I knew you'd all probably hate me for leaving you hanging on the last
chapter, so I decided to give you more. : ) Hope it helps.
T.
***************************** ****************************
The answer to Mara's quiet dread came earlier than anticipated. It was early evening and she had combed almost every bar and hotel in the city, but had found no trace of Skywalker. So it was with a faint sense of defeat and a stomach tied in tight knots that, standing unnoticed at the dusty stone steps of an inn, she watched the all-too-familiar sight of Imperial shuttles and TIE fighters descending on the city like birds of prey. Vader must have been on the move much quicker than she had given him credit for.
Mara bit her lip. The net was quickly closing despite her best efforts. She thought of her remaining search options and wondered fleetingly if it was possible that Skywalker was no longer here, but then dismissed the idea. Why would Imperials show up here if Vader could not detect his son nearby? And how else would SHE be able to feel the low-lying hum of his presence here? She resumed walking briskly to her speeder, determined not to be fazed by the arrival of Imperial troops. They did not know she was here and they would not find her.
As she got in the speeder, she saw a message scroll across the console in red letters informing her unnecessarily that the spaceports were officially closed, effective immediately, by order of the Empire. All portals to the city were closed. No one without express authorization and a Z5R7 code would be permitted to enter or leave the city until further notice. The message began flashing again and Mara slapped it off.
**************************
The man finally came back to help him after Luke had been sitting at the desk nervously for the better part of an hour. He was in the office of a travel agent, hoping to keep a low profile while trying to locate some means of transportation away from Kraull. He'd been miserably plugging away at the job for two days now, looking almost frantically for something that he could afford. A ship was out of the question, of course. But at this point, even a speeder would do. He only knew that he had to get out of the town before disaster struck.
Every bone in his body seemed to scream at him to get up, to keep from sitting still. *you can't stay here,* he thought. But he knew he had to. This agency seemed like his best bet so far. Even though his senses shouted for him to leave this place, he ignored them and fidgeted.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," the man apologized, smiling cordially. "We've just had a couple problems come up concerning your speeder rental."
A tiny warning bell went off in the back of Luke's mind and he straightened. "What kind of problems?" she asked cautiously.
The man shuffled some papers, apparently not too concerned. "Both spaceports and other entrances to the city have been shut down. We will not be authorized to rent out vehicles until they are re-opened."
The warning bells got louder. It sounded to Luke like water was rushing past his ears, but Luke forced himself to keep his calm. "Shut down by who?" he asked. As if he needed to know.
"A couple of Imperial taskforces," the man answered, entering something on his datapad.
"I see." Luke struggled to keep his voice even despite the panic that rose instinctively in his throat. "Does this happen often?"
The man looked up. "It's never happened before that I'm aware." He got to his feet, handing the datapad to Luke. "Incidentally, we're required to get the names and identification of everyone here who is looking for a transport. You will need to remain here for a couple of hours until."
Luke heard no more. He was already on his feet, moving towards the door.
"Excuse me," the man called after him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"You don't know me," the Jedi said with a quick wave of his hand as he brushed past the other. "I was never here."
"You were never here," repeated the perplexed voice behind him.
Luke was walking briskly down the half-empty street a minute later. His heart was racing and his senses were on alert. The Empire had finally caught up with him and had backed him into a corner. It seemed like only a matter of time now. In such close proximity, he doubted his feeble shields would hide him from the Emperor for long.
Finally, slowing at the corner of the sparsely crowded street, he came to a halt and leaned heavily against the durasteel wall, briefly shutting his eyes. It was almost like he half-expected the shriveled, dark figure of the Palpatine to materialize before him at any moment. The fact that he had not slept in over forty hours was obviously beginning to put a strain on his control. *Be calm,* he told himself firmly. *Think.*
Unfortunately, there were very few options left to consider. He knew he had to get out of town. Renting a speeder seemed now out of the question. Aram Kelson would probably lend a speeder to Luke with no questions asked, but the Jedi wouldn't put the family in danger like that. His only remaining alternative was not an appealing one, but Luke was out of choices.
***************
"Oh, yes, I've seen him," the small alien woman insisted, turning the holocube of Luke's picture over in her stubby hands. She came only to Mara's shoulder and had a bright, oddly-shaped face with merry blue eyes. Handing the holo back to Mara, she moved about behind the little desk with ease. "He is staying in room 143."
"You're quite sure," Mara said quietly, looking around the small lobby of the grimy hotel.
"Oh, yes," the woman replied cheerfully. "I saw him yesterday. That's him."
"Is he there now?" Mara asked. She wondered what the odds were that he would risk staying the same place two nights in a row. Could she afford to sit and wait for him to show up and hope he would?
"No, I don't think he is right now."
"Can you let me in to that room?" Mara asked.
The alien woman looked uneasy. "Well.I don't really know. I'm not supposed to allow--"
"This is extremely important," Mara informed her. "An emergency--possibly a matter of life and death."
"Oh." The woman seemed taken aback. "I see.."
Five minutes later, Mara opened the door to a small, darkened room. The narrow bed was neatly made and the room looked pristine and abandoned. Mara moved to the window and peered out from behind the slatted blinds. It was dark outside. How much longer would it be before the Imperials discovered she was here? Or did they already know? Palpatine's uncharacteristic silence and sluggishness worried her.
Sighing, Mara turned to the slim brown travel case that was sitting inconspicuously on the desk. Hopefully Skywalker would be returning for his things.
Carefully, she set the bag on the bed and opened it. There wasn't much: a change of clothes and a handful of credits. Underneath them, however, she found a small silver cylinder. Another lightsaber. She turned it in her hands. It was close to being identical with his last one. Skywalker certainly seemed to waste no time with these things. Mara depressed the small button on the grip, but nothing happened. She looked at it again and then dropped it back into the brown bag.
With another sigh she turned back toward the darkened window and then dropped into a chair. As antsy and uneasy as she was, there was really nothing left for her to do but sit and wait and hope the Jedi returned.
****** *************
The air was thick with smoke that floated in a bluish-green haze over the crowd. The room was filled with smelly, unwashed bodies, packed as close together as possible and there was a pungent odor of a hundred different kinds of alcohol that made it difficult to breathe. The seedy bar reminded Luke of a cantina in Mos Eisely, only magnified by ten.
He sat at a broken table in the corner, behind a vile-looking glass of green liquid that he wasn't about to touch, swallowing cautious lungs-ful of air, careful not to cough.
Presently, a beefy alien approached Luke's table, gesturing sharply. Thick green scales grew from his skull and muscled arms. A shouldered rifle only added to his menacing appearance. "You come with me," he said, pointing roughly in the direction he had come.
The Jedi nodded cautiously and got to his feet. He followed the alien through the crowd and through several doors. They walked down a dark, narrow hallway to a small, dimly lit office. Luke ignored the bad feeling forming a knot in the pit of his stomach and followed the alien's gesture for him to enter the office.
Luke stepped in. A thin, sallow-looking man sat behind a large, ornate orowood desk, staring at the Jedi with small, beady eyes. "Sit down."
Luke did so, swallowing, senses on alert for danger. So far, he could detect nothing amiss.
"So you want a speeder."
"Yes," Luke said quietly.
The man arched an aristocratic brow. "You are aware, of course, that the Empire has shut down all ports of entry to the city and nobody can come and go just as they please."
"I know."
"Then you also realize that this risk will drive up my rates."
Luke nodded. He only prayed that he had enough credits to pay whatever these pirates demanded. "Yes."
"It's going to cost you somewhere around four thousand. All of it in advance."
Clenching his fist under the desk, Luke refrained from protesting and only nodded. He had no other choice. "I can have the money to you within an hour," he answered. He'd have to return to his hotel to retrieve his things.
The thin man nodded. "I'll have my man meet you near the abandoned Okamat warehouse in exactly one hour then. If you're not there within five minutes of that time, then the deal is off and you're out of luck."
Luke nodded wearily. "I understand."
**********************
The inconspicuous route back to his hotel followed dark, narrow streets that were absent of all signs of life. The darkness of the moonless night was Luke's security though, adequately concealing him in the black shadows. Still, the Jedi kept all his senses on full alert, trying to "see" into the inky blackness ahead of him.
The tension of his strained effort, mixing with the stress of the last several hours had seemed to turn all his muscles in to rigid knots, making his back and neck hurt, and bringing the onset of another headache. He told himself not to be so worried. There were many things that he'd faced in his life that were far worse than this. He was exhausted and apprehensive, but told himself not to be anxious. He had eluded his father and the Imperials before. And he would do it again.
The front door of the hotel was lit by a feeble yellow light, vacant as the rest of the street. Senses extended, Luke cautiously stepped out of the safety of the shadows to the door. He silently made his way inside, and seeing no one, eased soundlessly up the narrow, dimly lit stairs.
He opened the door to his room and eyed the small travel bag that was sitting on the bed. It was all he needed. Without bothering to turn on the lights, he stepped into the dark room toward the bed.
A sudden surge of emotion halted him in his tracks. Belatedly, he recognized a presence that, in his haste, he had somehow overlooked. Indeed, he realized a moment later, not only was this person nearby, but actually in the same room with him. Now, as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he could make out the outline of her silhouette, seated in the chair. His muscles seemed to freeze in surprise and indecision, just as the figure in the chair moved and spoke.
"Hello, Luke."
**************************** ************************************************** ************************************************* *************************************
You probably hate me worse now, huh? *evil laugh*
Anxiously awaiting your opinions. : ) T.
***************************** ****************************
The answer to Mara's quiet dread came earlier than anticipated. It was early evening and she had combed almost every bar and hotel in the city, but had found no trace of Skywalker. So it was with a faint sense of defeat and a stomach tied in tight knots that, standing unnoticed at the dusty stone steps of an inn, she watched the all-too-familiar sight of Imperial shuttles and TIE fighters descending on the city like birds of prey. Vader must have been on the move much quicker than she had given him credit for.
Mara bit her lip. The net was quickly closing despite her best efforts. She thought of her remaining search options and wondered fleetingly if it was possible that Skywalker was no longer here, but then dismissed the idea. Why would Imperials show up here if Vader could not detect his son nearby? And how else would SHE be able to feel the low-lying hum of his presence here? She resumed walking briskly to her speeder, determined not to be fazed by the arrival of Imperial troops. They did not know she was here and they would not find her.
As she got in the speeder, she saw a message scroll across the console in red letters informing her unnecessarily that the spaceports were officially closed, effective immediately, by order of the Empire. All portals to the city were closed. No one without express authorization and a Z5R7 code would be permitted to enter or leave the city until further notice. The message began flashing again and Mara slapped it off.
**************************
The man finally came back to help him after Luke had been sitting at the desk nervously for the better part of an hour. He was in the office of a travel agent, hoping to keep a low profile while trying to locate some means of transportation away from Kraull. He'd been miserably plugging away at the job for two days now, looking almost frantically for something that he could afford. A ship was out of the question, of course. But at this point, even a speeder would do. He only knew that he had to get out of the town before disaster struck.
Every bone in his body seemed to scream at him to get up, to keep from sitting still. *you can't stay here,* he thought. But he knew he had to. This agency seemed like his best bet so far. Even though his senses shouted for him to leave this place, he ignored them and fidgeted.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," the man apologized, smiling cordially. "We've just had a couple problems come up concerning your speeder rental."
A tiny warning bell went off in the back of Luke's mind and he straightened. "What kind of problems?" she asked cautiously.
The man shuffled some papers, apparently not too concerned. "Both spaceports and other entrances to the city have been shut down. We will not be authorized to rent out vehicles until they are re-opened."
The warning bells got louder. It sounded to Luke like water was rushing past his ears, but Luke forced himself to keep his calm. "Shut down by who?" he asked. As if he needed to know.
"A couple of Imperial taskforces," the man answered, entering something on his datapad.
"I see." Luke struggled to keep his voice even despite the panic that rose instinctively in his throat. "Does this happen often?"
The man looked up. "It's never happened before that I'm aware." He got to his feet, handing the datapad to Luke. "Incidentally, we're required to get the names and identification of everyone here who is looking for a transport. You will need to remain here for a couple of hours until."
Luke heard no more. He was already on his feet, moving towards the door.
"Excuse me," the man called after him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"You don't know me," the Jedi said with a quick wave of his hand as he brushed past the other. "I was never here."
"You were never here," repeated the perplexed voice behind him.
Luke was walking briskly down the half-empty street a minute later. His heart was racing and his senses were on alert. The Empire had finally caught up with him and had backed him into a corner. It seemed like only a matter of time now. In such close proximity, he doubted his feeble shields would hide him from the Emperor for long.
Finally, slowing at the corner of the sparsely crowded street, he came to a halt and leaned heavily against the durasteel wall, briefly shutting his eyes. It was almost like he half-expected the shriveled, dark figure of the Palpatine to materialize before him at any moment. The fact that he had not slept in over forty hours was obviously beginning to put a strain on his control. *Be calm,* he told himself firmly. *Think.*
Unfortunately, there were very few options left to consider. He knew he had to get out of town. Renting a speeder seemed now out of the question. Aram Kelson would probably lend a speeder to Luke with no questions asked, but the Jedi wouldn't put the family in danger like that. His only remaining alternative was not an appealing one, but Luke was out of choices.
***************
"Oh, yes, I've seen him," the small alien woman insisted, turning the holocube of Luke's picture over in her stubby hands. She came only to Mara's shoulder and had a bright, oddly-shaped face with merry blue eyes. Handing the holo back to Mara, she moved about behind the little desk with ease. "He is staying in room 143."
"You're quite sure," Mara said quietly, looking around the small lobby of the grimy hotel.
"Oh, yes," the woman replied cheerfully. "I saw him yesterday. That's him."
"Is he there now?" Mara asked. She wondered what the odds were that he would risk staying the same place two nights in a row. Could she afford to sit and wait for him to show up and hope he would?
"No, I don't think he is right now."
"Can you let me in to that room?" Mara asked.
The alien woman looked uneasy. "Well.I don't really know. I'm not supposed to allow--"
"This is extremely important," Mara informed her. "An emergency--possibly a matter of life and death."
"Oh." The woman seemed taken aback. "I see.."
Five minutes later, Mara opened the door to a small, darkened room. The narrow bed was neatly made and the room looked pristine and abandoned. Mara moved to the window and peered out from behind the slatted blinds. It was dark outside. How much longer would it be before the Imperials discovered she was here? Or did they already know? Palpatine's uncharacteristic silence and sluggishness worried her.
Sighing, Mara turned to the slim brown travel case that was sitting inconspicuously on the desk. Hopefully Skywalker would be returning for his things.
Carefully, she set the bag on the bed and opened it. There wasn't much: a change of clothes and a handful of credits. Underneath them, however, she found a small silver cylinder. Another lightsaber. She turned it in her hands. It was close to being identical with his last one. Skywalker certainly seemed to waste no time with these things. Mara depressed the small button on the grip, but nothing happened. She looked at it again and then dropped it back into the brown bag.
With another sigh she turned back toward the darkened window and then dropped into a chair. As antsy and uneasy as she was, there was really nothing left for her to do but sit and wait and hope the Jedi returned.
****** *************
The air was thick with smoke that floated in a bluish-green haze over the crowd. The room was filled with smelly, unwashed bodies, packed as close together as possible and there was a pungent odor of a hundred different kinds of alcohol that made it difficult to breathe. The seedy bar reminded Luke of a cantina in Mos Eisely, only magnified by ten.
He sat at a broken table in the corner, behind a vile-looking glass of green liquid that he wasn't about to touch, swallowing cautious lungs-ful of air, careful not to cough.
Presently, a beefy alien approached Luke's table, gesturing sharply. Thick green scales grew from his skull and muscled arms. A shouldered rifle only added to his menacing appearance. "You come with me," he said, pointing roughly in the direction he had come.
The Jedi nodded cautiously and got to his feet. He followed the alien through the crowd and through several doors. They walked down a dark, narrow hallway to a small, dimly lit office. Luke ignored the bad feeling forming a knot in the pit of his stomach and followed the alien's gesture for him to enter the office.
Luke stepped in. A thin, sallow-looking man sat behind a large, ornate orowood desk, staring at the Jedi with small, beady eyes. "Sit down."
Luke did so, swallowing, senses on alert for danger. So far, he could detect nothing amiss.
"So you want a speeder."
"Yes," Luke said quietly.
The man arched an aristocratic brow. "You are aware, of course, that the Empire has shut down all ports of entry to the city and nobody can come and go just as they please."
"I know."
"Then you also realize that this risk will drive up my rates."
Luke nodded. He only prayed that he had enough credits to pay whatever these pirates demanded. "Yes."
"It's going to cost you somewhere around four thousand. All of it in advance."
Clenching his fist under the desk, Luke refrained from protesting and only nodded. He had no other choice. "I can have the money to you within an hour," he answered. He'd have to return to his hotel to retrieve his things.
The thin man nodded. "I'll have my man meet you near the abandoned Okamat warehouse in exactly one hour then. If you're not there within five minutes of that time, then the deal is off and you're out of luck."
Luke nodded wearily. "I understand."
**********************
The inconspicuous route back to his hotel followed dark, narrow streets that were absent of all signs of life. The darkness of the moonless night was Luke's security though, adequately concealing him in the black shadows. Still, the Jedi kept all his senses on full alert, trying to "see" into the inky blackness ahead of him.
The tension of his strained effort, mixing with the stress of the last several hours had seemed to turn all his muscles in to rigid knots, making his back and neck hurt, and bringing the onset of another headache. He told himself not to be so worried. There were many things that he'd faced in his life that were far worse than this. He was exhausted and apprehensive, but told himself not to be anxious. He had eluded his father and the Imperials before. And he would do it again.
The front door of the hotel was lit by a feeble yellow light, vacant as the rest of the street. Senses extended, Luke cautiously stepped out of the safety of the shadows to the door. He silently made his way inside, and seeing no one, eased soundlessly up the narrow, dimly lit stairs.
He opened the door to his room and eyed the small travel bag that was sitting on the bed. It was all he needed. Without bothering to turn on the lights, he stepped into the dark room toward the bed.
A sudden surge of emotion halted him in his tracks. Belatedly, he recognized a presence that, in his haste, he had somehow overlooked. Indeed, he realized a moment later, not only was this person nearby, but actually in the same room with him. Now, as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he could make out the outline of her silhouette, seated in the chair. His muscles seemed to freeze in surprise and indecision, just as the figure in the chair moved and spoke.
"Hello, Luke."
**************************** ************************************************** ************************************************* *************************************
You probably hate me worse now, huh? *evil laugh*
Anxiously awaiting your opinions. : ) T.
