secret warehouse, to
destroy it... to help Skywalker destroy it. Whether she accepted it or not, she
had now chosen the rebel camp... Skywalker's camp.
As she refocused on the present, she became aware that she could hear
Skywalker's and Solo's voices as they repaired the panel that was just in the
corridor adjacent to her quarters.
Her curiosity being stronger than her wariness, she reached out with the Force
and slightly opened her door to hear them better.
She listened to them, pondering the friendship, complicity, and bantering that
she heard in their words and tones. Even Calrissian, who was somewhat picked
on regularly, was not answering aggressively nor vehemently.
Instead, they were all laughing from the bottom of their hearts.
Suddenly, an image of a smiling Skywalker invaded her mind and filled it with
the joy of the moment before disappearing without warning.
Where had that come from?!, she gaped, instantly prompting herself on her elbow
as if to go to the man with that question.
She then heard them laugh again and belatedly understood what had happened. She
had thought so much about him that she had inadvertently touched his mind.
His warm, gentle mind...
Great, she cursed inwardly, now she was reaching out to him. Just what she
needed to keep him at bay.
Ooooh, she raged at herself and the situation, if only it could be as clear cut
and unquestionable as it had been for five years...
She shut her door once again and skulked.
If only she didn't have 'met' Skywalker, had killed him as any other estranged
target... Her handsome target...
And if only she hadn't lost track of that mysterious Tatooine farmboy..., she
sighed, allowing herself to venture down that emotional territory to avoid
thinking about Skywalker and his effects on her. Thinking about the boy, she
wondered where he was now, if he was even alive. She then reflected that
Skywalker might perhaps know him... but she couldn't ask him that, she reminded
herself; it would look too friendly and open doors which she wanted to keep shut
with him.
Although..., the Jedi wasn't that bad looking either, she admitted, loosing her
cooler edge and allowing her warmer self to think too. However, the Jedi was
far from being vulnerable like the farmboy had been, nor was he a fool. He
would never feel anything for her; she was only hurting herself by thinking
about such things about him.
Hence, when her current situation would be over, she promised herself to really
try and search for that no-name, mysterious farmboy who had changed her
perception of love forever... Who had, in a way, prepared her for what was
becoming an awkward, almost impossible friendship with the man whom she still,
somehow, had to kill...
She dimly wished that he could have a clone so that she wouldn't have to kill
the man to obey the Emperor... who had lied to her. However, Skywalker and
Organa Solo were 'wrong' about his planting things in her mind. She was just
dealing with a vivid memory of the past, and yet... she couldn't deny that the
Emperor had lied to her about the Jedi. He might have done----
"YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!"
She spent the rest of the day in her cabin, struggling against her opposite
desires.
******
That night, like every other night, her nightmare came back to torment her, but
instead of a black-clad Skywalker, her white-clad farmboy was the one who was
siding with Vader.
She awoke instantly, gasping for air---- and almost knocked her head hard
against Skywalker's.
"Mara, are you all right?" he inquired even as he jerked away to avoid knocking
her unconscious with the impact.
"Yeah, sure," she waved him away, something which had become almost like a
ritual between them lately. "Don't tell me that you woke up again just for me,"
she sneered reflexively.
He sheepishly looked away from her piercing eyes.
"Uh, no, actually... I couldn't sleep," he explained. "I was exercising when I
heard your moans, so I checked on you."
The mention of his exercising brought back home the fact that he was only
wearing a tank top; memories of the one time she had seen him exercise rushed to
her mind--- she hurried to quash her unwanted feelings of attraction to him even
as she pulled away from him.
It would never happen, she reasoned with her gentler self, her cooler side being
less harsh than usual.
"Well it's done and I'm fine once again," she informed him, pulling her blankets
back over her shoulders as she laid back down, turning her back to him.
The message was clear.
"Right, good night, Mara," he wished her nonetheless before he left her room.
Once she was alone, she turned around and looked at the door which he had used
to exit the room. What did it mean this time??, she frowned at the door. When
she had awaken, she'd thought that her farmboy had been once again beside her,
then she had woken further and had realized that it was just Skywalker.
Could he somehow be linked to him?, she wondered uneasily--- then stilled on her
bunk as she became aware that the Jedi's squat droid had somehow gotten in her
quarters when the Jedi had opened the door and was now silently studying her.
"What are you looking at?" she asked it irritatingly.
The droid clucked something in answer; she dimly wished for the ability to
understand it like Skywalker did. Somehow, she had the feeling that he was
seeing what she didn't want anyone to know about: her mixed feelings toward the
Jedi.
"Get lost," she ordered the small robot, then turned her back to it once again.
And now she was beginning to get delusions about reality, she thought in
irritation. She was simply exhausted and needed a break from all that Dark Side
business.
Oh yes, she decided as she closed her eyes to go back to sleep, when this would
be over, she would go as far away as possible from Jedis, Darksiders, and gods
knew what else.
She simply had her fill of them, and so a nice, gentle farmboy would do for a
great change of life.
Now, if only she could remember what he looked like... She could only remember
that he had been blond haired and blue eyes. Of course, Skywalker also shared
those characteristics, but his hair were brown, not fair, and his face didn't
ring a bell at all, except for the face that had been haunting her nightmares
for too long now.
He 'couldn't' be even related to the other, she reminded herself, especially not
with the most unmistakable Force signature that accompanied his very presence.
He had even confirmed to her that as a youth, he had born that signature,
although more diffuse.
One thing she remembered for sure was that the other boy hadn't been Force
sensitive at all. Hence, Skywalker was not the one she was yearning for.
With that thought, she went back to sleep, not realizing that Luke was, in fact,
the mysterious farmboy she was looking for.
******
The Emperor, who was watching from afar, delighted in the proof that his
manipulations on this aspect of her memories had been perfect.
On the other hand, he positively fumed as he was forced to realize that despite
his best efforts to control his slave, she was now slipping out of his grip,
slowly asserting her own independence of mind and making decisions on her own
about absolutely everything.
Even about him... and Luke Skywalker.
TBC in part 2: the Death of the Emperor's Hand
Copyright 1999/2002, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
Webmaster : Skyjade(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even
be read.)
Part 1: Pondering the past
SJ 5-11-99/13 (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
__________________________________________
Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belong to me; everything belongs
to George Lucas. Also, everything related to the spoken parts of The Last
Command belongs to Timothy Zhan. I'm only borrowing it to make more sense with
Mara's or Luke's missing thoughts (sometimes, when we follow Luke's thoughts in
the novel, this story will cover Mara's, and vice versa ;). Naturally,
everything related to events of Last Command also belong to Timothy Zhan. On
equal terms, parts of the audio drama of Return of the Jedi belong to Brian
Daley, and parts of By the Emperor's Hand belong to Mrs Zhan and Stackpole.
Finally, everything related to the events of Return of the Jedi naturally
belongs to Mr. Lucas himself :) Please don't sue me, it's only for fun; I'm not
making any money out of this. See my home page for more details.
Http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3702
Special thanks to Adrianne for her help with beta-reading. Thank you for
giving me some of your precious time, my friend; I appreciate.
__________________________________________
Place in time: The Last Command, in transit to Wayland, aboard the Millenium
Falcon.
After spending nearly three days in close quarters with Skywalker 'and' his
friends, Mara's nerves were frayed and her temper was practically non-existent.
While the company of Skywalker alone had been somewhat tolerable during their
transit aboard her skypray, it was quite another matter aboard a ship as big as
Solo's Millenium Falcon.
Instead of keeping to themselves and focusing on the upcoming mission or
resting, her unwanted companions were constantly talking, teasing, and trying to
draw her into their conversations.
Especially that Calrissian character.
If not for Skywalker's constant presence somewhere nearby, she conceded that she
would have already throttled the man for even looking at her the way he did.
Since the Jedi had assured her that he had kept her true past secret, she
suspected that the dark-skinned man didn't know that she could kill him before
he could blink again.
However, he knew 'enough' about her to understand the meaning of her heated
glares whenever he tried to approach her.
Still, she seethed as she stomped from the once again Wookiee-crowded cockpit to
her cabin, if not for Skywalker's bright plan, she wouldn't have to bear with
all this.
As she rounded the corner, she almost collided with the young man, but before
she could shove him back into the bulkhead because he was in her way, or to
simply vent her frustration on him, he hastily stepped back and closer to the
solid wall, clearing the corridor for her.
"Sorry, Mara, I hadn't heard you" he apologized earnestly.
Darn kind Jedi, she glared at him as she strode past him and toward her assigned
quarters.
Were he not so caring, she raged inwardly, she would at least have an excuse to
vent some of her pent up anger on him. But no, she growled, her temper and
patience reaching their limit, he had to constantly keep her on her toes to ward
off his attacks of kindness and not let them influence her anymore than they
already did.
Couldn't he be just a little more like his Solo friend? Or even that pest of
Calrissian and show some ego?.. But no, she admitted reluctantly, that wouldn't
be Skywalker... selfless, enraging Skywalker who had saved the life of his self-
assigned assassin, then helped her rescue her boss before saving her life yet
again to even the balance.
She reached her quarters and sealed herself in, pointedly ignoring the questions
of the golden droid they called Threepio.
Now there was something else she would take potshots at, she admitted in
frustration. Ever since he had met her 'again', the talkative droid hadn't
missed one opportunity to talk with her, and his prissy voice... He didn't
remember her, but she did and just like when she had talked to him for the first
time, she could barely bear up with it.
The machine was simply more annoying than Skywalker's earnestness!
Taking a deep breath to calm down and recover her composure, she plopped down on
her cot, then laid down on it, crossing her hands behind her head as she gazed
at the gray ceiling of hers... and Skywalker's quarters.
Due to space limitations, she had to share the sleeping space with the man...
again. However, she had yet to 'really' share the quarters with her. As far as
she knew, he hadn't been even once in 'his' quarters since she had come aboard.
Yet another element to unwillingly add on her pad of 'good' qualities in the
man. So far, she hadn't added much on the negative side, and even those she had
compiled were now being erased one by one as she discovered how misguided she
had been about the man...
Misguided... Lied to...
"YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!" the Emperor's voice resounded yet again in her
mind. "YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!"
"Not yet," she muttered after having crushed the reflexive hatred that
followed the repetition of her master's last command. "And not like this."
Besides, one of the first thing to do to obey her order would be to 'find' the
motivation to kill the nice man who was Skywalker. The Jedi was not the man she
had been led to believe; she also knew that she had been lied about him.
In fact, she reflected, had she not been so blindly devoted to the Emperor at
Jabba's palace, she would have recognized the strange, unusual characteristics
for what they were. Unfortunately, she had been utterly focused on her
mission...
******
******
Five years earlier:
Hidden in the shadows of Jabba's main throne room, Mara Jade arranged yet again
her revealing outfit to reveal as little as possible.
Skywalker had better get here soon, she thought in frustration, or she'd start
killing ogling men and scums before the end of the day. He was already two days
late, and she'd yet to detect any unusual activity in the palace. However, she
had noticed that she seemed to be the only one who knew that something was going
to happen.
Of course, she sneered inwardly, lowly scums like them were so self-assured that
nothing nor nobody would get through their defenses that they didn't bother
about worrying... Little did they know that they would be a piece of cake for a
Jedi killer.
Especially one like the man she was after.
Her assignment was to kill the Jedi, yes, but by doing so, she was aware that
she would also protect that filthy Hutt...
She didn't particularly care about the sluggish monster, but, she reminded
herself, it was her Master's will.
She could not question it.
Now that Jabba was done with his visitor, music start anew; Mara joined the
other dancers on the floor and followed their lead as she waited for her real
mission to begin.
In the meantime though, she also allowed herself to enjoy this new dancing
session while keeping her guards up, ready to react to any signal of danger.
None came.
******
Her group had now retired to the alcoves which were adjoining to the 'throne'
room. As usual, most girls were flirting with the scums, hoping to make money on
the side to add to what Jabba paid them for exhibiting their dancing skills.
Mara for her part chose to keep an eye on the main room, as if waiting for a cue
to dance again.
As she stood in the shadows, she once again reviewed the information she had
received about her target.
Skywalker had come out of nowhere about three years ago and had quickly
established himself as a figurehead in the Rebellion. Nobody knew where he had
trained as a Jedi, nor when. He had no known family, but he had close friends.
The closest one was the Alderaanian renegade, Princess Leia Organa; there were
even rumors of them being together.
Still, she reflected meannly, considering who was frozen and hanging on the wall
of Jabba's palace, as well as the circumstances in which the smuggler had ended
up like this, she estimated that the princess had found somebody else to amuse
herself with for the moment...
She continued her professional analysis.
The Jedi's other close friend was the pirate Han Solo, who was now property of
Jabba the Hutt.
She paused once again on this element, this time to ponder what had interested
the Jedi in such an individual. She supposed that the 'hero' was using the pilot
for his own purposes, as was probably the case from Solo's part. Two outlaws,
she sneered in disgust; they were undoubtedly liable to exploit each other, but
not enough to destroy each other, although Solo was as good as dead in his
current situation.
The Jedi, on the other hand, was very much alive and dangerous. Like every
other Jedi before him, he was wanted dead by her Master for the killing of
countless innocent citizens, this time on Diorina. There, he had killed in cold
blood after destroying their defenses and communications. The rebels under his
command had then been ruthless, now showing any mercy to the innocents. Even
more cruel, her Master had confirmed that the young killer himself had taken
part to the operation and had used his lethal skills to confuse the poor
innocent peoples...
Even Lord Vader wasn't that cruel!, she mentally exploded in outrage. Had she
known about the young killer before, she would have taken care of him even
without any order from her master. Him and his friends in fact. She didn't
know if the princess had taken part to the operation or not, but since she was
never far from him, she assumed that she had, as had the smuggler.
The woman was an idiot, she spat in disgust, wasting intelligence and talents in
a lost cause with a crazy, and soon to be dead, Jedi. As she remembered the
holo she had seen, she felt her eyes narrow in hatred. He'd looked so arrogant,
so mean and dangerous on the holo she'd seen of him... He'd pay for his crimes,
she promised herself. He would die like all the other Jedi killer who had
existed before him.
Considering the past carnage of the Jedi Order, she admitted that it was more
than understandable that her master had eradicated the whole order; any Jedi
alive represented a danger for the society.
However, she paused briefly, there was something strange about this latest Jedi.
On the opposite of his dark file, he had the reputation to be noble, an example
of heroism and self-sacrifice, and he was well-loved by the rebel-affiliated
worlds... at least, if she could believe what she'd heard in this den of
thieves.
Still, she frowned doubtfully, even her Master couldn't claim that much. In
fact, she had never, ever heard any such rumors about either her master, Lord
Vader, or any of the superior officers of the Empire even though they were all
working together to insure peace and order in the galaxy.
And yet, according to what she had heard from drunken smugglers, the rebel
'heroes' had a reputation which... well, contradicted what she had been told so
far by her master.
Anyway, she shook her head to clear it from such confusion, this was just a
curiosity she'd have to sort out later, after her mission had been fulfilled.
Calling up yet another memory of the Jedi's features, she admitted to herself
that it was a shame that she had to kill him instead of bringing him in; he did
look kind of attractive... somehow. He wasn't as cute as the Tatooine farmboy
she'd met and left years ago, but his blue eyes had been nice to look at...
until she'd read the rest of his file. And yet...
Thinking about the farmboy, she wondered if she should make a stop by his farm
or not. She could bring him with herself this time, she reflected seriously
while weighing the fors and againsts of this decision.
After a minute of pondering, she decided that now was not the time to think
about him.
She had to focus on her target.
She was moving to change her angle of observation when two droids slowly entered
the throne room, following Bib Fortuna toward the middle of the room. Mara
tracked them with her green eyes, feeling that this was something she had been
waiting for. A signal perhaps.
As she studied the new comers, she noticed that the squat one seemed quite
comfortable with the situation while the spindly one looked nervous. She dimly
wondered how that kind of reaction could be possible with any droid, then
dismissed her strange perceptions as her own delusions.
Robots didn't feel any emotions; they just obeyed programs, and those two had a
message to deliver for Jabba the Hutt.
Less than a second before the holographic projection materialized, she knew it
would be 'him'.
Unfortunately, she could only see his back profile and left side from where she
was standing. He was dressed in blacks, and his lightsaber was dangling at his
hip but she couldn't see his face. She could imagine it though: hard, cold,
dangerous.
As the Jedi spoke reverently, subserviently, she tried to edge her way toward a
better point of view to study him. After a few tries, she conceded defeat to
not betray her cover and settled in to analyze his voice and body language. As
he continued to try and soothe the crimelord, she herself saw through his game.
His good manners and deference were just a trick to make the other lower his
defenses. The message ended and the droids made a show of being afraid to be
left in Jabba's possession.
That she conceded as she followed them with her eyes, was either some type of
program she hadn't even know existed... or else the droids were somehow really
afraid of being left in Jabba's ownership.
Something was wrong there, she frowned to herself as she finally turned away
from the now empty doorway... For the second time in her whole career as top
agent for the Emperor, she simply couldn't say what it was.
And it was once again taking place on Tatooine.
Next time she would be given a mission on this planet, she decided that she
would remember the effect of the planet on her...
Or was it her farmboy?, she wondered, throwing an hopeful gaze out the far slit
which allowed sun to stream in the otherwise darkened chamber.
New music began and her group was called on the job again. She put on a smile
and danced along with the others.
Right, she scolded herself for her slip of composure and focus, time to work
again.
Unlike the previous dance, this one stretched over a good forty minutes before
somebody else replaced her group.
While she caught her breath, Mara watched the alien woman as she swayed and
pirouetted to the beat of the raucous music. Jabba had cleared the floor to
give Oola, his pet dancer, all the room she needed to perform her supple
exercises.
Meanwhile, the music band was playing one song after another, the two singers
giving everything they had, and what they hadn't, in the lyrics. All in all, it
was more noise than real music, but that was far from Mara's preoccupations at
the moment.
While she was in excellent shape, that latest spin on the dancing floor had been
just a little more than what she should normally indulge into just before having
to fight a Jedi. Even after fifteen minutes of break, her knees were still a
little wobbly and she was very thirsty.
As she watched the limber female perform yet another acrobatic, she admitted
that she was very talented. She dimly hoped for her that the rumors about Jabba
and his pet dancers weren't true, then pursed her lips in resignation.
Considering the behavior of the court, she could only deduce that the rumors
were true. In fact, it was a miracle that she had managed to keep them at bay
for as long as she had without blowing her cover.
Without warning, she found herself pushed against the nearby wall; she whirled
around to threaten whoever had dared touched her.
"Hey!" she called vehemently... to Skywalker's droid. "Watch where you're
stepping," she whined superficially, changing tactics and instead playing the
indignant beauty.
The droid apologized profusely before he engaged in an explanation that he
wasn't used to such places.
AS she studied him from a closer point of view, she decided that he looked
absolutely out of place in such a violent and rough place... and that he did
seem to have a personality of his own. He was the nervous, insecure type.
While she continued to talk with him, her brain worked on a way to use this
unusual characteristic to find out about her target's plans. She tried the
curious, trusting approach.
"You used to belong to someone named Skywalker?" she inquired as kindly as she
could.
The robot plunged right in her trap.
"Indeed, and I'm sure there's been a grave mistake. Master Luke would never
abandon me to this den of thieves... at least, I hope not."
"So you really think Skywalker will come for you?" she prompted the stupid
machine.
Before he could answer her though, Oola began to fight against Jabba; the
defiant dancer attracted a lot of attention. Scums, who had been lounging in
the darkened alcoves, came closer; Mara took it as her cue to disappear
somewhere else.
From a previous experience, she knew that Rancor feeding always excited them,
which then led the dancers to have their hands full with them afterward.
Right now, she thought grimly, she had other, more important things to do than
to play with those men.
Her target was coming.
She'd barely left her spot when blaster fire was heard from the main corridor.
Before she could even reach out with the Force and check who was there, a small
bounty hunter walked in--- with a tall Wookiee in chains. The impossibility of
the situation instantly struck her and she froze on the spot. She watched as
the hairy alien strained against the bounty hunter's hold, but was held in
check. He subsided.
Mara frowned further... Where was the Wook's strength?, she wondered even as she
analyzed the unlikely captor of the giant. The Wookiees were known for their
strength and untamable natures. Either that little guy had more up his sleeve
than it seemed, or else he was in with the Wook, she decided as she edged closer
to the front rows of the gathered crowd.
Meanwhile, Jabba recognized the creature by his name; it was Solo's co-pilot.
Which meant that whoever that Boussh was, he was a friend of his, she decided,
her narrowed eyes now focused on the petite figure by the Wookiee's side. The
guy might even be Skywalker himself, she decided but wasn't that convinced
either. She had read that the Jedi was 5' 5''. He couldn't be 5 foot all of a
sudden, could he?
She reached out with the Force and searched for Force uses. She came up dry.
She truly didn't feel anything, not even when the 'bounty hunter' pulled out a
thermal detonator from his hides. Perhaps he was a new player in the gang, she
shrugged as she studied her options. One thing was sure ; this little guy was
part of Skywalker's group. She could feel it.
Meanwhile, Jabba settled the detonator/bartering problem with the new comer and
the situation returned to normal as the Wookiee was led away. Since she kept an
eye on the guy after he discharged his prisoner, she noticed that he kept an eye
on Boba Fett.
She made a note to find out if Fett also suspected something about that 'Boussh'
character.
Throughout the rest of the evening, she kept her eye on the small guy, even
while she danced yet again. He himself never budged from his position near the
doorway, nor did he indulge in any pleasure that was offered to him.
On the other side of the room, Boba Fett also remained where he was, not loosing
the other from sight.
Aware that more was going on than what appeared on the surface, Mara decided to
lay low and wait for more events to unfold before making her move on her very
possible target.
******
Hours later, the evening merged into the night, and the revelry finally came to
an end. All night, Mara had stepped onto the dancing floor whenever a man had
come too close to her, dancing until the guy would get tired of chasing her and
go for an easier prey.
It had been too easy.
Now, however, she could feel that the fun, and serious business, was about to
start. Something was about to happen and the throne room was were one had to be
to see it. Her professional intuition was telling her that it had something to
do with that Boussh character and Solo.
Well aware that seeing a dancer among the ruffians would arouse suspicions, she
discreetly made her way back up on the main level, then headed for the main
throne room. On the way there, she surreptitiously plucked a blaster from a
sleeping thug.
Moving like a shadow, she then disappeared down a sideway corridor, entered the
deserted backstage and sneaked up to the drawn curtains.
She was less than three meters away from the frozen form of the space pirate, an
excellent spot from which she would have a straight line of fire to kill her
target there and then.
She was just in time; the bounty hunter called Boussh was already there and
approaching the frozen form of 'Captain' Solo.
Her feelings had been right, she smirked grimly as she watched the other free
the half-dead man. While the small guy strained against a semi-conscious Solo,
she herself checked her blaster and set it on its highest setting for kill. She
then aimed slowly, preparing to shoot her target----
And froze.
Had he said?: "someone who loves you?!", she gaped in shock.
As if to answer her, Boussh removed his helmet... revealing the features of
Princess Leia.
Cursing herself for her naivete, Mara lowered her aim.
Princess Leia, she scorned in disgust. Of course she should've known that it
would be her in that short a costume with a big Wookiee in tow. Besides, who
else would come after Solo than his temporary lover?, she reasoned with herself,
mentally whipping herself for almost blowing her cover for such an insignificant
woman.
As she watched the other kiss Solo as if they would never end, she sneered at
the thought that the other was pretending to like the pirate when she had, in
fact, probably just missed his body. But then, she added meanly, getting the
princess' attentions probably pleased the pirate.
In fact, she conceded that he probably didn't complain about the fact that the
Jedi was an extremely cold shoulder, or so she had heard.
The princess was helping Solo up to his feet---- when Jabba revealed his
presence. Still hidden in the shadows of the curtains, Mara watched the
procedures with great interest. As she did so, she realized that the princess
had a feisty spirit, something which probably served the Jedi right in his plans
of domination and destruction; because of this trait, she foresaw that she would
attack Jabba again during the next days... and end up rancor food.
And one less dangerous fool to deal with, she smirked meanly as she turned away
from the scene that was unfolding behind her. However, she heard the
alderanian react to Jabba's attempts to kiss her until she had closed the door
of her temporary station.
She made her way back to the dancers' room.
She had barely reached the room when she saw the rebel again. Hence, instead of
resting from the long day, as she had first intended to do, Mara decided to
study her from afar.
The first thing she noticed was that the petite woman looked quite confident for
someone who'd just failed her rescue attempt. In fact, she didn't seem beaten
at all...
Which could only mean that the great Jedi was coming next, she realized with a
surge of anticipation.
Well, she'd be ready for him, she promised herself as she followed the other
women to the dressing wardrobe while remaining out of sight. Watching the
other's reaction from the adjoining room, she smirked meanly when the proud,
bratty princess made a face as the woman in charge showed her her new clothes.
'Thought you'd be given a nice costume that would keep your dignity safe??' she
thought sarcastically to the rebel leader.
Considering that they were both women, she knew that this was a wicked thought,
but, she reasoned with herself, the rebel was only getting what she deserved,
and especially if she had helped the Jedi to kill innocent citizens. Besides,
even if she hadn't, Mara strongly suspected that the other woman had killed her
fair share of imperial troops and other people; it was well known that Princess
Leia was a very adept shooter and fighter.
When other girls came in the room to prepare for a short rest, Mara reluctantly
abandoned her surveillance spot and maintained appearances with the other girls.
However, she never stopped monitoring the rebel every few minutes. To her
surprise, the other behaved like a nice child as the dressing women arranged her
costume, then braided her hair and pinned it in an elaborate pattern on the top
of her head.
Glancing in the mirror to see the princess' eyes, Mara saw nothing but
determination in the woman's brown eyes.
She realized that she was ready for what was coming up next; she made sure that
she too would be ready and allowed herself to rest for a few hours.
She awoke just in time to be aware that the princess was being taken back to
Jabba's throne room for her first day as his pet slave. Like all the other
girls, she hurried to reach the throne room to witness the arrival of this new
element in Jabba's court. While some were motivated by their mean side to jeer
at the captive, well-known rebel leader, others simply wanted to be there if
Jabba needed dancers while others wanted to learn from others' experiences.
Hence, by the time the princess was brought up from the lower levels, they were
all lounging in the alcoves and waiting for her arrival. Mara refrained herself
from smirking too much as she witnessed the way Jabba forced the reluctant woman
to sit very close to himself, then how he touched her expose skin with his
grubby hands and disgusting, muscular tongue.
Judging from the disdain on the princess' face, Mara understood that the
extremely close contact between her skin and that of the Hutt was very
unpleasant. His drooling also made the experience disgusting to the extreme.
As the Emperor's Hand smiled meanly as she watched the gangster amuse himself
with the defiant bitch, she dimly felt a probe through the Force, but it was
gone before she could track it down.
Instead of being angry, her smile sweetened until her expression was anything
but nice.
He was close now. She would soon kill him.
Eventually, the Hutt finally tired of his new pet and went to sleep, keeping the
princess on a tight leash. The whole court quieted down to let him sleep in
peace.
With nothing else to do but wait, Mara used the downtime to analyze what had
been dimly nagging at her mind since her encounter with the droid.
Skywalker was said to be heartless, and she believed the rumors, yet his droid
was truly convinced that his master wouldn't abandon him. Who had ever heard of
such a thing as trust and caring between a droid and its master?, she wondered
in disbelief.
She decided to investigate the matter after her mission would be over,
preferably by downloading the droid's memory banks. What she would uncover in
those would also probably explain why he had such a false reputation of
goodness. Yes, she nodded to herself, that would settle her two problems in
this mission in one shot and she would be able to return to Coruscant with more
than one victory to present to her master.
As she thought about the completion of her mission, memories of her farmboy
returned to haunt her, tempt her with the fact that she was closer to him than
she had been within the past five years. She dimly wondered what he had become
since she had last seen him, if he was still as good looking as when she had met
him---- then decided that she was tired of wondering about him. This time, she
would bring him back with her to Coruscant.
She deserved that much.
With this settled, she resumed her waiting for her target, rehearsing her
actions and how she would proceed to kill him. When it became to easy, she
introduced variables to fool her plan and think of ways to succeed, no matter
what.
******
At first, the presence merely winked in and out in the Force, then it resolved
into a pure point of awareness.
He was here, at last.
However, instead of creeping into the palace as she had thought he would do, he
boldly revealed his presence and sought an audience. The majordomo first
intercepted him at the top of the stairs, but to no avail; Skywalker was even
invited to enter the throne room; that's when the princess really became aware
that her 'friend' had arrived.
Mara for her part adapted quickly to this unexpected turn of events. His
boldness was surprising her, especially since he was unharmed, but she was ready
for anything. She slowly rose to her feet, as everybody around her did.
He couldn't be that fool, she calculated as she made her way closer to the edge
of the crowd; his helpless appearance had to be part of his plan.
Meanwhile, the court literally became unruly as he stepped into the light and
onto the trap doors...
The possibility didn't escape Mara's notice as she slowly edged her way closer
and closer to where she wanted to be. 'It would be so easy to trigger the one
he is standing on,' she thought grimly, 'and the rancor would make an excellent
meal out of the Jedi.' but no, she reminded herself. She had to do the job
herself; it was what the Emperor wanted of her.
As she came within sight of the space between the throne and the crowd, she she
noticed the confident set of the princess' features. So this is what they had
planned, she understood as she studied her options. Well, she was going to ruin
their plan, she smiled meanly to herself. The girl had better get used to her
new master; she'd see a lot more of him for a long while.
Meanwhile, Jabba finally awoke, that big lazy slug..., and got angry at his
majordomo. Through the Force, she felt Skywalker's attempt to twist the Hutt's
mind to his will.
It didn't work.
She herself couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction. The fool wasn't strong
enough to twist minds. Out of frustration, Skywalker drew back his hood and
met his nemesis face to face.
She, for his part, involuntarily gasped as she saw his profile.
That was Skywalker?!, she frowned in complete surprise. He didn't look that
dangerous... In fact, he looked more like a kid barely out of his teens than a
grown man. Surely there was a mistake, she tried to reassure herself, because
the man she was looking at didn't look dangerous at all, nor cold hearted for
that matter.
She scanned him some more with the Force, and sighed in professional relief. It
was him all right; the Force uses were coming from him.
Which only left her one option: she had to fulfill her mission.
Too bad for him, she dimly thought as she surreptitiously pulled a blaster from
a nearby holster---- and froze.
The muzzle of a blaster had just been pushed against the small of her back.
"Drop it, beautiful." the other dancer warned.
Mara glared at her captor, then at the young Jedi.
He'd felt her intent after all and had warned the other woman. Kreth. Well, it
was far from being over, she silently warned him; he had better not
underestimate her for she would be his doom.
Obeying her captor, she let herself be walked toward a back door and left the
confrontation arena.
Once separated from the group, two Gamorrean guards saw the women and
accompanied them. Just as they reached the nearby stairs, a scream of terror
attracted her attention and they all turned around to see what was going on.
By the stray shot that hit the ceiling, Jade deduced that the Jedi had managed
to call a blaster to his hand, but he was also already on his way toward the
Rancor.
Well, perhaps Jabba would be able to take care of him, she thought seriously.
Judging from the princess' fear, this was an unexpected turn of events for the
rebels.
That was good for her own plan.
She walked forward, yielding to the push in her back.
In the stairs, far from prying eyes, she acted.
She pulled the gun out of the other woman's grip, hit her in the throat with her
elbow, then swiftly shot the two pigs in the head.
'Amateurs,' she sneered as she made her way back to the throne room, scolding
herself for not thinking about triggering the trap door when she'd been caught.
When she reached the upper floor, she realized that something had happened. The
court was in upheaval and Jabba was furious. The stairs on the right suddenly
cleared--- and Skywalker was brought up from the lower levels.
What?!, she frowned in unpleasant shock. Nobody could survive a rancor... Yet
this Jedi had killed it, or so she could deduce from the talks that were going
on around her.
He was powerful indeed, she conceded as she watched him from the corner of her
eye while being careful to not attract new, unwanted attention. She also
decided to not attempt anything anymore for the moment.
However, she studied her target's profile most intently.
Hence, when Jabba sentenced him and his friends to the Sarlacc pit, which was
some kind of eternal damnation, she noticed that Skywalker was pleased with the
situation.
So that was it, she nodded to herself; whatever he was planning would happen on
the sail barge. Then she had to be on that barge, she decided, shifting her
determinate focus to the fat slug who was busy playing gods at the moment.
As she waited for most of the court to drain itself out of the throne room, she
dimly wondered if the Jedi was overconfident, or if the frightened princess was
unaware of his true powers.
While the throng of courtesans headed for the Sail barge, Jabba slithered to his
repulsorlift platform, pulling the princess along with him. Then, using a
secret corridor, he flew toward his private docking bay.
Seeing this, Mara gave him a few seconds before following him. She caught up
with him just as he exited the large corridor.
"Your excellency!" she called as charmingly as she could manage.
His guards turned toward her; the slug did so much more slowly. The princess
looked quizzically at her.
*What is it?" he rumbled in annoyance.
"Your Exaltedness? Please? I'm one of your dancers. Could I please come along
with you?" she begged, doing her best to appear beseeching. Meanwhile, she
reached out with the Force and tried to twist his will *You must let me join
you.*
Jabba let out one of his low sounds which she had come to identify with
distrust. Uh-oh...
The golden, annoying droid translated his answer.
"The great Jabba says you are to leave him now. A landspeeder will be placed at
your disposal. You are not to be seen here again," he finished primly, as if he
were serving the Emperor instead of a ten-rate crime lord.
While the platform was steered away, the rebel woman frowned once again at her
before she refocused on the far away skiff... and her friends who were aboard
it.
Kreth, Mara cursed inwardly. That was it. She couldn't cajole the Hutt into
taking her with them... which meant that she couldn't fulfill her mission. She
could only hope that Jabba would do it for her. However, she doubted that he
would. Skywalker had survived a Rancor... he would somehow survive the crime
lord and his hired tugs.
As she watched the receding form of the skiff, and especially the small black
spot that was Skywalker, she debated whether to use Jabba's speeder and follow
them from a distance or to truly leave... without her 'reward' since she didn't
deserve him for as long as she would displease her master.
With the thought of loosing her farmboy once again in her mind, she decided to
settle for an alternative and check with her master before staying on Tatooine
and finish what she hadn't been able to do at Jabba's.
It wasn't over, she promised herself. She'd get him...
******
******
...And she had, yet in a way, she hadn't. She pursed her lips at the memories
of how she had 'indeed', gotten to him once again.
It had turned out to slowly discourage her from killing him instead of pushing
her to obey her master's last command and be done with it...
And now, here she was, en route to Wayland, the Emperor's secret warehouse, to
destroy it... to help Skywalker destroy it. Whether she accepted it or not, she
had now chosen the rebel camp... Skywalker's camp.
As she refocused on the present, she became aware that she could hear
Skywalker's and Solo's voices as they repaired the panel that was just in the
corridor adjacent to her quarters.
Her curiosity being stronger than her wariness, she reached out with the Force
and slightly opened her door to hear them better.
She listened to them, pondering the friendship, complicity, and bantering that
she heard in their words and tones. Even Calrissian, who was somewhat picked
on regularly, was not answering aggressively nor vehemently.
Instead, they were all laughing from the bottom of their hearts.
Suddenly, an image of a smiling Skywalker invaded her mind and filled it with
the joy of the moment before disappearing without warning.
Where had that come from?!, she gaped, instantly prompting herself on her elbow
as if to go to the man with that question.
She then heard them laugh again and belatedly understood what had happened. She
had thought so much about him that she had inadvertently touched his mind.
His warm, gentle mind...
Great, she cursed inwardly, now she was reaching out to him. Just what she
needed to keep him at bay.
Ooooh, she raged at herself and the situation, if only it could be as clear cut
and unquestionable as it had been for five years...
She shut her door once again and skulked.
If only she didn't have 'met' Skywalker, had killed him as any other estranged
target... Her handsome target...
And if only she hadn't lost track of that mysterious Tatooine farmboy..., she
sighed, allowing herself to venture down that emotional territory to avoid
thinking about Skywalker and his effects on her. Thinking about the boy, she
wondered where he was now, if he was even alive. She then reflected that
Skywalker might perhaps know him... but she couldn't ask him that, she reminded
herself; it would look too friendly and open doors which she wanted to keep shut
with him.
Although..., the Jedi wasn't that bad looking either, she admitted, loosing her
cooler edge and allowing her warmer self to think too. However, the Jedi was
far from being vulnerable like the farmboy had been, nor was he a fool. He
would never feel anything for her; she was only hurting herself by thinking
about such things about him.
Hence, when her current situation would be over, she promised herself to really
try and search for that no-name, mysterious farmboy who had changed her
perception of love forever... Who had, in a way, prepared her for what was
becoming an awkward, almost impossible friendship with the man whom she still,
somehow, had to kill...
She dimly wished that he could have a clone so that she wouldn't have to kill
the man to obey the Emperor... who had lied to her. However, Skywalker and
Organa Solo were 'wrong' about his planting things in her mind. She was just
dealing with a vivid memory of the past, and yet... she couldn't deny that the
Emperor had lied to her about the Jedi. He might have done----
"YOU WILL KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!"
She spent the rest of the day in her cabin, struggling against her opposite
desires.
******
That night, like every other night, her nightmare came back to torment her, but
instead of a black-clad Skywalker, her white-clad farmboy was the one who was
siding with Vader.
She awoke instantly, gasping for air---- and almost knocked her head hard
against Skywalker's.
"Mara, are you all right?" he inquired even as he jerked away to avoid knocking
her unconscious with the impact.
"Yeah, sure," she waved him away, something which had become almost like a
ritual between them lately. "Don't tell me that you woke up again just for me,"
she sneered reflexively.
He sheepishly looked away from her piercing eyes.
"Uh, no, actually... I couldn't sleep," he explained. "I was exercising when I
heard your moans, so I checked on you."
The mention of his exercising brought back home the fact that he was only
wearing a tank top; memories of the one time she had seen him exercise rushed to
her mind--- she hurried to quash her unwanted feelings of attraction to him even
as she pulled away from him.
It would never happen, she reasoned with her gentler self, her cooler side being
less harsh than usual.
"Well it's done and I'm fine once again," she informed him, pulling her blankets
back over her shoulders as she laid back down, turning her back to him.
The message was clear.
"Right, good night, Mara," he wished her nonetheless before he left her room.
Once she was alone, she turned around and looked at the door which he had used
to exit the room. What did it mean this time??, she frowned at the door. When
she had awaken, she'd thought that her farmboy had been once again beside her,
then she had woken further and had realized that it was just Skywalker.
Could he somehow be linked to him?, she wondered uneasily--- then stilled on her
bunk as she became aware that the Jedi's squat droid had somehow gotten in her
quarters when the Jedi had opened the door and was now silently studying her.
"What are you looking at?" she asked it irritatingly.
The droid clucked something in answer; she dimly wished for the ability to
understand it like Skywalker did. Somehow, she had the feeling that he was
seeing what she didn't want anyone to know about: her mixed feelings toward the
Jedi.
"Get lost," she ordered the small robot, then turned her back to it once again.
And now she was beginning to get delusions about reality, she thought in
irritation. She was simply exhausted and needed a break from all that Dark Side
business.
Oh yes, she decided as she closed her eyes to go back to sleep, when this would
be over, she would go as far away as possible from Jedis, Darksiders, and gods
knew what else.
She simply had her fill of them, and so a nice, gentle farmboy would do for a
great change of life.
Now, if only she could remember what he looked like... She could only remember
that he had been blond haired and blue eyes. Of course, Skywalker also shared
those characteristics, but his hair were brown, not fair, and his face didn't
ring a bell at all, except for the face that had been haunting her nightmares
for too long now.
He 'couldn't' be even related to the other, she reminded herself, especially not
with the most unmistakable Force signature that accompanied his very presence.
He had even confirmed to her that as a youth, he had born that signature,
although more diffuse.
One thing she remembered for sure was that the other boy hadn't been Force
sensitive at all. Hence, Skywalker was not the one she was yearning for.
With that thought, she went back to sleep, not realizing that Luke was, in fact,
the mysterious farmboy she was looking for.
******
The Emperor, who was watching from afar, delighted in the proof that his
manipulations on this aspect of her memories had been perfect.
On the other hand, he positively fumed as he was forced to realize that despite
his best efforts to control his slave, she was now slipping out of his grip,
slowly asserting her own independence of mind and making decisions on her own
about absolutely everything.
Even about him... and Luke Skywalker.
TBC in part 2: the Death of the Emperor's Hand
Copyright 1999/2002, SJ (skyjade@globetrotter.net)
Webmaster : Skyjade(Any positive stuff is welcome, but any mean stuff won't even
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