Leia first realized her attitude towards Luke had changed drastically over the past months when she found herself at the door of Master Jinn's quarters, a message flimsy clutched in her hand. Once she would have kept her feelings from Luke, not wanting to burden him, now she found herself turning to him instinctively for support and advice.
She signalled and the door slid open. Master and student turned to look at her un-startled but concerned. "What's wrong, Leia?" Luke asked gently.
She sucked in a deep breath, just holding back tears. "A message from Lando on Tatooine. Still no sign of Boba Fett. As far as Lando can tell he hasn't even contacted Jabba." her voice rose, "It's been four months, Luke! Where is he? what's he done with Han?"
Luke took her in his arms and she melted against him, trying to draw on the strange new strength she sensed in him. "Han will be all right." he breathed into her hair. "I feel it."
Why did that make her feel so much better? When had she started believing so implicitly in Luke's intuition?
"Hibernation isn't pleasant," Master Jinn put in quietly, "but nobody can hurt him as long as he's sealed in that carbonite block." That was true. Han wouldn't be in real danger until Jabba thawed him out. "I'm surprised Fett hasn't at least communicated with Jabba," Dai-Men mused, "as a rule bounty hunters put in their claim as quickly as possible, even when delivery is going to be delayed for one reason or other."
"Sounds like you've had personal experience with them." Luke probed, ever curious about his Master's past.
"Too much," was the wry answer. "all Jedi have a price on their heads." Leia looked at Master Jinn over Luke's shoulder and wondered how he could be so serene after half a lifetime as a hunted fugitive. "Imperial Intelligence likes to keep tract of bounty hunters," he continued, "perhaps we should consult them."
"Sure," Leia snorted, "just open up a channel and ask!"
"No, I don't think that would work." the Master replied, grave tone belied by the twinkle in his eye. "The II command center for the Outer Rim territories is on Eevo 2. I suggest Luke and I go and have a look at their records."
Leia frowned at him then looked up at Luke. "Is he serious?"
"He's always serious." was the dry answer.
"It would be a good exercise for Luke." Dai-Men said calmly, "and we might learn something useful."
She pushed herself away from Luke to confront his Master head on. "You two are going to just walk into II headquarters and ask to see what they've got on Boba Fett?"
"I wasn't planning to ask but that is the general idea." Dai-Men answered mildly.
"You're crazy." Leia said with conviction.
Far from being offended the Master almost laughed. "You're not the first to say so."
To the Princess' astonishment General Madine, head of the Alliance's covert operations, accepted the idea at once. "You're crazy too!" she blurted.
Madine smiled thinly. "I've had first hand experience of what a Jedi can do, your Highness." he glanced at Dai-Men. "Almagest, sixteen years ago. Was that you?"
The Master shook his head, smiling. "A friend."
"What did he do?" Leia wanted to know, glancing warily from one man to the other.
"She." Dai-Men corrected.
"She had an entire Imperial base running around in circles and blasting shadows is what she did." Madine remembered. "We lost maybe a third of our men and machines to friendly fire and morale was shot to hell."
"Fear can be a powerful ally." The Master said quietly, then reassuringly to Leia. "I don't intend to be that obvious, your Highness. Force willing they'll never know we were there."
She turned to Luke as to her last bastion of sanity but he was no help. "We'll be fine." he told her gently, "and we'll find out where Han is."
Leia bit a suddenly trembling lip. "I don't want to lose you too, Luke."
He put a comforting arm around her and squeezed. "You won't, that's a promise."
"From both of us." Dai-Men said gently, "I will bring him back, Princess, you have my word."
The breath sighed out of her. "I'll hold you to that Master Jinn."
The Master's ship was a pre-Clone Wars spice freighter, basically a giant hold with a tiny control section tacked onto the bow. As little space as possible had been 'wasted' on the crew; the cramped main cabin had minute Captain's quarters and an only slightly larger bunkroom opening off it, and the cockpit was equally compact. Luke noticed the two rear seats for the com and scanner stations had been removed and all the hatches enlarged for Xhosa's benefit with one of the holds nearest the control deck fitted up as his quarters. But nothing could be done about ceilings so low Dai-Men had to stoop and Xhosa must have to crawl.
"Cozy." Luke remarked sliding into the co-pilot's seat. His Master laughed. "All the 'Jinx' had to recommend her was her price back when we bought her but I've become quite attached to her over the years."
"The Jinx?" Luke echoed.
Dai-Men nodded. "Named by my second Padawan Master, he used to say she was just a conglomeration of malfunctions waiting to happen."
Luke grinned. "I never thought I'd see a ship that looked worse than the Falcon. How'd you keep her going?"
"The Force has been with us, and Jedi are good technicians." Dai-Men finished the pre-flight check and smiled at his protege. "We have a certain flair for jury-rigs and emergency improvisations."
"I'm a pretty good tinkerer myself," Luke admitted, "got plenty of practice working on the old clunkers at our farm."
The Master nodded. "As I said it's a Jedi talent, along with piloting. Your father excelled at both."
Mention of his father silenced Luke for the remainder of the launch. Dai-Men had proved far more forthcoming than either of his previous Teachers and told him quite a lot about his parents, the Jedi Order and the Purge. But Luke had never asked him about Vader's claim to be his father. If Dai-Men knew he would tell him, Luke had no doubt of that, but would he know? By his own account he'd been far from the center of things when the Emperor struck, the major reason he was still alive. He had already admitted ignorance of Amidala's fate was it likely he'd know Anakin's? Besides: 'Vader was lying, he had to be lying...Ben wouldn't lie to me, he couldn't...' Luke firmly pushed away the memory of Ben's persistent evasiveness on the subject of his father and tried to forget the moment he'd touched Darth Vader's soul and found a pinpoint of light buried in the darkness.
When he finally did speak, after they'd made the jump to hyperspace and settled in for the wait till breakout, it was to ask about Dai-Men's past not his own. "Second Master?"
"Like you I lost my first Teacher to Darth Vader." the Master replied calmly.
Luke blinked. "But- I thought you said the two of you were out in the Rim Territories when the purge started?"
"We were." Dai-Men turned his chair to face Luke's. "But we didn't stay there. Kaljeyru had been the chief sword master of the Jedi for some four hundred years. He'd resigned his Council seat and effectively retired decades before but he was too powerful for the Emperor to overlook. As for me," he shrugged, "I was only a Padawan but my father had been a strong Jedi and a great swordsman and my mother is a notable seer. The Emperor deemed it prudent to eliminate me as well."
Luke reflected on what he'd seen of his Master's powers and decided the Emperor had shown good judgment there.
"When you're being hunted, Luke, sometimes it's better to confront your pursuers rather than hide from them." Dai-Men continued, "And there was something that needed doing. The Council and those Jedi actually on Coruscant had been the first to die but we learned many of the Temple children were still alive, held captive by the Emperor to be trained as his servants - we had to get them back. My Master called together what Jedi he could reach, other survivors and a few renegades -"
"Renegades?" Luke interrupted, "you mean Dark Siders?"
"No!" The Master said emphatically. "There were other reasons to break with the Council, honorable reasons." he sighed, "They could be very rigid, very arbitrary. My own father defied the them more than once, and so did yours. My second Master, Hamilcar, was one of the renegades. His particular sticking point was Jedi detachment," Dai-Men smiled at memories, "Ham believed in getting involved.
"There were less than fifty of us, renegades, padawans and all." he continued quietly, "Over half died, but we got the children back. Kaljeyru deliberately sacrificed himself to cover our retreat."
"Like Ben." Luke said softly.
"Exactly like." the Master agreed. "He'd planned it that way from the beginning and arranged for Hamilcar to take charge of me. Ham had left the Order years before, there was a good chance he wasn't on the Emperor's list. And he'd been my father's first Apprentice, Kaljeyru knew he'd take me for Father's sake."
"What did you do then?"
"Got back to the Outer Rim territories, saw the children settled, and scattered. Master Hamilcar and I bought the Jinx and we went back to doing what Jedi do."
"Which is?"
"Wander, meddle," Dai-Men smiled, "poke into things best left alone. It's a hard life, Luke, but it's rarely dull!"
"Adventure, excitement, a Jedi craves not these things." Luke quoted in a very bad Yoda voice.
His Master laughed. "Perhaps not but he'll get them whether he wants them or not so he might as well enjoy it!" he shook his head, still smiling. "The trouble with Master Yoda is he seems set on taking all the fun out of being a Jedi."
Luke looked at him uncertainly, disturbed by criticism of Yoda however affectionate, and puzzled by the seeming contradiction. "But - you said it was a hard life?"
"So it is." was the serene answer. "But it is not without its compensations. There is a great satisfaction in service to your fellow beings and great joy in closeness to the Force." Dai-Men smiled reassuringly at his Padawan. "Becoming a Jedi does not mean being miserable for the rest of your life, or turning into an emotionless automaton," he sighed, "which I sometimes feel is Yoda's ideal."
"Now I'm really confused." Luke said.
The Master heaved another sigh, this one rueful. "Of course you are. I've been a grave disappointment to Yoda, Luke, like my father was before me. We've both insisted on following our feelings even against his teachings." Dai-Men spread his hands, "I am not Yoda's idea of what a Jedi should be. The only reason I'm your Padawan Master is because there's literally nobody else."
"You're saying Master Yoda's wrong?" Luke blurted.
"In my opinion, about some things." the Master replied, smiled, "of course I could be the one who's wrong. You'll have to decide."
"Me!" Luke echoed in alarm.
"Yes you! A Master is just a guide on the Path, Luke, it is you who must walk it. Remember Yoda's teachings, listen to mine, and choose what feels right to you."
Terrific, Luke reflected as he followed his Master through the streets of Eevo City. As if the saber work wasn't hard enough now he was expected to choose between his two Masters. Worse, if Dai-Men wasn't the ideal Jedi than what was?
"Now is not the time for introspection." the Master scolded mildly. "Focus on the moment, Luke, be aware of the Living Force."
"Yes, Master."
A gentle sigh. "And remember not to call me Master."
"Sorry." Luke looked around, trying to focus on the moment. The street was full of arrogant Imperial uniforms, the few civilians veering nervously out of their way. But the Imps in turn steered clear of Dai-Men.
Luke glanced up at his Master. He was dressed as a free spacer but without the cocky aggressiveness characteristic of the breed, instead he radiated a calm confidence that intimidated without effort or intent. Luke wondered now how he could ever have taken him for anything but a Jedi.
"There it is." the Master murmured and nodded ahead.
Imperial Intelligence Headquarters was a monolithic tower of black glass and plascrete dominating the street. The other buildings seemed to crouch cowed around its feet, as if desperately hoping to go unnoticed. Which was pretty much how Luke felt. He swallowed and hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt.
"Most people get nervous around Imperial Intelligence," Dai-Men said in a calm undertone. "confidence would be much more suspicious."
"How do you do that?" Luke muttered back, "I didn't think Jedi were telepathic!"
The Master smiled. "We're not. I'm reading your face not your mind, young Padawan."
"Don't call me Padawan." Luke reminded. The smile lines around the Master's eyes deepened then disappeared as the entrance yawed before them, flanked by six black uniformed guards. Luke gulped as their weapons came down to cover him and Dai-Men.
An officer stepped forward to stand eye to throat with the tall Master. Only Luke caught the subtle hand gesture as Dai-Men brought Jedi powers into play. "We're expected." he said.
"Right." the officer agreed, "These two are expected." weapons snapped back up, to Luke's intense relief. "Informants report to office twelve."
"Thanks." Dai-Men answered casually and led the way inside. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, threading his way confidently through the maze of corridors.
"You've been here before." Luke guessed.
"Once or twice." the Master admitted. He stopped at last at a sealed door and slipped a circuit wafer from his belt pouch into the security lock.
"What's that?" Luke whispered, glancing uneasily up and down the empty hallway.
"A universal re-programmer disk." Dai-Men replied in his normal voice, seeming quite at his ease despite being in the heart of enemy territory. "It'll fool the lock computer into believing we've entered the authorization code." he flashed a quick smile. "A gift from a kind but quite dishonest friend."
The door opened with a soft click and the Master went directly to the main console, tapping away at the controls with practiced skill. Luke watched the door like it was a Wampa snow beast getting ready to charge. His heart thudding uncomfortably fast, he hadn't been this nervous on the Death Star. Of course then he'd just been a crazy kid, now he was a Rebel Officer and Jedi Padawan, he knew too much to ever be so thoughtlessly reckless again.
The door opened and a black suited technician entered, freezing at the sight of them. Heart in his throat Luke stepped towards the woman, reaching out with the Force to sooth the alarm rattling her mind. "Hi there." Her eyes tracked to him. "You know us, we work here."
"You work here." she repeated and smiled. "Sorry to interrupt, I forgot my data pad."
"This it?" the Master pointed to a tablet on a nearby console. "Yeah, thanks." She picked it up. "Bye." she said and walked out.
Luke stared after her, jaw sagging floorward.
Nice work." said the Master.
"I can't believe I did that!" Luke stammered.
"Well I didn't." Dai-Men shut down the computers and pouched a data cube. "Shall we go?"
They had almost reached the outer lobby and Luke was just beginning to breath easier in anticipation when they were forced into a sub-hallway by a large convoy of stormtroopers guarding a gaggle of civilians: Men, women, even children, some crying softly, others angry, most simply dazed as if unable to believe what was happening to them.
"Hostages." Dai-Men said grimly as the crowd disappeared around a bend in the corridor.
"We've got to do something!" Luke gasped.
The Master didn't waste time agreeing. "This way."
No doubt about it, Dai-Men really knew this place. He led Luke quickly through a labyrinth of twisty sub-corridors the last opening opposite a set of double doors guarded by a quartet of stormtroopers.
"I was afraid of that," the Master said softly, "the execution yard." he drew his lightsabre.
Luke pulled out his too. "You've got a plan?"
Dai-Men gave him the ghost of a smile. "We don't have time for a plan." he said and strode out of cover towards the guards.
"Huh?" Luke blinked at the empty air then scrambled after him.
The four troopers never had a chance to even point their weapons. Dai-Men gestured briefly right and left and they fell back, choking and clutching at their throats. Then the Master hit the opening mechanism, waved Luke inside and followed, triggering both the regular and blast doors closed behind them.
The yard was open to the sky with viewing galleries running around the top of sheer basaltic walls. The huddled mass of civilians stared at the two Jedi in bewilderment, parting automatically for Dai-Men as he crossed to a set of gates opposite the inner doors. His lightsabre flashed as he sheered through the control panel and the gates slid open onto a windowless alley.
The Master turned to the nearest hostages, a middle aged man clutching a teenaged girl and a small boy to him. "Go left." he instructed crisply, "you'll come out in the back streets of the Industrial sector." The man just stared. "Go!"
Possibly the Master put some Force into the command. Anyway it got them moving. The blast doors began to glow primrose. "Master," Luke called, "they're burning through!"
Dai-Men strode back to his side as the yard continued to empty. The last of the hostages disappeared out the gates some ten seconds before the doors blew in with a hail of blaster fire. The Master didn't just deflect the bolts, he bounced them right back into the Imperials' teeth then charged through the doors into their midst. A stunned Luke recovered himself and followed just in time to see a Jedi sword master in his prime almost casually dispose of a score of foes in mere minutes.
Dai-Men was a whirlwind, wielding his lightsabre with an artistry Luke knew he'd never equal or even approach. The green blade flickered almost too fast for the eye to see, deflecting blaster fire and sheering through gunstocks and armor. Then the stormtroopers were all down and the Master seized his student's arm pushing Luke before him into the sub-hallway. "Run!"
Force running, and leaping, were two things Luke had thoroughly mastered with Yoda so he had no difficulty at all keeping up as they zig-zagged through increasingly cramped access corridors before finally skidding to a halt on a sort of balcony overlooking a deep shaft.
Luke looked at the pulsing power conduits, thick as tree trunks, running up the walls and shook his head. "Reactor core. Why do I always end up in the reactor core?"
His Master just smiled and pointed to a catwalk some twenty feet above. "Up."
They jumped a dozen levels upward, from catwalk to catwalk then through a hatch into yet another sub-hallway leading to a wide curving corridor, deeply carpeted and silent though awash with crimson light from flashing wall alarms.
"Looks like a full alert." Luke observed.
"I'd be insulted by anything less." Dai-Men replied, almost lightly, re-igniting his sabre and slicing through the nearest door into a luxuriously furnished office. He crossed to the wide picture window and began cutting a hole in the clear-steel.
Luke followed shaking his head. "And Yoda called me reckless!"
His Master flashed a smile over his shoulder. "Remind me to tell you some of the things my father and Obi-Wan got up to in their time."
Escape was a simple matter of dropping onto a neighboring rooftop then crossing several others before descending to street level by way of a back stair and through a busy cantina kitchen. Dai-Men seemed to know the back alleys of Eevo City as thoroughly as the labyrinthine corridors of II HQ. He led Luke on a circuitous route back to the obscure landing field where they'd left the Jinx.
"Will the hostages be all right?" Luke worried as they prepared for take off.
"I think so," Dai-Men replied, "Imperial security will be much more interested in tracing the two Jedi who rescued them."
Realization hit Luke and he looked at his Master in alarm. "You've given yourself away! The Emperor will know you're alive!"
Dai-Men glanced at him in mild surprise. "He's known that for seventeen years.